Baked Chicken

Tonight we were going to grill.  Well, constant rain 

changed our plan!  

With all the fresh tomatoes and peppers from 

the garden, I decided

to make a chicken bake with them.  

It was really good and very

"comforting" on this cold rainy evening.

Submitted by Lisa
Source: Lisa

6 Chicken Breasts with skin and bone
3 tomatoes (or canned chopped tomatoes)
1 pepper
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp thyme
salt/pepper to taste


* In a large baking pan, place the chicken breasts, and top with chopped, seeded tomatoes, chopped peppers, and rough chopped onion and garlic.
* Drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken breasts
* salt and pepper the whole pan
* Sprinkle the Thyme onto the chicken breasts

*cover with foil and place in a 425 degree oven for about 1hr and 15 min.  Take the foil off, remove the vegie mixture with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl, set aside.
* Remove the liquid and place in small pot, turned onto medium.
*Return the chicken to the oven with no foil and let it brown up.

*If desired, take an immersion blender and lightly blend the vegies. (my kids won't eat them in chunks)

* With the juices, make a gravy.  (take about 1 cup cold water and 2 heaping teaspoons of flour,  whisk that together, then whisk into the juices.  Cook and stir until thickened, remove from heat)

*When the chicken is browned, spread the vegie mixture onto a platter and place the chicken on top.

Serve with either mashed or baked potatoes.

Danish Pastry Quick Method

I cut one of these in half and packaged in a clear cello bag tied with a ribbon

and gave as a gift...looked really nice.  The rest I cut down the middle lengthwise, then into smaller

pieces for easy eating.   

This is a great recipe.  If you have ever tried to make danishes before, you know it isn't always quick or easy.  This was very simple and the results were terrific. 

 **You do need to make the dough the day before and let it chill**

I did it that way like it suggested, you could try it right away if you want

but don't be disappointed if it doesn't turn out!

Posted by: Lisa

Source: http://beatrice-ojakangas.com

Much Requested Danish Pastry Recipe

Beatrice Ojka

BASIC DANISH PASTRY (Quick Method)

1/4 cup warm water, 105*F. to 115*F.

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

1 egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

Pour water into bowl; add yeast and let stand for 2-3 minutes until yeast foams. Add milk, egg, sugar and salt and whisk to mix; set aside.

Measure flour into food processor with metal blade in place. Cut butter into 1/4 inch thick slices and drop into flour. Pulse 8 to 10 times, until butter is cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Empty flour mixture into bowl with yeast and with rubber spatula, gently fold the two mixtures together just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t be too energetic! The butter must remain in pieces so that you will produce a flaky pastry, not a bread dough or cookie. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or up to 4 days to suit your schedule).

Lightly flour a work surface; turn dough out onto it, and dust dough with flour. Using the palms of your hands, pat dough into a rough square. Roll out to 16 inches on a side. Fold dough into thirds, like a business letter and turn it so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Roll out again, into a long narrow rectangle, about 10 inches wide by 24 inches long. Fold into thirds again. Roll out to make a 20-inch square. Fold square into thirds again to make a long, narrow rectangle. Then again, fold into thirds to make a square. (If at any point in this procedure the dough gets very soft, cover and chill it for 30 minutes or so.) Cover and chill the dough before final shaping. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for 4 days or wrap it air tight and keep it frozen for 1 month; thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

USING THE PASTRY:

You can shape the pastry into either large coffeecakes and breads or into individual pastries. Here are a couple of my favorites:

DANISH PASTRY BRAID:

1 recipe Basic Danish Pastry (Quick Method)

Butter Cream Filling

1/4 cup soft butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup finely pulverized almonds

1 (3-ounce) package almond paste  ( I didn't have this, so I made my own...sooo good! recipe at end)

1 egg white

Glaze:

1 slightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk or water

Pearl sugar or crushed sugar cubes for topping

Sliced or chopped almonds

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 teaspoons warm water

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide chilled dough into 2 parts. Roll out each part to make a rectangle 12 x 6-inches. Place strips on prepared baking sheets.

I filled with a fresh peach, cut up and dusted with cinnamon, and some frozen raspberries.

Blend all of the filling ingredients together and spread filling down the length of the center of the strip. Cut slanting strips at 3/4 inch intervals along both sides up toward the center using a fluted pastry wheel. Fold strips over filling in a crisscross manner.

Preheat oven to 400*F.

Let pastry rise for 30 minutes, just until puffy. Beat the egg with the milk or water and brush pastry.sprinkle with sugar and/or chopped almonds. Bake 15 minutes or until golden. Mix icing ingredients and drizzle over the braids. Makes 2 braids

**as you can see from my finished picture, mine didn't stay together.  I really pinched them too.  Next time I will not cut strips up the sides.  I am going to try rolling the filling in, put the roll seam side down, and cut slits along to top side and see how that works out**

Almond Paste Recipe

source:  www.food.com 

8 ounces almonds, blanched and very finely ground (grind them twice)
8 ounces icing sugar
1 egg white
Directions:

1
Grind your almonds.
2
In the second grinding add the sugar.
3
Gradually add your egg white working the mixture vigorously.
4
Use dough hook in mixer or knead on a pastry board.
5
The mixture should be firm& smooth when ready

German Twists

These were good, but the kids liked them better when I added the jam, even though they didn't hold together like I had hoped. (see the bottom of the post)  They ate all of them though, jam or no jam, so I consider it a hit!

Posted by Lisa

Source: www.allrecipes.com

German Twists Submitted By: Kaadee Prep Time: 1 Hour Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours 45 Minutes Servings: 24 "A rich and tender sour cream cookie, raised with yeast, reveals delicate sugary layers as it bakes. Serve the traditional German treat for Oktoberfest or just have some with coffee anytime. The dough can be baked after 2 hours of chilling but it's better if chilled overnight." Ingredients: 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water 3 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, sliced 3/4 cup sour cream 1 large egg 2 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup white sugar, or as needed Directions: 1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a bowl and let activate while you complete remaining steps. 2. Place flour and salt into a food processor and pulse once or twice to combine. Scatter butter slices over flour and process until butter is thoroughly mixed into the flour, about 1 minute. 3. Whisk yeast mixture, sour cream, egg, egg yolks, and vanilla extract together in a bowl; pour mixture into food processor. Pulse several times, just until the dough starts to hold together and clean the sides of the bowl (do not overmix). Remove dough from food processor and divide in half; form each half into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. For best texture, refrigerate overnight. 4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. 5. Sprinkle a work surface generously with sugar and roll out one of the dough disks into an 8x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle dough with a generous amount of sugar. Fold the dough over in thirds, letter-style, and roll out again; fold as before and roll out and fold a third time, sprinkling dough with sugar each time. Finally, roll dough into a 4x14-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat process with second dough disk. 6. Cut strips from the short side of the dough rectangles, making them 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide. Place strips onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, twisting and slightly stretching them. If preferred, form into horseshoe shapes. 7. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cookies will puff up a bit to reveal delicate layers. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on sheets before transferring to wire cooling racks. ***I took the 2nd 1/2 of the dough and made little danishes out of it with raspberry jam.  They were sooo delicious, but you would want to seal them better than I did.*** When they cooked, all the tops that I pinched together, separated and no longer looked so cute...but they were still tasty!

Mayan Macaroon Cupcakes

I made these for a church event and they were well received.  It was nice to have something more "adult".  Although, I did see kids eating them.  We had a few left over and froze them, frosting and all, and they have thawed out very nicely!

submitted by Lisa

Mayan Macaroon Cupcakes

Recipe courtesy Don Hein, Cupcake Wars, 2011

Prep Time:

1 hr 15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

15 min

Cook Time:

35 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups canola oil
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• Vanilla Italian Buttercream Frosting, recipe follows
• Toasted Coconut, recipe follows
• Chocolate syrup, store-bought or homemade, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set the bowl aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and eggs until light yellow in color, about 3 minutes. Add the oil and mix until incorporated. Add the sifted ingredients and mix until incorporated. Then, add the yogurt and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the coffee, cinnamon, vanilla extract and ancho chile powder. Mix until incorporated.

Fill 24 cupcake liners three-quarters full of batter. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, for 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool 15 minutes, then pull them from the pan and place on a cooling rack or a flat sheet pan.

To assemble: Scoop 1/4 cup Vanilla Italian Buttercream Frosting onto the middle of the cupcake. Roll the cupcake, upside down, in bowl of Toasted Coconut until top is rounded and coated in coconut. Drizzle chocolate syrup on top.

This recipe was created by a contestant during a cooking competition. The Food Network Kitchens have not tested it for home use, therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

( I didn't use the frosting...I just made a cream cheese frosting and added a bit of cinnamon and chili powder to carry the flavor over a bit)

Italian Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 cup egg whites (7 large)
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 pounds unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a large standing mixer, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip with whisk attachment at medium speed until frothy. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and whip at high speed until stiff peaks form.

In a saucepan on medium-high heat, stir the remaining 1/2 cup sugar into 1/2 cup water. Place a candy thermometer in the pan. When the simple syrup reaches soft ball stage (235 to 245 degrees F), immediately pour into the egg white mixture while the mixer is on low speed. Once the syrup is added, turn the mixer to high speed for 15 minutes or until the bottom of the mixing bowl is cool. Add the butter and whip until smooth and silky. Add the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.

Toasted Coconut:

• 4 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Spread the coconut out evenly on a cookie sheet, forming a single layer. Bake until golden brown but not scorched, 12 minutes (stirring halfway through). Let cool for 15 minutes. Put the toasted coconut in a bowl.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

submitted by Lisa

You know the over ripe banana's, sort of still hanging from the banana tree on the counter?  Well, mine were actually touching the counter, but their stems were still hangin'!  Time to use them.  I mashed them up, and was just about to turn them into bread....yet again....when I decided to search for a cookie recipe to use them in.

I found one I wanted to try at www.cookingchannel.com.  I added toasted coconut and butterscotch chips because that is what I had, and I think they might be one of my new favorite cookies!

Recipe slightly adjusted from the original : 

 Source: Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies www.cookingchannel.com 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 2 overripe bananas, mashed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup toasted coconut 
• 1 cup butterscotch chips (about half a 12-ounce bag)

DIRECTIONS

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Mix in the bananas and egg and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the vanilla.

In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg, and coconut. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. It will be a wet cookie dough. Stir in the butterscotch chips.

Using a 2 spoons or an ice cream scoop is a great way to portion cookies with wetter doughs like this one. Portion cookies out using overflowing tablespoonfuls on 2 ungreased cookie sheets, 12 cookies per sheet. Bake just until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn and swap the cookie sheets on each rack for even cooking. Cool on a wire rack.

© 2012 Cooking Channel, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

Strawberry Lime Cream Cake

Submitted by: Heather

In the spirit of Cake Wrecks, a pretty funny blog about cakes gone wrong, here are a couple of my own wrecks:

Go ahead and laugh long and hard at these pictures.  What lopsided, beautiful messes!  Pretty embarrassing! These are two attempts at a very delicious, but very wobbly cake.  The second one had to travel in a car, so it got extra messy. I do think that even though these cakes are a sight, you still need to try this recipe.  The cake had a very nice consistency and the lime cream was so tangy and refreshing - you could just sit down and eat it from the bowl as I did.  I would recommend, though, a different approach to the assembly.

I'm not sure what I did wrong, but from the comments section from this recipe in Mel's Kitchen Cafe, I see I was not the only one having problems.  Maybe next time I'll add less sweetened condensed milk to the lime filling and substitute some powdered sugar for stability. The lime filling layer completely squished out of the cake layers - it just wasn't strong enough to support all of that cake.  If I ever get it figured out, I'll add to this post, but until then just make this yummy white cake, fill the layers with the strawberry puree and serve the absolutely delicious lime cream dolloped on the side.  It will be on the side if you try to fill the layers anyway, so save yourself the trouble! Yum!

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cake

*Serves 12

INGREDIENTS:
White Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites

Strawberry Syrup/Puree:
*You can sub 1 1/2 cups of strawberry jam for the puree*
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Lime Cream:
4 limes, for 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Whipped Cream Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 envelope (about 2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
4 tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS:
For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. (I lined the bottom of mine with a parchment circle and greased the top of the parchment circle.) Bake the cakes for 28-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Don’t overbake or the cakes will be dry. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a butter knife and remove the cakes from the pans to cool completely.

For the strawberry puree, combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

For the lime cream, zest and juice the limes into a medium bowl. You should have about 1/2 cup lime juice. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Add the whipping cream and beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

For the whipped cream frosting, in a small bowl, place the water and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let the mixture stand for 3-4 minutes until the gelatin has thickened. Microwave for 20-30 seconds until the gelatin dissolves and the mixture is warm. Remove from the microwave and let the mixture cool to room temperature (don’t let it set up!). In a large bowl, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened. While beating slowly, gradually add the cooled gelatin to the whipped cream mixture. Whip at high speed until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake, slice each cooled cake round in half horizontally to form 4 cake circles. Place one cake layer on a cake plate and spread an even layer of strawberry syrup over the top. Spread a thick layer of lime cream over the jam, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge as the top cake layers will press the cream out toward the edges. Repeat the same layering process with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer and frost the entire cake with the whipped cream frosting. Garnish with fresh limes and strawberries, if desired. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving to let the cake set up.

Source: Adapted from Melskitchencafe.com

Teriyaki Salmon

Submitted by: Heather

I feel like this recipe should have "curd" in the title, since my sister, Lisa, and I have posted two curd recipes back to back before this one.  But, somehow I don't think that "salmon curd" would sound very appetizing to anyone...

This salmon recipe has been used by our family since my kids were tiny.  I was always impressed that they would eat it so readily.  When I was a kid and had fish put on my plate I refused to eat it.  I remember sitting at my table for many hours until I finished my fish (or successfully fed it to the dog without anyone seeing).  I'm ashamed that I never gave it a chance.  I blame my older sister, Lisa (sorry Lisa!).  I followed her in most things and she absolutely hated fish, so naturally I did too.
Now I really like fish. My husband sometimes calls this recipe "candy fish". Yes, it's sweet, but not overly so.  It also has a nice peppery flavor.  Try it - I bet your kids will love it.

1 1/2 lbs. salmon fillets
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt, to taste
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/3 C. water
1/4 C. vegetable oil

Sprinkle fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder and salt. In a large ziploc, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, water and oil (I use much less oil than called for). Place fish in the marinade and marinate for at least 2 hours.

To grill: Remove fish from marinade and grill over medium heat for about 7 minutes on each side.

To broil: Adjust broiler rack so that it's approx 2" below the heat source if the fish is 1" thick or under; or place rack 4" from heat if the fish is over 1" thick. Place fish under broiler and broil, undisturbed, for approx. 4 minutes.  It's done when opaque.  If you need to remove a fillet because it's done before the others, make sure to wipe the marinade from the pan or it will burn.

Source: unknown