Intense Ginger Cookie

Originally posted by:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ultimate-ginger-cookie-recipe-1917558.amp

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 extra-large egg, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces)

Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Hot Mama Grade: A-/B+

Hot Mama Notes: This cookie is intense because it is a Gingerbread cookie with crystallized ginger chips. Holy ginger, batman! These cookies were rather a lot of work, especially cutting up the crystallized ginger into small pieces. It wasn't fun. The knife or food scissors get very gunked up and clumpy. The mixer had to work very hard at the end with the thick dough. The Gingerbread dough was good. My kid said the cookies would be better without the ginger chips, and I think for me that is true. Still, otherwise a great cookie. Great flavor and texture/consistency. Also, very good directions. The bake time was spot on. Not sure I would make it again given the work and intensity. I did substitute a fresh ginger paste from the tube for the powdered ginger. I grated nutneg fresh. No sifting.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Vegetables

Originally posted by:

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/chicken-enchilada-casserole-recipe/

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium white onion, peeled and diced

1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles

2 (15 ounce) cans beans, rinsed and drained (I used one can pinto, one can black beans)

1 (8 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

3 cups (about 1.5 pounds) shredded or diced cooked chicken

3 cups red enchilada sauce, homemade or store-bought, divided

12 corn tortillas, halved

3 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese

toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced red onion, thinly-sliced green onion and/or diced avocado

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Mist a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté for 6-7 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the diced green chiles, beans, corn, chicken and 2 cups enchilada sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce in the baking dish, and spread until the bottom of the dish is evenly coated. Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves, so that the entire dish is covered. Top evenly with 1/3 of the chicken mixture, followed by 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Followed by a final layer of tortillas, chicken mixture, the remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, and cheese.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes.

Remove pan and remove aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, until the cheese is thoroughly melted.

Remove from the oven and serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings

Hot Mama Grade: A 

Hot Mama Notes: I liked this recipe. I wanted enchiladas with more veggies, and this fits the bill. I used las palmas green enchilada sauce. I started cooking the chicken in the crock pot with the enchilada sauce like I usually do, but I ran out of time. I took the casserole dish and put it on the oven on 400F for 20 to 25 minutes to cook the chicken fatter. The meat thermometer did the chicken was fine, and then I shredded it, and followed the recipe. I would make it again, even though it had more steps and more dishes than my usual enchilada recipe.

I used frozen corn. And just over 1c monterrey jack cheese, the rest was a Mexican cheese blend. I used flour tortillas, la las brand. I used less, too, because they were large burrito size. 

Mix & Match Muffins

Originally from: Will Run for Doughnuts Cookbook by Rachel Wyman

Hot Mama Notes: A-/B+

Hot Mama Notes: These muffins are good. Just regular old muffins. Definitely tasty, but not out of this world amazing. I think I am biased because I prefer a different recipe for Blueberry muffins. But these were good. My oldest son had 2. He liked them better than the orange muffins I made for certain. I don't know if I would make the plain Blueberry version of this muffin, but I would definitely try the corn or apple cranberry! Too bad I didn't look at the recipe sooner, as I had extra cranberries to use up last week! And now I likely won't have cranberries until November. 

Mennonite Orange Muffins

Originally posted by:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6825/mennonite-orange-muffins/

Ingredients:

•  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• ⅔ cup orange juice
• ½ cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup ground walnuts (Optional)
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions: 

Step 1

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white sugar and grated orange peel. Stir in orange juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs and chopped nuts.

Step 2

Pour into 12 muffin cups.

Step 3

Blend 1 tablespoon melted margarine, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Notes: I made these muffins because I wanted use up some orange juice and this recipe uses 2/3 cup. Plus, I usually have good luck with highly-rated recipes from all recipes. Also, I was planning on making muffins anyway, so I thought I would try an orange juice muffin. These were very easy to make, and pretty tasty. My oldest son says they are very rich, which I think of as a characteristic of all muffins. Muffins are not my favorite baked good, so I don't love them as much as a cupcake. :). I am not sure I would make these again as they were not fantastic, but they are definitely decent and entirely edible! :). My favorite muffin recipe is from all recipes, the best Blueberry muffin or something to that effect, and they have a streusal-like topping. Now those are some amazing muffins that are super delicious and that I make again and again. :) 

Coconut Cake

From: Will Run for Doughnuts Cookbook by Rachel Wyman

Hot Mama Grade: B

Hot Mama Notes: The flavor of this cake is very good, but it is very rich and heavy. It is a common complaint I have with cakes made from scratch. I guess with 5 sticks of Butter in the recipe, I should expect nothing less. The cake is tasty, and my kids enjoyed it. The frosting is delicious, as well. I needed to let the cake cook more before frosting it, but my kids were antsy to eat the cake, but then the butter cream ends up melting between the layers. The frosting was very easy to work with. I prefer the box cake mixes which are very light and fluffy to any home made cake that I have ever made. Maybe one day I will find one that I can make from scratch and like! 

Breakfast Cookies

From: Will Run for Doughnuts Cookbook by Rachel Wyman

Hot Mama Grade: A-

Hot Mama Notes: These are tasty, quick, and easy. A great combination! I will make these again. They are very loose and tend to fall apart, thus the less than perfect grade. My kids preferred the jellt filling to the chocolate chip or plain. 

Vegan Chocolate Cake

From: Will Run for Doughnuts Cookbook by Rachel Wyman

Hot Mama Grade: C

Hot Mama Notes: This cake was easy to make, but more like a fudge than a cake. It is very dense.  It is also very chocolatety, but not in a way I enjoy. It is not overly sweet.