Orange Chipotle Chicken

I thought this was a great recipe. It required a few ingredients that I didn't have on hand (pure maple syrup, orange juice and zest) but a few that I had handy. Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are handy. Usually you just use one chile from a whole can, so I usually freeze them in individual baggies, and then collected in a freezer ziploc bag. I pull them out as I need them. I'm so economical :)

It came together really quickly and it was full of flavor. I've made recipes before that have been tasteless. This one was definitely flavorful. The sauce looks a little dark but it's smoky and deep. Love it.

AND this is a "clean" recipe. Clean eating is a concept that I've heard of lots of times but I have a friend at work that is a clean eater and so I thought of her when I was making this one.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Orange Chipotle Chicken.

FAIL

Its very rare that a recipe doesn't turn out for me. I always find recipes on trusty blogs or cookbooks that I know and love. Well, this cake was inedible. Like I literally spit it out of my mouth!

I had all of these clementine oranges that were sitting around, about to be wasted because my son lost his enthusiasm for eating them. I did a search in my Google Reader for "clementines" and the wonderful Smitten Kitchen had this cake recipe. I was excited but then a little hestitant after I read that it was made with ground almonds- no flour. I do like flourless cakes but this was a lot of effort for an experiment- boiling the clementines for two hours? Not hard but I was then obligated to hang around and wait for them. Anyway, the texture was grainy and the taste was like mush. I have texture issues, I know, so maybe I was hasty in throwing out the entire cake. It also stuck to the bottom of my pretty cake pan, so I was beyond frustrated. Yeah, maybe I should have used the suggested springform pan but I don't have one at the moment. Whateva.

Anyway, failure is okay. It happens! Just not in this kitchen often :)

Click here for the FAILED recipe for Clementine Cake.

Candied Cranberry Orange Sangria

Nice weather deserves a cool drink.
Yeah, that's a good reason to make sangria!

I have a Sangria cookbook that I don't use often and I have a lot of cranberries still in the freezer (they last many months) so it seemed like a great opportunity to make this recipe.

There is no stolen recipe online.



Candied Cranberry Orange Sangria
1 1/2 cups whole cranberries
3/4 cup simple syrup (see note below)
1 bottle red wine
2 oranges, cut into half wheels
1/2 cup cranberry juice

In a saucepan, combine the whole cranberries with the simple syrup over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cranberries soften and the syrup starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside. Let cool. Combine the wine, oranges, and cranberry juice in a large ceramic or glass container. Add the cranberry mixture and stir well. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve over ice. Garnish with additional orange half wheels.

Note: This simple syrup is made by combining 1 cup hot water and 1 cup sugar, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool.

Serves about 7
Adapted from 101 Sangrias & Pitcher Drinks

I didn't, I couldn't wait four hours. I am enjoying a small glass right now. Yum! I love anything cranberry so I am a bit biased.