Cornmeal Crescent Rolls

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

2/3 cup yellow corn meal

1 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast OR 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast softened in 1/2 cup water + 1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I think next time I'd use salted butter or increase the salt added just a titch)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

5 ½ – 6 cups flour (I used 1/3 - 1/2 whole wheat)

Directions:
Heat the milk to just below a boil so bubbles are just appearing around the edges (this is called scalding milk). Add the cornmeal and cook and stir until thickened, lowering the temperature if needed so the mixture doesn’t boil.  Pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and let cool until lukewarm (I'd say don't wait too long, because you want it warm enough to melt the butter, but not hot enough to kill the yeast). Add the yeast, butter (not melted - it will melt from the heat of the cornmeal mixture) and sugar (if you dissolved active dry yeast with a bit of water and sugar until it foamed, add it now). Mix. Add the salt and eggs. Mix well. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms. Knead for 5-8 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl covered with lightly greased plastic wrap or a towel and let rise until doubled.

Divide the dough into three portions and roll each into about an 8-10 inch circle.  Brush the top lightly with butter. Cut into 8 wedges and roll each wedge up starting from the wide end so it forms a crescent roll shape.   (I divided the dough in half because I used half for the Chicken Pillow recipe, then rolled the rest into a big circle, about 1/4" thick, and cut it into 12 wedges.  I forgot to brush with butter before rolling into crescent shapes, but I think they'll be fine when I cook them.  I placed the rolls on a cookie sheet - closer than I would have if they were going to be rising - and immediately put them in the freezer for a couple hours.  Once they were hard, I popped them in a ziplock bag, ready to be grabbed and thawed when needed.)

Place each roll on a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing about 1-2 inches apart to allow for rising. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Brush with butter while still warm.

Notes:
While I haven't baked mine up yet (besides the one that didn't have enough filling left to become a Chicken Pillow), I have full confidence that these will be most delicious rolls.  I love my regular crescent recipe, but the cornmeal base of these intrigued me, and I must say, they were very fun to make.

Chicken Pillows

Source: a mix of Mel's Kitchen Cafe and my friend, Marcy, plus some additions and alterations based on what I had/needed

Ingredients:
for the filling:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 - 1 1/2 pounds) (I actually probably had less than this - all I had in the freezer were two puny little breasts and it worked.)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 green onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

for the rolls and coating:
1/2 batch buttery crescent rolls (I used Mel's Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Roll Recipe - and they were amazing! I actually made a whole batch, but only used half for this recipe and the other half I formed into crescents and froze before their second rise - now when I need rolls I'll just pop them out of the freezer a few hours before, let them thaw and rise, and bake as usual.)  (Note: you don't have to make homemade dough if you don't want to/have time to - just use a couple cans of refrigerated crescent rolls from the store - I won't tell.)
1/4 cup (half stick) butter, melted
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

for the sauce:
1 can cream o' chicken soup
~2 Tablespoons sour cream (I just sort of eyeballed this)
~1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I just sort of eyeballed this)
~3/4 can water (just use the chicken soup can and add until the sauce is the consistency you want)

Directions:
Make the buttery crescent rolls according to the recipe, but pause after the first rise.

While the dough is rising, cook and shred the chicken (or use already cooked, shredded chicken). In a medium bowl combine the chicken, celery, green onion, cream cheese, garlic powder and salt and mix until well combined. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Once the dough has doubled in size, deflate the dough and separate into two pieces (if you made a full batch - if you halved it from the beginning, just use all the dough you've got). Roll each piece of dough into a 13X20-inch rectangle and cut each rectangle into 12 pieces (cutting lengthwise in half and then each half into six pieces).  One by one, flatten each dough piece slightly and spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken/cream cheese mixture into the center. Fold up all the sides and pinch them together to seal well.  (Mine turned out horrible looking, but after all was said and done, they actually looked fine and tasted even better.)

When all the chicken pillows have been formed, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl or flat dish (like a pie plate). One by one, dip the top of each chicken pillow in the melted butter and then in the crumb/Parmesan mixture. Place seam side down (whoops - didn't do it that way!) about 2 inches apart (and mine were much closer together, but they were totally fine) on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, until the chicken pillows are lightly golden brown and the dough is baked through.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan or microwave safe bowl, mix the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cheese and water to desired consistency and temperature.  Stir well - it should be creamy and smooth and hot.

Serve the rolls warm from the oven with the sauce drizzled over the top.  Makes ~12 chicken pillows (I only got 11 filled rolls with my filling, but I think with a titch more chicken it would have been 12 for sure).

Notes:
I had tried these before with the store-bought crescents in a tube, and they were great, but after my sister mentioned she had made this particular recipe and I remembered that I had pinned it a long time ago, I decided to finally give them a whirl.  Oh yum!  I would have made the sauce in Mel's recipe had I had enough milk, but alas, it's grocery day and last night all I had was the 2 cups needed for the roll dough.  (Next time, for sure!)  The cream o' soup was a fine replacement, though.  And these little leftover pillow pockets of goodness will make a mighty fine lunch for me today.  (Can't wait!)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Six Sisters' Stuff (I also saw an almost identical, just doubled, version of this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oats (quick or old fashioned) (I used quick)
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used less - probably not even a cup, though I didn't really measure - and semisweet, as always)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars.  Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well combined.  Add flour, baking soda and salt.  Fold in oats and chocolate chips and mix until combined.  Roll into 1" balls and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.  (I didn't really follow the order in these directions - instead I creamed the butter, sugars, egg and peanut butter with an electric mixer.  Then I added the salt, vanilla and baking soda and beat it again for a couple seconds.  Then I stirred in the oats and flour.  And finally folded in the chocolate chips.  They turned out great, so apparently the order doesn't matter.  ;)

Notes:
I have really been wanting some chocolate chip cookies this week, but I knew it would be bad news if I made them early in the week since I've been home all by myself for the past few days, so I made myself wait till Friday afternoon to whip some up.  I decided to try a recipe I've had pinned for a long time now, and all week I've been dreaming about the peanut butter and oatmeal chocolate chip combination I found.  They make the house smell amazing while cooking, and they taste divine, especially while they're still a little warm and with a mug of cold milk.  Mmmhmmm.  This is where it's at!  (Gregg better get home quick to help me out, because even though I waited all week, they might not last long!)

Chocolate Coconut Muffins

Source: Family Feedbag

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut, plus another 1/4 cup for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).  In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, oil, milk, sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth.  In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, beating well between additions. Pour the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper muffin cups to about 1/4 inch from the top of the paper.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut on top of the muffin batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes (mine took 18) until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.  (Made 18 muffins for me.)

Notes:
I was in a muffin mood the other night and wanted to try something new, so I turned to my Muffins and Quick Breads board on pinterest for inspiration.  I found this recipe that I had pinned a while ago, and since I had recently bought some coconut, I had everything on hand to give it a whirl.  They smelled amazing as they were cooking, but my first bite was a little disappointing - didn't really taste like chocolate to me.  They weren't bad, but just not what I was expecting.  Some muffins are best right out of the oven, but I think these definitely get better with age.  They've made a perfect quick breakfast the past couple of mornings, and they really are quite tasty.

Pita Bread

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe (per my sister Heather's suggestion and modifications)

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (or whey! - since I've made cheese a couple of times now, I have a lot of whey saved in my fridge - it makes a great liquid to use in breads and soups and such - just FYI)
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups  flour (I used about half wheat, half white)

Directions:
Soften the yeast in the water with just a bit of sugar.  When the yeast is softened, add the salt and about 1 1/2 cups of wheat flour.  Mix that in, then add the while flour a little at a time until it makes a soft dough but is still slightly tacky.  Knead the dough for 8-9 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Divide into 6 equal portions and form into balls.  Let the dough balls rest, lightly covered, for 10-15 minutes. Roll each ball into a thin disc, about 1/4 inch thick - be careful to roll them out as evenly as possible so that they will puff bettter.  Let the dough discs rest again, raising slightly, for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.  If you have a stone, preheat the oven with the stone in it so it gets nice and hot.  If you don't have a stone you can just use a regular old cookie sheet, just spray it so the dough doesn't stick. When ready to bake, gently place the pita rounds (I could only fit 2 at a time) onto the pan.  Mel says to flip it over so the side that was exposed to the air while raising is on the bottom.  Also, if the dough is a little dry you can spritz it with a bit of water which supposedly aids in the puffing process.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  The round should be puffy and lightly brown on top.  If it didn't puff, take it out after 10 minutes anyway and eat it as flat bread!

After they are baked you can rip off the top and stuff it with whatever you'd like.  For my pita pockets I put in some of my hummus, lettuce, tomatoes and homemade mozzarella cheese.

Notes:
This was a fun (they really puffed - it was so cool!), different bread to try and I enjoyed my pita-hummus sandwiches for a few days.  Note that this does make six pretty good sized pitas - I'd say like 6 inches in diameter - so you may consider halving the recipe if you don't need that much, as the bread tended to go a little bit stale (I just nuked it for 11 seconds and it softened right up) or moldy (tossed it then) within a few days on the counter.  Or just freeze it for future use.  I'm sure that would work great.

Hummus

Source: My sister Heather's Israeli roomate Einav (pronounced AY-nahv, in case you were wondering)

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, reserve liquid
2 Tablespoons tahini (or, if you are like me and don't have tahini - which is sesame seed paste, by the way - you can substitute peanut butter)
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves pressed garlic
Lemon juice (a couple tablespoons should probably do it)
Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:
Throw it all in the blender or food processor and pureé away, adding some of the bean liquid a little at a time to get the consistency you want.  You can eat it with veggie sticks, or with bread, on crackers.  Whatever floats your boat.  (I personally like it with flatbread of some sort (pita, naan) or pretzels.)

Notes:
It's been a while since I've made anything new - I've still been making food, mind you, just nothing really new or exciting or post-worthy.  Well, a couple weeks ago my sister Heather told me about the hummus and pita bread she made and I decided to give it a whirl myself.  This is super quick and very tasty.  I admit the peanut butter flavor seemed a little strong at first, but after a while in the fridge the peanut buttery taste kind of faded and melded into the rest of the spread.  I made a second batch today and decided it was time to share.  Good stuff.

Indian Butter Chicken

Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, and finely chopped (I didn't have a jalapeño, so I just added a drop of green habanero sauce, which I had in the fridge)
• 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fat free half-and-half
• 1 1/2 pounds (about 2-3) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Hot cooked rice for serving (I used basmati rice)
• Chopped fresh cilantro for extra garnish

Directions:

1. In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, ginger and jalapeno. Stir often while cooking until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, and coriander. Cook stirring, constantly for another minute.
2. Scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor and add tomato paste and chicken broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce back into the skillet and add the half and half. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and add the chicken pieces and the salt and pepper. Stir. Keep the sauce at a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has slightly thickened.
3. Cut remaining 3 tablespoons butter into chunks and stir into the sauce until melted. Serve the chicken and sauce over hot rice. Garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro, if desired.

Comments:

I haven't been this excited for a recipe in a LONG time!  Scott's favorite food on this planet is butter chicken curry.  Luckily, we have discovered Ganesh in Fort Union which has butter chicken just like the stuff Scott ordes at the Indian restaurants in NZ.  However, I'm always looking for sauces in stores and online so we can make butter chicken at home. 

I found this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe, and figured I'd give it a try.  I've always been hesistant to try Indian cooking from scratch since I've always assumed the unusual spices would be too hard to find.  Go figure, though; I was shopping in Walmart today and found both garam masala and ground cardamom in the baking aisle!  So, I couldn't wait to get home and make this.

This butter chicken is amazing!  It even passed Scott's test!  It's not exactly the same as the butter chicken in the restaurants -- probably because those use heavy cream, and this recipe uses fat-free half-and-half. . .and it's made by people who are actually Indian! -- but it's better than anything we've made out of a packet or bottle.  Plus, it was pretty easy and quick.  This will definitely become a regular at our house!