Spiced Hot Cocoa

Spiced Hot Cocoa
Can easily be a traditional hot cocoa recipe if you leave out the spices. No other changes needed for this.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
dash ginger
dash cloves
1/3 cup water
4 cups milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. You may want to sift the cocoa and spices so there are no clumps.
2. Bring the 1/3 cup of water to a simmer in a saucepan. As soon as bubbles appear, whisk in the dry ingredients. Boil while stirring for 2 minutes.
3. Add milk and heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat, then add vanilla. And none of that sissy imitation stuff, neither. (But if that's all you have on hand, double the amount).
5. Add some marshums. Duh.

Serves 4

Cilantro-Lime Taco Soup

Ingredients

          1 lb ground beef

          1 large onion

          1 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped very fine

          1 large sweet bell pepper

          1 packet taco seasoning

          1 packet ranch seasoning

          1 can RoTel Cilantro Lime Tomatoes (undrained)

          1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)

          1 can pinto beans, undrained and pureed in blender

          1 can corn (drained)

          1 can black beans (drained)

         

Garnishes: Fresh cilantro, lime wedges or juice, sliced avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc.

Directions

1.    In large soup pot, brown the ground beef. About halfway through cooking, add onion, chipotle pepper, and sweet bell pepper. Continue to cook until the meat is fully browned and onions are tender.  (Note: The chipotle gives the soup a nice “medium” amount of spice. Add less or more as desired).

2.    Drain the fat off the meat and return to the pot. Add seasonings and stir well.

3.    Add the remaining canned ingredients and stir well. If the soup seems a little dry, some water or beef broth can be added.

4.  Bring to a boil, then serve. Garnish each bowl individually with fresh cilantro, avocado, lime juice, sour cream, and cheese.

Note: If doubling the recipe, puree both 1 can of pinto beans and 1 can of black beans and leave the other two cans intact for more variety. The pureed beans give the soup a creamy base. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These come out perfect every time even in high altitude

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbl. warm water

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbl. buttermilk or sour milk

2-3 really super ripe bananas 

2 cups flour

1 cup assorted mix-ins (candied fruit, nuts, chocolate chips.... I prefer 100% chocolate...)

Directions

1. With a hand mixer, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat well. Add soda water, salt, and buttermilk and combine. 

2. Coarsely mash bananas and stir in. If you're planning on eating the muffins hot, leave chunks of banana because they become AMAZING melty pockets of sweetness... But, if you're one of those people who let muffins cool before eating them... .you'll probably want to make everything nice and smooth so they don't get... moisty.

3. With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and chocolate chips until just combined. 

Makes 18 muffins.

Bake at 325 F for 12-15 minutes until nicely browned on the outside and when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean (the banana pockets might stick a bit...)

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Crispy Orange Chicken

Crispy Orange Chicken

Like Panda Express, but more time and effort.

This recipe serves approximately two people, depending on how much of a pig you are.

First, put a pot of 1 c. white rice with 2 c. water on to cook while you make the rest.

Fried Chicken Ingredients

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 egg

2/3 cup white flour

1/3 cup corn starch

Salt and Pepper

Oil for frying

Fried Chicken Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high, preferably one with a lid to protect from splatters. You'll want about 1 inch of oil in the pan.

2. Beat the egg with a fork in a shallow dish (pie plates work great). Dredge the chicken through the egg.

3. In another shallow dish, whisk together flour, corn starch, and season with salt and pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture.

4. Fry chicken in a single layer for 3-4 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. May take 2-3 batches. 

5. Drain on paper towels, keeping warm.

Orange Sauce Ingredients

1 1/2 T. soy sauce

5 T. granulated sugar

5 T. vinegar

Zest and juice from one large orange

2 T. corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Orange Sauce Directions

In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, zest and juice. Bring to a boil, then whisk in the corn starch mixture. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes until sauce thickens. Keep warm.

Stir-Fried Veggies Ingredients

1 T. oil

1 T. ginger root, peeled and grated (easily done if ginger is frozen)

1 tsp. garlic, minced or crushed

1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers (or more if you like it to be spicy)

1/4 cup green onion, sliced

1 T. vinegar

Stir-Fried Veggies Directions

1. Heat oil in small fry pan. Add ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and green onion. Sautee until onion is tender.

2. Add vinegar and allow to boil off most of the liquid. 

THEN....

Mix stir-fried veggies into the orange sauce, and drizzle the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.... I didn't have any so there ain't any in the picture. Serve immediately.

Creamsicle Pancake Syrup

This recipe was adapted from Heather's Dish "Very Vanilla Pancakes with Creamy Orange Scented Drizzle"

http://www.heathersdish.com/ad-free/very-vanilla-pancakes-with-creamy-orange-scented-drizzle/

All credit goes to her for her ingenuity.

Changes made were simply to document how I adapted the recipe using ingredients I typically have on hand (turns out I don't even know what "vanilla bean paste" is)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest from 1/2 a large naval orange
Juice from 1/2 a large naval orange
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

For directions, see Heather's Dish, link above. I doubled the recipe because my husband likes his pancakes to swim.

Note: I think it'd be awesome to substitute vanilla coffee creamer for the milk, but I didn't have any this morning when I made it. Need to try that next time!

Bacon and Butternut Risotto

Ingredients:

3 T. butter

1 small butternut squash

3 T. brown sugar

Salt and Pepper

3 slices bacon, chopped

3 green onions, sliced

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. dried sage

2 cups arborio rice

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups beef broth

Directions:

1. Peel and chop butternut squash into small cubes. Should yield approximately 4 cups of cubes. 

2. Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add squash. Sprinkle with sugar and salt and pepper. Sautee until browned and tender.

3. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, brown bacon pieces. Once they begin to brown, add green onions, thyme, and sage. Cook until bacon is completely cooked, onion is tender, and herbs fragrant. 

4. Meanwhile...back on the ranch..... okay sorry. Bring broths to a boil. Add rice and bacon mixture. Simmer until rice is fully cooked and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in butternut squash. 

Note: I'm aware that usually risottos are made by slowly absorbing the liquid until it's fully cooked while sauteeing but... this is the easy way, okay? 

Note: I'm also aware that this is a very autumnal meal. Don't care. 

Cinnamon Tortilla Triangles

Ingredients:
6 T. salted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large flour tortillas (burrito sized)

Directions:
Note: You're going to prepare one at a time. You'll see why. Just trust me.

Preheat oven to 350F

1. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
2. Melt butter using your preferred method (I nuked mine)
3. While butter melts, slice one of your tortillas into triangles using a pizza cutter.
4. On a cookie sheet with a rim, slather both sides of the tortilla triangles with the butter (use all of it. Remember, just trust me!) then sprinkle with the sugar mixture on both sides.
5. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, until the sugar looks kinda caramelized and the tortillas look crisp...but not TOO crisp. You want them slightly chewy still so they don't make a terrible mess when you try to eat them. Unless you're into that.
6. Being vewwy vewwy careful to not burn yourself on that scalding sugar, transfer tortillas onto a plate or cooling rack. As you can see, a ton of sugar and butter will be left on the pan. I used a rubber spatula to scrape the stuff out of the pan and into a bowl to cool slightly before handling. Then I sliced up the second tortilla, poured/smooshed the remaining sugarbutter over them, and baked again.

These are super awesome when they're still hot, but also good at room temperature for a snack later. Just store in an airtight container after cooling.

Okay, okay, I admit. I used way too much butter and sugar the first time and discovered the fact that the sugar could be reused to make another. Because the sugar mixture leaks off into the pan no matter how you do it, I think this method is easier than trying to do both at once or whatever.

Also, don't be freaked about the pan getting scorched or anything... you're not baking for very long or for a very hot temperature so my pans were perfectly okay and the sugar mixture dissolved in warm dishwater easily.