Butter Naan

 This naan is soft, chewy, and delicious, especially when brushed with melted butter.  

Naan

Makes 16 medium naan

Ingredients:

4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon minced cilantro, optional

Directions:

1. Combine flour, yeast, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a stand mixer and mix on low speed to combine.

2. Add buttermilk and water.  Knead with a dough hook.  The dough will be quite sticky, but needs to be dry enough to be formed into balls.  After 4-5 minutes, with water or a little oil on your hands, take out a piece of dough and see if you can form it into a ball.  Add more flour as necessary so you can form the dough into balls.  Knead for a total of about 7-8 minutes.  

3. Put a piece of parchment paper on the counter and spray with nonstick spray.  Turn dough out onto parchment and cut into 16 pieces, using a bench scraper.  (Again, it can help to dampen your hands with water or spray them with a little oil.)  Roll each dough piece into a ball and cover them with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour.

4. After dough has risen, spray countertop with nonstick spray and press into a thin naan shape.  (I do this in batches while starting to cook.)  Allow dough to rest for about 10 minutes in the stretched out shape before cooking.

5. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.  You'll know the pan is ready if you flick a little water in it and the water immediately sizzles and evaporates.  Add one naan to the pan and cook for 30-60 seconds.  Once the bottom has some nice brown spots, flip and cook for another 30 seconds or so until it doesn't look doughy anymore and both sides have brown spots.  

6. Transfer to a kitchen towel and brush top of naan with melted butter.  Sprinkle with minced cilantro, if desired.  Keep naan wrapped up in towel until serving.

Source: adapted slightly from www.foodess.com

Baked Chicken Shawarma {Taim Copycat}

The combination of sweet and savory flavors in this chicken remind me of the chicken shawarma at Taim restaurant, a casual, quick place that recently opened a location in our area.  You can use the chicken in a bowl, wrap, or eat it by itself with some salad on the side.  This recipe requires time to marinate (at least 2 hours or up to overnight).

Baked Chicken Shawarma

Ingredients:

2.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this would probably work with chicken breasts too)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper, as desired

2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tablespoon thyme

1.5 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 of a large red onion, thinly sliced

Serving suggestion for a Chicken Shawarma Bowl:

Spring greens

Cilantro lime rice

Diced cucumber

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets (You can roast veggies on the bottom rack while the chicken cooks on a middle rack.

Hummus

Lemon vinaigrette

Crushed pita chips

Directions:

1. Trim excess fat off the chicken thighs, as desired.  Put chicken in a large glass bowl. Pour olive oil over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Add yogurt and lemon juice.

2. Mix all the spices together in a small bowl.  Pour over chicken.  Mix well.  (I find it's just easiest to use my hands to mix.)  Add red onion slices and mix those in.

3. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, or up to overnight.  

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Take chicken out of fridge to start coming to room temperature.  Coat the bottom of a metal baking sheet with nonstick spray or a small amount of olive oil.  Put chicken and onion mixture on pan in an even layer.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the thickest part of chicken is 165 degrees.

5.  Allow chicken to rest for about 10 minutes, then slice thinly to use in wraps, bowls, etc.

Source: adapted from the Instagram account shredhappens

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake

This would be a great cake to bring when you need a dessert to share.  It really doesn't need ice cream because of the peanut butter whipped cream on top.  The drizzle that gets poured into the holes poked in the cake is so tasty.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake

Makes 1-9x13 pan

Ingredients:

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cup (350 g) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (88.5 g) cocoa powder

2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda

3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder

1 teaspoon (6 g) salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup (240 g ) buttermilk, room temperature

1/2 cup (109 g) canola oil

1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract

1 cup (237 g) boiling (or very hot) water

For the peanut butter glaze:

1 cup (250 g) smooth peanut butter

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup (120 g) 2-percent or whole milk

For the peanut butter whipped cream:

1/2 cup (140 g) smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 cups (360 g) heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:

Chocolate chips or chocolate bar, chopped

Roasted, salted peanuts, chopped

Directions:

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a metal 9x13 pan with parchment paper.  Spray lightly with nonstick spray.  

2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.

3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  

4. Add wet ingredients to dry.  Whisk until combined.  Add boiling water.  Whisk until well combined.  Pour into prepared pan. 

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.  Cool completely. 

For the glaze:

6. In a small mixing bowl, beat 1 cup peanut butter to soften it.  Add the sweetened condensed milk and milk.  Beat until smooth.  

For the whipped cream topping:

7. In a small bowl, beat 1/2 cup peanut butter to soften it.  

8. In a large bowl, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.  Fold in the peanut butter.

To assemble:

9. Poke holes in cooled cake with the end of a wooden spoon.  (Do lots of holes!)  Pour glaze over cake, spreading it well to make sure it fills all the holes.  Spread peanut butter topping on top.  Garnish with chopped chocolate and peanuts, as desired.

This cake keeps well, covered in the refrigerator overnight.  

Source: adapted from www.cakebycourtney.com

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This school year I've been trying to always have muffins in the freezer to warm up for a quick breakfast for the kids or pack in lunches.  Many weeks I end up making 4 dozen of these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  They taste great, and I'm glad they have some whole wheat in them.  

I don't actually measure the Greek yogurt.  I just eye-ball it and scoop some out of my big container.  The muffins have always turned out.  Also, the directions say to mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, but I often just stir the sugars into the flour mixture, then add each of the wet ingredients on top of the dry and stir together the top layer of wet ingredients, then dig down to the bottom of the bowl to combine the two layers.  Is this being lazy or efficient?  All I know is it speeds up my muffin-making chore a bit.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

6 ounces plain Greek yogurt 

3 eggs

15 oz canned pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray.  

2. To a large mixing bowl, add all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Stir to combine.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, add brown sugar (breaking up any clumps), granulated sugar, yogurt, eggs, pumpkin and canola oil.  Stir or whisk to combine.  

4. Add wet ingredients to try and stir until just combined.  Add chocolate chips and stir.

5. Divide into 24 muffin cups and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a muffins comes out clean.

Source: adapted from www.ourbestbites.com 

Classic Chili

This is nothing fancy, just my go-to classic chili recipe I've been making for years.  Use the two cans of black beans if you like your chili thicker (less soupy).  I love having this chili with my favorite corn muffins.

Classic Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 pound ground turkey

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Optional toppings:

Grated cheddar cheese

Diced avocado

Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Put olive oil in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add ground turkey and salt/pepper.  Break turkey apart while cooking and stirring until no longer pink.  

3. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and tomato paste.  Stir until well combined.  Add beef broth, kidney beans, black beans and tomato sauce.  Stir.  Bring to a simmer and turn heat to low.  Simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add toppings as desired.

Source: adapted from www.thewholesomedish.com

Brownie Frosting

This frosting is a bit untraditional because it starts with melted butter.  I think it makes for an especially creamy, decadent frosting.  After it's been chilled, it almost reminds me a little of a dense mousse.

Brownie Frosting

Yield: a thick layer of frosting for an 8x8 pan

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla 

4-6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.

2. Add the cocoa powder and use an electric mixer to combine thoroughly.

3. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, the vanilla and heavy whipping cream, as needed to help everything mix together.  Beat thoroughly.

4. Add one more cup powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream as needed.  Beat 3-4 minutes, until frosting noticeably lightens in color.  If frosting is too thick, add more cream.

5. Spread on completely cooled brownies.  This frosting is good chilled.

 Source: adapted from www.cookiesfordays.com

Peanut Butter Chocolate M&M cookies

 

While I love a good chocolate chip cookie, I seem to find myself opting for a version that includes peanut butter more often than not.  These cookies are dressed up fancy by adding peanut M&Ms and roasted peanuts to the tops.  I like to bake 10 cookies per sheet if making a typical medium-sized cookie.  But my favorite way to bake them is as big, bakery-style cookies.  I do four to a sheet and they are thick and delicious.  

I like to cut the large size in half before freezing them so we can pull out half to eat as a serving (which actually equals about the size of a regular cookie, but I love the thickness of the large cookie).

Here is a size comparison.  I like to refrigerate the dough before baking them to help ensure they bake up thick.  I portion the dough out into dough balls of the desired size, place them on a cookie sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 24 hours.  Lots of people might say the best way to eat a cookie is when it's still warm from the oven, but I like these best when they've been frozen and are still cold.  I take one out of the freezer and put it in a ziploc bag to thaw for a few minutes (probably less than 5 minutes) and enjoy one of my favorite cookies!

Peanut Butter Chocolate M&M Cookies

Makes 28-30 medium-sized cookies or 14-15 very large bakery-sized cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter, very slightly softened, but still quite cold

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I like natural peanut butter)

1 1/2 cups light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (more if using unsalted butter)

2 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I like to use the larger Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips and give about half of them a rough chop to get a variety of sizes of chocolate pieces in the cookies)

Additional chocolate chips for placing on tops of cookies

Peanut M&Ms (for placing on top)

Roasted peanuts (I like the big roasted, salted Virginia peanuts I can find at my local Costco)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixture, beat butter until creamy.  Add the peanut butter and beat until well combined.

2. Add in both sugars and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, about 3-4 minutes.

3. Add eggs, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until well combined.

4. Add baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.  Add flour and mix until about halfway incorporated.  Add the chopped chocolate chips and whole chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

5. Portion out dough into desired size onto a silicone mat or parchment-lined baking sheet.  (I like to make medium-sized cookies about 2.25 oz. each and large cookies about 4 oz. each.)  No need to leave room for cookies to spread as they will just be chilled at this point.  Press peanut M&MS, peanuts and additional chocolate chips on top of each cookie as desired.  These toppings can be placed quite close together as the cookies will later spread during baking.  Cover baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough balls for about 24 hours.

6. After chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cookies 10 to a sheet for medium-sized cookies or 4 to a sheet for extra large cookies.  Medium cookies bake for about 12 minutes, large cookies bake for about 15 minutes.  Pull the cookies out when you start to see the first hint of browning around the edges (or even just before).  Immediately after removing from oven use the back of a spoon to push in the sides of each cookie slightly to create an even circle and make the cookie edges a little thicker.  If any cookies look sparse, press additional chocolate chips or M&Ms on top.  Allow to cool completely on cookie sheet.  

7. To freeze cookies: after cookies have cooled completely, (cut large cookies in half if desired) and either place the baking sheet in the freezer or carefully transfer cookies to plates in a single layer and freeze cookies for about 15 minutes.  (Uncovered is fine.)  Transfer cookies to freezer bags.  Before enjoying a cookie from the freezer allow it to sit at room temperature for a few minutes to slightly thaw.

If you don't want to bake all the cookies in the same day, you can transfer the dough balls to a ziploc bag and refrigerate for up to a total of 72 hours from the time you mixed up the dough, or they can be frozen in a freezer bag.  They will need an extra bit of time in the oven if baking frozen dough.

Source: adapted from bakerbynature.com