Flour's Vanilla Cream Filled Donuts

This was a triumph for me.  I haven't ever made donuts before, and I am rather averse to frying, but donuts are something I can definitely get over my frying dislike for ;).  These are fabulous, full of flavor, and after I figured out how to properly get enough cream into the donuts, these turned out great.  I made more donuts than the recipe called for, and since I can never give exact calories for fried foods, I will estimate.  Each donut, for 12 donuts, was around 600 calories, but these are worth the calorie bomb, I promise!  These took a little while to make, but it was a fun experiment.  Next time, I will try to make them lighter, because they were a little heavy, but I think they would be better with practice :).

We all gave these a perfect 10, how can you go wrong with fried yeast dough and pastry cream ;)?  Anyway, here's what to do:

2 1/2 t active dry yeast

2/3 c milk, at room temperature

3 1/2 c flour

1 1/4 c sugar

1 t salt

3 eggs

7 T butter, room temperature, cut into 6-8 pieces

Frying oil

6 T heavy cream

2 c pastry cream

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast and milk.  Stir together briefly, then let sit for about 1 minute to dissolve the yeast.  Add the flour, 1/4 c of the sugar, the salt and the eggs and mix on low speed for about 1 minute.  Then, still on low speed, mix for another 2-3 minutes to develop the dough.  Add in the butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to mix for 5-6 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated.

Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 15 hours.

Lightly flour a baking sheet.  On a well-floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12 inch square about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out 12 donuts, arrange them on the baking sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 2-3 hours, or until they are doubled in height and feel poufy and pillowy.

Heat 3 inches of oil to about 350 degrees, then in batches, fry the doughnuts for 2-3 minutes on one side, flip, then fry for another 2-3 minutes.  Transfer the doughnuts to a paper towel lined plate, and let cool.  Toss the donuts into the remaining 1 c sugar, then return it to the tray to cool completely.  

Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks, then fold it into the pastry cream.  

When the doughnuts are completely cooled, poke a hole in each one.  Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill the bag with the pastry cream mixture.  Make sure to squirt the filling all inside the donut, then serve.

Cook's Illustrated Sizzling Shrimp In Garlic Sauce

Another Best International Recipe hit, this was so easy and delicious.  Aaron, Noah and I gave this Sizzling Shrimp a perfect 10, and Owen gave it a 9, because it is pretty spicy.  This is traditionally a tapas, served with other food too, but we used it as a main dish.  This takes about 10 minutes total, and it is super delicious.  Make sure to have some crusty bread to dip into the oil, and we ate this with a big salad and it made a great meal.  Here's what to do:

2/3 c olive oil
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 1/3 T red pepper flakes (the source of the heat)
1 1/3 T minced fresh parsley
1 lb large shrimp
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 500.  Pour the oil in a shallow casserole dish, I used an 8 inch pie plate.  Add the garlic, the bay leaves, the pepper flakes, and the parsley, and bake about 2-4 minutes, making sure the oil is sizzling.  Add the shrimp to the sizzling oil and continue to bake, stirring once, about 2-3 minutes until shrimp are cooked through.  Remove the dish from the oven and discard the bay leaves.  Season the dish with salt and pepper and serve immediately with crusty bread.

Picky Palate's Smoky Black Bean Pasta

This Chicken, Corn and Black Bean Pasta in Fire-Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce from Picky Palate is one of those meals that is better the next day.  The day of, the flavors were rather bland, but they developed over night and it was better the next day.  We didn't love this meal, but it was easy and not bad, so Aaron and I gave it a 6, and the boys gave it a 7.  For eight servings, each serving was 336 calories, and here's what I did, which is a little different from the original recipe.

1/2 lb bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
1 T olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 T minced garlic
3/4 lb chicken breast, diced and seasoned
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 14 oz cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/4 c heavy cream
Salt and pepper
1/4 t garlic salt
1/2 c Monterey Jack cheese

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onion and stir until tender.  Add the garlic, and the seasoned chicken, and cook until chicken is no longer pink.  Add the beans, corn and cilantro, stirring until heated through.  Add the tomatoes and pasta to the chicken mixture, then the cream, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Add the cheese and stir.

Cook's Illustrated's Queso Fundido

Cook's Illustrated Best International Recipe cookbook brings another hit for our family!  I wish I had gotten a better picture of this, because it is so good, and it doesn't look as appetizing as it really is in this picture.  Oh well.  Noah liked this so well, he asked for it for his birthday meal, and it is super delicious and easy.  Queso Fundido, or melted cheese with poblano and chorizo makes four servings with each serving being 339 calories.  If you want to use it as an appetizer, just make the portions smaller.  Serve this with warm tortillas and you are set to go!  Owen gave this an 8 because it is spicy (a little), and Aaron and I gave it a 9, and Noah gave it a perfect 10.

4 oz chorizo
1 medium poblano chili, sliced into thin strips (remove seeds and ribs if desired, we did)
1/2 small onion, sliced thin
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese (don't use the preshredded kind)

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook the chorizo, then add the poblano and onions and cook until the veggies have started to brown.  Spread the cheese evenly in an 8 inch pie plate, top with the chorizo mixture, then transfer it to the oven.  Cook for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Pioneer Woman's Orange Vanilla Fruit Salad

Isn't that a pretty sight?  I love fresh fruit, and this was a great fruit salad.  Pick your fruit, and make this simple syrup from the Pioneer Woman.  Each serving, and we made six, was 154 calories with the fruit I chose.  Aaron and I gave this a 9, and Owen and Noah gave it a perfect 10, a great way to get Owen to eat fruit besides apples :).

1/2 c sugar
Juice and zest of 1/2 an orange
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c water

Add all the ingredients to a pot, and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until thick.  Chill the syrup, then pour over fruit when ready to serve the salad.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy ;).

Cook's Illustrated Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Pork and Apples go together really well, and this is another example of that pairing working.  Cook's Illustrated came up with a winner again, like usual, and although Aaron doesn't love pork chops, he still gave this a 7.  Owen gave it an 8, and Noah and I gave it a 9.  For 1 serving, the calories are 312, and we made six servings for this recipe.  This was found in my Cook's Illustrated International Best Recipe cookbook, our favorite :), and this is what I did.

3 oz bacon, chopped
2 T oil
2 T flour
1 3/4 c apple cider
3 bone-in pork chops (we cut them in half for our servings, they were really big)
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges
2 T water
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 t minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves

Fry the bacon until crisp, leaving 2 T of bacon fat in the pan.  Gradually whisk in the flour until smooth.  Whisk until the mixture is a light brown, then whisk in the apple cider.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then set aside and cover.
Salt and pepper the pork chops.  Heat 1 T of the oil in a skillet until smoking.  Brown the pork chops on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then set aside.  Add the onions, apples, water, 1/2 t salt, and the remaining T of oil to the same skillet.  Scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, and stir until the onion is softened.  Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook, about 30 seconds.  Return the chops to the skillet in a single layer along with any juices and the cider sauce.  Cover the chops and onions and add the bay leaves.  Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the pork is tender, about 30 minutes.
Remove the chops, increase the heat of the skillet to medium high, and simmer the sauce, stirring frequently, until thickened.  Discard the bay leaves and serve with the chops, apples, and onions and reserved bacon.

Picky Palate's Parmesan Chicken Tenders

These chicken tenders were super easy and super yummy.  The boys gave them a perfect 10, and I gave them a 9 because of the calorie count.  Picky Palate's cookbook is definitely not low calorie, but I love the simplicity and flavor of her recipes.

This was a 15 minute dinner, so just what I'm looking for on a busy weeknight, but like I said, they are high in calories. Each tender was 299 calories, and I made 5 tenders out of the recipe.  Here's what I did, and it was a great dinner.

5 chicken tenders
salt and pepper
1 1/2 c buttermilk (I didn't use all of this, but I wanted the ratio of egg to buttermilk to be correct)
1 egg
1/2 c flour
1/2 c Italian flavored Panko bread crumbs
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t dried thyme leaves
3 T olive oil

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Add the buttermilk and eggs together and whisk to combine.  Add flour, salt and pepper together in another dish and whisk to combine.  In a third dish whisk together bread crumbs, cheese, and thyme.  Dip the chicken first in the buttermilk, then in the flour, then back in the buttermilk, then into the bread crumbs.  Cook the tenders in the pan with the hot olive oil, and then serve.

The  boys had theirs with ketchup, I had mine plain.