Coconut Chicken Strips with Honey Citrus Dip

Coconut Chicken Strips with Honey Citrus Dip

2 pounds chicken tenders
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 egg
1/2 can of condensed milk
1/2 cup of orange juice
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix orange juice, condensed milk, and a beaten egg until your wet mixture is well combined. In another bowl, mix coconut and panko crumbs.

Dip and fully coat each tender in the egg mixture first and then the panko/coconut mix. Place coated tenders on a baking sheet sprayed heavily with Pam.

Bake chicken 35-40 minutes, turning half way through so that chicken browns nicely on both sides. Serve with Honey Citrus dipping sauce.

Honey Citrus Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup orange marmalade
In a small bowl, mix the honey and marmalade. Heat in microwave for one minute.

Roasted Green Beans with Garlic

I have gone through sort of an evolution with green beans as I've grown older. When I was newly married and just starting to cook stuff that didn't come in a microwavable tray, I always made canned beans. I don't think I knew they came any other way back then...

Then I wised up a little bit and started buying frozen beans and steaming them in the microwave. Much better and much less mushy...

And just recently, I've grown up again! Fresh picked beans straight from the garden, snap off the ends and roast them in a hot oven with garlic. Wow! That's quite the transformation from the can and I never knew green beans could taste so good.

Roasted Green Beans with Garlic

12 ounces fresh green beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place green beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over beans and toss green beans around with your hands to make sure the oil evenly coats all the beans. Season to your liking with kosher salt and pepper. Thinly slice garlic and sprinkle over top of green beans.

Bake 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your green beans...until tender and ends begin to brown.

Enjoy!

Cilantro Cheddar Biscuits

The herbs are taking over! They are on the patio...in the garden...and landing in all of my food! And guess what? Life couldn't be better! Going out to my front porch and picking handfuls of fresh fragrant herbs to bring life to food we eat is the best part of the summer months. The cilantro seems to be growing rampant in this particular planter...it is taking over the poor rosemary and parsley it seems. I think I see a lot of pico de gallo in our future!

Cilantro Cheddar Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablesppon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/3 cups fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Blend cold butter into dry ingredients (I use my hands, but you could use a fork or pastry cutter) until mixutre has pea sized chunks of butter. Don't over blend my friends!

Pour buttermilk and stir as little as possible just until the dough comes together with a wooden spoon. Add cheese, garlic and cilantro and mix in (again, stir as little as possible).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop about 1/3 cup of mix onto baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each biscuit.

Bake 18-20 minutes until tops and bottoms are golden brown. Serve fresh out of the oven and enjoy!

Strawberry Poppy Salad

Summer is finally in full swing! It was a very rainy June, but well worth it when the rain finally stops, the sun is shining on your face and you step outdoors to find beautiful fragrant fully bloomed plants greeting you every morning.



Yep, summer is finally here. The swimsuits have been donned...the canoes have been boarded and down the river we went! The nuts and I spent a great weekend in the outdoors, floating down the river, running a 5k to raise awareness for breast cancer, playing bean bag toss...and eating of course. Early summer is berry season...and it doesn't get any better that this! U-pick strawberry fields are open every where this time of year and we are in bliss at my house.

Strawberry Poppy Salad

2 cups fresh spinach

4 strawberries, thinly sliced

small handful blueberries

Poppy Seed Dressing (Try Newman's Own...its excellent!)

Wash all veggies/fruits. Place dried spinach in bowl and top with strawberries and blueberries and pour desired amount of dressing on top and dig in to your great refreshing salad! Have a good summer!!!

Taco Bowls

Before I give you an excellent quick weekday meal that is sure to impress...I'd like to share with you a few pictures of my father. This is him and my Peanut. Oh she loves him so much. She actually wakes up in the morning and says "papa?" You see, my parents watch my kids for me while I go to work, so Monday through Thursday they get to hang with Grandma and Papa. They were giving each other kisses after dinner and I was able to sneak in this great shot. She is so happy, so comfortable with him. It really melts my heart.







Onto more manly things...this is my little Walnut on the back of dad's 1970 something Kawasaki 900. They just drove down the driveway and up the second driveway...but he's been talking about it for days. Sorry about the white out...it was a lot of sun/concrete/steel siding to contend with.







This is my Peanut and Walnut with their cousin! They were running through the sprinkler trying to keep cool. It was definately a warm one on Father's Day. We grilled salmon and chicken and I made some wonderful savory scalloped potatoes that I forgot to take a picture of because I was busy digging in.







And these my friends...I ordered from Avon! Can you believe it? They are just so darn cute I could scream. They hold a 5" tortilla perfectly. It is a nice change up from everyday taco shells and a much healthier route than a deep fried shell. I always buy the Mission Whole Wheat Carb Balance torillas so I know I'm sneaking in whole grains and fiber into everyones meal without them even knowing!




Weekday Taco Bowls

½ lb ground beef
2 tsp chili powder
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
½ c salsa
¾ c shredded cheddar cheese

5" tortillas

sour cream
tomato
romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly press tortillas into molds and bake for 10 minutes until crispy.

Cook meat and chili powder in large skillet on medium high heat until meat is no longer pink. Add beans, cheese and salsa and cook 5 more minutes.

Assemble taco bowl with meat on bottom, then put favorite toppings on and enjoy!!

Crepes

I love crepes on a lazy Sunday morning. I'm definately a morning person. Sunday mornings I like a big old fashioned breakfast with crepes, french toast or pancakes with eggs and sausage, then head off to church. It seems so...motherly. And it makes me happy.

Unfortunatly for me, the rest of my household are definately NOT morning people. My husband works nights over the weekend and gets home around 8 am and heads straight to bed and don't even try looking in my kids' direction until at least 9 am! Thats okay...more breakfast for me!

Basic Crepes

1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter - melted
2 teaspoons sugar
2 eggs - slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Sift dry ingredients together. Add milk and whisk together. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk together.

Heat a large nonstick skillet (I use a 12") over medium high heat and very lightly spray with Pam just once. Do not respray as you cook the crepes. Pour about 1/2 cup (variable depending on size of your pan) into middle of pan and swirl pan to evenly coat entire bottom with mixture. Cook 1-2 minutes until golden brown and loosing edges with a rubber spatula, flip crepe to other side and cook another minute until golden brown.

Serve with strawberries, bananas, nutella, whip cream...any of your favorites!

Happy Father's Day! (And Chocolate Cupcakes)

Happy Father's Day to all those wonderful men out there! I'd like to specifically gush about two daddies in particular this morning. They happen to be my generous, loving, nurturing husband and my own father.




Zafar...Thank you for being the patient one with the children. For taking the time to teach them, for opening their eyes to different cultures then the one they live in. For being passionate about them. For wiping their butts and cleaning their noses...I love you.

Dad, thank you for raising me they way you did. For giving me all the skills I need (such as changing a tire and my own oil). For raising me to be a strong independent woman. Thank you for being involved in my life as a child and as an adult. Thank you for loving my children and spending time with them. For everything dollar you've ever loaned me and every shoulder you let me lean on. You are the best.

Chocolate Cupcakes

(Slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee granuals
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla and coffee granuals. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

With an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
4 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 ounces unsweetened chocolated, melted and slightly cooled.
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter, cream cheese and shortening until well blended.

Add in the vanilla and salt and mix on low speed until well combined.

Gradually pour in the chocolate until thoroughly combined.

Add in the confertioners’ sugar one cup at a time until completely incorporated.

Homemade Poptarts

I found these through a link on Yahoo! the other day and had to try them. Pop Tarts used to be my favorite. I LOVED the S'mores and the Cinnamon Roll ones. But when I wised up about reading food labels, I quit eating them. When I saw this recipe I had high hopes. And they turned out good, but not overly sweet like Poptarts. More pastry like, but still really good!

Whole Wheat Breakfast Pastries
Slightly adapted from Babble.com

2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick (112g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup ice cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
your favorite fillings such as jam, cream cheese, chocolate and marshmallows, or cinnamon and sugar
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add in the butter, and pulse a few times until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse meal. Combine the egg and water in a container (remove all ice pieces). While the processor is running, pour in the water/egg mixture and vanilla and pulse until mixture just comes together.

Pour mixture out onto a floured board and knead a few times to bring all the ingredients together. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 4 x 5 inch rectangles. Place a small amount of your favorite jam in the center of half of the rectangles, and use a finger to spread water around the edges. Place another rectangle of dough on the top and smooth the edges down to seal in the jam. Use a fork to crimp the edges.

Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden brown.

As they cool, mix confectioner’s sugar with 1-2 teaspoons of milk. Spread on top of the pastries. Serve warm.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Dear Friends,

I'd like to apologize to your hips and bottom right now before I go on. This recipe may cause you to eat half the pan as soon as they come out of the oven...therefore...making your aforementioned regions...well...grow. I'm sorry! Every time I've brought these bars to a BBQ or work or to a family member's house they've been polished off within the first hour. Please forgive me.

Love,

Teri

Snickerdoodle Blondies

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla

Topping:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line a 9" by 13" pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

Using your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and then add vanilla. Beat until smooth. Mix in flour mixture on low until well blended. Spread evenly in pan.

Combine granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and evenly coat top of batter.

Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool before cutting (which I did not...I had to get going to a birthday party, which resulted in my chunky looking bars).

Baked Doughnuts!

Oh my goodness, when I found these on Tasty Kitchen the other day I was so excited! Doughnuts that are baked?!?!

Ok, so they didn't really come out with the texture of what I would consider to qualify as a doughnut, but they were darned delicious! They were more...like a bagel maybe? Who cares! Not when you have chocolate and coffee and cinnamon and sugar involved.

Baked Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Slightly adapted from Apricosa

2/3 cup warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt or Kosher Salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbs. butter
Scant 1/3 cup 2% milk
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips

Heat milk on stove until it reaches 95 to 105 degrees. Measure 1/3 cup of milk and place in a warmed mixer bowl. Add yeast and let set 5 minutes until yeast bubbles. If your yeast does not activate, toss and start again. Put butter in remaining 1/3 cup of milk and melt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, instant coffee, flour and salt.

Back to your mixer bowl with the yeast in it, add the dry ingredients, the milk with melted butter, vanilla extract and lightly beaten egg and mix with your paddle attachment until it is just combined. Then change the attachment to the dough hook and mix until dough pulls away from side of bowl, adding a touch more flour or milk if the mix is to dry or wet. It should just be slightly tacky to the touch, but still clean away from the sides of your mixer bowl.

Remove dough and place in a greased bowl (turning dough so the top is greased) and allow to raise until doubled in a warm draft free place. I usually turn my oven on 400 degrees for 2 minutes, then turn oven off and place my dough in oven until raised.

Punch dough down and roll out to 1/2" thickness on a floured surface. Using a biscuit cutter cut out circles, then cut out centers using the milk jug cover and transfer rings and holes to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Loosely cover with Saran Wrap.

Allow to raise again about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake about 8 to 10 minutes. Let doughnut slightly cool before dipping in ganache.

To make ganache:

Place butter and milk in a small saucepan and whisk constantly just until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Continue to whisk until all chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth and glossy.

Invert each doughnut and dip into chocolate ganache and place on a wire rack so that ganache drips down sides of doughnut.

Enjoy!!



Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Slightly adapted from Apricosa

2/3 cup warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbs. butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Heat milk on stove until it reaches 95 to 105 degrees. Remove 1/3 cup of milk and place in warmed mixer bowl. Stir in yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. If your yeast does not bubble up or foam, discard and start again.

Stir butter into remaining milk and melt. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, nutmeg and salt.

Heading back to the mixing bowl with milk and yeast, add in milk and butter mixture, dry ingredients, and egg and mix with your paddle attachment just until combined. Then replace attachment with your dough hook and mix until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding a touch more milk or flour if needed.

Remove dough and place in a greased bowl (turning dough so the top is greased) and allow to raise until doubled in a warm draft free place. I usually turn my oven on 400 degrees for 2 minutes, then turn oven off and place my dough in oven until raised.

Punch dough down and roll out to 1/2" thickness on a floured surface. Using a biscuit cutter cut out circles, then cut out centers using the milk jug cover and transfer rings and holes to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Loosely cover with Saran Wrap.

Allow to raise again about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake about 8 to 10 minutes until they just barely take on a golden color. Do not overbrown the doughnuts because we want them nice and moist on the inside.

Melt 1 stick butter in a small sauce pan and mix cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg in a bowl. After doughnuts have slightly cooled, dip tops of doughnuts in butter then in sugar mixture and place on wire rack. After you've done all the doughnuts, go back through and dip bottoms in butter followed by sugar mixture.

Enjoy!!

BBQ Sauce

Sometimes I might be out of BBQ sauce...but I usually have ingredients laying around to make my own. I don't normally make my own sauce because it is so cheap to just buy bbq sauce and there are quite a few out there without high fructose corn syrup, but the other day when I was planning on making bbq sandwiches, I was without a major component of the sandwich.

BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 squirt liquid smoke (about 1/8 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons molasses

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Cream Cheese with Honey and Candied Pecans

Remember the graduation party I was doing all the baking for? It was on Saturday. I prepared breads, cupcakes, cookies and other confections, potato salad, Bacon and Ranch Pasta salad, fruit bowls and a few other things. I had to call for another driver to come pick up goodies because it didn't all fit into my car.

My friend's youngest child now has a diploma and is currently going at the speed of fast forward getting ready for his impending move to join the collegiate ranks at UND in the fall. Wow! When I first met them he wasn't even in junior high yet!

Speaking of little boys growing up too fast...look at Walnut in his tie. He woke up that morning and was so excited to dress like daddy. He was actually the one that picked out the tie! And he wore it all day too.

We had so much fun celebrating with friends. Laughing, eating and reminiscing the days when we were young and getting into trouble as teenagers. Those days seem like they shouldn't be that long ago, but this summer is my 10 year high school reunion already! 10 YEARS!

Here is a delisous spread I served with the sweet quick breads at the party. It was so good, my favorite was the spread on the pumpkin bread.

Cream Cheese with Honey and Candied Pecans

1 - 8 oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

Melt butter in a skillet and brown slightly over medium heat. Add pecans and brown sugar and stir to coat the pecans with butter and sugar. Let cook about 3-5 minutes until sugar has melted and sauce is bubbly. Transfer pecans and sauce from pan onto a plate lined with parchment paper and set aside to let sugar and harden around the pecans.

In a bowl, add cream cheese and honey and whip with a hand mixer. Add pecans (you might have to break them up a bit) and mix just for about 10-15 seconds to break up the pecans a bit more and get them incorporated into the cream cheese mixture.

Spread on your favorite breads, bagels, french toast...whatever!

Enjoy!!