This month for Pantry Party the theme is stuffed.  In March I did the breaded theme and got some great innovative takes on the theme. I decided that this month’s theme would once again go on the vague route, having stuffed be the theme. I feel like it could go in many different directions. So far there’s only one entry (besides my rolls). I’d love to see how else people decide to use their pantries to make something stuffed.

I decided to make bread and stuff them with curried chicken. I followed a recipe for the bread product and for the process of making the buns stuffed with meat. I don’t make yeast breads very often, but this is the perfect time of year foe me to make them because I can get the bread to rise perfectly. When it’s colder out my house just can’t get warm enough for the yeast to want to rise.

I should deem this the summer of breads and bar exam.

Chicken Stuffed Rolls
(source)

Ingredients

FOR THE BREAD:
1 packet active dry yeast
2 tbsp warm water
1/2 cup milk
salt, to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
white sesame seeds, for sprinkling

FOR THE FILLING:
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic chili paste
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
pinch ground cumin

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine the yeast, warm water, 1/2 tbsp of sugar, and 1/2 tbsp flour. Let sit for 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. Boil the milk in a pot. Let cool down to room temperature. Add the oil, salt, and the remaining sugar. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add a cup of flour and mix into a smooth paste.

3. Add the egg and the yeast to the flour paste. Mix well. Add the remaining flour and stir together until a soft dough forms.

4. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a floured surface. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit in a warm place for an hour, letting the dough double in size.

5. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and saute the onions and garlic, until fragrant. Add the chicken, chili paste, and the remaining spices. Cook together for about 5 minutes.

6. After the dough has doubled, punch it down. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces.

7. Flatten each portion with the palm of your hand. Place 1/12 of the chicken filling in the flat dough circle. Shape the dough into a ball, with the chicken filling in the middle.

8. Let sit on a baking sheet for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400.

9. Bake the rolls 12 minutes.

* Besides Pantry Party, this dish is being shared with Mix It Up Monday & Mealtime Monday

Like I said last month, for some reason, recently all these We Should Cocoa themes keep bringing me back to muffins. I went from Nigella’s chocolate chocolate muffins, to honey banana chocolate chip muffins, and now to these mango muffins. Now.. I could have made it a quick bread instead and made it into a loaf, but part of me wanted to stay in this muffin groove because I love muffins.

The downfall with muffins is I have a hard time just eating one and yesterday I ate far too many muffins for one human being. I had one for breakfast this morning too. The mango/chocolate combination is perfect.

This month’s We Should Cocoa is hosted by Allotment 2 Kitchen. You should join!
For those who don’t know, We Should Cocoa comes from the love and support of Chocolate Log Blog and Chocolate Teapot.

Speaking of mangoes, my brother has requested for his birthday that I make him a mango cake. I have several recipes pulled. Besides the “mango cake” he didn’t give any other suggestions on flavors or type of cake, so that’s free reign for me. Does anyone reading this have some ideas for recipes that might work? So far I have:

Tres Leches Cake with Mango Whipped Cream
Chunky Fresh Mango Cake
Mango Cream Cake

Any other ones you suggest I look at?

Spiced Mango Chocolate Chip Muffins
(source)

Ingredients
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups mango, chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, and applesauce.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, sugar, brown sugar, and baking powder.

3. Once mixed together, pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture. Stir together to get rid of any dry clumps. Once well mixed, fold in the mango and the chocolate chips.

4. Spoon into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from tin and place on a wire rack until completely cooled.

* makes a dozen muffins
* Besides We Should Cocoa, this dish is being shared with Wednesday Whatsits & Cast Party Wednesday

This week’s kitchen traveling adventure took me to Taiwan. If you love Chinese food, you will love Taiwanese food. Essentially the difference is that Taiwanese food adds some local Taiwanese flair using local ingredients.

In my International Law class last semester we actually talked quite a bit about Taiwan. Though I’m considering Taiwan its own country for purposes of my food travels, Taiwan actually is not considered a sovereign nation in international matters and instead is considered part of the People’s Republic of China (Taiwan is formally known as the Republic of China.) I’m sure the reason for the similar foods is due to these cultural identities and the international view of Taiwan’s and China’s relationship.

Now that I’ve given you a mini-lesson the big of the day is: I’m done with law school!!! Well, that’s hoping I passed everything.. But done for now!

And in other other news, I forgot to photograph this dish after the basil was added as garnish.

Three Cup Chicken
(source)

Ingredients
4 chicken drumsticks, skinned with the meat cut off and cut into chunks
3 slices ginger, peeled
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white wine
Thai basil, chopped
1/2 tbsp baking soda

Directions

1. Sprinkle the chicken with the baking soda. Set aside for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes has passed, wash the baking soda off the chicken, making sure to get it all off.

2. In a skillet (I used my cast iron) heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant. Add in the chicken and stir around a few times. Add the soy sauce and white wine and continue to stir-fry. Cover the chicken and on low bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the basil and stir into the chicken. Serve over rice.

* serves 2
* shared with Tasteful Tuesday & Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

I’m part of the website swap-bot. I participate in a lot of recipe swaps. Recently one of the swaps I participated in was called Send Me Some New Recipes. The swap required that you mail an envelope with at least 25 recipes in it, taken from anywhere. I sent recipes to my partners cut from magazines, handwritten from my personal collection, and printed from blogs online. One of the envelopes I received was a ton (25) recipes written on neon index cards. I added these to my recipe box collection, which has become significantly fuller since I started swap-bot.

This recipe was written on a neon green index card. This was a super easy recipe and was very delicious.

Taco Salad

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp Penzey’s Bold Taco spice
3/4 cup water
10 cups romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup salad dressing of choice
1/2 cup tortilla chips, crushed
sour cream, optional (also, guacamole could work!)

Directions

1. In a large skillet cook the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the taco spice and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl combine the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and cheese. Stir in the ground beef. Drizzle with the salad dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the crushed chips. Serve with option sour cream or guacamole (or both!) on top.

* serves 5
* shared with Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, & #Foodie Friday

The next country in my around-the-world adventure was Mexico. Though I make Mexican food frequently, I decided to search online for authentic Mexican recipes. My searching led me to Receta de Costillas de Res en Salsa Verde, or.. Braised Short Ribs In Tomatillo Sauce. Actually though, the literal translation is Beef Ribs Recipe for Green Salsa.

Anyway – I made the ribs and served it over tortilla chips. I don’t use tomatillos nearly as often as I should and every time I do, I’m always excited at how neat they are. If you’ve never had the opportunity to cook with tomatillos before, you should make yourself the opportunity now! And cook these ribs!

Braised Short Ribs in Tomatillo Sauce
(source)

Ingredients
2 lbs beef short ribs
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, peeled
2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno pepper
1 cup cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs to the pot and brown on each side.  Add 1/2 cup of water and cover the pot with a lid. Cook on medium heat for 1 1/2 hours.

2. While the meat is cooking place a griddle over medium-high heat. Roast the tomatillos, garlic, and jalapeno until charred.

3 . Once the meat is cooked, add the tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, and some salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Remove 1/2 cup of the meat juice from the cooked ribs and add the juice to the food processor. Process everything in the food processor, until well combined and a sauce is formed.

4. Remove the ribs from the pot. Add the tomatillo salsa to the pan and cook for three minutes.

5. With two forks, remove the beef from the ribs, shredding it into pieces. Add the meat back into the pot with the salsa and cook for 3 more minutes.

* serves 6
* Shared with Full Plate Thursday, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, & Catch A Glimpse Party

Final number one is out of the way. I have three finals and a paper until I’ll no longer be a law student, but will start studying for the bar exam instead. I guess that’s still sort of a law student though, isn’t it? I probably should be studying for my exam for tomorrow, but I feel sort of brain dead after the one I had today.

On Sunday of this week I made this delicious hamburger. Infused with Asian flavors, this made such a great meal. And instead of serving it just with french fries, I roasted some asparagus as well and tossed the french fries and the asparagus in Argyle Street Asian Blend, which I had received from a Foodie Pen Pals some months back. And instead of ketchup for the fries, I mixed up some sriacha, mayonnaise,  and ketchup which also was the spread on the burger. Both the fries and the asparagus tasted good with the dip.

All in all, this was a very satisfying meal!

Spicy Asian Hamburger
(source)

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 tbsp vegetable oil
all-purpose flour (for dusting)
4 hamburger buns
2 green onions, roughly chopped
1 tomato, sliced
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp sriacha

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine the ground beef, garlic, ginger, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, and egg. Mix together with your hands. Shape the mixture into four patties and dust with flour.

2. In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil. Once hot add the patties. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side.

3. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, and sriacha.

4. Toast the buns. Spread each bun with some of the sriacha spread. Place a burger on each bun and top with tomato. Cover with other half of the bun.

* serves 4
* Shared with Kahakai Kitchen’s Souper Sundays, Wednesday Whatsits, Cast Party Wednesday, & The Busy Bees

Welcome to a round up featuring recipes you cook with ingredients found in your pantry. On the 1st of each month (well, this post is going up early because I got excited) I’ll announce the pantry party challenge of the month.  All you need to do is cook something based on the theme with at least one ingredient found in your pantry. Have some pasta? Some jelly? Some sauce? Flour? Sugar? Canned foods? We all have stuff pushed in our pantries that get forgotten about, so now is the time to make use of these otherwise forgotten foods.

On the 29th of each month I will post the round-up, with all the recipes and links to your blogs showcasing your contribution to the party.

I hope you’ll join me and explore your pantries!

How to Participate:

1. Visit The Law Student’s Cookbook on the 1st of each month to find out the Pantry Challenge Theme of the month.

2. Cook up something delicious based on the theme for the month with at least one ingredient found in your pantry.

3. Post the recipe on your blog. You can submit more than one recipe in a month if you wish, but all recipes must be current. If you don’t have a blog, you can still participate! Just send me an email with a write-up of your recipe, a picture, and any other information. I’ll make a post with recipes from readers who participated.

4. You must link to the announcement post for the given month in your blog post. If you wish, you can also use the graphic above in your post or sidebar (which you can find here.)

5. Email your recipes to elizabeth@crabtech.net no later than the 28th of each month. In the email include:

* Your name
* Your blog name
* Permalink to the blog post
* A photo of your recipe or permission to pull one from the post

6. On the 29th of each month visit The Law Student’s Cookbook for the recipe round up!

The theme for May is STUFFED.
You decide what you’re going to stuff and what you’ll stuff it with. Stuffed pork chops for instance? Let your imagination run wild! Just utilize your pantry!

Delicatessen is a post-apocalyptic movie entirely in French. Subtitles definitely help understanding what exactly is going on.

In this movie, food is rare – so rare in fact it is used as currency. And some of the food choices are.. well.. maybe not what you should be sharing for your Food n’ Flix submission.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN FOOD N’ FLIX:

1. Watch the chosen film (Delicatessen). Using the film as your inspiration, use your culinary skills to create something.

2. Post about it on your blog with a link back to this post and post a link to Food ‘n Flix. You can use the Food ‘n Flix logo if you wish!

3. Your post must be current (during the month of May). The post may be linked to other events. The more the merrier!

4. Have fun with it!

5. Email me at elizabeth@crabtech.net by the deadline and include the following:
a. Your Name
b. Your Blog’s Name an URL
c. The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you’re submitting
d. Attach a photo of your dish (or give me permission to pull one from your post)
e. Indicate “Food ‘n Flix” in the subject line of your email

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: May 29, 2013
I will try to have the post up on May 31st!

This month my FPP buddy was a lovely lady named Haley. Haley is from Arizona and sent me a very heavy box of local foods. She also included a recipe, which I made (and will share in this post!) I loved getting a recipe (hint hint hint, next FPP: send me recipes!) At this point, if you haven’t heard about Foodie Pen Pals, you’re probably wondering what on earth I’m talking about.

• On the 5th of the month you receive an email pairing you with information about who you’re paired with. You email that person to get information pertaining to allergies and dietary restriction.
• By the 15th you put together a box of treats and mail them to your partner.
• On the last day of the month you post a blog post about your box of treat

Easy, yeah?

Like I said, this was a heavy box of food! I was actually surprised when I picked it up to carry it in the house. This is by far the heaviest package I’ve received. I was so excited to dig in and see what was in there. And needless to say, I was not disappointed!

First things first, chili mango. This is something I never have had and I was hesitant to try it. While the idea of sweet and spicy seems so great, I took the first bite like a little bird. I’m still not really sure what I think about this. It’s probably not something I’d buy again, but at the same time it was good and a lot of fun to get to try something new.

Haley included this strawberry jelly on the request of her child. I ate it in one swift swoop. I used to get these as a kid, so it was a nice journey back.

I haven’t tried this cactus jelly yet. But the color of it is beautiful! I haven’t taken the time to look up recipes I could use this with, so I should do that.

Haley also included this Mango Jalapeno Jelly, along with a recipe for a grilled cheese using this jelly. I haven’t made the sandwich yet, but I do intend to soon!

Next were these little hot sauces. They are so cute – I love miniatures! I haven’t cracked open any of them yet though – I think the Hot Sauce from Hell will be first.

This was Matt’s choice from the box to steal from me (it seems with every FPP box, he has to grab something and claim it for his own.) This jerky is made different from the traditional beef jerky. First you cook the meat and then you dehydrate it.

Next (and the heaviest thing in the box) was the Nopalitos, or tender cactus. I haven’t tried this yet either. Ideas on how to use it?

These cans of hominy and green chile peppers provided the base for a delicious dinner, which Haley provided me the recipe. She had sent me an email and asked if I used my slow cooker; do I ever! I made the crcokpot pozole before class one day and it provided a great  meal for several days. The first day I just had a bowl of it. The next two days I used it over french fries, sort of similar to chili cheese fries, but pozole cheese fries instead. I’d had hominy before, but I’ve never actually used it myself. It was a super easy recipe with a lot of flavor!

Crockpot Pozole

Ingredients
1 tbsp canola oil
2 lb boneless pork loin, cubed
2 14.5 oz cans red enchilada sauce
1 30 oz can hominy
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 can diced green chilies, drained
2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Add meat and cook, browning the sides.

2. Place the meat in a crock pot. Cover with enchilada sauce. Top with hominy, onions, chilies, garlic, cayenne, and oregano. Add the water.

3. Cook on high for 6-7 hours. Add salt and cilantro and cook on low for 30 more minutes.

(serve with lime wedges, shredded cheese,s our cream, green onions, and flour tortillas)

* serves about 8
* sharing this recipe with Tempt My Tummy

Though I usually spend more time putting together my round ups, I am in my last bout of final exams ever and will be through the first week of May. I wanted to get the cookie party up before I forget to actually do it, so sorry there isn’t any commentary on each cookie recipe!

Lori of A Bright And Beautiful Life shared these Fully Loaded Oatmeal Cookies.

Kristen of Baby Giveaways Galore shared Molasses Cookies.

Barbara of The Big Giant Food Basket shared The Best Sugar Cookie Ever!!

Cathy from A Peek Into My Paradise shared her Lemonhead Cookies.

Marlys from This and That shares Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies.

I shared Sweet and Salty Popcorn Cookies.

Raven from True Blue Baking shared two cookies this month, the first is the A Little Bit of Everything Cookie.

Raven also shared these Classic Peanut Butter Cookies.

Sorry I couldn’t write more! I need to study and get to bed.

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