Lemon Chicken

I was pawing through my cupboards looking for something to cook and I spied a recipe on a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup that I felt compelled to try.  I made a few adjustments to the Campbell's recipe because I was missing ingredients, but I was well-pleased with the result (a shout-out to my cooking-savvy friend Brit here, since she recommended some of the substitutions).  I'm exploring now how I might make a completely-from-scratch version, but for now I wanted to post the variation I tried because I liked it a lot--it's wonderfully savory and slightly tangy. Also, this marked my first time working with raw chicken on the stove!  I'm sure that sounds silly, but, baby steps, people.


Materials
10" Skillet + lid
Knife
Cutting board
Plate (to set chicken aside)


Ingredients
4 Chicken Breast Halves
1 T. lemon juice
11/2 T. chopped green onions
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 T. water
Italian Seasoning to taste
Garlic salt
Parsley


Process
1.  Brown the chicken in the pan on medium-high heat for about 10 min, or until cooked thoroughly and golden-brown on both sides.  Remove from pan.
2.  Add soup, lemon, green onions, water, and seasonings to taste to the pan and bring to a low boil.
3.  Return chicken to pan.  Cover pan and simmer 5 minutes.


Notes
The original recipe called for 1 t. paprika.  I left it out of my version completely on accident, but you might try adding it for deeper flavor.
I garnished the chicken with a little extra green onion.  Tasty!

Egg Noodles

A nice staple recipe.  Certainly not as fast or easy as buying pre-made stuff, but the flavor, texture, and the I-made-this-all-by-myself glow can't be beat.

Materials

Rolling pin

Pizza cutter or any sharp knife

Large bowl
Stove
Floured board or flat surface to roll out the dough

Ingredients

1 egg

A dash of salt

About 2 cups of flour

Process

1.  Beat the egg in the bowl and gradually mix in flour until a stiff ball is formed.

2.  Knead in bowl 10-12 times.

3.  Roll out to 1/8 inch thick (this is very thin) on floured board

4.  Cut 1/3 inch wide and 3 inch long with pizza cutter

5.  Allow the noodles to dry or add them immediately to boiling, salted water.  Boil to desired tenderness.

Alfredo

Alfredo is, hands-down, one of my absolute favorite dishes.  Before taking my cooking class I always made it with a bag of pre-made rotini, a jar of Ragu Alfredo, and a can of chicken.  After tasting this recipe, though, I'm not sure I'll ever go back!  For ease you can substitute a store-bought pasta (I did, to use up the leftover sauce the following day) but in the spirit of the blog, the from-scratch recipe for the noodles is also provided.  I got three large servings out of the recipe, but if you don't serve it up by the triple-ladle-fulls as I did, you'll easily make it go further.


Materials
Medium-size sauce pan
Long-handled spoon
Measuring cups and spoons
Stove


Ingredients
Noodles

1/2 cup real butter                                                        

1 pint whipping cream                                               

1 t. garlic powder                                                       

2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan                                   

Salt and pepper to taste

1 dash cayenne pepper

Process 
1.  Melt butter over medium-low heat.
2.  Add cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper; simmer for 20-30 min, stirring constantly until thick.
3.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese and cayenne pepper.


Note
Mine never did thicken as much as I think it was supposed to, but I also skimped and didn't stir it constantly.  The next time I try this recipe I'll see if it makes a difference.
I served my Alfredo up with extra Parmesan and a dash of pepper on top.  For extra color, you might try garnishing with parsley.
The sauce wasn't very smooth, because the cheese didn't melt in the sauce.  I enjoyed the texture, but if you're looking for a smoother sauce you might raise the heat a little after the 20 min of simmering and stir in the cheese until it melts completely.

Cinnamon Buns

I had to prepare this recipe for homework for my cooking class.  It's a little work-intensive (at least for a college student that's used to prepackaged food) but well-worth it!  I got a dozen buns out of this recipe but you may end up with more or less depending on how thin you roll the dough and how thick you cut the rolls from the log.


Materials
1 Large mixing bowl (for dough)
1 Microwave-safe Medium mixing bowl (for glaze)
2 Small bowls (one for preparing yeast, one for beating egg)
Wooden spoon
Whisk
Dental floss or string, at least 9 in. (for cutting the dough)
2 cookie sheets
Rolling pin
Measuring cups and spoons
Oven
Microwave
Any kind of cooking spray or oil to coat the cookie sheets
Space to roll out the dough

Ingredients
Dough
1 cup hot water
1 t. salt
1 1/2 T. shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
3-4 cups flour
1 T. yeast dissolved in 2 T. warm water with 1 t. sugar.

Cinnamon Filling
4 T. Melted butter
Brown sugar (to taste)
Cinnamon (to taste)
Nutmeg (to taste)
Ginger (to taste)
(I recommend using mostly brown sugar, about half as much cinnamon, and just a dash or two of nutmeg and ginger.)

Glaze
2 T. softened butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. milk


Process
1.  Prepare yeast with water and sugar and set aside to soften.
2.  Combine hot water, salt, sugar and shortening in a bowl.  Cool to lukewarm.
3.  When cooled, add softened yeast mixture.
4.  Add the egg and two cups of flour.  Beat well.
5.  Gradually knead the rest of the flour into the dough until it forms a stiff (though not hard) ball.
6.  Knead the ball 8-10 times.
7.  Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
8.  Roll the dough to 1/2 in. thick sheet, as rectangular as you can manage.
9.  Brush melted butter over the entire surface, and sprinkle generously with cinnamon filling.
10.  Roll the dough into a tight spiral.
11.  With the seam of the spiral facing down, use a tightly pulled piece of dental floss or string to cut the roll into 1-2 in. pieces.  Set pieces on cookie sheets, ensuring adequate room to rise (about 1 1/2 in).
12.  Cover the cookie sheets with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise for 30 min.
13.  Bake at 375F for 15 min.
14.  Make the glaze by combining softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and mixing until smooth.  If the mixture solidifies before the rolls are done, simply soften in the microwave for about 20 sec.
15.  When the rolls are done, immediately drizzle with glaze and serve!