Chicken with Roasted Pears and Rice

This dish calls for wild rice, something I've never been able to find here.  So I just used a plain short grain rice. This would be really nice served with some sauteed green beans or steamed broccoli.  You will need some craisins/cranberries that we can't typically find here.  I wasn't sure how I would like this, because I normally go for more savory main dishes, but this was really good, and the whole family loved it, especially the kids!  Also, I labeled it 40 minutes or Less, because it's less than 40 minutes of prep time, but 30 minutes of inactive baking time.  From start to ready, it's more than 40 minutes.

Chicken with Roasted Pears and Rice
3 pears, cored and cut length-wise into 1/2" slices
1 1/4 c. apple juice
3/4 c. water
1 cube chicken bullion
1 c. uncooked rice
1 lb chicken breast, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c. dried cranberries, or dried tart cherries
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450F/220C.  Arrange pear slices in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake for ten minutes, or until tender.  Remove from oven, and reduce oven tempt to 400F/190C.

Combine apple juice, water, and chicken bullion in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Add rice, cover, reduce heat, and cook until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes.  Fluff rice with a fork.

Combine rice, chicken, cranberries, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.  Spoon mixture in a a large baking dish.  Arrange roasted pear slices over chicken mixture.  Cover and bake at 190C for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done.  5-6 servings.

Luke liked this so much, he had a very clean plat.  And he wanted a pear slice with cranberries he dug out of the leftover neatly perched on top for dessert. : )

Thanksgiving 2011

We have so much to be thankful for this year!  It's been a great year in South Asia, our kids are growing and are healthy, and God has provided for our family in so many miraculous ways this year.


This year, our Thanksgiving celebration is turning out to be a lot smaller than in years past.  I'm okay with that. : )  We'll have five adults and our kids.  So my menu is pretty scaled down, and I haven't started cooking yet.  That's only because my husband is out of town, but coming back today, and I've not been feeling well.  Hopefully I'll be up to starting tomorrow.

So, this year, my menu looks like this:

-Baked Brie with maple syrup and pecans, crackers for appetizer
-Apple cider

-Roasted Rosemary Chickens
-Grandma's Stuffing
-Baked Winter Squash Gratin (I'm using kaddu)
-Mashed Potatoes
-Bay Scented Lentil and Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon
-Grandma's Yeast Rolls
-Iced Tea

-Pecan Pie
-Pumpkin Pie

This all sounds really good to me, but my only hesitation is that there's nothing really green on the table.  If I have time, I might do some bacon-wrapped green beans.  But I also have to remember that I'm working around a 2-hour morning power cut from 9-11.  That will throw a kink in my planning, I think. : )

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

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! : ) 

Easy Drop Biscuits

These are quick and easy, and so light and fluffy.  I'll often make some up to go with soup, pasta, or for breakfast.  So yummy and fast!

Drop Biscuits

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4-1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. (6 T.) butter, cut into small squares
1 c. milk (even better with homemade buttermilk!)

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter til mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  (I've also found I can do this with my hands, just rubbing the butter into the flour until it's mixed together).  make a well in the center of the dry mixture.  Add the milk all at once.  Using a fork, stir just till moistened.

Drop dough onto grease baking sheets.  I normally fill a 1/4 c. or 1/3 c. with batter, and spoon it out onto the baking sheet.  Makes about 8-10, depending on how big you make them. : )

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Mama Jantz style

These are the only chocolate chip cookies I remember my mom making when I was a kid.  I always thought they were so much better than ones I had elsewhere.  When she gave me the recipe, I realized why.  There is a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft and moist, and they NEVER dry out or get hard, at least, not before they're completely scarfed up by everyone. : )

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
200 g. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. castor sugar
1 package (small) Jello Instant Vanilla pudding
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag of chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts, optional

Mix flour with soda in a bowl and set aside.  Combine butter, sugars, jello mix, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  Beat in eggs.  Gradually add flour mixture, then stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  You want a stiff batter.  Drop by tablespoon fulls onto an ungreased baking sheet, about two inches apart.  Bake at 375/190 for 8-10 minutes.  Makes about 2 1/2-3 dozen.

I'm planning to toy around with making vanilla pudding powder from scratch, so if it's successful in this recipe, I'll post that as well, so you won't have to import anything for these!

My Favorite Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I have tried dozens of baked macaroni and cheese recipes and just had never found the perfect (to my taste) recipe.  When we were back in the states last summer, I picked up a box of macaroni pasta at Winn Dixie.  On the side of the box, it had a recipe.  So I tried it in my quest for the perfect recipe.  And I found it!  : ) Who knew it would be on the side of a Winn Dixie box? : )

Macaroni and Cheese
16 oz. macaroni (about 500 grams)
1/4 c. (50 g) butter
1/3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
3 c. milk
2 c. shredded Cheddar
1 c. shredded swiss cheese (or just use all cheddar, or any other cheese you have)

Preheat oven to 375 (190C).  Cook macaroni in boiling water, drain.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Stir with a whisk and gradually stir in milk.  Cook until thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Add 1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese.  Stir until melted.  Stir in macaroni.

Spoon half of macaroni mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.  top with Swiss cheese, remaining macaroni mixture, then remaining cheddar cheese.  bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly.  

Gooey Butter Cake

This is my husbands favorite dessert.  He's not a big fan of chocolate desserts (which are MY favorite!)  and so I like to make this for him.  This is one of the main reasons I was so excited when my import store here started carrying the Britannia cream cheese!  : )

Gooey Butter Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 c. milk powder (I use EveryDay by Nestle)
100 grams butter
2 beaten eggs

Melt the butter and drizzle in the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan.  Combine the dry ingredients and sprinkle over the butter.  Pour the beaten eggs in the pan and mix together with a fork until it's all moistened.  Mash it into the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.

1 1/2 boxes of Britannia cream cheese
2 eggs
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Combine and mix with a mixer.  Pour on top of cake mixtures.  Bake at 350F (175C) for 30 minutes. Don't over bake it, even if it doesn't look done!

Monthly Meal Rotations

When we were studying language when we first arrived in India, life was intense.  Cooking, and thinking about meals, grocery shopping, was just something that was on the back burner.  So I made a monthly rotation of meals, four weeks of different dinners every night.  I created a grocery list for each week, and just rotated them so that i didn't ever have to think about what to buy, what to make...

A friend today suggested I post these meals, and I thought it was a great idea!  I can't guarantee there are recipes for every meal on here, but hopefully they'll be helpful if you're in that season of life that is just busy and you need more structure for meal planning. 

28 Meals: 

1. Jambalaya and cornbread

2. Moroccan Chicken, couscous, and green beans

3. Bean Tacos, Mexican rice (make extra beans and tortillas for meals later in the week)

4. Cracker Barrel Veg Platter/or Chili and biscuits

5. Caribbean beans and rice

6. Burgers and fries (lamb, chicken, veg, whatever)

7. Spinach and Bacon quiche with fruit salad or muffins or both : )

8. Pav Bhaji

9. Breaded Ranch Chicken, roasted potatoes and corn

10. Pasta and bread (it varied what kind) with veggie sticks and ranch dressing

11. 7-Layer Tortilla pie, chips and salsa

12.  Indonesian meatballs and rice, salad

13. Shepherds Pie

14.  Stuffed potatoes and salad

15. Broccoli Alfredo pasta with Italian bread

16.  Grilled chicken salads

17. Kushiri, crunchy pea salad

18. Enchiladas, mexican cream corn

19. Chicken pot pie

20. Homemade pizza

21. Falafal and pita sandwiches, fruit salad

22. Barbecue Chicken Hash, biscuits

23. Tortilla soup/Potato Soup

24. Butter Chicken, Rice

25. Fried Rice and momos (I didn't make the momos!)

26. Barbecue Cups, Mac and cheese, Baked beans or peas

27.  Cream Tacos

28.  Mojo Chicken with fried bananas and garlicky rice

This list is about two years old, so we have added a lot of things to our recipe index since then that we eat more often than some of these things.  But they're mostly pretty easy meals! If you see anything on here that you want the recipe for, let me know!

Moroccan Stew with Couscous

This is a new favorite recipe.  My husband totally loves it, and I do too. It's a bit too spicy for the kids though, so I have to tone it down by either removing some for them before adding all the curry powder, or reducing the curry powder.  So good, though!

Moroccan Stew
2 T. olive oil
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 large green bell pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium red onions
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. curry powder
10 ounces of tomato soup
1/2 c. golden raisins
1 c. cooked chick peas (optional)
1/3 c. toasted slivered almonds (optional)

Heat oil in a large wok or saute pan over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides.

Reduce the heat to medium.  Add onions, pepper, and garlic, and cook five minutes or until tender crisp. Add cinnamon and curry and cook and stir one minute.  Stir in soup and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 minutes.

Add raisins and chickpeas to saucepan.  Cook ten minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Stir in almonds.

For couscous:  boil 1 1/2 c. water with 1 T. butter and 1 block of chicken bullion.  When water is boiling and everything is melted, add 11/2 c. couscous.  Shut off the heat and cover the pot and let it sit 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve.  If you don't have couscous, serving with rice would be good.

Notes:  I usually omit the chickpeas because I don't plan enough ahead.  But you could easily make this an all veg. meal by omitting the chicken and doubling the chickpeas.  If I have slivered almonds, I use them.  If not, obviously, I leave them out.  : )

Also, for the tomato soup, you can use either leftover tomato soup, or just two boxes of tomato puree and season it a bit with salt and pepper and maybe some basil and cumin.  If it's too thick, thin it down with some water.  I've done both, and both come out great.  

Italian Fried Paneer Sticks

We had this at June G's house several years ago, and I thought it was such a great idea!  So easy, and a great side item for Italian meals, especially for a vegetarian pasta meal. 

Italian Fried Paneer Sticks


250 grams paneer

2 t.. salt

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 t. black pepper

1 t. onion powder

1 t. oregano 

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

Combine all spices in a bowl.  Cut the paneer into strips.  Pat them to dry on a paper towel.  Next, dredge them in the spice mixture.  Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan.  Get it nice and hot, barely smoking, then put the paneer strips into the pan.  Cook on one side until browned, then turn.  Try not to move them around much if possible to keep them in one piece.  If the pan is not hot enough, they will not sear on the outside and will crumble.  

Remove to a plate and serve!  Easy, peasy! You can mess with the seasonings until you get it just the way your family likes it! 

Donuts!

Donuts are something I love to eat, but I tend to only make them two or three times a year. But since I found this recipe, I'll be making them more often. : )  Especially since I figured out I can make the dough the night before, stick it in the fridge to have it's first rise over night, pull it out and cut them in the morning and fry them up.  With a few minutes work the night before, they turn into a pretty quick breakfast, relatively speaking. : )

Dunkin Donuts

2 ¼ t. Yeast
2 T. Warm Water
¾ c. Warm Milk
2 ½ T. Butter, Softened
1 Egg
⅓ c. Granulated Sugar
1 t. Salt 
2 ¾ c. Flour
3 c. Vegetable Oil
Glaze:
⅓ c. Melted Butter
2 c. Powdered Sugar
½ t. Vanilla
⅓ c. Hot Water
1 c. Chocolate Chips (For Chocolate Glaze)

Directions: 

In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, butter, egg, sugar, and salt, and blend with an electric mixer until smooth. Add half the flour and mix for 30 seconds. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough with flour-dusted hands until smooth. Cover the bowl of dough and leave it in a comfy, warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. You can tell that the dough has risen enough when you poke it with your finger and the indentation stays. Rollout the dough on a heavily floured surface until it's about ½ inch thick. If you don't have a donut cutter, and don't intend to buy one, here's a way to punch out your dough: you can use a standard 15 ounce can.  Be sure to wash out the can very well, and punch a hole in the opposite end so that the dough won't be held inside the can by a vacuum. However, here in South Asia, you can usually find a cutter for those veda things from South India that they put into sambar.  That's what I have and it works great! When you've punched out all the dough (you should have about a dozen unholed donuts), it's time for the holes. Find the cap to a bottle of lemon juice or Worcestershire sauce, or any other small cap with a diameter of about 1 ¼ inches. Use this to punch out holes in the center of each of your donuts. Place the donuts on plates or cookie sheets, cover, and let stand in the same warm, comfy place until they nearly double in size. This will take 30 to 45 minutes. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Bring the oil to about 350 degrees. It is easily tested with scrap dough left over from punching out the donuts. The dough should bubble rapidly. Fry each donut for about 30 seconds per side, or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on paper towels. For either the plain or the chocolate glaze, combine the margarine or butter with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl and blend with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and hot water. Mix until smooth. If you're making the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. Stir, then microwave another 30 seconds and stir again until completely melted. Add to the plain glaze mixture. Blend until smooth. When the donuts have cooled, dip each top surface into the glaze and then flip over and cool on a plate until the glaze firms up, about 15 minutes.

Mango Chicken Pasta

Here is another recipe from DebbieR!  I've had this before, and it looks interesting, but it is really great!

Mango Chicken Pasta
16 oz. uncooked rigatoni pasta
1 T. olive oil, divided
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 c. fresh cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T. grated cheese, or more! : )

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add rigatoni pasta, cook for 8 minutes until almost done.  Drain.

Heat 1/2 the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place chicken in the skillet and cook 10 minutes, or until juices run clear.  Remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet, and cook the onion and green pepper until tender.  Mix in the garlic, and mango, and continue to cook and stir five minutes, or until mango is soft.  Gradually mix the heavy cream into the skillet, and cook five minutes, until thickened.

Return the chicken to the skillet.  Cook and stir 2 minutes, until ingredients are well blended.  Mix in the cheese.  Serve over pasta.

Enjoy!

Fried Okra

This is one of my favorites! I can't resist them, I have no will power when a place of fried okra is sitting in front of me.  I even open the fridge and eat a few cold for a snack! : )

2 pounds Okra, Well Rinsed
1 Egg, Beaten
2 t. Water
2 c. Buttermilk
4 t. Salt 
1 t. Cayenne Pepper
2 c. Flour
2 c. Smashed Saltine Crackers or Ritz-like crackers
Black Pepper
4 c. Vegetable Oil


Cut the stems off and slice the okra ¼ inch thick.  In a large bowl, mix together the egg, water, buttermilk and 2 t. salt.  Add okra.  In another bowl, mix together the flour, cracker crumbs, remaining salt, and the cayenne and black pepper.  Remove okra with a slotted spoon and add to flour mixture.  Toss and remove to a rack to shake off excess flour.  Heat the oil to 350˚.  Add the okra by spoonfuls and fry to golden brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.  Keep warm while you fry remaining okra.  Serves 8-10. 


One way I love to serve this is on "Cracker Barrel Veg Platter" night. : )  We have fried okra, mashed potatoes, cinnamon apples and biscuits as our meal.  Yes, it's good. : )

Frozen Mango Dessert

I can't wait to try this!  It's from a friend living in Eastern Europe.  Her husband grew up in Africa and his mother used to make this for him. She says:


We can't get graham crackers so I just bought some British style butter cookies (they are called Petit Buerre here), crushed them in a food processor, and sauteed them with enough butter to bind into a thin crust that I could press in the bottom of the pan. It turned out pretty good.


Frozen Mango Dessert


2 mangoes (for an 8 inch baking dish) or 3 mangoes (for a 9x13 dish)
3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if you use 3 mangoes)
1 egg white
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup chilled whipping cream

Cut the mangoes up and process them in a blender or a food processor. Add the sugar, egg white and lemon juice, and blend for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. In a chilled bowl, beat cream until stiff: fold mango mixture into cream. Pour into a baking dish. Cover and freeze until firm.

My container of whipping cream had about twice as much as I needed, so I just added a layer of plain whipped cream on top. My kids are crazy about whipped cream. The whole family really liked it.

Enjoy!


Megan's Notes: I made this yesterday, and it is really tasty! I used the pie crust recipe on the cheesecake recipe, only all hobnobs, no gingernut cookies.  One thing to be aware of is that in my freezer at least, it was not frozen after six hours! I made it in the afternoon and had it in the freezer by 2:30.  At 8:30 when we pulled it out to eat it, it was still very jello-ish and not frozen at all.  This morning, it was frozen stiff and was perfect for cutting into.  So plan far enough ahead! : )