Indian Spiced Chicken Burgers

I had lots of leftover yogurt from the chicken I previously made, and I searched for and found some other recipes using yogurt. I've never made Indian food before, so I thought this would be a good start. My mom came to visit, and she helped me out in the kitchen. Overall, I thought this was a good meal. The naan was delicious, and the cilantro paired perfectly with the burger and sauce. I forgot to add the salt and pepper to the patties, and that was the only thing lacking for me.
Recipe source: Savory Spicy Sweet

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds ground chicken
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt
Fresh ground pepper
6-8 pieces of naan (or 4 whole wheat pitas)
Fresh cilantro

Cumin Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, scallions, ginger, lemon juice, paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste; mix well. Set aside for at least 10 or up to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine ingredients for cumin-yogurt sauce.
Make 6-8 patties, and grill or fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until done.
Put two pieces of naan on each plate. Place one patty on each, as well as cucumber (if used), a few sprigs of cilantro and the cumin-yogurt sauce and serve.

Naan

Ingredients:
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ghee or oil
2 tablespoons plain yogurt

Directions:
Whisk the warm water with the yeast and sugar until the yeast is dissolved. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes.
Sift flour and salt three times into a large bowl add the yeast mixture, half of the ghee or oil and all the yogurt. Mix into a soft dough then knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is doubled in size .
Punch down dough then knead for 5 minutes. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Let rise for an additional 10-30 minutes if you have the time. Roll each piece out into 8 inch round naans.
Brush the naan with a little of the remaining ghee or oil. Heat oil in a large flat skillet. Pan fry naan one at a time for about 2 minutes on each side or until puffed and just browned, adding additional oil as necessary.

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

If you want chicken that's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, you have to try this recipe. I served it on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. The heat from the chicken cooked the spinach and made it even better. I'm definitely going back to this recipe in the future.
Source: Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain unflavored yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped
Juice of half a lemon
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
2 slices butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray PAM on baking dish.

Mix together the yogurt, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice. In another dish, mix the Panko bread crumbs with some salt and pepper.
Sprinkle salt on both sides of the chicken. With a pair of tongs, place the chicken one piece at a time in the yogurt mixture. Turn it over thoroughly to coat. Then roll the chicken in the bread crumbs. Cover thoroughly with bread crumbs and place in the baking dish.
Put a slice of butter on top of each piece of chicken.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, removing foil for the last 15 minutes.

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Charlie (our Weimaraner puppy) has been sick with meningitis for the past couple of weeks. He spent 5 nights at the vet, and they did a great job at diagnosing him. I wanted to make some cookies as a "thank you" for taking care of him.

I used the sugar cookie recipe from Baking Blonde's blog, and the Royal Icing recipe came from Martha Stewart's website. I'll be using these recipes from now on because they were delicious. You have to really watch the sugar cookies and take them out right when the bottoms are a light golden color. Otherwise they will be crispy (still good, but crispy). I like a nice soft sugar cookie.

Sugar Cookie

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (VERY soft)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
In a small bowl stir together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In mixing bowl beat butter until soft and smooth. Add in sugar and beat to combine. Add egg and vanilla and beat until just combined. Add flour mixture. Beat until just combined and dough is smooth.
Turn out to floured work surface and roll to 1/3″ thickness. Use cookie cutter to cut desired shapes.
Place cookies on baking sheets and bake for 6-9 minutes until beginning to brown on bottom and around edges.
Cool on counter.
Once cooled, frost with desired frosting.

Royal Icing

Ingredients:
1 pound confectioners' sugar
5 tablespoons meringue powder
Scant 1/2 cup water

Directions:
Put sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add water; beat on low speed until think and fluffy, 7 to 8 minutes. If icing is too thick to pipe easily, add a few drops of water. If icing is too thin, add more confectioners' sugar.
Separate into bowls and add food coloring (I used the food coloring gel).
Use icing immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Stir icing before using.

Above is the packaging that the cookies were in along with the "thank you" note from Charlie.

Charlie was on the kitchen rug the whole time watching me make these cookies. Look at those puppy dog eyes.... Bless his little puppy heart!

Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

I'm in the process of cleaning out my stash of recipes to try, and I had this one that I'd torn out of a Cooking Light magazine. The preparation took a little extra time, but it was well worth it. The meal was just as delicious as it is colorful. Honestly I'm not a big fan of pineapple in savory meals, so that's the only change I would make next time (unless Aubrey wanted it in there). I'm not opposed, but it's just not my preference.


Ingredients:
4 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
5 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (I just used more of the low-sodium)
1 teaspoon dry sherry
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I just used black... it's what I had on hand)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 2 x 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
3 Tablespoons ketchup
2 and 1/2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chile paste
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 Tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 cup diced onion
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup slices green onions (1-inch)
1 cup diced fresh pineapple (1/2 inch)

Directions:
1.
Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl. Add chicken; stir well to coat. Set aside.
2.
Combine chicken broth, remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, brown sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, chile paste, and sesame oil.
3.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, bell peppers, and green onions to pan; saute 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer to a bowl.
4.
Heat remaining 2 and 1/2 teaspoons canola oil in pan. Add chicken mixture to pan, and spread in an even layer; cook, without stirring 1 minute. Saute an additional 3 minutes or until chicken is done.
5.
Return vegetable mixture to pan. Add soy sauce mixture and pineapple, stirring well to combine. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)

Nutritional Info: 132 calories; 3.8g fat; 12.7g protein; 12.2 g carbs; 1.4g fiber; 31mg cholesterol; 0.9mg iron; 304mg sodium; 26mg calcium

Walnut Couscous

Tonight I made the pork that I made when I visited back home. I wanted Aubrey to taste how good it was (I made it without the fennel). He said it was the best pork I've ever made. I decided to make this couscous recipe from Cooking Light to go with it. I'm a big fan of couscous, and I love finding new recipes for it. The walnuts added another good dimension to this dish.


Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 and 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup couscous
3 Tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 3 minutes. Add water, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with walnuts and parsley.

Southwestern Vegetable Soup

My friend Alison emailed me this recipe from Southern Living. It was the perfect meal for tonight because it was fast... really fast and doesn't make a mess. I was really impressed with the taste. It will probably be my veggie soup recipe from now on. It tastes like regular vegetable soup with a tiny little kick from the chili seasoning. If there is one change I would make, it would be to add potatoes.


Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
5 cups water
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (8-ounce) can cut green beans, drained
1 (1 3/4-ounce) envelope chili seasoning mix
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced

Directions:
Brown ground beef in a large Dutch oven, stirring until it crumbles; drain. Stir in 5 cups water and next 10 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 2 hours. Serve with cheese.

Fennel-Rubbed Pork with Shallot-Pomegranate Reduction

My hubs absolutely despises fennel seeds. Fennel has a distinct taste; kind of like licorice. While I don't care for licorice, I do appreciate the taste of fennel. I really wanted to try this recipe from Cooking Light, but I had to save it for when I traveled to visit my family (sans hubbie because I knew he would turn up his nose). My mom did the dirty work with taking the tenderloin out of the package and rubbing the spices on it. Yes, I still squirm when I touch raw meat... but I do it only when I have to.
I was very impressed with this pork. It is definitely one of the best tenderloin recipes I've ever had. The fennel wasn't overpowering, and the reduction sauce was amazing. I'm definitely going to make this for Aubrey (sans fennel).


Ingredients:
Sauce
1 and 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup chopped shallots
3 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pork
3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (1 pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450.
To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 18 minutes). Remove from heat. Gradually add butter; stir with a whisk until blended. Stir in vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
To prepare pork, while sauce reduces, combine fennel seeds, garlic powder, cumin, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; rub over pork. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place skillet in oven. Bake at 450 for 18 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155 (slightly pink)... FYI: I cooked for about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, cut into 1/4 inch slices. Serve with sauce.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork and about 2 tablespoons sauce).

Nutritional Info (per serving): 302 calories; 10g fat; 23.9g protein; 28.6g carbs; 0.5g fiber; 75mg cholesterol; 1.7mg iron; 381mg sodium; 37mg calcium

Pork Chops with Dijon Cream Sauce

Aubrey and I ordered pizza the night before last, so I wanted to make something light and healthy last night. I really like this recipe because it's delicious (Aubrey had 2 pieces), easy to clean up, and quick. It took me about 20-25 minutes from start to finish.
The Dijon sauce on the pork was really good and creamy without the added fat. I served this with steamed broccoli and red potatoes.
Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients:
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops (1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
Cooking Spray
1/3 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup fat-free half-and-half or fat-free evaporated milk

Directions:
Trim fat from chops. Sprinkle both sides of chops evenly with salt and pepper. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chops to skillet, and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned (I cooked much longer). Remove chops from skilled, and keep warm.
Add broth to skillet, stirring to loosen browned bits. Combine mustard and half-and-half; add to skillet. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes or until sauce is thickened slightly. Spoon sauce over chops.
Yield 4 servings

Nutritional Content per serving: 201 calories; 9g fat; 23.5g protein; 2.7g carbohydrate; 0.1g fiber; 68mg cholesterol; 567mg sodium

Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

Yeah, try to say that 5 times really fast.
My brother's birthday is coming up, and I wanted to make him a surprise. He loves peanut butter with chocolate, and I think he'll really like these. They are absolutely delicious (I had to try a couple to make sure they weren't poisonous... at least that's what I told myself).
Source: Baking Blonde's Weblog

Ingredients:
Brownie
3/4 cup butter, very soft (not melted but softer than room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 TBS vanilla extract
2 large eggs1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake filling
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cups creamy PB
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
6 Reese’s peanut butter cups (regular size) cut into 6 pieces each

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8″ square pan with foil and lightly coat with PAM cooking spray. In a microwave safe bowl melt the two baking chocolate squares in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until smooth and melted after stirring. Do not scorch! Remove from microwave and allow to come to room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl, Beat together butter and sugar until combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until blended. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix to combine. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and whisk together. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. Do not over-mix.
In separate mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg and beat until just combined.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate brownie batter into prepared pan. Evenly drop 1/2 of cheesecake batter in dollops over brownie batter. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl.
Dollop remaining brownie batter and cheesecake batter over swirled mixture. Run knife through the brownie and cheesecake dollops (not all the way through the already swirled layer) to create a swirled pattern.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center has a few crumbs stuck to it.
After about 30-40 minutes of baking (with about 5-7 minutes of baking time left, you just need to eyeball it) gently place cut up Reese’s cups over top of almost fully baked brownies. Finish baking until a toothpick inserted in the center has a few crumbs stuck to it. The Reese’s PB cups will melt but hold their shape slightly. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting and serving.

Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan. This cake is a flourless chocolate cake and definitely the best chocolate cake I've ever had. It's really moist and fluffy. I paired my chocolate cake with White Chocolate Ice Cream and Lean Chocolate Sauce from my favorite ice cream cookbook "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovits.
The ice cream was really good, but if you don't like white chocolate, you obviously won't like it. I loved the Lean Chocolate Sauce. I think it will be my "go to" recipe for chocolate sauce. Lebovits calls it "lean" because it's not made with the heavy whipping cream that many are made of.


Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
16 ounces of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Directions:
1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.


White Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream

Directions:
Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate. Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Lean Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup light corn syrup
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:
Whisk the water, cocoa powder, and corn syrup together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate pieces, stirring until melted and smooth. Serve warm.

Storage:
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm it gently in a microwave or by stirring in a saucepan over very low heat.