Chicken Crescent Wreath

2 tubes (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1C (4 oz.) shredded Co-Jack cheese
2/3C cream of chicken soup
1/2C chopped fresh broccoli
1/2 C chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 C chopped water chestnuts
1 can (5 oz) white chicken, drained or 3/4 C cubed cooked chicken
2 Tbs. chopped onion

Arrange crescent rolls on a 12-inch pizza pan, forming a ring with the pointed ends facing the outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping.

Combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over filling and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible).

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves: 6-8

This is one of my husband's favorite dinners. The nice thing about this dinner is that you can put whatever vegetables in it that you want -- you could even change up the meat or the soup (cream of mushroom, cream of celery, etc.). When I made this the other night I used a can of mixed vegetables instead of broccoli and red pepper. I think my mom got this from a Taste of Home magazine, but I could be wrong. Try it. You won't be sorry.

Sausage and Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Everyone has different Egg Bakes. I have an Italian recipe with foccaccia bread and zucchini that I love, but this one is fantastic. Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil can be found at Whole Foods. Alas, I cannot take credit for finding this recipe. It was Doug's stepsister Chelsea, who made it for her hubby's pancake b-day party. I had her email it to me so I could make it a few Sundays ago to accompany french toast (which Doug makes at our house), strawberry sauce with orange zest, water, and powdered sugar and of course sliced strawberries and homemade whipped cream. It was all delicious.

You can view the complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/106411

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

For Egg Mixture:

• 5 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sauté sausage in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons parsley; stir 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and salt in large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Bon Appétit
April 2002

P.S. As a plug for Lisa's coconut lime banana bread - make it. You will not be sorry. It is fab.

She put the lime in the coconut, she drank em' both up!!

This recipe is the best banana bread recipe EVER!! I've made it over a dozen times. It is amazing. It's off of the Cooking Light website:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1654705

I've used lime yogurt as a substitute for the plain to give it an extra 'limey' flavor. Instead of rum, I use the rum imitation flavoring. I put in a full teaspoon of vanilla and I add the same amount of rum flavoring as vanilla. (1 teaspoon) Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Pizza

I got this recipe from my friend Kristin Lowe. It is super delish! I also add 2 tablespoons of gluten which I found made the crust light and puffy. Try it-you won't be disappointed. It goes great with Sriracha sauce. Spicy!!
Peanut Sauce:1/4 c. creamy peanut butter2 T. Hoisin sauce (I did not include this when we made it because I haven't been able to find it)1 clove garlic, minced1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes1 T. granulated sugar2 T. brown sugar2 T. water2 tsp. sesame oil (or canola oil)2 T. soy sauce1 1/2 tsp. minced onion1 tsp. minced ginger-root

Mix above ingredients in microwave safe bowl. Pour this mixture into blender and blend for 15 seconds or until mostly smooth. Pour back into bowl and microwave for 1 minute. The peanut sauce should be darker now. At this point, you can add more sesame oil to achieve desired consistency.

Toppings:1 cup cooked, chopped chicken1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella1-2 green onions, sliced (you could also try using thinly sliced red onion instead)1/4 c. grated carrot2 tsp. minced cilantro1 T. chopped peanutsSpread peanut sauce onto prepared pizza crust. Sprinkle 1 c. mozzarella, onion, chicken, carrots, cilantro, nut, and then the rest of the mozzarella. Bake pizza for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees, or until edges of crust turn golden brown.Here's the pizza crust recipe I use (thanks to Mike's mom) just in case you don't have one you like:

Pizza Crust 1 1/2 c. warm water1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)2 tsp. salt3 T. Oil31/2 - 4 C. flour, enough to make a stiff doughDissolve yeast in water. Add other ingredients and knead for 8 minutes. I actually don't let the dough rise at all, so pizza night is actually pretty time friendly. I just plop the dough on a cookie sheet on which I've drizzled olive oil and sprinkled corn meal and use my hands to roll it out. Then put your toppings on and bake it up.

ALOHA PORK CHOPS

Finally, my first post! This is one of Pampered Chef's freezer meals, that I got from a friend who did a Pampered Chef party for me a couple years ago. It's great because not only can it be a freezer meal to save for later, but it's done in the crock pot, which I love because it's easy! And, it is soooo good!

Aloha Pork Chops

4-6 boneless pork chops (thick)
½ green (or red) bell pepper, chopped
½ cup dry onion
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1 bottle (18 oz) honey-mustard BBQ sauce
Nutmeg (optional)

Place pork chops in greased crock-pot. Sprinkle pepper and onion over chops. Spread pineapple over top. Pour BBQ sauce over all. Cook on Low 6-8 hours or High 3-4 hours. Cut meat in pieces and serve over rice. If making a meal to freeze, put all ingredients in larger freezer bag. Freeze.

That's it...Enjoy!

Super Easy Sides

Well, tonight we were dying to go out to eat, but luckily I watched an old episode of 30 minute meals of Rachel Ray and I got the ingredients for these sides that looked delicious and they were really good and so quick. We are so lucky to live next Snider's meat market on Highland and about 6200 South. So I just had a couple Sweet Bourbon Chicken Breasts on the side.

BLT Salad (my new fave ingredient is Balsamic Vinegar)
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a drizzle
• 6 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, grated or minced and crushed with flat blade of a knife
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 large heart romaine lettuce
• 1 head Traviso lettuce or radicchio
• 1 pint multi colored, red or yellow cherry tomatoes

Directions: Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add bacon, cook until crisp then drain on paper towels.

In a salad bowl, whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar and stream in extra-virgin olive oil to incorporate the dressing, season with salt and pepper and stir in chives. Shred lettuces and add to the bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl along with bacon. Toss salad to coat evenly with dressing and serve.

Roasted Thick Potato Chips

Ingredients:

• 2 large Idaho potatoes, scrubbed
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing potatoes
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning

Directions: Heat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Thinly slice the potatoes lengthwise 1/8-inch thick. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on nonstick baking sheet. Brush the potatoes with extra-virgin olive oil, rosemary and grill seasoning. Bake potatoes turning once 25 minutes until crisp.

Doug and I actually thought the seasoning was a little too strong. Honestly, I think they would be good with just a little salt and pepper. Another way to cook potato fries at home is to whip egg whites together until fluffy and toss the potatos (cut like spears). Salt and pepper to taste. Cook at 375 or 400 degrees until golden brown, turning once. So this isn't the exact recipe, but I did get it from What to Expect When You're Expecting. We've made those a few times and when I was pregnant, I liked them with mustard! I really don't like mustard that much.

Baked Sesame Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I'm so excited to be a part of this blog!  I thought I would do my first post as my all time favorite recipe.  

My mom found this recipe years ago in a newspaper, so the source is vague.  When I was in high school I received a $2500.00 scholarship from Tyson Chicken in a contest (recipe didn't have to be original).  This is also the dish my mom would bribe my brother with if he brought a girl home. :0) This is great for entertaining but not great for the waistline. 

 I have included two great sides for this dish.  The chicken itself is super easy and takes awhile to cook so the other sides can be prepared while it is in the oven. 

-12 large halves of chicken breasts boned and skinned (I usually just prepare 6, but don't half anything except the chicken and butter.  I've found the batter sauce isn't deep enough if you do.)

-2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 T. water

2 T. soy sauce

***2 tsp salt

***1/4 tsp pepper

***1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sesame seeds

3/4 c. butter 

***I like to use Dixie Fry instead of the flour, salt, and pepper.  However, it is hard to find in some places.  The original recipe calls for flour but the Dixie Fry gives it extra flavor.  

Heat oven to 400.  Divide butter between two 9x13 baking dishes and melt in oven. (Only need 1 pan if halving). Blend eggs, water, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.  Dip Chicken into egg mixture then into flour (or Dixie Fry).  Sprinkle both sides with sesame seeds.  Arrange the chicken breasts in the baking dishes, turning to coat with butter.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.  Serve with Creamy Mushroom Sauce.  

CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE (I don't halve this)

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. plus 2 T. flour

2 (10 oz.) cans chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream

1/2 tsp. salt

white pepper

1/4 c. FRESH parsley, chopped

1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms but I HIGHLY recommend fresh chopped mushrooms.

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Stir in flour.  Remove from heat; add chicken broth and stir until smooth.  Return to heat; cook and stir until thick.  Add cream, salt, and a pinch of white pepper, parsley, and mushrooms.  Serve hot over chicken breasts.  I also use it as a gravy over the potatoes.

RECOMMENDED SIDES

Mashed potatoes (boil with a couple cloves of garlic) Add sour cream when mashing.  Sauce goes great on these.

BACON CARROTS (Sounds weird, but I'm telling you these are the best carrots in the world.  I have SO many people compliment me on these).

-3 lbs. fresh carrots (I actually just buy the frozen ribbon carrots and you can't tell a difference).

-5 slices of bacon

-3/4 tsp. salt

-dash of pepper

1/4 c. snipped FRESH parsley

1.  Peel and slice carrots in med. saucepan.  Combine w/ 1/4 c. water and salt.  Cover and simmer five minutes.  Remove from heat and drain.  (OR USE FROZEN AND COOK IN MICROWAVE!)

2. Meanwhile, fry bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon and drain.  SAVE DRIPPINGS.  Crumble bacon.  

3.  Pour 3 T. bacon grease (I know...horrible for you but SO good) over carrots.  Serve carrots with crumbled bacon and parsley.

Okay, I hope this all makes sense.  Let me know if you have questions.  :0)

Raspberry Trifle

This recipe is so easy it's not even a real recipe, but it's delicious.
We have it for Christmas Eve, but it works anytime and you can change the flavor of filling or the fruit.

TRIFLE

1 frozen Sara Lee pound cake (you can use fresh too)
1 large package Instant Vanilla pudding
1 package raspberries or 1 bag frozen raspberries
thawed and drained
2-3 kiwi - peeled and sliced
1 container Cool Whip (I use Lite)


Slice the pound cake in cubes. Put one half in the bottom of a glass trifle dish, or punch bowl.
Prepare the pudding as directed on package and spread one-half on top of the cake.
Layer all the kiwi along the sides of the glass container vertically so you can see from the outside and spread any remaining on top of the pudding.
Spread one-half of the raspberries (reserve about 5)
Cover with Cool-Whip
Repeat cake, pudding, raspberries and Cool-Whip
Top with remaining raspberries.
Refrigerate until serving.

So easy and always impressive!!

Thai Basil Hummus

I had this last night at dinner group and loved it. So I thought I'd share it, for us hummus lovers.

THAI BASIL HUMMUS
1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans
2 Tbs. peanut butter
2 cloves garlic, roasted
juice and zest of 2 limes or one lemon
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
a couple pinches of salt
pepper to taste
1/2 c EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

In food processor combine roasted garlic, garbanzo beans, ad 1.2 of liquid from can of beans. Blend.

Add peanut butter, basil, zest and juice of limes or lemons, cayenne, salt, pepper. Blend.

Drizzle 1/2 c EVOO while blending.

Let flavors blend in fridge for a few hours.

The world is better when there is hummus among us.

OOOO, my first recipe post. I feel so much pressure. This should be a work of art or something...well, maybe not. I made this the other day because it is one of our favorites and I remembered to take a picture! That totally makes it blog worthy! I must make a confession to start this off...I am a VEGETARIAN. I know, crazy right? I never intended to become one but for some reason my last two pregnancies left me this way. I just can't eat meat. I didn't decide this, my body decided it. So I will be giving you my meatless delights. Which, by the way, are amazing! Veg. meals only take about 30 minutes top! SWEEEEEET! Just what I want!



Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Cream

1 lb. fettucine
1 T. olive oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped (about 2 T.) although, I never have this on hand so I usually don't put it in.
16 oz. of mushrooms (the recipe says 8 oz. of shitake and 8 oz. of white, I just do whatever)
1/2 t. salt (whatever that's supposed to do??)
1 1/2 C. vegetable broth
1/3 C. heavy or whipping cream
1 C. fresh basil or parsley, chopped (if I don't have fresh I just used dried to taste, about 1 T.)
1/4 C. sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (for some reason I can't find sun-dried tomatoes in nowhereville where I currently inhabit, so I just use the dried kind)

My hubby is totally against following directions. He is a wing it man when it comes to cooking. I have to admit, he is REALLY good at it. I have some of his habits now when it comes to dishes like this. Here is what I do: just heat the oil in a skillet (just pour some in, I like to use more than 1 T.) add the shallot, green onion, chives or whatever you decide to use for that ingredient. Cook for a minute-ish. Add the mushrooms and salt (1/2 a t.??? puh-leez!) cook until tender about 10 minutes-ish. Add broth and cream and let it boil for three minutes-ish, stirring every once in a while. At this point I start my water boiling for the noodles. This is where I add my salt. Once it starts to boil put salt in the water, I usually pour some in my hand then dump it in. This gives the noodle great flavor and you don't really need salt in the sauce. Make sure your noodles are al dente. That means they must NOT be mushy....at all! My hubby is very particular about this. He served a mission in Italy. Capiche? Then when the noodles are perfecto, drain, return to pot, dump the sauce on top, and add the sun-dried tomatoes. It is dee-lish! Hope you like it! (hope you can interpret my nonsense as well!) If you need further instructions this is from Good Houskeeping Vegetarian Meals.

red velvet just sounds delicious

Red Velvet Bars
I found these from Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee on the food network. I tried them as cupcakes, but they are more like brownies. They looked hideous as cupcakes, but still make my mouth water. Way easy, too. Here's a tip though, because if you're like me you just zip through a recipe and don't pay attention if it's easy. You cook the cake layer and the cream cheese layer. So don't put the cake in and then start on the "frosting". I didn't do that, but I'm sure I could have easily.

Ingredients:
Cake: 1 box (18 1/4 oz) German chocolate cake mix (recommended: Betty Crocker)
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 oz. red food coloring (recommended: McCormick)
For Cream Cheese Layer: 16 oz. cream cheese, softened (recommended: Philadelphia)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9 by13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat with an electric mixer on low speed, cake mix, butter, egg, and food coloring until combined. Press cake mixture into prepared pan; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat to combine. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake layer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9 by13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray; set aside. Prepare bars as directed. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until bars barely start to pull away from sides. Cool completely before cutting.

Chicken Tikka and Mint Chutney

I picked up this book for my friend's birthday and picked one up for myself too. At Costco it was a very reasonable price. I tried the chicken tikka on Sunday and it was so good. If you like Indian food you should try it. (You should also invest in some garam masala - the spice blend - because it's in almost every dish.)

Chicken Tikka (serves 4)

1/2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp garam masala
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 inches ginger, roughly chopped
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/4 lb skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into cubes
wedges of lemon

For the marinade, blend all the ingredients (except chicken and lemon wedges) in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt, to taste.Put the chicken cubes in a bowl with the marinade and mix thoroughly. Cover and marinate overnight in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 400 F. Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and put them on a metal rack above a baking tray. Roast, uncovered for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and browned around the edges. Serve with wedges of lemon.

my notes: I didn't have time to marinate overnight, but I did marinate for 2 hours. We also grilled ours, which was really good.

I also made up a mint chutney recipe (from several I looked at on the internet) because my friend made some naan (flat bread) and I have to have mint chutney with naan. Here is that recipe:

Simple Mint Chutney

1 1/2 bunches cilantro
1/2 bunch mint leaves (about 1/2 cup packed)
2 limes, juiced
2 jalapenos, seeded and ribbed (only if you want less spicy)
1 onion
1 can green chilies
salt to taste

Chop everything roughly and blend in a food processor. I added the green chilies at the end because mine seemed to dark with too many leaves. I'm going to try something a little different next time but everyone liked this one.

A note about food processors: I used to think the only one available was a Cuisinart (which is pretty expensive). But there are lots of other brands available that start around $40. If you haven't bought one yet because of this, you should shop around. Mine was only $40, holds the same amount as the Cuisinart, and works fairly well. (There are smaller ones too, that start at $10 or so, but they never fit quite enough for me.)

Asian Style Succotash

from Rachel Ray and it is so easy and delicious. It is even good cold for lunch the next day!

1 red bell pepper, chopped and seeded
2 generous handfuls of snow pea pods, coarsely chopped
2 cups frozen corn
4 scallions, chopped
3 garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. hot sauce

Heat 2 Tbs. of oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook for two minutes, then add pea pods, corn, and scallions and cook for three minutes. Toss with lime juice and hot sauce.

I've tried everything except the banana muffins and Leigh's soup is my highest recommendation! I can't tell where the flavor comes from because there aren't a lot of spices to add, but it was so great!

Meaty Marinades

Sorry I have no pictures for this post as I haven't recently made these, but I thought I'd share just a few of my favorites with you.

Salmon Marinade

I got this from my friend Ashley and I love it. I've never had it with anything but Salmon, but I suppose you could try it with anything. And it doesn't have to marinade for too long, but the longer the better.

1/2 cup Dijon mustard or honey mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 clove minced garlic or about 1 tsp garlic powder

Easy Pork Marinades (From a pork package label, if you can believe it)

1. Squeeze a lemon with 1 cup BBQ sauce

2. 1 cup BBQ sauce with 2 Tbs. Texas Hot sauce

3. Equal parts BBQ sauce and soy sauce.