Heath Bar Cake

I saw this on Mel's Kitchen Cafe awhile ago, but we have been avoiding treats at our house since the holiday overload and the extra pounds that came with that overload.  I thought this recipe looked great.  I finally broke down and made this for a family night treat.  It was super easy and was done in no time.  I was of course going to have all the will power in the world and not eat any.  Ha Ha!  I of course couldn't resist taking a bite.  It was so worth it!!!!  I couldn't stop at one bite.  The cake part is really moist and the top has a great crunch!  This is definitely a keeper.

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 C. of milk mixed with 1 T. of lemon juice)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5-6 chocolate covered toffee bars, chopped (I just used the chopped toffee bits from the baking aisle)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and center a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, white sugar, flour and butter. Crumble these ingredients together with a pastry blender, whisk or two forks until the mixture is crumbly and coarse. Remove 1/2 cup of the crumbs to a small bowl and set aside. To the large bowl with the remaining crumbs, add the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix well.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to the edges. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the reserved crumbs and chopped Heath bars. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is no longer gooey but a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. The cake may fall slightly in the center leaving the edges raised. It will still be delicious.

Maple-Pecan Chicken

This was a good breaded chicken recipe.  It is slightly sweet, but just the right amount.

From The Double Dipped Life

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 TB mayonnaise
1/2 cup Panko crumbs (a lighter, crunchier bread crumb. Found by the regular bread crumbs in the baking aisle.)
1/2 cup finely chopped Salty pecans.

Heat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.  Between pieces of waxed paper, or in a ziploc bag, place each chicken breast smooth side down. Gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. This will make the chicken cook evenly.  In a shallow dish, mix together the maple syrup and mayo. In another dish, mix together panko and pecans. Dip chicken into syrup mixture, and then into the panko. Place on baking sheet. Spray top of chicken with cooking spray.  Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear and coating is golden brown.

Shanghai Sweet and Sour Pork

We had a pork tenderloin sitting in our freezer that was calling my name!  I adapted this from Good Things Utah.  Their recipe called for spare ribs.  It was a hit and great on salad or rice.

2 lbs. Pork tenderloin, cubed

½ tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Dry Sherry or rice wine
1 tsp. Corn starch
¼ cup Canola Oil

Sauce:
¼ cup Sugar
3 Tbsp. Rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Ketchup
1 tsp. Corn Starch

1. Combine salt, sherry and corn starch, and mix well. Add sparerib pieces, toss to coat and marinate for 30 minutes. 2. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat to about 250?F, or until small bubbles appears around a piece of green onion, or ginger tossed into the oil. 3. Add the spareribs and deep-fry until crisp, stirring to keep them from sticking together, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain. 4. Reset wok on high. Heat oil to 375?F or until a piece of green onion or ginger sizzles noisily and quickly turned brown. Return pork and deep-fry until golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and drain well on absorbent towels. Pour oil out of wok. 5. Stir sauce to blend and pour into wok, cook, stirring, until thickened. Return pork to wok and stir well until each piece is coated with sauce. Serve hot.

Pull Apart Pizza

Every Friday night at our house is a pizza party.  We either buy pizza, go get pizza, or make pizza.  I saw this recipe on Good Things Utah and thought it was a cute idea.    I made my own wheat dough and I think next time I will either buy the Rhodes dough or make white dough.  This was a fun change of pace.

15 Rhodes Dinner Rolls
2 Tbsp. Melted Butter
1 tsp Garlic Salt
1 tsp Oregano
1½ - 2 cups pizza sauce
2 cups shredded cheese
pizza toppings

Directions:
Coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cut thawed dough into halves or fourths.  Place cut up roll dough evenly over the bottom of the baking dish.  Combine melted butter, garlic salt and oregano - brush mixture over roll dough.  Sprinkle 1 cup cheese over dough, add sauce, and layer on your favorite pizza toppings and top with remaining cheese.  Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for 2 ½ - 3 hours.  Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from over, let sit for 5 minutes, serve and ENJOY!

Ginger-Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

In Utah there is a fun show called Good Things Utah.  They have a segment which is local recipes either from restaurants or from bloggers.  I found this recipe on their website.  It is from a local BBQ restaurant called Q4U.  I thought these wings looked delicious and they didn't disappoint.  My kids loved them and they were covered in sauce when they got done!  I am pretty sure these will be on our Superbowl menu.

2 lbs. (24) chicken wings
½ C. orange concentrate juice
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup Hoisin sauce (I just used regular BBQ sauce)
1 Tbsp. canola oil
¼ cup sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh ginger minced
3 fresh garlic cloves
3 scallions, slivered

Grill chicken wings until juices run clear.  Combine all ingredients mix well and add to pan except for chicken and scallions.  Place pan over medium heat.  Stir constantly when sauce begins to simmer, and add chicken wings when it begins to boil.  Coat chicken wings with sauce and remove pan from heat. Plate and dress with scallions and serve.  

Lime-Chili Rubbed Steak

This is another recipe from Our Best Bites.  Once again it was a winner.

1 t chili powder

1 t granulated garlic
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t oregano
1/8- 1/4 t cayenne pepper
3/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 lime (about 2 T lime juice)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1-2 lbs. flank steak

Juice the lime into a small bowl. Add spices and oil and stir to combine. Some limes have more juice than others, so sometimes the mixture will be more liquid-y and sometimes it will be more pasty. Place the steak in a shallow dish and pour the spice mixture on top. Use your hands to massage it in there. Let it sit for 15 minutes. During that time preheat your grill.  Place meat on hot grill (bbq is best, but an indoor grill pan or broiler will work just fine too). If you're using flank steak it should take about 5-7 minutes on each side. When steak is finished, remove from grill and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting into it. Slice in strips against the grain.

Spicy Honey Chicken

I just got this recipe off of Our Best Bites and adapted it for our situation.  I just discovered this site and I love it.  This chicken was so easy and it was delicious.  We ate it on a salad and we didn't need much else besides the lettuce and the chicken.

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 t vegetable oil

Rub:
2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.  Use kitchen shears to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Place chicken in ziploc bag and add oil and spices.  Make sure chicken is thoroughly coated.  Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.  I used my George Forman.  While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.  Drizzle the extra glaze on the chicken just before serving.

Turkey pozole soup with green chilies

I saw this recipe on the Today Show yesterday.  I haven't tried it yet, but it looked delicious and not like a typical soup.  Matt Lauer even said later in the show that he couldn't believe how good it tasted. I will be trying this soon to try and warm up from our frigid temps.

2 pounds turkey meat cut into 1 inch cubes  (Pork or chicken would also be good)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons Ancho chili powder
2 tablespoons peeled, chopped garlic
1 15 ounce can chopped green chilies (I would use less.  This seems a little too spicy)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 quarts chicken broth
1 28 ounce can golden or white hominy
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped scallions
Sour cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour the oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot and heat over medium heat.  Season the turkey with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and sauté in until well-browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the turkey to a bowl and set aside.  Add the onions, red pepper and jalapeño to the pot and brown until golden, which takes approximately seven minutes.  When the onion begins to caramelize, return the turkey to the pot, sprinkle with the cumin and Ancho chili powder, stir in the garlic, green chilies and tomatoes.  Add the chicken broth plus 2 cups of water, stir and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower then heat and let the chili simmer, partially covered, for one hour. Add the hominy. Continue to cook until the turkey is tender, which takes approximately 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve with cilantro, scallions and sour cream as a topping.  Makes 3 to 4 quarts.

Ginger Chicken w/ Shitake and Button Mushrooms

I found this recipe on Sook Cook  and adapted it for what we needed or could find.  In an effort to eat more healthy after a month of complete, unashamed, blissful holiday binging, this recipe seemed to have a lot of flavor and not a lot of junk in it!  It did not disappoint.  All my kids ate it and Port asked me later how hard it would be for me to make the sauce for him to take to work.  I consider that a success.

2 tablespoons oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2-inch gingerroot, finely chopped
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed and diced
2 cups shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine or mirin  (I didn't have this so I used chicken broth)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, cut into 2-inch long pieces
rice sticks, cooked

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir well. When the garlic starts to get golden brown, add the chicken and stir well. Once the chicken starts to cook (about 5-7 minutes after), stir in with the shitake and button mushrooms and continue to cook, about 3-5 minutes. Add the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, rice wine (or mirin), and brown sugar. Continue to cook until the mushrooms soften or reach your desired texture, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water and stir well to mix. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the skillet and stir well, until the sauce thickens slightly. Add the cilantro and green onions and serve with rice stick noodles.