Peanut Crusted Chicken:
I got this recipe from my Weight Watchers leader at one of my meetings. Her version was Pecan-Crusted Chicken, but I don't like pecans. I LOVE pistachios and was planning to use those, but had peanuts on hand at home, so used them instead.
The chicken was brushed with a mixture of balsamic vinegar and honey, then coated with crushed Wheat Chex and chopped/crushed peanuts. I crushed the cereal in a ziplock bag and a glass, and the peanuts I put into a coffee grinder (I use if for everything EXCEPT coffee, haha). I baked the chicken at 425 for about 15-20 minutes. I used thin chicken breast cutlets, but if you used regular chicken breasts, you would have to cook it longer I presume.
These were great! I did eat them the night I made them, but heated them up in the oven the next day (so the coating would be crispy again). They would be much better eaten the same day they are cooked. The coating was a bit damp under the chicken after re-heating. I am going to try it with pistachios next, and I'll try turning them over half way through cooking to see if that helps.
Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies:
These were absolutely fantastic! Then again...I love peppermint! They were very easy to make also. I made the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe and added 1/8th tsp of peppermint oil to the dough before stirring in the chocolate chips. Baked them according to the recipe. I use a portion scoop to scoop out the dough and got about 7-8 dozen cookies I think.
Chocolate Peppermint Fudge:
Do you notice a pattern here? Let's just say it was a very stressful week(s) at work and I wanted chocolate, lol. The fudge was great.
I don't remember which recipe I used, but it had milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in it. I heated it to boiling (stirring constantly), then turned the heat down and let it go to 238 degrees.
Here it is boiling away on the stove:
Once it reached the proper temperature, I took it off the heat and stirred in vanilla extract (Neilssen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla) and 1/4tsp peppermint oil. Let me tell you.....if you need to clear out your sinuses, put some peppermint oil into hot boiling liquid and stick your face over it. Oh my - they cleared instantly! I then stirred the mixture until the fudge lost it's sheen. I'm not sure if I stirred it long enough, the fudge wasn't the consistency I was expecting...although it tasted fantastic!
The recipe said to use an 8x8 square pan (buttered so the fudge doesn't stick), but I used a jelly roll pan instead. I should have used the smaller pan, I would have gotten thicker fudge.
Here is it cooling in the pan:
I have been spirred on to make my own peppermint hard candies to keep on hand for when my sinuses clog up. Will post about those when/if I make them.
Chicken Pad Thai:
Not all experiments can be a success, and this one wasn't....at least not at first.
I found this recipe for chicken pad thai the other week and decided to try to make it, but with some substitutions. First, I used rice noodles instead of linquine. Second, I used green onions instead of cilantro. Third, I made a soy-sauce substitute to use (go here to read about my issues with soy). I also eliminated the fish sauce, for the same reason as the soy and used the substitute in place of that. Fourth, I omitted the tofu (soy) and added more chicken.
It was bland. It was not appetizing at all. I added some spaghetti sauce to a portion and that didn't help either. I was dissappointed and put the rest (it made A LOT) in the fridge to figure out later.
The next day at work, I came up with the idea of making some kind of asian-inspired sauce for it. So when I got home, I combed through the cupboards and fridge and found the following that said 'asian' flavors to me:
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| Honey, peanut butter, steak sauce, sweet chili sauce, balsamic vinegar |
I can't tell you how much of each I used, cause I didn't really measure it. I put a dollop of peanut butter (1-2T), about a teaspoon of honey, then just poured a little bit of the rest of the stuff in. I heated the peanut butter and honey first so it would be liquid-y. I mixed it all in a measuring cup, and then added enough of the soy-sauce substitute to thin it down.
I then heated the wok, and put some olive oil in it. I drained the 'old' pad thai (it had gotten watery) in a colander while I made up the sauce and heated the wok. Then put the pad thai in the hot oil and stirred it around to dry it up and get rid of the moisture. Then I poured the sauce on it and mixed it up.
I hesitantly tried a bite and it was GOOD! Not pad thai, but it was good anyway. I am bringing it to Wolf's this weekend so I made a little more of the sauce to use when we heat it up.
I admit it doesn't look like much, it doesn't have much color, but it's good. The sauce is amazing! I also realized I should have bought the wider egg noodles rather than these kind, but oh well. Next time!
Stay tuned for more cooking adventures :)
"The coating was a bit damp under the chicken after re-heating. I am going to try it with pistachios next, and I'll try turning them over half way through cooking to see if that helps."
ReplyDeleteIt will. Trust me on that. ☃