World's Best Chicken????

The caption on Pinterest said this is the World's Best Chicken....  not sure I agree, but it was pretty good.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

The World’s Best Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Rosemary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.  Place chicken breasts into 9×13 greased baking dish. Season with salt & pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is fully coated. No need to marinate.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.  (Line your pan with foil to keep clean up easy!)  

Ina's Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

When the episode of Food Network Magazine with this on the cover came, I knew I would be making it for dinner that week.  Ina's Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

Ina Garten has been one of my favorite chefs a long time now.  The soup was delicious but I didn't love the grilled cheese on the panini press.  All of the cheese got pressed out.  They weren't oooey and goooey like I love.  Otherwise, great recipe.

Grilled Salmon with Lemon Dill Sauce

One of our new favorite Salmon recipes.  Grilled Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce

Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats

For our Halloween lunch at work, I promised a co-worker who follows me on Pinterest that I would make these.  They were a huge hit and very easy.

I pinned the post from Grin & Bake It

My tray of pumpkins

3 Tbsp. butter
5 cups Rice Krispies
1 bag (8 oz.) Kraft Pumpkin Marshmallows
Tootsie Roll
Orange or Red and Yellow Food Coloring
A can of green icing

Melt butter in a large saucepan.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted.  Remove from heat.  Add a few drops of food coloring and stir to combine.  Add rice krispies and stir thoroughly until coated.  Let sit 3-5 minutes.

Waiting for the mixture to cool enough to from balls.

 
To make pumpkins:  spray hands with Pam cooking spray and form the mixture into balls.  Insert a tootsie roll that your husband unpeeled for you into the ball and press mixture against it so that it sits firmly in place.  Once firm, use the appropriate tip to pipe icing for the stem.

Discovering Skinny Taste

I recently discovered Skinny Taste.  Wow, is that addicting.  Just about as addicting as Pinterest.  Not long ago, we made the Carrot Ginger Soup.  It was delicious.  And please bear with me.  I got a new laptop from my hubby for Christmas and in the transfer, I can't find all of my pictures, this one included...  Some of it is because of Windows 8 which I am getting used too and some of it is finding everything that was transferred.



I highly recommend that you give it a try.

Honey Chicken

I found this recipe for Honey Sesame Chicken on Pinterest.  It tastes just like PF Chang/Pei Wei Honey Chicken.  I served it with fried rice.  My hubby went nuts.

Ingredients:

12 oz. chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

1 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1 Tbsp. cooking wine

1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Sauce:

1 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce

2 Tbsp. ketchup ( I used a little more)

1-2 Tbsp honey ( I used a little more)

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce

2 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Marinate chicken in soy sauce, wine, sesame oil and sugar for about an hour.  Mix flour and cornstarch and place in a large zip-lock bag.  Drain chicken and add to flour mixture.  Shake gently to coat.  Fry in 350* oil  until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

To make sauce, mix chili sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce and soy sauce and water in a  medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer until sauce begins to thicken.  Toss with chicken pieces and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  

Yields 4 servings

Ham & Cheese Sliders

I made these for dinner a while back and we devoured almost the entire pan.  Link here for Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Ingredients:

24 good white dinner rolls ( King's Hawiian are good too)

24 pieces good honey ham

24 pieces Swiss cheese

1/3 cup mayo

1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy Seed Sauce:

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds (or sesame seeds in my case)

1 1/2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp. minced onion

1/2 tsp.  Worchestershire sauce

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo and miracle whip and spread on both sides of each roll.  Layer one slice of ham and one slice of cheese inside each roll.  Place them tightly in a baking dish.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients.  Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches.  You don't have to use all of the sauce, just be sure to cover the tops.  Let sit 10 minutes or until the butter slightly sets.  Cover with foil and bake 350* for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Uncover and cook for an additional 2 minutes until tops are slightly browned and crispy.  Serve warm.

Note:  Sandwiches can be assembled up to a day ahead of time and stored in the fridge.  Add sauce 10 minutes before ready to bake.

These are also great for a crowd.  My mom served them for lunch a few weekends later when the whole family was around.    On my batch, I didn't have any poppy seeds to I substituted sesame seeds.  We really enjoyed the end result.  

Mediterranean Salad with Penne, Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

This is my go to lunch.  A box of pasta and I am good for the week!  Mediterranean Salad with Penne, Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes from Everyday Food #49, Page 101. This is also great to take to a picnic or pot-luck or to put grilled chicken on for dinner.  I usually double the dressing.

Ingredients:

coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup penne pasta
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed), thinly sliced lengthwise
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustart
1 head Romaine lettuce torn into bite size pieces
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, (water-packed), drained and quartered
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1.  In a large pan of salted water, cook pasta until 1 minute short of al dente, add sun-dried tomatoes and cook until tender and pasta is al dente, 1 minute more.  Drain pasta and tomatoes, rinse under cold water, drain again.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2.  Make dressing.  In a large bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard and 1 Tbsp. water.  Season with salt and pepper.

3.  Add pasta and tomatoes, romaine, beans, artichoke hearts and feta.  Toss until combined and serve immediately.

Stuffed Zucchini

We had a monster zucchini from my in-laws garden.  I would recommend using smaller zucchini's to cut down on cooking time as these were in the oven over an hour....

I washed the zucchini, cut the ends off and cored it.  I then sprinkled Italian Seasoning over both halves (zucchini can be a little bland....)

I browned a pound of ground turkey with a diced onion and seasoned with more Italian seasoning.  I then added seasoned diced tomatoes and a few large scoops of browned rice and let it simmer.  It was still lacking so I grabbed a pint of seasoned stewed tomatoes that mom and I canned last fall from the pantry.  I would adjust this a bit depending on how much zucchini I'm cooking.  We usually cook about 3 smaller zucchini.

As you can see, these are loaded down!  




















A 375* oven for 35-45 min should do the trick.  Once the zucchini are cooked through (pliable when squeezed with tongs) add mozzarella cheese and return to oven (or broiler) until melted and/or browned.

We always have enough for leftovers.  I have even taken in enough to share with my co-workers the next day.  I've considered trying these on the grill...  hmmmm.   Enjoy!

Hoisin Glazed Salmon

Great dinner from last week.  Hoisin Glazed Salmon from Cooking Light (maybe?)  Tasty and really easy.  Marinates for 8 minutes in the hoisin glaze and then bakes for about 10.  

An attempt at pretzel rolls...

I've said before, I'm not the best baker, but I am determined.   We've been seeing this whole "Pretzel Roll" phenomenon blossoming recently.  B came home from a meeting out of town this summer raving about a burger on a pretzel roll and I couldn't fathom it.  Then I see a sign at the restaurant at the corner saying that they now have pretzel rolls.  Hmmm.  We ordered take out a month or so ago and I got a corned beef sandwich on a pretzel roll.  BELIEVER!  Why had I waited so long?  Then came the discovery of this recipe on Pinterest.  

Mine were NOT as pretty as hers, but they tasted good.  We ate those bottom two right out of the oven.  I will warn you, I used A LOT more flour since my dough was REALLY sticky.  And they are best used right when made.  I may try to half the recipe next time it's just the two of us.  The was one of two trays.  There were a lot of rolls.   They still taste good the next day, but lose a little "something."

We made BBQ chicken and it was a great sandwich.  

Most definitely worth a try.

Easy, Cheesy Broccoli Soup from Cuisine at Home

I have been battling my second head cold of the winter, if you can call it winter, for the past few days.  Soup seems to be in order again and B has been asking for this for a couple of weeks, so I let him make it for me :-)  

We've had this magazine for a couple of years and have made a few things from it.  Here is the Link for the magazine (sorry, I couldn't find it on Amazon...) Cuisine at Home:  Our Favorite Weeknight Menus.    I'm a big fan of Cuisine magazines.  They have great tips, step by step directions and pics and usually a side dish recipe in the margin.  We love everything we've tried from these.

Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup - Cuisine at Home:  Our Favorite Weeknight Recipes
p. 94
35 minutes
Makes 9 cups

* Do your self a favor and use the Velveeta.  I've tried to go the healthy route and shredded block cheese to add or just added shredded.  While it tasted good, I ended up with chunks of cheese that were just a gooey mess.  USE THE VELVEETA!

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup carrot, minced
1/2 cup celery, minced

2 Tbsp all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth

1 lb. American cheese (VELVEETA, cubed) shredded, 4 cups
6 cups broccoli florets and diced stems, blanched
1/4 tsp, cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot and celery and sweat 3 minutes.

Stir in flour to coat veggies and cook 1 minute.  Slowly add broth, stirring constantly; increase heat to medium-high, then bring to a rolling boil.  Cook 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium.

Add cheese, let stand 1 minute, then stir until incorporated.  Simmer soup 3 minutes (do not boil, or cheese may curdle), add blanched broccoli and cook another minute.  Season with cayenne and salt.

Per cup:  360 cal, 25 g fat, 18 g carbs, 960 mg sod, 5 g fiber, 18 g protein

We have already made the Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine p. 78, Browned Butter Beans, Fabulous Fish Tacos p. 68, Asian Pork Satays and Cucumber Relish p. 51, and the Mediterranean Chops and Parmesan Orzo p 44.

The next thing he is requesting from this magazine is the Shrimp Roll on p 84.  The French Onion Soup, Toasted Ravioli, and Tortilla Chip Chicken from the cover look yummy too.  Oh yeah, and the Lasagna Soup...

Grandma Smith's Soft Molasses Cookies

My Grandma makes THE BEST molasses cookies.  And there were almost always some in the container on top of the fridge while I was growing up.  Recently, they moved into an assisted living facility and we have been slowly cleaning out the house.  While I was working on the kitchen, I came across a couple of half full jars of molasses and pet milk (sweetened condensed, Carnation also makes this)

I made them at mom and dad's this weekend because I didn't want ALL those cookies in the house.  I wanted to share the recipe with you here.

Grandma Smith's Soft Molasses Cookies

Preheat oven to 375* - cookies will bake for about 10 minutes for one tray, up the time by a minute or so if you are cooking two trays at once.

2/3 cup pet milk
2 tsp. vinegar
1/2 cup cooking molasses
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
2/3 cup soft shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Mix together milk & vinegar.  Add molasses and mix well

Sift together dry ingredients, except sugar.

Cream together the shortening and sugar.  Add eggs and beat hard.

Add molasses mixture and flour mixture alternately to shortening mixture.

Chicken Orzo Soup

It's cold here so soup was most definitely on the agenda.  Chicken Orzo Soup from a past issue of Cooking Light.  One of my New Year's Resolutions, and I tried to be realistic this year, is to purge some un-needed things.  One category that needs a thorough "pick-through" is my collection of cooking magazines.  I had a lot of old cooking light issues.  A lot.  I'm so glad I found Pinterest.  It's my new obsession.  I do seriously mean obsession here.  It's the easiest thing to use, like an online bulletin board, or in my case, filing cabinet.  I have had so much fun pinning articles and recipes and seeing who likes my pins.  See my sidebar --------->  to follow me on Pinterest.  I would love to see what you're pinning!

Anyhow, back to dinner.  This was a wonderful recipe.  I cooked a chicken with herbs, veggies and water in my crock-pot all day yesterday and used the chicken and broth for the soup.  I am also trying to use things out of the pantry this year.  It's going OK so far.  I had orzo so that was why I wanted to try this.  I also got whole chickens on sale for $.78/pound, so I restocked my freezer with a few of those.  Always nice to have on hand for broth and soups.  Here are a few other recipes I use that technique on: 

Avoglemono - Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

White Chicken Chili

Pizza Dough

For the last few years, I have been on the hunt for a good pizza dough recipe.  I came across a good one Sunday night.  Maybe not the best one, but it was pretty darn good.  It is from Tyler Florence on the Food Network.    It made a big batch.  I made a thin crust for me and a deep dish for Brian.  I had a bit left over and just made a plain one with some garlic, sauce and cheese.

I was hungry and forgot to take a picture before I cut into it!

I used Quick Rise instant yeast and it worked.  I have terrible luck with yeast, but it worked!  Oh, and I think the recipe is incorrect for the amount of salt. I will decrease it to about 1/2 Tbsp. next time and see how that works.

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

Cooking Light came through for me with this recipe.  Mine didn't look this pretty, but it was moist and tasty.  I think I would like to try it with a gooey, nutty layer in the center, or on top, or both.  Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Soup

 I can only describe this as comfort food.  Pure and simple comfort food.  I kept dipping my spoon in the pot while it was simmering away.  I got caught a couple of times and had to share my spoon.  But I like him, so I didn't mind :-)   As much as I would like to make a batch of this every week, my waistline has gone down a couple of inches lately and I don't think it would be to happy with me if I did indulge that often.  But every once in a while, I will be digging out this recipe from my friend Nancy when in need of some cheesy comfort.  Check out the recipe here for your own evening of cheesy indulgence.  

Lentil Soup on a chilly night

I have been looking for a good lentil soup recipe for a couple of years now, and for some reason have been afraid to make it.  Well, I got the urge again this week and bit the bullet this time!  Here is the recipe I used.   I did follow the advice of one reviewer and added the crushed tomatoes and wine after it had simmered for a couple of hours.  I then used my immersion blender to puree it a bit and it has thickened up nicely.  The corn muffins made a great side for the soup. And yes, I ate all three, with honey!

Thankfully, this made a nice big pot, so I don't have to worry about what to feed my dad for lunch on Saturday.  Mom is having a girls weekend, and since it's hunting season, we will be heading "up north" and I promised her I wouldn't let him starve.  I might even make him some cookies too... if he makes me apple cinnamon pancakes for breakfast!  I think I can persuade him.

Apparently I wasn't the only one with Lentil Soup on my mind this week...  Jennifer at JCasa, a blog that I read often made a different recipe this week that looks equally delish.  I'm keeping it in mind for my next attempt!  Thanks Jennifer for letting me link your post here!

I am welcoming the chillier weather because I LOVE soups.  I have a few others lined up for the chilly nights coming up, so check back soon!

Fiesta Lime Fish Tacos

We made fish tacos again tonight and I remembered to get a photo, a little dark, but a photo nontheless.  I love Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning.  It's just great!  I served these alongside Alexia Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries.  Yep, slightly addicted right now.  We had them last week with turkey burgers and they were so good.

Here is the recipe for you to enjoy!  Hope you like it!

Chicken Breasts with Turkish White Bean Salad

Yum.  I really like this Weight Watchers Cookbook.  (See the bottom of this post for the Amazon link)  It has so many recipes in it that I want to try.   Last night I made the Chicken Breasts with Turkish White Bean Salad.  It was really good.  I just made some brown rice because I wasn't that hungry and Brian just wanted some hummus and naan with it.  It was super easy, I made the salad and got some dishes done while the chicken was cooking.

The recipe is here...