Chicken Bacon Mac n Cheese

Yesterday I was sitting at home with my husband trying to figure out how to use the chicken boobs (yes, I said chicken boobs) we had thawed out in the fridge, and use them in such a way that we could have 2 different meals out of them in a row. 4 big chicken boob halves and 2 dinners to be prepared... I wanted something different that wasn't just plain chicken.

So I went down a list of yummy things I like to make with chicken breast. (Eventually I'll have recipes for these)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole?
Honey Pecan Chicken?
Pizza-topped Chicken?
Spicy Chicken and Spinach Rotini? (A pasta-casserole variation of this yummy dish)
Baked Chicken Spaghetti? (A recipe from my great granny that I'll have to eventually share)

Then I started tossing out ideas on what I could make with the chicken, that I hadn't made before, and this was the result.

The winning comment went like this:

"I want to make beer bread... OOH HOW ABOUT A CHICKEN BACON MAC N CHEESE?"

(Product Plug! The Tastefully Simple Beer Bread is so easy and so delicious, I always buy the 3 pack for our pantry... it makes a loaf of bread that's about a pound and a half, and all it takes is mixing a bottle of beer with a packet of mix and optionally pouring some melted butter over the top, then baking for 50 minutes)

My husband's face was like... "Wha...?" (He's used to my seemingly random jumps between thoughts, and gives me that look so I'll explain the steps from A to B - though not how I managed to make that jump in less than a second)

1) I love the Tastefully Simple Beer Bread (so does he) and wanted it with whatever I made
2) The beer bread, crumbled up, makes an excellent topping for baked mac n cheese
3) I looooove home made baked mac n cheese
4) We could put chicken in the mac n cheese
5) Bacon makes every thing better.

Thus my outburst. Then I started plotting how I was going to tackle this dish, and what we had in the kitchen to make it. (We had to get pepper jack from the store, but still, mostly things at home)

I came up with this list:

Milk, flour and bacon grease not pictured.

8oz elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 cup shredded colby jack cheese (or mild cheddar) (divided)
1 cup shredded pepper jack (divided)
1 cup shredded mozzarella (divided)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
4 cups milk
3 tbsp flour
ground mustard
garlic powder
4 tbsp butter + 2 tbsp bacon grease
2 - 8oz chicken breasts cooked and cubed or shredded (or both, since that's what happens to me every time) (about 2 1/2 cups)
10 - 12 slices cooked and crumbled bacon (reserve some grease)
1 1/2 cup cubed beer bread (or other cubed bread, or 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs) + 2 tbsp melted butter

How I put it together:

Boil the chicken breast, allow to cool, then cut it into small chunks.

Prepare and bake the beer bread, following package directions.

I wish you could smell this.

Cook and crumble the bacon, reserving a couple tablespoons of the grease

Boil and drain the macaroni, and put in a large bowl

Add crumbled bacon and chicken to pasta, and set aside

==Heat oven to 350*F==

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter, and add reserved bacon grease

Add flour and spices, and cook until brown

Add about a half a cup of milk and stir until smooth, then add the rest of the milk and the cheeses (minus 1/3 cup of each shredded cheese (if desired) for the topping - I skipped this and put it all in the sauce)

Cook and stir until smooth, until bubbling slightly... stir constantly so it doesn't stick or clump, and let to bubble for a minute or so, allowing the sauce to thicken

Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and meat mixture, 1 cup at a time (I used 4 cups sauce and reserved 1 cup) then pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.

Top with remaining cheeses (if you saved some), bread crumbs/cubes

Drizzle with 2 tbsp melted butter, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until topping is golden, and cheese is bubbly.

The sauce will seem thin at first, but as it heats to bubbling, it will thicken, and then thicken a bit more in the oven.

There was just a little too much sauce for the pasta/meat mixture. I reserved about 1 cup of sauce and used it like fondue for the rest of the beer bread, it was yummy! If you don't want extra sauce, just reduce the amount of milk and cheese you add, or make more pasta for a bigger casserole.

ENJOY!
~Mandy

Orange Dream Cake Balls

There are 3 things I absolutely love when it comes to desserts... Marshmallow (especially S'mores and Krispie treats), apple cinnamon, and citrus (lemon, lime, orange). While I adore chocolate, it takes a back seat if any of the others are featured. If asked what my favorite dessert is I can't decide between apple crisp and lemon meringue pie. My favorite travel food is a pack of those gummy orange slices. And I really enjoy experimenting (my husband loves my experimenting, too) with various flavors of Krispie treats (I have future posts planned for Cookies n cream, and Butterfinger treats!)

When I came across this recipe on Miss CandiQuik I couldn't resist bookmarking it, and making it. But it makes so many, I needed to wait for an event where I could share. Well the opportunity came up, and so I am preparing them. In the future, I will probably try other cake/frosting/coating combos, but I'm going to *mostly* go with her original recipe for now.

EDIT: The changes I made to this were:
1) I added 1/4tsp orange extract
2) I only used 1 package white candy coating

My batch ended up making 31 cake balls. I just used my 1 tbsp measuring spoon to scoop it out. If you want more balls, use the 1/2 tbsp. :) Also, because of the size I used, I made them too big to serve in the little mini cups I got. OOPS!

Your cast of characters:

Not pictured: Water, Orange extract

1 box Orange cake mix
 - eggs, oil, water as mix requires
1/2 cup buttercream frosting
1 16oz package white candy coating

Optional:
1/4 tsp Orange extract
sprinkles
paper cups

Start by preparing the cake mix as directed on the box (adding orange extract if desired), bake, and allow to cool.

Yes, I have other 9x13 baking dishes but this is my favorite.

Then the fun part! Take that pretty orange cake, and crumble it all up in a large bowl.

And, yes, that's my favorite mixing bowl.

Then add 1/2 cup frosting (about half the tub) to the crumbled cake, and mush it all together.

Mix that up and then form into 1 inch balls (I used a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to scoop it out). Put them on a cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for a couple hours so they are easier to work with. (FYI, these things will be super sticky and not want to roll into a ball very easily... don't get frustrated, keep trying, eventually they shape into a ball!)

Then melt down a package of the candy coating as the package directs (either in the provided tray, in a microwave safe bowl, or in a saucepan over low heat). If you need to (I didn't even use all of the first package), melt the other package when necessary (this will keep you from having to constantly re-melt).

Dip your cake balls in to the coating, set on wax paper, and top with sprinkles immediately (if you want to use sprinkles) the sprinkles won't stick once the coating sets, and it will start setting quick because your cake balls are cold.


Allow to set, and enjoy!

Those wouldn't fit in the storage container.. I had to sample. :)

 Thanks for reading, and be sure to visit Miss CandiQuik for more yummy ideas using candy coating!

~Mandy

P.S. I will definitely be trying this again in the future with a different cake flavor/frosting flavor combo. I might even go for a triple chocolate taste! (chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate candy coating, with chocolate sprinkles)... or a lemon berry (strawberry cake, lemon frosting)... Or even butter pecan like the cake I made recently that was so yummy! Many possibilities... This has me thinking if it would work with my Tastefully Simple items.. The tropical pound cake with the Orange Dream cheese ball... or the Chocolate pound cake with the Cherry cheese ball... Might be yummy!

Norwegian School Bread

Adventures in baking today, for sure.

My husband had to do a project and presentation on Norwegian immigrants to America, including history, customs, and food, and other various things.

Of course, my husband is hopeless in the kitchen, and so I was drafted to prepare the food. Well, the food he chose, or was told to bring (not sure how it happened, but a member of his group asked if I could prepare it) is Skolebrød (Norwegian "School Bread").

I've never made this before, and it involves working with yeast (something I've rarely done), and the spice cardamom (which I've never used). And the original recipe that he gave me was in metric, so I had to go searching for one that was similar only in U.S. measurements so I didn't have to go hunting up a conversion chart... and it turns out the recipe he sent me was incorrect anyway (too much water), and the one I found seems to be more in line. I looked at several, but settled on this one, because it seemed most friendly (read: I choose it at random). From Food.com -> Norwegian School Bread. It seemed fairly close to this one, found on a blog written by someone in Norway, married to a Norwegian lady and so I trust their recipe is the real deal.

So, I invite you to come with me on this adventure in broadening my horizons in the kitchen!

Cast of characters:

Milk and water not pictured. Bowls contain (from left to right) granulated sugar, egg, and powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk + 2 1/2 cups milk for filling (total 4 cups)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 (2 1/4 teaspoon) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom (I went with 1tsp on this - from a jar, the other recipe calls for 1/2tsp)
4 cups flour
1 (5 1/8 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 egg, well-beaten
6 tablespoons powdered sugar plus 1 tbsp. water, mixed to form a light glaze
shredded coconut

Instructions:

In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add 1 1/2 cups milk and heat until scalded (stirring constantly). It's scalded when small bubbles start to form on the sides, but before it comes to a boil. It took me about 5-6 minutes over medium heat.

Remove the milk + butter from heat (I poured it into my stainless steel mixing bowl), and let cool. This took longer than letting it scald, because the butter kept forming a film over the top and trapping the heat! Check it and stir regularly. This stopped as it cooled. About 15 minutes. When milk is lukewarm add the yeast and sugar and let sit until the yeast has bloomed (10 mins or so, when it's bubbly and foamy and smelling like delicious fresh bread).

Kinda foamy, kinda bubbly, and I wish you could smell this.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and cardamom and then add to the wet ingredients. Mix until the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. (This didn't take all that long. I formed the dough into a ball so I could more easily see when it had doubled in size. That's why I love this bowl, it's got measure markings engraved on the outside that you can see from the inside for reference).

Cover with a towel and let rise for an hour, or until doubled in size (this depends on how warm it is... it will rise faster in a warmer location)

Then punch it down and turn out onto a floured surface. Keep some cooking spray handy for your hands, because the dough will be sticky, and constantly stopping to add more flour to your hands will add more flour to the dough and could make it tough. (Lesson I learned the hard way). Knead the bread until it is smooth and elastic. Then divide into 3, and roll into logs, then cut each into even pieces (making a ball the size of a small orange)

It's almost time to retire these cookie sheets... They've seen the oven *many* times.

Place the dough balls on a lightly greased, or parchment lined, baking sheet. Cover them up again, and let them rise for another 30 minutes or so.

While they are rising, prepare the pudding. Add 2 1/2 cups milk to the powder, mix well, then allow to thicken at room temperature while the rolls are rising. (There was a lot of leftover extra pudding. I don't know if it's because I didn't use enough, or because this box was too big...)

Preheat oven to 365*F (it's kind of a weird setting, I know. But who am I to question a recipe I've never prepared?) - I ended up using 375, and they were done in 15 minutes.

While oven is heating, using your finger, create a well well in the top of each roll (but not all the way through the bottom). - Sorry, I forgot to grab a pic of this! But I found that using my first knuckle was the best method for making the wells without handling the dough too much.

Then add 1tbsp or so of the pudding, in the wells you just made. This might be easier to do by using a pastry bag or a plastic zipper bag with a corner cut off (add the pudding, snip the corner, then squeeze the bag) and piping it in.

Allow to rise (again) for about 10 minutes, then beat the egg well and brush over the top and sides of the buns (but not the pudding).

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden, then remove and allow to cool slightly.

While they are cooling, mix the powdered sugar with water, adjusting amounts until a glaze consistency is reached, then brush over the tops of the rolls (avoiding the pudding) and sprinkle on the coconut.

It was suggested that these are best served warm, with coffee.

After baking, and sampling, these... I would say they are pretty good! The cardamom is something I'm not entirely sure on, because my palate is unfamiliar with that spice. Apparently it's also commonly used in Middle Eastern and Indian foods. It's very aromatic and the flavor is pretty strong.. I would say in comparison, it's close to ginger.... Which makes sense, because after a little research, apparently the cardamom plant is in the ginger family.

Enjoy! :)

~Mandy

Lemon Bark Candy

I am going to confess that I love EVERYTHING lemon, particularly desserts that are lemony.

Which makes me wonder what I've been thinking by avoiding making lemon bark. It's so amazingly easy, only 2 ingredients (with an optional 3rd), and no baking involved. It's sweet and crunchy and delicious and LEMON.

I've seen this recipe in so many places, and so many times I don't have a link for you just my memory of what I've seen.

Your cast of characters:

Featuring my little food processor!

That's it. Lemon drops and white candy coating. If you want some extra lemony flavor, lemon extract.

Before you start, line a large baking sheet with wax paper, or foil lightly coated with cooking spray.

First step to make this is to crush the lemon drops... Like 2/3 or 3/4 cup (I used 3/4), depending on how crunchy you want your lemon bark. Toss them in a food processor and whirr it up until you have lots of lemony crunchy pieces. Scoop a few tablespoons out into a small bowl and set them aside for topping.

Then melt the white candy coating. I break it into pieces, then (usually) do 30 seconds in the microwave, then 15 second intervals, stirring after each, until it's completely melted and smooth. However, due to all the craziness that's been happening in my kitchen, I used a medium saucepan and melted it over low heat, stirring frequently... it took about 5 minutes.

Mix in the crushed lemon drops and pour onto prepared baking sheet.

After you pour out the mixture, spread it and smooth it, then sprinkle the rest of the crushed lemon drops on the top before it sets.

I chill mine in the fridge so it sets up faster, and the colder it is, the more brittle it will be. If you want to cut it into pretty, even slices, you can let it set up at room temperature, it will take a little longer but it will be a little softer and easier to cut. Me? I like to just pick mine up and drop it from a few inches and see how it breaks (like peanut brittle!)... I like to have lots of random shapes and sizes. Sometimes you want a little piece sometimes you want a big one.

That's it! Super easy and tasty and fun to share.

Enjoy!
~Mandy

Brown Sugar Pulled Pork

Several weeks ago, my husband found a ~10lb picnic shoulder (meaning it still had the bone in it) for a pretty good price, so he picked it up. I did some guess work and cooked it low and slow in the oven and then shared it with friends.

We found another one, not on sale, but I wanted to make it again... So it ended up in the grocery cart.

Here's how I prepare it, for fall apart pork that's slightly sweet an REALLY good with some Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce. It's a 2-day process, but so worth it.

First I line a large roasting pan with foil. Lots of foil, because there's a lot of liquid and drippings in this, and a well lined pan makes for much easier clean up, and then put the shoulder in fat/skin layer facing up.

Then I take a sharp, serrated knife and cut some grooves in the fat, down to the meat in a criss-cross pattern.

Then I put the rub together half of the rub goes on the meat to sit over night, the other half goes on before it goes in the oven.

The dry-rub ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp mustard pwoder
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cayenne

Mix them all up! Then rub half of the rub mixture onto the pork... make sure you get it down in the grooves, and directly on the meat on the ends, and the bottom.

Then cover with foil and stick in the fridge over night.

Day 2!

Set your oven to 275*F (low and slow, baby)

Uncover your pork shoulder, save the foil though, so you can cover it back up. Grab your rub, and rub the rest of it on the shoulder, then cover it back up and stick it the oven... For about 45 mins per pound.

My 10lb pork shoulder should be done in around 8 hours at 275. If you want to cook it more quickly, it can be done at 350 for 25-30 mins per pound. The trick is to get the meat to 180 or above for a while to break down the connective tissue so it falls apart into that juicy, shredded goodness. Make sure the internal temp is at least 160 though to be sure it's done.

When it comes out of the oven, I use tongs to remove and discard the fat layer (it should come right off) and pull the bone out (it should slide out clean). Then I pull it with the tongs and a fork and put the meat into a slow cooker on the "warm" setting to keep the meat warm. I serve it with barbecue sauce and bread and enjoy! :) Or sometimes I just eat it plain, it's really good!

(Sorry I don't have any pictures of the finished product, we had friends over and we were hungry!)

For the leftovers, I divide it into equal portions and store in freezer bags. It freezes pretty well. I use the leftovers for pork tacos or with collards. Yum.

Enjoy!
~Mandy