Sweet and Sour Chicken

I found this recipe on: www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com

6-8 Chicken Breasts
Garlic salt
Pepper
1 ½ C. sugar
1 C. vinegar
1 C. chicken broth
7 Tbsp. Ketchup
2 Tbsp. Soy sauce
3 Tbsp. cornstarch

Instructions:
-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
-Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper.
-Layer chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch pan.
-Mix sugar, vinegar, chicken broth, ketchup, soy sauce, and cornstarch with wire wisk.
-Pour directly over chicken breasts.
-Bake uncovered at 325 for about 1 ½ hours, or until sauce is thick and dark in color.
-The chicken needs to be fall apart tender!

White Chocolate Oreo Popcorn

I made this for my neighbor gifts this year and it is so yummy and simple!

What you'll need:
-1 C. White chocolate chips
-Oreos
-Popcorn (Either 1 bag popped or 1 batch in the air popper)

Directions: Make your popcorn, set aside. Take out a row of Oreos and crush them in a ziploc bag using your fingers (you could also use a rolling pin), set aside. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds and then in 15 second increments until all chips are melted. (Note: If you use too much heat the chips turn into dough...I, of course, didn't ruin half a bag by doing this...).

Place popcorn in a fairly large bowl, pour the melted white chocolate over the popcorn, add the crushed oreos, mix carefully until the popcorn and oreos are coated. You can then either leave it in the bowl or pour it out onto a cookie sheet for the chocolate to harden. Voila! You are done!

*Picture from google images

Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins

If these even remotely sound good to you, multiply that by 100, at least, and that is how delicious they taste. I can't stop eating them! I make mini muffins and sub gluten-free ingredients for my son. Then I freeze them on a cookie sheet. Then put them in a ziplock bag and keep them frozen for when he wants them. A few seconds in the microwave and breakfast is ready! It doesn't say what temperature to cook them at. I just did 350 and I did not put the blueberries or chocolate chips in the batter. I put them in individually to each muffin because I made mini ones and I figured it would be easier than trying to get an equal amount into each spot.

Blueberry White Chip Muffins presented by Homestead Lodging

2 c. flour 1/2 c. sugar 1/4 c. packed brown sugar 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 3/4 c. milk 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted 1/2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel 2 c. (12oz pkg) white chocolate chips, divided 1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries Streusel topping: combine 1/3 c. sugar, ¼ c. flour and ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine flour, 2 sugars, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in milk, egg, butter and lemon peel. Stir in 1 ½ cups white chips and blueberries. Spoon into 18 paper-lined muffin tins, filling almost full. Sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake for 22 to 25 min. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Place remaining morsels in small, heavy duty plastic bag. Microwave on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 30 seconds; knead. Microwave at additional 10-15 second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over muffins. Serve warm. From: www.verybestbaking.com

MacDuff's PB Holiday Shortbread

Cookies for your dog!!

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky
3/4 cup milk

Mix together and roll out on floured surface. Cut out and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool and treat your dog!

from Just Cook Already

Family Fresh Green Bean Casserole

I saw Claire Robinson make this on Dear Food Network. Not only did it look delicious, but it did not call for the usual cream of mushroom soup or onion straws so it was easy to make gluten-free!

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh French green beans, ends trimmed
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Vidalia onion
• 
  
• 4 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups corn cereal (recommended: Corn Flakes)
• 1/2 pound grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and cook for until just tender but still firm, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the beans from the water to a large bowl of ice water to preserve color and stop the cooking. Drain the beans and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Stir in the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and saute about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir for another minute, to cook out the raw flour taste, and then whisk in the sour cream. Simmer for just a couple of minutes to bring the flavors together and taste for seasoning.

Cut the green beans into 2-inch pieces. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Crush the cereal flakes in a resealable plastic bag and add them to the pan with the butter. Toss to coat. Spread the green beans over the bottom of a 9-inch casserole dish. Pour all of the mushroom sauce mixture over the beans and top with the grated cheese. Sprinkle with the buttered cereal flakes and bake in the preheated 400 degree F oven, until light golden brown and bubbly, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Homemade Yogurt

Growing up the only kind of yogurt I liked was Yoplait lemon and lime yogurts. My mom would make homemade yogurt, but I didn't care for it because it was plain. As I got older I decided to give homemade yogurt a try again and added a lot of cinnamon sugar and I loved it! My parents found an old yogurt maker for me at D.I. when I was in college and I have used it since. The way I make yogurt has a ton of shortcuts so I will explain my way, then I will link over to ways to make yogurt if you don't have a yogurt maker.


What you'll need:
Milk
A cup of plain yogurt (Greek or regular - I used Kroger brand)
Candy thermometer (or yogurt spoon if you have a yogurt maker)

(This is the old one that I have)

1. Take a yogurt cup from yogurt maker and fill with milk to about 3/4 full. Pour into a 2-qt sauce pan. Repeat for however many cups you have in your yogurt maker. (See I'm not even thinking about measuring or doing the math)
2. Scald your milk, stirring frequently. (Scalding will take it to about 180 F)
3. Let the milk cool down to about 110 F (pretty warm, but not hot - if you don't have a thermometer) and pour a little bit of milk into a bowl. Mix 2-4 Tbs. of plain yogurt (this is your starter) with the milk in the bowl. Then add this mix back into the pan of milk and stir.
4. Fill your cups with the yogurt, put the lids on and place in yogurt maker. Plug in your yogurt maker and wait 8-10 hours.
5. Remove cups and refrigerate.

Easy peasy, right? This will make a fairly runny yogurt. I like it this way, but my husband prefers custard-like yogurt so I'm going to be experimenting with starters and extra add-ins (powdered milk, etc.).
If you don't have a yogurt maker, but still would like to make your own yogurt, you can do it in a slow cooker. A good link I found was here at Utah Deal Diva. She goes over how she makes homemade yogurt and it looks to be fairly simple. I hope you try it!

Mexican Lasagna

I have been waiting for it to get cold enough to make this and it finally is. I looked at the ingredients and realized that if I used corn tortillas instead of flour, then it could be gluten-free! So yummy. I bought double ingredients so I could freeze it, but I chickened out and decided to try it first, but I will be making a freezer version this week.

Mexican Lasagna

This dish freezes and reheats exceptionally well, which makes it perfect for double batches. Makes 1 9×13″ pan, or about 12 servings. If you prefer a bit more spice (I do), you can up the taco seasoning to 1 1/2-2 packets.

• 1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
• 1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 2 (14 ounce) cans refried beans
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
• 8 large flour tortillas (preferably handmade—most better grocers will carry them)
• 1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• sour cream for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F. In a large skillet, brown ground meat. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, taco seasoning and water. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, combine the refried beans, diced green chiles and black olives. Stir. Blend the two grated cheeses together in a separate bowl.

Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the bean mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Cover with two of the flour tortillas. Spread with a third of the cheese mixture, then cover with half of the meat mixture. Cover with tortillas once again, then layer the remaining beans, two more tortillas, 1/3 of the cheese, the remaining meat mixture, the remaining tortillas, and the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through and bubbly. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Top with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Chicken Pillows

Maybe many of you have experienced these chicken pillows, but I was new to them and loved them. A couple sidenotes:

1. I did not take the time to make 16 small pillows and just made 8 - kept 2 crescent rolls together and they were the perfect size for adults.

2. Some of you may be aware of my new gluten-free child and it's been challenging to say the least! So much more planning and time is required for our meals so when I do something like this, I will for sure let you know if I altered it for my gluten-free child.

Chicken Pillows
Ingredients:

2/3 cup crushed Mom's seasoned stuffing
2 (3 oz.) package cream cheese
4 Tbsp. softened butter
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups cooked chicken pieces
2/3 cup mushroom pieces
2 cans crescent dinner rolls
6 Tbsp. melted butter
Directions:

Combine cream cheese, softened butter, and pepper. Mix well, then add the cooked chicken and mushroom pieces. In a separate bowl, put the crushed stuffing. Roll out each section of crescent roll into a square and put 2 heaping tablespoons of chicken mixture in the center of each one. Fold over and pinch edges. Dip each one in melted butter and then roll it in the crushed stuffing. Place them on a cookie sheet and cook at 375 for 20 minutes. This is best served with a mild chicken gravy or a sauce made with cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Makes 16.

Variation: Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to stuffing.

Gluten-free meal:
Gluten-free "cream of chicken"
3T. butter or oil
3T. flour blend (gluten-free)
1 1/4c. chicken broth (or milk if you can)
salt, pepper

Melt butter/oil in saucepan. Stir in flour and seasonings. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Add liquid slowly, stirring with whisk to get rid of lumps. Cook until thick.

Makes 1 cup or equivalent to 1 can of condensed soup.
***It's more just like a thick chicken gravy, so for this I put a little of the chicken mixture aside and added more milk to make it gravier. Then I served it over rice and used the extra gravy over the chicken pillows and rice.***

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

We have been in a recipe hump and so I have been trying a bunch of new recipes - this is a new favorite and it freezes well too, so it's all around wonderful! Try it out! I halved the recipe, but next time I'm going to do the full recipe and freeze the extras to give away to all of our new babies families in the ward. I also substituted the ricotta for cottage cheese.

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Submitted by Erin (Brittany's delicious recipe. :) )

44 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (That’s about one and one-half 12-oz boxes)
2 c chopped cooked chicken
2 c fresh chopped spinach
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (5oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 c.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tb dried parsley flakes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (26oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce (any variety)

Cook shells according to package directions (be sure to stir every once in awhile so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan and tear apart); drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2 13x9x2inch baking dishes.
In a large bowl, combine chicken and all the rest of the ingredients except mozzarella and spaghetti sauce. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella. Spoon into shells. Spread half of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dishes. Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.
Makes 8-10 servings.

Gingerbread Waffles

Tis the season for anything with ginger or pumpkin, right? I made these last year and plan on making them again this week. - enjoy!

Gingerbread Waffles
from Rachel Ray

Directions

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, plus some to butter the iron

Syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruits for topping, to pass at table

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not overstir the waffle batter. Brush the iron with a little melted butter and cook 4 waffles, 4 sections each. Serve with toppings of choice.

World's Best Dinner Rolls

from Our Best Bites
I have never been able to make good rolls and with this recipe, and probably practice from making bread, I can! My friend asked for the recipe so don't be afraid and just try them!

Ingredients:
2 c. whole milk (if you're in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don't use 1% or skim)
½ c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water
8-9 c. all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Preparation
Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. It's salty. It's sweet. Yum.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn't bubbled, you'll need to repeat this step--moving on with yeast that hasn't been activated properly will only end in heartache for you and hate mail for us.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
Add beaten eggs. Why should you beat your eggs first? Same reason you should combine your dry ingredients before adding them to moist ingredients when making cookies and cakes--it ensures everything is well-mixed and can be evenly-distributed through your dough or batter. If you add the whole eggs, your dough may not be as consistent.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft--it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don't worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they're so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

Spray 2 9x13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. You must now eat one. Now. While it's hot.

Smooth Drinker

This is silly but I've been asked several times about my smoothies. I drink them a lot in the summer and so I thought I'd post a few that I thought were good. Try them-you won't be sorry. Although there isn't a lot of fat in these-there is a lot of sugar from the fruit and yogurt, so I drink them as a post-workout boost. I hope you like them!




The Green Monster
Proceed with Caution
Serves: 1
1/2 cup skim milk
1 banana (frozen works great!)
1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
handful of spinach, well rinsed (about 2 ounces)
3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Pour into tall glass and enjoy.

Razzle Frazzle
Lisa Esplin
Serves: 1
1/4 cup skim milk
1 banana
1/4 cup rasberries
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 vanilla yogurt
3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Pour into tall glass and enjoy.

Orange Banana Smoothie
Barefoot Contessa

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (4 oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup strawberries, tops removed, and cut in 1/2
1 to 1 1/2 ripe bananas

Combine the orange juice, lime juice, strawberries, and banana in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until cold.

Orange You Glad You Drank This? :)

Guacamole and Mango Salsa

Guacamole (thanks Allrecipes)
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste


Mango Salsa
1 Mango, chopped
1 Jalapeno, finely chopped (remove seeds)
Lime juice
Chopped Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

I had a craving for this pasta today and went to find the recipe in my book. Imagine my dismay when it wasn't there!! So I looked on here and it wasn't there either. Always in search of ways to avoid using your oven, here's another delicious way from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. You could also easily omit chicken and it becomes vegetarian.

Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

*Note: this pasta is best served immediately as it tends to get less creamy as it sits at room temperature – so serve warm right as it finishes cooking! (Incidentally, it heated up just fine the next day in the microwave on low power.)

*Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 average-sized chicken breasts (about 1 to 1 ½ pounds), cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, cut into ½-inch pieces
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pound orzo pasta
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (can use 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook according to package directions until tender. When the orzo is ready, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water (ladling it into a small bowl is my method) and then drain the orzo and set aside.

While the orzo cooks, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot oil and brown on all sides. When nicely browned (but not all the way cooked through), add the peppers, mushrooms and thyme. Stir and let cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms and peppers have softened and browned and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In the skillet over medium heat, add the softened cream cheese (if you forgot to let the cream cheese soften at room temperature, no worries! Pop it in the microwave for one minute on 40% power) in bite sized chunks and stir so that the cream cheese melts and coats the chicken and vegetables. Add the reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir. Add the orzo, Parmesan, lemon juice and fresh parsley. Stir to combine and heat through. Garnish with additional Parmesan and parsley.