Apple & Raspberry Cookie Crumble Bars

 This recipe came from the desperate need to use up the last of our holiday cookies. We had a couple dozen sour cream cookies, so I figured I could grind them down and make a nice crust with them, so I did. Then I figured I could use more crumbs and make a crisp topping, which I did. Then I used a 5 year old jar of apples and some black raspberries from the garden and made something that I am very proud of. Serve it hot with a scoop of ice cream. Serve it cold and eat it like a bar cookie. Stand at the counter in your socks and underwear just grimly shoveling it into your face with a spatula; it's all good. I think you'll like it. If you don't, I don't want to know. I'm emotionally fragile. As always, notes are in blue. 

Apple Raspberry Cookie Crumble Bars

Ingredients

For the bottom and filling

• 2 cups cookie crumbs (this required about 2 dozen medium sized cookies)
• 1 stick butter (I used unsalted), melted
• 2/3 cup raspberries (I used black raspberries from our garden. Any raspberry will do)
• 1 pint apples in medium syrup (you can use your own, or try my recipe for Spiked Apples)
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

For the topping

• 1 cup cookie crumbs 
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup oats
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C, Gasmark 5)
2. Grease a 9x13" baking dish (we used nonstick cooking spray)
3. Pour in the 2 cups of crumbs and the melted butter. Mix to combine, then use a spatula to spread the mix into a layer on the bottom of the pan. Make sure use the spatula to compress the layer into a crust.
4. In a large bowl, mix the fruit, milk, vanilla,  and sugar. Pour onto crust and carefully spread into an even layer.
5. In another large bowl, mix the topping ingredients. Use a pastry cutter, or a couple of knives to cut the butter into the mix until you see pea-sized pieces in the mix.
6. Take the topping mix and carefully spread it evenly over the fruit layer. 

   

   Look at that beautiful top layer. LOOK AT IT.

   
   
7. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool if you want to be able to pick up and eat like a bar cookie. Otherwise serve it hot with a big old scoop of vanilla ice cream!

It's not fair how good that looks. 
Good Times!

Chicken Pot Pie Bake

 The rotisserie chicken at Sam's Club is a wonderful thing. For under five bucks, you get an entire cooked chicken ready to bend to your will. If you lack creativity, you can simply just rend the meat from the bone and eat like a savage. Alternately, you can use that cooked meat in any number of exciting recipes and then use the carcass to make a savory soup stock! Or you can just do the Midwest thing and bust open a can of cream soup and make a bake. That's what we did here. The only thing that we did to spice it up was add a packet of Sazon, as that makes most anything better. The Spud had seconds, which is a ringing endorsement. Fair warning: If you're storing leftovers, consider taking the baked shell off the top before storing it and heating it in the oven separately later. If you leave it on overnight, it suffers some sort of chemical breakdown on the bottom and gets all sticky and gooey. Give it a try and see what you think! If you don't like it, don't tell me. I'm emotionally fragile. As always, any notes are in blue.

Chicken Pot Pie Bake

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 can (10.5oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (15oz) mixed vegetables, drained
• 1 can (15oz) cut green beans, drained
• 1 packet Sazon seasoning 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 tube (8oz) crescent rolls

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F (200C/Gas Mark 6)
2. Grease 13" baking dish
3. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except crescent rolls.
4. Empty contents of bowl into backing dish.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Find someone brave enough to open the tube of crescent rolls, because those things are absolutely terrifying. 
7. Unroll the crescent rolls. and press together into a sheet. Take the dish out of the oven and lay that sheet over the top of the contents of the baking dish, making sure the dough reaches the edge of the dish. (obviously be careful, as the dish will be hot)
8. Return dish to oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Look at the Golden Deliciousness.
LOOK AT IT.

Good times!

Pork and Zucchini Curry

 Every now and then I get a burst of energy. Often, it turns out to be just gas, but this time it was legitimate creative energy. I got home early and saw the giant pile of garden veggies on the counter. I knew I had a pork loin in the fridge, so I figured I could make some stir fry. That immediately detoured into deciding I'd rather do Indian and make a curry. I knew I had a winner when the girls walked and The Wife immediately declared how good the house smelled. The Spud immediately identified there was Indian food cooking. This one was an absolute winner. It was simple as can be and if you don't have all the ingredients, is very flexible. Change out the protein with chicken or shrimp or even tofu. The little Masala spice pouches are a huge time saver. Everyone had seconds. Is it authentic? Probably not. Is it good? We think so. Give it a try and see what you think! Or don't. That works, too. As always, notes are in blue.

Pork and Zucchini Curry

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork loin, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• A dozen cherry tomatoes, quartered (or one tomato, seeded and chopped. Or one can diced tomatoes, drained)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I was in a hurry and used 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1 inch grated ginger (Again, hurrying. 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons curry powder (I used a mix of sweet and hot)
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (cayenne will work fine here. Or omit if you're a big baby)
• 1 packet of Maggi Masala Magic (I highly recommend having this on hand if you regularly cook Indian style food. In a pinch, you could get by with garam masala)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (if you don't use booze, go with an equal amount of water or vegetable stock)
• 4 tablespoons oil (I went with olive, canola, vegetable, or grapeseed would also work)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pan. add pork and sear on all sides until fully cooked, however long that takes. Remove pork and set aside.
2. Add a little more oil to the pan. Add the fenugreek, cumin, and mustard seed. When the seeds start to pop, add the garlic and ginger. Give it a stir.
3. Add the onions and zucchini. Sauté for about 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and sauté another 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the curry powder, chili powder, and Masala powder. Stir to make sure everything is coated.
6. Add the liquid of your choice and let simmer for a few minutes until it thickens up.

   

   PREPARE FOR THICKENING

7. Serve over basmati rice (or white rice if that's all you have. We also like to use the Masala Magic packets when we cook the rice.)

Wrong kind of Legendary Curry.
Good Times!

The Spud's Slow Cooker Spicy Tomato Chicken

 As she's been growing up watching me cook, The Spud has taken an interest in cooking. She's helped out with some of my meal preps and has even made dinner from a recipe herself once or twice. This time, she expressed a desire to come up with a recipe from scratch. She has discovered that spice can be a lot of fun and rampaged through our cabinets asking questions and pulling ingredients. She wanted spicy, but not so spicy that everyone couldn't eat and enjoy it. She picked all the ingredients and we worked together to decide how much of each to use. I'll be damned if she didn't nail it on her first try. Everybody in the house loved it, and we've made it again since. Some of the ingredients may be a little troublesome to find, but it will be worth it. Give it a try and let us know what you think! If you don't like it, I guess you can still tell us if you're OK with crushing the ego of a 10 year old. You do you. As always, notes are in blue.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts (you could definitely use thighs here if you prefer, but The Spud likes white meat better)
• 1 quart (32 ounces) canned tomatoes, drained
• 1 pint tandoori tomato jam (this may prove tricky to find. We made ours from scratch. You could always just buy/make some tomato jam and add tandoori seasonings. Both are available separately on Amazon)
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (cayenne would work here, too)
• 1 teaspoon tamarind hot sauce (we used Tangy Tamarindo)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro (if you're one of those people who think it tastes like soap, use parsley, or lawn clippings)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a slow cooker (at least 3 quart size), lay the chicken in a layer at the bottom. 
2. Sprinkle salt, pepper, cilantro, and chili powder over the chicken.
3. In a bowl, mix tomatoes, tomato jam, and hot sauce. Stir the onions into the sauce.
4. Pour over chicken
5. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Take the lid off for the last 30 minutes to let the sauce thicken up.
6. Serve with/over rice

Good Times!

Banana Split Bread

 You can never go wrong with a nice slice of banana bread. However, sometimes you need to shake things up. As luck would have it, we found ourselves with a glut of dried cherries, crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut. It seemed perfectly reasonable to add them, along with chocolate chips into our banana bread batter. Presto! Banana Split Bread! All you have to do is slather it in whipped cream and chocolate syrup and you've destroyed all nutritional value of traditional banana bread! I'm here to help! As always, notes are in (blue). 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 medium over-ripe) mashed bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/2 cup dried cherries (if dried aren't available, you can get away with the same amount of drained and chopped jarred maraschino cherries)
• 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• For topping: 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C, Gasmark 4). Spray a 9x5" loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy (if you don't have a Kitchenaid or electric mixer, this will be a PITA). Add egg and beat well. 
3. In a large bowl, mix flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix banana with milk.
4. Add the cherries, pineapple, and coconut to the banana mixture
5. Add half the banana mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until smooth; add half the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Repeat process with second half of the banana and flour mixtures. 
6. Mix the chocolate chips into the batter
7. Pour batter into loaf pan. In a small bowl (just use the bowl you used for the flour. No sense in dirtying a third bowl), mix the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon with 1 teaspoon white sugar; sprinkle over top of batter. 
8. Bake at 350F (180C, Gasmark 4) for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (cooking times will vary). Remove immediately to a wire rack to cool

IYKYK
Good Times!

Chicken and Corn Dip

 Goodness, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I guess I've been busy? Lazy? Probably just lazy. Anyway, a few weeks back I threw together a little using odds and ends. It turned out well and for a change I had actually written everything down and not lost the paper I wrote it on. What a triumph. Long story short this dip is good hot or cold and is highly adjustable. Like it hotter? Add more hot. Don't eat meat? Put in tofu. Don't like cheese? Get away from me with that negativity. Try it and tell me what you think. Unless you don't like it and then I don't want to know. As always, notes are in blue.

Chicken and Corn Dip

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamed corn
• 1 cup diced or shredded fully cooked rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (feel free to sub in the cheese of your choice. Pepper jack would probably be pretty good here)
• 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon dried minced onion (you can certainly use fresh onion if desired. If so, go with 1/2 finely chopped onion)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dry cilantro (if you're one of those people who think it tastes like soap, sub with parsley or basil)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce of choice
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium pan, over medium heat, dump in everything and mix the shit out of it. Stop when the cheese is melted through and the cream cheese is smooth (not counting lumps from the other ingredients, those are fine)
2. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed/desired. Serve hot or cold with crackers or chips, or just scoop it out with your hands like an absolute fucking savage. 

Good Times!

Peanut Butter Gochujang Chicken Noodle Soup

 I'm not entirely sure what inspired this particular recipe, other than the need to use up some leftover chicken. The day was cold and rainy, so soup seemed the way to go. Everything sort of fell in to place from there. We've done peanut soups before and really like them, so I figured I would go with that theme. We had a tub of gochujang paste on hand, so it seemed logical to add some. The rest is history. This recipe comes together in no time and all and is easily made vegetarian by leaving out the chicken (The Wife wisely suggested using tofu cubes instead) and using vegetable stock instead of chicken. In the end, it is warm and filling soup perfect for the cold weather. Anyway, feel free to give it a try and let me know what you think. Unless you don't like it and then please don't contact me. As always, notes are in blue.

Peanut Butter Gochujang
Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 32 ounces chicken stock
• 32 ounces water
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky depending on what you like)
• 2 tablespoons gochujang paste
• 2 cups pre cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon MSG  (if you're one of those people still convinced that MSG is bad, just use salt)
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro (if you're one of those people still convinced that cilantro tastes like soap, just use basil)
• 1 lb. angel hair pasta
• lime wedges and/or peanuts for garnish

Directions

1. In a large pot, add stock and water. Bring to a low boil.
2. Stir in peanut butter, gochujang, and MSG. Stir until peanut butter and gochujang are completely incorporated.
3. Add chicken and pasta and boil for 4 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
5. Serve with peanuts and lime wedges