Naan - Indian Flatbread

I've had Naan before and it was delicious. I decided to try my hand at making it at home and I was surprised at how easy it was! It wasn't as bubbly as I had hoped it would be, but it was still light and fluffy and super yummy. I served it with this Indian Chicken Curry. Yum!

Naan - Indian Flatbread

Source: AllRecipes, by Mic

Ingredients:
1 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Note: I added 1/2 tsp baking soda because my yeast didn't seem to activate correctly. I also opted not to use a grill, but just used a grill pan on my stovetop instead. 

Indian Chicken Curry

This summer our local library is holding a Summer Reading Program for both kids and adults. It's been fun to branch out a bit to read some different books and do some different activities. One of the items to check off is "Check out a Cookbook and try a new recipe". I was excited, and ended up with "The Convenience Cook" (I will say that flipping through cookbooks is not the easiest thing of the world when trying to handle a baby and 3-year-old). It was interesting to read through the authors comments about her recipes. I ended up choosing to try the Chicken Curry and I'm glad that I did! I had an awesome experience at an Indian restaurant back in my college days and I've wanted to try to replicate that, but none of the curry recipes I've come across have really done it for me. This one was SO simple, came together really quick, and was delicious! I like feeling like I'm introducing different flavors to my kids, and I think that this is something that is a nice change in our normal flavor profile while still being yummy, affordable, and easy. 

Indian Chicken Curry
Source: The Convenience Cook, page 109, slightly adapted. I would definitely recommend getting this cookbook - there are a lot of good recipes and great cooking tips.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 tsp curry powder
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups cubed, chicken
S&P

Hot white rice
Naan, Indian Flatbread

Directions:
In a skillet, heat 1tbsp oil over medium heat. Cook chicken until golden brown, dump onto plate and set aside. Heat remaining oil in skilled, then add onion and cook until softened. Add flour and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add chicken. cover and simmer until chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve over hot rice and with warm Indian bread. Naan recipe HERE.

Hot Ham and Cheese

I picked up some hoagie bun rolls at my favorite Sara Lee Bread Outlet for super cheap and I was looking for something to do with them that was yummy and a bit more than just regular deli sandwiches. I had an idea of what I wanted and, with a few adjustments, this fit the bill! The ham and cheese, sautéed onions, and bacon combine together to create a delicious flavor profile. (I've been watching cooking shows with David, can you tell?)

Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
Source: Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients:
6 hoagie buns

6 slices bacon
1/2 yellow onion
6 tablespoons salted butter, divided
1 heaping Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
12 slices deli ham (or more- depending on how much meat you like)
12 slices cheddar cheese

Directions:
Place bacon on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil. Bake in oven at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until crispy. Slice onion into thin strips. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet; add onions and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should turn a deep golden color and taste sweet. 

Melt 4 T butter and whisk with the mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Brush the inside of each bun with mustard mixture. Top with ham, onions, bacon, and cheese. Brush the top of the bun with remaining butter. Repeat for remaining sandwiches. Bake for 20 minutes or until warmed through and cheese is melted. Serve hot! 

*Note: I added spinach to my sandwich after baking and it was super yummy. I'd definitely recommend it. 

BBQ Pork & Pineapple Quesadillas

The original recipe for this is a crock pot and chicken recipe. However, I had some extra shredded pork in my freezer that I was wanting to use - and when I found this I loved that it was a different take than what I usually do with our shredded pork. You could use chicken (and I probably will in the future because I like to keep shredded chicken on hand as well) - and you could put it in the crock pot, but I've written the recipe to reflect how I made (and will make in the future) this yummy dish. I love how easy it was, how I could leave the pineapple out of David's (crazy boy), and how yummy it turned out. 

BBQ Pork & Pineapple Quesadillas
Source: Adapted from Krafted Koch

Ingredients:
8 10" flour tortillas
1 lb. pork roast, cooked and shredded
1 c. BBQ sauce
1 c. onion diced
1 T oil (for sautéing onions)
4 c. fresh pineapple sliced thinly (or substitute a large can of pineapple tidbits)
2 c. shredded cheddar
½ c. BBQ sauce for spreading on tortillas
cilantro - optional garnish

Directions:
Sauté onions in a medium to large skillet until soft and starting to turn translucent. Add the cooked = and shredded pork and 1 c. BBQ sauce. Cook until warm through.

On each tortilla half, spread ½ c. meat mixture. On the other half, layer 1 Tbsp. BBQ sauce, ¼ c. cheese and ½ c. pineapple slices. Fold the quesadillas together and place quesadillas in a hot George Forman griddle for 2-4 minutes until crispy. (You could also place on a hot griddle or frying pan if you wanted to cook more than one at a time, cooking on each side for 1-2 minutes.)

Remove from heat, and slice in three sections. Serve immediately.

Overnight Sandwiches

A friend posted these sandwiches on her facebook wall as a recommendation for a meal when feeding a large group of people (i.e. baptism, blessing, etc..) They were originally called Funeral Sandwiches, but I felt that was a bit morbid and because I've never had them at a funeral, I changed them to Overnight Sandwiches - because I love that you can prepare them ahead of time and just have them ready to cook. I made a few other modifications because we didn't love the soggy bread - but we loved the sauce-soaked bread when it was crispy.

Overnight Sandwiches
Source: Clever House Wife

Ingredients:
1 package (12 ct) of King's Hawaiian Rolls

12 slices ham deli meat
Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
½ cup butter, melted
3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs mustard
2 Tbs brown sugar
dash of onion powder

Instructions
Cut each roll in half and place bottom halves on the bottom of a baking pan. Layer with ham slices and cheese and place the top half back on.
Mix together the butter, Worcestershire, mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Pour sauce over sandwiches, making sure to coat each top. It's okay if you drip over the edges - but don't pour so much that the bottoms become super-soggy. Cover tightly and marinate anywhere from 4-24 hours. Overnight works best!

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered, or until cheese is melted and bun tops are a bit golden and crispy.

Easy Beef Stroganoff

I have to admit, our very very favorite stroganoff is this Beef Stroganoff. Almost always, I'd rather take the time to make that if I'm going to plan stroganoff for dinner. But every once in a while when I need a quick meal, or I have leftover hamburger and am not feeling any of my mexican dishes - this is a great option. Another Peaden family recipe, although I believe this one is a more recent addition to their meal rotation (I think Amy found it and they all loved it). It's yummy and filling, and oh-so-easy.

Easy Beef Stroganoff
Source: Sue & Amy Peaden

Ingredients:
1/2 lb hamburger (the original recipe calls for a whole pound, but we like more sauce in our sauce:meat ratio)
1/2 C diced onions
1 C sour cream
2 T ketchup
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 cans cream of chicken soup
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large frying pan, brown hamburger. When almost finished cooking, add onions and cook until translucent. (If using leftover hamburger, cook onions first and then add in hamburger to reheat.) Add in remaining ingredients and heat through. Serve over noodles or rice.

Mini Puff Pancakes

Call them what you will: German Pancakes, Dutch Babies, Puffed Oven Pancakes, etc... There are a hundred names for these yummy things. They are traditionally made in a big skillet or glass dish, but in my experience, the crispy, puffy edges are always fought over, while the middle is left for last. Making them in a muffin tin solves that problem beautifully and everyone is able to enjoy the best part of the dish, the edge!

Mini Puff Pancakes
Sources: (Referenced) Real Mom Kitchen, Our Best Bites, Simply Suzannes

Ingredients
(make about 24 puff pancakes)
½ cup flour
¾ cup milk
3 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 teaspoon orange zest {optional}

Toppings
Warm, melted butter
Fresh Berries or Jam

Powdered Sugar
Lemon Juice & Powdered Sugar {my personal favorite}

Maple Syrup

Directions:

Place mini muffin pan (or cast iron skillet) in oven and heat to 400 degrees. While oven is heating, place flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and quickly spray the wells with non-stick spray or brush with melted butter. Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top. Remove puffs and serve with desired toppings.