(Insert delicious adjective) Pot Stickers

I don't usually make posts about any meal that I haven't made more than once; these turned out so perfect on the first go, that I just had to write about them. I really thought that these were going to be a pain-in-the-ole-behind to make, but they were actually very easy. Yields about 15.

Ingredients
3 C. All-Purpose Flour (sifted)
1 C. Warm Water
1 Lb. Ground Pork
1/2 C. Panko Breadcrumbs
2 diced Green Onions
1 T Minced Garlic
2 T Oyster Sauce (or fish sauce)
1 T Soy Sauce
*sesame oil + brewed black tea (both are for cooking)

With a dough hook, or by hand, mix SIFTED flour and warm water. Add a tablespoon or two of water if dough is crumbly. Mix, or hand knead, for 5 min. Let the dough rest, covered, for 15 min.

While the dough is resting, mix all remaining ingredients (except for oil and tea) in a bowl. Set aside.

After dough has rested, knead for 5 more minutes, then allow it to rest for another 5. This will make it very pliable and easy to work with.

Pull off a piece of dough the size of a ping-pong ball. Sprinkle flour on the work surface and roll dough into roughly a 4-5" diameter disc. These tend to be pretty forgiving when it comes to thickness, but generally I shoot for a thickness a bit thinner than a tortilla (about 1mm). Place a heaping tablespoon of the pork mixture onto the dough and then fold it in half and pinch the seam closed. The dough should seal itself pretty easily.

Cooking:
Use a non-stick skillet! Heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs oil to the bottom of the pan and add the pot stickers. Make sure each pot sticker has the bottom oiled. Pour in the black tea (or regular water) until it comes half way up the pot stickers. Cover the pot, with the lid slightly askew, to allow the liquid to cook off. When the liquid has cooked off, add a little more oil and flip all of the dumplings to brown other side. Once browned, remove from heat.

Ketching Up

Here is a quick and easy recipe for home made ketchup.

Ingredients
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt

Mix everything together in a large pot over medium high heat. Allow to simmer while occasionally stirring until it reaches ketchup consistency (10-15 minutes). Done!

JumpUp Jambalaya

This Jambalaya makes you wanna jump up and dance, it's that good! It is creamy, spicy, meaty, and tomato-ee. It can be served all on its own or with a side of french bread or salad. (For a healthier version, replace the heavy cream with 1+3/4 C. Milk + 1/4 Half and Half, replace the Andouille sausage for Jennie-O turkey sausage)

Ingredients
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Chicken Breasts - cubed
2 Andouille Sausage links - sliced
1 lbs Jumbo Prawns
2 Cups Trinity (equal parts diced white onion, celery, green bell pepper)
2 Tbs. Crushed Garlic
1 (6 oz) Can Tomato Paste
2 Roasted - Sweet Red Italian Peppers
2 C. (1 pint) Heavy Cream
1 Lb. Orzo Pasta

Cajun Spice
6 large Dried Bay Leaves
1 Tbs. Smoked Paprika
2 tsp. Fennel seeds
1 tsp. Tarragon
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper


Before you begin cooking, prepare the Cajun spice. I like to throw it into a little coffee grinder to crush up the bay leaves and fennel, but it's not a must.

Begin by heating a large saute pan over medium-high heat and starting the Orzo according to cooking directions. When the saute pan comes to heat, add olive oil to coat the pan, then add chicken chunks. Brown on both sides, then add the sliced sausage links. Stir occasionally until browned. Add pawns, cook until pink. Add the trinity and crushed garlic. After about 1 minute of cooking, add the cajun spice. Allow to cook until trinity becomes soft.

While that is cooking, in a blender or food processor, mix tomato paste and roasted red peppers until smooth. Stir in heavy cream. Reduce heat on saute pan to medium-low. Add tomato-cream mixture to saute pan.

When the Orzo is finished cooking, add it to the saute pan and serve!

Unorthodox Handmade Tortillas

Get authentic tasting tortillas, the unorthodox way! This recipe substitutes coconut oil for the traditional lard. It does leave the tortillas tasting a little bit coconutty, but I actually appreciate the extra flavor when using them for quesadillas or fish tacos. Yields approx. 8 medium tortillas.

Ingredients
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Tablespoons Salt
1/4 Cup cold coconut oil*
1 Cup Cold Water

In a medium sized bowl, mix first 3 ingredients. Add the coconut oil. Use a pastry cutter, or the whisk attachment on your mixer, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cold water and mix until combined. Once all ingredients are combined, turn out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Set aside for 30 min for easier shaping.

Shaping:
Divide dough into golf ball sized rounds. If you have a tortilla press, use it! If not, press dough into small disc and place on well floured surface. Starting in the center of the dough and working your way out, use a floured rolling pin to flatten your tortilla. Give your dough about an 1/8 of a rotation and repeat. If you keep both sides of your tortilla well floured, you should be able to flatten it to nearly the thickness of a few sheets of construction paper. A little thicker won't hurt, but try to get them as thin as you can. As you work, remember to keep your unused dough and your uncooked tortillas covered; otherwise you will end up with crackers, not tortillas.

Cooking:
using a Wok:
Here is the unorthodox part of our unorthodox handmade tortillas. I cook the tortillas on the underside of a Chinese Wok. I turn the wok upside down and place it over my gas burner, thus making a little cooking dome. I turn the burner on full heat and let the wok get as hot as it can. Then you just drop a tortilla on top of the dome and wait for about 1 minute; then flip it over for another minute.

using a cast iron skillet:
Heat skillet on med/med-high heat. Once heated, toss the tortilla in and cook until it is nice and bubbly. Then flip it over for another minute.

using an electric griddle:
I set my cheap-o griddle to 400 F (the highest setting). I have a hard time believing that it ever reached that temperature though. Just toss your tortillas on the griddle and cook until bubbly, then flip and cook for an additional minute.

The trick to cooking tortillas is to cook them fast enough that they don't turn into crackers, but not so fast that they burn. It may take some experimentation. I also recommend using either a tortilla warmer or two large plates (one turned upside-down) to store the finished tortillas before serving. If you end up with crackers, instead of tortillas, you can often times save them by placing lightly dampened towel at the bottom of the stack of tortillas.

*You can substitute lard for an authentic tortilla.

Breakfast Cookies

I have been working on this recipe for a while. It's hard to get a cookie texture without using any flour or butter. But I finally did it. It's perfect with coffee or just as a little pick me up snack. Warning: These guys are little, but eating two equals eating a full breakfast. They are packed with fiber though (eating 2 gives you 50% of your daily fiber intake), so you won't find yourself feeling hungry anytime soon.

Ingredients
4 Cups Old-Fashioned Oats
2 Cups Flax Seed
1 Cup Almonds
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
1 Cup Apple Sauce
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Craisins
1/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
2 t. Cinnamon
2 t. AllSpice
2 t. Nutmeg
1 t. Salt
4 Eggs

Preheat oven to 250 F.
Mix oatmeal, flax, and almonds in a large casserole dish. Melt the coconut oil and mix in with oatmeal. Put apple sauce, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is reduced by half. Remove from heat an stir in with oatmeal mixture. Place in oven for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle with salt. If you just left it here, you would have some pretty great granola. But that's not us. We don't just stop all willy-nillie. We must soldier on! Mix the eggs and pour them over the granola that you just made. Now add the craisins and chocolate chips. Mix it all up. Get your hands all up in there (just make sure everything is coated with eggs).

Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Spray a 1/4 cup measuring cup with cooking spray and pack in some of the mix fairly tightly. Drop the mix out onto a cookie sheet (it should hold it's form). Bake the cookies for 15 minutes.

yields 24 cookies.

Nutrition per 1/4 cup cookie:
calories 250 - sugar 8g - (good) fat 13.6g -(bad) fat 1.4g - fiber 7g


(you can eliminate all of the bad fat by not adding the chocolate chips, but I think that they are worth it)

Better than Amazing Popcorn

 Ingredients
4 quarts cooked Popcorn (about 1/2 cup uncooked)
1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup Brown sugar
1/4 Cup milk
2 T. vanilla extract
1 Cup chocolate chips (or chunked bar chocolate)
1 cup crushed pretzels
salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 250°. Lay out your cooked popcorn on greased cookie sheet. Set aside for later. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, add brown sugar and milk. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Turn heat up to medium-high. Bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes, whisking continuously. Add vanilla, then remove from heat. While still hot, drizzle all over popcorn. Sprinkle chocolate and pretzels over popcorn and then put into preheated oven. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt. While caramel is still hot, transfer to large bowl (otherwise you are going to have a heck of a time trying to get it off of your cookie sheet). Allow it to cool for a few minutes and enjoy!

Udon (oo-don) Noodles

These noodles are very simple and can be served hot or cold. I actually prefer them cold with a little mirin and ginger, then dipped in a little Mongolian Sauce.

Ingredients
3 Cups all purpose flour
1 T. salt
1 Cup water

Hand mix all of the ingredients until they become cohesive. Place dough on work surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Put it in a ziptop bag and press out all of the air. Allow the dough to rest for a minimum of 2 hours.

Flour your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in a rectangular shape. Roll it out until it about 1/8 of an inch thick (a little thicker won't hurt, since you can stretch them thinner). When you have reached your desired thickness, lightly dust both sides with flour and lay the dough lengthwise in front of you. Right now is when you will want to get a large pot of water on to boil. You should also fill a sink with cold water and put a colander in it. This will be used to cool the noodles and keep them from becoming rubbery.

Starting with the left edge being pulled to the right edge, fold your dough in half. Now grab your newly formed left edge (the fold), and fold it over to the right edge again. you should now have 4 layers.

Give the dough a 90 degree turn and lay it out on your cutting board. Now cut vertical strips about 1/8 inch in width. After you have cut about a dozen strips, unfold them and give them a little stretch. Go ahead and toss them into into the pot of boiling water and set a timer for 3 minutes. While those are cooking, go ahead and cut and stretch more noodles.

When your timer dings, remove the noodles from the pot and put them in the colander and submerge them in the cold water for about a minute. Remove them from the water and toss them into a bowl. Repeat until all noodles are cooked.

When all noodles have been cooked, go ahead and drain any remaining water that has collected in the bottom of your noodle bowl. At this point, if you want cold noodles, you can lightly coat these noodles with Mirin, ginger, and green onions. Then use a refrigerated Mongolian dipping sauce.

I will post a recipe for a traditional hot dashi (Japanese broth) very soon.

Enjoy!

Mongolian Sauce

I love this Mongolian sauce recipe. It is so easy to make and very easy to tailor to your liking. I personally like it a bit sweet and very spicy, but it's good even without the heat. This sauce can be put on just about everything: beef, pork, chicken, rice, noodles, small children (they love it).

Ingredients
4 tsp. sesame oil
2 T. minced garlic
1 tsp. red chili flakes
1 Cup soy sauce
1 Cup water
1 tsp. ginger powder
1+1/2 Cups brown sugar

NOTE: If you want this sauce to be more on the spicy side, add the red chili peppers when you add the garlic. If you want it more on the mild/sweet side, add it at the end.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add sesame oil and garlic. Roast the garlic until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce, water, ginger, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Allow to boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. (If you want just a little heat, this is when you add the red chili flakes.)

Sloppy Chickens?

A few weeks back, I decided to make an alternative to sloppy joes. Enter the sloppy chicken; or, honey mustard chicken, if you prefer. This is a great meal because it takes very little prep and makes for a very cheap filling meal. All of the measurements are approximated as I just throw stuff into the saucepan. The main thing to remember is to add the honey at the end, or the flavor tends to cook away.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
hamburger buns
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dill
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke or to taste
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Cut chicken into small cubes (if starting from frozen, cook them in a covered skillet until thawed). Brown the chicken in a skillet over medium-high heat with a little bit of olive oil.

In a small saucepan, add the water and brown sugar. Heat over high heat, whisking continuously. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the yellow mustard and apple cider vinegar. Allow to boil and thicken for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add garlic, onion, and dill (this is also when you should add salt, pepper, and liquid smoke).

When the chicken is done cooking, remove to paper towels to drain. Add the honey and bread crumbs to the sauce, then stir in the chicken pieces.

Serve on hamburger buns with pickles, tomatoes, and lettuce.

Orange Chicken

Who doesn't love orange chicken? 'Nuff said.

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
1 medium sized orange, zested and juiced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar (apple cider or white can be substituted)
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. powdered ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. water
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 T. ginger root powder
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (optional)

Canola oil for frying (add about a tbs sesame seed oil to your fry oil for added flavor)

The sauce is pretty strait forward: put water, orange juice (reserve the zest for the end), lemon juice, vinegar,  soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic into saucepan over high/med-high heat. Whisk constantly until sauce comes to a boil. At this point, add the cornstarch water and allow to boil for 2 min. Remove from heat and stir in green onion, red pepper flakes, and orange zest.

Personally, I don't like the cubes of chicken that you get at places like Panda Express. I prefer super thin slices of chicken breast. I found that the best way to get super thin slices, of any meat, is to freeze it first, and then allow it to slightly thaw. You can get deli thin slices with just a regular chef's knife.

When your chicken is cut into bit sized pieces, crack the egg into a bowl an whisk it until it is uniform. Mix the cornstarch, flour, ginger, salt, and pepper (and panko) in a bowl or ziploc bag. First, dry off the pieces of chicken with a paper towel, then dip into the egg and then dredge it in the flour mixture. Set aside until ready to fry. Repeat process until all pieces of chicken are breaded.

Frying the chicken is quick and easy when it's in bite-sized pieces. I personally do all of my frying outside, in a wok that I put directly on the burner of my gas grill.

Heat the oil to about the 350-375 range. When the oil is hot enough, drop a few pieces of chicken in. Allow them to brown on one side, then flip them over to brown on the other side. It should only take about a minute on each side. Remove the chicken and place on cooling racks with paper towels underneath to drain. **BE AWARE!** The breading will continue to brown and darken, even after you have removed it from the hot oil.

Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
Enjoy!

Pizza Dough 2

I have tried a ton of different pizza dough recipes; trying to get that perfect crunch and chewiness. In the end, I found that the real secret was to use a pizza stone. I don't recommend buying a 'real' pizza stone though. Instead, go to your local home improvement store and buy a few granite tiles (if you live in the southwest, 1" thick UNGLAZED saltillo tiles work even better and are cheaper). You can get more surface area for much cheaper than what you would pay for a premium pizza stone. Here is recipe number 2. This one is fast and easy and makes a pretty decent crust.

Also, if you use all bread flour and replace the olive oil with melted butter, this recipe makes a very good loaf of bread.

Recipe 2
1 Cup hot water (about 125 degrees)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1-1/2 t. salt
1/4 Cup sugar
1 T. active dry yeast
1 Cup all purpose flour
2 Cups bread flour (you may use up to a cup more or less depending on humidity)
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

Put the water into medium sized mixing bowl. Add olive oil, salt, sugar, and yeast. Stir gently to help activate yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add the all purpose flour and 1 Cup of the bread flour. Mix in stand mixer with dough hook or by hand. Slowly add second cup of bread flour, just until mixture combines into a ball of dough. The dough should be a little tacky, but not sticky. Knead dough for 5-6 minutes, by hand or with a dough hook.

Spray the dough with cooking spray and sprinkle it with flour, then cover it tightly (in the bowl) with saran wrap. Allow it to sit and rise in a warm area for 20-30 min.

Remove the saran wrap and knead the dough for a few minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 3-5 minutes (this is when I make my tomato sauce). Once the dough has rested for the second time, place it on a well floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it to the desired size. There should be enough dough to make 1 pretty darn big pizza (can feed a family of 5).

Rub the outer crust with olive oil and add toppings. This can be baked on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 30 min. or throw it on a 450 degree preheated pizza stone for about 10-15 min.

Pizza Dough 1

I have tried a ton of different pizza dough recipes; trying to get that perfect crunch and chewiness. In the end, I found that the real secret was to use a pizza stone. I don't recommend buying a 'real' pizza stone though. Instead, go to your local home improvement store and buy a few granite tiles (if you live in the southwest, 1" thick UNGLAZED saltillo tiles work even better and are cheaper). You can get more surface area for much cheaper than what you would pay for a premium pizza stone. Here are the 2 different recipes that I use. You can get a better crisp (even without a pizza stone) with the first recipe, but it must be made 24 hours in advance.

Recipe 1
1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)
4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached flour (I use 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 all purpose flour), chilled
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting
Add the first four ingredients to a chilled bowl and mix together. Add the flour and use dough hook on mixer to combine. Knead for 6 minutes on medium speed in mixer. If the dough works its way all the way up the hook, then add about 2 teaspoons of cold water. If the dough is sticking to the sides, add flour a pinch at a time until it holds to the hook and not the sides. Ideally, the dough should be mostly on the hook and just on the bottom of the bowl, it should not stick to the sides. If kneading by hand, just work the dough until is pretty stiff, usually about 10 min.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and generously flour them then transfer them to the cookie sheet. Generously coat the dough with cooking spray then cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove the pizzas from the refrigerator 2 hours before you are ready to bake them. Let them sit for 15 minutes, then knead them for about 2-3 minutes on a floured counter. Re-cover the dough with the saran and allow it to rest for the remaining hour and forty-five minutes.

Hand Toss Method
It takes some practice, but this is the only dough recipe that I have ever been able to hand toss. Flour your hands and the dough well. Press the dough into a round 6" disc with your fingers. When you pick up the dough, it should be soft, but shouldn't stretch out under it's own weight. First lay it over the backs of your partially closed hands. Gently give it a stretch and give it a little 'hop' turn. Repeat. As the dough gets bigger, your hands will be further and further apart.

Rolling Pin Method
Lightly flour the dough, work surface, and rolling pin. Start the dough by pressing it into a 6" disc with your fingers. Start in the center with the rolling pin and roll outwards with minimal pressure. Give the dough about 1/8 of a turn and repeat all the way around. If the dough pulls back to its original shape, allow it to rest for a few more minutes.

Finishing
To make the crust 'lip' just make the pizza a little bit bigger than you want the final product to be, then roll the edge in on itself.

I like to top this pizza crust rather minimally. Very little sauce, very fresh ingredients. I generally try to keep it to no more than 3 toppings (plus sauce and cheese).

Rub the outer crust with olive oil and add toppings. This can be baked on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 30 min. or throw it on a 450 degree preheated pizza stone for about 10-15 min.

For a family of 5, I usually use 2 of the 4 balls of dough and I make 2 medium sized pizzas.

Homemade Butta'

Why, hello readers! Mrs. Holgate here. Writing a blog about making one of my two favorite things: butter. Or, as my cooking idol Paula Dean says, buttah! 

I had recently seen some friends making butter, and I thought, "what a cool way to take all the convenience out of food our grandparent's generation worked so hard for! I can be a pioneer woman!"

I immediately commenced pioneering by plugging in my Kitchen Aid. Okay... maybe I cheat a little. I found a really good You Tube video by a guy I have dubbed Super Helpful Dude, so I can't take credit for it entirely. 

Everything's better with butta', Sug!

Ingredients:
2 C cream (try to get it as pure as possible - check the ingredients)
1/4 t salt

Directions
1. Start by chilling your bowl - I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer because you have to beat it really fast and it would be a long time to hold egg beaters (And a REALLY long time to do it by hand), and it splashes, so it's nice to be able to drape a towel over it!

2. Prepare 1-2 C. ice water in a container that makes it easy to pour out the water, and not the ice. I used a travel coffee mug, and it worked great.

3. Pour cold cream into the bowl and turn the mixer on high using a balloon whisk. As you watch it mix, it will turn into something very familiar looking: whipped cream! I know it's super tempting to stop here and start topping, but don't! Mix until it separates into butter and buttermilk (so THAT'S where it comes from!), about 5-10 minutes (maybe less if you get pure cream).

4. Turn mixer off and use a rubber spatula to squish all the butter together and drain off the buttermilk (you can retain this to use in baking or cooking). I agree with Super Helpful Dude here, and switched to the paddle mixer. SUCH a good tip!

5. Pour some of the iced water (but not the ice) into the bowl with the butter, and return it to the mixer. Mix the butter and water for a minute (on a lower speed so it doesn't splash - and OH, does it splash!), squish the butter aside, and drain the water into the sink. Repeat this 2 or 3 times, until the water is draining relatively clear. Super Helpful Dude explains that this helps ensure all the buttermilk is out of the butter, making it last longer. I'm inclined to believe him since I technically have no idea what I'm doing. 

6. Add the salt, if you want, and mix, this time without water. You can turn it back up higher to make sure it gets good and mixed in. I forgot to pay attention to how much butter and buttermilk the recipe yields. Sorry about that.

Ta-da! You're the proud new owner of smug, homemade butter. You can take pictures and show off on Facebook all you want! The best part: it really is better! It's super smooth, and even when it's relatively cold it cuts and spreads nicely. It melts better and the flavor is unbeatable! 

And the second thing? Sugar! Although coconut is a close third. I know you've been wondering this whole time.

Perfect Pretty Pleasing Puffy PCookies

Ingredients

7 oz. shredded sweetened coconut

2 C. flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ C. butter, melted

½ C. white sugar

1 C. packed brown sugar

1 T. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 C. chocolate chips

1 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

Evenly spread coconut across 1 cookie sheet and place in preheating oven. As coconut begins to brown, use wide spatula to to flip. Remove when golden brown and set aside. Next, roast chopped nuts on cookie sheet for approx 10-15 min.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended. Add vanilla, egg and egg yolk until creamy. 

Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. add chocolate chips and chopped nuts by hand using a wooden spoon. When completely mixed, gently stir in toasted coconut. 

Drop cookie dough ¼ C at a time onto the cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 in. apart.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are lightly toasted. The center may still have a wet/doughy look but will firm up when cool. Cool on baking sheets for 3-4 min before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Super Rice with Yummy Yellow Curry

It was the day before Valentine's in Seattle. It was cold and dark and bitter, and that was just last night's dinner. In a city that knows how to keep its secrets, one man is spilling his metaphorical guts. "Super rice." 

Super Rice

Ingredients

4 Tbs olive oil (divided)

1 Lbs. ground turkey

2 oz. sun dried tomatoes

5 Cups cooked jasmine rice

1/2 Cup lemon juice

3 Eggs

2 Tbs Tarragon

2 Tbs onion powder

2 Tbs garlic powder

2 Tbs chili powder

1 Cup Water

Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in skillet over medium/high, add ground turkey and cook until browned. Remove ground turkey. Reheat skillet with remaining olive oil. Add sun dried tomatoes and sear. Add cooked rice and sear, stirring continuously. Whip eggs then stir in until cooked. Add tarragon, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder. Add water to deglaze bottom of pan. Mix in ground turkey and serve.

Yummy Yellow Curry

Ingredients

(For a healthy version, exclude sour cream and use an additional cup of buttermilk.)

2 Tbs olive oil

1 bay leaf

1/4 small onion diced

2 Tbs minced garlic

1 Cup sour cream

1 Cup Buttermilk

2 Tbs Coconut oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 Tbs lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and bay leaf over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is soft.  Add remaining ingredients and turn heat down to low.Cover and simmer for 15 min. 

Enjoy!

Perfect Braised Pork Loin

THE PREP

Pork Loin

1 tsp. Liquid Smoke

1 Cup Honey

1 clove garlic - crushed

3 bay leaves

1 Cup warm water

1/8 cup dried crushed red pepper

zest of 2 limes

Port (for braising)

Put all ingredients (excluding port) into ziploc bag. Make sure to dissolve honey (the warm water helps). Marinate pork loin overnight. 

COOKING THE MEAT

Preheat oven to 375

Remove pork loin from marinade and use paper towel to remove crushed red pepper from pork loin. Pat dry and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Sear all sides of pork loin in olive oil. Add bay leaves to pan and sear them as well. put pork loin in casserole dish add 1 cup marinade and seared bay leaves. Add port until liquid comes no more than 1/3 of the way up the meat. cover with tinfoil and put in oven for 45 min. Baste every 15 to 20 min.

Enjoy!