Monday, January 31, 2011

Sweet Mustard Chicken Bake

Sweet Mustard Chicken Bake

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Garlic salt to taste
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
5 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together the honey, Dijon mustard, melted butter and pepper. Place chicken in a baking dish, and pour the honey mustard sauce over it.

Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently with the sauce, until chicken is firm and juices run clear.

This was pretty good, served with a salad. Adapted from allrecipes.com

Sunday, January 30, 2011

World's Best Lasagna My Way

World's Best Lasagna

1 lb lean ground chuck
6 oz hot Italian sausage
6 oz mild Italian sausage
1 onion, minced
2 tsp minced garlic
Garlic Salt & Pepper to taste
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tsps salt
4 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
2 lbs ricotta
1 egg
6 slices provolone cheese
8 oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz pkg shredded Italian blend cheese
5 oz pkg shredded parmesan and romano cheese

In a Dutch oven, cook ground chuck, sausages, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned and crumbled. Stir in garlic salt and pepper to taste. Add cruched tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, sugar, basil, fennel, Italian seasoning, salt, parsley flakes and red pepper flakes and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cook the lasagna noodles al dente and drain. Beat the ricotta and egg until well blended.

Preheat the oven to 350^F. Spread 1 1/2 cups meat sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan (I used one of those cool new ones with 3 separate channels for the first time today, but a 9x13 or thereabouts is fine too!) Arrange a layer of noodles over the sauce, spread with a layer of ricotta, and then the provolone slices. Spoon more sauce over the provolone, then a layer of noodles, ricotta, shredded mozzarella and some of the parmesan blend. Repeat layers until the pan is full, ending with noodles, sauce, shredded Italian blend and finally the parmesan/romano.

Cover with foil sprayed with Pam to prevent it sticking to the cheese and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is all melted and starting to brown a bit on top. Cool 15-30 minutes before serving.

This recipe (from allrecipes.com) makes enough for a full lasagna pan plus a 9x5 pan to freeze for another day!

I loved this Lasagna. Jen & Mom both thought it was a little too sweet (even though I used half the amount of sugar the original recipe called for). This is very similar to the way I make my Lasagna...only difference is I use a large jar of Ragu (instead of the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste & sauce) and then add the spices/herbs and only a pinch of sugar. However, this was the best Lasagna I've tried other than my own!

Blueberry Cream Muffins

Blueberry Cream Muffins

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.

Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

These were perfect muffins to look at....and they tasted good, but (imho) bland. John, on the other hand, loved them and said they didn't taste bland at all. Maybe it's me....

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter (I left this out and didn't miss it at all!)
6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

Very tasty!! I served this on freshly baked Bread Machine Rolls and it was great!
From allrecipes.com

Bread Machine Rolls

Bread Machine Rolls

3 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 egg white
2 tablespoons water

Place the bread flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, water, butter, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on Dough cycle; press Start.

Remove risen dough from the machine, deflate, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces, and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 2 tablespoons water; brush lightly onto the rolls. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.

Adapted from allrecipes.com (Only change in the original recipe was I reduced the sugar from 3 Tbsp to 2 Tbsp). These were soft and delicious!

Orange Cream Cake

Orange Cream Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix (Kool-Aid)
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 (3 ounce) packages orange flavored Jello, divided
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water
1 cup cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

In a mixing bowl, combine cake and drink mixes, eggs, water and oil. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Using a meat fork, poke holes in cake. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, dissolve one package of gelatin in boiling water. Stir in cold water. Pour over cake. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

In a mixing bowl, combine milk, vanilla, pudding mix and remaining gelatin; beat on low for 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes; fold in whipped topping. Frost cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Good cake! Loved the orange flavor of this. From allrecipes.com

Friday, January 21, 2011

Santa Fe Chicken & Stuffing

Santa Fe Chicken & Stuffing

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 can (abt 4 oz) chopped green chiles, drained
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
4 cups Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Salsa, if desired

Stir soup, milk, sour cream, corn, chiles and chicken in a large bowl. Add stuffing and mix lightly. Spoon into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350^F for about 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with Salsa.

Adapted from recipe on back of the Pepperidge Farm stuffing bag. Nice flavor, but really dry. Can't recommend this one.