Dumplings!

The other night, kitchen emptied of fresh foods due to two recent business trips to Miami, I found myself looking at some partially thawed chicken leftovers (from a roast chicken a month ago) and wondering what the heck to make. Peering around my pantry, I noticed some Bisquick ...

• Plopped the chicken into a pot and added enough water to cover it
• Tossed in a few tablespoons of Wondra in order to thicken it a tad
• Followed the Bisquick recipe for dumplings (halved the recipe)
• Covered the whole thing with a can of mushroom soup

I am definitely a taste bud slob, but the dumplings were super easy to make and tasty, too!

Next time I will err on a soupier stew thing, but I am so glad I took a risk and tried this out.

National pie day

National Pie Day is coming up on Wednesday, January 23rd. I accidentally left my pie dish where I had Thanksgiving, and I'm no longer romantically linked to that person, so I'm not sure I'll be able to partake on the day of.

I'm wondering what kind of pie I should make. I love making the Devonshire apple pie (it's what I made for Thanksgiving in a misguided attempt to impress someone's mother) (!) but it might be fun to try a new recipe.

Any recommendations?

Bell family recipe: cranberry nut bread

I haven't made this yet but a friend suggested it for a brunch I held on New Years' Day. If you make it, let me know how it goes!

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

1 cup whole raw cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups flour, less 1 tablespoon
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons shortening, melted (or canola or corn oil)
juice of 1 orange
grated rind of 1 orange

Mix 1 tablespoon flour with nuts and cranberries. Combine liquid ingredients, mix with dry ones (mixed first). In measuring cup, combine eggs, shortening, juice and rind, add enough boiling water to make 1 cup liquid. Stir into dry ingredients, add cranberries and nuts. Don't mix too much. Bake in greased loaf pan 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Orange Julius! Except ... not.

Now that I am convinced that these protein muscle shake doo-dads actually help with repair and building and efficiency, I am off to the blender-using races.

Tonight I used one cup of vanilla powder plus four cups of orange juice and a tablespoon of lemon juice.



Ugh, it's frothy and dericious. I am in smoothie-moustache heaven. Nyum nyum!

Muscle-building smoothie things

If you, like me, appreciate the idea of those muscle-building protein powder shakes, but find yourself making excuses about why you don't have time to peel bananas, rest assured!



Tonight I made my vanilla Pro Lean Mass Extreme with banana juice manufactured by Hortex (I picked mine up at M&I International Foods in Brooklyn, but I'm guessing that any banana nectar-like juice will suffice). 8 scoops + 34 ounces + one Activa vanilla yogurt into the blender and ... delicious! This should be good for three days worth of lunch smoothie action.

I may have to try the chocolate powder with cherry juice next ... !!

Chicken fingers with honey mustard

I like this recipe because it's easy, and it helps me pretend that I am not basically making the equivalent of junky food, even though I am. This came from some junk mail:

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 ounces each)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Honey mustard:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Serves 6

1. Cut chicken into 1/2 x 2" strips. For honey mustard sauce, blend honey & mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken in milk. (Okay, this is totally not kosher, duh.) Roll in flour mixture to coat well. Place chicken on waxed paper.
3. Pour 1/4" of oil into a large heavy skillet. Heat over medium-high heat to 350 or until a cube of white bread dropped in oil browns evenly in 1 minute. (Is anyone going to actually test browning the white bread cube in sixty seconds? Skeeriously???)
4. Divide chix into batches. Place 'em in an even layer in hot oil. Fry, turning 1x, for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown & crisp. Drain on paper towels. Search with sauce.

FIN.

Steak!

Saturday night, while my boyfriend was in the restroom I snuck a few bites of his Kobe beef during dinner at 15 East. I've never seen steak served with a side of melted butter a la lobster but that's how 15 East rolls and I tell you what, that's how I'm going to roll.

Since I'd like to get more confident cooking steak, and since I love butter, here's what I made tonight.

1. Cut 1 medium yellow onion into rings and 2 yellow apples into wedges
   
2. Put some leftover bacon grease and a plop of butter into a pan on medium-high heat
3. Set a small bowl of butter near the pan so it can start melting
   
4. Cook the onion and apples until the onions start to get a little soft
   
5. Make room for 3/4 lb of rib eye (I think ... it was $12/lb ... so whatever thick, fatty steak is $12/lb)
6. Sear it for 5-6 minutes on one side; flip and repeat
7. Turn off the heat; move the steak to a plate; cover loosely with tin foil
8. Let the juices continue to work their magic for ten minutes
9. Put the onions and apples in a bowl
10. EAT. Dip steak into butter often.

I washed it all down with a Pilsner Urquell.

Next up, I'll get so round that there'll be no more boyfriend for whom to sear red meat :)