Donovan's Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup flour (all-purpose or bread flour, preferably, although McCrae probably only had whole wheat available)
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp baking powder (slightly cheating, I know; use this though to create just a little extra fluff in your biscuits, otherwise you’ll end up with a very dense biscuit)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk (I used whole)
1 Tbsp melted butter (McCrae likely used lard; I didn’t have any on hand)
This should get you 7 biscuits or so. That’s enough for a single cowboy who shares McCrae’s legendary appetite. For most, it’s enough for 2-3 cowpunchers, especially if served with bacon and eggs.

For directions, click the link below.

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/make-cowboy-biscuits/

Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken

INGREDIENTS

•  Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons 
•  2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil 
•  1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves 
•  1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt) 
•  1/4 teaspoon pepper 
•  1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
•  1 to 2 pounds chicken breasts (see note) 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk together all the marinade ingredients. 
2. Place chicken in a ziploc bag or shallow dish and pour the marinade over chicken, tossing to coat the chicken evenly with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours but up to 18 hours. 
3. Preheat grill to medium- or medium-high (I use about 375 degrees on my pellet grill) and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees at the thickest part of the chicken. (The chicken can also be cooked in a skillet on the stove or broiled in the oven.) 

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Avocado Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS

DRESSING:

•  3 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice (or a combination of both) 
•  2 tablespoons olive oil 
•  1/2 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt) 
•  Pinch black pepper (I use coarsely ground pepper) 

SALAD:

•  2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (see note) 
•  1 cup corn kernels, fresh (cooked) or frozen and thawed 
•  2 medium/large ripe avocados, peeled and diced 
•  1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 
•  1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley 

OPTIONAL ADD-INS:

•  Halved cherry tomatoes 
•  Cooked, crumbled bacon 
•  Feta cheese 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine all the dressing ingredients and mix well. 
2. Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to combine. Add optional add-ins if desired. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed. 
3. Serve immediately.

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Note:  I used all of the optional add-ins.  We LOVED it!  For the chicken, I used Mel's Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken which I will post.

Lemon Butter Green Beans with Cranberries, Walnuts and Feta

Ingredients

• 1 lb green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 Tbsp butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Salt
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta
• 2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and boil 3 - 5 minutes until tender crisp. Drain then immediately rinse under cold water. Drain well. 
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add in drained green beans and saute 1 minute or until heated through. 
3. Toss in walnuts, cranberries and lemon juice and season with salt to taste. 
4. Sprinkle in feta and lemon zest. Serve warm.
5. Recipe source: Cooking Classy

PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 T freshly grated ginger
1 T Sriracha, optional
1 (8-oz) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 head butter lettuce

Directions:

1.  Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.
2.  Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and Sriracha until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes.
3.  Stir in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4.  To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-styler.

yield: 4 servings     prep time:  10 minutes .    cook time:  10 minutes .    total time:  20 minutes

Karen's Note:  I couldn't find hoisin sauce at the two grocery stores I looked at, so I used Panda Express teriyaki sauce, and it turned out delicious.  I used one tablespoon of Sriracha sauce, and it added a nice, spicy kick, but it wasn't too spicy.

Healthy Egg and Veggie Muffins

From Mel's Kitchen cafeYIELD: 12 MUFFINS

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME 20 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME 35 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 cup cottage cheese 
•  8 large eggs 
•  1/4 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt) 
•  Pinch of black pepper (I use coarsely ground black pepper) 
•  1/4 to 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (see note) 
•  1/2 cup chopped spinach, more or less 
•  1/2 cup chopped bell pepper, more or less 
•  1/2 cup chopped ham or other cooked meat of choice, more or less (optional) 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a blender, combine the cottage cheese, eggs, salt and pepper. Process until well combined and fairly smooth. Add the feta cheese and pulse a few times until the cheese is in small pieces (I like the feta cheese pretty finely chopped, but it's really a matter of personal preference).
3. Sprinkle the chopped veggies and meat, if using, in the bottom of each muffin cup. I just eyeball it, but I use about 2-3 tablespoons of veggies and meat total per muffin cup.
4. Pour in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup egg mixture on top of the veggies and meat. Add less at first to make sure each muffin cup gets some and then evenly distribute any remaining egg batter. The muffin cups should be anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until no longer jiggly in the center. The egg muffins may puff quite a bit while baking; that's normal. They'll settle as they cool. After removing the pan from the oven, let the muffins cool for a few minutes before taking them out of the pan. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled. These egg muffins freeze great to thaw or reheat as needed.

Mel's NOTES

The vegetables, meat, and cheese in this recipe are SUPER customizable. Add or take away to your heart's content. I eyeball the add-ins (vegetables and/or meat) when sprinkling it in the bottom of each muffin cup, but it's probably right around 2 tablespoons or so (veggies and meat total). Feta is a fairly salty cheese, so I only add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the egg mixture, but if using a different kind of cheese (again, this recipe is super customizable) that has less salty punch, you might want to increase the salt a bit. You can also sprinkle the cheese in the bottom of the muffin cup rather than mixing it in with the egg batter - works fine either way.

I definitely recommend a nonstick muffin tin...and don't skimp on the cooking spray! I have the USA brand of muffins tins and these egg muffins pop right out without sticking.

Maria's Notes:  These were really, really good and they tasted just as good reheated in the microwave.  I used chopped deli ham, finely chopped broccoli and chopped red pepper.

Gingerbread Cookie Butter Oatmeal Cookies

From Mel's Kitchen CafeYIELD: 3-4 DOZEN

PREP TIME 20 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME 12 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME 32 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) butter, softened to room temperature 
•  1 2/3 cup (14-ounce jar) cookie butter (see note) 
•  3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) granulated sugar 
•  3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) packed light brown sugar 
•  1 teaspoon baking soda 
•  1 teaspoon baking powder 
•  3/4 teaspoon salt 
•  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
•  1/4 cup molasses 
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
•  2 large eggs 
•  2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour 
•  2 cups (7 ounces) quick oats (see note) 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer), cream together the butter, cookie butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ginger until creamy and fluffy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the molasses, vanilla and eggs and mix until well-combined, 1-2 minutes, Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and quick oats and mix until combined (don't over mix, just mix until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain).
4. Scoop the dough into balls about 2 tablespoons each (I use my #40 cookie scoop) and place a couple inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set around the edges with a few cracks on top but still soft in the middle. Let the cookies rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets.
5. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack. The cookies stay soft for a couple days stored well-covered at room temperature and freeze well, too, for several months.

Mel's NOTES

Both the Biscoff brand and Trader Joe's brands of cookie butter come in 14-ounce jars. I use the whole jar (no need to measure out the 1 2/3 cup).

If you don't have quick oats, pulse old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender or food processor until coarsely chopped but not pulverized.

If your cookies are spreading too much while baking, first try varying oven temperature - either use convection bake (if you have that option) at 325 - 350 degrees F or increase the baking temperature to 375 degrees F (watch the baking time carefully). You can also try adding extra flour, but usually increasing oven temperature just slightly will work. Keep in mind these cookies are meant to be thin and chewy.

Maria's notes:  I used WalMart's Great Value brand cookie butter.  Dad would have liked these cookies. :-)