Why, I Don't Mind If I Fondue!

I had a girls' night to go to last night and we were asked to bring something to share. I like to try to come up with fun and different things to take instead of always doing the same old stuff. So I thought, hmmm... what's better for a girls' night party than a vat of melted chocolate? I couldn't think of anything better either. 

The decision was made... fondue it would be.

I looked up a few recipes for basic fondue, seeing as I've never really made it before AND I was doing it in a CrockPot instead of an actual fondue pot. So the recipes were all similar: chocolate, some sort of canned milk and vanilla. Booooooorrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnggggg!!

So I took those basic ideas and made it my own...

Here's what I did:

• 2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips. (most recipes called for chopped up semi-sweet chocolate. I'm sure you can use the Baker's chocolate, but why waste time chopping when Nestle/Hersheys/Ghirardelli has already done the work for you?)
• 1/2 - 1 bag of milk chocolate chips
• 1 can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed!)
• 1/3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

My CrockPot is 4 quarts but you could do this in a 3 quart pot and be just fine. It doesn't look like it makes ALL that much, but it does... and it's great for breakfast the next day: cold and spread over leftover macaroons (which I'll get to in a second).

Dump the chocolate into the pot... all of it. Pour about 3/4 of the can of evaporated milk over the chips. Pour the remaining 1/4 of the milk into a microwave safe bowl and heat it up a bit. Dissolved the powdered sugar into the warmed evaporated milk and pour over the chips as well. 

Turn the CrockPot on low for about an hour. 

Stir the mixture and add the Kahlua and vanilla - stir it again to get it mixed in. I used a whisk because I felt like it helped get it smoother. Then let it sit on low until the chocolate is completely melted. If it starts to bubble, turn the CrockPot to "Keep Warm" - if you don't have a keep warm setting, then I don't know what to tell you. My Low setting will burn the chocolate after about an hour.

Go ahead an serve it whenever the chocolate is all melted. I used dippers like strawberries, bananas, pound cake (thanks to a certain Kim Underwood) and homemade macaroons (which are super easy to make!)

Coconut Macaroons

I wanted to take something to dip that was a little out of the ordinary so I thought macaroons would be good. Again, they were so easy!

Here's what I did:

• 1 1/3 c. flaked coconut
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• a pinch of salt
• 2 egg whites (whisked)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine the coconut, sugar, flour and salt. Then add the egg whites and vanilla. Mix well.

Drop them onto parchment by small teaspoons (if you're using them as dippers) so they're about as wide around as a quarter. Bake them for about 15 minutes on 325.

Because you're dipping them, you don't want to make them very big so you can get a nice bite-sized amount. I got about 2 dozen from this recipe which was a good amount since there were so many other dipping options.

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

This week's recipe isn't a dinner item. I'm altering the rules to my "goal" I just have to try a new recipe/create a new recipe each week. Some weeks, I simply don't have the time or energy to do a giant dinner and that's ok.

About a month ago, I bought a cookie mix from Target for White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal cookies (try saying that five times fast). I was really disappointed when I made them and I didn't even get a dozen cookies out of the recipe... plus, after eating one, turned out to be sub-par. I knew I could do better - so I did.

Taking a few ideas from a a couple of my favorite cookie recipes, I came up with a recipe to use (needing tweaks down the road is expected). I'm not a fan of wide, flat cookies that look like just melted on the sheet so in my cookie recipes, so I like to use a mix of cake flour and regular (unbleached) flour. The cake flour doesn't spread as much as regular flour does because of the starch content (I think). Also, I prefer baking powder to baking soda because powder has a bit of acidity to it which, again, promotes puffier cookies. Ok, enough with the science lesson...

Ingredients:

3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cake flour
3/4 c. quick cooking oats
3/4 c. dried cranberries
6 oz. white chocolate chips (half a bag)

Directions:

• Cream the butter and sugars. Add in the egg and vanilla. Add cinnamon, baking powder, salt and flours.
• Fold in the oatmeal, cranberries and chocolate chips. 
• Roll into 1-1/2 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. I always line my sheets with parchment - it discourages burning on the bottoms and makes clean up a breeze.
• Bake the cookies at 375 for about 8-10 minutes.

Let them cool and DEVOUR THEM! Remember, there is oatmeal AND cranberries in them so they're healthy... right?

Caprese Stuffed Chicken

Week two of my crazy once a week nice meal goal. I'm not really sure what to call it. Any suggestions?

Anyway, I made up my own recipe this week for the main dish. Caprese stuffed chicken breast. Let me tell ya, it was delish. Again, I don't have a specific recipe because I eyeball things and go with my gut most of the time. Sometimes it works out... sometimes it doesn't.

My veggie, Panchetta Wrapped Green Beans, was based off a recipe I found on Pinterest. The recipe was for bacon wrapped green beans but I found Panchetta on sale and thought it'd be just as delicious with a milder smoked flavor. I was right.

Caprese Stuffed Chicken

Basic Ingredients:

• Chicken breast
• Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Fresh Basil
• Garlic cloves
• Mozzarella ball - I used the real stuff, but I'm sure pre-grated would work.
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive Oil

(you'll need some flour and a few spices if you choose to dredge your chicken before cooking)



First, flatten your chicken. This is one of my favorite parts. Any pent up aggression or anger gets released into a productive activity. Flatten it out until its between 1/4-1/2 inches thick. I like mine thinner but if you go too crazy, you'll pulverize it and your chicken will fall apart - done it.

After your chicken is pounded out, mix up your filling. In a bowl, mix together some of the sun dried tomatoes, basil leaves (I chiffonade mine, but you can chop or mince them if you'd like), and a clove of minced garlic. Stir it together and drizzle in a little olive oil and balsamic. Again, depending on the flavors you like, how strong you want it and how much filling you want stuffed in your chicken, do what you like.





Slice your mozzarella in circles and in half again. Open your chicken and put in a portion of your filling then top with cheese slices. Fold the chicken over and use toothpicks to secure it.




If you like your chicken crispy, you can dredge it in some flour (I added some salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika) then fry it in some olive oil for 5 minutes on each side.

Move the pieces of chicken to a roasting pan and bake for an additional 15 minutes (or until the juices run clear). Technically, 350 works but since my green bean bundles baked at 400, I just did it in there and they were fine. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.

***I made a balsamic reduction to drizzle over the chicken before serving it. If you want to do this, just take about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and a couple spoonfuls of sugar. Heat over medium until bubbly and whisk it until it reduces by about half. Just drizzle it over the chicken before serving. 

Panchetta Wrapped Green Beans


Basic Ingredients:

• Fresh green beans
• Panchetta (or bacon)
• Brown sugar
• Soy sauce
• Garlic Powder

Cut the ends off your green beans and boil for about 7 minutes. Drain them and let them cool off enough that you can touch them without burning yourself. Separate them into bundles of however many you need. I made 4. Then just wrap the beans in a couple slices of Panchetta - just use one piece of bacon if you're using that. Secure the meat around the beans with a toothpick.

Put the bundles in an oven-safe pan, crack a little pepper over them and bake them for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

While they're baking, you can make a quick little glaze for them. Take 1/4 cup brown sugar, a couple tablespoons of soy sauce and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Heat it over medium heat until bubbly and stir it until the sugar is dissolved. When it's done, pour it over the top of your bundles and continue baking.

Steak in a Red Wine - Balsamic Reduction

So I figured I'd start this year's menu with a bit of a bang. I love cooking with wine but I just don't do it very often. I was craving red meat this morning at the store so I grabbed some "tender cuts" that were on sale. Obviously we don't have a ton of money for me to throw around at fillets and whatnot, so I'll make due with what I have access to.

I don't have a total recipe for this since I tend to make things up as I go along. Plus, I'm cooking for 2 adults and a child, so I alter amounts. I hoped on Pinterest earlier to get a basic recipe for a red wine and balsamic reduction sauce and found one. I didn't use it exactly, but it's nice to have a frame of reference for quantities.

I started out with my steaks (4 - 6ish oz steaks). First, you have to take them out of the fridge and get them warming up to room temperature. If you put them into the hot pan while still cold, they'll seize up and get super tough. I let mine sit out for about 45 minutes. While you're letting them set, go ahead and season them. Because the sauce is going to be so incredibly flavorful, you don't' want to go crazy with the seasonings. I just used sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and some garlic powder.


While my steak was setting, I started my roasted potatoes. There's something about steak and potatoes that just goes. However, I didn't want just mashed potatoes or something like that. It's not much work to get an impressive and delicious side dish.

Take some red potatoes and cut them up into chunks. I just quartered mine because they were on the smaller side. Throw them into a bowl and toss them with some olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, parsley and rosemary. Pour it out onto a foil lined baking pan. Bake them at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

There's your side dish. I also threw some broccoli in my steamer to get some green on the plate. Nothing fancy.

Back to the meat...

After the potatoes have been in the oven for about 10 minutes, put your steaks into a HOT (lightly sprayed with oil) pan that's on medium to medium high heat. Let them cook for 5 minutes on each side. Take them out and put them onto a plate with foil over the top to keep warm.

Now for the fun part... the reduction.

Put about a tablespoon of butter into the pan that the meat just came out of and add your onion (I prefer shallots but I didn't have any so I used the white part of a couple green onions... you get a similar effect). Saute the onion until it's softened then add in about 3/4 cups of red wine. We had really good wine in the house but seriously, you're cooking with it so just use the crappy stuff. It's not classy, but boxed wine works well, plus it stores easily for other uses. After the wine, add in about a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. Whisk it all to combine and let it cook down. If your wine is really dry, you can dissolve a teaspoon of sugar into the sauce. It will reduce to about half of it's original amount and will take about 10 minutes.

By the time your reduction is done, your potatoes should be coming out of the oven.

Put the steaks back into the pan with the sauce and turn them over so they're covered. Plate up your deliciousness and drizzle some extra reduction sauce over the top of your steak and dig in!

This meal was a complete win. Isaac, my 3-year old, cleaned his plate and my husband didn't use ranch on his meat. If you know him at all, you know this is something that rarely, if ever, happens. The meat was tender and juicy, the potatoes were crispy and the sauce was the perfect compliment. This will be made again.

2012 - New and Improved Menues

I love to cook. That's no question. However, since having a couple of rugrats, a work-from-home job and a house to keep track of, my focus on cooking has gotten a bit blurry. I've fallen into the usual rut of making whatever is easy, whatever I have the ingredients for and whatever is cheap. No more!

For the year of 2012, I have set a goal for myself to try a new recipe each week. With my crazy schedule, I don't want to require myself to do this more than once each week. I'm not talking a new casserole or CrockPot creation. While there's nothing wrong with these forms of cooking (I'll be using these the other 6 days of the week) I wanted to challenge myself with a real meal that I'd expect to see on my plate if we went out to eat.

Not only will this stretch my abilities in the kitchen but it'll force my family to broaden their pallets. Isaac is impressionable and if I don't start introducing new things to his plate, he'll have a high chance of becoming more picky with what he will and won't eat. I've tried to keep a broad spectrum of foods available to him, but again, we fall into our ruts and sometimes need a nudge.

I'll be crating these new meals and blogging about them. I'm hoping to have the time to do this every week. Some will work out beautifully and some, I'm sure, will be complete disasters. You'll see it all, the good, the bad and the revolting.

Kids, try this at home!