navygreen: (Me: flake)
navygreen ([personal profile] navygreen) wrote2010-01-24 12:26 am

Dinner and dessert.

Tonight was A.J.'s choice in the meal plan. (Well, he didn't pick it tonight, but he chose it back when I was planning, and today was his slot in the menu.) He chose a new recipe for us all to try, based on a picture in a cookbook.

Curried Honey Barbecue Chicken.
Curried Honey Barbecue Chicken.


I served it over brown rice, pairing it with sugar snap peas and mandarin oranges. I thought it was super-tasty, and I will definitely be adding the recipe to our permanent collection! I'll share it, in case anyone else is interested.


Curried Honey Barbecue Chicken
  • 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

  • 1 tsp. curry powder

  • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

  • 1/2 cup chopped onion

  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

  • 1 bottle (18 oz.) honey barbecue sauce

  • hot cooked rice


Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set fruit and juice aside. Sprinkle chicken with curry powder. In a large skillet, brown the chicken on both sides in oil over medium-high heat (6-7 minutes on each side). Remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, saute the onion, green pepper, and pineapple until vegetables are tender and pineapple is golden brown. Stir in barbecue sauce and reserved pineapple juice. Return chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Curried Honey Barbecue Chicken.


We had dessert tonight as well, though it wasn't planned ahead of time. I had a few apples I needed to use up, and I thought it would be nice to make fresh cookies to welcome our next-door neighbors back home. (We've been their 'Quarters Watch' for the last two weeks or so.) One of my old faves - Apple Spice Drops - fit both bills nicely. I generally use Granny Smith apples for baking, but in this case, I used up the Braeburns I had in the fruit bowl. It worked just as beautifully!

Apple Spice Drops.
Apple Spice Drops.


They are a light, fluffy apple cookie frosted in an apple buttercream. Oh, but I could eat a dozen of these at one time, I swear!


Apple Spice Drops
  • 1/2 cup butter

  • 2/3 cup sugar

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1/4 cup apple juice

  • 1 cup finely chopped tart apple

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg


In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and apple juice. Combine the dry ingredients; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in apple and walnuts.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2" apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:
  • 1/4 cup butter

  • 1 tsp. vanilla

  • 3 cups powdered sugar

  • 3-4 Tbsp. apple juice


Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together; add enough apple juice to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies. Store in airtight container.

Yield: 3-1/2 dozen cookies

Apple Spice Drops.


I need to make myself an icon for all these "Food Porn" posts. I love baking (and cooking, occasionally), and I find it so fun to take pictures of the creations!

[identity profile] dim-stars.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 07:06 am (UTC)(link)
i was going to suggest you need a food porn set on flickr, and then I looked, AND YOU HAD ONE.

awesome... :)

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 07:11 am (UTC)(link)
LOLOLOLOL. Yep, I do. What I do not have here on LJ, however, is a "food porn" tag. Because, basically, I started taking small pics of food long before I started taking good pics of food, before I ever would have dreamed of a world with food pics so good they could make your panties mouth wet... and thus needed to be coined actual "porn."

And now I've just been too lazy to go back and change all the tags to 'food porn.' Heee!

[identity profile] saffirebleu.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 07:29 am (UTC)(link)
You are my hero. Everything looks delicious.

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww, shucks. *toes dirt*

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
That curried honey barbecue chicken looks amazing. I may just have to save this entry.

The apple spice drops look a lot like the frosted butterscotch cookies I grew up eating at my Grandma's house.

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I know I had typed out the recipe for the cookies somewhere in here before, but now it's better - there's a pic. ;-)

[identity profile] gardenmama.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't believe you don't at least have a baking icon! Baking queen that you are ;)

That chicken recipe looks really good. We've been having a food battle here lately. Maybe I should get the cookbooks out and let the boys look through them and pick one or two new things that they'd like to try. I wish more cookbooks had pictures of each recipe in them, instead of 4-5 recipes per page but only one picture.

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
It's funny because this chicken recipe was featured in the 'Kids in the Kitchen' section of that particular cookbook. I have NO idea why, as I don't see a single kid-friendly instruction in it!

[identity profile] cupcaked.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Please come and live in my crappy student flat and cook me this amazing food.......................

All I can say is YUM!

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
LOL, I would if I could! Everyone deserves to eat pretty food. :-)

[identity profile] woodyinvincible.livejournal.com 2010-01-25 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I want to be your neighbor.

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
LOL. For sure, I would feed you. :-)

[identity profile] deza.livejournal.com 2010-01-25 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
You are more than welcome to my Food Porn icon...

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Hehe, yours really cracked me up! Thanks for the offer, but I keep rolling this one idea around in my head... we'll see if I ever get it made. ;-)

[identity profile] scarletharlot52.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
Hey Brat, are the cookies any good without the icing?

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
They ARE. They definitely are! I always run out of icing with 5-6 still left, and I love those *almost* as much. They're a very light cookie, but the ones with no icing are great to pop in the microwave the next day for a few seconds - the warm taste is reminiscent of a fresh apple bread. :-)

[identity profile] scarletharlot52.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks....I love apple stuff but I'm not that fond of iced cookies so it's good to know that the icing is not necessary. Hm...might just have to give some a shot tonight, I have all the ingredients!!

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
Go for it! This recipe only makes 3.5 dozen cookies, so you won't be making batches for too long. You'll be glad you did. :-)

[identity profile] scarletharlot52.livejournal.com 2010-01-26 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
Well, we're going to wait until tomorrow...will let you know how they go. I'm sure we will love them!

[identity profile] scarletharlot52.livejournal.com 2010-01-27 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
Just made the first batch, and they are good - love the apple taste - but I think I like my cookies heartier and would like a stronger apple taste. It gives me a good starting point for sure! Thanks, Brat!

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-27 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
Maybe this would work well as an addition?

[identity profile] scarletharlot52.livejournal.com 2010-01-27 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
Wow! Good link!

One thing I will say is that the cookies go well with a nice glass of port. Very tasty!!

[identity profile] navygreen.livejournal.com 2010-01-27 07:32 am (UTC)(link)
That website is entirely full of TONS of yummy goodies. I would love to have the 'Cocoa of the Month' Club, but yikes at the price!