Equivalent Table

I am always needing to scale a recipe up or down and have a hard time remembering how many tablespoons are in a half cup or how many cups in a gallon, etc. So that is the reason for this post, as I was making a half recipe of Jezebel Sauce this afternoon and had to look it all up on the computer.

Dry Volume equivalents
1/8 teaspoon = a pinch
3 teaspoons   = 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup          = 4 tablespoons
1/3 cup          = 5 T plus one t
1/2 cup          = 8 tablespoons
3/4 cups        = 12 tablespoons
1 cup            = 16 tablespoons
1 pound        = 16 ounces

Liquid Volume Equivalents
8 ounces       = 1 cup
1 pint           = 2 cups or 16 ounces
1 quart         = 2 pints or 4 cups or 32 ounces
1 gallon        = 4 quarts or 16 cups

Useful Information
A 5 pound bag of granulated sugar contains about 10 cups
A 5 pound bag of flour contains about 18 cups
A 2 pound bag of confectioners' sugar contains about 7 1/2 cups
A 2 pound bag of brown sugar contains about 5 1/2 cups
A 12 ounce package of chocolate chips contains about 1 1/2 cups
A 1 ounce bottle of extract contains 6 teaspoons (2 Tablespoons)

I typically don't weigh my ingredients, but after weighing flour for a recipe and realizing not weighing made a huge difference, I have begun to weigh my ingredients when I aim for accuracy

White flour:  1 cup = 4.409 ounces

Marry Me Chicken

 This is not my recipe but from Little Sunny Kitchen  I make it quite often and decided to put it here where I  an easily find it  

Ingredients 

• 3 large chicken breasts boneless and skinless, sliced lengthwise into thin cutlets
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 6 tablespoons (50 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 cup (240 ml) chicken stock
• ▢ 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream 
• ▢ ½ cup (43 g) grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili flakes
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon thyme
• ▢ ⅓ cup (50 g) sundried tomatoes chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves

Instructions 

• Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour and shake off any excess.
• In a large skillet, heat olive oil and melt the butter on medium heat. Swirl pan to coat with oil and butter evenly.
• Brown the chicken (do not overcrowd and work in batches if needed) for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer onto a plate, cover, and set aside.
• Saute the garlic for a minute or until it's fragrant. Add the chicken stock, and deglaze the pan scraping any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
• Adjust the heat to medium-low, and add the heavy cream and the parmesan cheese to the skillet. Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple of minutes, then season with chili flakes, thyme, and oregano.
• Season with salt and pepper to your taste, add the sundried tomatoes then put the chicken back in the sauce and let the sauce simmer and thicken for a few more minutes.
• Garnish with chopped fresh basil leaves and serve warm over pasta or rice.

chicken piccata

The best chicken piccata and I've tried many recipes.  I have also used halibut filets.

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts pounded to about 1/2 inch thick or cut in half crosswise, salt and peppered

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 t. lemon zest

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

Sauce

2-3 T butter

1 1/2 T of the flour mixture

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 lemon juiced

1/2 cup white wine

3 T capers, drained

2 T parsley (optional)

Instructions:

Combine the flour with salt, pepper and lemon zest in a shallow bowl.  Dredge each breast in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.

In a 10 inch skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium high heat.  Cook the chicken for 4-5 minute per side or until cooked through..may have to cook in batches to avoid overcrowding,  Remove from pan and place in dish to keep warm. 

Using the same skillet, melt the butter.  Whisk the flour mixture  until smooth and let cook1-2 minutes.

Gradually add the broth whisking until smooth.

Add lemon juice and wine and let it simmer 3 minutes whisking occasionally 

Add the chicken back into the skillet letting it simmer in the sauce 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Stir in parsley and capers and serve.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad

 This chicken salad is simple to make and full of fresh bold flavors.  Great served in an avocado half or with tortilla chips.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded chicken breasts ( I use a rotisserie chicken)

3/4 cup mayo

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro 

Juice of 1 lime

Combine the mayo, garlic powder, salt, pepper and lime juice and mix. In a large bowl, stir the chicken, onion, pepper and cilantro.  Mix with dressing and chill. 

Tomato Basil Soup

 Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 T olive oil

3 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes 

1 (32 oz) carton of chicken broth

2 T sugar

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 1/2 T dried basil

4 cups heavy cream

Instructions

Saute garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender or your food processor, blend until smooth.  Add 3-4 cups heavy cream and fresh or dried basil.  Warm and serve.

Chicken Noodle Soup

 Back in the day when Jamie played golf, his group would play on Thursdays at the El Dorado Country  Club. Thursdays was Chicken Noodle Soup day and was always a favorite. When I opened the Invisible Chef, I called Ronnie Hughes, the manager and long time friend and asked for the recipe. And this was what I received.

I use the following:

3 leg quarters

1 onion diced

3 stalks celery diced

1 bag medium egg noodles

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 Chicken bouillon cubes or 3 T chicken base

Boil leg quarters with onion and celery.  Remove chicken when done; add bouillon and let broth come to a boil.  Add egg noodles and cook until tender.  Stir in the soups, taste and add salt if necessary, add pepper and cut up chicken. This gets thicker as it cools and if necessary add more broth to thin. Great served with cornbread(see recipe in blog)

Aspen Snowflake Cookies

1pound butter, room temperature 

1 cup sugar

3 cups flour 

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 cup coarsely crushed smooth potato chips

Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 325* Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add flour, then vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Gently stir in crushed potato chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons(walnut size) on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325* for 15-20 minutes, until edges are golden. Sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar. Remove from pan and cool. Makes about 6 dozen. 

And if you’ve never tried “non melting” powdered sugar, it’s a must for these as well as lemon bars. It never disappears or melts into the cookie.