No Empty Chairs

March 13, 2019 · 10:29 am

Lemon Chicken Piccata Stir-Fry

This simple chicken stir-fry is perfect for a last minute meal. You can easily have it on the table in less than 30 minutes. Flavored with fresh lemon slices and tarragon this is a wonderfully light meal that can be served over rice or a bed of steamed vegetables.

A traditional lemon chicken piccata is made with a similar sauce, but the chicken is kept whole, usually pounded thin. This recipe preserves those flavors, but with quick-cooking thin sliced chicken.

In full disclosure, this meal is not enjoyed by everyone in our family. Five of us absolutely love it, but two don’t really like it (and one of those is my husband). They are not fans of “fruity” main dishes, even lemon, which I don’t understand because the lemon adds no sweetness. Since my husband isn’t a big fan, I usually wait until he is out of town or has another dinner commitment to make it. The other kids love it so much, though, that they will start asking when Dad is going out of town again so that we can eat Chicken Piccata.

RECIPE:

Lemon Chicken Piccata Stir-Fry

Servings: 4-6
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4 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
¼ cup butter
2 Tbs flour
2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 lemon, sliced (remove seeds)
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

Hot cooked rice or steamed vegetables, for serving

Melt butter in a hot skillet. Add chicken slices. Sprinkle with flour, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add sliced lemon. Cook until lemon starts to slightly wilt and chicken is cooked through. Stir in chicken broth, stirring to loosen browned bits. Cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened and lemons have leeched most of their juice. Stir in parsley.

Remove lemon slices and serve chicken piccata over hot steamed rice or steamed vegetables.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Hearty Beef Minestrone Soup

As a polar vortex takes hold of the country, there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of hearty beef minestrone soup and warm homemade bread.

Chock-full of tender ground beef, vegetables, beans, and pasta, this soup is very filling and is especially good topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Some of us here are avoiding pasta these days, so I sometimes cook the pasta separately and let people add it to their soup when they dish it up.

This soup also freezes wonderfully. So make a big crock-pot full and set some aside to eat another day. The one thing you need to do when freezing this soup is to freeze the soup WITHOUT the pasta stirred in. Freeze the cooked pasta separately and add the pasta when you reheat the soup. If you freeze the pasta in the soup, it will be mushy when you reheat it.

For a delicious bread to serve with your soup, try one of these recipes:

Whole Wheat Bread, or Rolls:

Crescent Dinner Rolls:

Crescent Rolls 2

RECIPE:

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Servings: 12
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2 Tbs olive oil
1-2 lb ground beef (use 2 lb for a thick soup)
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6-8 cups beef broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can white beans, drained
1 small can (6oz) tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet or beef bouillon base
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup small pasta shapes
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

In a large pot, brown ground beef in olive oil; drain excess fat. Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook until tender. Add broth, Rotel tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, carrots, celery, and cabbage. Bring to a boil; simmer 30 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook about 10 minutes, just until pasta is tender. Add additional water if soup is too thick. Remove bay leaf. Taste and add additional salt, if needed. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

To cook in crock pot: Brown ground beef, onions, and garlic as above. Place in crock pot. Add remaining ingredients (except for Parmesan) and cook on low for about 8 hours. Turn to high heat, add pasta, and cook until pasta is tender, about 30 minutes.

To freeze soup: Prepare as above, but do not add pasta. Place in freezer containers and freeze. Cook pasta separately in water. Drain, cool, and freeze pasta separately. Add cooked pasta to soup after thawing and reheating.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as beef, crock pot, ground beef, main dish, minestrone, pasta, recipe, slow cooker, soup, vegetable

December 14, 2018 · 5:30 am

Top Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies (Honorable Mentions)

These cookies did not make the Top 12, but were close runners-up. If you are looking for more baking ideas, these are sure to please! Also included are some of our favorite Christmas candies.

Top Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies Recap

After an extensive process of nominations and voting, these are the cookies that our family voted as their favorites. It is not an exhaustive list, and the voting may have been skewed by the child who hates anything chocolate. Tomorrow I will share a few Honorable Mentions and some favorite Christmas candies.

Merry Christmas and Happy Baking!

DAY 1: Christmas Cherry Pecan Cookies

DAY 2: Lofthouse Style Soft Sugar Cookies

DAY 3: Swedish Peppar KaKar (soft, mild gingerbread)

DAY 4: Russian Teacakes

DAY 5: Sugar Cookies

DAY 6: Chewy Molasses Cookies

DAY 7: Andes & Rolo Cookies

DAY 8: Scottish Shortbread

DAY 9: Old-Fashioned Coconut Macaroons

DAY 10: Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookies

DAY 11: Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

DAY 12: Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints

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Tagged as baking, christmas, Cookies, dessert, recipe, Twelve days of Christmas

December 12, 2018 · 5:29 am

Top Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

DAY 12: Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

Four of my five children voted this cookie as their favorite all-time Christmas cookie.

I like to make these cookies with a homemade caramel filling. With a candy thermometer, the caramel filling comes together quickly and turns a good cookie into a fabulous one!

You can also make the filling with melted packaged caramels. If you want to take the “easy” route and buy a bag of Kraft Caramels, that recipe can be found HERE.

Here is my tip for getting a good deep pocket for all of that amazing caramel: Use the back of a rounded measuring spoon and press it into the center of each cookie. I use a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon on the raw cookie dough before baking:

Then I use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon on the hot, baked cookie. (The cookies do spread a little when they are baked, leaving a larger opening). This is a good alternative to actually using (and burning) your thumbs.

ORIGINAL BLOG POSTS:

(2017): Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies with Homemade Caramel Filling

(2009): Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies with Filling made from Packaged Caramels

RECIPE:

Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

Servings: 4 dozen
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1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, separated
¼ cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups finely chopped pecans

Homemade Caramel Filling (recipe below)

Glaze:
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs corn syrup

Prepare Cookies: Combine butter, sugar, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Beat until well combined. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place egg whites in a small bowl. Place finely chopped pecans in a bowl. Set aside. Roll dough into balls. Dip balls into egg white and then into pecans. (I find this easier if I make a whole baking sheet worth of dough balls, then dip them in egg/pecans). Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make a small indentation in the center of each cookie with the back of measuring spoon (I use a ½ teaspoon) or your thumb.

Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes, or until cookies are set.

While cookies are still hot, press center again (use the back of a round 1 teaspoon measuring spoon). Cool.

Prepare Caramel Filling (recipe below).
Spoon small amount of warm caramel into centers of baked cookies. Carefully remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Prepare Chocolate Glaze: Combine bittersweet chips, butter, and corn syrup in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 20-30 seconds if not melted. Let cool slightly. Pour chocolate into a small Ziploc freezer bag. Poke a hole in the corner of the bag (a bamboo skewer makes a perfect sized hole). Drizzle chocolate over the cooled cookies. Cool until set.

To store: refrigerate or freeze cookies in individual layers; then store between layers of waxed paper in the refrigerator or freezer. They can also be stored at room temperature, but if you stack them, they will stick together.

Homemade Caramel Filling

1 cup unsalted butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbs heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp sea salt

Combine butter, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, corn syrup, and heavy cream in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium low, maintaining a low but continuous simmer, until caramel reaches 235°F (soft ball stage), stirring occasionally. This will take about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as caramel, caramel filling, christmas, Cookies, homemade caramel, pecans, recipe, thumbprints

December 11, 2018 · 5:38 am

Top Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

DAY 11: Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

The votes for the top two favorite Christmas cookies in our house were very close. These were the runner-up.

My linzer cookies are not a traditional European linzer cookie which usually has an almond flour based dough that is spiced with cinnamon and fruit extracts. The traditional cookie also comes out crispy rather than soft. (I am almost always in the soft cookie camp.) I use one of my sugar cookie dough recipes to make these, but roll the dough thinner than I do for regular sugar cookies. As long as you don’t overbake them, these cookies stay soft and tender after baking.

These cute cookies are also a great addition to a wedding cookie table.

Linzer cookie cutters usually come in a set. This is a Christmas set, but there are also other fun varieties. To keep the dough from sticking to your center cookie cutter, dip it in flour before each cut (tap on counter to remove any excess flour). A toothpick is a good way to get out the center piece of dough.

Save those tiny centers. They make great tiny sugar cookies!

Warm the jam in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir until smooth. Frost a bottom cookie with the almond frosting and top with a small dollop of seedless raspberry jam. Place a cut-out cookie on top and press down slightly.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies. I will usually use half of the dough to make Linzer Cookies and the other half to make regular sugar cookies.

ORIGINAL BLOG POST (2009): Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

RECIPE:

Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies

Servings: 8-9 dozen
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Cookie Dough:
3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
About 7 – 7 ½ cups flour
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Filling:
1 cup butter, softened
2 Tbs heavy cream or milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 lb (about 4 cups) powdered sugar
12 oz jar seedless raspberry jam, about 1 ½ cups

For Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, beat together sugar, butter, sour cream, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Mix in 4 cups of flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Chill for 20 minutes to 1 hour for easier handling.

Roll dough fairly thin, about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut cookies with a linzer cookie cutter or use small round cookie cutter and smaller designed cookie cutter to make tops and bottoms. Be sure to cut out even numbers of cookie tops and bottoms.

Bake at 375°F for 5-6 minutes; do not brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

For Filling: Combine butter, cream, vanilla and almond extracts in a large mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar. Frost the bottom side of each solid cookie (without the cut-out) with a small amount of frosting.

Heat raspberry jam in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make it easier to spread. Use a small spoon to place about ½ tsp raspberry jam in the center of the frosting on each cookie.

Place top cookie (with cut-out design) over filling and jam. Store in refrigerator.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as almond filling, christmas, Christmas cookies, Cookies, linzer, raspberry, recipe, wedding cookies