-TimK

P.S. We’re also making Craisin®-Nut Bread, by the Little One’s request.

Leftover Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry, still yummy

Yesterday—which is when I’m actually writing this—I told the Missus, “You know, every time I make a new dish, I should take a picture of it as a matter of course.

She agreed without hesitating.

Because I had made dinner Sunday afternoon, and we had eaten our fill, and only then did I think that the recipe would make for an interesting Monday blog post.

So that’s why you, unfortunately, get only the leftovers. But they’re still yummy, and in fact, the Missus made a little snack out of them yesterday evening, and I’m sure she’ll finish them off for lunch today.

I based this recipe on Paula Deen’s Chicken Stir-Fry (and other recipes), but I modified it, stay-at-home–dad–style, to be even quicker and easier—which is quite a feat considering how simple hers is—and to use ingredients we commonly have on-hand at our house. So, only a little menu planning, only a little shopping, practically no prep (except to cut up the chicken), and only 10 or 20 minutes in front of the stove.

UPDATE: I updated the recipe to use fresh ginger, because it really does make a difference.

One of these days, I’ll write about how recipes (and housework) are often designed for women—not to be sexist, but let’s face it: men and women are different—and the kinds of challenges I face as a work-at-home dad. (If you can’t imagine where I’m coming from, maybe I really should write that post.) Ultra-simple recipes like this help me provide delicious, homemade (or semi-homemade, anyhow) meals for my family, while still giving me opportunity to get plenty of my own work done.

-TimK

Homemade hot dog rolls (with dogs & fries)

My first experiment with using the Dough cycle on our bread machine, to make homemade hot dog rolls: success! True, some of the rolls came out looking a little funny, because I had never rolled homemade bread before. But the good news is that the rolls we rolled last came out the best, so we were clearly getting better with practice.

I made enough dough for a standard size loaf (1½ lb), using the “Basic White Bread” recipe, because I already knew I liked how it tasted and felt with hot dogs. I divided it into 4 equal pieces, and each of those into halves, forming 8 rolls, each the length of a bun-size hot dog.

To form each roll, I flattened it out, dusted it with a little AP flour, and rolled it into a strip a little longer than the final length (because I knew the dough would spring back a little). Then I rolled the dough into a small loaf. After leaving the rolls to rise for another 30-45 minutes, I popped them into a 400°F oven for 10 minutes, until they were golden brown and delicious.

Above, is my plate: kosher dogs with ketchup, yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard, and Howards™ hot-pepper relish, served with zesty curly fries. Here is the Little One’s plate; she prefers her hot dogs and fries with lots and lots of ketchup:

Margaret and I got a bread machine for our wedding, almost 16 years ago. Just recently, I’ve started using it regularly to bake actual bread. In fact, we’ve all but stopped buying bread from the grocery store, preferring instead sacks of bread flour and jars of active dry yeast. A loaf of home-baked bread from the machine costs less than a dollar and tastes better than from the store. The bread machine makes the process relatively painless, because it does all the hard work for you; just put in the ingredients, and 3 hours later, fresh-baked bread. And baking bread at home also provides plenty of opportunity for variety and experimentation.

One of my experiments paid off, because the Little One specifically asked for it yesterday, Daddy’s homemade Craisin®-Nut Bread, badgered me to make a loaf. I wanted to take a picture of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t act fast enough, and it disappeared first. I have to admit, it’s quite tasty, especially warm with a little butter spread on it. Good for breakfast, brunch, or dinner.

Our bread machine is a Welbilt® model, and this recipe is based on its standard recipe for “Basic White Bread,” a 1½ lb loaf. But I use the Sweet cycle (instead of the Basic cycle), and I add a half-cup of Craisins®-brand sweetened, dry cranberries and a half-cup of chopped walnuts, at the appropriate time during the cycle.

Here’s the whole recipe, for reference:

If you try this out, I’d love to hear how it turns out and how you like it.

Yummm…
-TimK

P.S. UPDATE: I just discovered that Suzie the Foodie, whose blog I just recently started following, earlier this month had posted her own recipe for Cranberry Bread. She calls her recipe “Craisin Bread,” although it doesn’t use real Craisins®. She uses real, dried cranberries (which is quite kewl), and brown sugar to sweeten it. Her recipe sounds delicious as well, and I might try it sometime. I’m also sure it would also taste good with walnuts added.

P.P.S. I’ve also considered playing around with making a quick-bread variation. If I do, I might post it as well.

From Bacon Today–and I swear I’m not making it up–via Radley Balko:

chicken stuffed in duck, stuffed in a turkey, all wrapped in bacon

Urrmmmmph. Please excuse me while I go dig up an antacid.

-TimK

-TimK

P.S. The subject of this post is blatantly and unabashedly ripped off from a funny Frasier quote, regarding “eggs in a nest”: “Ah, yes, the Crane family specialty. Two fat-fried eggs, dripping with grease, swimming in fat, with thick pieces of bacon and mayonaise on a piece of white bread, no crust. I can practically hear my left ventricle slamming shut even as we speak.”

I don’t know where this recipe came from originally, but if you search on Google, you will find numerous variations on the same theme. I’ll note my own variations below.

Honey-Baked Chicken

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange in shallow baking pan skin-side up:

3-3.5 lb chicken breasts

Combine and pour over:

2/3 cup margarine
1 cup honey
4 Tablespoon mustard
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon curry

Bake 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes until chicken is tender and nicely browned.

My own variation:

I usually cut the recipe in half, because that’s a lot of chicken. I use 1 to 1.5 lbs of chicken thighs (not breasts). i also use the following in the sauce (for 1-1.5 lbs of chicken):

1/3 cup margarine (I use Earth Balance brand)
1/2 cup honey
2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
(only add salt to taste, if at all)
2 teaspoon curry (double what’s called for above)
1 teaspoon ground mustard seed (for an extra kick in the pants)

I make the sauce ahead of time, simmering the ingredients in a saucepan until the margarine is melted and the ingredients are combined. (Make sure it doesn’t boil!) Then I pour it over the chicken and either refrigerate until baking time, or bake immediately. This dish can also be baked ahead of time and reheated (if you want to eat it on the Sabbath and if your Sabbath tradition permits that).

I also do not baste the chicken while baking, because basting is bad. (It requires you to keep opening the oven and letting the heat out, and it does nothing for the taste or texture of the chicken.)

Other variations: Try boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Also, try adding a little cumin or cayenne pepper to the sauce (as in other recipes on the net).

For tomorrow, I plan to serve it with rice, vegetables, and an Israeli-style salad (chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes & cucumbers, &c). But it also works well with couscous. (And probably with lots of other side-dishes as well.)

My mouth is watering…

-TimK