Onion-Roasted Potatoes

To go with our chicken, we rounded out the meal with steamed green vegetable mix and Onion Roasted Potatoes.

I could eat the potatoes like candy. I practically did. The best part is, these are incredibly easy to make and delicious all in one!

Ingredients:
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 lbs mini red potatoes, halved
1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet combine all ingredients.
2. Bake, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.
3. Serve HOT!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Yesterday, my parents came over to paint a room and hang out at our construction-free new house. Joey and I attended the E3 Expo. My mom offered to make us dinner, so we searched through our recipe books and finally decided on Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. I realize it sounds ridiculous, and so does Ina Garten--the recipe's author. However, the garlic doesn't taste strong and sharp, instead it is sweet and tender. In fact, in the end, the chicken didn't taste "garlicky" at all--instead it got its flavor from the wine and cognac in the recipe. It was pretty good though, so good that my dad wanted to add it to my mom's official repertoire!

Don't let the longish ingredient list turn you away! Also, my mom said this was sort of time consuming...so you may want to consider making it on the weekend--or at least pealing the garlic the day before.

Ingredients:
2-3 whole heads garlic (40 cloves)
2 3 1/2 pound chickens (my mom recommends getting all one style of chicken like a package of thighs and legs or a package of breasts because the cut up whole chickens had a lot of weight that was unused)
Salt
Black Pepper
1 T unsalted butter
2 T olive oil
3 T Cognac, divided (you can buy the mini bottles at liquor stores like BevMo)
1 1/2 Cs dry white wine (we found a picnic pack that comes in 4 small bottles so we don't wast it all)
1 T fresh thyme
2 T flour
2 T heavy cream (this recipe includes making a sauce...I might not excel at this recipe)

Directions:

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

Anita's Ham Sandwiches

My parents came over on Tuesday so that my dad could paint one of the bedrooms. We offered to help, but he turned down our help so instead we decided to make sure he felt comfortable and at home. I worked all day so I was unable to really foster this comfort, however we tried.

For lunch, my mom made Anita's Ham Sandwiches. These sandwiches were a favorite of mine when we went to Michigan to visit our friends at their vacation cottage. Everything about that vacation cottage I loved, but these sandwiches stand out in my mind. They remind me of summer, and the beach, and coming in from a swim or a game of Old Maid just in time for lunch.

Anita's Ham Sandwiches
Ingredients
1 package plain boiled ham, thinly sliced (I used Farmer John's)
White Hamburger Buns (if you wanted mini sandwiches I think it would be excellent on those Hawaiian Sweet Buns)
1 package Swiss cheese
2 T finely chopped onions
2 t poppy seeds
1/4 C yellow mustard
1 T butter
Tin foil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Melt the butter in the microwave. Combine with mustard, onions, and poppy seeds.
3. Spread mustard mixture on buns.
4. Top with ham and cheese and closing bun.
5. Wrap each sandwich in foil, place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
6. Serve immediately with carrot sticks

Chicken Pasta Milano

Tried this recipe for dinner tonight & it was good. I would make again, but, I felt like the pasta really absorbed the sauce, so I would most likely double the sauce. Jake gave it 2 thumbs up.

Got this recipe here off of recipezaar. Apparently, it is a copy cat recipe of a recipe they serve at Macaroni Grill.

Pudding Poke Brownies

On Thursday last week we had some of our friends over for a bowl of Albondigas soup. At the last minute I decided that dessert was a must have. I was lucky enough to find a brownie mix in my cabinet (and actually have eggs) but I wanted to make the brownies more delicious.

Also in my cupboard I found a box of chocolate pudding. To me the combination sounds delightful so I googled brownies and pudding and found this recipe on Kraft's website. I thought it sounded good.

I whipped up the brownies and baked them in an 8x8 pan. I put in a toothpick and they appeared to be cooked through. I then mixed up the pudding as they said but it wasn't "thin"as they described it. Instead the pudding was thick and clumpy. I attempted to get the pudding into the holes but it wasn't having any of it. As a result I just spread the thick pudding on the brownies.

The pudding sunk in a little but when we ate them that night they were still a little chunky with pudding. However, 2 days later, after they had time to sit, the brownies were great. There is a layer of cakey brownie, a layer of fudgy brownie and then a special treat of ooey gooey pudding on top!

I think in order to make the pudding thin you'd have to add more milk than the regular pudding recipe calls for maybe...or not...I can't be sure...

Pork and Orange Kebabs

This is the week of dinner at home. On Sunday I compiled a group of recipes and went to the store. The plan was to make enough food so that Joey and I could enjoy the meals for both dinner and lunch the next day. I spent about $50 total at the store, which I think is not so bad for 8 meals for 2.

Last night, I knew I would arrive home late so I wanted something quick and easy. I decided on Pork and Orange skewers with a side of frozen vegetables. The skewers, once threaded were to be cooked on the grill pan over two burners. The concept appealed to me and the presentation seemed outstanding. In practice, however, the kebabs were hard to make. I didn't cut the pork and oranges just so, and as a result they didn't all cook resting across the grill pan. So, after my careful threading, I embarked on some unthreading and cooked most of the pork off the skewers on the grill pan. I didn't really get the glaze concept either, so I just served the cooked skewered--some on the skewer some not (hence the picture with raw pork) with the honey mustard dipping sauce.

Pan Grilled Pork Kebabs

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 navel orange, cut into chunks
• salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard yellow mustard

Directions:

• Be sure the orange chunks are about the same size as the pork tenderloin chunks
• Thread pork and orange alternating on the skewer, season with salt and pepper
  
• Heat grill pan over medium heat
• While pan is heating, mix together honey and mustard in a small bowl
• Brush the grill pan with oil and set the skewers on the pan. Grill 4-6 minutes on each side
• This is when I had to un-thread the skewers
• Once they are cooked through, turn up the heat to high and brush the skewers with honey mustard and cook 2 minutes more
• Serve immediately with excess honey mustard for dipping
  

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

We were invited to a dinner party on Saturday night and I was asked to bring dessert. At first I thought I would make something from my new cookbook. But then it seemed like a lot of the recipes required some kind of serving work--and being at someone else's house, I would rather just serve and go. Joey recommended that I make an old favorite, cookies and cream cupcakes.
One of the fun things about this recipe is that there is a half oreo on the bottom of each cupcake. It bakes right in and gives it a little extra something when you're eating it. The trick is to slice the oreos apart with a knife instead of trying to break them. It is very important to have a little cream (all the cream) on the side that you put the batter on.

This timeI crushed the oreos in a food processor and I liked the effect of really small pieces of cookie instead of large chunks throughout which happens if you use a rolling pin and ziploc bag method. I also liked how easy it was to crush the cookies. The only problem is that it made the final product more gray than I anticipated. But the taste...was outstanding.I really liked the cupcakes this time. Last time I thought they weren't complete without the frosting, this time, I liked the addition but thought it was just that.

I used about 30 oreos crushed in the batter and then used another 10 or so for the frosting. I had some leftover so I sprinkled them on top for a nice finished effect. You can check out the recipe here.