Recipe: French 75

I am a big fan of bubbly, and this French 75 drink is a nice change up to just plain 'ole bubbly. It would be a nice drink to serve for a holiday or just with a group of friends. And just as the article below indicates, it definitely packs a punch. Cheers!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/french-75/10847/

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• Ice
• 1 ounce gin (you could use Cognac)
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 ounce simple syrup (see NOTE)
• 4 or 5 ounces brut champagne
• Twist of lemon peel, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds, then strain into a champagne flute. Top with the champagne as needed, and garnish with the twist of lemon peel.
NOTE: To make simple syrup, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a slow rolling boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof container and let cool to room temperature. Cover tightly and refrigerate until chilled through; store indefinitely.

Recipe: Almond Coconut Pancakes

I made these over the past weekend and they are a new favorite in our house. R is notorious for smothering his pancakes with butter and maple syrup. He actually told me that these pancakes didn't even need any toppings. We did try them with some strawberry jam and loved the flavor combination.
So, if you are looking for a healthier pancake alternative, these are it!

I took a basic pancake recipe from Martha Stewart, but stepped it up with some other ingredients to give them more flavor and nutrition. You can find the original recipe here: http://www.marthastewart.com/338185/basic-pancakes


Almond Coconut Pancakes (recipe makes about 16 pancakes)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup almond flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (scooped out coconut oil in gel state and then melt - will end up being a little more than 2 TBS)
• 1/4 cup raw oats 
• 1 large egg
• Olive Oil Spray for spraying the griddle

Directions
Step One: Preheat oven to 200 degrees; have a baking sheet or heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Step Two:  In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, coconut oil, and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine). You can add additional flour or oats if the batter is too thin.

Step Three: Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel.

Step Four: For each pancake, spoon 2  tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 4 in a large skillet).

Step Five: Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You'll have 12 to 15 pancakes.) Serve warm, with desired toppings.

Blog Faves

I have been following a few blogs for several years and wanted to share some favorites:

• (never) homemaker - http://www.neverhomemaker.com/ and their family blog page: http://www.writingchapterthree.com/ 

• A Healthy Slice of Life - http://www.ahealthysliceoflife.com/

• Daily Garnish -  http://www.dailygarnish.com/

• Two Peas and Their Pod - http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/

• On Anna's Plate - http://onannasplate.com/ 

• Kath Eats Real Food - http://www.katheats.com/

• Edible Perspective -  http://www.edibleperspective.com/

• Joy the Baker - http://joythebaker.com/ 

•  Cookin' Canuck - http://www.cookincanuck.com/

• Brown Eyed Baker -  http://www.browneyedbaker.com/

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers (meatless)

Used this Eating Well recipe (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/greek_orzo_stuffed_peppers.html) as a base, but made some modifications:

• 4 green bell peppers
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth (didn't have vegetable broth)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of greek seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon of course ground pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425*F.
2. Halve peppers lengthwise through the stems, leaving the stems attached. Remove the seeds and white membrane. Place the peppers cut-side down on baking sheet. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add orzo and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
4. Mash chickpeas into a chunky paste with a fork, leaving some whole.
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the orzo, olives, oregano, chickpeas, 1/2 cup feta, tomatoes, broth, pepper, seasoning, and salt; cook until heated though, about 1 minute. Divide the filling among the pepper halves and sprinkle each pepper with some of the remaining 1/4 cup feta.
6. Bake for additional 15 minutes. 

Updates

With the holidays and then coming down with the flu and pneumonia, I took a step back from a lot of things...mainly social media and the blog. Just a few quick updates:

•  I've signed up for a sewing class that will be a 6 week course starting in February.
• We have done a lot of cooking and plan to post some of the recipes soon. 
• Recipes coming soon for a blueberry liquor, amaretto, french 75 and eggnog.
• Booked our room at one of the taverns in Colonial Williamsburg (thanks to Mom and Dad K for that wonderful Christmas gift)
• Researching all things Europe. As of now, the plan is to go to Germany, Belgium, UK, and Paris.
• Book recommendations - "Room" by Emma Donaghue; "Undead" by Kirsty McKay; "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn. I'm currently reading the 50 Shade of Grey series while I wait on three books to become available at our local library. 
• Starting back up with Zumba - our instructor was out on maternity leave. Really missed this with KB!

Recipe: Pecan Crusted Chicken

Pecan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless Chicken Breast halves
2 Egg Whites
2 teaspoons Cornstarch
juice of half a Lemon
1 Cup coarse (larger) Bread Crumbs
1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or 1/2 teaspoon table Salt
Zest of 1 Lemon, minced
3/4 C finely chopped Pecans
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut your chicken breasts vertically to create 4 chicken breasts.  Place a piece of plastic wrap over each chicken breast (or place in a freezer bag one at a time), and hammer gently until it’s the same thickness throughout.  Set aside.
In a dish, using a fork blend together the egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice.  Set aside.
In another dish, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, lemon zest, pecans, oregano, thyme, paprika, and cayenne pepper.  Set aside.

To crust the chicken breast:
Dredge a chicken breast in the egg white mixture.  Then, place that chicken breast on the bread crumbs and pat the crumbs on both sides.  Repeat with each chicken breast.  Let sit on a plate for 20-30 minutes to let the bread crumbs set and adhere to the chicken.

To sauté chicken:
Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet (or other ovenproof skillet) over medium-high heat.  Sauté chicken for 3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.  Turn carefully with a spatula and transfer the skillet to the oven.  Bake the chicken for another 8 minutes, or until done.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.  Cut diagonally into strips to serve over salad.

Salad with Honey-Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Honey
3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon minced Shallots
1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
juice of 1/2 a Lemon
to taste: Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously until homogeneous.

Salad
Ingredients:
8 Cups Mixed Greens
1/2 Cup thinly sliced Red Onion
4 oz. soft Goat Cheese, crumbled
Dried Cherries (optional - this was not in the original recipe, but we added and I would definitely recommend if you have on hand).
Directions:
Mix lettuce and red onion.  Divide into 4 serving salad bowls, toss with dressing, top with crumbled goat cheese and 1 chicken breast.
Makes 4 servings.

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Salad

If you like buffalo chicken and blue cheese, then you will love this recipe. We had it for the first time on our trip to Primland last month. Mom K made it for dinner and we have since made it two more times. It is quick which makes for a nice choice after a long day at work. We made more of the dressing to have on other salads throughout the week.

Buffalo Chicken Salad by Ree Drummond (The PioneerWoman)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/buffalo-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html

 

Ingredients

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup cayenne hot pepper sauce
4 cups salad greens, such as romaine or mixed greens
Fast Blue Cheese Dressing, recipe follows
Blue cheese crumbles, for topping
Celery hearts with leaves intact, for serving

Directions

With a sharp knife, carefully slice the chicken breast in half from top to bottom---meaning you'll have two similarly-sized chicken breasts that are much thinner.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breast pieces and pan-fry them on both sides until they're done. Get as much golden brown color on the chicken as you can. When done, remove the chicken from the skillet and pour off any excess fat or oil (but don't clean the pan).

Return the chicken to the skillet and pour over the hot sauce. Turn the chicken to coat it on both sides and let it sit in the sauce while you prepare the other ingredients. (The heat should not be on under the skillet.)

Toss the salad greens in a large bowl with just enough Fast Blue Cheese Dressing to lightly coat (thin the dressing with a little milk if it's too gloopy). Heap some tossed salad into two individual bowls. Sprinkle blue cheese crumbles over the top. Slice the chicken into thin slices (on the bias) and arrange them over the top of each salad. (Dip the slices back into the sauce if necessary to really coat them.)

Top the whole thing with more blue cheese crumbles, and serve with celery hearts.
Fast Blue Cheese Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sour cream
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
Salt and pepper

To a bowl add the mayo, milk, sour cream and Worcestershire, and stir until combined. Stir in the blue cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Yield: 1 cup

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/buffalo-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback