Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fresh Bread

Posted in by blkris | Edit

This is actually a white bread recipe but I made it half white, half whole wheat and it was a great combination of the sweetness of white bread but a little better for you with the wheat (or so I like to tell myself!). I cut this recipe out of a Dallas Morning News newspaper years ago and never tried it until this week. But beware, it gets really crumbly when you make a sandwich with it!

Makes 2 - 9x5 inch loaves

Ingredients:
2 c. warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c. white sugar (or a little less like I did)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tbs active dry yeast
6 cups bread flour

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam (about 5 min.).
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Kneed dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until double in bulk, about one hour.
3. Punch dough down. Kneed for a few minutes and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two well oiled 9 x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 min., or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 min. (Mine were done at about 25 min. so set your timer for less and check)

Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted in by blkris | Edit

In my 5 years of marriage, I can't recall a time when I had made peanut butter cookies. So, that is what I did the other day. Growing up, my Mom used to put hershey kisses on top but I didn't have any so we did hershey choc. chips mixed in. YUM!


Bake 370 for 8-10 min.

Cream together:
1/2 c. butter or shortening
1/2 c. peanut butter ( I like to use crunchy!)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg

Add:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt.

Roll into balls and dip in white sugar; place on cookie sheet and press with a fork in an x shape. Cook 8-10 min. and enjoy!
Thursday, September 17, 2009

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

Posted in by blkris | Edit

I am not a huge fan of zucchini, but this turned out really well and was very good! We have a little charcoal grill and that gave the zucchini a great smoky flavor.

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini
recipe by Our Best Bites

2 medium zucchini (about 10")
4 oz Italian turkey sausage (I couldn't find the Turkey sausage so I used 2 regular Italian sausages)
1/4 C diced red onion ( I didn't have this so I used a white onion and a little green onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato (about 1/2 C diced)
1 1/2 T chopped fresh basil (or abt a teaspoon of dried) ( I am not a big fan of basil so I used Italian seasoning)
2/3 C Italian cheese blend (the kind pre-bagged with parm/mozz/asiago/etc)
1 T Italian style bread crumbs

kosher salt
black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

-Slice zucchini in half length wise, leaving the tops on.
-Scoop out the centers, saving them in a bowl. Leave at least 1/4 inch around the edges and bottoms. Take the good parts of the zucchini guts you just scooped out and dice up 1/2 C. This will go in your filling.
-Drizzle the zucchini shells with a little olive oil and use your hands to rub it on all sides. Sprinkle with some kosher salt and black pepper and set aside.
-Preheat your grill outside and then start your filling in a skillet on the stovetop. Start by browning the sausage. When you no longer see pink, add the onions, garlic, and diced zucchini. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is tender. Add tomato and basil, 1/4 t kosher salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
-First take your zucchini to the grill and put them hollow-side down.
-Grill for about 5 minutes on medium heat. They should have nice charred marks and look tender on the inside. (Make sure you don't cook them very long here. You will put them back on the grill when they are stuffed. If you cook them too long, they will become watery.)
-Take them back inside. Add cheese and bread crumbs to filling mixture. Stir to combine and then divide the filling between the zucchini. Top each zucchini with about 1T cheese and sprinkle with 1/4-1/2 t bread crumbs. Lastly, give them a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
-Place them back on the grill (filling side up- please!) Close grill lid, and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Larger/thicker zucchini will obviously take longer to cook.
-If you're doing this inside, it will take a little longer seeing as you can't close the lid to keep in the heat. You also might want to broil them in the oven when they're finished to help the cheese on top get nice and bubbly.

Pear sauce

Posted in by blkris | Edit

Okay, for all you canning fanatics, you should REALLY try making pear sauce. I have never canned before and went to a class at enrichment the other night and helped make pear sauce. You know, like applesauce, but with pears. It was really great! I don't have the exact recipe, but if you are into canning, I am sure you can find one for it ( or I can find out if you want!). We had breakfast for dinner and had wheat pancakes with pear sauce and homemade whipped cream on top. YUM!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Posted in by blkris | Edit
I have never made Chicken Cordon Bleu before and decided to find a recipe. I got lucky and this one was good. Not as good the second day, but still very good. I liked that the sauce was not cream of chicken (not a big fan of this). The bad thing about this recipe though is that it took a while since it cooks on the stove and I had to keep babysitting it. I think next time I will try browning it on the stove and then cooking it in the oven.

INGREDIENTS:
*
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices ham
3 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken broth granules
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups hot, cooked linguine or pasta of your choice
*
DIRECTIONS:
*
Place a ham and a cheese slice on each chicken breast. (I pounded my breasts, to 1/4", it makes the chicken much easier to roll) Roll up tightly, tucking in sides to completely enclose ham and cheese. Secure with toothpicks. Mix flour and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl and coat the chicken pieces with the mixture. In a large skillet heat the butter over medium-high heat and brown the chicken rolls on all sides. Add broth and broth granules, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is done & tender in the center. Remove chicken and keep warm on a serving platter. Blend cornstarch with the cream and stir into the skillet, stirring constantly and cooking until thickened. Serve sauce over chicken and linguine.
Number of Servings: 6

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Posted in by blkris | Edit

I know most of my posts say that the food I made was delicious, well, this one was too. Really, why would I post a recipe of something that wasn't delicious? I am a sweet bread fanatic, and a lover of chocolate, so what is better than a sweet bread with chocolate in it?? AND, this one has vegetables too! I know, I know, the chocolate, sugar and cooking it defeats the whole nutritional value of the zucchini, but it makes me feel a little better when I eat half a loaf! ENJOY!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread {makes 2 loaves}
Recipe by ourbestbites

2 C flour (I used 1 c. white and 1 c. wheat flour)
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C canola oil (next time I will try applesauce as a replacement)
1 C sugar ( I did about 3/4 c. sugar instead but could have probably even done 1/2 c.)
1/4 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/2 C sour cream
3 C grated zucchini (About 3 medium sized zucchinis)
3/4 C mini chocolate chips (who wants mini? I used the real deal!)

Topping: (this makes a lot; maybe cut in half)
2 T brown sugar
2 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside. I used one medium sized aluminum pan, and 3 small aluminum pans (the small ones are nice to give away!)

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. (The topping made way more than what I wanted, so you could probably cut this in half or even get rid of it all together and the bread would still be great!)

Place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

With a stand or hand mixer beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.

Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.

Gently stir in the grated zucchini.

Take a spoonful of the flour mixture and stir in with the chocolate chips (that will help keep them evenly distributed.) If you only have regular chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar, just give it a chop so it's the size of mini chocolate chips. Stir remaining flour mixture into batter and mix just until combined. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Divide the batter between the two pans. and sprinkle topping over each.

Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. (I checked mine at 45 min. but they were done at about 50 min.)

When it's done a toothpick or skewer should come out without goopy batter on it and the top will be gorgeous and cracked with sugar.


Let it cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes and then remove from pans.
Sunday, September 13, 2009

Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread

Posted in by blkris | Edit
To all those banana bread fans, here you go! I love banana bread, and love chocolate, so I figured I would give this a try. I really liked it! It has less sour cream, butter, and sugar than my regular recipe, and was still delicious! I even cut back on the sugar more and of course, added in about half wheat flour and increased the banana a little bit to make sure it was moist. YUM!

Found on: our best bites
Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread
2 c. flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
¼ c. butter, softened
1 ½ c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4 medium bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 c. plain lowfat yogurt or sour cream
½ c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cups and level. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream sugar and butter. Add bananas, eggs, and yogurt, beating until just blended. Add flour mixture. Beat on low until just moistened. Microwave chocolate chips in a medium bowl for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 c. batter to chocolate, stirring until well-combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter (so you have stripes of plain and chocolate batter) in an 8 ½” x 4 ½” loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters with a knife.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes (give or take a little; I'd probably set your timer for 1 hour and 10 minutes to be safe) or until a knife comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan and then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
Monday, September 7, 2009

Pork Tacos and Pico de Gallo

Posted in , , by blkris | Edit
This is a great meal to feel a lot of people. I have used 3-4 pork chops, or a pork roast. Add whatever toppings you like, and voila! A meal for many! Serve with fresh fruit salad, warm wheat torillas and spanish rice (still working on a good recipe for this. Have one? Let me know!).

Put 3-4 pork chops or a whole pork roast (serves 4-5 adults) in crockpot about 5 hours on medium and pour Mesquite marinade over top (I have used Lawrys, but am looking for a homemade one so I can get away from the high fructose corn syrup in the store bought ones) and walk away for a few hours! Then when it falls apart, shred it in the crock pot so all of the meat can soak in the marinade and turn on warm until ready to serve.

Serve with wheat tortillas and...
olives
guacamole (onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, seasoning salt, lemon juice mixed in
with 2-3 avocadoes)
lettuce
shredded cheese
black beans
pico de gallo


Pico de Gallo
Mix together in a bowl a few hours before serving to let flavors soak together:

1 large tomato diced small
handful of cilantro cut up small
couple slices of red onion diced
sprinkle garlic salt or about 1/2 tsp minced garlic
dash of salt and pepper

Want it to have a little kick? Add about half of a small diced jalapeno (seeds out)

Coffee cake

Posted in by blkris | Edit

Heat oven to 375 and grease 6 x9 pan (?? smaller than a cake pan).

Mix:
1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar (can reduce and will still turn out great)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 C shortening (we used real butter this morning and it gave it a rich butter flavor)
3/4 C milk (add a little more if using whole wheat flour)
1 egg

Topping:
1/3 C brown sugar
1/4 C flour
3 Tbs firm butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together with a fork or pastry cutter to cut up butter into small chunks and make this a crumbly topping. Sprinkle over batter in pan.

Cook about 30-35 min.

Homemade Wheat Bread

Posted in by blkris | Edit

I have actually never made homemade bread by hand and this turned out fairly well. I have been lazy and put mine in the breadmaker but decided this week was the week to try it by hand. I was afraid whole wheat would be too dry, but this recipe was pretty easy and was really moist. I used Virgin coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and it gave it a little sweet coconut flavor.

From savory seasonings

Fast and Easy Whole Wheat Bread
Yields 2 (8x4 loaves)
http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast

3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 TBSP salt
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 TBSP lemon juice

2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Mix together yeast and water and allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes. Add 3 ¾ cup flour to yeast mixture and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and mix for one minute. Add the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing between each cup. Knead for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This makes very soft dough.

If you are kneading by hand, gradually add last cup of flour to keep dough from sticking to counter. You will add more flour when kneading by hand. With wheat flour always add the least amount of flour possible to keep the bread moist. Knead for 10 minutes before shaping into loaves.

Pre-heat oven for one minute to lukewarm and then turn off. Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves and place in oiled bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for about 15-18 minutes or until dough reaches the top of the pan. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on racks.

Jumbalya

Posted in , , , , by blkris | Edit

This is a recipe that I got from my Mom, who I think got it from my Aunt?? Anywho... it is really good, but turns out different every time I make it. The only thing different though is how spicy it is. Depending on your brand of rotel tomatoes, it may be really spicy, or hardly at all. But, it is a great crockpot dinner. Put it in and forget about it, or you can cook it on the stove in a big pot.

Before you start cooking everything else, make sure you have cooked and diced chicken (no seasonings necessary; I boil mine to make it quick; I usually only use 1 chicken breast), sausage (Turkey sausage, or regular; I usually use about half of the package), about 1/2 pound cooked shrimp w/tail off.

Add into the pot and stir:
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (I usually omit this)

Add in the meat: sausage, chicken, shrimp.

I don't ever measure the vegetables, but just kind of throw it in and do what looks good to me. Don't like as much onion or green pepper?? Add more red pepper or celery.

Dice and add to tomato and meat mixture:
red pepper
green pepper
yellow or orange pepper (I never have this so I usually omit this one)
white onion
celery

Cook in crock pot for a few hours or until vegetables are soft. Or, cook on stove in a big pot until vegetables are soft. Serve with rice mixed in, or to the side and a green salad. YUM!

Biscuits

Posted in , by blkris | Edit

I tried a new biscuit recipe, and it is again from BHG.com. It was pretty good and more like KFC biscuits. I don't know if any of you have had those, but the ones in Texas were really good. And actually, the only good thing from KFC were the biscuits! Anyway.... I did my usual and made them mostly with wheat flour and a little white flour, but I didn't add extra liquid, so they did turn out a little dry. But with butter and homemade raspberry jam or honey, they were great! And I heated a couple up the next morning and put some scrambled eggs on them and they were REALLY great! But, I think I will keep searching for that really teriffic biscuit recipe. Anyone have a great one??

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening or butter
  • 2/3 cup milk

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix well to distribute the baking powder and the salt.

2. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut shortening into flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you use butter, be sure it is chilled. (Mixing by hand softens the shortening, making the dough sticky and hard to handle.)

3. Gently push the flour-shortening mixture against the sides of the bowl, making a well in the center. Pour the milk into the well all at once. Using a fork, stir just until the mixture follows the fork around the bowl and forms a soft dough.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 10 to 12 strokes.

5. On the lightly floured surface, pat the dough to 1/2-inch thickness (or roll it out with a lightly floured rolling pin, if desired). Sprinkle a little flour over dough.

6. Cut biscuit dough with a 2-1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, pressing the cutter straight down. Be careful not to twist the cutter or flatten the cut biscuit edges or you won't get straight-sided, evenly shaped biscuits. Dip the cutter into flour between cuts to prevent sticking. If you do not have a biscuit cutter, use a straight-sided glass. Or, pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle and cut into squares or triangles using a sharp knife.

7. Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the cut biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet. For crusty-sided biscuits, place about 1 inch apart. For soft-sided biscuits, place biscuits close together in an ungreased baking pan.

8. Reroll scraps of dough and cut into biscuit shapes. Try to cut out as many biscuits as possible from a single rolling of dough. Too many rerollings of the dough causes biscuits to be tough and dry.

9. Bake biscuits in 450 degree F oven 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden on the top and the bottom. Serve warm. Makes 10 biscuits.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Posted in , by blkris | Edit

This was DELICIOUS! I have wanted to try coconut chicken, and I was VERY pleased with this recipe. Of course, there are things I will do differently next time. I tried sprinkling dried coconut onto the chicken while it was on the grill, but this was just a waste of time. After turning the chicken over a couple times, the coconut just fell off. I marinated the chicken for about 3 hours. Next time, I will try about 6 hours to give it more flavor. The "sticky" glaze measurements seemed like a lot to me, so I cut it into thirds since I was only cooking 2 chicken breasts instead of 6-8 thighs. The glaze cooked down quite a bit and I ended up only being able to drizzle this over the chicken instead of covering it. I think I will make the whole amount next time to make sure I have enough. I also cooked up the glaze too far in advance and when I went to put it on the chicken, it was almost a solid so I had to reheat it. I know, I am picky and have too many things to change, but really... this was REALLY GOOD! I only used half a can of coconut milk for my marinade with two chicken breasts, and so did as the recipe suggested and used the other half for some of the liquid for the rice. It was a different, almost sweet flavor, but I added a little salt and it was a great combination of flavors! We had leftover coconut rice and leftover meat from the Hoisin Chicken Rice Bowls, so my husband combined the two for a leftover lunch and he said it was really good.



6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour (I let mine marinade four about four to five hours). Grill on barbecue.
Glaze:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
While the chicken is grilling, bring above ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat! Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.
Sidenote: I used the extra coconut milk left in the can as part of the liquid in my rice and it was unbelievable! It was very mildly sweet and paired so well with the chicken. Yum!

Hoisin Chicken Rice Bowls

Posted in by blkris | Edit

When I read this recipe, I liked that it was a healthy meal. I had no idea what Hoisin was though. To tell the truth, after I bought it and was making this, when I opened the jar, my first thought was, "This looks like TAR". It looked disgusting! However, it give the chicken kind of a sweet flavor, almost like honey. I didn't think I needed all of the Hoisin it called for, but I wish I had used it. I think it would have given it a little more flavor. These were not my favorite, but my husband liked them, so I may try them again and make a few adjustments. I think I will leave the water chestnuts whole instead of chopping them. I like the crunch of these. The green onions you put on top after it is cooked gave it a great flavor. I think I will add some in while I am cooking next time.


Serves 4

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large red pepper, diced small
1 10-ounce package baby portebello mushrooms, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 average-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced small
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained, diced small
2 teaspoons teriyaki sauce (you can find this by the soy sauce)
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 cups of hot cooked rice
romaine lettuce leaves
sesame seeds
scallions, thinly sliced

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large saute pan. Add red pepper and mushrooms and saute for 5 - 6 minutes until tender. Add garlic and saute an additional minute. Add chicken to pan and cook for 6 - 8 minutes or until cooked through. Stir chicken and red pepper mixture occasionally while it cooks. Add water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce and hoisin sauce and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables. Continue cooking until heated through.

To serve, line a single serving size bowl with romaine leaves. Top with a large scoop of rice, some of the hoisin chicken, and a sprinkle of the sesame seeds and scallions.

Alternately, you can serve the hoisin chicken mixture wrapped in lettuce leaves or omit the lettuce leaves completely and serve the chicken over rice.


Pick a Fruit Galette

Posted in by blkris | Edit

I made these tonight, one with fresh peaches, and the other with apples. They turned out pretty good. However, pie crusts and I do not get along, and so my galettes could have used some more work. I also did not add enough fruit to mine. All in all though, they were a good treat! (Sorry, the picture didn't turn out very well!)

Galette
Recipe By ourbestbites.com


Pastry Crust:
2 C Flour
11 T Butter (real butter, no exceptions) that's just over 2/3 C.
1/4 t Salt
4-5 T ice water

Fruit Filling:
4 C prepared fruit (peeled, pitted, diced, etc)
up to 1/2 C Sugar*
3 T Flour
1 1/2 T Butter
(plus a little extra butter and sugar for the finished crust, as explained in directions.)

* add sugar depending on the sweetness of your fruit. My cherries were so sweet I only added 1/4 C.

Make pie crust first.
I was able to make 2 medium pies, 1 small pie, and some leftover cinnamon and sugar pie crust.

Step 1: Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Cut cold butter (straight from fridge) into small chunks and throw on top of the flour.

Step 2: Cut the butter into the flour (with a pastry cutter, or a fork) until butter is in small crumbly pieces.

Step 3: Add ice water a tablespoon at a time while stirring dough mixture with a fork. *(I ended up using about 9 Tbls. Using 4-5 didn't moisten the dough enough)

Step 4: Bring it all together and pat into a ball. You're done! See? Less than 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic and put it in the fridge.

Now pick a fruit. It should be peeled, pitted, diced, etc. Sprinkle flour over fruit. Add sugar to taste, up to 1/2 cup. At this point you can also add flavored extracts, or other spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. I add 1/2 t almond extract if I'm using cherries.

Stir it all up.

Roll out your pastry dough on a floured surface. You want it to be at least 12" in diameter. Since this dough recipe will yield more than you need, be generous and err on the large side I also like mine on the thick side. Use a paring knife or pizza cutter to trim edges if you need to so you have a circular shape, but don't worry about it being perfect- that's the beauty of a galette- it's supposed to be messy looking!

To transfer the dough to your baking sheet, fold your circle in half and then in half again. Place on baking sheet and unfold.

Dump your fruit mixture right in the middle and dot with 1-2 T butter.
You'll want at least 2" of dough surrounding your fruit, but it's fine if you have more.

Now take the edges of the dough and pull them up, pleating as you go.

Dip your fingers in some water and moisten in between the pleats to seal them a little better. When it's all wrapped up, press lightly with your fingers all around it. Brush the top of the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in the oven (375) for 50-60 minutes. The fruit should be bubbling and the crust golden brown. When finished remove from oven and place pan a cooling rack. Cool for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Cut into wedges and definitely serve with a big scoop of ice cream on top!

Walnut Chicken Breasts

Posted in by blkris | Edit
I found this recipe a while ago and love it. It is relatively easy to put together, but just plan ahead. It takes a little while to cook. I have added mushrooms to this mixture as well and that is good too. I added snow peas tonight to add more vegetables, but they turned out mushy. I think next time I might add them the last 15 minutes of baking. I don't think these would be good as leftovers because the stuffing would be too mushy, but I don't know. There are never leftovers in our house when I make these!

*I try to cut down on the butter so I spread olive oil on the foil instead. I only use 2 chicken breasts, and I still prepare the same amounts for the stuffing and seasonings. It still seems like I don't have enough stuffing, so you might want to add more. Sorry no picture. I didn't plan ahead and ended up being starving and late by the time these were done!

Found on about.com

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4 boneless chicken breast halves
  • lemon juice
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter
  • 3 cups bread crumbs, toasted
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 2 teaspoons parsley flakes
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • seasoned salt and pepper

Preparation:

Mix together bread crumbs, half of the melted butter, onion, celery, parsley, walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, and enough water to moisten. Lay out 4 squares of aluminum foil, double thickness, and butter generously. Make a mound of stuffing on each buttered square of foil then place on baking sheet.

Brush both sides of the chicken with lemon juice then with the remaining butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold foil up over the chicken to make individual package. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Open packages to expose chicken and bake 15 minutes longer.



Homemade Waffles

Posted in by blkris | Edit
Love homemade waffles? Here is a great recipe. As always, make them whole wheat, white, or a mix of both. Try whipping up some whipping cream, with some sugar and a dash of vanilla to put on top with fresh peaches, or homemade raspberry jam! Or, be traditional and eat them with maple syrup. You can never go wrong with that.

Mix together: 1 3/4 C. flour
1 3/4 C. milk
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 C. oil
Drop of vanilla

Separate two eggs and put the yolks in with the above mixture and mix together. Beat egg whites until fluffy. Fold in egg whites to above mixture.


Homemade Maple syrup:
In a saucepan add and boil:
2 C. sugar
1 C. water

When sugar is dissolved and water is boiling, take off heat and add about one cap full (depends on how strong of maple syrup you like) of imitation maple flavor.

*We try to cut down on sugar so we only use 1 C. sugar to 1 C. water. I can't go back to store bought syrup now that we have been doing this. In my opinion now, store bought is way too rich and sweet.