Taco Chicken

Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs
A couple of juicy limes
A splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.

Grill about 7 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn’t lose its juiciness. You can either eat the chicken as it is, maybe with Mexican rice and beans, or use slice it up and use it as you would taco meat. Can also use in Baked Creamy Taquitos

Three other ways that this chicken can be cooked:

1 -Place your chicken on a broiler pan, or a foil-lined baking sheet. To avoid burning, I would set the broiler temp to medium (if you have that option) or move the chicken down a rack so it's not right below the heating element. Broil for 5-6 minutes on each side, although timing will depend on the thickness.

2 - Heat up a skillet and saute the chicken that way.

3 -  Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker at the same time and cooked it all on low for 3-4 hours.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

This recipe is from Ourbestbites.com.

*Makes 4-6 meal-sized servings and 6-8 side-dish or party-sized servings.

SALAD:

4 c. chopped Romaine Lettuce
2 c. chopped grilled chicken (you could use Taco Chicken if you want)
1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, washed
1/3 c. vertically-sliced red onions
1 avocado, cubed
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 3/4 oz. can corn, rinsed and drained Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

DRESSING:

DRESSING:
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 c. light sour cream
1 1/2 + tsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chilies
1 tsp. chili powder
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
¼ tsp. salt

OPTIONAL:
Tortilla Strips

Make sure all salad ingredients that need to be washed or rinsed have been. Combine lettuce, chicken, beans, corn, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl and gently mix with your hands (which you have obviously and thoroughly washed, of course! :) ). Set aside.
Mix dressing ingredients. I say to start with 1 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and then go from there, probably 1/4-1/2 tsp. at a time. If you're serving this for a crowd, it's probably better to err on the side of not spicy enough rather than too spicy, but if you're just making it for your family and you have taste buds of steel, have at it. You could even chop up one of the chilies and toss it in there if you're feeling super-brave. Then taste the dressing and you'll know what heaven tastes like. Set dressing aside.

If you're making tortilla strips, fry those puppies up now. I didn't make them here because I'm trying my darndest not to be naughty nutritionally, but if I make this salad for some kind of festivity, I always make the tortilla strips. Allow them to cool.

When you're ready to serve, add avocado, tortilla strips, and dressing. Gently combine with your hands and serve.

Olive Garden Breadsticks

Recipe from www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 1 hour
Yield: 14 breadsticks

Dough:
1 1/2 C hot water
2 T sugar
1 T salt
2 T butter, softened
4-5 C flour
1 T yeast

Topping:
3 T butter melted
sea salt
1/4 t garlic powder


1. Turn your tap water to hot. It should feel hot, but not so hot that it's uncomfortable to touch.
2. Fill up your handy measuring device with 1 1/2 C hot water.
3. Pour the water into your stand mixer. Add the sugar, salt and the softened butter.
4. Pour in about 2 cups of flour.
5. Using the paddle handle start to mix the dough on low.
6. Add the yeast.
7. Add the rest of the flour about a half cup at a time, until the dough scrapes the sides of the bowl clean.
8. Mix the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed. Until elastic-ey.
And who know if elastic-ey is even a word! If you were to touch it, it should spring back just a bit. That is what you want!
9. Spray your counter top and your hands with cooking spray. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and roll it into a long log on your counter top.
10. Spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut the dough into 12-14 pieces. You can see that I cut it into 12 here....I actually ended up cutting parts off some of the bigger pieces and ended up with 14 breadsticks total.
11. Roll the pieces into long snakes. "Whoa." you might be thinking. "That looks like some kind of Pinocchio length breadstick, or somethin!" Don't worry. Once you set them in the pan, they will shrink a bit. It will work out well for you if you roll them out long....Pinocchio long.
12. Spray 2 large cookie sheets with cooking spray, and lay the breadsticks out leaveing about 2 inches between each one.
13. Place the pans in your oven with the temprature turned to 170. Let them rise for about 15 minutes, or until doubled in size.
14. Once the breadsticks have risen, remove them from the oven. Brush them with the 1 1/2 T of the melted butter and sprinkle them with the sea salt.
16. Return them to the oven and turn the heat to 400 degrees. Your dough will rise a bit more as the oven temprature increases. Once it has hit 400 degrees the breadsticks should cook for about 12 -15 minutes, or until golden brown. Half way thought the baking period open up your oven and switch the bottom pan to the top, and the top to the bottom. This will ensure they cook evenly.
17. While the breadsticks are baking combine the rest of the melted butter with 1/4 t garlic powder.
18. When the breadsticks are golden brown, remove them from the oven and brush them with the melted butter/garlic mixture.
That's it! Serve these babies hot from the oven. You won't regret it!

Homemade Maple Syrup

I've always wanted to try to make syrup.  I hope this recipe from melskitchencafe.com tastes yummy.  Then we never have to worry about if we have enough syrup for dinner.....oh oops, uhh.....I mean.... breakfast.  Okay, who are we kidding, we hardily ever have breakfast for breakfast.  Its always a quick and easy dinner for us.  I don't think my daughter even knows most people eat pancakes and waffles for breakfast.  oh well.  I think I will try this in small batch first.  I don't we would use that much in 2 months either.

*Makes about 10 cups (2 1/2 quarts) of syrup

8 cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

4 cups water

2 teaspoons pure maple extract

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a large 5-6 quart pot, combine the sugars, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to low so the mixture gently simmers. Cover the pot and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 20 minutes before stirring in the maple and vanilla extracts. Let the syrup cool in the pot for another 40 minutes, or so, stirring occasionally, before filling jars/containers. Once the containers are filled, let them cool to room temperature uncovered.

Store covered in jars or other containers in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2 months in the refrigerator. Gently reheat before serving, if desired.

*Notes from Mel: 

I like to use pure maple extract because the additives are minimal (I think it has caramel coloring in it and that's it) but if you can't find it, you can use the artificial Mapleine extract from the store with similar results.

I’ve had the same issue with crystallization now and again but for me, it only happens when there is just a bit of syrup left in the jar. When I make large batches of this syrup, I let the syrup cool in the pot for about an hour before pouring into mason jars. Then, I leave the mason jars uncovered until the syrup has cooled completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator. I’ve never had an issue with the syrup crystallizing that way. The only times I’ve gotten the sugary crystals is when there is only an inch of syrup in the quart sized mason jar and then sometimes I get sugary layer. Also, I make an effort to pour the syrup that I want warmed up into a separate liquid measure. And if there are leftovers of that warmed syrup, I don’t readd it to the syrup in the mason jar until it is completely cooled. I noticed one time when I warmed up all the syrup in the jar at once that when I refrigerated it again, it formed a crusty, sugary shell. Hope that helps a little bit!

REVIEW:  I thought this good but not wow.  I think it was missing a little flavoring or something.  However, I do like the buttery flavor of Mrs. Butterworth.  But I will stick with this recipe instead of buying the store kind.  Also, I only made a quarter of this recipe because I wasn't sure I wanted to make that much at first and I don't think we would go through that much in a 2 months!

Ciabatta Bread

Recipe from melskitchencafe.com

Mel has included pictures for every step of the way on her blog.

*Note: this dough requires a "biga" or a starter to be made the night before so plan ahead! It takes mere seconds to stir together but you don't want to skimp on this step - it is important for the flavor and outcome of the dough. Also, if you don't have a scale to weigh the flour, take care to measure with a light hand as you don't want the starter or dough overfloured.

*Makes two loaves of ciabatta bread

Overnight starter:

1 1/2 cups (6 ¼ ounces) unbleached or regular all-purpose flour

1 cup cool water

1/16 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:

all of the starter (from above)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 cups (6 ¼ ounces) unbleached or regular all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Topping for Garlic Bread:

1 medium head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled (about 15 medium cloves) and finely minced

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/3 cup olive oil

pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of salt

1 cup (4 oz.) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

snipped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

For the starter: Mix the starter ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Cover the starter and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for up to 15 hours. It will become bubbly and puffy.

For the bread: Place all of the dough ingredients, including the starter, into the bowl of your mixer and beat at medium speed, using the flat/paddle beater, for 7 minutes (scraping the bowl as needed). As it starts to mix, it will be very wet and sticky. After mixing for 7 minutes, the dough will be smooth, soft, shiny, and elastic. Alternatively, knead the dough ingredients in your bread machine using the dough cycle.

Using greased or lightly oiled hands, transfer the dough to a greased bowl or other rising container, cover it, and let it rise for 2 hours, deflating it halfway through, and then recovering and letting it rise another hour. If you're using a bread machine, allow it to rise for an additional hour after the dough cycle has ended.

Lightly grease your work surface/counter, and a half-sheet baking pan (18" x 13") or similar large baking sheet or line it with parchment or a silpat liner. Grease your hands, as well.

Very gently turn the dough out of the bowl onto your work surface; you don't want to deflate it. It'll lose a bit of volume, but don't actively punch it down. Using a bowl scraper, bench knife, or your fingers, divide the dough in half. You should have two fat logs, each about 10" long x 4" wide.

Handling the dough gently, transfer each piece to the baking sheet, laying them down crosswise on the sheet. Position them about 2 1/2" from the edge of the pan, leaving about 4" between them. Lightly cover the dough with heavily oiled plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. Midway through, gently but firmly dimple the dough with your fingers, making fairly deep pockets. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Spritz the risen loaves with lukewarm water. You'll see that the dimples have filled in somewhat, but haven't entirely disappeared. Bake the loaves until they are golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

To make garlic bread: Prepare the topping by combining the minced garlic cloves, melted butter, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Cut the loaves in half lengthwise, like you're going to make giant sandwiches. Spread the cut halves with the garlic mixture. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and the edges of the bread are starting to brown. Remove the bread from the oven, and sprinkle it immediately with the grated Parmesan and parsley, if desired. Cut in crosswise slices to serve.

Mexican Rice

This recipe from melskitchencafe.com.  Sounds yummy, but I will have to change a few things so the whole family might possibly eat it.  Like use less cloves of garlic (like 1 or even just garlic powder)  and maybe substitute parsley for the cilantro.  Also, I usually use brown rice instead of white rice.

*Serves 4-6

1 cup of long grain white rice

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup of tomato paste

1 tablespoon of lime juice, from about 1 lime

1/2 cup of freshly chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons cumin

Salt to taste

In a medium-sized pot, add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer for 17-20 minutes. Remove from heat and keep the pot covered for 5 more minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions in the hot oil for 10 minutes, until translucent and starting to brown. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato paste and cumin and cook for another minute or two. Mix in hot, cooked rice, lime juice and cilantro. Mix until well combined. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately.

Snickerdoodles

Okay I already have a recipe for snickerdoodles but uses shortening and I'm trying to get away from using partially hydrogenated oils.  This recipe from jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com uses all butter and adds baking powder, less salt, tad bit more flour.  Also the coating is at different ratios also.  Whenever I make my recipe with all butter, they don't turn out quite right, so I'm hoping with these changes I will be making yummy snickerdoodles again!

Cookie Dough:
1 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
3 C flour
2 t cream of tartar
1 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/8 t salt

Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
3 T sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon
 

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes folks.  Add the eggs and cream for about 2 minutes more. This is a really important step. Creaming the dough at this point will give you soft chewy cookies later on in the game. 
2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add it to your creamed mixture. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
3. In a small bowl mix together the cinnamon sugar coating. Roll the dough into balls and roll it around in the coating.
4. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Don't set them too close to each other. You want them to have room to spread out and not have to touch each other while they bake.
5. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. You only want to bake them until the outsides crack. Then take them out and let them finish cooking on the hot cookie sheet.  Yields 48 cookies.  Enjoy!

REVIEW:  I made these tonight and they were yum!  I have found my new snickerdoodles recipe!

Fresh Strawberry Limeade

From our ourbestbites.com


1 tall glass
Lots of ice
Sprite (or Diet Sprite…or Ginger Ale if you’re feeling wild)
1 1/2 limes
3-4 tablespoons Strawberry Sauce

Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the glass over the ice. Fill the glass about halfway with Sprite. Add 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry sauce. Top the glass off with Sprite and add more strawberry sauce if desired. Garnish with lime wedges (which you can also squeeze into the glass before drinking. Definitely best when served with a straw.

Strawberry Sauce

From my favorite food blog, ourbestbites.com.

1 pint strawberries

1/3 c. white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract (my favorite) or vanilla extract

Wash strawberries and remove stems. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can roughly chop the berries.

Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.

After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.


Our Best Bites' ideas for what to do with it:


–Make banana splits with this and Sara’s hot fudge sauce
–Drizzle over plain ol‘ cheesecake
–Spoon some over this ice cream, with or without the cinnamon (depending on how brave you’re feeling)
–I’m envisioning this sauce atop a pizzookie with sugar cookie dough and lemon ice cream
–My proudest use of strawberry sauce: mix
a couple of tablespoons (depending on the size of the glass and your own personal taste) with this fresh-squeezed lemonade for strawberry lemonade. So so so so good…
–Chocolate waffles, anyone? If that’s not your thing, you could put them on your favorite French toast, waffles, or pancakes. Speaking of French Toast- try this one!
–Drizzle over angel food cake and add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.