Sweet and Sour Chicken

We have been in Greenville several years and have never found our favorite, go-to, perfect Sunday night, I don't want to cook, Chinese take out.  And now it looks like we won't have to.  I found a new recipe for sweet and sour chicken and it was incredible!  It's not exactly healthy, but I don't think General Tso's chicken really falls in that category either.  I did serve the chicken with forbidden rice and stir fried broccoli, peppers, and bok choy.

Forbidden Rice Salad

This one even surprised me. I had an assortment of leftovers in the fridge and a destination in mind, but it turned out even better than I was hoping.  I worked with what I had, so I'll do my best to judge the quantities, but know that you can fudge this to make it work for you.

Combine the following in a medium bowl:
2-3 cups cooked forbidden rice (also called black rice) - brown rice would work, too
1 cup edamame, cooked and shelled
1 small sweet potato, baked peeled and chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped
sesame seeds for garnish

I prepared the dressing in a separate bowl before adding to salad:
3 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS honey
2 TBS orange juice
1 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 TBS sesame oil
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Add as much or as little dressing as you like.  I ate it right away and it was delicious and of course it's even better if it sits in the fridge for an hour or two. 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes

The Little Woman likes pancakes for breakfast, but I'm always looking at her plate and thinking about how I can get the most bang for my nutritional buck so to speak.  Her "juice" is a smoothie made from fruit (usually some combination of bananas, pineapple, strawberry, peaches, or apples) combined with water and dark greens like spinach, rainbow chard, or kale.  It tastes delicious, is packed with real fruit and vegetables, and has no added sugar, artificial colors, or flavors.  I drink it for breakfast myself.  Win Win.

So back to the pancakes.  I have a classic pancake recipe I've made for years and while at least they are homemade, they could be better.  I tweaked the recipe this week to include whole wheat flour, oats, flax seed, and blueberries.  They are delicious!  Even the husband agrees.  I made the batter last Sunday and just kept the bowl in the fridge for the next few days and made them as needed.  An even easier option is to make the batter and cook off all of the pancakes at one time.  Cool and freeze between layers of waxed paper.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oats
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup honey (raw local honey is really good for you!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Combine all ingredients except blueberries and stir just until combined.  Heat griddle or nonstick pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil (my preference).  Drop batter by heaping spoonfuls and add a few blueberries to each pancake before turning.  This usually makes 16 - 20 pancakes so feel free to cut the recipe in half if needed.  We top ours with honey or a little powdered sugar!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of my husband's all time favorite desserts.  Chocolate and hazelnut just push it over the top.  I knew I wanted to make one for his birthday dinner, but didn't find any recipes that met all the requirements.  Instead this is a combination of three different recipes and one tutorial on how to peel hazelnuts.  Who knew?

First up, the hazelnut shortbread cookie crust:

(from Pig Pigs Corner) - converted from metric just for you!

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 2 TBS confectioner's sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup hazelnuts, peeled (see this tutorial if yours have the skins on like mine - it's not as simple as you would think)

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg.  (I added 1 tsp vanilla at this point also.)  Add flour, corn starch, and hazelnuts.  Mix just to combine.  Press into the bottom of a lightly greased 9-inch spring form pan and bake at 325 F for 15 minutes.  I used all of the dough and made a thick crust.  Feel free to use less.  This will only par bake the crust.  Don't expect it to brown.

Next, the cheesecake:

(from Tyler's Ultimate)

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 pint sour cream

1 lemon zested (I omitted this because of the chocolate and hazelnut)

1 tsp vanilla extract

I added 1/2 tsp almond extract

Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer with paddle attachment until soft and lump free.  Add eggs one at a time, then slowly add sugar.  Add sour cream and extracts.

Pour mixture over cooled crust and wrap bottom of spring form pan in foil.  Then place in a large baking dish or roasting pan and pour boiling water about 1/3 of the way up the sides of the cheesecake.  Water baths are a pain, but it made for a super creamy, moist, and crack free cheesecake.

Bake for 45 minutes at 325 F.  Cheesecake should set, but may slightly jiggle.  You just don't want a big "wave".  I usually turn off the oven and let cheesecake sit for another 30 minutes with the door closed, then cool completely on the counter.  Chill for several hours or overnight before moving on.

Finally, the nutella ganache:

Place 3/4 cup nutella in a heat safe bowl.  Warm 1/2 cup heavy cream in a small sauce pan until just shy of boiling.  Pour cream over nutella and slowly stir to combine.  Add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.  Pour over cooled cheesecake.  I had more peeled hazelnuts (about 1/2 cup) leftover, so I toasted them and finely chopped them in the food processor, then sprinkled over the ganache.  Return to fridge to set up.

A little hazelnut liquor (Frangelico) in the cheesecake or the ganache would have been nice, too!

General Tso's Chicken

I found a great recipe for this typical take out treat and it was a big hit last night!  Check it out here.

I used a combination of white and dark meat because we had it on hand.  Also, I forgot broccoli at the store so we used red peppers and green beans.  Overall, pan frying the chicken made a huge mess, but it was so delicious I'll risk it again.  Just as good as the real thing minus the MSG!

Cowboy Caviar

We had this at our personal Super Bowl party and it's awesome!

1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed

a handful of cherry tomatoes or 2-3 roma tomatoes, diced

2 diced avocados, ripe but still firm

1/4 to 1/2 cup prepared pico de gallo (you can leave this out and just use some fresh green onions)

handful cilantro, chopped finely

2 limes, juiced

ground pepper and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with tortilla chips!

Granola Bars

I was just about to give up on homemade granola bars after three promising recipes resulted in dry, crumbly bars. Even Alton Brown failed me and I do love his granola recipe, but his granola bars were just so so. There were a few recipes that called for tons of butter and peanut butter and I knew that would make a moist bar, but it would be more like dessert than a good on-the-go snack. I stayed away from those and was about to give in when I came across a no bake recipe. Finally! It called for prepared granola (in my mind defeating the purpose of homemade bars), so I reworked it.

The recipe is very forgiving so I put several substitutions and options in italics.

Chewy Granola Bars
(makes 16 bars)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey (brown rice syrup or agave)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup flax seed (ground flax seeds works too)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut

1/2 cup golden raisins (dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried apricots, or any dried fruit)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup slivered almonds (pecans, cashews, or your favorite nut)

Combine brown sugar, honey, vanilla and butter in a medium-size saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer just a minute or two for the sugar dissolve.  You can let it cool before adding the dry ingredients so the chocolate chips don't melt, but I just dump everything because I'm a tad impatient.  Add oats, flax seed, wheat germ, coconut, raisins, chocolate chips and almonds to the melted butter mixture.

Spread in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan. Use a silicone spatula because it gets sticky.  Refrigerate for one hour or until completely cooled. Cut into bars.

Feel free to make a half batch if you don't want to over commit.  It fits in an 8 x 8 baking dish.

Oatmeal Cream Cookies

By request, my first post has to be these oatmeal cream cuties!

Eat your heart out Little Debbie.  I was introduced to this recipe from a friend and they are my new favorite cookie.  Fairly simple, but insanely delicious!

For the cookie: 
2 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old fashioned oats

Cream butter and sugars (really do this, until it's light and fluffy!).  Add egg and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.  Then add oats.   Bake at 375 F for 8 - 9 minutes.

I used a small scoop (maybe 1 inch across) and this made 60 cookies.

For the cream filling:
1 stick butter, softened
3 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
3 -4 TBS milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

You really need the butter soft for this.  Slowly add sugar to butter to combine.  I do it 1/3 to 1/2 cup at a time and do your best to get all of the sugar creamed into the butter.  Be patient.  Then add vanilla and milk to get a spreadable consistency.

For my last batch I pre-scooped all the dough and froze on baking sheets before putting in large freezer bag to store.  Now we can bake just a few cookies at a time.  I also portioned the frosting into three bags, so I can defrost a little at a time.