Per Mom's Request

Mom sent me this recipe that she got from Brenda. It is for Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes. Yummy!

Directions:

 Use krustaez pancake mix with water. Added a mashed banana, and Macadamia nuts. Chopped the nuts a little  and added to the mix. Cooked on the griddle until golden brown.


Nice and simple!

Blackened Redfish with Red Pepper Cream Sauce

This recipe was found in the Louisiana Cookin' Magazine

Sorry...no picture. We made this for the missionaries and they devoured it before we got a picture. Warning, this was spicy but very very delicious. 

Also, we couldn't find redfish so we used tilapia, which falls apart very easily (beware!).

Ingredients:

1 tsp ground paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried thyme (not powder)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp butter

4 4oz redfish fillet

parsley and lemon juice for garnish

Directions:

Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl. Melt butter, coat each fillet in it, and reserve remaining butter. Cover each fillet in spice powder and reserve. 

Heat a large, heavy iron skillet on high for 10 mins or until very hot. Carefully place fillets in skillet and pour half of the remaining butter over them. Cook until blackened, about 2 mins, and then flip fillets. Repeat with remaining butter until fillets are fully cooked. 

Remove with heat and serve with red pepper cream sauce, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Red Pepper Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

4 red, orange, or yellow peppers, halved and cored (small sweet peppers)

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup diced shallots

4 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 cup dry white wine (we used white grape juice)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil. Broil peppers, cut side down, on a baking sheet until skins are blackened, about 20 mins (we suggest lining the pan with aluminum foil because the pan was hard to clean afterwards). Remove peppers from baking sheet and place in a large paper bag. Close the bag and let the peppers steam about 15 mins. Carefully peel pepper skins and puree the meat of the pepper in a food processor. 

Melt butter in a sauté pan, add shallots and garlic, and cook until shallots are soft, about 4 mins. Add wine and bring mixture to a boil. After liquid had evaporated, add pureed peppers, cayenne, and heavy cream. Cook until slightly thickened, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

For all you wine drinkers out there pair with Conundrum by Caymus :)

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies

We found this recipe in the Louisiana Cookin' Magazine that they pass out in Relief Society each month. Just as a side note, mine turned out more like a cake than a brownie...but that could have been that I mixed up the measurements for the baking soda and the baking powder. Also, neither of us really care too much for nuts on our brownies so we substituted caramel for the nuts (in memory of Zupas). 

Ingredients: 

2 cups shredded zucchini (make sure to dry it well)

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chocolate chunks

1/2 cup chopped Louisiana pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Wrap zucchini in a kitchen towel, twist towel to wring out as much liquid as possible, and reserve. 

Cream butter, oil and sugar in a large bowl. Beat eggs slowly, then add vanilla and buttermilk. 

Add flour and add next 5 ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in zucchini and pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with chocolate and pecans (we added the caramel after it was baked).

Bake at 325 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 mins.

Cool in pan 1 hour before cutting. 

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken and Pineapple

So we forgot to take a picture of how it turned out, so any pictures are from this website.

* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar or sherry (we used white grape juice)
* 1 tablespoon sesame oil
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 2 inch pieces
* Fresh Pineapple cut into slices
* 1/2 c. fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces, juice reserved
* skewers

Basting Sauce
* 1 T. Cornstarch
* 1/4 c. cold water
* Leftover Marinade 

In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic powder. In a Marinating dish, (if you don't have one you can place them in a 9x13 casserole dish, place the chicken pieces and several pineapple slices that have been chopped into small pieces into the dish, pour over the marinade, stir until well coated. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. If using a marinating dish, flip it over after one hour. I don't recommend marinating overnight if you're using fresh pineapple as the enzymes in the pineapple will break down the chicken and change its texture.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Soak 10-12 Wooden Skewers in a tall glass of water. This prevents the skewers from burning during cooking.

Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Now, you're left with some tasty leftover marinade. If you'd like to baste your chicken during cooking, you can make a light basting sauce. In a small sauce pan add the leftover marinade (with pineapple pieces) over medium heat, stirring occasionally. While it is heating in a small bowl mix cornstarch and COLD water (Cornstarch only thickens once!), once your marinade is bubbling hot, add the cornstarch/water mix. Bring to a boil until thickened and no longer cloudy (this means the cornstarch is thoroughly incorporated into your sauce). 

Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the chicken kebabs 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, or until chicken juices run clear. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the pineapple slices, grill lightly on both sides.

Alternatively, you could use canned pineapple chunks and make Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs by alternating pieces of chicken and pieces of pineapple.

This dish is perfect with steamed jasmine rice!

Sesame Chicken

This was so good!! Ben found the recipe here

We didn't have a deep fryer or a wok so we just used our frying pan and served it over rice.

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions (sliced)
Marinade-1 teaspoon chicken base
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sesame oil
ground white pepper (to taste)
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry wine (or any fruity flavored wine)
Batter-
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce-
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
a sprinkle of ground black pepper


Step 1: Cut chicken breasts into 1” chunks and in a glass bowl combine all of the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken and coat evenly. Cover and marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in separate bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.
Step 3: Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and dip them into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown
Step 4: In your wok combine the sauce ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.
Step 5: In the wok or in a serving dish coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Mimi's Buttermilk Spice Muffins

Recipe found on Mimi's Cafe website

(We left out the nuts in the topping because we forgot to buy them...oops)

Ingredients 

Muffin Batter:
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Butter or margarine
3 Eggs
2-½ cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Nutmeg
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¾ cup + 1 tbsp. Buttermilk

Nut Topping:
½ cup Sugar
1 cup Walnuts (finely chopped)
½ tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.
   
2. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.
   
3. Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.
   
4. Make the nut topping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.
   
5. Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.
   
6. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly.
   
7. Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or six Mimi's-size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.

Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears

Too bad you can't get these in Colorado.  We improvised and made our own.  They turned out just as good (or better) than the original!

Here's what you need:

1. Put the chocolate chips in a double boiler and let them melt. (I only used half the bag.)

2. Toss in a cinnamon bear, cover it with the chocolate.

3.  Use a fork to lift it out and tap off the extra chocolate.

4. Set them out on a sheet of wax paper.

5. Put them in the fridge for a few hours to let them cool.  Then eat and enjoy!