Mini Drumsticks

I had this brilliant idea to make mini drumsticks...They ended up being delicious although they were quite a bit of work! Here's how I did it:

Mini Drumsticks

1. Make cones (see recipe below). Once cool, drop a chocolate chip in the bottom and drizzle in a little melted chocolate. everyone knows that's the best part of a drumstick!

2. Fill with ice cream (I made half with homemade carmel ice cream and half with Banana. The Banana was easier to work with. Here's the recipe: http://keepingupwithkak.blogspot.com/2012/01/banana-ice-cream-for-all.html)

3. Freeze overnight so ice cream is good and hard.

4. Melt chocolate, dip cones (or use a spoon) in chocolate. The chocolate will harden quickly so be prepared to add toppings fast!

5. Freeze until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

Waffle Cones
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2T melted butter
2t vanilla extract
1/4c half-and-half
1/3c all purpose flour

1. Heat small pan over medium heat.
2. Whisk sugar, egg, butter, vanilla extract, cream and flour in small bowl.
3. Spray the inside of the skillet with cooking spray and lower the heat to medium-low. You don't want it to be too hot. Add enough batter, in a thin layer, to create your cone, more batter for larger cones, less better (enough to make about a 4-inch circle) for smaller cones.
4. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the bottom begins to lightly brown. BE PATIENT. 3 minutes is longer than you think and you'll only make a mess if you flip them too soon. Carefully flip the dough over with a spatula and cook on the other side until browned.
5. Remove from the pan and immediately roll it into a cone shapeI used construction paper to form a cone and wrapped it in wax paper to help the cone slide off. Pinch the bottom to close and prevent leaks.

6. Let cones cool on wax paper, flat side down. 

 

AEM

Oven Fried Turkey Burgers w/ BBQ Sauce

My Nana gave me a subscription to Rachel Ray's magazine and it's packed with awesome recipes. Here's one example:

Crispy Oven-Fried Turkey Patties with Bourbon BBQ Sauce

BBQ Sauce
1 cup ketchup, preferable organic
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 shots (about 1/4 cup) bourbon
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
coarse black pepper

Patties
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
2 - 3 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper
flour for dredging
2 eggs, beaten with a few dashes of hot sauce, salt and pepper
about 1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed
cooking spray
4 brioche or other soft sandwich rolls split

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees . In a small saucepan, bring the BBQ sauce ingredients to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened, 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper; form into 4 patties. Coat the patties in the flour, then the eggs, then the cornflakes. Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray. Place the turkey patties on the sheet and spray the patties. Bake until crisp, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. Place the turkey patties on the rolls, doused with the sauce. Serve with the toppings of your choice.

AEM

Chicken Pesto Mushroom Pizza

Chicken Pesto Pizza is a staple around our house. Oh, we had chicken last night? We should probably throw the rest on some pizza crust with a little pesto. Typically that's all we use but this time I wanted to shake this up a bit. Mike actually prefers it without the mushrooms but I liked it. Here it is.

Chicken Pesto Pizza w/ Mushrooms

1 chicken breast, cooked (I use leftovers)
1/4 cup pesto (I make a bunch at a time and freeze it in little cups because I don't like premade pesto but use what you like!)
1 onion, thinly sliced
1lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2-1c mozzarella cheese
1 pre-made pizza crust (we like the Boboli whole weat thin crust)

1. Preheat oven according to crust instructions.
2. Sautee onion and mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat.
3. Layer pesto, chicken, onion, mushroom, and cheese on pizza crust.
4. Bake according to crust directions.

AEM

Smores Cookies

I love cookies, I love smores, and I love playing in the kitchen...why haven't I made smores cookies?! Here they are, they are DELICIOUS. As usual, I swapped out some of the butter but here's the original recipe:

Smores Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (7 full graham cracker sheets)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Mini Hershey’s Kisses (or chocolate chips/chunks)
1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits (look for the bits! the mini's work too but the bits are better and look nicer for this, the mini's melt!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
2. Use a food processor or blender to crush 7 graham cracker sheets into 3/4 cup fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the chocolate andmarshmallows and stir to combine.
3. Place 1.5 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Original Recipe: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/gooey-smores-cookies.html

AEM

Chicken Saltimbocca

This is a solid chicken recipe. I like it because it covers all kinds of food groups in one quick meal and is still good! I slightly overcooked the chicken in this one. I've become quite the nervous nelly with chicken after undercooking it a time or two :) Even slightly overcooked, this was still really tasty.

Chicken Saltimbocca

4 thin chicken breasts (pounded flat)
4 thin slices of prosciutto
Parmesan cheese

Frozen, chopped spinach, thawed & drained (I used the smallest package I could find)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2T lemon juice

salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Lay chicken pieces flat on a cutting board or plate. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put one slice of prosciutto on each piece of chicken.
2. Toss the spinach in a little bit of olive oil (maybe about a tablespoon) and put a layer of spinach onto each chicken/prosciutto stack. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese onto each stack. Tightly roll each chicken stack (I started on the thin pointed end). Use a toothpick or two to hold each roll.
3. In a large pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom over high heat. Add the chicken rolls and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, carefully turning with tongs. 

4. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. 

AEM

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Tara's Chocolate Cake

This is a recipe that was shared by my dear friends Rob and Tara who live in a land far far away...ok maybe it's just a few states away but still, it seems far! They said CHOCOLATE and CAKE in the same breath and I couldn't resist. Boy am I glad I listened to them, this was delicious. I cut out some of the butter in favor of applesauce and it was still really really good. I imagine it's just flat out deadly if made the way it was intended. I also cut the recipe by one-third because two people really don't need a full cake (let's be honest, I'd eat the whole thing and nobody needs that). Here is Tara's recipe:

Tara's Chocolate Cake & Icing

Cake:
2 cups boiling water (or coffee) - I used coffee
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool


Icing:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix and use on cooled cake!

AEM

BBQ Chicken w/ Pineapple

There's nothing special about this one, it's just a different twist on an old favorite, and really tasty. I was tired of the standard grilled chicken so we added some bbq sauce and pineapple and whipped up some sweet potato fries. Mmm mm good!


BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Pineapple

2 sweet potatoes
2 T corn starch
1t salt
1t pepper
1t garlic powder
2 thin chicken breasts
fresh pineapple, sliced (I bought it cored and then sliced it)
bbq sauce
2 sandwich buns
olive oil
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (it's better if you preheat to 425 Convect). Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Wash and chop potatoes into fry-shaped slices. Mix corn starch, salt, and pepper and toss fries in mixture. Add olive oil, enough to coat the fries and toss. Put fries onto lined tray and bake, turning every 15-20 minutes, until desired doneness. These will burn faster than normal potatoes so keep an eye on them.
2. Grill chicken as you normally would. Near the end of the cooking, add pineapple to grill (you may want to spray the grill a little beforehand but we didn't). Add bbq sauce to the chicken, flip the pineapple to get some nice lines.
3. Assemble your sandwich and enjoy!

AEM