Rosemary Chicken

This has become my quick go-to chicken recipe when I want to make a more complicated side dish, like a Sweet Potato Casserole, or Broccoli Rice Casserole.  (To me, a simple side dish is a roasted or sauteed vegetable. I tend to not do a complicated main dish with a complicated side.  Just too lazy, I guess, or maybe everything is just more complicated from scratch!)

Rosemary Chicken
1 whole chicken (this usually just barely feeds the six of us, as the kids grow, we'll need 2!)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. dried rosemary
Salt and Pepper

I normally rinse my chicken off before I get started, get rid of all the bits from butchering.  You know what I'm talking about. : )  Heat the oil in the bottom of a pressure cooker (one large enough for the chicken).  Toss the rosemary into the hot oil, and saute until they smell great!  Add salt and pepper into the oil, then place the chicken, breastside down, into the oil.  Sear the breast side for 1-2 minutes,  then turn a quarter on to the side, sear it, then repeat, searing all four sides of the chicken.  You won't be able to get every part of the skin seared, just get the main parts.  This helps lock in the flavor.

Turn the chicken to be breastside up, back down.  Add about 1 c. of water.  Close the cooker and cook it for 15 minutes or so.  If the chicken was frozen, it takes more like 25 minutes.

You can also add more flavors to this by adding some quartered onions or garlic pieces to the oil before adding the chicken.  Or for a complete meal, add some chopped or wedged potatoes and carrots and more water.  This is also a great started for broth. After you pick the chicken and eat it, leave the water in the cooker from before, throw the bones back in with some onions and fill it up with water and cook it.  Delicious broth for soups, casseroles, and sauces.  

Lamb Stew

One of my husbands most often requested meals. : )  Just in time for fall... The flavor in this is strong and intense. If you like more mild (blander) food, tone down the seasonings and vinegar. 

Lamb Stew
2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1/4 c. flour (corn starch or wheat)
1 pound (1/2 kg) lamb stew meat
1 t. salt
1 box tomato puree
4 c. chicken broth
3 T. apple cider vinegar
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. plus 1 T. of water
2-3 chopped onions
1 c. sliced carrots
3/4 c. chopped turnips
3/4 c. chopped potatoes
1 T. raisins
1 t. cumin seed
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. cinnamon powder
1 t. dried parsley

You can use either lamb or mutton meat for this, but it needs to be good cuts of boneless, lean meat.  I don't care for the flavor of mutton, and you can ask butcher to provide you with lamb meat.  Some will have it, some will not.  It will be more expensive than chicken, for sure, but just consider this a special treat.  Even for a half kg, here it's only about $4, which is definitely affordable for a great (RED MEAT!) meal for our whole family. : )

1.  Heat oil in a Dutch oven with the butter.  Place flour in a shallow dish.  Sprinkle lamb pieces with black pepper and salt.  Dredge lamb meat in flour to coat.  Place lamb in the hot oil and melted butter.  Cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.  Remove lamb from pan with a slotted spoon.  

2.  If needed add a bit more olive oil.  Add cumin seed and onions to pan.  Cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.  Add tomato puree and cook for one minute, stirring frequently.  Stir in broth and apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire and water, scraping down to loosen browned bits.   Return meat to the pan, and add ½ t. salt, raisins, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover, cook 1 hour.  

3.  Remove lid and add the vegetables.  Cook on a medium heat for 30-45 minutes. The juice should be reduced and thick.
This serves 6 people (two adults and four kids).  

Mango Cobbler with Double Pie Crust

I love mangoes. If you don't know that yet, then you do now.  Last year, I made a mango cobbler with a biscuit type topping.  This year, I've wanted to try a pie crust topping.  When a good friend's birthday happened last week, it was the perfect time. 

Do not attempt this with mangoes from the midwest in America.  You will be disappointed. This must only be made with mangoes fresh off the tree that drip liquid gold when you slice into them.  

Mango Cobbler with Double Pie Crust

 

For Crust: 

2 1/2 c. maida

3 T breakfast/castor sugar

1 t. salt

200 g. butter (keep it cold!)

1 egg

1/4 c. cold water

For the Filling: 

4-5 fresh mangoes, cubed

1 c. Mixed Fruit Juice (Tropicana is what I used)

100 g. butter

2 c. breakfast sugar

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. white sugar

First, make the crust.  Measure the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.  Cut the butter into small 1/4 inch cubes.  Add them to the flour mixture, and cut them in with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  Separately, mix the egg and cold water.  Pour it into the flour mixture, and with a fork, stir until it pulls into a ball.  You will need to chill this, preferably for at least 30 minutes, longer is better. It's super hot here right now, so taking it out to work with it on the counter heats it up fast.  The hotter it is, the more difficult it is to work with. I put it in the freezer to get it colder faster.  Just don't forget it's in there... or you won't be having Mango Cobbler tonight. : ) 

Meanwhile, Cut up your mangoes, and place them in a large sauce pan with the juice, the 100 g. butter (because there's just not enough in the crust), and cook until the butter is melted.  In a bowl, stir together two cups sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.  Add it to the mango mixture.  Remove it from the heat.  

Now, take your pie crust out of the fridge and divide it into two pieces.  Roll out one piece big enough to cover your pan with some hanging over.  You can either make this in a normal pie dish, or a 9x13 pan.  A 9x13 pan will result in a shallower cobbler, and will use all the filling.  A pie dish will have a thicker cobbler, and will use half the filling (meaning you get to eat this again soon!)  I opted to save half the filling and make a pie. 

Line the bottom of your dish with your crust.  Pour in the filling.  (You can opt to bake the crust for a few minutes if you want.  I've done it both ways, and didn't notice much of a difference). 

If you want to make a pretty lattice top, go right ahead.  Start by googling for YouTube videos on how to do that. Because I have not mastered it yet.  : )  

I have just laid strips down one way across, and then another set of strips going the opposite direction.  Not quite as pretty as a lattice, but super tasty. Either way, crimp the edges to the bottom crust if possible, so the filling does not leak out. 

Sprinkle the 1 T. of sugar of the top crust and bake it for 40-50 minutes. 

Grab a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some warm cobbler, and dig in.  So delicious!

Adapted for South Asia from :  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/old-fashioned-peach-cobbler/

Pulled Chicken Barbecue

My husband is a barbecue nut.  He loves it.  He says that barbecue sauce is one of his top two favorite foods.  (The other is parmesan cheese... he's really out of luck living in South Asia!) : )

To make up for his lack of barbecue options on this side of the world, I have experimented with several different options.  The one that he asks for most often are these simple pulled chicken sandwiches.  They're a quick go-to meal, especially if you have a place where you can buy burger buns!

Pulled Chicken Barbecue

Rub:

⅓ c. Sugar

2 t.  Paprika (don't use lal mirch!)

2 t. Dry Mustard
1 t. Salt 

4 whole Chicken Breasts

1 can Ginger Ale
1 c. Water

Sauce:

½ c. Apple Cider Vinegar

½ c. Ketchup
⅓ c. Brown Sugar (or white sugar/bhura is fine too!)
½ c. Pan Drippings (Or Broth)
1 T. Dijon Or Yellow Mustard
2 pinches Salt 

Directions:
Mix together in a bowl the sugar, paprika, dry mustard, and a teaspoon of salt.
Mix and rub on the outside of the chicken breasts. 

Heat 1 t. of oil in the bottom of the pressure cooker.  Quickly sear the chicken breasts on both sides in the oil. Don't cook too long, just brown the tops and bottoms.

Pour water and ginger ale into pressure cooker. Seal the lid. Bring to high pressure and cook for 10-15 minutes. 

Remove from pressure cooker, and use two forks to shred the chicken.

Pour off all but ½ cup of the drippings from the pressure cooker. Put pressure cooker on a medium heat (without the lid on) and add ketchup, brown sugar, prepared mustard, and apple cider vinegar. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to incorporate any drippings sticking to the bottom on the pan.
Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. I have found that this bbq sauce tastes strongly of vinegar at this point. Don’t worry; it will mellow out once you mix it in with the pulled chicken.

Add bbq sauce to the chicken. You may not want or need all of it. It depends on your taste. I use all of mine, but I really love sauce! Great with potato or pasta salad, or just plain chips or McCain Super Wedges for a quick and easy meal! :) 

Chicken with Creamy Mustard Sauce-from PW

I love the Pioneer Woman. I've said it before.  I'll say it many times in the future. Many of her recipes are so easy to adapt to our available food items.  I keep trying to win a KitchenAid mixer or Le Crueset pot from her.  But it's not working for some reason.  : )

I try to attempt at new PW recipe almost at least once a week.  They pretty much never fail. This is one that I will keep in rotation for awhile, because it was very quick, and very tasty, and my whole family loved it.  My kids even said they wanted to give me a reward for making the best chicken ever, what would I like?  I said "Kids who listen and obey all day tomorrow!" : ) 

The original PW recipe is here.  This is how I tweaked it for our South Asian non-alcoholic version: 

Chicken with Creamy Mustard Sauce-PW Style

4 whole chicken breasts

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 c. chicken broth/ 1 cube buillion in 1 c. water

1 T. Dijon mustard (I used Remia imported brand)

1 T. grainy mustard (I used Fun Foods English Mustard)

1/2 c. heavy cream

Water for thinning

1 t. sugar

1 T. red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise for eight thin pieces.  Salt and pepper both sides.  

Heat oil and butter together in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook chicken on both sides until golden brown.  Remove chicken to a plate. 

Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the garlic to the pan and saute for a minute, make sure it doesn't burn.  Add the chicken broth/bullion, and cook to reduce it to half.  Add both mustards and stir.  Add the red wine vinegar and stir with a whisk to combine.  Add the cream.  If sauce seems thick, add a bit of water.  Add sugar, salt and pepper, adjusting seasonings to your taste.  Place the chicken back in the sauce and cook for just a couple of minutes.  Serve with sauce on top of chicken!

PW suggest serving this with a green salad.  We had this with a fresh green bean salad, and it was a big hit. I'll definitely be making this again! :) 

Make Your Own Rice-A-Roni

Make your Own Rice-A-Roni:

½ c. Vermicelli
¾ c. Uncooked Long Grain Rice
3 c. Water, Plus More As Needed
2 T. Butter Or Oil
⅛ t. Salt 
⅛ t Paprika
⅛ t Pepper
⅛ t Onion Powder
⅛ t Garlic Powder
2 cubes Chicken Bouillon 
1 Medium Onion, Diced

Directions:
In medium skillet sauté onion.  When translucent, add broken pasta pieces and rice in butter, stirring constantly, until the pasta is golden brown. Carefully pour in water, spices and bouillon. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Croissants?!? Yes Please!!!

My family and I went on a little hiatus from South Asian life this past year.  We were in the US from August to the first of February.  We returned to our South Asian city, only to find it was time to move to a different apartment.  It's been a good move for us, but now, about a month later, we're finally settled in and getting back to a routine.

I've been wanting to try making croissants for a long time, but never really had the courage (or a good reason to muster up the courage).  A friend in my city had received a package with a special ingredient, and wanted to make her grandmother's chicken salad and have us all over for lunch.  Well, if that's not a reason to figure out how to make croissants, I don't know what is. I spent some time looking over lots and lots of recipes, and finally settled on this one. It has really cool .gifs. (If you don't know what those are, it's okay, I didn't either before I saw them here!)  They're moving pictures, not like a movie, but sequenced to show action, that gave me a fantastic idea of what the process was supposed to look like.

I learned a lot through the process. Like, the butter inside melts much faster in north Indian heat. : )  And, if I were to do it again, I would roll (and fold) them out twice each time I took them out, to get more layers, because mine didn't have as many layers as the original recipe did.  But all in all, for a first attempt, they turned out great.

One thing that surprised me is that it was about one hour of active work.  And that was spread out over about 15 hours.  I started in the afternoon, made the dough, let it rest in the fridge, and then took it out ever hour on the hour to roll and fold four times (I think!). I lived by the kitchen timer that day. : )  Then the dough rested overnight, and in the morning, I got up, rolled them out and shaped them, and let them rise 2 hours, then baked them.  It wasn't near as hard as I imagined it being. : )

Here's pictures of how mine turned out, and a link to the original recipe!

Be brave in your kitchen! Tackle something previously scary this week! : )

Croissant Tutorial at Top With Cinnamon . com

This is the dough after it's final roll and fold, when it's cut and ready to rise overnight in the fridge.  I was surprised at how many layers there were, but it's nowhere near what the original poster's dough looks like.  Mine definitely looks hot and tired, thanks to the Rajasthan heat! :)

Finished product!  They were yummy with that chicken salad! :)

Bierocks!

I grew up eating these.  My family has a German background, and I guess that's where it came from.  : )   

Since I have a spouse who doesn't appreciate the simplicity of the bierock itself, I've had to tweak it a little to make it an enjoyable meal for everyone in my house. : ) You can also make it a good vegetarian option by substituting channa deal(yellow lentils) for the chicken.  One of my favorite things about this recipe is it makes 12 bierocks, which means two meals for us!  I always freeze 6 of them (wrapped in saran wrap and foil) and pull them out later for a quick meal.  

Here's what I do!  It's a nice little comfort food meal, especially if you serve it with onion rings. : ) 

Bierocks


Dough:
2 ¼ t. Dry Yeast1 c. Warm Milk¼ c. Sugar¼ c. Vegetable Oil1 t. Salt 2 Eggs, Beaten4 c. Bread Flour, More As Needed

Filling:
½ c. Onion, Chopped1/2 kg chicken keema2 T. Vegetable Oil.
4 c. Cabbage, Cut Fine
3-4 T. Amul creamy cheese
1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Salt, Pepper And Cayenne Pepper To Taste


Directions:
Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm milk. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine oil, salt and eggs; add yeast mixture. Add 1 cup of flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in ½ cup of flour at a time, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
Knead in remaining flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Place dough in a well-oiled large bowl and loosely cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. 

To make filling, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and onion and cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add cabbage and cook until wilted. Add cheese and worcestershire.  Season with salt and pepper. Let cool. 

Punch dough down and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half. 

Roll each half into a letter-sized rectangle (roughly 8 by 11) and cut each rectangle into 6 squares. 

Spoon ¼ or ⅓ cup filling into center of each square. 

Bring opposite corners together at the center, pinching corners and seams to seal.

 Place seam side down on a large baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

PW's Strawberry Sparkle Cake: SA Style

I love the Pioneer Woman.  I look at her blog weekly. I think almost every week, I'm trying a new recipe from her, and loving every single one.  On the fourth of July, I saw her post of the Strawberry Sparkle Cake... I didn't even read the post, because I saw the strawberry filling and knew there was no way I could pull it off... strawberries have been gone here for months.

But a few days later, on a whim, I went back and read the recipe.  And I had a stroke of genius. Strawberry crush.  Have you ever bought a crush?  I bought a bottle just out of curiosity a few weeks ago, and turns out, the strawberry crush has real whole strawberries and is really sweet and yummy.  It made the perfect filling for this cake!  It turned out great, except for the whipped cream frosting, which I didn't expect to work anyway.  The regular Amul cream is only 25% fat, and to properly whip cream, it needs to have at least 40% fat... anyone had success getting a heavy high fat cream for whipping? What's it called?!?

Head on over to Pioneer Woman for this recipe, grab a bottle of Strawberry crush, and make this yummy cake this week!

Greek Pizza

Normally when I make leftover pita pizzas, I do a simple tomato sauce with some mozzarella and toppings.  This weekend, however, I had so much feta cheese left, I thought I'd try something different.

Here's what I came up with that we will definitely be adding to the regular rotation.  My husband loved it!

Greek Pizza
3/4 of a green zucchini, halved and sliced
3/4 of a yellow squash, halved and sliced (feel free to change up these vegetables to things you can find!)
1 onion, halved and sliced,
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped (this was leftover too, so we thought why not? Easy to omit for a veg meal)
Seasoning of your choice (I used a seasoning jar called "Montreal Chicken", no idea what's in it!)
1 T. olive oil
1-2 tomatoes, sliced
Feta Cheese
Leftover pita bread

Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add onions and garlic and sauté 3-4 minutes until tender.  Add zucchini and squash and bacon, and seasoning. Sauté until vegetables are cooked.

Divide cooked vegetables between two pita bread rounds.  Top with sliced tomatoes and crumbled feta.  Bake in 180 oven for 5-10 minutes.

Really, could it be any simpler?  But oh my, was it amazing! 

Grandma's Yeast Rolls

I always love it when I'm able to get a recipe out of my grandma.  She's one of those grandma's who seems to cook by instinct.  Nothing is ever measured, and it's all in her head.  I did manage to get her to write this down as a birthday gift for me.  Her rolls are always the star of the meal at Thanksgiving. You can use this recipe for more than just rolls, it works for sandwich bread and for burger or hot dog buns. 






Grandma's Yeast Rolls

¼ c, Warm Water
1 T. Sugar
2 ½ t. Yeast
1 c, Scalded Milk
1 c, Water
¼ c, Crisco Or Oil
1 t. Salt 
¼ c, Sugar

Directions:
Combine ¼ c. warm water, T. sugar and yeast.

Combine scalded milk, 1 c. water, oil, salt and sugar.  Allow to cool.  Add milk mixture to yeast mixture after cooled.

Add 2 c. flour and beat until very smooth.  Add 1 more cup, beat,  Continue adding ½ c. at a time until dough is very stiff.  Then knead on a lightly floured counter top.  Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled.  Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 even pieces.  Take each piece and divide in two, rolling each piece into a ball. Place two balls in one muffin cup.  Once pan is full and all rolls are made, allow to rise another 30-45 minutes.

Bake at 375 for approximately 12 minutes, until golden brown.  Brush with butter last minute of cooking, if desired. 

Greek Chicken Casserole

Here's a quick and easy meal in a dish! I love baked dinners, because I can clean up while dinner cooks in the oven. : )

Greek Chicken Casserole- from Barefoot Con Terra
1 T. Olive Oil
2 c. Chopped Onion
2 T. Dried Thyme
1-2 t. Black Pepper
10 cloves Garlic, Minced
6 c. Cubed potatoes (1/4 kg)
2 c. Cut Green Beans (1/4 kg)
½ c. Water
2 T. Finely Chopped Olives (optional)
2-3 c. Diced Tomatoes

8 Skinned, Boned Chicken Thighs, Or Breasts
½ c. Crumbled Feta Cheese



Salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potato; sauté 8 minutes or until potato begins to brown. Stir in green beans, water,and tomatoes. Salt to taste, adjusting seasonings to your liking. Remove mixture from heat. Nestle chicken thighs into potato mixture. Top with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. 

*I might be a little more generous with the feta cheese.  : )  

Mexican Chocolate Cake

A good friend of mine, who is a fantastic cook, once told me that putting cinnamon in a chocolate cake is common in Mexico.  I didn't know that, but grew up eating this chocolate sheet cake.  I've started calling it Mexican Chocolate cake, just to differentiate it from other chocolate cakes I make.  This one might be my favorite.

Mexican Chocolate Cake
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
100 g. butter
1/2 c. dalda or vanaspati
4 T. cocoa
1 c. cold water
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1 t. soda
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
 2 eggs

Icing
1/3 c. milk
4 T. cocoa
1 t. vanilla
100 g. butter
3 1/2- 4 c. powdered sugar

Combine the milk and vinegar and let sit.  Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl.  Bring butter, shortening, cocoa and water to a boil in a saucepan.  Pour boiling mixture over flour and sugar.  Beat well.  Add the milk and vinegar combination, salt, soda, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs.  Grease a 9x13 cake pan and pour the batter in.  Bake for 20 minutes at 375/190.

To make frosting, put milk, cocoa and butter in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Add vanilla and sugar.  Beat.  Pour it over the hot cake.  The icing will set very quickly.  

Bruschetta

I found this recipe in a Top Secret Restaurant recipes cookbooks.  It claims to be a Cheesecake Factory recipe.  Wherever it's from, it's great!

Bruschetta
1 1/2 c. chopped roma tomatoes
2 T. diced red onion
1 large garlic clove
2 T. chopped fresh basil (if you can't get this, substitute 1/2 t. dried basil)
1/2 t. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. salt
dash of pepper
loaf of French Baguette (use the Classic French Bread recipe!)
1/4 t. garlic salt

Combine the tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and basil in a medium bowl.  The tomatoes and onions should be chopped uniformly.

Add 1/2 T of oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and mix well.  Cover the bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour. (Sometimes I don't do this because I don't plan ahead).

When you are ready to serve the dish, preheat your broiler and slice the baguette in one inch slices on a 45 degree angle.  Combine the remaining 1 1/2 T oil with the garlic salt. Brush the entire surface of each slice of bread (both sides) with the oil until the surface of the bread starts to turn brown.

Arrange the slices like a star or spokes of a wheel on a serving plate.  Pour the chilled tomato mixture in a neat pile onto the bread slices where they meet at the center of the plate.  Garnish with Italian parsley. 

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

These are just like Cinnabon.  Really, really good...  Don't be afraid of cinnamon rolls!  They're not as hard as they seem.  I always make these and roll them out, put them in a pan in the evening and put them in the refrigerator to do their second rise overnight.  In the morning, pull them out and set them on the counter for 30-45 minutes to get to room temperature while you let the oven pre-heat.  Then, bake them up! Cinnamon rolls are best eaten hot and fresh. (I'm sorry this picture is so terrible, it does NOT do these justice!) I've been wanting to post this recipe for a long time, but have been holding off for a picture... this is better than nothing, I guess! : )

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
2 1/4 t. yeast
1 c. warm milk (110 degrees)
1/2 c. castor or breakfast sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs
4 c. flour

Filling: (I almost always double this part)
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 T. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened

Icing:
8 T. butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. cream cheese
1/2 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.   Add sugar, margarine, salt, eggs, and flour.  Mix well.

Knead the dough into a large ball.  Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approximately 21 inches long by 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.

To make the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Spread the melted butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.  You want the cinnamon mixture to go all the way to the edge of on three sides of the rectangle.  On the side that will be the outer edge, leave about 1/4-1/2 inch of dough uncovered by cinnamon.  Make sense?  You will roll toward this edge.
Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.  Cut the dough into approximately 2 inch wide slices, and play in a lightly greased baking pan.  At this point, you can refrigerate it over night.  OR
Bake ten minutes or until light golden brown. (It usually takes me a bit longer then ten minutes).

While the rolls are baking, combing the icing ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.  When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

Oh. My.  : )  Delish!

Keralan Honey Lemon Chicken

Recently, I found some lime powder at the grocery store.  A big huge bag of it. I thought I could find something interesting to do with it, so I bought it.  I found this recipe online, and even though it didn't call for lime powder, the whole family loved this.  It was really tasty! : ) 

Keralan Honey Lemon Chicken
4 Chicken breasts
1/2 c. corn starch/corn flour
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Oil – sufficient for frying
2 T. light soya sauce
2 T. hoisin sauce
1/4 t. red chilly flakes, optional
Salt to taste
2 T. lemon juice
4 T. honey
1 T. roasted sesame seeds 

Mix 2T cornstarch in 1c. of water and keep the remaining corn starch.  Finely chop or press the garlic.  Heat the oil over a high heat.  Cut the chicken breasts into one inch cubes.  Dredge the chicken pieces in the corn starch, coating them thoroughly.  Fry the chicken in the hot oil, 4-5 minutes.  Remove chicken and drain on a paper towel.  In a separate skillet, heat 2 T. oil.  Fry the chopped garlic, and add soy sauce, hoisin, chilly flakes, salt.  Stir to combine.  Add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce, and add the cornstarch/water solution and stir well.  Reduce the heat and add the lemon juice and honey.  Stir continuously until the sauce is thickened.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds to finish.  Serve over steamed rice or noodles. 

Marriot Meusli

A few months ago, a new Marriot hotel opened in our city.  They have a buffet breakfast that is a great price, especially considering kids eat free.  We tried it out a few weeks back, and of all the amazing food they had, one of my favorites was their homemade meusli.  I've thought off and on about attempting to make granola or meusli, but I didn't really know how I would like it until I had the meusli at the Marriot. I studied and took note of what was in it, and came home and re-created it today.  This is the best meusli I've ever had!  I could eat it every day. : )

Marriot Meusli
2 c. Oats
2 c. Cornflakes
1 c. Dessicated Coconut
1 c. Chopped Pistachios
¼ t. Salt 
½ c. Coconut Oil
¼ c. Maple Syrup
¼ c. Honey
½-1 t. Cinnamon
½ t. Vanilla Extract
1 c. Golden Raisins


Combine oats, cornflakes, coconut, pistachios, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut oil (or butter), syrup, honey, and vanilla.  Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it's all evenly coated.  Bake in a 300/145 oven on a lined/greased baking sheet for 20-30 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.  After completely cooled, stir in raisins.  YUM! This makes about five cups.  I think I'll double it from now on. : )


Note: After eating a big bowl of this with milk, I think next time, I will not add the dessicated coconut until after it's baked.  It had a strange after taste, which I think was from the cooked/baked coconut.  


 If there's an element in here you don't care for, you can easily swap it out.  Like almonds for pistachios, or nutmeg for cinnamon.  Also, I used just regular oats, (I think the quick cooking kind) because to my knowledge, you can't easily find rolled oats here.  It worked fine.  You can also substitute butter for the coconut oil, but I would do coconut oil if at all possible. : )  If you do butter, melt it on the stove top first, then stir in the honey, syrup and vanilla.  It's easy to make this your own!

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

I got this from my friend Terra's blog.  Quick and easy pasta dinner!

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

3 c. uncooked ziti (I used penne)

1/4 kg spinach leaves

1 lb. of chicken, cut into pieces

1/2 t. each of oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder

3 diced tomatoes

2 oz. cream cheese

2 T. parmesan cheese (you can substitute cheddar)

1/2 c. mozzarella

2 boxes tomato puree

1/4 c. bacon bits (optional)

oil

Cook pasta according to package directions.  One minute before it’s done, add spinach leaves.  Drain.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add chicken and all seasoning and saute in skillet until done. Add tomato puree and tomatoes, bring to a boil.  Simmer 3 mins.  Stir in cream cheese.  Toss in spinach and pasta.  Toss in 1/2 c. mozzarella. Pack into baking dish.  Bake 20 minutes.  Remove and sprinkle with parmesan and remaining mozzarella.  Bake at 375/180, covered lightly for 15 minutes.  Remove foil for the last five minutes. 

Make Your Own Maple Syrup

Simple recipe, but you do need maple flavoring from the states.  It comes in a small bottle and is usually found in the baking aisle with the vanilla and almond extracts.  Have someone stick a couple in your next package!

Make Your Own Maple Syrup
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar (you can totally use homemade brown sugar!)
1 c. water
1/2 t. maple flavor, or more, as you like
1 t. vanilla extract

Combine the sugars and water in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the syrup coats the back of a wooden spoon.  Be careful, it will thicken as it cools, so you don't want to wait too long and get it too thick in the pot.  If it's not getting thick enough, add 1/4 c. more brown sugar at a time. Turn the gas off, and add the maple and vanilla, give it a good stir.  You're done! :)  I usually do this as I'm cooking pancakes, because I never plan ahead. : )

Perfect Pancakes

These are our favorite Saturday morning pancakes!

2 c. all-purpose flour
4 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 c. buttermilk (2 T. vinegar, fill to 2 c. with milk)
2 T. vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.  Combine buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.

Spoon about 1/4 c. of batter onto a hot nonstick griddle.  Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.  Makes about 15-16 pancakes.

Sometimes, I add 1/4 c. flour if the batter looks too runny. I like a nice thick batter that will set up into thick, fluffy pancakes.  You also want your pan nice and hot, so that the batter starts cooking immediately instead of running all over the pan.  But not too hot that they burn before cooking through! : )