Orange Cranberry Muffins

 I LOVE these muffins.  They are so delicious.  And really, you can use gluten free flour and not even notice the difference.  They are so moist, sweet, and yummy.

Start by chopping up some pecans, zesting an orange or two, and chopping up some cranberries.  It isn't a necessity to chop the cranberries, but I think it is too much tartness in one bite if you leave the cranberries whole.

Also, just a tip - if you think that you like these muffins and may want to make them over the summer, I recommend going to the grocery store immediately and stocking up on cranberries.  Fresh cranberries are only sold in the grocery stores during winter.  Frozen cranberries work just as well, but they are way more expensive than the fresh ones.  I recommend buying a few bags of fresh cranberries and sticking them in the freezer so you can be prepared to have these delicious muffins year round.

 Okay, cranberry rant over.

Next, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl:  2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Then, whisk one egg, 2 teaspoons of orange zest, and 3/4 cup of sugar in a large bowl.  Once combined, whisk in 1 1/4 cup of sour cream.

Drizzle 1/4 cup of melted butter into the sour cream mixture and whisk to combine. Then pour the flour mixture into the sour cream mixture and gently mix with a rubber spatula until just combined.  Add in the cranberries and pecans.  Use as much cranberries and pecans as you like. 

Fill greased muffin pan with the batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until done.

Meanwhile...start the preparations for the delicious topping.

Make some orange sugar by combining some orange zest with some sugar. Rub together until the orange scent is noticeable and all orange zest is combined.

Also, prepare the orange glaze.  Combine 1/4 cup of orange juice with almost 3/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until it starts to thicken and is syrupy.

This is also the time you'll want to start cooking some breakfast sausage.  Of course this isn't a requirement, but maple sausage links pair nicely with the muffins.

Now the muffins are done!  Remove from oven and place the muffins on a plate.

One by one, brush each muffin top with the orange glaze and then dip into the orange sugar.  You'll need to do each one individually- glaze, then sugar- because the glaze starts to harden pretty quickly.

 

 See, lovely.

Serve with sausage and a hot cup of coffee.

Cranberry Wild Rice Pilaf

This is a wild rice pilaf with dried cranberries, toasted almonds, onion, and carrots.  It is both delicious and beautiful.

Start with all the ingredients: You'll need white rice, wild rice, chicken broth, craisins, pecans, butter, carrots, onions, and bay leaves.

It will end up looking so nice together!

Start by chopping up the pecans into small pieces.  Then toast them by spreading them on a cookie sheet and cooking them in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.  You'll know they are done when you start noticing the nutty aroma.  Don't let them burn!

Next,chop up the onions and carrots. You need one onion and one carrot.  The carrot is chopped into tiny pieces. Saute the carrot and onions with some butter until they begin to soften.  Stir in 1 1/2 cup of white rice.

In a separate pot, bring 2 1/4 cup of water to a boil.  Once the rice begins to turn translucent, add in the boiling water, cover, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is fully cooked and the water is all absorbed. 

Meanwhile, cook 1 cup of wild rice in 2 cups of chicken broth with some bay leaves.

Once both the wild rice and white rice are done, combine in one pan.  Add in dried cranberries and toasted pecans.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use however much cranberries and pecans you would like.  There is no need for measurements here, it is really just up to you.

Stuffed Zucchini

Stuffed Zucchini:  You'll need zucchini, black beans, corn, tomatoes, chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce, a red potato, onion, garlic, Monterrey jack cheese, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

First, slice the zucchini in half and scoop out the insides.  (The recipe for the stuffing will fill about 4 whole zucchinis / 8 halves).  I only made 2 zucchini and had a lot of stuffing remaining.

Brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place zucchini halves face down on a cookie sheet.

Next, chop up the red potato into small bite size pieces.  Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread onto a cookie sheet.

Cook both zucchini and potatoes in a 400 degree oven.  The zucchini should cook for about 10 minutes. The potatoes will take closer to 20 minutes.  Its an important step to cook the zuchinni before stuffing it.  It helps remove any excess water so the your zuchinni stuffing doesn't get too soggy.

Next, dice up two tomatoes, two ears of corn, one chilpotle pepper. 

Also mince up abut 5 garlic cloves and one onion.

Then cook the onion with a bit of olive oil over low-medium heat for about ten minutes until the onion starts to soften and turn translucent.  Then turn up the heat to medium - medium high.  Add the corn and cook for about three minutes.  Add in 1 teaspoon of chilpotle and the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Then add in the tomatoes, black beans, and roasted potatoes.

Lastly, add in some of the cheese into the mixture.  Spread mixture into zuchinni halves and top with shredded cheese.

Remove from oven when cheese is melted and zucchini is heated through.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Pistachio Crusted Chicken  - you wouldn't think that would be so hard to remember, right?

Well, my wife brought the leftovers to work.  And every single time someone asked her what she was eating, she said "Some kind of crusted chicken".

Well this is some kind of crusted chicken.  Or to be more specific, chicken encrusted in crushed pistachios, orange, and oregano.  This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated.

Start by processing 1 cup of pistachios in a food processor.  Use the pulse button repeatedly until they are a coarse crumb texture.

The folks at CI also recommend using 1 cup of panko bread crumbs.  Since my wife is gluten/yeast free, we couldn't use panko.  So instead I processed 1 cup of Schar's Gluten Free Crispbreads to create my own breadcrumb.

Next, chop up the oregano and zest the orange.  You need 1 teaspoon of oregano and about 1 teaspoon of orange zest.

Once all the ingredients are chopped and ready to go, begin browning about 4 tablespoons of butter.  Cook butter over low-medium heat until it starts to turn brown and have a nutty aroma.

Then 1 add diced shallot.

Next, add in the pistachio and bread crumbs and stir to combine.  Cook this for about 5-10 minutes.  Then remove the pistachio bread crumb mixture from heat and put it in a large shallow bowl.  Add oregano, orange zest, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. 

Next, set up three bowls. The first bowl should have flour.  Gluten free or regular, whatever you're preference.  The second bowl should have a mixture of 3 eggs, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.  The last bowl has the pistachio mixture.

Clean and DRY the chicken.  Dip in flour, then in egg mixture, and lastly in pistachio.

Place on a wire rack in a rimmed baking pan.

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until meat registers 160 degrees.

Serve with orange slices and enjoy.