Nov 28 2012

Cranberry Orange Bars

Posted by Amber {Sprinkled With Flour} in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

I love simple desserts. I especially love simple desserts that taste great, and it’s these type of recipes that I like to have on hand during the busy holiday season. When you’re trying to orchestrate a culinary feast—one that includes a giant turkey the size of a small child, along with an endless list of sides—sometimes you need an easy dessert.

These Cranberry Orange Bars, shared by Stephanie, fit the bill perfectly. I love cranberry sauce, and these bars are the perfect combination of a sweetly tart cranberry sauce, sandwiched between a tasty cobbler-type crust and topping. Using just a few easy ingredients, you can have these bars whipped up in no time.

This is a great way to use up any leftover cranberry sauce from your Thanksgiving meal too!

You’ll need: water, sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice and orange zest, fresh cranberries, yellow cake mix, oats, cinnamon, butter, and eggs.

Rinse your cranberries so they’re nice and clean.

Remove the zest from an orange, and squeeze out all of the juicy goodness. Set aside.

In a saucepan, add the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is absorbed.

Add the rinsed cranberries …

Along with the orange juice …

And the zest. Simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until the cranberries pop and the mixture begins to thicken.

Pour into a bowl and let cool completely (at least 1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oats, and cinnamon.

Add the melted butter and the eggs.

Mix until everything is well-combined. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread the remaining batter and push down into the pan, forming a crust.

Spread the cooled cranberry sauce evenly over the crust.

Then drop the reserved 1 1/2 cups of batter by the spoonful evenly over the mixture. With a fork or spoon, gently try to push down and spread some of each spoonful so it’s not as thick. You do not need to cover all of the cranberries; try to avoid pushing the batter down into the cranberry sauce.

Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Recipe note: You may not need to bake these for the full 35 minutes, depending on your oven. Start checking them at about 25-30 minutes.

These are delicious on their own, and just as tasty with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream! Perfect to go with any holiday meal.

Thank you Stephanie for sharing these goodies with us! You can check out more of her delicious looking recipes on her blog Eat. Drink. Love.

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Cranberry Orange Bars

by Stephanie { Eat. Drink. Love.} on December 6, 2011 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts

See post on Stephanie { Eat. Drink. Love.}’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s) 1 vote, average: 5.00 out of 5

Description

Cranberry Orange Bars—a perfect blend of sweet and tangy! Perfect for the holidays!

Ingredients

¾ cups Water
1 cup Sugar
1 bag (12 Oz. Size) Fresh Cranberries
1 whole Orange, Zest And Juice
1 box (18.25 Oz. Size) Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup Rolled Oats
¾ cups Butter, Melted
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

1. You’re basically going to start off by making cranberry sauce! In a saucepan, add the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is absorbed. Add the rinsed cranberries, along with the orange juice and zest. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the cranberries pop and the mixture begins to thicken. Pour into a bowl and let cool completely (at least 1 hour).

2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, add the cake mix, oats, melted butter, eggs, and cinnamon. Mix until everything is well-combined. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture. In a 9×13 baking dish, spray with nonstick spray. With the remaining batter, spread and push down into the pan, forming a crust.

3. Spread the cooled cranberry sauce evenly over the “crust”. Then, with the 1 1/2 cups of batter you reserved, drop it by the spoonful evenly over the mixture. Then, with a knife or spoon, gently try to push down and spread some of each spoonful so it’s not as thick. You do not need to cover all of the cranberries, and try to avoid pushing the batter down into the cranberry sauce. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let the bars cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars (trust me on that one!)!

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Amber is a stay at home mom who lives in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. It’s a long way from where she grew up, in Wales (yes, way over in the U.K.). The recipes in her blog Sprinkled with Flour include her original creations as well as her family recipes. Go check them out!

Aug 24 2012

Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos

Posted by Amber {Sprinkled With Flour} in Step-by-Step Recipes

I have a sweet tooth, let’s call her … Shugar (with an h). Shugar frequently compels me to make all manner of cakes, cookies, pies—you get the drift. However, I also have a spicy tooth. (Is that a real term? I’m not sure, but I’m going with it.) Let’s call him … Pepper Jack. You’ll just as soon find a bottle of spicy sauce next to my plate as you would a bottle of ketchup. I’m known to pour the stuff on pretty much anything.

Some call that weird. I call it delicious.

Now Pepper Jack (my spicy tooth—you’re still with me right?), he gets me dreaming of things like spice-laden grilled meats, like Kim’s recipe for Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Slaw. When I found this recipe, I’m pretty sure I could hear the faint sound of the Hallelujah chorus being sung from above. When Pepper Jack and Shugar get to hang out together in one dish, you know a party is about to happen.

These tacos are filled with spicy chipotle grilled chicken and then slathered in a sweet pineapple slaw that’s drenched in flavor. You’ll need a few things for these puppies, so let’s get started, shall we?

You’ll need olive oil, limes, chipotle chiles in adobe sauce, honey, garlic, cilantro, salt, pepper, chicken breasts, pineapple rings with juice, mayonnaise, green onions (optional), red onion, and coleslaw mix.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil (or whatever oil you have on hand), lime juice, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce …

And the honey, garlic, cilantro, kosher salt and pepper.

Stir to combine.

Place the chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Seal and marinate for 2 hours.

Drain the pineapple rings and set aside. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the pineapple juice.

In a small bowl, whisk the reserved pineapple juice, mayo, cilantro, garlic and salt. Set aside.

Mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the red onion and coleslaw mix. If you’re using green onions (I left these out), add them in as well. Pour the dressing mixture over the coleslaw and combine.

Remove chicken from marinade.

Grill the pineapple slices about 3-4 minutes each side. Watch carefully, they can burn easily. When done, remove to a platter and set aside to cool for a few minutes while you cook the chicken. When the chicken is cooked through, remove from grill and set aside to rest.

While the chicken is resting, cut the grilled pineapple slices into bite size pieces and mix into the coleslaw. You can transfer slaw to a serving dish, don’t forget to get all of the “special sauce”.

Warm tortillas on the grill or in the oven, and cut chicken into slices.

Serve on corn tortillas topped with the grilled pineapple slaw. Any leftover slaw is delicious eaten on its own.

Wow, are these tacos good! I’m so glad Kim shared her recipe with us. You can find more mouthwatering dishes in the blog Sunflower Supper Club, which she shares with her friend Julie.

Note: While the chicken marinade itself is spicy, the chicken is not too spicy once it is grilled. My son was able to eat it without any problem.

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