Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

I do love Pinterest! When I'm making my menus each week I check the freezer and fridge for ingredients then I head to Pinterest and look for the right fit. I'm on a roll with my Crock Pot. I don't have a crazy busy life but I do like the convenience of putting a few ingredients in the Crock Pot, and then smelling it simmer away all afternoon.
It's summer, the days are getting warm, actually hot, turning the oven on can really heat up my west facing kitchen. The family gets hungry at 6 no matter the season! Using your Crock Pot can provide a tasty meal for a hungry family without heating up the kitchen. Summer and Crock Pots really do go together!
This Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken  from The Comfort of Cooking was easy to make, I added brown rice and a fresh fruit salad for one yummy meal. Next time I will add some steamed veggies too.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs--I remove all traces of fat, because I can!
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed in 3/4 cup water
sesame seeds for garnish
sliced scallions for garnish
rice
Place chicken in bottom of Crock Pot and season lightly with salt and pepper. In a small bowl mix onions, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil; and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken cook for 3-4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. Do not over cook as chicken will dry out. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred. Mix corn starch and water, stir into sauce. Cover and cook on high for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Serve rice, topped with chicken and drizzled with sauce. Garnish with sesame seed and scallions. Enjoy!
Printable Recipe 

Other Crock Pot Favorites
Crock Pot Mashed Potato Soup
Potatoes Au Gratin in a Crock Pot
Pepperoncini Beef in a Crock Pot--always on the menu at Harris Family gatherings!
Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Corn and Bean Salsa

Don't let the plain name of this fool you; it is way more than beans and corn. This dish is full of flavor and all good things. We took this to a summer party and got rave reviews. This recipe originates from Southern Living, I found it on You Go Girl and adjusted it to suit what I had and like. You can do that you know!

Corn and Bean Salsa
4 ears fresh corn
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 or 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large tomatoes. seeded and diced
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 avocados, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Roast corn, cool and cut off cob. Whisk together lime juice, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Toss, cover and chill for 2 hours. Serve with corn chips.
Printable Recipe

One Year Ago--------Breakfast in a Scone
Two Years Ago-------Puff Pancakes
Three Years Ago------Banana Mini Muffins
Four Years Ago-------Pasta Chicken Cashew Salad

Lemon Biscones

This is just a different version of my Cinnamon Biscones from Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. I added lemon zest and a delicious lemon glaze to a basic Buttermilk Biscone recipe. It was delicious, I served them for girls weekend and everyone agreed they were perfect. A Biscone is a combination of a scone and a biscuit. It marries the ease of the biscuit with the buttery flavor of the scone--a match made in Heaven! Light and delicious.

Lemon Biscones
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick cold butter, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk or more as needed
1 egg beaten for wash
2 tablespoons sanding sugar
Rub zest into sugar with your fingers--it will smell wonderful! Add flours, baking powder and salt, mix well. Cut in cold butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender. You will have various sizes of butter from pea size chunks to sandy patches.
Gradually add the buttermilk and gently fold the ingredients together until you have a soft dough with no flour at the bottom of the bowl. You should still see lumps of butter in the dough--this makes the flaky goodness. If the dough seems too dry add a tablespoon of buttermilk. the dough should seen slightly sticky and moist.
Scoop mounds of the dough on a parchment lined sheet pan. I like stoneware. I also use the Pampered Chef large Scoop. This is the perfect size. You will get 12 maybe 13 biscones. Brush gently with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Rotate pan half way through. Keep a close eye on them. You want a very light golden biscone. Do not over bake.
Remove to a cooling rack and when cool glaze.
Lemon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
zest from 1 lemon
lemon juice to desired consistency
Printable Recipe

One Year Ago-------Chocolate Iced Cookie Bars
Two Years Ago------Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake
Three Years Ago----Idaho Party Cookies
Four Years Ago------Broccoli Salad

This is the way you give a loaf of bread!!

When I give a food gift, I want it to not only taste wonderful but I want it to look amazing. You taste with your eyes first. I was going to lunch at a sandwich shop--they sell amazing breads and treats.
 I was taking dinner to anew mother and had made Veggie Lasagna. A loaf of their Asiago Cheese Bread would certainly compliment the meal. I purchased the bread and while we were eating and chatting I happened to have a perfect view of an employee making beautiful gift baskets and gift items. I took the my purchased loaf of bread and this is what she did! The bread is wrapped in a fun kitchen towel, looks like a bandana--perfect for a little boy. The ribbon is bright blue, white on sheer polka dots and a splash of lime green. I love it! Pretty classy, and I think I could recreate too.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich using the Chocolate Sugar Cookies.

 Jarom was kind enough to taste test the prototype. This is one delicious dessert was his reply.. My kids are coming to visit in a couple of weeks. My freezer will be full of mini chocolate sugar cookie ice cream sandwiches. They will love me forever. Do you think we can get away with giving the kids otter pops and they adults ice cream sandwiches?? I didn't think so either. Kids are smart like that.
I think if I used the small Pampered Chef Scoop they would be the perfect size. Using the medium scoop like I did for the cookie was a perfect desert sized cookie. The small scoop will make the perfect snack size Ice Cream Sandwich! 
Just make a batch of these Yummy Chocolate Sugar Cookies, cool, scoop slightly softened ice cream on one cookie--top with another. Freeze, you have the perfect summer treat.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I don't make a lot of sugar cookies because they are kind of fussy and have plenty of steps. Mix dough, chill dough, roll out dough, cut dough, make cute shapes, bake cute shapes and finally you must make icing and then frost and decorate the cute shapes.
Please know that I do admire the bakers that create works of art in the shape of cookies. I also think they taste wonderful.
So after all of that why am I making Chocolate Sugar Cookies??? These are very easy to come together, a couple of bowls--no mixer and they were ready to bake. No chill time, no rolling, heaven!  Thanks Tracey's Culinary Cooking Adventure for this yummy cookie

Chocolate Sugar Cookie
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour (8 1/8 oz)
3/4 cup (2 1/4 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (yes, I really did sift it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
14 tablespoons butter, divided
1 3/4 cup (12 1/4 oz) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Put 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a wide shallow dish. 
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
Add 10 tablespoons of the butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 or 30 second bursts until melted. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter until it is completely melted. Set the butter aside until lukewarm. It should read 90-95 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Don't skip this step--if the butter is too warm the cookies will not bake properly. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until incorporated. Mix in egg and egg yolk until well combined. Switch to a rubber scraper and stir in the dry ingredients just until combined.
Shape the dough into balls--I used a medium Pampered Chef Scoop. Roll the balls in the sugar you put in the shallow bowl, coating all sides. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Use the bottom  of a glass to press the balls down so each of the cookies has a diameter of about 2 inches. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with coarse sanding sugar.
Bake until the cookies are slightly puffy and the edges are just barely set, about 12 to 13 minutes. Transfer to  a cooling rack and let the cookies cool a few minutes, remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Makes about 24 cookies
Printable Recipe 
1 year ago-------Oasis Naan
2 years ago------Fresh Mango Salsa
3 years ago------Summer Salad
4 years ago------Cheesecake Bites

Coconut Oil Granola

I purchased a tub of Coconut Oil at Costco and have enjoyed finding recipes that include it. So far I have been very happy with this new find! I Googled, 'granola using coconut oil', several recipes appeared. Google is great. I read over many recipes and this was what I came up with. I love making granola--I have several recipes on my blog--all delicious I might add. Here is another granola recipe to add to the group! It is yummy.

Coconut Oil Granola
4 cups oats
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut curls
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
Mix oats, nuts coconut, salt, cinnamon and cardamom in a large bowl. In a small saucepan melt coconut oil, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and stir. Pour on a sheet pan and bake at 325 for about 25 minutes. Stir often. Cook granola until desired crispness. Granola will continue to get crisp as it cools. Be careful--it is easy to overcook! Enjoy with yogurt, fruit or milk.I just had some of this granola sprinkled on a bowl of vanilla ice cream--it is delicious, I know!
Printable Recipe

Coconut Macaroons--Gluten Free

I have mentioned this before, but my daughters and I love to share recipes.  It isn't uncommon for several of us to make the same recipe in any give week.  We don't share time zones but we enjoy sharing recipes! Amber made this recipe and e-mailed Candise and said this was a must make--it is gluten free and delicious.
I made it for Lynne my sister-in-law who loves all things coconut. It was a hit! This recipe proves that you can bake delicious and gluten free! Thanks A Dash of Sass for a great recipe.

Coconut Macaroons
3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites
pinch salt
chocolate
Toast coconut and almonds on a sheet pan at 350 for about 12 minutes until lightly toasted. Watch carefully, coconut goes from golden to burnt in seconds (how would I know that??) Cool.
Combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, stir in coconut and almonds.
In an electric mixer beat egg whites and salt till stiff but not dry. Gently fold egg whites into coconut mixture. Using a cookie scoop that has been sprayed with Pam scoop batter onto a parchment lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.
Bake at 350 for about 14 minutes or until edges of cookies are light golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet. 
When cool dip bottom of cookie into melted chocolate, place on parchment paper. Drizzle top of cookie with melted chocolate. I used dark chocolate but milk or white would also be delicious. This cookie tastes just like an Almond Joy (only better), leave out the almonds and you have a Mounds bar. These cookies were a hit. I will make them again!

It's a Craft! Classy Cake Plate

We had a Girls Weekend last week. Jess was kind enough to bring the supplies to make this  darling cake plate. I often see cute project like this on Pinterest--I might even pin them. But Jess actually purchased the supplies AND we finished them! I will admit I do have a few unfinished projects.

But this project was easy and quick and the results were very classy. Jess purchased the plates and cups from Tai Pan (yes, you could use cups and plates from Goodwill). The most difficult part of the project was getting the price tags off! We finally resorted to Goo Gone to finish the sticky job. We then used a Gorilla Epoxy to glue the cup to the plate.
The results were darling. Thanks Jess for sharing a fun project with us.

Look for these yummy Chocolate Sugar Cookies on my blog next week!

One Year Ago------Just Delicious Meat Loaf
Two Years Ago-----Thick and Chewy Cookie Bars
Three Years Ago----Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie
Four Years Ago-----Cheesecake Bites

Linked to The Creative Home Acre

Best Brownies

 The Best Brownie Recipe Ever
Really--the best brownie recipe ever? Could that be. There are many types of brownies, chewy, cakey, with nuts, without nut, with add ins, frosted or without frosting. How could one brownie be the best ever. Well I had to try it because I only have 27 brownie recipes on my blog and I certainly could use another.
This recipe called for browned butter--already moving up the scale fast. It uses cocoa--another plus as I always have some in the house. The recipe is made in one pan, sounding better all the time. The recipe did call for almonds but I had some roasted peanuts which I thought would go well with the nutty flavor of the browned butter. Well--are they the best ever? I served them at girls weekend and had many harsh brownie critics. They all gave this recipe a thumbs up! So yes go ahead and try it. See if it is your Best Brownie Recipe Ever!

The Best Brownie Recipe Ever
10 tablespoons butter, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts or walnuts
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until foaming stops and brown bits form on the bottom of the pan--watch closely and stir often. Brown butter turns to black butter in seconds! Remove from heat, immediately add sugar, cocoa, water, salt and vanilla. Stir to blend.  Let cool for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs to the hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. 
When the mixture looks thick and shiny add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Fold in nuts.
Line a 8 inch square pan with foil leaving a 2 inch overhang. Spray foil with Pam. Spread thick batter in pan. Bake at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes.
 Check brownies by inserting toothpick, a few moist crumbs might stick to the toothpick. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang lift brownies from pan. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Is it your Best Brownie?? I found recipe on The Tasty Fork who found it on Bon Appetit 
Printable Recipe

1 year ago--------Thai Chicken Pizza
2 years ago-------Party Chicken Salad Sandwiches
3 years ago----- -Peanut butter Bars--Scott's favorite treat of all time!!
4 years ago-------Broccoli Salad

Linked to the Creative Home Acre Hop

Loaded Rice Krispie Treats for the Girls and it's Gluten Free!

A Rice Krispy Treat is a pretty lowly affair--but not for girls weekend! We added peanut butter because we can. We then went crazy with our drizzle. If one kind of chocolate is good--3 kinds will be amazing. So we used milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. Yes, they made a delicious combination.

Loaded Rice Krispy Treats
40 or 4 cups marshmallows
5 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup peanut butter butter
Mix together in Microwave till creamy and smooth. Add 5 cups of Rice Krispy  and 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips. Pat into a buttered or sprayed 8 inch square pan. This will make a thick treat. Putting in a 9x13 inch pan will make a thinner treat. When cool remove from pan and cut into desired shapes. Drizzle with chocolate! I use chocolate melting wafers purchased in bulk from WinCo. These have a great flavor and dry quickly. I melt about 1/4 cup melts in a small zip lock baggie. Heat in 30 second intervals, knead chocolate in package. When completely melted snip a very small corner off the baggie and use this to drizzle--yes it really does work!
Printable Recipe

Pork Baby Back Ribs--by Jeff

Please welcome my brother-in-law Jeff as a guest cook. We were at a family party last week and Jeff raved about this awesome recipe he had for ribs. Now I don't often cook ribs so I was more than happy to turn some time to Jeff.  Thanks Jeff for sharing a family secret!

Jeff's Baby Back Ribs

 We love pork baby back ribs.  This super-simple recipe allows us to make BBQ succulent baby-back ribs all year-around.
Make sure you start with quality pork baby-back ribs.  These ribs came sealed and frozen from Macey's of Orem and were a frugal $2.99 / lb.  Thaw and remove the ribs from the plastic.  Rinse the ribs under tap water and place on the cutting board.  Using paper towels, thoroughly dry both sides of the baby-back ribs.  Now using a sharp knife, cut the rack of ribs into portion sizes of 3-5 ribs each. 
I've modified this dry rub recipe to our family's taste.  Sometimes I will double the recipe and keep half the batch in a zip-lock bag for future use.
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
3 T black pepper
3 T kosher salt
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t celery seed
1 t cayenne pepper
If you'd like the rub less spicy, reduce black pepper to 3/4 T and use only half of the cayenne pepper.
Thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl to make the dry rub.  Sprinkle the rub on one rib portion at a time, rubbing the rub into the meat.  Cover all sides of the rib portion and place in the crock pot.  Do not add any liquid to the crock pot.  Some recipes call for 1/2 can of soda, beer or 1/2 cup of apple juice/cider.  I've found that enough of the pork juices will render in the cooking process to keep the ribs moist.  Cook the ribs on High in the crock pot for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours. 
When the ribs are done, I move the rib portions to a cookie sheet covered with tin foil, shiny-side out.  Set the oven to broil.  Now using a clean brush, paint all of the top side of the ribs with BBQ sauce.  Place the ribs under the broiler for 2-4 minutes.  You have to watch the ribs and just allow the BBQ sauce to glaze onto the ribs.  Now move the ribs onto the stove top or onto pot holders.  With tongs, turn the ribs over to the other side.  Paint this side with BBQ sauce and back into the over for 2-4 minutes to glaze the other side.  Now the ribs are ready to serve.  They go great with my wife's terrific potato salad or our signature baked beans. 

 

Thanks again Jeff for this delicious recipe. I appreciate the step by step photos--they will be on my menu soon!

Coconut Lime Scones

I love it when you pin a recipe, make it and it turns out better than you imagined. I saw this recipe at Krista's Blog, A Handful of Everything. I love scones, lime and coconut and the fact that this recipe used coconut oil was a plus. I bought a tub of Coconut Oil at Costco and am anxious to use it. The coconut oil and coconut gave these scones a great flavor and texture--the lime just added to their goodness.
I made them for Mother's Day and I will probably make them again this weekend for my girls. They are delicious. Thanks Krista for this great recipe--I made a few small changes because that's what bloggers do!

 Coconut Lime Scones
1/4 cup sugar
zest from 1 lime
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons cream
1 egg
coarse sugar
Put sugar in a bowl and add lime zest--rub the sugar and zest between your fingers. It will smell wonderful. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine, add coconut oil and cut in with 2 knives or a pastry blender. You will have coarse crumbs. Add the coconut and stir. Mix together the lime juice, cream and egg. Add to dry ingredients, stir gently. Dump shaggy mixture on a Roll'Pat and knead gently just till mixture comes together. Do not over mix. The less you handle scones the more tender they will be. Pat in a circle about 6 to 8 inches. Cut into 8 wedges. Brush top of scones with cream and then sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Place scones on a stone or sheet pan, wedges should be about 2 inches apart. Bake at 425 for 11-13 minutes. Do not over cook. Edges may start to turn light brown but you don't want brown bottoms!
Remove from pan and place on cooling rack. When scones are just cool drizzle with glaze. Serve soon.
You can also freeze the scones before they are baked, flash freeze and then place in a freezer baggie. Cook frozen scones at 425 for 11-13 minutes, use within a month.
Glaze
zest from 1 lime
1 cup powdered sugar
lime juice to desired consistency
Printable Recipe

Taco Chopped Salad

I wish I could say that my weekly menu plans were chosen from all the fun foods on my Pinterest boards. But really it is something like this: I look in the pantry, fridge and freezer and see what needs to be used. This week I had a half a bag of my favorite tortilla chips that somehow got crushed, a few olives, and 2 heads of romaine that were screaming 'use me'! I also had some shredded cheese and some freshly made Cracked Pepper Dressing. This looked like the perfect week to have Taco Salads!
Chopped Salads make a stunning presentation. And as I tell my girls--presentation is everything. Chopped Salads are great for picky eaters; they don't have to eat the tomatoes or beans or whatever they don't like.
So here is my version of:

Taco Chopped Salad:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion
1/2 cup Catalina Dressing
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Brown ground beef and onion, season with salt and pepper. Add dressing, water, chili powder and beans, simmer for a few minutes, adding more dressing or water to taste.
On a large platter make rows of:
shredded romaine
spinach
chopped tomatoes
shredded cheese
diced avocado
matchstick carrots
cucumber
chopped red pepper
any other veggies that sound good
tortilla chips or Frito's
ground beef and bean mixture 
Serve with Ranch or Cracked Pepper Dressing
Printable Recipe 

TWD/BWJ Rhubarb Baby Cakes

While Rhubarb Baby Cakes may not win a beauty pageant they do taste delicious! This sweet cake starts out with a brown sugar caramel sauce and chopped pecans.  Thin slices of rhubarb are layered over the pecan/caramel sauce. Top all of this goodness with yummy cake batter. This bakes into a delicious little cake with tart rhubarb and sweet pecan caramel sauce on top.
You can make this recipe with any kind of fruit--think apple, peach or how about blueberries? This is a baby cake but you can also make the cake in a larger cake or spring form pan. The possibilities are endless.
Check Erin's blog for the complete recipe. Then check the TWB/BWJ  LYL and see what other bakers did with this recipe.