Incredible Coconut Cake

Cake Ingredients:

5 eggs, separated

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2-1/4 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups flaked coconut, chopped

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Frosting Ingredients:

2 packages (one 8 ounces, one 3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup butter, softened

4-1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

1-1/4 teaspoons coconut extract

2 cups flaked coconut, toasted

Directions

Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°. In another large bowl, beat sugar, butter and oil until well blended. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts.

                 

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in coconut.

               

Add cream of tartar to egg whites; with clean beaters, beat on medium until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites.

               

Transfer to three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

               

For frosting, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and extract; beat until smooth.

               

Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting and sprinkle with 1/3 cup coconut. Repeat. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake; sprinkle with remaining coconut. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 servings.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

(I cook them all day on low in a crock pot with 10.75 ounces cream of chicken soup, but you could just boil the chicken if you wanted to.)

1 pound fresh green beans, already snapped & cooked

1 sweet onion, chopped

8 stalks of celery, sliced

½ pound baby carrots, sliced

4 medium gold potatoes, cubed

32oz. chicken stock

2 cups of water

2 T. butter

2 T. all purpose flour

pepper to taste

10.75 ounces Cream of Chicken soup (They sell this in organic at Whole Foods, or you could make your own from scratch…)

Cook chicken and green beans; set aside. In a stock pot, sautee onion, celery, and carrots with 2T. of butter and 2 cups of water. When the water begins to cook out, add chicken stock, pepper, and raw potato cubes and boil for approximately 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. Slowly add 2T. of flour, lightly sprinkling throughout the pot and stirring constantly (to thicken the soup a little.) Next, add Cream of Chicken soup and stir until combined. Stir in green beans and chicken, and allow soup to bubble for a couple of minutes until incorporated. If it’s too thick, thin with a little additional chicken stock…but add slowly and stir constantly; the soup should have a thick consistency. Serve with thin biscuits on top as a garnish.

Thin Biscuits

1 cup self-rising flour

5 T. cold butter

Half & Half - about 1/3 cup

Milk – a couple of teaspoons

Additional butter for glazing

Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour. Add half & half a little at a time until dough leaves sides of bowl. Cover dough with a little flour and place on waxed paper. Roll out about 1/3 inch thick on floured waxed paper. Cut with cookie cutters, and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush ready-to-bake biscuits lightly with milk. Bake at 350 until just slightly brown…usually about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush lightly with additional butter, and place decoratively on top of soup bowls.

(To make this recipe “Organic,” buy all organic ingredients.)

Salted Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes 18 cookies

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
• 1 cup organic raisins
• Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for a few minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, beating until the mixture is well blended. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until well incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and oats, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary and mixing just until they are incorporated. Add raisins. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour before baking. (I usually go ahead and freeze the dough in 2" balls on a cookie sheet.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Form the dough into golf ball-size balls and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sea salt gently on top of each ball of dough, as you would sugar. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 15 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and beginning to turn golden, being careful not to overbake. (The cookies should have a tender interior.) Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

  

from The Food Network
Ingredients

Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lemon, zest finely grated

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

You can make the lemon glaze in a double boiler, or for a simpler alternative, you can zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' until dissolved in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water for the double-boiler method, or in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest. Either nuke the glaze for 30 seconds or continue whisking in the double boiler. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving. (I always double glaze these.)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

· 1 Tbsp olive oil
· 1 medium onion, chopped
· 3 garlic cloves, minced
· 1 jalapeno pepper , seeded and diced
· 1 tsp ground cumin
· 1 tsp chilli powder
· 1 lb chicken breasts, (2 medium)
· 20 oz can crushed tomatoes
· 32 oz chicken broth
· 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
· 14 oz can corn, drained and rinsed
· 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, divided (reserve 1/4 of it for garnish)
· 1 lime, juiced
· 1 tsp salt, or to taste

Homemade Tortilla Strips
· 1/4 cup olive oil
· 8 corn tortillas (6" tortillas)

Toppings
· 1 large avocado, diced
· 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Instructions

Tortilla Strips:

1. Preheat a pan with 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry them in batches in the hot oil until crisp. Remove from the pan and allow them to drain on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil as needed then set aside.

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1. Preheat a pot with oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and chopped jalapeño and sauté until veggies soften.

2. Add whole chicken breasts, corn, beans, chilli powder, cumin, crushed tomatoes, salt, ¼ cup of cilantro and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 25 minutes.

3. Remove chicken from the pot and shred it using 2 forks. Add shredded chicken back to the soup and simmer another 5 minutes then add lime juice. 

4. Serve the soup with some tortilla strips, pieces of avocado, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

Chicken Noodle Soup

3 celery stalks
3 large carrots (or 30 baby carrots)
2 T. butter
salt & pepper
1 can of chicken broth
2 – 32oz. chicken stock
3 T. flour
1 lb. chicken tenderloins
1 lb. pasta or egg noodles

In a saucepan, boil chicken tenderloins in one can of chicken broth until tender. Let cool; chop chicken and save broth. Slice carrots and celery. Sautee carrots and celery in a small stockpot with butter, salt & pepper, and about 1 cup of the chicken stock until veggies are tender and most of stock is evaporated. Sprinkle flour over celery & carrots, stirring until evenly spread. Cook for 2 minutes, and slowly add chicken stock, while stirring, until stock incorporates with the flour. Add remaining stock and the broth from the chicken saucepan; bring to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta and chopped chicken, and cook according to recommended pasta time (usually 8-11 minutes, depending on shape.) 

Serve with grilled provolone & american cheese sandwiches. 

Chunky Chocolate Pecan Salty Oat Cookies

[Similar to Kayak Cookies]

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature


3/4 cup brown sugar, (mostly light)


1/2 cup, scant ounces sugar


1 teaspoon baking powder


¼ teaspoon baking soda


¼ teaspoon salt


2 large eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

½ ounce coconut, shredded & lightly toasted


1 1/2 cup pecans, toasted & chopped


1 bag of semisweet chocolate chunks (12 oz.)

1 cup ghirardelli milk chocolate chips

Sea salt, for light sprinkling

In stand mixer, beat the butter for a few minutes on med-high until fluffy. Add sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, beating until well blended. Reduce the speed to medium and add eggs & vanilla, mixing until well incorporated. Add the flour, oats, coconut, nuts and chocolate, and mix by hand until everything is incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour before baking.

Preheat oven to 375, use parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Form the dough into balls (mine are 2 ounces, Kayak's top 3 ounces) and place about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Sprinkle sea salt generously on top of each ball of dough, as you would sugar. Bake 13 - 15 minutes or until the cookies are puffed & beginning to turn golden, being careful not to over bake. (The cookies should have a tender interior.) Cool on wire rack.

Notes:
You can pre-make the dough and freeze in 2" balls; then just remove the ones you want to bake from the freezer about 20 minutes before baking.

This also makes delicious breakfast cookie cake, decorated with cream cheese icing. It takes about 25-30 minutes to cook in a 9x13 dish.