Orange-scented stir-fry

I had to get creative to make a decent dinner in a hurry last night, so I made up a new stir-fry sauce. I liked it pretty well and will attempt to tell you what went into it.

Orange-Scented Stir-Fry

2 medium oranges
1/3 cup soy sauce (I used lite soy sauce which is lower in sodium)
1/4 tsp or so ground ginger
1 clove garlic minced or mashed (not sure how essential this one is, but it didn't detract)
crushed red pepper to whatever level of spiciness you like
1/4 cup or so water
1-2 tbsp corn starch
1 lb your choice of meat or 14 oz. tofu
5-6 cups sliced vegetables of your choice
canola or vegetable oil as needed
cooked rice

Remove zest from 1/2 to all of one of the oranges into a bowl large enough to accommodate your meat (don't skip the zest! It gave it the signature orange flavor that you're looking for that you can't get from juice alone). Juice both oranges into the same bowl and add soy sauce, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, and water, stirring to combine. Place sliced meat in the newly-formed marinade for half an hour or more in the refrigerator.

Stir-fry vegetables, remove from pan/wok and set aside. Remove meat from marinade with a slotted spoon and stir-fry it. After meat is cooked, return vegetables to the wok. Stir corn starch into the remaining marinade and then pour it into the wok as well. Allow everything to cook together for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens up and all remaining salmonella or e. coli is dead. Serve atop rice.

Not bad for a first try at this. The amount of soy sauce is something of a guess since I added more than that and thought it was too much. I'll definitely try this one again though.

Rosemary

Honey Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

I have a cookie obsession. I admit it openly and honestly...having thus admitted that, I feel the need to insert that I have begun trying to take a more healthy/wholesome spin on my cookie making. One very positive outcome of these attempts was the discovery of this cookie recipe, which was so soft and chewy I loved it as a cookie, but included so many healthy ingredients I justified it as being nearly a granola bar. In short; tasty. Unfortunately I don't remember where I found this recipe so I cannot give full credit where it is due, I am sorry! I think it was out of a Taste of Home cookbook? Perhaps?

Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Cookies

1 c butter (softened)
1/2 c molasses
1 1/2 c honey**
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
2 c whole wheat flower
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 c oats (the recipe notes that it is best with "old fashioned" oats...I used quick
oats and it turned out fine)
Whip the butter with the honey and molasses. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients. Bake for 10-13 minutes at 350.

**If you are using regular honey (vs granulated honey) let the dough stand for 2 hours before baking.

Fun additions: I tried 3 different variations of these cookies and liked all of them! I'll go through them now.

The recipe recommends 2 cups of chocolate chips, and it was good, but not my favorite. I really liked taking some of those wrapped caramels you get at the store and chopping them up and throwing it in with some chopped almonds, and in some of them I put white chocolate chips and in some of them I put regular chocolate chips and in some I only did the caramel and almonds. I think the ones with just caramel and almonds were my favorite. So go crazy! Have fun! Throw in some other things you think will be tasty.

So have your cookie and eat it too!

-Cayenne

Merry Christmas with Pomegranates on Top

Well, we hope everybody had a great Christmas. We sure did! Here's a picture of the carnage.

One new dish that we tried out was a lovely fruit salad (even if the pictures don't look so lovely, it tasted lovely). Cayenne found the recipe in the grocery store. We varied it slightly and this is our take on the recipe. Please note, the pictures don't do it justice.

Pomegranate Apple Salad

2 pomegranates seeds only (we had about 4 small pomegranates)

1 cup dried cherries

1 1/2 cups chopped roasted almonds

4 small apples cored and chopped

6 oz vanilla yogurt (about 3/4 cups)

1-2 tsp vanilla

1-2 cups cool whip

Mix the yogurt, vanilla and cool whip together. (Next time I'm going to try straight yogurt, but we didn't have enough to do that this time around.)

Mix together everything else. Fold in cool whip and yogurt mixture. Chill until service.

The original recipe called for raisins (ours were too hard and the cherries went very well with the salad), pecans, and instead of yogurt and cool whip it called for whipping cream, sugar and vanilla. 

Rosemary

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ok, so my last few recipe posts have been experimental and unfortunately have kinda been flops. I am feeling rather apologetic for having posted them since this is a blog that I am sure you have come to rely on for well-tested, quality, delicious recipes...so this recipe is my forgiveness plea. I'm pretty confident it will do the trick because it is quite possibly one of my favorite cookie recipes ever. I first tried these cookies when a dear girl brought them to church, and I have been in love ever since (I can't quite decide if I'm more in love with the cookies or with her for sharing the recipe). So here it is:

3/4 c butter
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
36 Andes mints (I am certain you could substitute some other form of chocolately mint)

In a large pan over low heat, mix butter, sugar, and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted , remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

At high speed, beat in eggs (one at a time if you want to do it exactly like the instructions say). Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Chill dough roughly one hour.

Roll dough into balls and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. While the cookies are baking, start unwrapping those mints. When cookies are brought out of the oven place a mint on top of each cookie. Let melt for no more then 5 minutes and then spread it out. Eat and enjoy!

*NOTE: I tried to put peanut butter chips on top of a couple of my cookies with the last batch I made to see how tasty that was and although they weren't as spreadable it still tasted pretty good. So, feel free to play with the type of melted top you like if you aren't partial to mint (which is still my favorite for on top).

-Cayenne

Thanksgiving: The Round-up of Recipes

So before I forget and suddenly it's next year and I'm going "what was that sweet potato recipe that turned out so well?" and "was it this pumpkin pie recipe or that one that didn't turn out great?" I'm going to write them down now (or link to them, as the case may be).

Orange-Nut Sweet Potatoes

Source: Healthy Cooking Magazine
6 Servings

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in orange juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add butter and orange peel; stir until butter is melted.

Drain sweet potatoes; place in a serving dish. Add orange juice mixture and gently stir to coat. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Comments: I love this! It's not overly sweet and the orange gives it some awesome flavor. I think I found it and made it a couple of years ago and then lost it, but I think this is now my go-to recipe. I cooked it up the night before and warmed it up in the oven and it was delish.


Green Bean Casserole, Pioneer Woman-style (ie it includes bacon and cream). Also major yum. I had some smoked bacon gouda on hand that I tossed in as well, and our crunchy topping was corn flakes mixed with breadcrumbs.

Pecan Pie - also a hat tip to Pioneer Woman - this pie was awesome.

Pumpkin pie - full disclosure: I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie. So I was not overly impressed by the pie. The pumpkin pie aficionado in our house said he wasn't a fan of the streusel topping, but the rest was good.

Ham - I made a glaze with apple cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, cloves, allspice, orange zest, nutmeg, and cardamom. Hmm...that sounds good still, I think I'm going to go grab another piece of that.

Stuffing - I cooked up some sausage with celery and onions, used turkey broth (made from the innards/neck simmered with onion and celery), and added chopped craisins, just to a regular box mix of stuffing. Ever since I had sausage stuffing at a potluck, I've been hooked. I think it's way better than regular stuffing.

I didn't do anything spiffy with the turkey or mashed potatoes, and I'll leave it to nutmeg to post her oatmeal/whole wheat rolls recipe.

-Thyme

Yummy, yummy dip

There are two versions of this dip. There is the recipe as it was given to me (which is really good). And then there is the version I made, which was also quite yummy. It also seems pretty versatile - you can toss in whatever other add-ins you like.

Version 1:

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 small can diced green chiles
8 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded

Beat cream cheese and sour cream together until creamy, mix in other ingredients. Bake in bread bowl or casserole-type dish at 300 (or 320 depending on how hot your oven runs) until warm and slightly melted. Eat with crackers, bread, veggies, whatever floats your boat.

Version 2: (or how I actually made it)

1 8 oz package neufchatel (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 c. sour cream (the "lite" kind)
5 small roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
4 oz sharp cheddar
3 oz mild cheddar
1 oz smoked bacon gouda (totally optional)
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
black pepper to taste

Follow the rest of the directions. Obviously I added a few extra/different things to compensate for the fact that I didn't have enough sharp cheddar or any diced chiles (do you know how expensive those suckers are out here! it's insane!)

I took the dip to work and ate it with triscuits. Yum.


-Thyme

Pork Chops in apple sauce

No, that's not pork chops with applesauce, but with an apple sauce. They were on sale at the local latin market, so I decided to try - I think I've maybe cooked pork chops once before, so it was a bit of an adventure. So, here's what I did

4 pork chops
salt and pepper
oil
apples, sliced
apple butter
worcestershire sauce
garlic
chicken broth

Generous salt and pepper the pork chops (I used kosher salt). Fry them briefly in a skillet with a small amount of oil, a minute or two on each side so that they're seared. Remove them from the pan.

Combine about 1/3 cup apple butter, a tablespoon of wooster sauce, 1-2 cloves garlic, minced, and some more pepper.

Toss in the apples and saute them until they are just barely starting to soften. Add some chicken broth and loosen all the yummy carmelized gunk on the bottom of the skillet. Return the pork chops to the skillet, pour the sauce on top of the chops, and add some chicken broth (you can make it as thick or as liquidy as you'd like). Cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the pork is done all the way through and the sauce has reduced a bit. The apples were all mushy and falling apart, but it worked so well with the pork.

We had this with a quinoa pilaf and green beans.

-Thyme