Bacon Wrapped Chicken

6 boneless chicken breast halves
1 8 oz whipped onion and chive cream cheese
Butter
6 bacon strips

-Flatten chicken breast to 1/2 in thickness
-Spread 3 Tb cream cheese over each breast
-Dot with butter and a little salt
-Roll up and wrap with bacon
-Place seam side down in greased baking dish
-Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. To brown, broil 6 inches from heat for 3 minutes until the bacon is crisp.

Skillet pork chops

This is my favorite pork chop recipe right now.

4 pork chops (8 oz each) well trimmed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tb butter
2 medium onions, cut into 6 wedges
3 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks

-Season both sides of pork chop with cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
-In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Brown pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side.
-Add onions and carrots to skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 25-30 minutes or until veggies and tender and pork chops are cooked through.

Source: www.diabeticconnect.com

Gingerbread houses

Last weekend I took the kids to Walmart to make gingerbread houses. Daniel was on call and we needed something to do. Kraft and herseys donate everything do it was free! The kids had fun. Kira enjoyed decorating but hardly any of Carson's food made it on the house because anything I handed him went straight in his mouth.

Baked Green Beans

1/2 lb green beans trimmed and snapped in half

1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Toss the green beans in the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the green beans evenly on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

From: http://tried-and-truecookingwithheidi.blogspot.com/search/label/Side%20Dish

Delish!

Orange Julius

There has been a lot of sickness in our house for the past couple weeks. So we have been enjoying this cold refreshing drink occasionally.

6 oz frozen Orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 - 1 cup water (depending on desired consistency)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Ice cubes

Put everything in a blender for 1-2 minutes.

Linzer Cookies

I wanted to make something festive for Valentine's Day and thought these cookies would be fun.

This was my first time making them and they are pretty easy, it just takes some time to cut them out.

Linzer Cookies

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature (3 sticks)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup good raspberry preserves

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll the dough out (about 1/4-inch thick) and cut hearts with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart cutter. Bake the cookies until the edges begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Thinly spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on the top.

Recipe from: http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2008/02/linzer-cookies.html

Apple Dumplings

• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples
• 2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• Cinnamon, To Taste
• 1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

It looks and tastes like you spent a lot longer on it than you really did!

Recipe from http://thepioneerwoman.com.

French Dip Sandwiches

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast (you can use a frozen roast if you want)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 cans beef broth
6-8 large buns (or more...6 would be VERY generous servings!)
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It's hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it's done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

This recipe is from http://www.ourbestbites.com/. They have lots of yummy things, you should check it out. I can't believe I didn't find out about it sooner. These are seriously THE best french dip sandwiches I have ever had. And my husband LOVED them.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

1- 1 1/2 lbs cooked chicken (I used 2 large chicken breast)

Sauce:

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice

1 Tablespoon chili powder (I thought this would be too much, but it's not!)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

1 cup colby jack cheese, shredded

1 cup montery jack cheese, shredded

6-8 flour tortillas (8 in)

Mix the sauce ingredients together and add the chicken. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Spray pan with cooking spray. I used a 9x7 in pan. (I know it's a weird size, but works great for our small family). Pour enchilada sauce in pan to coat the bottom. Fill tortillas with meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll tightly and line in pan. Top with the rest of the enchilada sauce (I used 1 1/2 cans instead of the full 2 cans) and more cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is so different for enchiladas, my husband loved it. I made Cafe Rio black beans with it and it was a good combo.

Recipe from: http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/search/label/mexican

Key Lime Fudge

Ingredients

3 cups white baking pieces

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspsoonsn finely shredded lime peel

2 tablespoons key lime or regular lime juice

1/2 to 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions

1. Line an 8x8x2- or 9x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter foil; set aside.

2. In a heavy large saucepan stir baking pieces and sweetened condensed milk over low heat just until pieces are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in lime peel and lime juice. Stir in macadamia nuts.

3. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle a few additional coarsely chopped macadamia nuts over the top. Cover and chill for 2 hours or until firm.

4. Lift fudge from pan using edges of foil. Peel off foil. Use a knife to cut into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Makes 2-1/2 pounds fudge.

Harvest Salad

Cut romaine lettuce
Pomegranate seeds
Diced pear
Cashew pieces
Shredded mozzarella cheese

I learned a new trick recently from my mom about de-seeding a pomegranate. Fill the sink with cold water and pull the seeds out under the water. It's easier to do and creates less mess since the juice isn't flying all over the kitchen.

Toss ingredients.
Top with vinaigrette dressing. My fav is Brianna's Blush Wine.
Delish.

Turducken

Seriously, this is so strange. It's a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. Check out this page to see a picture. So weird! I don't think I'd ever try it because I don't like stuffing birds, but it's an interesting idea.

Pumpkin soup

Does anyone have a good recipe for a creamy pumpkin soup? I had some at Au Bon Pain a while ago and loved it. I made some for dinner tonight and it was just okay. I used a recipe off the Libby website and it needed more spice to it I think. If you have a good recipe, please share!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

10 ounce bag of chocolate chips

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together shortening, sugar, egg, and canned pumpkin.

3. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and flour. Mix well. Add chocolate chips. Mix again.

4. Drop dough into 2 Tablespoon sized drops onto an ungreased baking sheet, allowing room to spread. Bake about 15-17 minutes and transfer to racks to cool.

Yields: 2 - 3 dozen

Banana Nut Bread

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ cup salted butter, softened

1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

3 cups ripe bananas (about 7 medium), mashed

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup (4 oz) chopped walnuts

Chocolate chips (as requested by my hubby)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas and vanilla and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Add the combined flour mixture, walnuts, and chocolate chips, then blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake on center rack of oven for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and bread should pull away from sides of pan.

Cool to room temp before removing and slicing.

Yield: 30 ½ inch slices (15 slices per loaf)

Source: Mrs. Fields Cookie Book

Chocolate Chip cookies

Sadly, this blog has been neglected. There are several reasons why: vacations, it's summertime, and Daniel starting 3rd year is killing my dinner planning groove (I don't really know what time he'll be home each day and that has thrown me off). So today I'll share a cookie recipe since I feel like making cookies.

1 1/2 sticks of butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
chocolate chips
nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter with sugars until extremely fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, soda and salt (I usually just stir it together in a bowl.) Mix dry ingredients into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts if desired.

Bake 11-11 1/2 minutes until slightly browned. Leave cookies on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.

Mandarin Orange Spinach Salad

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar (sometimes I use a little extra :))
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 bad pre-packaged washed salad spinach
1 (10 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup Craisins

Cook sugar and almonds over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, set aside to cool. Mix spinach, oranges, and Craisins in a large bowl. When ready to serve, pour dressing over spinach and toss well. Sprinkle with almonds on top.

Dressing:
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Shake all ingredients together in a jar with a tight lid.

Source: Courtney Walker, Wheaton Ward Cookbook, 2001

Kitchen Tools

This is the garlic press I have from IKEA. It works great and was not expensive. I love it. If you don't have one, you should consider getting one. They are amazing. I don't spend forever mincing garlic anymore thanks to this beautiful tool.

Butter vs. Shortening

Awhile ago I was making cookies. I always use butter when cooking or baking, always. I was looking a few recipes and pondering why some recipes use butter and others shortening. I found these fun videos from a friend. They discuss a lot more than just butter and shortening, but do address the differences butter and shortening have in cookies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-KVveLp3k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoN0PtsIIQ&NR=1

I don't like the taste of cookies made with shortening, but after watching these videos I think I'll try making cookies with butter flavored shortening just to try it out.

Chicken Cordon Blue

(from the Taste of Home Cookbook)

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 thin slices fully cooked ham
4 thin slices Swiss cheese (I use Provolone)
4 strips bacon (can leave this out for a healthier meal, but my husband likes it with)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Flatten chicken breast to 1/8 in thickness; spread butter on the insides. Sprinkle with thyme. Top with a slice of ham and cheese; roll up tightly. Wrap each chicken with a slice of bacon and secure with toothpicks.

In a small bowl, beat eggs and milk. Place flour in another bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, oregano and cheese. Dip each chicken breast into the egg mixture; coat with flour. Dip each again into the egg mixture, then coat with crumbs.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove toothpicks before serving.

Yield: 4 servings