Brunoise Rosemary Chicken Soup

April 7, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Who doesn’t like chicken soup? It’s comforting, filling, and actually healthy. Well, today we made a chicken soup for your soul and for you OCD-er’s out there. Every thing in this soup is the same size, which makes for even distribution and cooking, the only thing that is different is the textures. Also, it just looks super cool!

This soup was made with leftovers or fridge scraps, so if you have different veggies, THEN FORGET IT, ITS OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY! or not. Just use whatever you can brunoise.

Brunoise Chicken Soup

What you need:

cutting board
knife
patience
heavy bottom pot

Ingredients:

chicken
carrots
celery
yukon gold potatoes
onions
garlic
zucchini
chicken broth
rosemary
turmeric
salt and pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place chicken in the on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Put in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and let cool. Once cooled, cut the chicken to bite sized pieces and set aside.

Step 2:

In a medium sauce pan, warm up the chicken broth with some rosemary and crushed garlic, let it simmer while you cut your vegetables, strain (or pick out) rosemary and garlic before transferring to veggie pot.

Step 3:

Peel carrots and Brunoise them, if you aren’t quite sure or haven’t done it in a while, here’s a quick video to help you, and the environment too, apparently.

Step 4:

Repeat with zucchini, onions, celery, and potatoes.

Step 5:

Heat some olive oil in the pot, and sauté onions and carrots for a few minutes, then add celery and zucchini, these guys don’t need to cook so long. Add salt, pepper to taste, and turmeric to add a beautiful color to the soup.

Step 6:

Add chicken broth to pot and let everybody simmer together for 10 minutes.

Step 7:

Add the chicken (cut same size of the veggies) and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. Then EAT!

Note from Christie:

“The broth should smell beautifully rosemary-y and amazing, like you want to wear it as a perfume, which I personally think is a great idea. Imagine the intoxicating smell of a fresh baguette or the handsome aroma of roasted coffee, or the cozy smell of freshly baked cookies?! Okay, okay, I might have a problem but you know what, that’s ok. Me and food are in love, not in like, we are in a committed relationship and we go through ups and downs together.”

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

April 5, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 4 Comments

As you know, we LOVE cookies. And we are always looking for the best cookie recipe and when we stumbled upon Hugs and Cookies recipe, we had a good feeling.

The secret to her perfect cookies, is raising the base temperature of the oven and then lowering it as soon as the cookies go in to the oven. Because of this, it makes the outside of the cookie slightly crunchy and the inside is a gooey mess of deliciousness. When the cookies come out of the oven, they almost look like they are blushing. I kid you not. Blushing cookies. You will thank us, and then you will thank Hugs and Cookies, we certainly do! These are by far some of the best chocolate chip cookies we have ever made!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips (Ghiradhelli or Guittard)

Step 1:

Sift together the AP flour and baking soda, and then mix in the salt. Stir until combined and set aside.

Step 2:

In a mixer (stand or by hand) mix together the butter and sugars until blended.

Step 3:

Add the vanilla, egg and yolk and blend until creamy.

Step 4:

Mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over-mix! Next stir the chocolate chips in by hand.

Step 5:

This step is important: you must chill your dough for at least 3 hours. We know, it sucks to wait, but this step really does pay off. Go watch a movie or binge watch your favorite show. OR clean the kitchen, or you can do what Peaches did and take a nap. Also, don’t forget to cover your dough with plastic wrap.

Step 6:

While the dough is chilling, line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. We always spray the sheet with Pam first and then line with parchment, this prevents the parchment from moving around.

Step 7:

Just before the dough is nice and chilled preheat your oven to 425°. Using a scoop or a spoon measure out 1.5 to 2 ounce cookie balls. Place on the sheet.

Step 8:

As soon as you put the cookies in the oven immediately lower the temperature to 375°. According the the original recipe (and us as testers) this sets a “base” heat, that cooks the cookie quicker but giving it that nice crust on the edge and keeps the inside moist and gooey! Bake for 9 minutes to 10 minutes. We always say under-bake your cookies just a little bit, that really helps achieve that gooey center.

Step 9:

When the cookies are done, let them cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Repeat step 8 until all the dough is baked. Remember to raise the temperature back to 425° and lower when the cookies are in the oven.

Rustic Breakfast Scones

April 4, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Scones: “A single-serving cake or quick bread. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and are baked on sheet pans. They are often lightly sweetened and are occasionally glazed. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea. It differs from a teacake and other sweet buns, which are made with yeast.”

The word scone actually comes from the Danish word ‘schoonbrot’, which means ‘beautiful bread’. Though some would argue that it actually come from Stone of Destiny, which is where the Kings of Scotland were crowned. And finally according to Webster’s Dictionary, scones originated in Scotland in the 1500’s. Whew. That’s a lot of information, so do with it what you will. But either way, Scones are a delicious morsel of tasty goodness.

Our recipe this morning was inspired by The Kitchen, the first time we made them we followed the recipe using apricots. The next day we made two different version, blueberry with a lemon glaze and apple with a maple glaze.

At the bottom of the page you will find the variations we made for the scones. All three scones were delicious and we enjoyed all of them.

Breakfast Apricot Scones

What You Need

Sheet Pan
Parchment Paper
Ice Cream Scoop
Pam (we prefer the Baking kind)
Pastry Cutter or Large Fork

Scone Ingredients

1 cup dried apricots (roughly chopped, 5 oz or so)
2 cups AP flour (10 oz)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 granulated sugar (2 oz)
1 teaspoon cinnamon **
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold cut into small pieces)
1 large egg
3/4 cup plain yogurt (low fat or regular)
1/4 cup milk (whole or skim)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract**

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar (6 oz)
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract**

Step 1:

First thing, preheat your oven and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. We spray the bottom of the pan with pam to prevent the parchment paper from moving.

Step 2:

In a small bowl, cover the apricots with almost boiling water and allow to sit for 10 minutes to fatten up. Drain, pat them dry and chop them roughly.

Step 3:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

Step 4:

Using a large fork or pastry cutter, “cut” the butter into the flour. Cut the butter and flour mixture until the butter pieces are no larger than a pea.

Step 5:

Gently fold the apricot pieces with flour and butter to coat the pieces.

Step 6:

In another bowl, mix together the egg, milk, yogurt and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture of the dry mixture. Mix gently until the flour and yogurt mixture are just combined. No visible flour, but don’t over mix!

Step 7:

If using an ice cream scoop, spray with pam before using. This helps keep the dough for sticking to the scoop. If you don’t have an ice-cream scoop, that’s okay. Scoop the dough and drop onto the parchment paper. About an inch apart. Gently flatten the tops of the scones.

Step 8:

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the scones are golden on top and firm to the touch. You can also check the bottom of the scones to check if they’re done. Remove from oven and cool completely before adding the glaze.

Step 9:

For the glaze: Mix together the milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones. Wait about 15 minutes and then enjoy!

VARIATIONS

We also made these as Blueberry Lemon and Apple with a Maple Glaze. For both, omit step two. You don’t need to plump the fruit because you will use FRESH fruit.

Lemon Blueberry:

First instead of cinnamon, add 1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest. Toss blueberries with flour. In addition to the vanilla (which we decreased to 1/2 teaspoon) add one teaspoon lemon extract. Same applies to the glaze. Add freshly grated lemon zest, a little lemon extract or fresh juice and enjoy.

Apple with a Maple Glaze

For this scone, you can keep the cinnamon and even pump it up to 2 teaspoons. We used 3/4 of a granny smith apple for the apple pieces. Chopped into small pieces. In addition to the vanilla add maple extract. Same goes with the glaze. These are like mini apple fritters.

Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad

April 4, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Today’s recipe is a nice change of pace from your typical picnic salad. A cucumber salad is light, crispy, refreshing and can withstand sitting out on a warm day without getting “funky” like any mayo salad. This particular salad is slightly sweet and a has a nice warm after-bite.

Marlee’s dad, Bob, makes a fantastic cucumber salad where he uses a mandolin to get paper thin half moon slices, it’s so freakin’ good that we cannot share that recipe. So, we found one that was completely different.

Ingredients

4 to 5 English Cucumbers (skin on)
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
Red Onion (Half)

Step 1:

Slice your cucumber into bite size pieces, we prefer half moon slices. Place the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle them with salt. Mix thoroughly and place a plate on top of them or something heavy, like a can, to push the excess water out. Set aside for at least 40 minutes. Next, chop your onions.

Step 2:

In a saucepan, mix together the vinegar, water, sugar and red chili flakes. Bring mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat and reduce for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add onions. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Step 3:

Rinse the cucumbers in cool water and let drain for a couple more minutes. Before mixing, lightly pat the cucumbers dry. Put in a bowl and mix with “dressing”. Refrigerate and then serve.

Carol’s “Go Look at the Flowers” Dirt Cup

April 1, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

One thing we LOVE besides cooking is good TV. I mean, we went to film school so we obviously have a huge appreciation for good TV. One of our favorite shows is The Walking Dead. Carol is our favorite and one of those great characters who has made a complete 180° turnaround from the first episode. Melissa McBride does an incredible job portraying her.

We’re actually re-watching the show right now (to ease the pain till October) and you kind of forget how weak and abused Carol was! She went from that to complete survivalist badass like Daryl.

If you don’t watch the show, you probably won’t understand the reference and we’re not going to be the ones to spoil you. One of our best friends, Juhi, was spoiled by her roommate about the ending of Lost and shit got real. That scream was so high pitched! So we will not be spoiling it for you, but if you’re an avid watcher like we are, you understand today’s dessert.

Carol’s “Go Look at the Flowers” Dirt Cup

Ingredients

One package Chocolate Mousse/Pudding
3/4 heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee (optional)
2 tablespoons Nutella (optional)
1 package Oreos
1 package Gummy Worms

Step 1:

Prepare your package mousse or pudding according to package instructions. It’s best to use an instant mix. When you mix the pudding with the milk this is where you can add the instant coffee. Instant coffee brings out the chocolate flavor. Once the mousse/pudding is mixed you can also blend in the Nutella. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 2:

In a medium bowl start whipping the heavy cream. As it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla.

Step 3:

Next, fold the pudding mixture into the fresh cream. Mix until just combined. Return to the fridge.

Step 4:

In a food processor, pulse the Oreos until they resemble the consistency of dirt. If you don’t have a food processor, that’s okay. Place Oreos in a ziplock bag, seal and then smash. You can use a rolling pin, a pan, your hands, whatever you can to smash the Oreos.

Step 5:

Now the fun part, assembling! You can use any type of glass you want, but you can go to your local plant nursery and pick up tiny little pots like we did. The first thing you want to do is sprinkle some crumbs at the bottom of the pot and place a worm or two at the bottom. Scoop the pudding mixture on top and continue layering. Finally sprinkle with a little dirt and stick in the fridge to “firm” up.

Easy BBQ Ribs

March 31, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Everybody loves ribs. But not everybody has a state of the art outdoor kitchen BBQ like this:

Though, we really wish we had one. I mean, look at that. So beautiful. Anyway…so we love BBQ Ribs, especially baby back ribs. And every time we looked for a recipe it required a BBQ or a grill and we can be lazy so we looked for oven recipes.

So we found this awesome recipe and used a recipe on the back of a jar of BBQ sauce we found.

We kid you not, these are super easy to make, and the meat is literally falls off the bone. Some may say, these aren’t the prettiest ribs, but who cares if they taste great? And who needs some fancy shmancy BBQ when you have an oven at your finger tips.

Easy BBQ Ribs

What You Need

Baking Dish
Aluminum Foil

Ingredients

16 oz good quality BBQ sauce
10 oz liquid (orange juice, Dr. Pepper)
Juice of one lemon or lime
1/4 cup of dry rub season
5lbs baby ribs

Step 1:

The first thing you want to do, is try and remove the silver skin. If you can’t remove it, don’t fear, your ribs will still be delicious. Cut the ribs into separate pieces. You can cook them whole, but we prefer them cut before they’re cooked.

Step 2:

Slice the lemon or lime and pour the juice all over the ribs. Liberally sprinkle the ribs with the dry rub until they are covered. Massage the ribs so the dry rub really gets in there.

Pace the ribs meat side up to get the rub EVERYWHERE.

Step 3:

Preheat the oven to 250°. While the oven is heating mix your liquid and the BBQ sauce in a small bowl.

Today, we used Pineapple juice. Sweet and acidic to help tenderize.

Step 4:

Place the ribs in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the ribs. Make sure the ribs are meat side down and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Step 5:

Put the ribs in the over for 2.5 to 3 hours. After the initial cook time is done, you have three options, you can finish them off on a grill or continue cooking for 20 to 30 minutes in the oven at 350°. Or you can turn the broiler to high and cook under there for about 5 minutes. Basting and watching them carefully, you don’t want them to durn. And remember if finishing off in the oven, remember to drain the liquid and place the ribs meat side up!

Sorry, for the blurry photos here. We got so excited by the ribs, that we couldn’t contain ourselves.

If you’re not using the ribs right away, after you season them put them in a vacuum sealed bag and really let the flavors soak in.

Chicken Curry Salad

March 30, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

Today’s recipe is a mix of two of our favorites, the Gelson’s Chicken Curry Salad and Queen Ina’s Chicken Curry Salad.

For years, we tried to figure out how to make Gelson’s Chicken Curry Salad, and it wasn’t until one day that we saw watched Ina make her variation on The Barefoot Contessa that we realized how similar the two recipes were.

What You Need

Sheet Pan
Blender/Food Processor
Mixing Bowl
Mixing Spoon

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
1 cup Mayonaise
1/3 cup white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sémillon,)
1/4 cup mango chutney (Mango Ginger from Trader Joe’s adds a nice bite)
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/4 cup celery (chopped)
1/3 cup green onions (whole onion chopped)
1/4 cup raisins (roughly chopped)
1 granny smith (bite size pieces)
1 red delicious (bite size pieces)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)
1/4 cup cashew cashews (optional)
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

**Don’t cut the apple until just before you mix everything together, otherwise it will oxidize**

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350°. While the oven is heating up, place the chicken on a sheet pan and rub with olive oil. We use garlic olive for more flavor. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and pepper. If you’re doing bone in chicken, cook for about 40 minutes.

If using boneless and skinless, cook for about 20 to 25 minutes. When chicken is cooked, let cool and then cut into bite sized pieces. Obviously, remove the bones and skin, if using bone in chicken.

Step 2:

In a blender place mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry and a sprinkle of salt. Blend until smooth.

As usual, our kitchen helper Peaches was envious of all the food.

Step 3:

In a bowl, mix a little of the dressing with the chopped chicken. Chop the apples and mix them in. Add the celery, green onions and raisins. Mix together, adding a little more dressing. Dress to your liking, you don’t need to use all the dressing if you don’t want to.

You can also use Golden Raisins (chopped slightly)

Step 4:

Refrigerate until chilled, this really allows the flavors to develop.

“Crabby” Chicken Salad Sandwiches

March 30, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

We took our Classic Chicken Salad and our Chicken Curry Salad (recipe coming) and turned them into “crabs” for a family friends baby shower, whose theme was Under the Sea.

Try not to get into a staring contest with these little guys. Hypnocrabs!

How cute are these? And super easy to make! Attach “googly” eyes to Q-tips, cut off the opposite end (at an angle, making it easier to poke through).

Place your chicken salad in a pre-made croissant(cut almost all the way through) and attach googly eyes and bam! A crab! Insert Little Mermaid song here.

“Breakfast” Oatmeal Cookies

March 28, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

There’s nothing better than a simple oatmeal cookie. As you’ve kind of gathered, we love cookies, and are always finding the best cookie recipes, it’s an addiction!

We definitely like to “under bake” these cookies. When you try these warm, it’s like eating your morning oatmeal. Only better. So. Much. Better. Warm gooey, delicious oatmeal cookies.

What You Need

Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper
Pam
Ice Cream Scoop

Ingredients

1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Step 2:

In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, mix together butter and sugars. Until smooth and creamy.

Step 3:

Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla and maple.

Step 4:

In a medium bowl swift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and then stir in the salt.

Step 5:

In a separate bowl mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and oats together. Once thoroughly mixed, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. If using chocolate chips, mix them in now.

Step 6:

For best cookie results, we always recommend cooling the dough before using. If you’re in a hurry and want the cookie NOW, pop the dough in the freezer for about thirty minutes. If you have the time, stick the dough in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Step 7:

When the dough is nice and chilled, scoop out your dough into balls. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes. These cookies are best a little underdone, the gooeyness is very similar to your morning oatmeal, only better. Let cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes, and then remove to cooling rack.

** Instead of large cookies, you can do teaspoons instead of scoops. If doing teaspoons, baking 8 to 10 minutes. That should yield waaaaay more cookies than what we made.

Classic Rosemary Chicken Salad

March 26, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

There’s nothing worse than a boring and flavorless chicken salad, but have no fear, you won’t find that here! This recipe is the perfect balance of chicken to mayonnaise, not to creamy but not to dry either. It’s the perfect balance.

Did you know that the first noteable chicken salad consisted of leftover chicken, mayo, tarragon and grapes? Yeah, we didn’t either, but it sounds good, except the tarragon, we’re rosemary girls ourselves.

Anyways, this first chicken salad was made by the owner of a meat market, Liam Gray in 1863. He was so successful that he turned his meat market into a deli.

What You Need

Sheet Pan
Mixing Bowl
Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup celery (chopped finely)
1 whole shallot (chopped finely)
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons rosemary (chopped)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 350°. Place chicken on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Rub all over the chicken, then sprinkle generously with kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces and set aside. You can put the chicken into the freezer for five minutes, or in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 2:

In a mixing bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice together. Season with pepper.

Step 3:

Add the chicken to the dressing, mix in the shallots, parsley, rosemary, and celery. Mix until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.