Playdate Cupcakes

This afternoon, my son had a friend over to play. With 2 5 year old boys, I should have expected anything. And I did, mostly. But I was thrown for a loop when they asked if we could bake something. Really?

My mind immediately registered the fact that there was not a single egg in the house, and I'm not exactly well versed in vegan baking, so I had to improvise. Meaning, I called my mom to jog my brain.

She reminded me of any easy-peasy way to make cupcakes using soda. Yup, soda. So simple. Which is the only criterion I had at the moment. And since it's St. Patty's Day, I threw in a little food coloring for festivity.

I highly recommend keeping the few ingredients required on hand (hey, you probably do already), just in case a similar situation, or some other last minute baked good need arises. No, it's not capital H Homemade with freshly milled flour and eggs from your chickens in the backyard, but even Martha Stewart needs something in a pinch (OK, maybe not, but us normal people do). This whips up fast and delights all.

Playdate Cupcakes

1 Box Cake Mix (Choose your flavor)
12 oz. Soda Pop (I tend to go with a clear soda like 7Up or Sprite, but colas work well, too, especially in darker cake flavors)
1 Tub Frosting

Blend the cake mix and soda until combined. Fill muffin tins and bake according to the directions on the box. After cooling, let the kiddoes go to town with the frosting.

Whole Wheat Bagels

I'm not exactly sure how I got onto this baking kick, but I love making bread! Today I decided to make whole wheat bagels with oats. I thought they were going to be harder than they actually were. I did have to go to Sprouts a more specialty store to buy the barley malt syrup, but everything else is pretty standard. I got the recipe from  www.homemadebagels.com. Which has really good step by step photos.. you should check them out!

-Amanda

Whole Wheat Bagels

1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 to 115 F / 45 C)

1 Tbsp dry bread machine yeast
1/4 cup of honey
1 Tbsp barley malt syrup (Available at health food or bakery supply stores)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of bread flour
3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
*1/2 cup of Oats + 1/4 Cup (Optional, to top bagels with)
2 tsp of wheat gluten
2 tsp of kosher salt
1/4 cup corn meal (Used to keep the formed bagels from sticking to the cookie sheet)

Note: Makes 12 bagels

Bloom yeast in 1 1/2 cups of water with the honey, barley malt syrup and vegetable oil. Add to 1 cup bread flour. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, wheat gluten, and salt. Knead in machine for about 20 minutes. Bring water to a boil while bread is kneading. Also preheat oven to 450º. Divide dough into 12 balls. Place on a cookie sheet that is sprinkled with corn meal. Make a big hole in the center of each ball. Boil bagels for 45 seconds.(Dip in oats, while wet if you are going to cover the top with oats.) Replace on cookie sheet and bake for 2 minutes. Flip after 2 minutes and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

  

 Bagels before they are boiled.

 

At first the bagels sink to the bottom, but then they float to the top.

One Pot Greek Chicken Bake

Sorry the photo didn't come out that great, I had really bad lighting the night I made this. I wanted to make homemade pita bread and hummus so I needed a "main" dish to go with my Greek sides. I also wanted something super easy because I figured the hummus and pita would be messy enough for one meal in the kitchen. So I came up with this one pot Greek Chicken Bake.
-Amanda

One Pot Chicken Bake

3 large chicken breasts
1.5 cups white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped Kalamata Olives
3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach
zest one lemon
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper

Place rice in the bottom of a baking dish. Add chicken broth, lemon zest and juice and frozen spinach, salt and pepper. Bake covered at 350º for 40 minutes. Then remove from the oven, place chicken breasts down in the rice and add the kalamata olives. Bake another 30 minutes or until rice and chicken are cooked through.

Homemade Pita Bread

Tonight I made a Greek "feast." I only have time to post the homemade pita bread tonight, I'll post the One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice and the Homemade Hummus another night. Recipe found HERE.
-Amanda

Homemade Pita Bread

2-1/2 cups bread flour (I used Heartland Mill Organic Strong High-Gluten), plus more for sprinkling while kneading & rolling out dough
2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)

 

In a large bowl combine 1 cup flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the oil and water.Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for three minutes, then stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time.The dough should be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl. If the dough is moist, add a small amount of additional flour. 

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 6 minutes.Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Divide the dough into 8 pieces.I patted the dough into a circle and used my metal dough scraper to quickly and evenly cut it into eighths (as if cutting up a pie). Roll into balls, dust lightly with flour, and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rest for 30 minutes.

 Use the palm of your hand to flatten each ball into a disk. Finish with a rolling pin, (I used a tortilla press) flattening the dough into a disk about 6" in diameter and 3/16" thick. Their thinness is more important than making them perfectly round. Place each round on a thin cookie sheet. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they are puffed.

10 Minute Toddler Dinner 2

Well, this one really is only 10 minutes because it combined a bunch of leftovers that were in my refridgerator, otherwise it would have taken longer to cook. I labeled this for toddlers, but it really is delicious and comforting for an adult too.
-Amanda

Creamy Mushroom Chicken Rice

1/2 cup leftover rice
1/2 leftover cooked chicken breast, diced
2 button mushrooms, diced
3/4 cup fat free half and half (or heavy cream)
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup mozzarella
dash of oregano & salt

Stir cooked rice, chicken, mushrooms together in a pot. Add the cream, butter, seasonings and cheese. Stir until cream thickens and mixture is warmed through. I added leftover green beans, canned fruit and a smoothie that didn't get finished at snacktime to round out the meal.

Thai Steak

I don't know how authentic this is, but it sure was good! I was blog surfing yesterday (just discovered an evil way to waste a bunch of time... stumbleupon.com!) Anyway, I surfed right up to NoTakeOut.com. The site really intrigued me and I as I was browsing some of the recipes this Thai Steak caught my eye. One thing that is nice about this cooking site is that it has an entire meal planned out and tells you how to cook the entire meal in order step by step. I changed a few of the amounts and ingredients, but kept most of it the same.
-Amanda

Thai Steak, Cabbage and Lime Scented Rice

1/2 green cabbage
1 bunch cilantro
2 limes, preferably organic
1 jalapeno or other chile pepper
½ cup salted peanuts
2 tbsp Curry Powder
One 15 oz. can coconut milk
2 cups jasmine or other aromatic white rice
1-1/2 lbs. flank steak
1 tbsp + 1 tsp fish sauce, split
3 tbsp sugar, split
2 tbsp olive oil

Cook rice according to package directions. Zest one lime in the rice before it boils.

In a small pot mix coconut milk, curry powder, minced chili pepper, 2 tsp fish sauce and 1 tbsp sugar. Whisk together and let it reduce on a back burner. This takes time. This is the sauce to pour over your steak and rice. (After I finished cooking the steak, I added the steak "drippings" to this pot for more flavor.)

In a large bowl whisk 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice + zest, 3 tbsp chopped cilantro. Chop cabbage into small strips. Add to dressing you just made and toss. Add peanuts.

Salt and pepper your steak. Squeeze some lime on it if you have any leftover. Grill until cooked, about 6-8 minutes per side on a really hot grill skillet (or outside on a grill.) Cut steak against the grain. Serve with rice and coleslaw and drizzle coconut sauce ontop of steak and rice.

Orange Chicken

This is my ultimate comfort food.   It is one of my favorite dishes that my mother cooks.  She does it a little differently with chicken thighs and legs on the bone, but my version tastes very similar and is a little quicker to make.  It is saucy and juicy and sweet and tangy.  My fiancé it loves it too—but is not a fan of sauce.  Which works out perfectly, I serve him the orange flavored chicken and veggies and reserve the sauce for my serving.  I want enough to be left in the bowl afterwards I can sip it with a spoon.  Yum!

Orange Chicken

1 liter of orange juice simmered and reduced by 1/3 (Or you could use orange juice concentrate and only add half the water recommended.)
2 tablespoons of hoisen sauce
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken
3 large onions
1 package of mushrooms

Cut up chicken into smaller pieces (bite size makes it easier to eat)  Season with salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic powder.  Sear chicken in Dutch oven until browned. 

Roughly slice onions and mushrooms—sauté and add to chicken.  Add the orange juice, hoisen and ketchup to Dutch oven mix well.  Place pan in oven and cook on low heat (200 ish) until chicken is done and sauce has thickened. 

Serve over egg noodles.