Saturday, October 31, 2020

Pumpkin Cookies

Makes 65 cookies

Ingredients 
2 1/2c all purpose flour
1 1/4c white whole wheat flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1 1/2t baking soda
3 1/2t cinnamon
1/2t nutmeg
1/2t cloves
3/4t salt

3/4c butter, softened 
1 1/2c white sugar
3/4c brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 15oz can mashed pumpkin
1 1/2t vanilla

1c chocolate chips

Glaze:
2c powdered sugar
4T milk
1T melted butter
1t vanilla extract
1t cinnamon


Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350°F 
2 Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
3 Cream together butter and sugars, add eggs until light and fluffy, then pumpkin and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes until mixture is well combined
4 Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until just combined
5  If wanting to do half glazed cookies and half chocolate chip, scoop out 30 cookies to bake plain, then add the 1 cup of chocolate chips to the remaining batter. If you are wanting to do an entire batch add in 2 cups of chocolate chips first
6 Bake for 15 minutes
7 Once cooled, mix together glaze until a pouring consistency and drizzle over plain cookies


Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Orange Chicken with Concentrated Sauce



This recipe was inspired by Eating Well’s Chicken Paillards with Blood Orange Pan Sauce. While I didn’t have any fresh oranges on hand I still wanted to try this recipe. I am obsessed with Cheesecake Factory’s strong orange sauce but hate out thick the breading is. So I took this a little more Asian and added in some new-found knowledge from my HelloFresh experience.

Orange Chicken with Concentrated Sauce

Served with Garlic-Ginger Rice and Sesame Green Beans
4-5 Servings


Ingredients:

Chicken:

1lb chicken breasts (about 3 large)
1 egg
1/4c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp True Orange shakers: Orange and Ginger mix
1 TB olive oil

Rice:

1½ c water
1 tsp Better than Bullion Chicken stock concentrate
1 tsp butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1c jasmine rice

Sauce:

3 TB frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp Better than Bullion Chicken stock concentrate
1 tsp ketchup
2 TB brown sugar
1/3 c warm water

1 TB scallion whites, thinly sliced
1 tsp butter
1 tangerine peeled and divided

Green Beans

8oz green beans, French cut
1/4c water
Sesame Oil
Salt and Pepper


Directions:

Butterfly chicken breasts and pound to 1/4” thick within a ZipLock bag. Add egg and mix around to cover evenly. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and Orange and Ginger mix in small bowl, then add to bag and toss to cover chicken evenly.

In small pot combine water, chicken stock, butter, garlic and ginger - bring to boil. Add rice then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes then remove from heat and keep covered to allow to steam. Fluff with fork before serving.

Set oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheet with oven-safe cooling rack.

In large frying pan, heat olive oil to medium-high. Fry chicken until both sides are evenly browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet and finish cooking until internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 8-10 minutes.

In small bowl, combine orange juice, chicken stock, ketchup, brown sugar, and warm water. To frying pan used for chicken, melt 1 tsp butter on medium heat and sauté scallion whites until tender, scraping off chicken bits as you go. Add sauce and tangerines, stirring them in to break down. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened.

In steaming bowl, add green beans and water. Microwave for 5 minutes. Drain water and toss with a drizzle of sesame oil and salt & pepper to taste.