Honey Orange Chicken- Yukon Gold Potatoes - Extreme Brownie Cookies

First....I am all moved into my apartment and for the most part have things the way I want them. I want to say thank you for all your warm thoughts and well wishes but most of all prayers .

Carol has made a delicious Honey Chicken that'll knock your socks off ! Cyndy's side dish of Yukon Gold Potatoes will leave you begging for more! I made Extreme Brownie Cookies that were...yeah extreme! Here we go!



Honey Orange Chicken





Many moons ago...I made a recipe for Orange Chicken.......it was one of those "Gee, this sounds really good" in the cookbook............on the plate.......not so much. Both my husband and daughter gave me a WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? look after the first bite. What was I thinking? If I had to eat it-THEY HAD TO TOO! Robin dumped applesauce all over hers......Bob dumped salsa all over his-and I toughed mine out as is. Needless to say, I never EVER made that recipe again!
Trust me....this is NOT that recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw the picture of this in a cookbook and it drew me in....and the ingredient list intruiged me....PLUS it's easy!
The combination of honey and orange is really good...and the black olives add a nice touch. I usually don't eat black olives in anything but Mexican food because I'm not a fan of them, but in this dish they add just enough of a salty taste to compliment the sweetness of the sauce. The chicken is nice and moist too. I think next time I make it, I'll sneak in a clove or 2 of minced garlic....can't hurt!
We had this over whole wheat linguine with a salad on the side....perfect!

Carol

From The Best of Country Cooking 2008...

Wanna print just the recipe, click here.

HONEY ORANGE CHICKEN

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" strips
3 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (I use freshly grated nutmeg)
1 c. orange juice
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. ripe pitted olives, halved (I used sliced ripe olives and eyeballed the amount)
Hot cooked linguine


In a large skillet, saute chicken in 2 Tbsp. butter until juices run clear. Sprinkle with salt, paprika and pepper; remove from pan and keep warm. In the same pan, saute the onion in remaining 1 Tbsp. butter until tender.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, ginger, nutmeg, orange juice and honey. Pour over onion. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add olives and chicken; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Serve over the linguine. 4 servings.


Cyndy made:

Yukon Gold Potatoes



Want a simple potato side dish packed with flavor?? Simple yet flavorful and easy to make potatoes. I got this recipe from Kellie on a private forum I was on. She had been watching Rachel Ray and saw her make these potatoes and thought they would be good. How simple ingredients can impart so much flavor to potatoes just amazes me. These are so soft , buttery and flavorful. Sometimes I don't go all the way and brown the potatoes, I like the glazed look. But, the browning also adds more depth to the flavor as well. If you like crispy, then don’t skip this part!! I kicked it up another notch by adding ¼ cup of sliced vidalia onion. They are just as good made with beef broth. Be careful, don't add salt until the end, the first time i made them, they were very salty

Now I’m thinking to add cooked and crumbled bacon and omitting the salt all together.

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Yukon Gold Potatoes Jacques Pepin Style Recipe
Adapted from Rachael Ray
Show: Food Network Specials
Episode: Rachael Ray's Holiday Feast , 2007


3 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock (or beef broth)
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1/4 cup sliced onion(my addition)

Place the potatoes in a deep skillet and add salt and pepper, to taste. Cover potatoes halfway with chicken stock, about 3 cups, add the butter and cover skillet with a lid. Cook the potatoes in the stock until almost tender, about 5 to 8 minutes, depending upon the size of the potatoes. Remove the lid, add the onion and allow the stock to evaporate, about another 5 minutes. Once the stock has evaporated pop each potato using a ladle or large spoon, creating a small crack in each, but DO NOT smash. Allow the potatoes to brown on each side, another 5 minutes, and re-season with salt and pepper, if necessary or desired. Remove the browned potatoes from the skillet and place onto a serving platter, garnished with the parsley.


Bunny made:

Extreme Brownie Cookies



This recipe came from the Food Network. Oh my word these are delicious!! They're a little more work than a regular cookie recipe but oh are they worth it!!! There's only 1/2 cup of flour in these cookies. When you beat the sugar and egg together make sure you beat it long enough for the batter to get thick and pale yellow so it falls from the beaters of your mixer in a ribbon. I omitted the nuts in this cookie, they were outrageously good without them.. I added a cup of milk chocolate chips instead of the nuts. I used semi sweet chocolate chips in place of bitter sweet, I'm not real fond of bitter sweet. These get a little messy when your rolling them into balls with your hands but don't let that stop you from making them.

Wanna print just the recipe, click here.

Extreme Brownie Cookies
Food Network

Ingredients

* 12 ounces (2 cups) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 3 eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (or a combination)

Directions

In the top of a double boiler set over very hot water, melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter. Allow it to cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl until frothy. Slowly add the sugar and beat until the mixture ribbons off the beaters. Add the melted chocolate mixture. Stir to combine.

Sift the dry ingredients together. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the chips and nuts. The dough will seem more like cake batter than cookie dough. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is well chilled (and more cookie-dough-like).

Set the oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with baking parchment.

Scoop up the chilled dough and roll with your hands into small balls the size of a whole walnut (in the shell). Place the cookies on the prepared pans, about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake about 12 minutes or a bit longer. The tops of the cookies should look dry and cracked. Allow to cool for a minute on the baking sheet, then remove to cake racks for further cooling.