Foil Packet Southwestern Chicken

This was an easy weeknight dinner and very tasty!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Minute Brown Rice, uncooked
• 1 3/4 cups warm water
• 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup Kraft Light Done Right Ranch Reduced fat dressing (I used the light 3 cheese)
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 cup Kraft 2% Milk shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (I used cheddar last time and mozzarella this time)
• 4 cups small broccoli florets (I maybe used 2)
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped (I also added a chopped green pepper)

1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Combine rice and water; let stand 5 minutes while chopping veggies
3. Spoon rice mixture evenly onto center of each of 4 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil
4. Top each with 1 chicken breast; sprinkle with chili powder
5. Drizzle evenly with dressing
6. Top with cheese and veggies
7. Make packets and place on baking sheet
8. Bake 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (170*)

I served these with Cheesy Garlic biscuits posted by Mrs.Bowen on The Nest

• 2 cups Bisquick mix
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/4 cup butter - melted
  

Combine first 3 ingredients until moist.Drop onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 450 for 8 minutes.

Mean while, mix melted butter and garlic.Pour over hot biscuits and serve.Makes 8-10 biscuits.

1. 

Homeade Crust This Time!

I make homeade pizza alot, but this was the first time I made the crust. The crust, well surprise, I found it in Amber's Delectable Delights, as well as the sauce.

Jay's Signature Pizza Crust
(Source: Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution.
3. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
4. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.
5. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
6. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.
7. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
-If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately.
-If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Pizza Sauce
(Source: Chelley at Adventures in the Kitchen)
**This recipe yields enough sauce for two large pizzas.

• 15 oz. tomato sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients.

~~ For my pizza, I baked the crust about 7 minutes, then topped with sauce and topping (mushroom and garlic for me, pepperoni, sausage, and garlic for DH) and then put back in the oven for about 10 minutes)

Spicy Garlic Lime Pasta

Another recipe from Amber's Delectable Delights.

This was really good. We both like spicy things and this was spicy, but not too spicy. DH liked his with lime juice squeezed over it at the end because he loves limes. He also told me to make more sauce next time because he loves sauce!

Spicy Garlic Lime Pasta
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
1.5 tbls lime juice (adjusting amount to your liking)
1 tbls corn starch
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried parsley
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 tbls butter
Few drizzles of olive oil
8 oz pasta (I used whole wheat rotini)
1-2 cups broccoli florets
Optional - Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:
1) Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 5 minutes of pasta cook time add the broccoli into the boiling water. Drain.

2) Mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken broth through parsley) and set aside.

3) Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add bite size chicken pieces into heated pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan with the chicken and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.

4) Toss cooked broccoli and pasta with the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired and serve.

Banana Bread

YUMMY! I got this recipe from Amber's Delectable Delights.

I made 1 loaf plain without nuts and the other loaf, I added 1/2 cups pecans and I also added 1/2 cups chocolate chunks. I took them both to work and they were devoured. Everyone especially liked the pecan/chocolate chip one.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas, smashed
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc)

Directions:
-Combine all ingredients except for nuts, using a mixer.- Add nuts and mix by hand- Grease bread pan
-Cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees
-Check with toothpick for doneness (may need to cook longer, possibly 15 more minutes)

This recipe can also be turned into muffins. Simply scoop the batter into 12 muffin cups. Cook at the same temperature but reduce bake time to 25 minutes.

Pecans, Pecans, Pecans!

I went to the grocery store and needed pecans for the Texas Sheet Cake I was going to take to my brother's for dinner. After seeing that a little bag was $9.00, I decided against that.

When I was at Sam's later, a saw a huge bag for $11.00, so now I must find all kinds of pecan recipes to use them up.

There are no pictures of the Sheet Cake because I didn't take any before I left and it was so yummy there was none to bring home.

These pecan bars were pretty good for a little snack.

Source: Everyday Food (From Martha Stewart Living) May 2006

Makes 18
Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup AP flour (plus more for preparation)
• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, but into pieces
• 1/4 tsp salt (I didn't have unsalted butter, so I left out the salt)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Line an 8x8 square baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.
2. In a food processor, pulse pecans until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. In processor, blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt until moist clumps form. Add reserved pecans; pulse 2 or 3 times, just to incorporate.
3. Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared pan (with floured fingers). With a floured flork, prick dough every 1/2 inch. Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes.
4. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Use foil overhang to lift shortbread onto cutting board. Cut warm shortbread, and coil completely on rack before serving.

Apple Crisp

I wanted to do kind of an apple pie, but also have the crispy filling you get with the apple crisp. So, I used one of the pie crusts left over from my pot pie and cut it into circles. I filled each one with apple pie filling and topped with apple crisp topping.

I used this recipe for the idea, but made it into more of individual pastry cups and cooked together in an 8x8 glass dish.

Easy Apple Cobbler Pizza
Ingredients:

1 9-inch refrigerated prepared pie crust

1 can (21 oz.) Comstock® or Wilderness® More Fruit Apple Fruit Filling or Topping

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Unfold pie crust and place on cookie sheet. Spread apple filling evenly over pie crust to within 1” of edge.

2. In small mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Crumble evenly over apple filling.

3. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 6-8 servings Bake time: 10-12 minutes

Chicken Pot Pie

So, this was not fancy at all, but it was comfort food and it was quick so oh well!

My mom always used the canned soup and vegetables, so that is what I did.

Ingredients:

Pastry for 2 pie crusts (I used Pillsbury refrigerated crust for the top, and because I wanted to use the other pie crust for dessert, I made an easy pie crust from http://www.allrecipes.com/ for the bottom.

Easy Pie Crust

Submitted by: LouiseRated: 4 out of 5 by 90 members
Prep Time: 10 MinutesCook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 25 MinutesYields: 8 servings
"This recipe was given to me by a friend of mine many years ago and I enjoy it because it has a different taste and is so easy to fix."

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.Place all ingredients in 9 inch pie pan. Stir together with fork. Pat mixture into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Poke holes in bottom and side of crust.
3.Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light brown. Use as directed in favorite pie recipe.

I didn't bake this before I put the ingredients and it turned out fine.

Filling:

• 2 cans cream of chicken soup


• 1 can mixed vegetables or frozen vegetables


• About 3 chicken breasts (I cooked mine in the slow cooker for about 3 hours on high with chicken broth, salt, pepper, and chicken seasoning)

Combine all in a bowl, put into pie and bake for 45 minutes at about 350-375.

White Bread

I also have the Better Homes and Gardens Breast Cancer edition, but I actually found this bread while looking at the blog of Amber's Delectable Delights.

There is nothing better than eating it hot from the oven. I took the other loaf to my coworkers and they loved it as well. The texture is so good. I mixed most of it with my dough hook on the mixer, and then took it out to knead the flour in the rest of the way.

White Bread
(Source: Better Homes & Gardens, New Cook Book, Limited breast cancer edition)

Low fat
Prep: 30 minutes
Rise: 1 1/4 hours (divided)
Bake: 40 minutes
Makes: 2 loaves

Ingredients:
5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter, margarine or shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions:
1) In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter and salt just until warm (120 to 130 degrees F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. (I probably stirred in a total of 5 1/4 cups while in the mixture and then maybe another half a cup while kneading)

2) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45 to 60 minutes).

3) Punch dough down. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile lightly grease two 8x4x2 loaf pans. (As a total accident experiment, I had one metal loaf pan and one glass loaf pan, and there was no difference in the end product!)

4) Shape dough halves into loaves by patting or rolling. To shape by patting, gently pat and pinch, tucking edges underneath. To shape by rolling, on a lightly floured surface roll each dough half into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Roll up each rectangle, starting from a short side. Seal seams with your fingertips.

5) Place shaped dough halves in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30 to 40 minutes).

6) Bake in a 375 degree oven about 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent over browning). Immediately remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

Yum-O. This is the best chocolate cake. It is so moist and the frosting is delicious. It looks orange-ish due to the flash, but it is actually the same color as the cake almost. I made the bundt version because I didn't have 2 round cake pans.


Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

This recipe is from Everday Italian. I definately had the oil too hot and the parmesan got a tad bit dark (ok maybe really dark), but that's okay because I like it that way. To get them to come up to temperature without burning more I put them in the oven for 15 or so minutes at 350.


By: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions:
Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Creamy Tomato Pasta

So, I wasn't going to make anything tonight because I just wanted cereal, but I figured DH would be hungry after getting home from the gym. I had some leftover lean ground beef and this pasta box from Archer Farms (Target). They were giving the boxes away free one day as samples. Basically it just contains a bag of penne pasta and a pack of seasoning mix. I added the seasoning mix to skim milk and browned lean ground beef.

I made some ranch dressing with a mix (light mayo and skim milk) so really I didn't make anything all homeade this meal :(

Overall this meal was pretty good for being somewhat Sandra Lee-ish!

Grilled Chicken, Mashed Potatoes

The marinade for the chicken was interesting...I don't think we will use it again. Maybe we had the wrong type of beer. It was just a can of light beer, a lime, honey, cilantro, salt, pepper, and garlic. It had too strong of a beer taste to me, so make sure it is a beer you like!

Mashed potatoes-DH's specialty. Peel potatoes (We used Yukon Gold last time and Russet this time and thought the Yukon Gold was better). Cut into thin slices, add water and boil until very tender (falls apart when touched). Strain and add to mixing bowl. Add milk until you get the right consistency you want and butter for flavor. Mix with electric mixer or stand mixer.

The broccoli and rolls were just frozen :(