Chicken Quesadillas

I love chicken quesadillas, but at home I always used to simply add chunks of chicken to cheese in a tortilla and, sorry, microwave it.  The sauce on this is quite tasty and the whole thing is a great way to use up leftover shredded chicken.

• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp taco seasoning
• 1/8 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 C shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 C shredded cooked chicken

1.  Whisk together mayo, taco seasoning, garlic salt, and hot sauce.  Spread mixture on one side of each tortilla.  Sprinkle cheese over sauce on half of each tortilla, then top the cheese with chicken.  Fold the other half of the tortilla over the side with cheese and chicken.
2.  Heat in microwave for 20 seconds, then saute in a skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side, until crispy but not blackened.

Robyn's notes: These can also be made with two full tortillas sandwiched over each other, of course, but I find quesadillas easier to flip when there's a fold on one side, so nothing can slide out that direction. It's also a good recipe for a countertop grill, which is what I used for the photo. In that case, don't bother microwaving first.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

 

Pear Butter

Served over Baking Powder Biscuits, shown above.

• 3 lbs pears
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated orange peel
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp orange juice

1.  Wash pears, core, peel and slice. 
2.  Combine pears and 1/4 C water in a large saucepot.  Simmer until pears are soft.  Puree using a food processor or food mill, being careful not to liquefy.
3.  Measure 1 quart pear pulp, combine with sugar in a large saucepot, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. 
4.  Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner at sea level, increasing 1 minute for every additional 1,000 feet elevation.

Yield: 5 half-pints

Robyn's notes: I made this the same day I made Spiced Peach Butter, and while he didn't have a preference between the two, enjoying them both, I admit I preferred this one slightly.  It had such a fresh, summery feel that I didn't want to stop eating it!  I did make one error with this, taking a phone call while the pulp was cooking.  I knew that the peach butter had cooked for over 25 minutes uncovered, so I covered this batch and stirred less frequently.  At the end of my phone call I realized I was approaching that 25 minute mark, and rushed to stir.  It had started to stick while I wasn't watching it, and a small amount of the butter scorched.  Fortunately it didn't give a burned flavour to the whole batch, and I got to it in time, but it's a good reminder to focus on one task at a time. 

**** 4 Stars: Very Good.  Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently.

Spiced Peach Butter

Served over Baking Powder Biscuits, shown above.

• 2-2.5lbs peaches
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1.  Wash and blanch peaches.  Put peaches in cold water; peel, pit, and slice peaches. 
2.  Combine peaches and 1/4 C water in a large saucepot.  Simmer until peaches are soft.  Puree using a food processor or food mill, being careful not to liquefy. 
3.  Measure 1 quart peach pulp, combine with sugar and spices in a large saucepot.  Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
4.  Ladle hot butter into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner at sea level, increasing 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet elevation.

Yield: about 5 half-pints

Robyn's notes: the only peaches available to me were cling, where I'd rather have had freestone.  While peeling went surprisingly well, I mangled the heck out of each peach in attempting to get the pits out.  For the peeling process I had each peach in the boiling water for a full 60 seconds, while my instructions suggested 30-45.  However, I had canned peaches in light syrup the previous day and found them very hard to peel, and remembering that water boils at 208F at my altitude, felt that the longer blanch might help.  It definitely did, after each peach had been moved to a bowl of ice water for a couple minutes the peels slid right off.  The thickening took longer than anticipated, I was cooking the pulp for more than 25 minutes before I decided it was probably good enough.  Again, at this altitude, everything takes longer to cook.  We definitely liked this, and when I asked if he had a preference between the two flavours of fruit butter I made that day he said no.  Personally, I felt that this was slightly more of a winter dish, but that's probably because I made the spiced version, and I associate those spices more with the holidays.  It can also be made as plain peach butter, by omitting the ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

*** 3 Stars: Good.  At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Soft Pretzels

I made these for a care package for my sweetheart for Valentine's Day.  He's still trying to avoid sugar as much as possible, which means no red cupcakes or pink cookies or similar, and I despaired at finding something visually related to the holiday until the light dawned: heart-shaped pretzels!  The recipe would make 4 pretzels, I used it to make 2 plus a bunch of pretzel bites. 

• 3/4 C warm water, 110-115°F
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 envelope active dry yeast (1 1/8 tsp) (not rapid rise)
• 11 oz all-purpose flour
• 1 oz unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil
• 1/3 C baking soda
• 2 C cold water
• pretzel salt (or kosher salt)

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  Combine the warm water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the mixture foams.
2.  Add flour and butter and, using dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Remove dough from the bowl, clean the bowl, then oil it well. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.  At the same time, spread baking soda on a baking pan and bake at 350°F while dough is rising - about 55 minutes.  Be very careful when removing pan from oven!  Do not breathe in the soda dust!
4. Turn oven heat up to 375°F. Line sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. Set aside.
5. Add baked soda to cold water, stir to dissolve. Turn dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, and, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place into cold water solution and allow to soak for 3-4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
6. Remove pretzels from water using a large flat spatula or spider. Place onto lined pan and sprinkle with salt.  Allow to air-dry for 15 minutes.  Move to a fresh section of the pan and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes, watching for appropriate browning. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before serving.

Robyn's notes: this is multiple recipes from other sources combined and reduced.  I can't eat anything that requires chewing at the moment (just had surgery), so no star rating or opinion on finished product until he gives me his feedback.  This was actually a very easy baked good to make, even though there are so many steps.  For the pretzel bites, I let them air-dry for about 10 minutes instead of 15, and baked for about 10 minutes instead of 20.  Each was about an inch of dough prior to baking.

Cream Cheese Mints

• 4oz room temperature cream cheese (not light or 1/3 less fat)
• 1/2 tsp peppermint or spearmint extract
• 3 C powdered sugar

1.  Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth (to get air into it), adding the extract at the same time. 
2.  Add powdered sugar 1/2 C to 1 C at a time and mix until well combined.
3.  As the dough is exposed to the air it will become less sticky.  Scoop up small amounts from the sections that aren't too sticky and roll into 1/2 inch balls, placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Quickly press each ball flat with a fork, lifting fork fast before it can stick.  Refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Robyn's notes: the first Christmas that I made these, I batched the dough into 3 bowls, adding red food colouring to one, green to another, and leaving the third white.  I then combined half balls of multiple colours to get the effect shown above.  The following year I gently swirled red and green food colouring into the white dough, so each mint ended up lightly marbled with all three colours.  This was easier and I liked the look better.  Leaving the mints white is totally fine, too.

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Patriotic Fruit Skewers

This probably doesn't need a recipe, just an explanation and closer photo than the one I posted on July 4th.

On each toothpick a raspberry, banana coin, and blueberry, in that order.  As a dipping sauce, Honey Cream Fruit Dip.  Make as many skewers as needed for the appetites of the eaters.

Only gets three stars because I'm not supposed to eat blueberries, they make me somewhat ill, so I'm not able to enjoy it much.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Honey Cream Fruit Dip

I took the ratios for this from an episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats. It's easy to upsize if necessary, as this makes quite a small amount of dip.  The show used 1 Cup of sour cream, to give a sense of scale. 

• 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• berries of your choosing

1.  In a custard cup or small glass bowl, heat honey in microwave for 20-25 seconds.  Whisk in sour cream.  Serve with fruit.

Robyn's notes: this was a way to keep from wasting even the tiniest remaining bit of sour cream after having used it in several recipes.  It was good on strawberries, but I think where it really shone was on raspberries. If making a large batch, the honey should be warmed on the stove in a saucepan, but for such a tiny amount as this that would be ridiculous.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Sugar 'n Spice Fruit Dip

• 1/2 Tbsp packed brown sugar or honey
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® Thick & Creamy vanilla yogurt
• 1 C red raspberries
• 1 1/4 C cubed honeydew melon, apple, or pear

1. In small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in yogurt.
2. Spoon yogurt mixture into small serving bowl. Sprinkle with additional ground cinnamon. Serve with fruit.

Yield: 5 servings (2 tablespoons dip, 3 pieces cubed fruit and 5 raspberries each)

Robyn's notes: this is half of the original recipe, but still makes quite a bit of dip. It will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple days if necessary.  Watch me demonstrate this recipe on youtube!

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Nutritional Information: 1 Serving (1 Serving) Calories 70 (Calories from Fat 5); Total Fat 1/2g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 30mg; Total Carbohydrate 13g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 10g); Protein 2g