Sweet and Sour Glazed Chicken and Thoughts

Happy Friday! I was at the store today, and so was able to pick up the things to try a new recipe I've been eying. This is an extremely easy and delicious recipe that can make 4 or 5 chicken breasts worth, and leftovers should be equally good. To make it, stir together ~10 fl oz French salad dressing, 1C of apricot preserves, 1 package dry onion soup mix and ground red pepper to taste; if you want, you can also add onion powder and Tabasco for added flavor. Pour over 3-5 chicken breasts and bake for about an hour at 350. Goes really well on a bed of Jasmine rice (1C rice to 1.5C water ratio: boil water, then add rice and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed). Based on: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-And-Sour-Glazed-Chicken/Detail.aspx

On leftovers:

They are awesome. I was talking to someone the other day that said they didn't like leftovers, so I had to make a little note here on how nice it is to make a big dinner one night, and feast on the leftovers with no work for another couple nights.

On precision:

One thing that I have found as I cook is that amounts of various ingredients that recipes call for are not set in stone. While some recipes are really important to have precise amounts, it's really not that big of a deal. For example, in this recipe, I put in precisely one biggish squirt of dressing and a couple spoonfuls of preserve, and it turned out excellently. If you like something, add more of it; if you want more of a specific flavor, add it. Again, in this recipe, I wanted a little more kick and onion flavor, so I added a bit of onion powder, ground red pepper and a bit of Tabasco. Not necessary at all, but a modification I made to suit what my particular tastes were at the time. It is not the end of the world if you add too much or too little of something; those small differences are what makes home-cooked food amazing.

Interesting Video:

I found this interesting video from TED of Jamie Oliver discussing teaching kids about food. Quite interesting and recommended watch.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

Quiche and "Wings"

Yesterday was a bit busier, so I only made two things - personal quiches and a healthier version of chicken wings.

The quiches I made were made for a muffin tin, so they are easy grab-and-go breakfasts. To make them, combine 8 slices chopped and cooked bacon, 1 chopped onion, 5-6 eggs, 1 heaping cup bisquick, 2T dried parsley and 2C shredded cheddar cheese. Stir until well combined, then spoon into 12 greased muffin tin cups and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Very easy and very good. Based on http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Mini-Quiches/Detail.aspx

The other thing I made was an attempt at healthier chicken wings. Instead of starting off with whole chicken wings, I began with a couple chicken breasts and cut them to roughly wing sized. I then marinated them in a sauce overnight. The sauce contains 3/4C soy sauce, 1/4C water, 1/2C brown sugar, 1T of Dijon mustard, 1T garlic powder and ground red pepper to taste for a kick. After marinating, bake in a shallow pan with the marinate in with them for an hour at 375, turning and basting every 15-20 minutes. They turned out very flavorful and moist, and will make great snacks or meal on rice. Based on http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Party-Chicken-Wings/Detail.aspx

Beginnings, Cream Cheese Bread, Beer Bread, Beef Casserole

I was going through my RSS feeds today, and realized that I had quite a number of cooking feeds, but was not really happy with any of them, because the recipes they posted were often either something I had no interest making or absurdly complicated. Since I cook a pretty often, I figure that I will post what I make, what recipes I use and what modifications I make. I make pretty much everything, and have a special penchant for breads. I got my love of cooking from my mother, who cooks every day, and rarely the same thing twice.

Since Tuesday afternoons are when I have free time, that is when I have been doing most of my cooking lately. Last Tuesday, I made red velvet cupcakes with strawberry frosting (in honor of Valentines Day), a cream cheese bread in cupcake tins, beer bread, and a really easy beef casserole. The cupcakes were very simple and from a box, but I'll go through the other three recipes.

The cream cheese bread sounds a little odd, but I assure you, it makes for a very moist final product. I also made them in cupcake tins instead of a loaf, which makes small, roll-like breads that keep a lot longer than a cut loaf. To make it, combine 1/3C milk, ~2/3C cream cheese (I used about half a Philadelphia block; the more you use the creamer your result), 1/4C butter, 1 egg, 4T sugar, 1t salt, 3C bread flour, 2.5T yeast. I prepped the yeast with honey and warm water, and melted the butter and cream cheese in the microwave, then stirred everything together. After it has become almost dough-like, dump it onto a CLEAN counter and kneed for 5-10 minutes. Kneading makes the dough into a very uniform, stretchy form that ends up making a very nice final product. I then separated it into 12 cupcake cups and baked at 375 for ~25 minutes. From http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Cheese-Bread/Detail.aspx

Beer bread is the simplest bread I have ever found, and it always is a hit when you get it fresh out of the oven. All it takes is 3C self rising flour, 3T sugar and 1 can flat beer (pour it between 2 cups a couple time to flatten it). Mix and pour into a loaf pan, then bake at 350 for 1 hour. If you want, you can grease the top with butter for a shiny presentation. Tastes just dandy with the cheapest of beers, and is best eaten fresh. I got this recipe from my mother a long time ago.

Finally, the very easy beef casserole, almost a stew. In a crock pot, put 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 package fresh mushrooms, 1 onion cut up however suits your fancy, 1 large envelope onion soup mix, 1/2 C milk, and 1 to 1.5Lb stew beef. I cooked it on low for ~10 hours, served it over egg noodles, and it was delicious. One recipe makes enough for 3-4 servings (depending if you eat like a college guy or not), so it's great for leftovers. From http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/42/Easy-Beef-Casserole131756.shtml