Chicken Adobo and Cake Pops

This week we planned ahead of time, but still managed to not have a couple of ingredients on hand.  Instead of running to the store, we just left them out this time. No school for the kids, so the olders "finally" (as they put it) got to play.   My sister arrived to join us, and brought with her a bunch of cake pops, so I've included that recipes below.  The challenge this week was to find eggplant that Claire likes. I didn't quite succeed, but I've included my favorite eggplant chutney recipe below anyway.

Chicken Adobo, Yellow Rice Pilaf, and
some roasted veggies on the side.

Chicken Adobo

You will not believe how tender and flavorful this chicken is.  The meat just falls off the bone. My kids loved pouring spoonfuls of the juice over their rice. I've heard this is good with pork, and if you wanted to do a vegetarian version, it would be good with tofu- just don't marinate it as long.

·     4-5 lbs. chicken thighs or drumsticks

·     1/2 cup white vinegar

·     1/2 cup soy sauce

·      4 cloves garlic, crushed

·      1 tsp. black peppercorns

·      3 bay leaves

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cover and marinate chicken for 1-3 hours. Bring to boil, then lower heat. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer until sauce is reduced and thickened, and chicken is tender, about 20 more minutes. Serve with steamed rice. 

We had not a single drumstick leftover.

Yellow Rice Pilaf
I have a confession.  I have never actually made rice in a stovetop pot.  I grew up with a rice cooker, and I've my own since college.  I cook all my rice and grains in that, including couscous, quinoa, etc- and they all turn out perfectly.  What I actually did was to put everything except the almonds and the parsley (which I stirred in at the end) in the rice cooker.  But here is the recipe for the stovetop method. 


3 c chicken broth (I used my leftover homemade)
1 handful of raisins
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 pinch saffron threads
1 1/2 c white rice
1/2 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup slivered almonds


Bring broth, raisins, turmeric, and saffron to a boil.  Stir in the rice, cover the pot, and let it simmer on low heat for 18 minutes.  When the rice is done, add the parsley and almonds and fluff. 

Eggplant Chutney
I first made this recipe when I was 15 years old, in high school. It sounded interesting to me, and growing up in the midwest, we didn't have a lot of exotic foods. So I tried it.  I don't remember how I managed to acquire fenugreek or cumin seeds- they didn't just have that at the local Shopping Center.  The chutney is very rich, and is great as a bruschetta topping. It's from The Africa News Cookbook African Cooking for Western Kitchens.  (see below)  Don't let the oil get too hot, or your garlic and other spices will burn, and it won't taste right.

2 lb. eggplant

1 tbsp. ginger, grated

1 tbsp. garlic, pounded

3/4 cup white vinegar

6 chili peppers, sliced lengthwise or 1-1/3 tbsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. fenugreek

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1/4 tsp. cumin seeds, pounded

1 tsp. turmeric

2 tbsp. sugar

1-1/3 tbsp. salt

Peel the eggplant and cut into one inch cubes. Cover the pieces with cold water in a bowl, and let them sit while you mix the ginger, garlic, vinegar and chilies and pound or blend them to a paste. Next, heat the oil in a pot, and stir in the fenugreek, mustard, cumin, turmeric, sugar and salt. When the mustard seeds stop sputtering, mix in the spice paste. Drain the eggplant, add it to the pot, and simmer until tender. Spoon into clean jars, cool and refrigerate. The chutney will keep for about a month.

Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
My husband's been hankering for apple pie lately because he bought one at a local bakery that was supposed to be one of the best in our area.  When we brought it home and cut into it, it became evident that they don't peel their apples.  Who doesn't peel their apples for apple pie? My sister sings the praises of her apple peeler and corer, but I just used a plain old fashioned knife while one of my toddlers tried to climb on my back.  I used pre-made pie crust to save time. I like the kind you unroll better than the ones in the tins, which always seem to crack (which is not a huge deal).  
Oh, also, I am kind of picky about the apples that I use in my pie.  I'll spare you my full-length apple rant.  The easiest ones to get year round are Granny Smith. Sometimes I will put one or two sweeter apples into the mix, but many eating apples do not hold up well during cooking, and I hate mushy apples.  Never ever even think about using a Red Delicious for, well, for anything really. 


Prepare pie crust as directed. (I like to prebake them for about 5 minutes.)

8 cups PEELED, cored, and thinly sliced apples

Me trying to peel and cut apples
with one of my happy helpers.

1/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar (I used mostly brown sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg (also a dash each of allspice, optional)
pinch salt
1 T lemon juice (optional)


Mix ingredients above in a large mixing bowl and pour into pie crust.  Top with crumb topping, recipe below.


1/2 c brown sugar, light or dark
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c flour
1/4 c butter, chilled (one stick)


Using either a pastry blender or your fingertips, mix the ingredients above until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Spread evenly over your pie, and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.
*You can wrap the edge with foil to keep it from browning too much.
*Bake it on a baking sheet so that if it bubbles over in a yummy way, your oven won't be a mess.

Yes, that's a pi plate. 3.14159665...
Those of you that know me shouldn't even have to ask.

Also, this is what happens when you don't have chilled butter
when you make the crumb topping.  Still yummy, though.

I had a roll of crescent roll dough in the fridge, and a little bit of filling to spare, so I made Apple Pie in a Blanket.  Just wrap about 1 T of apple pie filling in the dough.  Roll it up and bake it as directed, or until golden brown.  The kids REALLY loved these.  I may or may not have shoved one in my mouth while finishing up the dishes, and another one on my way out the door to work in the morning.  You can't prove anything, and there were no witnesses.






Working Person's Crock Pot Pot Roast
Claire is the expert on slow cooker recipes.  Her tip of the week:  do NOT open the lid to peek.  Every time you open the lid, you have to add 30 minutes onto the cooking time.   I made this ahead of time for tomorrow night's dinner.
3+ lb rump roast

The picture truly doesn't do it justice.

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can French onion soup
1 can Italian-style tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 leek finely diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 T Cognac
2 T red wine


Cook on low heat in a crock pot for 10 hours.  Serve with roasted potatoes or noodles, and salad and veggie on the side.  Leftover meat is great for minestrone (see last week's minestrone recipe).

*********

This was our lunch.  Lettuce wraps, borscht, and cake pops!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
These are so yummy.  The kung pao sauce can have a tiny kick to it, so be wary with kids.  Most of our kids like it anyway because they are so fun to eat.  The lettuce has a nice cooling effect.  You can make your own kung pao sauce and leave out the spice if you want.


1 1/2 lb ground chicken or turkey
10 mushrooms finely diced
2 cans water chestnuts finely diced
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup kung pao sauce 
dash white pepper
4 green onions finely chopped
1 head iceburg lettuce

Saute ground chicken.  Once cooked, add mushrooms and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.  Add water chestnuts, kung pao sauce, white pepper and diced green onions.  Slice lettuce in half.  Serve cool lettuce as a cup to hold the hot chicken.


*If the sauce is a little watery, you can thicken it by taking out 3-4 T liquid from the pot and mixing it with 2 T cornstarch, and stirring it back in with the chicken mixture.  It should start to thicken within a minute or so. 

Ukrainian Borscht, the real stuff

I am a huge borscht fan, and here's where I come down on several borscht debates.  It HAS to have beets, a lot of them. It has to have oxtail, or at least a handful of cubed beef.  Dill is a must- doesn't taste right without the dill.  And, absolutely sour cream. Some people use vinegar to make the borscht sour.  This doesn't taste right to me. I will tell you that I only used 2 beets for this particular batch- thought I had more, so it didn't turn out the beautiful red that it normally does.  This recipe was given to me by Grandma Nadia, a Ukrainian neighbor that was an amazing cook.  I wish I had more of her recipes. 


4-5 beets, peeled and grated (add last)

1/2 chopped onion

1/2 c diced carrots

1/2 c chopped mushrooms

1/2 c chopped parsley

1 small tomato, diced

1/2 c finely chopped cabbage

2 small potatoes, diced

2 tsp dill weed

8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 oxtails

salt to taste


Add everything to a pot, with enough water to give you the amount of broth you like. Add the beets last.  Add a dollop of sour cream for garnish.  Mix it in well and enjoy.

And last but not least....

Cake Pops

http://www.marthastewart.com/315587/cupcake-pops-and-bites

Here's what my sister had to say:  I used white cake. I had to finger shape them. I didn't have a cookie cutter. Most of the stuff is available at Michael's now, like the lollipops sticks, the candy melts, and the baggies. The cake and frosting and sprinkles you get at the grocery store. 

• 9-by-13-inch Chocolate Cake for Cupcake Pops
• 2 cups Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
• 1 package chocolate coating bark
• 1 package white coating bark or pink candy melts
• Sprinkles, for garnish
• Candy-coated chocolates, such as M&M's, for garnish

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Trim about 1/2 inch from the perimeter of the cake. Working in batches, crumble cake into the bowl of a food processor; process until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a large bowl and add frosting; blend together using the back of a spoon, until well combined, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Roll mixture into 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch balls; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with parchment-paper-lined aluminum foil. Transfer to refrigerator until chilled, about 2 hours or to a freezer for about 10 minutes.
3. Begin to shape balls into cupcakes by rolling balls first into logs. Fit logs into a 1 1/4-by-3/4-inch flower-shaped cookie cutter. Push cake mixture into the cutter halfway so that some of the cake mixture extends beyond the top of the cutter. Shape extended cake mixture into a cupcake-shaped top. Push cake from cutter to remove. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Transfer to freezer until chilled, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Remove cupcakes from freezer and dip the bottom of each cupcake into the chocolate; transfer, bottom-side up, to prepared baking sheet. To make lollipops, insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each cupcake. Let chocolate set, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Melt white chocolate or pink candy melts in heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate and place right-side up on prepared baking sheet or stick lollipop sticks into a Styrofoam square. Place a candy-coated chocolate in the center of each and top with sprinkles. Let dry completely.

Stuff We Like

Better than Bouillon is awesome.  
I converted Claire recently, and she thought we should mention it since we use it all the time in our recipes.  You just need about 1 tsp of it per cup of water.  The broth that it makes is flavorful and healthy, and there is no MSG.  (A lot of chicken broths have MSG in them- I hate that.)  In addition, if you don't need a whole can or box, you can just refrigerate the what's left in the jar for next time.  We get a huge jar at Costco for about $6-7, and it lasts a couple of months. You can get vegetarian and beef flavors, too.

This is now out of print,
but it's worth a look.
It's got a great recipe for
doro wat and quick injera bread.

This is what we used today,
but there are lots of other good brands.

             

Pi plate. This one is the closest I could find.

  

For tons of cute ideas, take a look at this.
Great for birthday parties!

Please leave a comment if you tried any of the recipes, or if you made it to the end of this post!

Verde Chicken in Red

Claire and both her boys were sick today, so instead of cooking with Claire, today, I cooked for Claire. Claire still managed to contribute chocolate chip cookies and homemade croutons, as well as a loaf of bread, so today's session still deserves its own entry.  Fortunately for me, my sister and her fiance came over to help with child wrangling and cooking. We finished all our dishes in about 2 1/2 hours, not including things like simmering time and tossing the salad before serving. Not too bad.  Several people have suggested that I add a recipe index on the side.  That should be coming soon. 

Pollo Rojo  (previously Verde Chicken)

Claire and I had decided on making this last week. She says that if she ever wrote a cookbook, this recipe would be in it. Since she was not here today, I was kind of on my own, but I already had all the ingredients so I went ahead and made it.  She forgot to tell me not to add the tomatoes listed in the original recipe, which is why my chicken turned out red and not at all green.  Hence, the new name.  The chicken is great served with tortillas and Cowboy Caviar (see below) on the first night.  The leftovers can be used the next night for chicken quesadillas.  If there are any leftovers after that, try making Mexican Chicken Soup.

2 T olive oil

1 medium chopped onion

4 cloves chopped garlic

4 large chicken breasts cut in half vertically

1 cup salsa verde

½ c. chicken broth

1 T chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 can diced tomatoes with juice (optional!)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in the pan.  Add the chicken and sprinkle with flour.   Let it brown, remove temporarily and saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add the chicken back to the pan, turn a few times.   Add the salsa verde, tomatoes, and broth.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 20 min.  Add more broth if necessary. Shred the chicken as it simmers.  Garnish with cilantro.

Cowboy Caviar

This recipe is from my co-worker Dawn.  It's amazing.  Don't let the shoepeg corn throw you.  It's just canned white corn. Although, for some reason, I picture long-toothed cartoon hillbillies wearing overalls and worn-out boots.  This is great as a fresh salsa, on burgers, with chips, or as a stand-alone side dish.  You can adjust the jalapeno pepper to taste.  Dawn uses 1 small pepper or 1/2 large pepper, and I omitted it for the kids.  It's better with at least a LITTLE jalapeno.

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

¼ tsp. pepper

¾ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 can black eyed peas – drain

1 can shoe peg corn – drain

1 bunch chopped cilantro (approx. ¾ cup)

1 bunch green onion (approx. ¾ cup)

Diced jalapeno pepper (to taste)

2 diced roma tomatoes

2 diced avocados (add right before serving)

Add all ingredients together and stir.  Allow to marinate for about 2-4 hours.  Add the avocado right before serving. 

Slow-cooked Cannellini Beans and Sausage

(adapted from Williams-Sonoma recipes online)

The original recipe is a little different.  It calls for beans soaked overnight, and whole kielbasa sausages. I wasn't prepared for this, so I used canned beans instead.  We also sliced the sausages and served it more as a stew/soup. I am also terrible with slow cookers- we started this in the slow cooker, but ran out of room.  After a couple of hours, I moved it to a large pot and finished the cooking there. It was delicious.  Serve with crusty bread.  It's a lot of ingredients, but mostly things that you probably already have in your pantry or fridge.

2 T olive oil

2 lbs. sausages (I used chicken kielbasa, with sundried tomatoes and spinach), sliced into 1 inch pieces, diagonally

1 large onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 Tbs tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Red pepper flakes, to taste

2 cups chicken stock + 2 cups of water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

3 cans cannellini beans, drained

1 can diced tomatoes, including liquid

1 c fresh breadcrumbs (better with homemade larger ones rather than the finely ground premade ones)

1 T butter, melted

1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Brown the sausage in a pan with the oil. Add the onions and garlic, cook until onions are soft.  At this point, transfer to a slow cooker.  Add tomato paste, stir.  Stir in the chicken stock, water, and spices.  Add the cannellini beans. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Stir in the red bell peppers and let it cook another 20-30 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 1 T olive oil, the melted butter, and salt and pepper.  Saute in a pan until crispy.  Take off the heat and stir in the parsley. 

Stir the chopped spinach into the stew until it's wilted.  Serve in a big bowl topped with bread crumbs, and a side of crusty bread.

In progress.  The breadcrumb topping finishes it off!

For lunch, I scavenged some things from the fridge and counter:  1/3 lb. ground turkey, 1 1/2 lemons, 1/4 red onion, and a handful of grape tomatoes. I came up with this Melange Pasta, which by definition has limitless possibilities, and served it with our favorite salad.

Melange Pasta

1/3 lb ground turkey

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 T chopped onion

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

salt and pepper

4 T olive oil

1/2 cup grape tomatoes

1/4 red onion, sliced thinly

juice and zest from 1 1/2 lemons (1 or 2 lemons okay too)

1/2 package cooked pasta (spaghetti)

1 cup chopped spinach

Toss the tomatoes and red onion slices with 1 T olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and broil for about 3 minutes on high until browned. 

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large saute pan. Add garlic and onions. Add the turkey, rosemary, sage, and salt & pepper.  Once cooked, add the cooked & drained pasta, the roasted tomatoes and onions, and the lemon juice and zest.  Toss with the rest of the olive oil and the spinach.  Add a little more lemon juice to taste.  

Our House Dressing

(approximate)

1/4 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup lemon juice (to taste)

1/4 tsp salt

Whisk it until emulsified.  My husband puts it into a small plastic container and shakes it.

Homemade Herbed Croutons

Homemade croutons are a mixed blessing.  They are awesome on salads or soups, but you have to make at least twice as many as you need, because it is impossible to not snack on them after they're ready.  Impossible. The following is an approximate recipe that we both use, although we both generally wing it.   These are also great over soup.

Stale bread (preferably sourdough)

1/3 c olive oil (depends on how much bread you have)

garlic powder

pinches of assorted spices (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, whatever)

salt and pepper

Toss cubed bread with olive oil and spices, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 350 for a bout 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Mini Sweet Peppers

This doesn't even need a recipe because they're so simple, but I made them, and they're delicious.  I just like to eat them plain but they would be great on a sandwich with chevre cheese and scallions. So, here you go.

10 sweet mini peppers

Drizzle olive oil

coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Trim the tops off the peppers, slice in half, and remove the ribs and seeds. Lay out on a baking pan and drizzle olive oil over the peppers.  Sprinkle salt and pepper. Broil on high, for about 4 minutes or until they are golden.  The baking sheet should be close to the top burner, about 4 inches or so.  

I dropped off salad, cannellini and sausage stew, and a loaf of bread for Claire and her family for dinner, only to find that she had been busy baking chocolate chip cookies, bread, and croutons.  (Crouton recipe above.)  I've included a link to the bread recipe, as well as posting it here.  Cookie recipe follows.  Wouldn't want to forget dessert!

No-Knead Bread Recipe 
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1 5/8 c water
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

One delicious 1½-pound loaf.

Original recipe at:    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's a pretty bold statement, but these are hard to resist.


1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
3 c white ap flour
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Place sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in kitchen aide mixing bowl. Mix 1 min.  Add dry ingr.  mix 30 sec and chocolate chips mix 15 seconds.  Drop rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake 375 for 10-12 min>  Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.

You can also make 1 batch and freeze half of the dough for later.

Please let us know if you try any of the recipes, and leave us a comment!