Butterscotch Bars

When I have nothing else to do on the weekend, I cook... or bake. This weekend, it was baking. I wanted to get out of the chocolate chip cookie/brownie rut I was in, so I looked through my recipe book and found a recipe for Butterscotch Bars that looked interesting. So, Butterscotch Bars it was. I'll be honest - I don't like butterscotch - but my husband gave these rave reviews. And as a bonus, they're fairly low-fat, considering they're from Cooking Light!



Butterscotch Bars
Recipe from CookingLight, adapted slightly

INGREDIENTS
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 cup butterscotch morsels

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat sugars and butter at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add egg whites and vanilla; beat well. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.

Spread batter evenly into an 9 x 13 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with morsels. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

MMM... Manicotti

I know I've blogged about manicotti before, but I finally got a good picture, and I've decided to submit the recipe to Presto Pasta Nights, which is started and organized by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, so I've decided to do it again. This week's round-up is hosted by Ulrike at Kuchenlatien. This recipe makes a lot, and I like to make a full batch and freeze half. Thanks for hosting, Ulrike. Enjoy, everyone!


Manicotti
Recipe from my mother-in-law
*Serves about 8*

1 box manicotti shells
2 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (I use the 5-cheese blend)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
8 oz Ricotta cheese (whole milk variety)
12 oz cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Marinara sauce (no set amount, but a lot)

DIRECTIONS:
Par cook noodles (about 5 min). Drain, but do not rinse.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all cheeses and egg in a bowl. Stuff noodles and place in a 9x13 pan.

Cover with sauce and bake for 1 hour (45 min covered and 15 min covered). Let sit about 5 minutes before serving.

Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls

My grandma makes the best cinnamon rolls. When I was growing up, she knew I liked them fresh out of the oven, so she would always make sure they were just done when I woke up. If I wasn't going to be at her house for a while, and on special occasions, she'd bring me a pan to let rise and then bake on my own.

I made them with her many times when I was at her house visiting, but I'd never made them on my own. I put my own twist on them, using the fabulous cream cheese icing recipe on Little Ms. Foodie's blog, but they still use Grandma's basic recipe.


Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe by my grandma, adapted
Makes 12-16 rolls

INGREDIENTS
1 loaf Rhodes frozen bread dough, thawed
6 TBSP butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
Icing, recipe follows

DIRECTIONS
After dough has thawed, but before it starts to rise, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's about a 14 x 6 inch rectangle.

In a small bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread the cinnamon mixture on the dough.

Roll the dough up like a jelly roll, starting with the long side (this would be the bottom of the rectangle, for the instructionally-impaired like myself). Cut the roll into 12-16 slices (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices.

Place them into a greased 9 x 13 pan and let rise for about an hour, or until they have doubled in size.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool, and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Icing
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Beat together all ingredients until smooth. Use to frost cooled rolls.

Guinness Stew, again

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you've probably figured out that I love Guinness Stew. In fact, I love it so much that I almost feel bad for vegetarians because they'll never be able to eat it - traditional Irish food isn't exactly vegetarian-friendly. Because of that, and because I had so much fun turning the Shepherd's Pie recipe I made a while back into a vegetarian recipe, I've decided to do the same for Guinness Stew.

If you don't like Guinness Stout, don't worry - the final product tastes nothing like the delicious dark brown beverage you would normally drink out of a tulip glass.

Vegetarian Guinness Stew
Adapted by Me

INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
3-4 medium potatoes
large meat-y Mushrooms, cut up (definitely optional - I can't stand mushrooms)
1/2 - 1 cup unsalted cashews (optional, but trust me on this one. Cashews take on a meat-y texture when cooked)
Turnips or Parsnips, chopped (if you want to be extra authentic)
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 pint Guinness (use the cans - have a second can waiting in the wings, just in case)
1/2 - 1 cup vegetable stock
3 TBSP cornstarch
1 TBSP paprika
salt & pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic powder
Seasoning Salt
Oregano
1-2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet (found with the gravy seasonings - it IS vegetarian)
2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS
Cut onion into quarters, then slice thinly. Cut carrots into thin slices (I like to use a bunch of baby carrots). Dice the celery by cutting the stalks in half, lengthwise, and then in half lengthwise again. Chop into small pieces from there. Mince the garlic. Scrub the potatoes and cut into quarters or smaller. Set all aside.

In sauce pan large, enough to hold everything easily, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add remaining ingredients (except potatoes), bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Add potatoes, cover and simmer at least an hour.

If it starts to dry out or if you like a saucier stew, add more Guinness (half a pint or so). If you would like the sauce thicker, stir in 1 TBSP cornstarch dissolved in 2 TBSP water.

Add a lot of salt & pepper to taste. You also probably want to add some cayenne pepper, garlic salt, oregano, and paprika. Use your favorite combination, but I've found the above to give it the best flavor.

When ready to eat, remove bay leaf and serve. I suggest serving it over or with a thick bread or Texas Toast.

New Pictures!

I recently made and have now uploaded new, better photos for my Chicken Cacciatore and Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken Pasta. Hope you enjoy them!

Chicken Kiev

Ah, Chicken Kiev. Chicken stuffed with butter. My little heart flutters (and then stops) when thinking about it. Back with my husband and I first moved in together, we ate a lot of those frozen Chicken Kiev things. I know most people reading this will probably scoff at that, but we loved them. To be honest, if we were to buy them and make them now, we probably still would. One day, I decided to try my hand at them. I was intimidated, but with Alton Brown's help, I felt confident. And you know what? It's actually pretty easy. And when you make it, you get to control the amount of salt & butter you put in and whether you bake it or fry it. So it's a win-win. Enjoy!



Chicken Kiev
Recipe by Alton Brown, adapted
Serves 2
Prep Time - about an hour (mostly inactive)
Cook Time - 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning chicken
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large whole egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
1 cup bread crumbs, plus 1/8 cup for filling
Vegetable oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS
Combine butter, parsley, chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place mixture on plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into small log; place in freezer.

Place chicken breasts, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt chicken lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound to no less than 1/8-inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.

Lay 1 chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap and place 1/2 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs in the center of each breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in ends of breast and roll breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter; roll very tightly. Repeat with each breast. Place chicken in refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.

Place egg and water mixture in 1 pie pan and 2 cups bread crumbs in a different pie pan.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F.

Dip each breast in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. Gently place each breast in oil, sealed-side down, and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. (Even though Alton recommends frying only, I recommend pan frying in only a small amount of oil to brown the outside of the chicken, and then finishing off the cooking process in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes to ensure the chicken is cooked through but doesn't get too brown on the outside).

Peanut Butter Brownies

I love brownies. Really love them. Not much can beat a nice, fudgy brownie. Well.... except a peanut butter brownie. I've made a few recipes for peanut butter brownies over the past year and have been generally satisfied with each recipe I've tried. Given my recent desire for peanut butter brownies, but lack of any real desire to bake, I decided to get creative and utilize what was, until about a year ago, my arch nemesis: the boxed brownie mix.

I almost feel like I shouldn't blog about these. However, notice I said almost. In the end, I've decided that these are worthy of a blog post because they're so good and so easy.


Peanut Butter Brownies

INGREDIENTS
1 box brownie mix (we like Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies)
2/3 cup peanut butter

DIRECTIONS
Prepare brownie batter according to directions and pour into a 9 x 13 pan (or 8 x 8 if you like them really thick).

Meanwhile, melt the peanut butter over medium-low heat.

Once peanut butter is melted, pour it on top of the brownie batter and use a knife or rubber scraper to swirl the peanut butter around the top and give it a nice marble look.

A visual, in case my description of the technique was confusing...

Bake for the amount of time indicated on the brownie mix box (mine was about 25 min).