Iced Coffee Concentrate

 1.5 cups of ground coffee (Pike’s Place works well)

~18 cups of water 

Put coffee grounds into Instant Pot and cover with water to the max fill line. Cook on High for 5 minutes, then let sit to steep for 2 hours. Strain out grounds and refrigerate.

Beef and Cheese Crunch Wraps

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp each of cumin and dried cilantro
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• Extra Grande burrito size tortillas Mission brand
• Subway Baja Chipotle Sauce
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Tostadas
• Sour cream
• Shredded lettuce
• Tomatoes diced
• Taco sauce

Instructions

• Heat a griddle over medium heat. Cook ground beef with a chopped onion and season with taco seasoning. Once beef is fully cooked drain any extra grease and add 1 tbsp minced garlic.
• Lay out a large burrito size tortilla. Add some chipotle sauce and shredded cheddar cheese. Add a scoop of the ground beef and put a tostada on top.
• Add sour cream, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes. Fold the sides up and put on the griddle seam side down.
• Cook on low heat until both sides are golden brown. Serve with taco sauce and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe made 4 large crunch wraps. If you don't have a griddle you can make this recipe inside on a stove using a couple of skillets instead. 

Takeout Chicken with Green Beans

 Chicken and marinade:

• 12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

The rest:

• 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 pound green beans (trimmed and cut in half)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

Mix together marinade ingredients and toss with chicken, set aside.

Mix together stock, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, and cornstarch to make the sauce.

Preheat wok or large frying pan to nearly smoking hot and add 2 tablespoons of oil followed by the chicken and marinade. Cook stirring until chicken is cooked through, remove chicken.  Add additional 2 tablespoons oil if needed followed by the green beans. Sauté the beans for 2 minutes and add 1/3 cup of water and cover the pan for a minute and a half so they steam. Remove lid and stir in garlic, wine, and the sauce mixture. Add the chicken back in and stir, cooking until the sauce has thickened to your liking.

Notes:

I used all regular soy sauce instead of two kinds

I used mirin instead of Shaoxing

I added a tablespoon of MSG to the sauce mix

Picture Perfect Cobb Salad

 

Ingredients 

For the Vinaigrette: (makes 1 1/2 cups)

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine vinegar

• 1 small shallot (1 ounce; 28 g), roughly chopped (about 1/4 cup)

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2/3 cup (165 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

For the Salad:

• 4 small heads romaine lettuce (6 ounce; 170 g each), chopped (about 10 cups)

• 3 cups (1/2-inch cubed) poached chicken breasts, (about two 12 ounce; 340 g each)

• 6 ounces cherry tomatoes (1 cup; 170 g), halved

• 8 slices cooked bacon, roughly chopped (about 1 cup chopped)

• 1 large avocado (7 1/2 ounces; 213 g), chopped

• 3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered lengthwise into wedges

• 4 ounces (113 g) blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup crumbled)
  
  Directions

1. In a blender, process red wine vinegar, shallot, Dijon, honey, salt, and pepper on high until smooth, about 20 seconds. With machine running, slowly add oil in a steady stream until emulsified, about 1 minute. Pour vinaigrette into a bowl; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, toss lettuce with 1/2 cup of prepared vinaigrette, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter.

3. In now-empty large bowl, toss chicken with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette until evenly coated.

4. Arrange dressed chicken over dressed lettuce. In now-empty bowl, toss cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoons vinaigrette, and decoratively arrange over lettuce. Top salad with bacon, avocado, eggs, and blue cheese. Serve with remaining 1/2 cup vinaigrette for drizzling over top.

Special Equipment 

Blender

Make-Ahead and Storage 

The dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Briefly whisk or shake in a tightly sealed jar to recombine before using.

The lettuce, poached chicken, tomatoes, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese can all be prepared ahead and refrigerated in separate airtight containers for up to 2 days before assembling the salad.

NOTES: Laurie and I made this for a Core Team meeting. Easy. Fancy. Everyone can choose what they like.

The dressing emulsifies well and lasts a long time in the fridge.

Crunchwrap Supreme

Copying the Taco Bell classic.

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• salt
• pepper
• 
  
• 4 large tortillas (10 inch)
• 4 small tortillas (street taco size)
• 4 tostada shells
• nacho cheese sauce (I used 2 gravy scoops of this recipe.)
• 1 cup sour cream
• shredded lettuce
• chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack
• 
  
• 1 tbls vegetable oil

• Brown the hamburger, drain and rinse if necessary.
• Mix in the spices.

Layer:

1. large tortilla
2. 2 scoops of meat
3. nacho cheese sauce (I used a couple of my gravy scoops of this recipe
4. tostada with sour cream spread on top
5. lettuce
6. tomato (opt)
7. small tortilla

Tightly fold edges of the larger tortilla toward the center, creating pleats. Slide it into the hot pan and cook both sides until golden brown.

NOTES:
Worked well. Cook over medium heat and keep an eye on it. They cook faster than expected.

A breakfast version with sausage and scrambled eggs would be good.

Cinnamon Butter

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey (not creamed)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt

Mix it all together on Saturday, serve it with your cinnamon chip bread for Sunday brunch.

NOTE: (because there's always a note) 

• I probably used more cinnamon than called for and, in addition, I added a little cinnamon extract.  
• I might not use the extract again because it left a slight alcohol flavor (definitely not deal-breaker level though). If I think of it, I'll buy this and use it in both the bread and butter.

Cinnamon Chip Bread

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 ½ tsp yeast
• ½ Tbsp sugar
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ½ Tbsp salt
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 5-7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

Place yeast and 1/2 Tbsp sugar in a small bowl. Pour the warm water over the top and let it stand for 15 minutes.

In a stand mixer, combine butter, salt, sugar, & evaporated milk.

Once the yeast is nice and foamy, add it to the stand mixer with 3 cups of flour. Mix with the dough hook on slow-medium speed until incorporated.

While mixing, add 2 cups flour and combine until incorporated. Toss in the cinnamon chips and mix just until incorporated. Then switch to ½ cups of flour and continue adding just until the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Coat the sides of the mixing bowl and the top of the dough with shortening. Cover the bowl with a warm towel and set aside to let the dough rise over the rim of the bowl (approx. 1 ½ hrs).

Use oil to grease two 8 ½” x 4 ½” loaf pans.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes. Cut dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll out the sections into a rough rectangle (approx. 8x12”). Don’t overwork the dough. Use the width of your bread pan as a guide.

Using your fingers, gently finish shaping the dough so it is an even layer. Then roll dough from top to bottom, pinch the seams on the ends, and tuck them under slightly to create tension for the top of the loaf.

Dip the top of the loaf in the oiled pan and then flip to place seam side down. Let the dough rise until it looks like a loaf (approx. 40 minutes). Before baking, gently brush the top of the loaf with oil for a smooth, chewy crust.

Preheat the oven to 350℉. Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes (rotating halfway through for nice even baking) until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190℉. Remove from the oven and let stand in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out and sitting on the cooling rack.

Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

NOTES:

• Perfect for brunch.  I started after dinner on Saturday and it had plenty of time to rise and bake before I went to bed. It was fresh and delicious the next day!
• I never have shortening anymore so I sprayed my bowl and pans with PAM
• I used bread flour, but just because I have it.
• I added at least a teaspoon of cinnamon at the batter stage. This would be good, even in addition to the spice.
• Chips: I mixed them in because I tend to have spectacular failures with roll up breads. The mini cinnamon chips from gygi.com are superior. Definitely add them to your list if you ever order from them. In the meantime, I can sometimes find a name-brand version in the grocery store.  (For whatever reason at County Market, but not Cub.) Mini chips would be better than full sized, especially if you want to make toast.
• I only had a cup of chips, so I made up the volume with coarsely chopped pecans.  It's good.

If you really want to be the brunch queen, while it's baking make some cinnamon butter.

Source

Cream Cheese Danish

  

For the Danish

·       ▢ 6 ounces cream cheese softened

·       ▢ 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

·       ▢ 1 egg yolk

·       ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon juice

·       ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       ▢ 1 box puff pastry, thawed

·       ▢ 1 egg white lightly beaten

For the Glaze:

·       ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar 

·       ▢ 2 tablespoons milk

·       ▢ ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Danish:

1.    Position two oven racks towards the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2.    In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg yolk, lemon juice, and vanilla on medium-low speed until well combined.

3.    On a lightly floured surface, roll the homemade puff pastry into a 16x8-inch rectangle, cut in half lengthwise, and then into quarters crosswise, creating 8 (4-inch) squares. (If using store-bought puff pastry, lightly roll each sheet to flatten the creases and cut to make 8 (4-inch) squares.) Brush the edges of the squares lightly with the beaten egg white. Fold each corner in about 1 inch towards the center and gently press to adhere. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Brush any exposed pastry with egg white.

4.    Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling into the center of each pastry.

5.    Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate pans and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and puffed. Let cool on the baking sheet while making the glaze.

For the Glaze:

1.    While the pastries cool, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Drizzle over the warm pastries before serving.

NOTES:

Easy enough to make for Sunday brunch.

I had a half package of cream cheese (4 ounces) so I used that and decreased the other filling ingredients proportionately, more or less. It was plenty for 8 danish.

I made a half batch of glaze and still have leftovers. 

I used vanilla bean paste, just because.

 

Fiesta Chicken Tater Tot Hotdish

 

• 1 lb chicken breast (or hamburger, ground turkey, etc.)
• Envelope of taco seasoning OR , 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, 1 tsp each of cumin, dried cilantro, onion powder, 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 can corn drained
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles not drained
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Tater Tots or Crispy Crowns

Cook meat, add spices, canned stuff, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese. Mix it all together in a cast iron skillet or other baking dish, cover with remaining cheese and then tater tots.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until tots are browned. (Mine took longer.)

NOTES:

Use whatever taco stuff your kids like. I added a couple cups of leftover rice and it was good. It’s a one-dish, comfort food.