Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Happy Halloween!  These are sooo cute, and they're simple to make!  I've seen similar ideas on the internet in years past, but finally decided to make them after being reminded of the idea from Our Best Bites, and plus, their pics made it look so easy!  I won't include step-by-step pics, but they are helpful to look at for this particular recipe, so head over to their blog to check them out. 

These cookies turned out much smaller than I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing; I was making them to send to school with my 5-year old, to share with his class.  Since they turned out so small, I sent 2 for each child.  The recipe made so many that we enjoyed some last night with hot chocolate after carving the pumpkin.  I didn't count how many these made, but it was enough to send 30-something into the school and have about 20 or so leftover. 

To make these, you take sugar cookie dough, and divide it into thirds.  You leave one third as-is, color one orange, the the last one yellow.  To do this, I broke out the kitchen scale to make sure they were all the same size, but you can just guess.  I also used Wilton gel food colors, and used my Kitchenaid to mix them in.  It was already "dirty" from mixing up the dough in the first place, so I just put each color in by itself and let the machine do the work.  (I did yellow first, since it was the lightest color).  Then you press the 3 colors into a loaf pan in layers, stick that in the fridge to firm up, slice up the loaf, and cut those slices into triangles. 
I used their sugar cookie recipe for this, and it turned out really well- it's a yummy sugar cookie recipe. 

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies
from Our Best Bites

1 batch sugar cookie dough (recipe below)
yellow and orange food coloring

1.  Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into three equal portions. Leave one as is and color one other portion yellow and another portion orange with food coloring.  I used my Kitchenaid to really mix it in there.

2.  Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap. Gently press layer of uncolored dough into bottom of pan and smooth flat, keeping it at least 1/2-3/4 inches high (you don’t have to use the whole pan if you have a small batch of dough) or larger if desired. Use plastic wrap to get them in there without getting it all over your hands.  Layer orange dough on top of previous layer and smooth. Finally layer yellow dough and smooth on top. Wrap plastic over dough and chill until firm, 30-60 minutes in freezer or 1-2 hours in fridge. Or you can store the dough in fridge for 2-3 days before baking.

3.  Remove plastic and slice loaf into 1/4 inch slices. Trim top of slice to make straight line, if needed. Cut each slice into triangle shape.  Bake according to sugar cookie directions. Cool completely and then if desired, dip ends in almond bark or white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles (I left mine plain).

Our Best Bites Sugar Cookie Dough
from Our Best Bites
1 cup real butter (no substitutions!)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract (or other flavor of your choice, like vanilla)
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate.  Add flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix just until combined. 

2.  When ready to bake, bake at 350 F for 7-9 minutes.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

Creepy Halloween Food!

For the last little while, every time I'd see a cool Halloween-themed food I liked, I'd bookmark it in a special place.  I finally put some of those recipes to use this last Friday when we had a cool Halloween dinner with the kids.  Above are Slimy Worm Sandwiches.  We also had "Monster Eyes" deviled eggs, and "Creepy Fingers" string cheese.  (And some carrot sticks, since they're an orange veggie.  To drink we had orange Fanta). 

Slimy Worm Sandwiches

from Our Best Bites

one package hot dogs (I used turkey)

rolls- one for each person

favorite barbecue sauce- about 1/2 cup or so

1.  Slice hotdogs length-wise into fourths.  Drop into boiling water and cook for about a minute.  Hotdogs will curl naturally. 

2.  Meanwhile, place barbecue sauce in the bottom of a large bowl.  With a slotted spoon, removed cooked (and curled) hot dogs and place them in the bowl.  Stir to coat hot dogs with sauce.  Serve on buns or rolls.

Monster Eyes Deviled Eggs

adapted from Allrecipes

12 eggs

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (or more)

1 pinch celery salt

1 tablespoon dijon mustard (or more)

2 drops green food coloring, or as needed

1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained (I used whole)

ketchup, if desired

1.  Place all of the eggs into a large pot so they can rest on the bottom in a single layer. Fill with just enough cold water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand for about 15-20 minutes. Rinse under cold water or add some ice to the water and let the eggs cool completely. Peel and slice in half lengthwise.               

2.  Remove the yolks from the eggs and place them in a bowl. Mix in the relish, mayonnaise, celery salt, mustard, and food coloring. Spoon this filling into the egg whites and place them on a serving tray. Round the top of the filling using the spoon. Place an olive slice on each yolk to create the center of the eye. Dab a tiny bit of mayonnaise in the center of the olive as a finishing touch.  If desired, make veins using ketchup and toothpicks.

 

Creepy Cheese Fingers

from Easy Appetizer Recipes

Mozzarella String Cheese

Whole Olives, cut in half

Mayo or cream cheese

1.  Wear plastic sandwich bags or plastic gloves to keep the cheese sticks from smudging when you handle them (if desired). Use a paring knife (adults only) to cut each string cheese in half. Carve a little shallow area for the fingernail - just below the rounded end of each half of the rounded side of the string cheese.

2.  Make joint marks with the paring knife just below the nail and more marks for the knuckle joint. You can do this by cutting out little horizontal wedges of the cheese.

3.  To make the fingernails, make a slight well at the tip of the finger.  Then, simply slice the olives in half and clip off the edges a little if desired.  Then, stick them in place by "gluing" them with tiny dabs of cream cheese or mayo.              

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These muffins were quite tasty.  They took quite a while to put together, but it was ok.  There was some baking + babywearing going on so I could get these done without any tears (from me or the baby).  I like pumpkin stuff well enough, but don't love it; however, I have an urge to bake with it in the fall, and these muffins looked really good.  These made two dozen, so I gave most of them away.  I had frozen the rest of the canned pumpkin from these cookies; pumpkin freezes beautifully.  I thawed it for 2 days in the fridge. 

My cream cheese mixture was still soft after 2 hours in the fridge, so I just left it overnight and did them the next day.  I was happy with how these turned out; the cream cheese filling was fun.  I cut the streusal topping in half and had plenty; I'll reflect that in the recipe below.  I had some batter leftover; enough for a mini loaf pan. 
I couldn't use 1 1/4 cups of oil in this recipe without convulsing, so I used about 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 cup sunflower oil.  It worked out very well- just made the muffins really moist, so store in the fridge after they've cooled.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
adapted from Annie's Eats
24 Muffins + 1 mini loaf

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups canola/sunflower oil (can use part unsweetened applesauce)

For the topping:
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. cold salted butter, cut into pieces

1.  To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter.  Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil.  Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours (or overnight).

2.  To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil (and applesauce, if using). Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

3.  To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

4.  To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

5.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

(Oops... hit "publish" on accident before finishing the post, lol!  Here is the rest:)

One of my cooking friends made this bread, and it looked and sounded so good that I wanted to make it too.  Well, it was good!  The pb/chocolate combo made it taste almost cake-like.  But the recipe is actually quite healthy, using all whole wheat pastry flour, raw sugar, plain yogurt, and just a bit of oil.  I enjoyed quite a bit of this.  :) 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

from Food

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar OR 3/4 cup raw sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 medium bananas, mashed (very ripe)

1/3 cup unsweetened crunchy peanut butter

1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons canola or sunflower oil

1/2 - 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat standard loaf pan with cooking spray.

2.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.  Whisk together mashed bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, egg, and oil.  Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Scrape batter into loaf pan.

3.  Bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with few moist crumbs.  Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes.  Unmold then cool completely before slicing.

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Halloween (Candy Corn) Chex Mix

This is an easy and very quick fun Halloween treat to make.  The adults liked it as much as the kids- although eating too much at once isn't a good idea, as it is very sweet!  I used Snyder's Butter-Flavored Pretzel Snaps to get some of that sweet-salty flavor going on- they were really good in there.  I made this twice.  The second time, I included some White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M's (that I scored on Ebay!) but that mixture sent it almost over-the-top sweet; I prefer the Chex Mix without them.  (That batch is not pictured). 

Instead of the raisins called for in the recipe, I used a cup of mini-marshmallows.  Yeah.... way to sub a totally sugary, un-healthy ingredient for a healthy one!  Lol!  (I would have done dried cranberries, but I didn't want red in my Halloween Chex mix!).  I also used some Autum Mix (candycorns, Indian corn, and candy pumpkins) with my plain candycorns. 

To melt my white chocolate, I did NOT use a microwave- I've never had luck using one to melt chocolate, although I know some people swear by it.  I used a good-quality saucepan over the lowest heat on my stove and just stirred often.  Take it off the heat as soon as most of it is melted; continue stirring and don't worry if there are some lumps. 

Halloween Chex Mix
adapted from Chex

8oz white real chocolate, coarsely chopped (2-1/2 100gram bars) 4 cups Rice Chex Cereal
2 cups bite-size pretzels 1 cup mini-marshmallows 1 cup candy corn or Autumn Mix Halloween Sprinkles, to taste 1.  In a small, heavy saucepan, melt white chocolate slowly, over lowest heat.  Stir frequently and do not over-heat.  Remove from heat as soon as most of it is melted; a few lumps are ok. 2.  Meanwhile, combine rest of ingredients (except Sprinkles) in a large bowl.  When chocolate is ready, mix with ingredients thouroughly, until everything is coated with white chocolate.  Now, add the sprinkles to mixture (and fold in) before the chocolate sets.  3.  Spread on wax paper until mixture is cooled and chocolate is set.  Break into pieces and store in a large covered container.
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Bowtie Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sautéed Fresh Sage

I've been eyeing this recipe for a while, but fresh sage is hard to come by here.  I found a small sage plant in my grocery store a little bit ago, so I brought it home in anticipation of this recipe.  I decided to use a large sweet potato instead of a butternut squash; all of the squashes were huge.  I'm sure both ways are good; I loved this with the sweet potato; I could have just eaten the roasted sweet potato mixture by itself.  I also had some shallots that needed used, so I used a handful of those instead of the small onion.  And........ I was in a hurry and tired when I made this, so I made a last-minute decision to use some real bacon bits I had in the fridge, instead of the prosciutto.  It had been a long day.  ;)  They were a nice addition and added a nice, smoky saltiness.

Bowtie Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sautéed Fresh Sage
adapted from Eating, Etc.

1 large sweet potato OR one small butternut squash (about a pound)

1 small onion, chopped (or a few fresh shallots, peeled and chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, finely snipped
8 oz bowtie pasta
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup fresh whole sage leaves
1/4 cup prosciutto, finely chopped OR 2-3 Tbs. real, good-quality bacon bits
2oz parmigiano reggiano or Parmesan cheese, shredded
extra fresh sage leaves for garnish, optional

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

2.  Peel sweet potato and chop into 1" cubes.  If using squash:  Cut squash in half; scoop out seeds & string; peel squash & cut into 1” cubes.  In large bowl, toss sweet potato or squash cubes with onion, (or shallot), garlic, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, & 1/4 cup of the finely snipped sage leaves.  Spread squash mixture in a thin layer on large foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 35 minutes or until squash/sweet potato is soft.

3.  In a large saucepan, cook bowtie pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.

4.  In a small skillet, over medium-high heat, toast pine nuts, stirring constantly, until light golden brown.

5.  As squash finishes roasting, in a large, deep skillet, heat butter on high heat until it just starts to brown.  Add 1/4 cup whole sage leaves and sauté for about 1 minute until crisp. Remove to a plate and crush with the back of a spoon.  Lightly sauté prosciutto until warmed through (can add real bacon bits here instead, if using). Remove to a bowl.

6.  Add pasta to skillet, along with roasted squash mixture, & crushed fried sage leaves. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until some pasta edges begin to brown.  Stir in pine nuts and parmigiano reggiano and serve immediately.  Garnish with fresh sage, if desired.

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Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These cookies were sooooo good, and yet so easy to make!  You place dough into mini-muffin cups and bake, and when they come out of the oven, press a peanut butter cup into the hot cookie.  One tip that was great from Allrecipes reviewers: unwrap the peanut butter cups and place them in the freezer for at least an hour before using- they will go into the cookie very easily without breaking.  A few minutes after pressing the pb cup into the cookie, the chocolate will get all melty and liquidy.  At this point, if you want, you can add some sprinkles to the softened chocolate and they'll stick.  Since Halloween is coming up, I added some Halloween sprinkles to about half of them.

My package of Reeses only had 36, instead of 40, so I took a full-size Reeses and cut it into 4 pieces and used those for the last few naked cookies. 

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
adapted from Allrecipes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

sprinkles for decoration, if desired

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.

2.  Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk.  Add the flour mixture; mix well.  Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.              

3.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball.  Cool and carefully remove from pan.           
    

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Chipotle Chocolate Chili

This chili was pretty good, and I liked using a new-to-me ingredient (chocolate) in my chili.  This recipe just includes a bit of cocoa powder and some unsweetened baking chocolate.  When adding the baking chocolate, add a little at a time, because too much makes it bitter.  (Mine did turn a little bitter after adding half the amount called for, but you can add some red wine vinegar to even it all out).  This chili was almost too spicy for us, and I didn't even include the whole amount of chipotle sauce.  The kids needed some sour cream to tone down the hotness, but they still liked it. 

I cooked the ground turkey and onion in a large skillet on the stovetop and then dumped that, with the rest of the ingredients, into my large crockpot and cooked it that way.  Love having an easy crockpot recipe. 

Chipotle Chocolate Chili
adapted from Our Best Bites

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped

1 red, or yellow bell pepper, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 14.5-oz. cans beans, drained and rinsed (I used one each of black and pinto)

1 15-oz. can beef broth

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt, or to taste

Chipotle sauce (from the can of chipotle chilies)

1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (1/2 unsweetened baking cube), chopped (optional; use to taste as needed; be careful, because too much will make your chili bitter)

3-4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Garnishes:

Light sour cream

Chopped green onions

Fresh Cilantro

Shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and ground turkey until meat is cooked through.  Place mixture into crockpot.  Add bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, beans, beef broth, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, pepper, and salt, if using. 

 2.  Add some of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies-as much or little as you want.  Add a chopped chipotle pepper if you want more heat.  Cook on low for 6-10 hours.  Add 1-2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar and a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.

3.  When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with chopped green onions, cilantro, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Quick & DELISH Salted Butter Caramel Sauce

This was soooooo good, yet so incredibly fast to whip up!  It has the complex flavor of my favorite caramels- in fact, it tastes exactly the same- but it only takes about five minutes of cooking time, and only four ingredients!  This stuff was so good that our fam almost ate the whole batch, warm over ice cream.  There was only about 1/2 cup left, which I ate slowly over the next few days, right out of the fridge.... oops.  I almost preferred it out of the fridge cold, by itself, instead of over ice cream, because I could really taste the wonderful flavor and it didn't get covered by the sweetness of the ice cream.  But I'd definitely make it for ice cream again.  :) 

The amount of cream in this recipe (3/4 cup) is perfect for me, too, because over here, I can get good-quality shelf-stable cream that comes in a 200 ml (3/4 cup) amount.  (I'm not a fan of the shelf-stable milk, but I do like the cream and think it tastes good.  Plus, I can always have some on hand and not have to plan for it). 

Thanks to Azores Gal for this wonderful recipe- check out her blog; she has some excellent-looking recipes; I'm wanting to try more of them.

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce
from Azores Girl
1/2 cup SALTED butter (no substitutions)
1 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
200 ml/ 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream,
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  In a small saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat.  Add the brown sugar; whisk until combined and thickened (about 2 minutes).

2.  Whisk in the whipping cream until thoroughly blended (3 more minutes).  Mix in vanilla until combined (this sauce will thicken up when cool/ refrigerated).  Keep in fridge, lasts 2 weeks. 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Slow Cooker Mexican Black Beans

We had these delicious black beans with fajitas a while ago.  They were the pefect side dish for that.  I only made a half-recipe, and we still had leftovers for days.  Good things beans last a few days in the fridge.  The next few days, I made myself a Black Bean Quesadilla for lunch using these and it was very tasty.  The last day I ate these, I just warmed them up in the micorwave and topped them with a bit of light sour cream and cilantro, and ate them that way.  I love beans, and these are good just by themselves!

Since I did make a half-recipe of this, I was able to use the half-can of tomatoes that I had stored in the fridge after making this bean recipe.  I will reflect the way I made this (the half-recipe) below.  I used my smaller crockpot, but if you are making the full recipe, you'll need a large crockpot.

Slow Cooker Mexican Black Beans

From A Year of Slow Cooking
(Recipe cut in half)

8-10 oz. dried black beans, (sorted; remove pebbles, etc), rinsed, soaked overnight, then drained

3 cups chicken broth or veggie broth
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/2 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, or 1 cup fresh chopped tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1.  Put the drained beans into your slow cooker, then add the chopped garlic, broth, tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder. Stir well to combine.

2.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until tender (may take a little longer, depending on your slow cooker.  Just check them). 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

These were sooooo good.  We had them a while ago, and I'm just now getting around to posting them.  I've grilled meat for fajitas before, but, for some reason, have never thought to grill the veggies, too.  Well, we'll never go back- the grilled veggies were just so good!  The chicken was too, and what a great idea to throw the tortillas on the grill- another "Hello!" moment, lol.  We had these with some slow-cooker black beans (recipe later).  My husband was really excited about these fajitas too; he did all the grilling, while I did some prepwork inside.

Grilled Chicken Fajitas
from Annie's Eats

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
6 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1½ tsp. brown sugar
1 jalapeño, seeded, ribbed and diced (I used pickled, lol)1½ Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
salt, to taste (I added none due to the W. sauce being salty)
¾ tsp. pepper
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied, about 1½ lbs.
1 large red onion (about 14 oz.), sliced into ½-inch thick slices, rings not separated
2 large bell peppers (about 10 oz. each), stemmed, quartered and seeded
8-12 (6-inch) flour tortillas

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, 4 tablespoons of the canola oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade; set aside. Place the chicken breast halves in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. Brush both sides of the onion rounds and peppers with the remaining 2 tablespoons canola oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2.  If using a charcoal grill: Meanwhile, using a large chimney starter, ignite 6 quarts of charcoal briquettes and burn until the coals are fully ignited, about 20 minutes. Empty the coals into the grill, spreading them in a single layer. Place an additional 20 unlit coals over the lit coals on one side of the grill to create a two-level fire. Place the grill grate over the coals and allow to heat for 5 minutes. Scrape the grate clean with a grill brush.  For a gas grill, light all burners to high, cover and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave one burner on high and turn the rest down to medium.

3.  Remove the chicken breast halves from the marinade and transfer to the hotter side of the grill; discard the left over marinade. Place the onion rounds and peppers on the cooler side of the grill. Cook the chicken until it is well browned, 3-4 minutes. Using tongs, flip the chicken and continue grilling until it is no longer pink inside (or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160˚ F.) Meanwhile, cook onions and peppers until spottily charred and crisp-tender, about 8-12 minutes, turning once or twice as needed. When the chicken and vegetables are done, transfer them to a large plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

4.  In 2 or 3 batches, transfer the tortillas in a single layer to the now empty grill on the cooler side. Cook until warm and lightly browned, about 20 seconds per side. When the tortillas are done, wrap them in a clean kitchen towel or foil.

5.  Separate the onions into rings (cut rings in half, if desired) and place them in a medium bowl. Slice the bell peppers lengthwise into ¼-inch strips and add them to the bowl with the onions. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved unused marinade and toss well to combine. Slice the chicken into ¼-inch strips and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade in another bowl. Arrange the chicken and vegetables on a large platter with the warmed tortillas and serve.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Non-Alcoholic Sangria

We had this Sangria with our Spanish Tapas night.  I know it's probably not authentic at all, but oh well.  This seems like a church-lady version.  :)  It was good, easy, and we enjoyed it!  Plus, I've never had real Sangria to compare..... so this is great for me.  I added some sliced Star fruit just for fun; my kids had never seen a cut one before.  They watched me cut it and were just fascinated!  The pears and apples marinating in the drink were tasty to eat when the drink was gone.  The kids all LOVED this!  It was super easy too.

Non-Alcoholic Sangria
from Food

4 cups cranberry-grape juice

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pear, diced

1 apple, diced

3 cups carbonated lemon-lime beverage (Sprite or 7-Up)

1.  In a large pitcher, combine cranberry-grape juice, orange juice, fresh lemon juice, diced pear, and diced apple.  Refrigerate for a least 2 hours.

2.  Just before serving, stir in the lemon-lime soda and some ice.

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Pimientos de Padrón (Spanish Tapas)

My Italian Padron pepper sub- not sure what they are but they taste just as good.  :)  5/5/2015  Tapas night!  (Below)

I absolutely love these little guys.  I lived in southern Spain as a young adolescent and then teenager, and these little green gems were popular in the restaurants there- either as a tapa (appetizer) or as a side to your meal.  One of my fave meals was a garlicky pan-grilled bluefish with a bunch of these fried Pimientos. 

I was SO excited last week when I went to the local Portuguese grocery store and noticed packages of fresh "pimento padrão"!!  (How to say it in Portuguese, obviosly, lol.)  I knew it is hard to find these outside of Spain, so I bought a package right away.  (Should have bought two!)

I knew right then that our fam was going to have a Spanish Tapas night, so I went around the store collecting green olives, Spanish cheeses (including Manchego), and Maria cookies.  (Lol!  Maria cookies always make me chuckle a bit, for some reason). 

A few days later when we had our Tapas night, besides the foods mentioned above, we had fresh strawberries, non-alcoholic Sangria (recipe later), and another favorite of mine- Spanish Tortilla.  (A very traditional egg & potato dish).  You can see a slice of it in the very first photo on this post, behind the Pimientos. 

Spanish Tapas night was extemely popular with the whole family!  I can't wait to do it again.  :)  Next time I'm going to try making both marinated olives and marinated Spanish cheeses.  Maybe some other fun things, too. 

Every website I've seen mentions something like 1 in 6 peppers is insanely hot/spicy, but I have NEVER had a hot one, and I've eaten lots!  They are always so mild.

Pimientos de Padrón
adapted from Other Spain

Olive Oil (use Spanish olive oil!)
Fresh Pimientos de Padrón
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

1.  Wash the peppers and dry them thoroughly.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over a medium flame. (We used about 2 Tablespoons oil at first, but used quite a bit more the last time we made these.  Better results with more oil.)

2.  Add peppers and fry, stirring well, until they blister and begin to turn brown-2 to 3 min.  (May turn white in spots).

3.  Remove the peppers and pat them dry on a sheet of paper towel.  They will "deflate" a bit after being removed from the heat.  Sprinkle with salt, to taste.

Note: Normally the peppers are cooked with their stems, but the stems (and seeds) are not eaten.

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Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

This soup was so delicious- it exceeded my expectations in levels of delicious-ness.  It was also very easy to make, and smelled sooo good while it was cooking.  You can use cooked chicken in this, but I didn't have any, so I just dropped in frozen (raw) chicken tenders when I added the broth.  At the end of the cooking time, the chicken was perfectly cooked and tender- I just shredded it apart with two forks.  Using evaporated milk is an easy, no-fuss, and less-fat way to thicken this soup.  We had these with fresh biscuits.  Everyone LOVED dinner and the soup and biscuits were all gone!  Sad for no leftovers for my lunch the next day!  :( 

Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup
from For the Love of Cooking

1 tsp of olive oil
1/2 small or medium onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 cups of homemade or storebought chicken stock
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried basil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 cup (or more) cooked chicken breast, diced (Can add raw chicken right to the simmering broth & shred later)
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup of frozen sweet yellow corn, thawed
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1.  Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery once hot. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds. Add the chicken stock, diced (or raw) chicken, rice, bouillon, basil, sea salt, black pepper and bay leaf. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.

2.  Turn the soup up until it boils. Mix the corn starch and evaporated milk thoroughly in a bowl. Add the milk mixture to the boiling soup and stir. Lower the heat and add the corn. Mix thoroughly and simmer for a few more minutes. The soup will thicken as it sits. Enjoy.

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Buttermilk Biscuits

Our family loved these and they were pretty easy to make!  I don't make biscuits very often, but I think I might start to, because I forgot how good they are.  I also loved these cheese biscuits I made about a year ago.  I feel so accomplished when I'm able to make something like this.  ;)  We had these with some delicious creamy chicken soup, and we slathered the biscuits with butter and my plum and fig jam.  I used one cup of whole wheat pastry flour in the biscuits and they still turned out absolutely perfect.  Thanks to Joy the Baker for the recipe! 

Buttermilk Biscuits
from Joy the Baker
Makes 10-12 Biscuits
3 cups all-purpose flour (can use one cup whole wheat pastry)
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, cold and cut into cubes (I used organic-no trans fats)
1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In another bowl, combine egg and milk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough.

2.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 2×2-inch squares. Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

This chicken is delicious- but I think pretty much anything grilled is always delicious.  You could probably throw dirty dishwater on chicken, grill it, and it'd be good.  Anyway, this chicken is full of delicious honey-mustard flavor!  And it always turns out super tender, too.  I didn't even marinade this the last time I made it; I just whipped up the honey-mustard mixture, and then we grilled totally frozen chicken and just brushed this on during grilling.  It was still so good!  Super tender and tasty.  The chicken went very well with this orzo and these Cherry Limeades.  I didn't really measure the last time I made this, and didn't use as much honey and mustard as I was supposed to, and it still turned out great.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken
from Allrecipes

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon steak sauce or tomato chili sauce

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (or a bunch of chicken tenders)

1.  Preheat the grill for medium heat.

2.  In a shallow bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak or chili sauce. Set aside a small amount of the honey mustard sauce for basting, and dip the chicken into the remaining sauce to coat.               

3.  Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 15 to 20 minutes (way less time for tenders), turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning!               

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Orzo with Tomatoes, Basil, and Blue Cheese

I've had this recipe saved to make forever and I finally made it sometime last week.  Sadly, (so sadly), I cannot get Gorgonzola here.... or at least I haven't seen any.  But I can find regular blue cheese.  This time, it came from Bavaria, Germany and it's really good.  I buy a small amount at a time, because I'm the only one in the fam that eats it.  I avoided it while pregnant, but am getting my share of it now.  It is sooooo good and I love it so much!  Tonight, my husband threw some onto the Grilled Naan Pizzas he made for me (the rest of the fam just had provolone and pepperoni on theirs. 

Anyway, back to this recipe.... it was good, and my husband and I loved it.  The rest of the fam just had Parmesan on theirs, since they don't like blue cheese.  Anytime my kids see orzo, they think it should be this recipe; it's like a crime if I try to do something new with orzo.  They LOVE that Parmesan/Basil one.... really, really love it.  They're always disapointed if they see orzo on the table and it's not their fave orzo.  Makes it hard to try new orzo recipes!  I even gave them a few warnings during the day.  "Hey guys, I'm making a new orzo recipe tonight.  It's not the one we usually have; it's new, ok?"  But they still didn't seem to get it, come dinnertime!  They were all like "Is this the one we like?"  Hello!  Sheesh!  I think they think the word "Orzo" means "Parmesan/Basil Orzo".  Ha ha!  Anyway, here is the recipe.

PS:  You could use Feta instead of Blue Cheese- that would be really good.  I was actually going to pick some up for the Blue Cheese haters, but my store was out of the crumbled stuff, and I was feeling too lazy to crumble a block myself.  :)

Orzo with Tomatoes, Basil, and Blue Cheese
adapted from Allrecipes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta (I used half white and half whole wheat)

1 small red onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

                  

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

12 leaves fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue cheese (or Feta), to taste

1.  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the orzo pasta; cook and stir until the orzo has lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the onion, and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add 1 clove of garlic; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the vegetable broth, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cover; simmer until the orzo is tender yet still a little firm to the bite, 12 to 14 minutes.

2.  In a mixing bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, 1/2 of the fresh basil, garlic, and remaining olive oil.               

3.  Spoon the cooked orzo into a serving bowl. Top with tomato mixture, and sprinkle with Gorgonzola and remaining basil.               

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Cherry Limeade

This isn't really a fall drink, but it took me quite a while to get around to making it, and plus, we've been having some warm weather lately.  :)  We had these with grilled chicken, orzo and broccoli- all foods that my kids love, but they totally ignored the food in favor of these drinks.  :)  They loooooved them!  The adults enjoyed them, as well.  PS: I bought limes so I could garnish the glasses with lime slices, but totally forgot about them.  They're still in my fridge....somewhere......  PPS:  The only bottle of cherries available here is 12oz or so, not 16, but it still worked out for us. PPSS (?):  I've never even had the "real thing" from Sonic, but I really liked this drink. 

Cherry Limeade
from Eating, Etc.

12oz. frozen limeade concentrate
2-liter bottle Sprite, or about 4 cans
juice from 16oz. jar maraschino cherries
maraschino cherries
crushed ice or ice cubes
fresh lime slices, optional

1.  In a large pitcher, mix limeade concentrate with Sprite.  Add maraschino cherry juice.

2.  Add 1-2 maraschino cherries to the bottom of a glass.  Add ice.  Pour Sprite mixture over ice. 

3.  Garnish with lime slices, if desired.  Top with a maraschino cherry. 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**/

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

I made this over a month ago and am just now getting around to posting it.  This is a casserole baked in a creamy soup type recipe, and I hardly ever make such things, but this is a nostalgic recipe for me; shortly after my now 5-year old was born, someone brought us dinner one night, and it was Poppyseed Chicken with Rice.  I loved it soooo much; it tasted so good to me, and I've always wanted to make it, but have shied away because of the use of Cream of Chicken soup, which I don't ever like to use.  I know there are good homemade cream soup recipes one can use, but after my little guy was born this last August, I feel like I don't have a ton of time to devote to cooking, and making my own soup + the casserole seemed too daunting to me.  Well, enter in a new food product at my grocery store: an all-natural, good-tasting, non-scary cream of chicken soup!  It's by Pacific foods, and the ingredients are all good things, and it's actually tasty!  There's a cream of mushroom one, as well.  It's in a small 12-oz box, in the soup section of the store.

I have three more boxes of this, since I never know when my store will suddenly stop carrying certain items.  I want to try a crock-pot recipe next.  I usually skip over recipes containing cream-of-whatever, but now I can finally partake!

Anyway, this Poppyseed Chicken is very rich & caloric, so I won't be making it all the time.  I did use light sour cream, and half the butter called for.  I also served this over brown rice with steamed broccoli on the side!  For the chicken, I just cooked a bunch of (about 10 frozen) chicken tenders in a non-stick skillet with olive oil & garlic salt.  I let them cool slightly and then chopped them up. 

This dish was delicious, easy, and the whole fam even loved it.  I bet it might freeze well, too.

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole
adapted from Allrecipes

4-5 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 (12 ounce) box natural condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup light sour cream

1 1/2 cups crushed buttery round crackers (I just used one sleeve)

1-2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/4 cup butter, melted

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).               

2.  Place the chicken into a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. Pour over the chicken. In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.               

3.  Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

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