swedish chicken meatballs

Since sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic I haven't had to pull out the crock pot!  I have plenty of time to spend in the kitchen since we're not running here, there and all over the place.  In fact, lately I look forward to dinner so much more than usual because it's the big event of the day! :)  Last night we were all happy with our Swedish chicken meatballs.  They were delicious!!!  I made two loaves of fresh bread to go with it and dinner was worth the work and the wait.  Really, it wasn't that much work.

swedish chicken meatballs (adapted from awickedwhisk.com)
1 pound ground chicken
1 large egg
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons olive oil (I cut down to 1)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley

sour cream sauce (you can see I tried to skinny it down the best I could and it was still great!)
5 tablespoons butter (I used 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 2 tablespoons)
4 cups beef stock (I used 2 cups)
3/4 cup sour cream (I used 1/2 cup light sour cream)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used 1/4)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (I used 1/4)
mushrooms, optional
12 ounces large egg noodles (I used whole wheat rotini)

Start with your chicken meatballs.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking pan with nonstick spray.  Once done, add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl.  Combine well.  Use a small cookie scoop to make 20 meatballs and place onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.
While your meatballs are baking, make your sauce.  In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat and once melted whisk in flour. Continue to cook  flour while whisking it for the next minute before pouring in beef stock.  Whisk to remove any flour lumps.  Add seasonings, soy sauce, mustard, cheese, sour cream and bring gravy sauce to a low boil before reducing heat to low to simmer.
Once your sauce is simmering, set a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook your noodles according to package directions.
When your chicken meatballs are cooked, move them from the baking pan into the gravy sauce (you can add mushrooms if you wish) and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Serve the meatballs over the hot noodles.

roasted pork tenderloin with oven roasted veggies

I anticipated a good meal but it was soooooo good!  The roasted veggies were caramelized and the rub on the pork was super flavorful.  My husband said this meal was better than meals at his favorite restaurant downtown!!

roasted pork tenderloin with oven roasted veggies (slightly adapted from theblackpeppercorn.com)
1 pork tenderloin
1 red onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Spread vegetables evenly across the bottom of the pan.  Drizzle with oil. Roast vegetables for 30-35 minutes.  
Trim the pork tenderloin of excess fat.
Make the seasoning rub by mixing together the garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano and paprika.  Rub all over the pork tenderloin.
Remove the vegetables from the oven. Move the vegetables in the middle of the pan to make room for the pork tenderloin.  Place the pork in the center.
Place back into the oven and roast until the pork is cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, about 25 minutes.

shrimp and sausage gumbo

The best gumbo I've ever eaten.  Delicious!  I made the roux differently than I've ever made it before- by toasting the flour as suggested in the recipe.  It was so rich and smooth...

shrimp and sausage gumbo (adapted from The New Essentials Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil (1/3 cup is just fine)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (10 ounce) can ro-tel tomatoes
3 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup fish sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, skin and excess fat removed and sliced
salt and pepper
2 cups frozen okra, thawed (I used fresh asparagus and it was wonderful!)
2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen shrimp)

Toast 3/4 cup flour in a soup pot on the stovetop over medium heat stirring constantly, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.  Off heat, whisk in oil until smooth.
Back on the heat, add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and cook about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in broth and fish sauce until smooth.  Season chicken with pepper.  Add chicken and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered until chicken is tender, 30 minutes.  Stir in sausage and asparagus and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.  Add shrimp and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice.

honey orange beehive cake

There's nothing like an impromptu party on a Sunday afternoon!  On Sunday my youngest daughter earned her honor bee.  I didn't even know what an honor bee was until about a year ago when the older girls on a temple trip were talking about their aspirations to earn theirs.  I gave no encouragement to my daughter as she entered the YW program a year early than expected due to the new changes.  But she decided to do it and she did.
I remembered the cake form I'd had in my pantry for a long time (years?) and hadn't used.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity.  The cake form is Nordic Ware.  I didn't follow the recipe given since I had to pretty much make do with what I had.
Note:  I was grateful for the bee decorations I had purchased on a trip to take my oldest to EFY a few years ago. 

honey orange beehive cake
cake:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Mix two boxes of yellow cake mix as directed and add 2 teaspoons orange extract.
Prepare the Nordic Ware pan by coating with shortening and spraying with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour 3 cups of cake batter into each side of the cake form.
Bake 50-60 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes in the pan.  Use a long knife to level off the cake by trimming off rounded dome.  Invert onto cooling rack and cool completely.

honey icing: (this recipe came with the Nordic Ware)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon honey (I used 2)
1-3 tablespoons milk
Mix the ingredients together with an electric mixer in a medium sized bowl until smooth.
I used this honey icing to "glue" the two sides of the beehive together.  I had plenty leftover so I used the rest to drizzle over the top of the cake instead of the buttercream frosting recipe that came with the pan (I was simplifying!).

bees:
Since I didn't have all the correct ingredients I improvised and used melted chocolate to pipe the bodies of the bees then used royal icing for the wings and stripes.  Just improvise!

Use the honey icing to "glue" the two sides of the beehive together.  Drizzle the rest over the top and add the bees.  Enjoy!  My family loved it!

slow cooker teriyaki chicken

Great recipe and so easy!

slow cooker teriyaki chicken (gimme some oven)
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
optional toppings:  sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds

Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of your slow cooker in a single layer.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic, onion, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and black pepper until combined.  Pour the mixture on top of the chicken breasts.  Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
Remove chicken with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl and shred using two forks.
Transfer the remaining teriyaki sauce from the slow cooker to a medium saucepan.
In a small bowl combine the cold water and cornstarch until cornstarch is dissolved and no longer lumpy.  Pour the cornstarch slurry into the teriyaki sauce mixture and whisk to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and let it boil for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat, and pour the sauce on top of the shredded chicken.  Toss to combine.  Serve topped with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

basil-parmesan crusted salmon

Salmon is my favorite and this was a really nice recipe.  I really enjoyed dinner tonight and it was a joy to see my youngest enjoy it too!  I love it when taste buds grow up. :)

basil-parmesan crusted salmon (skinnytaste.com)
4 salmon fillets, boneless skinless
1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used light)
6 fresh basil leaves, minced plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a baking pan with foil.  Place the salmon on the baking pan.  Season salmon with lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Mix the mayonnaise with basil and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.  Spread completely over the salmon.  Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon.

burmese chicken soup

Hall of fame.  I tried this soup because I trust Costco and this recipe was in their Costco Connection magazine.  It's soooo flavorful and delicious.  Try it.

burmese chicken soup (Costco Connection magazine, January 2020)
1 tablespoon grape seed oil (I used olive oil)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 shallot, finely diced (I minced 1/2 white onion)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cups chicken broth, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (13.7 ounce) can light unsweetened coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1 bunch cilantro, washed, stems removed and roughly chopped

Heat medium Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium-high heat; add oil.  Saute the garlic, ginger, and shallot until aromatic, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the spices and the salt and saute another minute, stirring.  Lower heat to medium and add the sweet potatoes and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Deglaze pot with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add the remaining chicken broth, chicken and coconut milk; bring to a simmer.  Cover pot and simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add lime juice.  Stir in half the cilantro.  Spoon into bowls, garnish with remaining cilantro and serve.  Makes 8 cups.