Honey Orange Chicken

I love trying to figure out how to use ingredients that I already have, especially ones that I am trying to use up. (e.g. frozen veggies on their last leg, that can of beans that's been sitting around forever, a bag of crushed tortilla chips)

We have a giant container of honey that we purchased awhile back and haven't quite finished. It's getting to that stage where we have to microwave the container everytime we want to pour it, so I'm trying to use it up as fast as I can. Thus, adding it to chicken seemed a good idea. The rest of the recipe sort of came together as I looked around the kitchen.


NOTE: Yes, a better picture would have been nice, but we dished it up so fast that night (it was a quick dinner) that I didn't even think to take a picture.

Honey Orange Chicken
2 large boneless chicken breasts
1/4-1/2 C. honey (don't measure, just pour enough to cover the chicken)
2 clementines (small, easy-peel oranges)
1 scallion
Onion
Apples
Salt

In a dutch oven (or deep pan with a lid), place frozen chicken breasts side by side. Pour on the honey and sprinkle in a pinch of salt. Juice clementines into the pan, getting all the pulp you can onto the chicken as well. Cover.

Cook on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, then turn. Add thinly sliced onion, apples, and scallions. Cook the other side for 10 minutes.

When the chicken is done, turn off the heat, remove chicken from the pan and slice somewhat thinly across the grain of the meat. Return to pan and toss to coat in the velvety, sweet honey-orange sauce. Serve over rice if desired.

Desperation Apple Pilets

Imagine if you will: It's 11:00 p.m. and you just remembered that you have to bring a snack to share to the ladies Bible study in the morning. You are dead tired. You have nothing that is instant. What do you do? Here's what I did.



Desperation Apple Pilets
1 can apple pie filling
3 flour tortillas
cinnamon & sugar mixture
2-3 Tbsp. melted butter
granola
graham crackers (largish crumbs)
raisins

Cut tortillas into quarters. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mix. Press into a sprayed 12-cup muffin pan so that the corners stick out above the cups.

Add a few pieces of crushed graham crackers into the bottom of the tortilla "cup." Spoon filling in evenly between each serving. Sprinkle with granola and raisins, then sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. You can remove these from the pan easily by grabbing two of the now-crunchy tortilla points and lifting out.



These were so easy to make and quick, quick, quick. I tried one, and it was crunchy, sweet, and perfectly sized. I don't anticipate any leftovers tomorrow morning.

The Versatile Pancake

My kids love a hot breakfast, and I love being able to make it for them on the fly. We used to spend $8-10 on frozen waffles every two weeks, but I soon realized that a $3 box of baking mix will make enough pancakes to last almost an entire month.

So I make a huge batch, adding to the dry mix such goodies as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, brown sugar, pancake syrup, jam, etc. (Not all at once, mind you!)

No need to measure the water or milk either. Just add enough so the consistency is wetter than you probably think it should be. You want it to be able to pour easily, not plop it. (Rather like good, wet mud.) If you add too much water, just add in a little more baking mix. Use a small ladle to make measuring easy.



Keep the heat at medium since you're going to be cooking for awhile. Remove the pan from the heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray between pan-fulls.

I flip dozens of flapjacks in one session, cooling them on racks. The cooled pancakes can be layered with paper towels in a plastic bag and frozen.


(No, that isn't mold, for this batch, I shook sprinkles on the cakes after ladling them into the pan. They melted when I flipped them. But hey, they still taste the same!)

Lay the bags flat in the freezer at first, but once they reach Frisbee rigidity, they can be stacked like cards (or Frisbees for that matter) or however you'd like so you can reserve space in your freezer.

To warm them up, wrap loosely in a paper towel and microwave for 30-45 seconds or, better yet, to keep them crispy on the outside, place them in a toaster oven at just above medium high heat and press the button for toast.

Impromptu Caramel Apple Topping
Bite-sized apple chunks, peeled
Caramel sauce
Butter

Melt a pat of butter in a pan. Add apples and cook til tender. Add enough caramel sauce to coat the apples and then some. Serve over pancakes or waffles or...ice cream!

PERSONAL NOTE: My kids love the fruit cups from Chick-fil-A, but they aren't crazy about the apple chunks. I save these and use them the next day for pancake topping. A couple extra containers of caramel sauce from McDonald's apple dippers work great for this recipe. (I know, we probably eat out WAY too much!)