Platinum Chef Challenge #5, Part II

So my second entry to Platinum Chef Challenge, Round 5 is a simple chicken salad with an avocado spread. The ingredients for this challenge are basil, avocado, grapes, black beans, and rice. I already posted my Black Bean and Rice "Burgers", which used three of the ingredients and left me with grapes and basil as a requirement in this dish.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts: boiled, cooled and shredded
about 10 seedless red grapes, quartered
avocado spread, added to your preferred consistency

Avocado Spread
1/2 an avocado, peeled/diced
1/8 cup mayo (i use Miracle Whip)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 cup fresh basil

To make spread, combine avocado, mayo, lemon juice, and basil in a food processor, blend until smooth. Add to chicken and grapes and mix until combined. (The amount of spread made by this recipe was the perfect amount for me to combine the chicken and grapes). Sandwich between bread or in a wrap, and enjoy!

(I know it looks funny, but it really tastes good!)

Platinum Chef Challenge, Round 5

So I missed a few of the last challenges. Wedding planning had me pretty busy, and creatively, I was tapped out. This round certainly looked like something I could handle, and I was ready to get back in the swing of being creative in the kitchen. So, grapes, avocado, basil, black beans, and rice, here we go!

Today, I present my first entry: Black Bean and Rice "Burgers"
Yield: 4 burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mexican rice (recipe follows)
• 1 (15 0z) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 tsp Franks hot sauce
• 2-3 tsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 2-3 oz Monterey Jack with Jalapeno cheese, sliced
• 1/2 an avocado, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions

Mash the beans with a potato masher or instrument of your choice (I used an immersion blender, which purees most of it and leaves some chunks). Add remaining ingredients except cheese and avocado. Mix with hands or spoon, just until blended. Score with hand or spoon to mark off 4 even portions. Divide one portion in half, making two thin patties. Place a thin slice (or slices, depending on the shape of your cheese) over one patty, then top with the other. Press around the edges to join the two patties (and hopefully keep the cheese IN the burger and not all over the grill :-) ). Repeat with 3 remaining portions to make 4 burgers. Grill over 'medium' heat (our grill doesn't have a numeric temperature gauge) for 5 or so minutes per side, until browned and cheese is melted (and possibly oozing out the sides).

Top with slices of avocado, toss on a bun and enjoy! These are a tad spicy, so if you'd prefer them more on the tame side, reduce/eliminate the Franks and/or cayenne. In this respect, the avocado is a perfect accompaniment to cool your taste buds a bit! :-)
Mexican Rice

Ingredients

• 1-2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup white rice (we use Canilla extra long grain)
• 2-3 tsp Knorr Caldo de Tomate con sabor de Pollo (Tomato Bouillon with Chicken Flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in saucepan. Add onion, over low-medium heat, 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add rice, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes until rice is browned. Add water (watch out, it will sizzle!) and bouillion, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, until water is absorbed and rice is cooked, about 30 minutes. This makes just over 1 cup of rice.

Pineapple Banana Bread

My fiance eats a lot of bananas, so I try to keep a constant rotating supply in the house. Some weeks, he just doesn't eat them all, and I take that as an excuse to bake. The last few times, I've scoured out some pretty yummy non-banana-bread recipes. This week, I decided to stick with traditional banana bread. Then that can of crushed pineapple in the pantry started calling my name....

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg. Add sugar, butter, applesauce, bananas, and pineapple, beat on medium until well-blended. Sift together flour, baking sode, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then slowly add to the banana mixture. Beat on low until well-blended, but be sure not to overbeat. Grease and flour (or use Pam for Baking spray, or parchement paper) a loaf pan and pour in mixture. The original recipe calls for baking 50-60 minutes. I divided this batter into 4 mini loaf pans, so I watched them and checked with toothpicks until done, which was about 40 minutes.

Pineapple Banana Bread

(Original Banana Bread recipe from http://thecookingfiend.blogspot.com/)

• 1 egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 small or 2 large bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg. Add sugar, butter, applesauce, bananas, and pineapple, beat on medium until well-blended. Sift together flour, baking sode, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then slowly add to the banana mixture. Beat on low until well-blended, but be sure not to overbeat. Add nuts and mix until evenly distributed. Grease and flour (or use Pam for Baking spray, or parchement paper) a loaf pan and pour in mixture. The original recipe calls for baking 50-60 minutes. I divided this batter into 4 mini loaf pans, so I watched them and check with toothpicks until done, which was about 40 minutes.

They aren't terribly "pineapple-y", but very moist! The pineapple acts to balance out the banana flavor a bit, without imparting too much distinct pineapple flavor.

A Little Japanese Inspiration...

My fiance's aunt is from Japan, so I am interested in anything and everything that she can teach me to cook. She introduced us to Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese market. I am fascinated with the place, even though I can't read the writing on 90% of the packages in the store (a few of them, thankfully, have description/directions in English!). The sake, of course, needs no translation ;-)

With her help, we've figured out what's "good" and my shopping stays pretty limited to those items. One of her recommendations is fresh ramen noodles. I don't really like it as a soup, so I've worked with it a little each time I make it, and finally have come to something I like. Inside the package is three individual servings of noodles, with three soup base packets.

Here's my rough recipe (I was not paying attention to measurements!):

• Vegetable oil
• Garlic
• Onion powder
• Salt & Pepper
• Chili powder (my fiance likes spicey!)
• Vegetables of your choice (I used snow peas, broccoli, carrots, 1/2 to 1 cup of each)
• Chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes (I used 2)
• Ramen noodles (I used all three servings from the package)
• Sesame seeds
• Corn starch, if desired for thickening

Heat a little vegetable oil and garlic in a pan. Add the veggies and season with onion powder and chili powder, to your taste. Towards the end, I toss in some sesame seeds. Stir fry until the are cooked to your preferred level of 'done-ness'. Remove from the pan when done. Heat some more vegetable oil and garlic in the same pan. Add the chicken and season with onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Again, when nearly done, I add sesame seeds.

I cooked the ramen according to the package directions (in English!), which is 1 1/2 minutes in boiling water. The soup base calls for mixing with 1 1/4 cups boiling water, but I think that is just for one serving. I was making all three, but since I wanted more of a sauce than a soup, I added about 2 cups of water to the 3 combined packets of soup base.

When the chicken is almost done, add the soup base to the pan. Add some corn starch and allow to thicken for a few minutes. Combine drained noodles, veggies, chicken and sauce, and...

voila!

Platinum Chef 4 Inspired Recipe

I don't know that I'll officially enter Platinum Chef Challenge 4, although mole would have been a perfect way to use the remaining ingredients after this creation I am presenting here today. I just never got around to figuring out how to make it (though a call to my future mother-in-law would have probably done the trick). I will, however, present my PCC4 inspired recipes over the next few days (provided they turn out good!).

I start with an original recipe, which is a huge leap for me. It was an even bigger leap because I have never cooked with sweet potatoes before, and have maybe only eaten them once in my life. This took about three batches to get it where I wanted it. I tend to be my own worst food critic, so I still feel like I should be improving on it somewhere, but I presented it to my fiance this morning. He said it was "Good", but then went back for a second one, which is a more telling sign than saying it's good. :-)

Cheesy Spicey Sweet Potato Muffins

• 1 egg, beaten


• ¼ cup milk (I used 2%)


• 2 tbsp nonfat plain yogurt


• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce


• 2 tbsp sugar


• 1 cup flour


• ¾ cup cornmeal


• 1 1/3 tbsp baking powder


• ½ tsp salt


• 1 ½ tsp chili powder


• 1 cup sweet potato, shredded


• ¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded (I used low fat cheddar made with 2% milk)


• ½ cup Monterey jack with jalapeno cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine first four ingredients in medium sized bowl. Add sugar, mix. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and chili powder, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until fully incorporated. Add the sweet potatoes and cheese, mixing just until evenly distributed through batter. I use foil muffin liners because I don’t have a muffin pan, and filled them approximately ¾ full, which made about 10 muffins. Bake for 20 minutes.

Servings Per Recipe: 10
Calories: 170 Fat: 5.5g Saturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 34mg Sodium: 435mg Potassium: 93mg Total Carbs: 24g Fiber: 1.5g Protein: 6.7g

Requested Each Weekend....

While my fiance claims not to have that much of a sweet tooth, I stumbled across a brownie recipe that he just can't get enough of. Literally. Each weekend, I ask, "What do you want me to bake for you?" The answer is always "Brownies." I found the recipe on the Nestle site, after he made a request for caramel brownies one weekend. Through his preferences, I've tweaked the recipe a bit, so I'll post it here, along with my advice on dealing with this batter.

Chocolate... no, Butterscotch Caramel Brownies

• 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix (I use German Chocolate cake mix)


• 1 cup chopped nuts


• 1 cup evaporated milk, divided (I find one 5 oz can is the perfect amount)


• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted


• 35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped


• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I use one 11 oz bag of butterscotch morsels)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. (I use my 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. I try to place portions of batter around the pan, then use my hands to even it out and cover the bottom.) Bake for 15 minutes. Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture. (I take portions of it in my hand, flatten it out as if I am making a burger, then place them around the pan, covering as much of the surface as I can). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 24 squares. (Since I am working with 8x8, I cut it into 16 squares).

After making them so many times, I am starting to think the top of the brownies needs something, so I think I'll start experimenting with some sort of topping. :-)

Nutella Cupcakes

W-o-w. I'd heard people talking about Nutella before, and how amazing it is, but when faced with such fanaticism for something, I tend to be turned off to it (HP included!). Well, The Nest/What's Cooking also has its legions of Nutella fans, but after actually seeing things made with this stuff, I decided it was time to give in and just try it.

My first adventure in Nutella Land (aside from, of course, eating it off a spoon) was Nutella Cupcakes, from ladymcbth on What's Cooking.

Nutella Frosted Cupcakes

• 10 tbsp(140 grams) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted ap flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don't worry if the batter doesn't look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you're not using a scoop. Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 12.

BBFCCCC

Another Nestie Legend: Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie piqued my interest yesterday. My mom's chocolate chip cookies are famous in my family, and I have always wondered about how other people make them, and if any of those recipes would compare. This one gives her a run for her money. These cookies are awesome!

I decided to make the recipe as is, but before adding the chips, divide the dough in half to make a BBFCCCC cousin...

Let me present to you, the BBFC-PBOCMM-C (or Best Big, Fat, Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Coconut M&M Cookie). :-)

I wasn't measuring (gasp!) when I added those extras, but for about 1/2 the dough, I added somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of chunky peanut butter, coconut and oatmeal, and maybe 1/3 cup mini M&M's. The peanut butter and M&M's were just right, but next time I'll add more coconut and oatmeal. Yes, my kitchen will definitely be graced with their presence again!

Blondies!

I LOVE blondies. I'm not so big on chocolate, and typical brownies have no allure for me, but give me a blondie and I'm set. I decided to make this recipe from Baking Blonde, as it was recommended by many. I was hesitant when removing them from the oven (the recipe stresses not to overbake them) because they seemed too gooey to be "done", but I wanted them to be right because I planned on sharing them with friends. I was assured that 'gooey' is just what they are supposed to be. mmmmmmm :-)




Basic Blondies
Source: Baking Blonde

• 8 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla or 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• pinch salt
• 1 cup flour
• Add ins: ½ to 1 cup of: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, chopped up candy bars, etc. (I used about 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup white chocolate morsels, 1/3 cup butterscotch morsels)
  

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x8" pan. Mix melted butter with brown sugar-beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, Stir in flour. Mix in any additions. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes (err on the side of caution, do NOT over bake these babies) or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

This recipe is becoming legendary on What's Cooking, and given my fiance's enjoyment for anything spicy, garlicy, or limey, I knew it would be a hit at our house. I was right. :-)

I think the only thing I changed from her recipe was to also add a little crushed red pepper to the sauce (since he loves it and thinks it belongs in everything).

This was SO good. I was worried that there wouldn't enough sauce, but it just clings to the pasta like nothing else. SO GOOD!