Crispy Orange Chicken Happiness--A Recipe

This one is dedicated to Dawn, a fellow lover of orange-ish things.

I have mentioned before that I am a fan of Do It Yourself cooking adventures. I celebrate cookbooks that utilize the phrase Copy Cat. Sometimes I will sit at my laptop, spending my free time just idly seeking out copy cat versions of my favorite foods. I'll stare at the screen as mental images of All Things Delicious drift through my mind, mentally snagging a few and running searches on them to see what I can uncover deep in the bowels of the Cyber Vaults.

One such foray yielded gold. Sheer gold.

I <heart> the Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl at Applebee's. So very much so that it is what I get, almost every single time I go. I say, "almost" because I also like to get the Asian Wrap or the Santa Fe Wrap. But that is neither here nor there at this moment in blog-time.

But I digress.

I found a Copy Cat version of this most favorite of all things one day and was eager to try it out. To my joy and surprise, the sauce is exactly like Applebee's version. Exactly. I'm including the recipe for the sauce, but not for the batter-fried chicken. I'll explain that later, so read on.

Orange Chicken Glaze

What You'll Need:

1 TBS veggie oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp grated fresh orange rind

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce

Dash of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup granulated sugar

salt/pepper

What You'll Do:

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the garlic, sauteing for 1 minute. Be careful not to let the pan get too hot or you'll end up with bitter garlic, which is boo.

Add the rest of your ingredients and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, allow to boil for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring from time to time, until it gets to your desired consistency.

Applebee's serves theirs with stir fry veggies, rice, and some crispy noodles & slivered almonds.

Here's what I did to make this come together quickly and with amazing results. I used popcorn chicken to star as my Crispy Chicken in this particular role. If you get a good brand--the type that looks like fritters---you end up with the same result.It's quick. It's easy. And it keeps the Fry Daddy away and in the basement, which I consider a boon. I baked the chicken and then mixed it into the saucepan, tossing to coat well.

As the chicken was cooking, I stir fried some frozen veggies. Applebee's uses broccoli, snow peas, red peppers, and mushrooms.  To be quick, I used a frozen blend. Costco has a wonderful Stir Fry blend that has everything in it. By the time the chicken was done, the veggies were ready.

I served this on brown rice, in bowls, with egg rolls on the side.

My children, who traditionally hate all things that are not Peanut Butter, Pizza, or Yogurt, actually consumed the entirety of their bowls, and impressed me greatly in the process. They even asked me if we could make it again the next night. That's mighty high praise from these two Pizza Lovin' Ladies. So I mark this as a really good recipe.

My Version Of Frontega Chicken Sandwich

As much as I adore soup, I equally love their chewy companions, the all mighty, often cleverly crafted Sandwich. There is something divine about the unlikely partnership between an array of unrelated ingredients and two pieces of bread. Alone, not so interesting. But stacked together? Sheer culinary genius. 

Thinking along the lines of my current obsession with Panera, my mind fell on my favorite sandwich there: The Frontega Chicken Sandwich. Yum and Yum.  In my recipe, I've streamlined a few of the ingredients to keep it easy and quick. Taste wise, it's all still there. Still yum. And yum.

What You'll Need:

1 rotisserie chicken

 (why not let the grocery store do the cooking for you?)

1 tomato

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Loosely chopped basil

Chipotle Mayo

 (Buy this in the mayo aisle. Easy Peasey Lemon Squeezy).

1 red onion

 (I saute the onions, caramelizing them with some sugar. Tasty).

Foccacia bread or Ciabatta rolls

 (You can buy the Foccacia from Panera, or making it isn't too tricky; there are recipes on line if you want to give it a shot. I like using the Ciabatta rolls myself; they squish down nicely with the panini press.)

What You'll Do:

Pile all ingredients on to your choice of bread, and then grill away. I use my handy dandy panini press, but you could just go Mr. Grilled Cheese on this and use a skillet. It's all good.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup (a.k.a Bowl Of Joy)

I am a lover of all things soup. I am. The stuff is amazing and I celebrate almost all it.  To quote my mom's 1960's era Better Homes "New" Cook Book, "Soup's on. And wonderful it will taste." (Is that not the most awkward sentence you've ever read? It was high on my list, personally.)

Anyway. I make a lot of it around here and especially love to create restaurant favorites on my own. I recently found a copy cat version of one of my very favorite of favorites, the Broccoli Cheddar Cheese soup at Panera. Two words describe that bowl of delight: Yum-Yum.

As will most recipes that find their way into my paws, I have tweaked this one a bit based on the ingredient list of the actual Panera version. It's a favorite around our house. See what you think.

What You'll Need:

1 TBS Butter

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half-half

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 pound broccoli, chopped small

1 cup chopped carrots (small cubes)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2Tbs-1Tbs Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2-3 dashes hot sauce

8oz shredded cheddar cheese

What You'll Do:

Saute the onions in the 1TBS of butter. Then set them aside (you'll use 'em later).

Next, cook flour in the melted butter over medium heat, whisking constantly. Slowly add the half and half, stirring constantly. Next add the chicken stock. Allow this mixture to come to a simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Add the onions, carrots, and broccoli. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until veggies are tender. Add the salt/pepper, cheddar cheese, Dijon, and hot sauce, and nutmeg. Stir until cheese is melted. Adjust seasoning as needed and enjoy.

Yum and Yum.

A Cinnamon Roll Kinda Day

Some days are good. Some days are not so good.

And some days just call for homemade cinnamon rolls. Yep, they sure do.

Days where the whisper of cinnamon sugar is in the air, beckoning you to roll up a pan of goodness, bake up a dozen pieces of heaven, and devour them all yourself. Or, if you're feeling especially selfless, to share them with your family whom you love ever so much.

Incidentally, some days are brownie days around our house too. Actually, a lot of days are. Cinnamon roll days are much fewer and far between, and must be respected when they arrive.

Today I heard the call. And I answered.

I think everyone has a favorite recipe that they love. Me, I'm more of a "It's What You Do With It" kinda gal. I'll try all manner of recipes, snatching a bit from this one and adding a skosh from that one. I love trying each one out to see if I can build my own Perfect Recipe.

The following recipe is one of those mismash conglomeration of multiple recipes. Is it the end all be all heavy weight champion of the cinnamon roll world? That's for others to decide. But it has become a favorite around here.

Dough:
1 1/3 cups milk                2 1/2 TBS butter
2 eggs                                3 TBS sugar
2/3 tsp salt*                        4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast**

Filling: Mix together
5 TBS sugar             2TBS cinnamon + extra for shaking on

For brushing:
2/3 cup melted butter

*A trick I learned when dealing with thirds of things is this: 1/3 tsp is a heaping 1/4 teaspoon.
**I make so much bread around here that I keep jars of yeast, which make measuring a breeze. If you're using the packages, 1 packet is 2 1/4 tsp of yeast. I recommend buying yeast at the price clubs because it's cheap. As in 4 bucks cheap. And you get a brick of it. I keep a jar of it in the fridge and keep the rest tightly wrapped in the fridge so it's ready to go when I need to refill the jar. It stays good for a long time, is fresh when you need it, and is oodles and oodles cheaper than the packets.
Whew. Aren't you glad I said all that??

So, I cheat and use my bread machine to do this. Using that method, I add all wet ingredients and then add the dry stuff, saving the yeast for very last. I select the dough cycle, press Start, and sit back for an hour and half, which is when the dough will be done. Check your machine rules though because I know some require the dry ingredients to be put in the pan first.

If you're using the mixer method, activate your yeast first by warming up 1/3 cup of the 1 1/3 cups of milk. It should be warm but not hot. Add 1 TBS of the sugar, and 1 TBS of the flour, and then stir in the yeast. Let that sit for a few minutes until it gets foamy; at that point it's ready to use.
In a mixing bowl, mix your yeast mixture, eggs, butter, remaining milk, and sugar until combined. Add the salt and remaining flour until mixed. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until smooth and elastic (I use the dough hook for this). Place your dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rest until doubled...(30min-1hour). Yes, I know that's vague. But dough will not be rushed. It won't be. When it's doubled, it's ready; if that happens in 30 minutes or 60, it takes what it takes. A good hint is to let your dough rise in a preheated LOW (170 degree) oven with a dish of water set on the bottom. If you have a proofing cycle on your oven, that's even better.

At this point, whether you used a bread machine or a mixer, you should be ready to create the rolls. To do this, roll your dough out into a rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon/sugar mix. Now, I happen to think that in a cinnamon roll the predominant flavor should be the cinnamon. It's a quality I admire about a cinnamon roll, actually. Anyway, if you feel the same way, you'll want to do this next step. Remember that +extra cinnamon part of the ingredient list? This is where it comes in. Sprinkle your dough with the cinnamon as much or as little as you'd like. Now roll it up like a jelly roll, from the long side.

Cut your dough into 1 1/2-2 inch wide slices and place them in a greased pan or pans. Cover them and let them rise. Again, I use my oven for this, preheated to 170 but turned off. They should double in 20-30minutes.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Start checking for over browning after about 10 minutes. Cover with foil if you feel they're getting too brown. When done, allow to cool. You can then glaze them with a milk/powdered sugar glaze while they're still slightly warm if you'd like. Sharing is recommended, but completely optional.

Enjoy!

           

Nothin' Says Home Cooking Like Stuff Fried In Fat. (Nope, nothing.)

Truth be told, I am a sucker for fair food. Lord help me, I am. There is just something infinitely scrumptious about anything that is coated in batter and fried like the dickens. Oh, glorious golden joy; how I do love thee.

And because we normally try to be healthy eaters around here, we keep the consumption of these illicit treats to a minimum, and only during what we call "Fair Season". Thankfully, "Fair Season" is a short one here, lasting from the Blue Tip Festival in June to the Wayne County Fair in September. A short window to enjoy the goodness-gracious-golden-glory fare we do love just so very very much. But that's a good thing, right?

Anyway. Back to the purpose of this blog. Those know me know that I love to cook. A lot. One of my best things to do is to create some of our favorite foods in my own kitchen. It gives me endless joy to eat something at home that I loved in a restaurant; at a fraction of the price. Sometimes I make it a personal challenge to find "Copy Cat" recipes or to create them on my own, just to see if I can do it. (FYI, one usually can).

So in the spirit of Fair Season, that is what I set out to do for tonight's dinner. In truth, I kept it simple, only making the Chicken Gyros and Funnel Cakes from scratch. I had Dan pick up the fried veggies at the Blue Tip Festival on his way home, and I totally cheated and used bagged onion rings instead of making my own. (I do however, have an awesome recipe for them).

The results? Yum. Yumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyum. (Can you believe spell check actually highlighted that? Yeah, me neither.)

Fair-Fare. Chicken Gyro w/cucumber sauce and Fried Veggies ('cause every meal needs a veggie).

Just look at all the cucumber sauce goodness. Go on. You know you want to.

Nothing beats a fried dessert. Am I right or am I right?

Try the Gyros:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/Chicken-Souvlaki-Gyro-Style/Detail.aspx?prop31=2

Give these Onion Rings a chance. Truly. You'll be thinking "Swenson's who?"
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/old-fashioned-onion-rings/detail.aspx

Wanna fry up some Funnelled delight? Sure you do!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/Funnel-Cakes-IV/Detail.aspx?prop31=2

(Thank you, Allrecipes.com for the veritable smorgasbord of goodness you make it possible for me to put on my weekly menus.)


And now my friends, I think I shall go exercise. For a rather long time, I should think.

Operation: Making Hand Soap.

Soap Making Saga Continues.

So maybe you're tired of reading about my attempts to cut the financial corners down a bit. But. I'm writing about it anyway. Because it's important. Because it matters. And because I want to.

As you know, I've met with some success with trying my hand at making Laundry detergent. It's fun. It's cheap. It works. Cannot complain about it. Makes me feel a distant kinship with our pioneering ancestors, (their use of boiling lye compared to the relative ease of my dumping a few pre-made ingredients together not withstanding).

Riding on the wave of that glory, I decided to try my hand at another soap making endeavor when the last drops of liquid hand soap slowly eeked out of the soap dispenser. What a sad moment that is: empty bottle, needy hands. Ah, what to do.

I was fed up with buying jug after jug of refill soap when I knew darn well that I could make it for a fraction of the cost. I just never wanted to. But now....Ha! I've had laundry soap success! Let's add this to the list.

After some research, I gave it a shot.

Here's the How To part, for your appreciation.

Take 4oz of your favorite bar soap and grate it. (You'll get exercise AND soap. A winning combination as ever there could be).

Bring 1 jug of water to a boil. (Distilled water is good for this).

 Remove from heat and add the grated soap.
Stir until melted. (At this point, you'll have liquidy stuff. But do not despair! You're not done yet. The magic has yet to happen. This is a lesson in patience.)

Allow to sit for 15 minutes and give it another stir. Now let it set quietly for a few more hours to overnight so it will thicken. (Mine was ready after about 2 hours).

Once it thickens, and believe me, you'll know when it is...decide if you're happy with it. You can adjust it as needed. Too liquid-y? Reheat and add more soap. Too thick? Reheat and add more water. If you want it smooth it out a bit, take a moment to run an immesion blender through it.

When cooled, you can add a few drops of essential oils (if you want it to smell so 'purdy'), and some coloring, (if you want it to look so 'purdy' too). Fill your dispensers and wash away, friend; wash away.

As an added bonus, you pour the rest of the soap back into your jug, which now becomes a handy soap bottle. How great is that?

The exciting news is that it keeps for a long time, so you can make a big batch several times a year and have your soap when you need it.

My verdict is....
I am happy. I am. I added some lavender oil, which smells nice. I also used my immersion blender on the cooled soap to make it velvety smooth and nice.
We have automatic dispensers, so I wasn't sure how this stuff would feed out of it. It's been fine though. I like the stuff. It's true. And what I like even more is that a quart of it cost me a whopping 45 cents. That's right. 4 dimes and a nickle. Or 9 nickles, if you'd rather.
And before you say it, I know it's cheap at price clubs. That's where we've gotten it for the last few years. This represents a freedom from Da Man. I'm starting a thumb-on-nose revolution at our house whereby we don't buy stuff we can make.

Because I can.

Because it's just as good.

Because, darn it, I'm not falling victim to the mighty ad-men any more than I have to.

And because, it turns out, sometimes it's just as easy to save money as it is to spend it. (My first GALLON of soap cost a mere .78; the cost of the water).

So there ya go.
Give it a try. Let me know what you think.