Angel Shortbread Jam Bars

These cookies have an excellent effort to reward ratio. They are impossibly wonderful and yet easy to make. They were so good on my first attempt that it was all I could do not to eat the entire pan. There is something magical about the texture.

Ingredients

Dough:

1.5 sticks (.75 c or 6 oz.) salted butter

.33 c sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional, or use another flavor like almond or lemon if you prefer)

2 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

.5 cup jam (I used raspberry, but any kind of spread would work)

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Whisk in sugar and vanilla until blended. Using a spatula, mix in the flour, kneading thoroughly to make sure there are no flour streaks.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape them into logs about 1.5" in diameter (or a convenient size for your hand to hold for grating on a cheese grater).

Freeze the dough for 1-2 hours, or until firm enough to grate.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x9 (or 8x8)  pan with parchment paper (not strictly necessary, but will make it really easy to remove the bars).

Take the dough logs out of the freezer and grate one onto a large dinner plate. Dump the pile of dough shreds into the prepared pan and gently spread them to cover the bottom evenly. Don't press them down. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, grate the second log of dough onto the plate and heat up the jam if necessary to make it spreadable. It may not need it, depending on what you are using for filling. Mine did, since it was from the fridge and pretty solid. I used a glass measuring cup in the microwave, heating for 15 second intervals to make sure it didn't get too hot.

After 15 minutes, take the bottom layer of shortbread out of the oven. Gently spread the jam evenly over the shortbread leaving a tiny border of a little less than .25" to keep the jam from sticking to the pan. You might need more if you want a thicker jam layer. 

Dump the remaining dough shreds on top of the jam and gently spread them to cover the jam evenly and all the way to the edges. Be careful not to press too hard and smush the magic out of the fluffy shreds.

Put the shortbread back into the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is set. Watch carefully after 20 minutes to make sure the bottom doesn't get too browned. 

Cool them in the pan for 20 minutes to half an hour until they firm up. I cut them into small squares, so I get about 36 little cookies. 

Distracted Dish © 2013-2021

Grilled Chicken Breast

This very basic and flexible grilled chicken recipe was my first ever attempt at grilling chicken and it was the best chicken I have ever made. That isn't saying much because my chicken cooking skills are mediocre at best, but this chicken recipe worked wonders even for me. I sliced up the leftover chicken breast the next day and warmed it in a pan with canned black beans and taco sauce. It was very good served over rice as leftovers. That's saying a lot because I tend to really hate leftover chicken.

Ingredients
 

2 lbs chicken breast cut into about 5 oz fillets
.5 cup oil (I use half canola and half olive)
.25 cup lemon juice (I used bottled, but fresh would be good too)
.25 cup dry white wine (I used Frontera Sauvignon Blanc)
.25 cup water
.25 tsp ish garlic powder
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
.5 tsp pepper
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)


Method
 
Place chicken pieces into a gallon sized ziploc freezer bag.

Whisk together all ingredients, except for chicken, in a cup to make the marinade. Pour marinade over the chicken in the bag. Press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Flatten out the bag of chicken and put it on a plate in the fridge. Marinate for 30 minutes up to overnight. I usually do 45-1 hour.

Heat grill to 450. Use metal tongs to retrieve chicken pieces from the bag of marinade. Place chicken pieces over direct heat. Grill for 6 minutes. Flip and grill for 6 more minutes.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Easy Stir Fry

This stir fry recipe can be used with either diced or ground meat. I usually use ground turkey or diced chicken, but ground beef or diced/ground pork would work great too. The sauce is not sweet, but rather savory, salty, and little spicy. Make sure to use a large skillet, 12" at least, for best results. I usually serve this over rice and it cooks in the time rice takes to cook, so I start the rice first.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp oil
1 lb ground turkey, diced chicken, or other ground/diced meat

1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c dry white wine/rice wine/sherry (I use Sauvignon Blanc)
1/3 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp powdered garlic (or 2 cloves fresh minced garlic)
1/4 tsp powdered ginger (or 1 tsp fresh minced ginger)
pinch crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
dash black or white pepper
dash sesame oil (optional)
2 Tbsp cornstarch

4 - 5 cups frozen stir fry vegetable mix or sliced vegetables of your choice, such as peppers, carrots, broccoli, and snow peas.

Dry roasted unsalted peanuts for garnish (optional)


Method

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, then add meat and cook until browned (or just golden for chicken).

While the meat is browning combine sauce ingredients in a measuring cup, whisking to dissolve the cornstarch thoroughly. Make sure there are no corn starch lumps.

To speed things up you can also microwave frozen vegetables for a couple minutes to thaw them a bit, but don't cook them all the way.

Once the meat is cooked through add the vegetables and the sauce, mixing to coat the meat and vegetables thoroughly in sauce. If you use fresh vegetables, add them a bit before the sauce since they will need to cook a little longer than frozen. The sauce will thicken up quickly and you might need to add 1/4 cup or so more water to loosen it while the vegetables finish cooking.

Serve over rice with peanuts on top.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Rugelach

These are my new favorite cookie. They are addictive bite sized pastries in cookie form. They are easy to make, hard to screw up, and infinitely variable. 

Ingredients

Dough:

1 c all purpose flour

4 oz (1 stick or .5 c) salted butter

4 oz brick cream cheese (1/2 a brick)

1 tsp sugar (I used vanilla sugar)

.25 tsp salt

Filling:

.25-.33 c jam or other spread of choice (see notes at end for suggestions)

.5 c finely chopped or ground nuts and/or dried fruit (see notes at end for suggestions)

2 tsp cinnamon sugar

Place flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Cut cream cheese into .5" chunks, add them to the food processor, and pulse a few more times until the cream cheese is broken down into smaller pieces. Cut the butter into .5" chunks, add them to the food processor and process until the dough comes together into a single lump.

Dump the dough out of the food processor onto some plastic wrap and shape it into a disk. Refrigerate until chilled through, about an hour.

Divide the dough disk into two pieces. On a piece of parchment paper dusted with flour, roll out the first piece of dough into a rectangle about 12" by 8". Spread 1/2 the jam or other spread in a thin layer, leaving .5" on one long edge of the rectangle bare. You can heat the spread up a little bit if necessary to make it easier to spread.

Sprinkle 1 tsp cinnamon sugar on top of the jam then spread 1/2 the nut/fruit mixture evenly on top of the jam.

Start rolling the long side of the dough into into a log 12" long, sealing the edge with your fingers. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up. It's easier to slice that way and will be flakier when baked. Repeat with the other piece of dough. 

Heat oven to 350

Once both logs of dough are firm, take them out of the freezer and slice them into 1/2" slices with a sharp knife. Place the slices, upright, seal side down, onto 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. The lining is important to keep the filling from leaking and burning onto the cookie sheets. Gently press the slices to flatten the bottom so they are less likely to tip over. Some of the cookies will probably tip over and that is ok, it just means the filling will be a little more caramelized on the bottom. The cookies don't expand much so you don't have to leave more than an inch or so of space between them.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden and the inner rolls of dough look mostly set. Watch them carefully toward the end as the dough burns quickly. Cool on the cookie sheets for a couple minutes until set.

I made mine with raspberry jam and ground almonds. It was extremely tasty. Makes between 40 and 50 small cookies.

Other things I plan to try:

Marmalade with ground almonds and dried cranberries

Strawberry jam with ground almonds or hazelnuts

Date or Fig spread with walnuts or pecans and raisins or currants

Pumpkin or apple butter with walnuts or pecans and cranberries

Date spread with unsweetened flaked coconut and some lime zest

Nutella with hazelnuts

Cherry jam with almonds and dried cherries and maybe some dark chocolate

Lemon curd with dried blueberries and almonds

Honey with pistachios 

Maple syrup with walnuts or pecans

I also plan to try adding a little more sugar to the dough next time and maybe some complementary spices. This recipe is like a blank canvass with all the possible variations.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2021

Easy Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are sturdy, portable, and not too sweet. They are perfect for a convenient and not-too-guilty breakfast treat with coffee or tea. They freeze well and reheat in the toaster oven.

Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander (can't taste the coriander but it really brings out blueberry flavor - lemon zest, nutmeg, or cinnamon also work to accent blueberries)

Wet Ingredients
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups blueberries (could use a few more if you wanted because these are dense muffins so they won't get soggy)


Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease (or paper line) a 12 well muffin pan.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until completely smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, along with the blueberries. Gently mix with a spatula until just incorporated.  Do not over mix! The batter will be very thick. Almost like a soft drop cookie dough.

Distribute the dough equally among the cups. If you want you can fill them very high to use all of the batter in 12 muffins, which is fine. They won't spill because the dough is stiff. If you still have too much dough, start filling another tin or make a muffin cake in a small overflow pan.

Place the muffins in the oven and bake at 375°F for 18- 20 minutes. Test with a knife or skewer to make sure the centers of the muffins are done (knife comes out clean). Let the muffins cool in the muffin pan for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove them from the pan. Let cool at least another 10 minutes before eating.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Southwest Chicken Soup

This soup is inspired by chicken tortilla soups I have had a various restaurants. I have made versions of this at home many times because it is my husband's favorite. This is the best version I have made so far. I don't usually serve it with traditional restaurant garnishes, but with crushed tortilla chips.

Ingredients
2 large (or 3 small) chicken breast halves
olive oil to thinly coat chicken breasts
salt and chili powder to lightly coat chicken breasts

olive oil to barely coat bottom of large soup pot
1 large bell pepper, diced
pinch of salt
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
2 tsp chili powder

1 12-16 oz jar salsa (mild or medium, depending on heat preference)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
32 oz chicken broth (plus water until the desired broth consistency is reached)
2 Tbsp Ortega taco sauce or ketchup
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil

2 Tbsp masa harina + water to thin into pourable consistency

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Chipotle Tabasco sauce to taste (optiona1)

Method

Heat oven to 400. Place chicken breast halves in a casserole dish. Sprinkle chicken with olive oil, salt, and chili powder, turning to coat all sides. Roast chicken for 30 - 45 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast measures 165 degrees. Set chicken aside until cool enough to chop.

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute the peppers, with a pinch of salt, until softened.

Turn the heat to low, add the garlic and chili powder, and saute for one more minute until garlic is just fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the salsa and beans, turn the heat to medium high and cook for 5 minutes until mixture is bubbling and starts to cook down a little.

Add the broth, taco sauce/ketchup, oregano, basil, and water, if necessary, to thin the soup to taste.

Bring the soup to a low boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is done roasting.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice it into bite-sized chunks. Add the chicken to the soup pot along with any drippings and juices from the roasting pan. In a small dish, thoroughly mix the masa harina with water until smooth, pourable, and there are no lumps. Stir the masa liquid into the soup thoroughly and simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add parsley if desired.

Serve with tortilla strips for garnish or tortilla chips. This soup is also excellent with precooked/leftover rice stirred into each serving.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Sausage and Bean Soup

This soup is inspired by one we had at a pizza place in Cambridge, MA. It was so good I had to attempt to make it myself. This comes really close.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb mild or medium ground Italian sausage
1 tsp cracked fennel
2 - 3 carrots, diced fine
2 - 3 ribs celery, diced fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt (1/2 tsp if your broth is less salty or your salt is coarse ground)
1 tsp paprika (smoked paprika, if you've got it)
red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini), drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth (plus water until the desired broth consistency is reached)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil

2 cups chopped kale or spinach (frozen or fresh will work)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp dried)
salt and pepper to taste


In a large soup pot (at least 4 quart) saute the sausage in the olive oil over medium heat about 5
minutes, breaking it up to cook evenly. It should start to brown a little.

Add the fennel, carrots, celery, and salt, and cook another 10 minutes or so until they start to soften.

Turn the heat to low and add garlic, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or 2 until you start to smell the garlic. Add the wine, turn the heat to medium high and deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom.

Add the beans, broth, bay leaf, thyme, basil, and enough water to get the desired consistency. Bring the soup to a low boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots and celery are soft.

When the vegetables are soft, add greens and parsley. Simmer another 5 minutes, or until the greens are just tender. Remove the bay leaf, taste the broth and adjust salt, pepper, and spices. Add more wine or a splash of red wine vinegar if desired.

Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread (or pizza).

Bon appetit!

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017