Party Pasta

Originally from: Taste & See, St. Andrew the Apostle Cookbook 

Hot Mama Grade: B 

Hot Mama Notes: This pasta was okay. It is kind of like a lasagna but with spiral noodles. I prefer regular lasagna better. I substituted 1/2 bar cream cheese and 1c sour cream for the ricotta as I did not have any. I also used chick pea, lentil, and while grain pasta. I used 1 lb sausage. I forgot the onion. I omitted the canned diced tomatoes and parsley, as I did not have any. 

Curried Turkey Meat Balls

Originally from: Frys Recipe Magazine 

Hot Mama Grade: B-

Hot Mama Notes: These meatballs are lackluster. I expected more flavor, but these are bland. I will not make them again. 

Orange Honey Dinner Rolls

Originally posted by: https://www.allrecipes.com/featured/3SmartDinnerRoll2020?sm_r=NaXyKf&utm_source=Facebook.com&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=416499

Ingredients 

2/3 cup whole milk 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, plus 1 teaspoon for greasing pan and bowl

2 tablespoons honey, divided

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

2 teaspoons fresh orange zest (from one navel orange)

1 package (¼ oz) Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast

1 teaspoon fine sea salt 

2 large eggs, divided

Step 1

In a small saucepan, heat milk and 3 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is between 120-130 degrees F and butter is melted. Whisk in 1 tablespoon honey.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast powder, sea salt and orange zest. Add the milk mixture and 1 egg. Stir to combine until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with towel and set aside for 10 minutes.

Step 3

Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, springing back when lightly pressed with 2 fingers, about 6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Stretch dough into rectangle, about 4” x 8”. Cut into 8 equal squares. Pull the cut sides of each square underneath and pinch together to create a round ball with a smooth top. Place each ball on work surface and roll under the palm of your hand to create a tight ball shape. Place smooth side up in a greased 8” round cake pan. (1 ball in center, 7 equally spaced around it.) Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 20 minutes, just until rolls start to touch each other. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 5

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Step 6

Beat remaining 1 egg. Brush surface of rolls with egg. Bake 15 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with honey-butter and bake 10 more minutes. Brush once again then let cool 10 minutes in pan. Transfer to a serving plate or bread basket. 

Hot Mama Grade: B

Hot Mama Notes: These rolls were very heavy. I expected light and fluffy. I was very disappointed. This is not a difficult recipe, but it is labor intensive. You have to do something every 10 to 20 minutes. It's a bit much for something that is so dense. I followed the recipe exactly. I checked my heart and it doesn't express until 2022,so it is fresh. Oh, well. I wouldn't make these again. 

Magic Bars

Originally posted by: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/63959/magic-cookie-bars-from-eagle-brand/

Ingredients

½ cup butter or margarine, melted

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels

1 ⅓ cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Step 1

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Step 2

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.

Step 3

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Variations

7-Layer Magic Cookie Bars: Substitute 1 cup butterscotch flavored chips* for 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and proceed as directed above.

Tips

Peanut butter flavored chips or white chocolate chips may be substituted for butterscotch flavored chips.

Tips

Magic Peanut Cookie Bars: Substitute 2 cups (about 3/4 pound) chocolate-covered peanuts for semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

Tips

Magic Rainbow Cookie Bars: Substitute 2 cups plain candy-coated chocolate candies for semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Notes: These bars are very sweet, but surprisingly good. My kids really liked them. I was surprised. I wasn't sure about the reception, but they really liked them. For me, 3 don't know if I would make them again, but they are so easy and the kids like them, so maybe I will! I used half butterscotch chips, and half chocolate chips (mix of milk and semisweet). I used pecans. I think I would decrease the coconut, but as I said, the kids liked it as is. I think I only used 1/4c butter by mistake, too. Oops! 

Protein Blobs

Originally posted by: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

INGREDIENTS

1 cup old-fashioned oats

2/3 cup toasted shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or vegan chocolate chips)

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

Stir everything together. Stir all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.

Chill. Cover the mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture is chilled. (This will help the mixture stick together more easily.)

Roll into balls. Roll into mixture into 1-inch balls.

Serve. Then enjoy immediately! Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Comments from web page:

Coconut: Which I highly recommend toasting — either briefly in the oven or in a sauté pan — before adding to the energy bites.  (Just be sure that they have cooled before adding in the chocolate chips, or the chocolate may heat and turn a bit melty.) 

Make energy bars: Press the mixture firmly into a parchment-lined 8×8-inch baking pan, chill, and then slice into energy bars (instead of rolling the mixture into energy balls).

Use a different nut or seed butter: Use crunch peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, or any other nut/seed butters that you prefer in place of peanut butter.

Omit the coconut: I’ve heard from many of you over the years who don’t love coconut. If that’s the case, no prob, just omit the coconut and add in an extra shake of oats instead.

Add spices: If you would like to give these energy bites some extra flavor, feel free to add in a few pinches of ground cinnamon or some pumpkin pie spice.

Hot Mama Grade: B

Hot Mama Notes: I don't like this recipe near as much as the other protein ball recipe. I like coconut, but I think there was far too much coconut in this recipe. I had trouble with it not binding together. Thus they were really protein blobs instead of balls. For the nut butter, I used half TJ multi-nut butter and half jif peanut butter. I used a multi-seed mixture, so I used that in place of ground flax. I then omitted the additional chia as it was in the mixture. I used sweetened coconut and milk chocolate chips. I do not think I will make this recipe again.

Update: My kids prefer these protein balls to the other recipe because they like the coconut. This time, I used 1/4c almond butter and 1/4c sunflower seed butter. I used a bit more oats, and I used ground flax which I think made a big different in adhesion. Plus, this time I used the cookie baller which made a huge difference. 

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars

A friend gave me these as a Christmas cookie, and they were delicious! :) 

Protein Balls

Originally from EXOS, Intel's wellness provider. See sheet below for recipe.

Hot Mama Grade: A 

Hot Mama Notes: These are tasty and easy to make. This recipe made 19 balls. I only had a triple blend of whole flax, chia, and hemp seeds, so that is what I used for both the chia and flax. The whole flax seeds did make it a bit crunchy, but I liked it. I used Trader Joe's multi-nut butter and more chocolate chips (which I increased to 1/3 cup when I omitted the dried cherries). Delicious! :) I realized just now that I forgot the cinnamon. Ah, well, we didn't miss it!! I used vanilla Jay Robb protein powder. 

Brined Chicken

Recipe at: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/baked-chicken-breast

Ingredients:

Salt, handful

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness and brined in saltwater (*see easy instructions below)

1 Tablespoon melted butter or olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked paprika)

Directions:

1. Brine the chicken. To brine your chicken breasts, fill a large bowl with 1 quart of warm water and 1/4 cup kosher salt. Stir to combine until most of the salt is absorbed. Add the chicken breasts and let them sit in the mixture to brine for 15 minutes. Or you can also also cover the bowl and refrigerate for up to 6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts from the brine, rinse them with cold water, then pat them dry with some paper towels. (However, if the chicken breasts you purchased have already been pre-brined in a sodium solution, skip this step.)

2. Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 450°F.

Season the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking dish*. Brush on both sides (turning once) evenly with the melted butter or olive oil. In a separate small bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika until combined. Then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the chicken on both sides.

3. Bake. Bake for 15-18* minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts, so I recommend using a cooking thermometer to know exactly when it is fully cooked. The thickest part of the breast, it should be 165°F. (Or, if you want the chicken to be a little bit browned and crispier on top, you can turn the broiler on high for the final 3-5 minutes and broil the chicken until it is cooked through and golden on top. Keep a close eye on the chicken so that it does not overcook and/or burn.)

4. Rest the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pan from the oven, transfer the chicken to a clean plate, and loosely tent the plate with aluminum foil. Let the chicken rest for at least 5-10 minutes.

5. Serve. Serve warm. Or, refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months

Hot Mama Grade: A 

Hot Mama Notes: This chicken was very juicy which is what I was hoping for. It was a bit salty, but I used it on chicken fried rice so it didn't matter. My kids said the chicken tasted better than usual - success! I used regular paprika as that is all I had. I let the chicken rest but forgot to tent it. 

Blueberry Muffins

Posted at: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6865/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=Search

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup white sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 tablespoons sour cream *

⅓ cup milk, or more as needed

1 cup fresh blueberries - 1.5c frozen used

½ cup white sugar - brown sugar used

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup butter, cubed

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Step 2

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and sour cream, then add enough milk to reach the 1-cup mark. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

Step 3

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Step 4

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Hot Mama Grade: A-

Hot Mama Notes: These muffins are delicious. They aren't much to look at thus the A-, However their taste and ease of making them outweighs any concern with looks. I followed lots of changes mentioned in the comments. I added the 2T sour cream. I ended up using frozen blue berries (1.5 cups) because that is what I had (that I wanted to use up). Given that I used frozen berries, I followed the suggestion to use a lower temperature first (325F) for the first 15 minutes to set the muffins, then I increased the temperature to 400F for the remaining 10 minutes. For the topping, I used 2T butter (should have been 1T), 1/8 c flour, and 1/3 c brown sugar, and 1/8 t cinnamon. I sprayed the muffin cups and top of the pan with spray oil. I used a single recipe and got 11 muffins. Next time I would double the muffin recipe and use the streusal topping single. I just mixed all the ingredients by hand to avoid overmixing. The batter was very thick. I filled the cups almost to the top. If I had buttermilk, I would use that given the suggestions. I did let cool for 10 minutes, but they do still fall apart some, but not too bad. I did not use vanilla, and I do not think it was needed.