Jamaican Chicken and Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (see recipe below)
3 to 3 1/2 lb whole chicken
2 Tbsp oil
3 medium baking potatoes, cut lengthwise into fourths (I always make extra potatoes)

DIRECTIONS
Make Jamaican Jerk Seasoning. Heat oven to 375. Line roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack in roasting pan. Brush 1 TBSP of the oil over chicken. Rub 2 TBSP seasoning into the chicken skin. Brush remaining Tbsp oil over potatoes and sprinkle with remaining seasoning (I do the potatoes in a Ziploc bag, or a container, and shake them). Place potatoes on rack around chicken. Roast uncovered 60-75 minutes, until potatoes are tender and meat has reached a temperature of 180. Let chicken stand 15 minutes, then carve.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
1 Tbsp instant minced onion
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

Mix all ingredients. Can be stored in a cold, dry place for up to 6 months.

Sugar Cookies

I love my old sugar cookie recipe, but they don't hold their shape well. I did a bunch of research, and built my own recipe. I made several batches. With some trial and error, I finally created one with the taste I love that still hold their shape. Just adding flour makes them dry and shortening isn't the same as butter. Too much heat melts the sugar too fast and flattens the cookie, so a high sugar recipe wouldn't work with high temps. (The above picture: The white is my regular recipe with extra flour. The pink is less granulated sugar, temp 400. They look great but I didn't like the flavor as well. The purple was more sugar, soda, cream of tartar and 400 temp. The blue is the recipe below with powdered sugar.)

I traded out the baking powder for some baking soda and cream of tartar. And a friend of mine told me that granulated sugar melts at a different temperature than powdered sugar. She told me it's the granulated sugar that flattens out the cookies, so I traded that straight across. So, see what you think.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 eggs

3 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill for 1 hour. Roll 1/4 inch thick on floured surface. Cut out shapes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Cool completely. Frost and decorate!

If you want a variation, you could substitute 1 tsp. almond flavoring for the vanilla. Or add keep vanilla and add 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1 tsp. cinnamon. (Great variation for the holidays.

Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tblsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 Tblsp. butter

Directions:

Mix until smooth and not too runny.

Granita al Limone (Italian lemon Ice)

Lylli's class did a banquet of foods around the world. So, we found this and made it! It's from Italy! Lots of fun and real easy! She did all of it. Although, she didn't want lemon, so we made apricot. I'll put my recipe at the end.

Ingredients:•Water -- 3 cups
•Sugar -- 1 1/2 cups
•Fresh lemon juice -- 1 cup

Directions:

1.Bring 1 cup of the water and the sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue boiling for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let to cool.
2.Stir in the remaining water and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a glass baking dish and set in the freezer for one or two hours until it starts to get slushy.
3.Stir well with a fork, breaking up any large chunks of ice or ice crystals. Repeat this process every 20 minutes or so until the granita is frozen solid.
4.Place scoops in small glasses or dessert bowls and serve.

Variations:

Let your imagination run free. There are so many options. Here are a couple of the more common variations:

•Granita alla Arancia (Orange Granita): 1/4 cup water; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 3 cups of orange juice. Boil the water and sugar only long enough to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the orange lemon juice. Freeze as for lemon granita. Add a couple tablespoons of orange-flavored liqueur for a luxurious twist.
•Granita di Fragole (Strawberry Granita): 1 cup of water; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 pound strawberries, hulled and pureed; 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Boil the water and sugar as for the lemon granita. Stir in the strawberry puree and lemon juice. Freeze as for lemon granita.

Here's my apricot recipe. It's smooth like a sorbet but needs served immediately after you take it out of the freezer. If you want it more icy, I think you'd just have to add more water.

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3 cups apricot nectar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 - 1 tsp. almond flavoring

Heat water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add apricot nectar, lemon juice, almond flavor, and freeze like above.

Orange Chicken

2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

2/3 cup warm water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp white vinegar
5 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/8 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1/8 tsp cloves, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 tsp grated orange peel

4 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

chopped green onions for garnish, if desired

3 cups cooked white rice

Directions:
Cook chicken in oil until outside is brown and inside is no longer pink, about 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together warm water, brown sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and orange peel until sugar is dissolved.
Add sauce to chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
Mix the cornstarch and cold water, then slowly add to boiling chicken. Boil and stir 1 minute, or until thickened.
Serve over warm rice and garnish with green onions.

Eggnog

• 6 eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 quart milk
• 1/3 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1-2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt

1. Beat eggs; mix in condensed milk, vanilla, quart of milk and salt.
2. Heat mixture slowly on low heat until it reaches 175 degrees F.  Chill thoroughly.
3. Beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold in to egg and milk mixture and mix in nutmeg. Chill overnight and serve.

Chicken Soup with Rice, Mint, and Lemon

Now before you disregard this post completely, let me say that this turned out to be one of my favorite soups. I was pleasantly surprised by it's flavor. I'm not a mint person and neither is Shane. And anyone who knows him, knows he DOES NOT like fruit with his meats. But this was VERY good and amazingly filling. I' will make it again.

Prep time - 20 min.

Cook time - 50 min.

Ingredients:

2 quarts canned reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 whole chicken breast

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

4 - 2 x 1/2 inch strips of lemon zest

3 sprigs fresh mint

2 sprigs parsley

1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme, crumpled)

1 clove garlic, minced

4 black peppercorns, crushed

1 cup cooked long-grain rice

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Optional garnishes (but highly recommended for color and a gourmet touch):

lemon slices

mint sprigs

Directions:

1. In a 4-quart saucepan over high heat, bring stock, chicken breast, onion, zest, mint, parsley, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until chicken is tender (about 30 to 35 minutes.)

2. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken breast to a cutting board to cool. Strain soup into a large bowl, discarding all solids.

3. Return soup to the pan, set over high heat, and boil, uncovered, until the soup has reduced slightly - about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, shred the chicken. Add to soup along with rice, lemon juice, salt, and chopped mint. Heat about 2 minutes more, ladle into soup bowls, and garnish with lemon slices and mint if desired. (The lemon and mint garnish add color and are a nice touch.)

Makes 4 servings.

1 Serving: Calories 237; Total Fat 4 g; Saturated Fat 1 g; Protein 21 g; Sodium 641 mg; Cholesterol 60 mg

Donut Recipe

Note: As I had never made donuts before, I did some research first. If you'd like, The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog has a great step-by-step guide of how-to-make donuts you may find helpful. I did. Her recipe is different, but it will give you a general idea of what to do and what to expect!
Also, my friend told me that you should glaze all the donuts, even if you plan to dip them in chocolate or something. The glaze will help lock in the moisture and help them stay fresh longer!

An Aside: I didn't have a biscuit cutter or donut cutter so I used a drinking glass and a medicine cup. :)

1 T yeast
1/4 C hot water
1 t salt
3/4 C luke warm water
1/4 C sugar
1 egg
1/4 C soft shortening
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 C flour

Soften yeast in hot water and a little of the sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients including half of the flour and mix. Knead in the rest of the flour. (Dough should be soft but not overly sticky.) Place in a greased bowl and let rise until double. Punch down and let rise until double again. Roll out dough 1/3" thick and cut out donuts. Let rise for 40 minutes on a floured surface (in a draft free place.) Heat oil to 375 degrees. Gently place 4 to 5 donuts in oil at a time for about 40 seconds. Flip over and fry on other side. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Immediately immerse in glaze and cool. Makes 18

Glaze
1lb powdered sugar
1/2 C hot water
1/2 C butter

Heat over medium high heat and stir until melted and combined. If it's too runny and hot, cool slightly before dipping donuts. This recipe will allow you to dip 18 donuts.

Enjoy! They are DELICIOUS!

Leah and Dean's Amazing Goop

Okay, so "goop" is probably not a great word for this dish, and neither is this a great picture.  Leah and I found a recipe last night that we didn't have all the ingredients for, so we sort of improvised.  This is what we came up with, and it was GOOD!  It was healthy and tasted like something from a restaurant.  I think this might even be a kid-friendly recipe.

1 small bunch asparagus

3 oz. bacon, cooked, cut into chunks

1 can diced tomatoes

2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. seasoning salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

10 oz. uncooked wheat penne

1/4 cup parmesan 

1. Trim ends of asparagus.  Steam in steamer and keep warm.

2. Cook penne (at the same time as asparagus).  

3. Put bacon, tomatoes, garlic, seasoning salt and pepper into saucepan.  Heat until boiling.  Keep at a boil so that sauce thickens.  Add asparagus and penne.  Cook until sauce is thick and meal is heated through.

4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

Yupp, it's that easy.  It's also really fast and tastes great!

Vanilla-Orange Sugared Cranberries

I thought these were good. The sugar sweetens up the bitter/sour cranberries. Shane wasn't a big fan but my girls liked them! And they are really pretty AND easy to make! They do need to sit overnight, so plan ahead for that.

Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange extract (or grand mariner)
1 (12 ounce) bag fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)


Directions:
1. Combine 2 ½ cups of sugar, water, vanilla, and orange extract in a sauce pan. Heat over medium until the sugar has completely dissolved—but not boiling.
2. Pour in the cranberries and stir. The hot syrup will loosen the skin, saturate the berries and adhere to the berries over time.
3. Cover the cranberries with a small plate to keep them mostly submerged. Then cover the pan and place it in the refrigerator over night.
4. Place the remaining 1 ¼ cup of sugar in a rimmed dish. Strain the cranberries and place them in the sugar. Shake until they are completely coated.
5. Carefully transfer them to a baking sheet to dry—about an hour.
6. Once the sugar coating is hard, place them in an air-tight container and keep in a cool spot for up to a week!

Carmel Dip . . .

. . . for apples.

My friend (the chef) made this for our book club tonight and I had to post it so I wouldn't lose it. :) It is SO good!!

Ingredients:
1 cup Carmels, unwrapped
10 big marshmallows
1 Tblsp. Butter
3 tblsp. cream

Directions:
Melt Carmels in a microwave safe bowl until soft. Mix until smooth. Mix in marshmallows, butter, and cream. Reheat as needed. Serve with sliced apples! HEAVENLY! :)