Oven BBQ Pork Slices

OVEN BBQ PORK SLICES

Printed from COOKS.COM

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3 lbs. boned loin pork in 1 piece
1/2 c. soy sauce
4 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. oregano
1 onion, chopped

1. Split meat lengthwise to half thickness, combine other ingredients in shallow bowl. Add meat, marinate covered 4 hours turning occasionally.

2. Drain meat and place it in shallow roasting pan. Roast at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours basting with marinate occasionally. Remove from pan and cool. To serve cut diagonal thin slice or freeze wrap in foil, then reheat at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with toothpicks and Chinese mustard.

killer apple pie with cornmeal crust and caramel brandy sauce

Double Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust (the crust is great!)
I didn’t have all the ingredients for this, but I’ll tell you what I substituted and that it turned out well. I’d like to make it with all the right ingredients though

2 ¼ lbs Granny Smith Apples
2 ¼ lbs Braeburn apples
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp apple jelly (I didn’t have this, so I omitted it)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
Cornmeal crust dough
wax paper
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp. sugar
brandy caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 425. peel and core apples; cut into ½ inch thick wedges. place apples in a large bowl. stir in next 7 ingredients. let stand 30 minutes, gently stirring occasionally.

place 1 cornmeal crust dough disk on a lightly floured piece of wax paper; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. top with another sheet of wax paper. roll dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch and 11 inches wide

remove and discard top sheet of wax paper. starting at edge, wrap dough around rolling pin, separating dough from wax paper. place rolling pin over pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate. gently press dough into pie plate.

stir apple mixture. reserve 1 tbsp juices. spoon apples into crust, packing tightly and mounding in the center. pour remaining juices in bowl over apples. sprinkle apples with 3 tbsp sugar; dot with butter.

roll remaining corn meal dough disk and place dough over filling; fold edges under; sealing to bottom crust and crimp. brush top of pie, excluding the edges lightly with reserved 1 tbsp juices from apples. sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar. place pie on jelly roll pan. cut 4-5 slits on top of pie for steam to escape.

bake at 425 on lower oven rack 15 minutes. reduce oven temp to 350; transfer pie to middle rack and bake 35 minutes. cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning and bake 30 more minutes or until juices are bubbly and thick, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with long wooden pick through slits in crust. (I had to bake mine about another 20-30 minutes after the recommended time) cool 1 ½- 2 hours on a wire rack. Serve with brandy-caramel sauce ( I wanted to make this but didn’t have the ingredients, so hopefully next time....)

Cornmeal crust

2 1/3 cup flour
¼ cup plain yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
¾ cup cold butter cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup chilled shortening
8-10 Tbsp chilled apple cider (I didn’t have this so I used 4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and 5 Tbsp water and it was fine although I’d like to try it the right way)
stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. cut butter and shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles small peas. drizzle 1Tbsp apple cider along edge of mixture in bowl. using a fork, gently toss a small amount of flour mixture into cider just until dry ingredients are moistened. repeat procedure with remaining liquid. Gently gather dough into two flat disks. wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1-24 hours.

brandy caramel sauce

1 cup whipping cream
1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp -1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp brandy (can be substituted with cider)
1 tsp vanilla

bring whipping cream to a light boil in a large saucepan over medium heat; stirring occasionally. add sugar and cook stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. remove from heat stir in butter, brandy and vanilla. let cool 10 minutes.

cafe con leche custard cups

something else I haven't made yet, but think sounds good and will someday. Would be fun to have for a girl party at your house!

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 (14 oz) can fat free sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup thawed reduced fat whipped topping
garnishes: chopped and whole chocolate covered espresso beans, shortbread cookies

combine flour and salt in a 2 qt heavy nonaluminum saucepan. whisk in milk and next 3 ingredients, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10-12 minutes or until thickened. remove from heat, stir in vanilla.

2. fill a large bowl with ice; place pan in ice, and whisk custard occasionally until completely cool (about 30 min)
3. spoon 1/2 cup custard into each of 8 (5 oz) cups or glasses. top with 1-2 Tbsp whipped topping, fill completely and scrap top with a knife to level the whipped topping. Garnish, if desired.

Caribbean Black Bean Soup

I haven't made this yet, but it looks good.

1/2 cup diced onion
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 (14 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 lb chicken breast tenders
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
1/2 tsp salt
toppings: diced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro

1. saute onion and next 4 ingredients in hot oil in a dutch oven over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender and fragrant. add garlic, cook 1 minute.

2. stir in tomatoes and next 4 ingredients until well blended. Stir in chicken. cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 2 hours. Shred chicken with two forks in dutch oven. Add black beans, and cook 10 more minutes. stir in salt.

Peppered Beef Soup

Ok, so it's time I finally posted again! you've been going crazy with the posts! thanks!! I needed some ideas. I have not felt like looking up new recipes lately, So, this will be fun! Anyway, here's a recipe from Southern LIving magazine that I made tonight. I didn't have any beer and I thought I had the beef broth substitute, but then found out that I didn't, so I just made some beef soup base with water; I guess it's the same thing as the bouillon, but o well. it was good and Darin said to put it into the rotation! I would also add more of the veggies bc there was a lot of beef in it and I only used a 2 pound hunk of meat instead of the 4 pounds it calls for. This is another recipe, like one that you posted, that will probably only work with beef, but is worth it. I used tri tip roast bc I forgot what kind of meat it called for when I was at the store :) I also skipped the cooking in hot oil in a dutch oven bc I was lazy and don't like the smell it leaves in the house afterwards) NOTE this is a slow cooker recipe, so premeditate it!

1 (4 lb) sirloin tip beef roast
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp oil
1 medium size red onion, thinly sliced ( I used yellow)
6 garlic cloves, minced ( I used 4 bc I used less meat)
2 large baking potatoes, diced
1 (16 oz) package of baby carrots ( I used regular and cut them into baby size bc they're cheaper)
2 (12 oz) bottles lager beer (or 3 cups low sodium beef broth)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 Tbsp beef bouillon granules
1 1/2- 3 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 bay leaves
salt to taste

1 Rinse roast and pat dry, cut a 1 inch deep cavity in the shape of an "x" on top of roast (do not cut all the way through the roast) dredge in all purpose flour; shake off excess.
2. cook roast in hot oil in a dutch oven (what is this anyway?) over medium high heat 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
3. place roast in a 6 qt. slow cooker. stuff cavity with sliced red onion and minced garlic; top roast with potatoes and carrots. Pour beer, balsamic vinegar, and worcestershire sauce into slow cooker. sprinkle with parsley, bouillon, and pepper. Add bay leaves to liquid in slow cooker.
4. cover and cook on Low for 7-8 hours or until fork tender. shred roast using 2 forks. season with salt to taste. serve in toasted bread bowls, if desired.

I just made some bread in the bread machine for dipping. It was good. the bowls would be good too. This is great for leaving all day if you have to work or something or don't feel like making a dinner at night.

Quick BBQ Chicken

i don't know why they call this BBQ chicken, b/c it isn't. but you can grill it, and it is very delicious.

1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp pepper
2 bone in chicken breast halves

1. preheat grill
2. combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. loosen skin from chicken by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. rub spice mixture evently under skin over meat. place chicken, breast side down on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. grill until done.

of course i used regular skinless, boneless chicken breasts b/c i don't like the bone in or the skinned kind. you always end up throwing the skins away anyway, and then you have to eat around the bone. so i did it with just the prepackaged kind. they didn't take long to grill, just like other chicken breasts. it was kinda of a mediterranean taste to it. i really liked it. chicken thighs might be good too b/c they would be a bit juicier.

Dinner this Week

Italian Herb Kebabs

from cooking light

1/2 c packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 c fresh parsley leaves
2 tbspn fresh lemon juice
2 tbspn water
1 garlic clove
4 tsp olive oil
some chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces (the recipe calls for shrimp or scallops but those are expensive so i am making it with chicken)
1 medium zucchini, cut into 20 slices
salt/pepper

1. prepare grill
2. place first 6 ingredients in a blender, add 2 tsp olive oil. process until smooth. transfer basil mixture to a bowl. add chicken and toss well to coat. let stand at room temp at least 15 minutes.
3. thread marinated chicken and zucchini slices alternately onto skewers. drizzle kebabs with remaining olive oil. place on grill coated with cooking spray if needed. grill on each side until done. sprinkle evenly with salt/pepper.



it suggests making the meal with these as a side:

tomato bruschetta
grill 4 slices country style sourdough bread 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted (you could also just use a toaster with some yummy artisan bread)
remove bread from grill, rub one side of each bread slice with cut sides of a halved garlic clove. combine 3/4 c chopped tomato, 2 tbspn chopped fresh basil, 1 tbspn balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp olive oil, and 1/4 tsp salt. top each bread slice with 3 tbspn bread mixture.


sounds really good!

Five Layer Bars

for a super sweet bar, make these. they are delicious, but very sweet! i had some leftover sweet condensed milk in the fridge so i went looking for a recipe to use it in.


Five Layer Bar Mix:

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butterscotch morsels
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

for a christmas idea: In a decorative jar, layer pecans, butterscotch morsels, coconut, and chocolate morsels. Spoon graham cracker crumbs into a small plastic or cellophane bag and place on top of the layers.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle remaining ingredients over crumb mixture. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the layers. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

Using up Garden Tomatoes

i'm making this tonight....





Herb Stuffed Tomatoes
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Sunday Suppers


5 beefsteak tomatoes
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
3/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 cup grated provolone
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon butter, softened
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the tomatoes in half, horizontally. Use a small spoon to gently hollow out the inside of the tomatoes, discarding the seeds and reserving the pulp and being careful not to puncture the outer shell. Chop the reserved pulp and put in a medium bowl. Add the parsley, bread crumbs, cheese, and pepper and mix gently to combine. Place the tomato halves in a buttered casserole dish, and fill with the bread crumb mixture. Drizzle the top of the tomatoes with olive oil. Bake until the tops are browned, about 20 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

this recipe is in the oven right now. so it's not rated yet, but it comes from Paula Deen. Have you ever seen her show on the Food Network? She's from somewhere deep south, and she's pretty funny b/c of it. anyway, anything she makes is extremely fattening and usually extremely good.

Zucchini Bread
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show: Paula's Home Cooking
Episode: Weekend House Guest
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.



i sprinkled chocolate chips on top of one. i have troubles getting my zucchini loaves to come out of the pan whole. they always stick to the bottom of the pan. this time i put extra oil in the bottom of the pan so hopefully it will all come out.

Steak Panzanella

This recipe is from Cooking Light. I don't like to use beef/steak b/c of the environmental costs of raising cattle, but the steak was really the best meat to add to this salad. this is a classic italian bread salad recipe. also uses up garden tomatoes.

1/2 pound day old ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped tomato
1 cup coarsely chopped english cucumber
1/2 c coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/2 c vertically sliced red onion
1/2 c julienne cut bottled roasted red bell peppers
1 1/2 tsp capers (i skipped this, i don't like capers. i think they are silly)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tbspn sherry vinegar (i used some sherry cooking wine and red wine vinegar since i didn't have this exactly)
1 tbspn olive oil
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c loosely packed arugula (i used spinach, it was cheaper)
Garlic rubbed Flank steak cut into 1 inch slices ( recipe for this : 1 two-pound flank steak, salt, pepper, 2 garlic cloves minced. rub steak evenly with salt, pepper, and garlic. grill till desired doneness.)

1. preheat oven to 400. arrange bread cubes in a single layer on baking sheet. bake at 400 for 8 minutes or until toasted.

2. combine tomato and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl. combine vinegar, oil, sugar, black pepper and salt. add vinegar mixture to tomato mixture, toss well. let stand for 1 hour (orhowever long)

3. add bread cubes, arugula, and garlic rubbed flank stead to tomato mixture, toss gently to coat. serve immediately.


*this will be one of my alltime favorites. it was so good. a couple side notes: i don't know what flank steak is. i looked at the grocery store and nothing said "flank steak". i ended up getting something sirloin i think, it wasn't too expensive which is fine for this since it is going into a salad.

also, do you use freshly ground black pepper? b/c if you don't, it's time to start. i keep a pepper mill right by the stove now and when a recipe calls for pepper i grind it directly into the dish. the flavor and spice of freshly ground pepper is 100 times better than something in a spice tin. i am thinking about using kosher salt next b/c everything i read about it says it tastes better and is better for seasoning. right now i use something from the great salt lake that also has some red bits in it. supposedly just buying morton's salt in the blue container with the umbrella girl on it isn't as good for you and doesn't have the same flavor. it's something to consider.

Brunch Casserole

this is from rachel ray's magazine and oh my goodness is it ever great! i just made it this morning before a night shift and it was very satisfying. i used chives and tomatoes from my garden.


ingredients:
4-6 slices bread, crust discarded, cut into 1 inch pieces, about 4 cups. (i used a couple days old ciabatta bread and left the crust on which i think made the texture better)
8 oz ham (i used a few slices of bacon here instead)
2 1/2 c cheese
3 tbspn chives
6 eggs
1/2 c milk
salt/pepper
2 plum tomatoes, sliced


1. preheat oven to 350. grease 2 qt baking dish (i used a 2 1/2 qt corningware but it was too deep. you definitely need the 2 qt space, but i recommend using a long and shallow dish rather than a deep dish)

2. layer bread, ham/bacon, 2 c cheese, and 2 tbspn chives into dish

3. whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. pour into dish on top of other ingredients. top with sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with chives and cheese (i ran out of cheese so i used some parmesian on the top and it was delicious)

4. bake 30 minutes ( my deeper dish took a lot longer)

this really was delicious! it tasted like we had gone out to a restaurant! you could substitute the ham/bacon layer with a layer of tomatoes if you wanted.

Honey mustard Chicken

i am marinating this right now and Eric will grill it outside tonight.

marinade:
3 tbspn spicy brown mustard (i just used whatever i had in the fridge)
3 tbspn honey
2 tbspn olive oil
juice of 1 lime

*combine in resealable plastic bag. add chicken and let marinate at room temp 20 minutes or in the fridge for a while. it says to use 8 skinless chicken thighs. i just used some breast meat we had. after it marinates, just grill it up. i don't know how much i'll like it. honey mustard always sounds good and then i'm never a big fan. so we'll see. the magazine (rachel rays) suggest serving it with potato wedges. you combine potatoes and enough salted water to cover and bring to a boil. cook potatoes 20 minutes then drain and let cool slightly. slice the potatoes lengthwise into 1 inch wedges. transfer to a bowl and gently toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. add the potatoes to the grill, cover and cook 10 minutes each side.

this is supposed to be a cheaper dinner. it says you can make the whole thing for $10, but it's actually cheaper cuz you have most of the ingredients at home already. i like grilling potatoes that way. it's really yummy. you can squeeze an extra lime over the top of the chicken and the taters.

Baking Inside and outside

Even though it's so hot outside, i couldn't resist baking a few things. but that's also why i baked a FEW things at once, that way i only bake the inside of my house once instead of a few times.

Rocky Road Brownies **these are phenominal**

1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 bag semisweet choco chips
1/2 c gran sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c flour
1 c miniture marshmallows
1/2 c nuts

1. preheat oven to 350. butter an 8 inch square pan

2. in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, combine butter and 1 cup chocolate chips. heat, stirring occasionally just until melted.

3. remove mixture from heat. stir in sugars and salt, then eggs, and finally flour, stirring just until combined. spread batter evenly in prepared pan. bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean about 30 to 35 minutes.

4. remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining choco chips, then marshmallows and nuts. bake until chocolate is hiny and marshmallows are puffed, about 5 minutes (i like to make the marshmallows golden to taste more roasted which takes about 10 extra minutes, i haven't noticed the brownie being burned so i guess the extra time is okay). remove from oven and cool completely. yum!!!



Banana Cupcakes with Honey-cinnamon frosting

1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1 1/2 c mashed bananas (about 4)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
Honey cinnamon frosting (to follow)

1. preheat oven to 350. line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. in medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. make a well in the center of the flour mixture. in well combine butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). spoon batter into muffin cups.

3. bake until toothpick comes out clean 25-30 minutes. remove and cool on wire rack. spread with frosting.

Frosting:
in medium bowl using an electric mixer beat 1 1/4 c confectioners sugar, 1/2 c butter at room temp, 1 tbspn honey, 1/2 tsp cinnamon 4-5 minutes until smooth.




Cornmeal Biscuits


1 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/8 c sugar
1/2 tablespoon b. soda
1/2 tsp b. powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 c buttermilk


1. preheat oven to 450

2. combine flours, cornmeal, sugar, b. soda, b. powder, and salt in a large bowl. cut in butter with pastry cutter until coarse. add buttermilk, stir just until moist.

3. turn dough out on lightly floured surface. roll dough into 3/4 inch thickness. cut with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. place on baking sheeet covered with cooking spray. bake 10 minutes until golden.


the recipe numbers are a little weird b/c i cut the recipe in half. it was too big before. i just made there. i think i accidentally forgot to half the sugar as i was adding it (i was on the phone with you at the moment and got distracted!) so they turned out a bit sweet. they are actually pretty good. i used a pampered chef baking stone and did not grease it. they just taste like cornbread muffins though, nothing to write home about but since i made them i thought i'd post them. the dough was very sticky too so i had a hard time 'rolling' it out. i patted it out rather and then kinda lumped them together to make a biscuit shape. they're good though.

Garden Freshness with Greek Kebabs

I made these kebabs from martha stewart's recipe magazine. i don't have the recipe with me right now, but i'll post it later. it invovled marinating the zucchini, onions, and chicken in red wine vinegar, olive oil, s/p, and oregano. then grilling. but i also made a dipping sauce with feta cheese, plain yogurt, red wine vinegar, and mint. i'll get the exact ratios to you later. the green beans, zucchini, mint, onions, and tomato were from my garden! it was so delicious, i could feel my body getting strong and healthy just eating it!

on a side note, i've been fighting buying a food processor b/c it's just one more gadget in my kitchen that needs to be stored, that invovles being plugged in, etc. but i had a hard time making that dipping sauce without one. you really should process the mint in with the rest of teh ingredients. as it was i just chopped it finely and whisked it all together. but i'm thinking about buying a food processor...

no buttermilk? no problem

you know when you get excited about baking a dish and you are reading down the list of ingredients, just to make sure you have everything? and it's going great, you have every ingredient in your own kitchen until you read that last ingredient: buttermilk. i suddenly become deflated as i realize in order to have my spontaneous baking desire i'll have to still go to the store first. well i saw this thing on the food network the other day about how you can substitute and make your own buttermilk. it's 1 cup of milk with 1 tbspn of lemon juice or white vinegar. let it sit for 5 minutes and wha-lah, you have buttermilk. i guess the thing that's actually important about buttermilk is that it's got an acidic base, so if you add the vinegar, you've got that. the cooking show i saw this on even made biscuits with the homemade buttermilk and they didn't look any different than the ones with buttermilk.

so i'm home sick, and for the first time in about 6 days i am able to eat some real food ( my throat has never been so sore, i still need a good dose of ibuprofen to get the food down though...) and this morning i am craving cinnamon rolls (those are still pretty soft actually, maybe that's why i want them) i have this recipe from rachel ray's magazine:

Monkey Bread Minis

1 1/2 sticks butter, chilled
3 tbspn maple syrup
1/3 c plus 2 tbspn granulated sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tbspn cinnamon
2 c flour
1 tbspn b.powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c buttermilk, chilled


1. preheat oven to 425. in a small bowl, microwave 4 tbspn butter and the maple syrup until melted. stir. in another small bowl, sitr together 1/3 c sugar, the brown sugar and thecinnamon.

2. in a food processor combine the flour, baking powder, the remaining 2 tbspn granulated sugar and the salt. pulse to combine. cut the remaining 1 stick chilled butter into small pieces and pulse with the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. pulse in the buttermilk until dough just comes together. transfer to a lightly floured work surface. pat into a 10 inch square (the dough will be sticky). quater the dough, then cut each quarter into 16 equal pices. roll into balls.

3. dip each ball in the maple butter, then coat with the sugar mixture. place 5 to 6 ball sinto each muffin cup and press to compact.

4. bake until cooked through and golden 15-17 minutes. transfer the muffin pan to rack and cool. using a knife, loosen the sides of the moneky bread, invert onto a platter and then turn right side up. serve warm. stir together 1 cup confectioner's sugar and 2 tbspn milk and drizzle ove rthe bread as it cools, if desired.


i think i have enough energy to make these. they sound good and the picture looks good.

Seared Chicken with Avocado

I made this the other night. It is an instant favorite! I'll be making this for a long time, it is delicious and very easy. it comes from Cooking Light superfast suppers which i just ordered off of amazon.

Seared chicken with avocado

1 1/2 tsp blackened seasoning (i found this in the spice isle at smith's. it's got some paprika and other spices in it. very tasty)
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
olive oil
1 diced peeled avocado (i used two cuz i like 'em!)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno seeded and diced ( i left it out cuz i can't take the heat)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 tsp salt
1 lime, cut into fourths

sprinkle seasoning on both sides of chicken. heat oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. add chicken to pan, and cook 1 minute until seared. reduce heat to medium, cook until lightly browned.

combine avocado, cilantro, pepper, lime juice and salt. squeeze one fourth lime over each piece of chicken before serving. serve with avocado mixture over each chicken breast as a salsa.


so easy! i added more lime juice and cilantro b/c i love those flavors. it turned out really well. i served it with fresh farmer's market new red potatoes boiled and then coated with butter, salt and pepper and some fresh chives from my garden. i've also discovered grilled corn this summer. you shuck just the outter leaves, leaving the inner ones still attached but pulling the silks out of the middle. soak for a few minutes. grill in the attached husks until those are browned. then peel back the husks and grill the actual corn ear until charred. it's delicious!

Veggie Pizza

The garden is about to burst forth! The zucchinis have already started and I have already made some zucchini bread, given some to the neighbors, frozen some, and made this pizza. i have my eye out for zuchhini recipes b/c i know i'll have a ton! This pizza was delicious! I used your recipe for the crust (the one with some whole wheat flour in it).

- Mix a couple tbspn of balsamic vinegar (for one medium sized zucchini) with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
-place sliced zucchini in the marinade (i sliced them into rounds about 1/4 inch thick) Let sit at least 5 minutes or up to 1/2 hour
-Pre-bake crust on pizza stone until lightly browned, remove from oven
-meanwhile, heat up grill and grill the zucchini until charred or slightly tender (eric was busy so i didn't have the grill. instead i flashed them on a very hot griddle pan just until slightly charred on the edges)
-slice up 3 tomatoes into rounds
-when the pizza crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle it with a little mozzerella cheese or parm cheese. place the charred zucchini on top of cheese, layer the tomatoes on top of the zucchini(after i put the zucchini on the pizza i added the sliced tomatoes to the leftover vinegar marinade just long enough to soak through and then added them to the pizza)
-I picked some basil and oregano from the garden and added those to the top of the tomatoes. then more mozz cheese.
-return pizza to oven and bake until cheese is bubbly and browned and the pizza crust is golden


the fresh herbs really add the flavor to this. it was so delicious and can be made from all garden fresh ingredients (minus the cheese). sorry if it doesn't make very much sense, it's harder to write a recipe when you make it up yourself and not just copy it from a site! this is a meal in itself- you don't even need a side salad b/c the veggies are on the pizza!

i have another marinade recipe from rachel ray that made pretty good chicken.




Spiced Grilled Chicken



From Every Day with Rachael Ray
June-July 2008

SERVES 4
Prep Time: 5 min (plus marinating)
Cook Time: 30 min





One 6-ounce container yogurt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper
4 large chicken breast halves on the bone



1. In a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, combine the yogurt, garlic, cumin, chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cut 2 slashes in each chicken breast through to the bone and add to the yogurt mixture; turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°. Place the chicken on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and roast until cooked through, about 30 minutes

**we grilled it outside and it was delicious! **

blackberry muffins

Blackberry Muffins Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon milk
2/3 cup sugar
8 Tbsp warm melted butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla
11 oz of fresh blackberries, cut in half (often available at Trader Joe's)
(You can use frozen blackberries if fresh are not available.)
METHOD
1 Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a standard 12 muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups. (Actually, with the berries you'll have more batter than just for 12 muffins. This batch made 18 muffins.)
2 Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3 In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla.
4 Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the berries. (If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, then drain the excess liquid, then coat them lightly in flour.) Do not overmix! Overmixing will cause the muffins to be dense, not fluffy. The batter should not be smooth.
5 Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, 17-20 minutes (or longer). Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.
Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.

Fall off the bone ribs

These are so good!

Ingredients:
however many ribs with bones in that you want
bbq sauce

Heat oven to 350. Put ribs in a dish like 9x13 and cover with water. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 4 hours, keeping them covered in water, so check back after a couple hours. I forgot to check back last night and they were kinda dry. Drain water off. brush bbq sauce on and broil until done on that side, then flip over and brush bbq sauce on the other side and broil. maybe takes another 10 min total. done! soooo good! And I never made ribs before because I didn't know how. If you can premeditate dinner that far in advance, it is definitely worth it