Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway

Taken from Good Things Catered

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 - 2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 - 2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a heavy baking sheet with parchment.
• In large bowl combine dry ingredients, caraway and raisins.
• Whisk to combine.
• Add buttermilk and slowly fold in with a spoon until it starts to come together.
• Turn dough out onto floured surface and with floured hands, divide into two and knead one half until just coming together.
• Form dough ball into 6 by 2 inch disk and place on prepared baking sheet.
• Repeat with other half of dough, placing the two disks as far apart as you can on the baking sheet.
• Cut cross in top of dough and place in oven.
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until middle of loaf is set and outside has started to brown to a light golden color.
• Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter.
• Let cool on pan for 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely or let cool for 10 more minutes and serve warm.

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Taken from Telly's Tasty Tidbits

4 b/s chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of celery soup
8 oz sour cream
1 package Stove-Top Chicken and Herb stuffing, cooked per instructions on the box
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen green beans

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 and spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
• Place chicken in bottom of prepared dish
• In a bowl mix soup and sour cream and top on chicken
  
• Add cheese
• Top with prepared Stuffing mixture
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is done and casserole is bubbling and golden!

Tzatziki

Taken from Elly Says Opa

1 32 oz container of plain Greek yogurt
1 hothouse cucumber or 2 regular cucumbers, seeded
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
salt and a little pepper
squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Strain yogurt using a cheesecloth over a bowl (if you don’t have that, a strainer lined with a coffee filter will work) for several hours or overnight to get out as much moisture as possible.

Peel and seed the cucumber. Shred the cucumbers and then squeeze the life out of them to get rid of as much excess moisture as possible. I use a towel to do this, and you will get a lot of liquid so don’t skip this step!

Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice (if desired). Salt to taste. It’s best to refrigerate for 30 minutes or more before serving, so flavors can meld.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Shish Kabobs

Taken from Elly Says Opa

1 lb lamb or pork tenderloin, cut into chunks
peppers, onions, or any other vegetables you would like, cut into chunks
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Mix lemon juice, oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Put meat and vegetables in a large ziplock bag and pour marinade mixture into bag. Seal and shake bag. Refrigerate for several hours.

Place meat and veggies on skewers (if you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about half an hour beforehand, so they don’t char). Grill!

Chicken Gyros

Taken from Elly Says Opa

1.25 lbs. chicken pieces
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1/2 batch of tzatziki
sliced tomatoes
sliced red onions
4 pitas

Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the broiler (or grill, or pan on the stove). Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and then broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending what size/type chicken you are using. Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.

Top the pita with the chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, onions. Roll up and eat!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies
Taken from Emeril Lagasse

1/2 pound, plus 1 teaspoon butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and rough chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1/2 pound of the butter and the brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until a smooth batter is formed. While the machine is running, add the eggs and vanilla extract, until incorporated into the batter.

Sift together 3 cups flour and baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until a dough is formed. Very gently, by turning the mixer on and then off, fold the chips and nuts into the dough.

Once the dough is all blended, grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan (I used a 9x13 pan, and still felt they were sufficiently thick) with the remaining butter and dust with the 1 tablespoon of flour. Pour the batter into the pan and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until set yet still moist.

Thai Cashew Chicken

Taken from A Mingling of Tastes by Julie

Slice the chicken as thinly as possible so it cooks quickly. Use a very sharp knife and cut at an angle as if you are slicing a flank steak. If you don't have dried chiles, sprinkle in some hot red pepper flakes, since you really should have at least a little heat in this dish. The Thai chili paste is irreplaceable as far as I know. Luckily, you can get it online here and probably in well-stocked markets.

Serves 4

3 tbs. canola oil, divided
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 tbs. Thai chili paste (Mae Pranom brand)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tbs. sugar
6 dried red chiles (such as chiles de arbol)
Generous 1/2 cup raw cashews, toasted (or substitute dry roasted, unsalted cashews)
5 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
Steamed Thai jasmine rice, for serving

Heat 1 tbs. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken, season with salt and pepper and stir fry until cooked through. Put the chicken in a bowl and set aside. Repeat with 1 tbs. of the oil and the rest of the chicken.

Add the remaining oil to the empty skillet and heat. Add the chili paste, stirring constantly to break it up for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, red bell pepper, onion, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir well and simmer for 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, return the chicken to the skillet and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened and the vegetables are tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chiles, cashews and scallions, stir to combine and serve immediately over rice.

Homemade Samoas Bars

Taken from Dinner & Dessert by Erin

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping:

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12 ounces good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.