My Cookbook

[Delta4Embassy]

Been meaning to jot down my various recipes for a while figuring though memory isn't an issue for me right now, hopefully I'll live long enough to when it is. So I should jot these things down.

Baked Paprika Chicken

-1 pack of chicken breasts or tenders
-1 cube of butter (half cube for tenders)
-paprika, salt, pepper

Directions:

Season baking pan with paprika covering surface with it. Add pepper and salt to suit taste. Put in thawed chicken. Add paprika, salt, and pepper. Add butter, more paprika (I like paprika hehe.)

Baked at 450F for about 25 mins (for breasts, tenders about 15 mins.) Take out, flip breasts or tenders. Bake another 15 mins (5 for tenders.) Take out, slice breasts length-wise into halves, check for pinkness/doneness. Press exposed insides into molten seasoned butter, add more paprika and place inside-up for another 10 minutes. Tenders might be done at this point. If not, bake as needed.

Take chicken breasts out and cut into bite-sized morsels so every piece absorbs the spicy molten butter. Warm tortillas, or boil egg-free noodles (do either depending on mood.) With noodles, dump in drained noodles and stir up. Should be some extra liquidy butter the nodles help absorb, or can leave it and use for dipping pieces of the chicken.


More recipes to come.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Chocolate Chip Cookies

About 18 months ago I began giving out cookies I was making for my Mom, sis-in-law and brother. Always had leftovers and while happy and able to eat them all myself, I noticed the maint people working hard on Summer days keeping the landscaping up and whatnot. So I took one out to one of the ladies. She raved about how goo dthey were so I started ringing over a platefull every Friday. More positive reviews so it kinda snowballed into a weekly thing for basicly whoever walked by my apartment, "Would you like a cookie, just baked them." As time went on though and it became apparent cookies every week isn't the healthiest thing in the world (heh) I looked online for healthier cookie ideas. After much experimentation and a little theft (sorry Mrs. Fields, shouldn't have not-hired me because I smoke way back hehe) this is what I came up with:

4.5 cups (double batch) white wheat flour (nutrition varies widely between brands so get one that's healthiest)
3 cups brown sugar, packed (use the wal-mart store brand, MUCH moister than C&H)
1/2 to 1 cup white sugar (don't really measure it or make it precise so it's always somewhere in that range.)
4 teaspoons salt (with iodine heh, doesn't matter I suppose but it's the same price so why not)
4 teaspoons baking soda
4 cubes softened salted butter (do mine to the point of it beginning to melt a bit in the microwave, have tried unsalted but have the impression salt's better)
3 eggs (VERY important here, 4 eggs which would be a true double batch portion makes em too 'cakey,' and 2 makes em too thick and they wont flatten out as well. Have tried 1-4 eggs and 3's the best imo)
7 tablespoons of vanilla or extract (can't tell any difference in actual vanilla or extract but smoking destroyed my palette a long time ago heh)

Directions:

Blend with mixer until everything's mixed. Check for whole bits of butter or other unmixed stuff.
Add in choice and quanitty of chips. I've tried semi-sweet, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. And quantities from 11oz (half-batches worth) to 46oz (death by chocolate variant heh) Gonna be a matter of personal taste and preference here. Amount doesn't effect the result too much beyond whether you can taste the cookie, or only the chocolate.

I use a 23oz bag of milk chocolate typically or the 20-something oz bags of the semi-sweet.

Bake at 350F for about 12 mins. Eyeball it at about the 10 min point since ovens will vary due to volumn and other x-factors.

IMPORTANT:

Recipe is very precise. Don't deviate. Have tried on occasion to make em even better but it never works. Proportions are precise. Too little or too much has unpredictable results.

place layer of tin foil on cookie sheet. This prevents the undersides from burning or getting too firm.

As each tray comes out of the oven, because of how soft they're gonna be, let em sit on the counter for 3-5 mins to cool and firm up before getting em off the foil or you're going to rip half of them trying.

If making for other people and putting em on plates, let em cool adequately before covering or (as I've learned) foil covered plates will trap heat inside and basicly melt them, not horribly, but it kinda messes up the texture. Of course if that's not undesireable go right ahead.

LESS IMPORTANT:

Freeze the batter 2-3 hours. Firms it up making it easier to work with so you don't have to rinse your hands every time. Then 'mush' the rounded balls of dough with your palm a little to get em started flattening out.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Lasagna (all-cheese and with-meat variations)

- lasagna noodles (use the kind ya don't need to soak first being naturally lazy hehe)
- 2 jars sauce (use whatever ya like. Discovered a nice vegan garlic n herb one I use most of the time)
- mozzarela, blended monteray jack & colby, ricotta, powdered parmesan (not used until after baking though I suppose ya could)
- if making it with meat I like the 96/4 super duper lean hamburger. (Fry up on stove top until 'medium rare to medium' it'll finish during baking.

Directions:

Bake at 350F for about 2 hours. I personally like things well done including pasta. So if things get a little browned that's ok. So adjust time to your own taste and liking checking after like 90 mins or something.

Cover with foil to help trap heat inside.

Layering:

Pour some of the first jar into bottom of the pan so it'll cover it completely.
First triple row of noodles.
Add cheeses to your liking.
Add some beef.
Add some sauce.
Second row of noodles (3)

Repeat as high as it can go without being too high for your particular pan. Bear in mind it'll shrink down considerably as the cheese melts. Be sure to save neough sauce for the final topmost layer. Wanna really cover that completely so the noodles don't burn or get crispy.

To check doneness I use a fork and push it gently into the noodles feeling for how easily it penetrates.

Can come out two ways: either the cheese'll brown and be well-done and much of the sauce will evaporate, OR, the cheese wont brown and most of the sauce will remain. Like it either way so which route ya take depends on who's gonna be eating it.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

French Toast

-fav brand of bread (use a 'double fiber' wheat bread myself, precious few sources of fiber I'll actually eat hehe)
- 4 eggs
- cinnamon, powdered sugar, butter, maple syrup

Directions:

Set stovetop to Medium. Apply Pam or other non-stick to pan. Very important - crack eggs open and deposit without shells into bowl (don't just put the whole uncracked eggs in the bowl harhar.) Dip each side of slice of bread and place onto skillet. Sprinkle cinnamon to taste on side-up. When done flip slice over and reapply cinnamon. When done, take out and apply butter. When surface wet from butter apply powdered sugar. Then apply syrup. Repeat for however many slices you're having.

Usually get 4 to 5 slices per 4 eggs.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Pancake Cupcakes/Muffins

With all the baking I do for my apartment complex, including cupcakes and muffins, it occured to me "why wouldn't this work with pancake batter?" So a few weeks ago I tried it. And it worked. A few tweaks form actual cupcakes and muffins since the directions and recipe isn't on pancake mix boxes.

Make pancake batter normally, no changes required. Although you might opt to make it slightly more thick than the recipe on the box calls for so it's more like cornbread muffin batter which is quite thick. Liking results from it being the consistency sorta between that (chilled molasses heh) and cupcake batter (kinda on the runny side.) Experiment yourselves.

Because pancake mix doesn't have the recipe on the box, least not the brand I use, some experimentation for your specific circumstances should be expected.
Find 2 cups mix to about 1 to 1.25 cups water (use Britta filtered water) works making about a dozen. Because the batter doesn't keep breaking down (see end) don't make more than you can bake the first trayfull, it'll just be wasted.

Fill cupcakes about three-quarters to four-fifths full cupcake cup. Batter will rise much like cornbread muffins do, but not as much as actual cupcakes.

Bake at 375F (cupcakes are 350F, muffins 400F)

Bake time, ovens will vary, but finding best results from about 18 minutes. Start eyeballing them at 12 minutes (cupcake and cookie bake times) will probably look done, but have had interiors still filled with uncooked batter so taken to overbaking a tad rather than underbaking a tad. Should be nicely browned on top. Traditional toothpick test doesn't work since you may not actually hit a pocket of uncooked batter missing it and thinking it's done when in fact it isn't.

Let cool a few minutes. Be careful if you eat them breaking them open as interiors are likely much hotter than exteriors.

Been filling a small bowl or tinfoil type cupcake wrappers with syrup and dunking them. Taste just like regular pancakes. 'Hungry Jack Buttermilk brand, just add water' sort. Haven't tried the add egg n whatever else version yet, add water one being more nutritious looking at the nutritional label.

Something I've discovered about the batter is it doesn't keep well beyond the first dozen or however many your tray makes. It tends to foam up like and even restirring it wont have them come out as well as the first batch. Like it's breaking down instantly or something. The tops don't brown in the second trayfull so you keep them in until it goes way beyond 18 mins then you check and they're hard and kinda grody. Presumedly due to it not being a mix intended for baking.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Snickerdoodle cookies:

Same as above chocolate chip but no chips.

I shape the batter normally but then flattern it a tad in my palm, then rub it around in bag of sugar, then place on foil cookie sheet. When they come out, I sprinkle more with a spoonful or so, then add cinnamon. As they cool they lock in some of both, though I've noticed much will slide off if you hold them vertically.

One of the kids here asked if I ever made sugar cookies and after a bit of thought figured I'd just use the plain batter after making the chocolate chip ones. Often chips don't mix in all the way to the bottom so plain batter's always available. Tried it, worked great. Thought to add the cinnamon going for a cinnamon toast sorta taste but someone called them snickerdoodles. Thought they had bits of Snickers candy bars up to that point.

Made an entire double batch of just Snickerdoodles last Sunday. Came out awesome and I'm about to log out to enjoy some myself. The super soft recipe I use (3:1 brown:white sugar) ensures they stay soft for days if covered. And dunked in milk it's almost moot.