Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
1 tsp vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt divided
4 chicken breast halves
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper


Heat oil in a large nonstick skilled coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; sautee 5 minutes. Combine thyme and 1/4 tsp salt; sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to skillet; sautee 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1/4 tsp salt, preserves, vinegar, and pepper, stirring constantly until the preserves melt. Spoon raspberry sauce over chicken. Makes 4 servings.

I served it with rice. It's simple and quick...and yummy too. Can't beat that!

Peggy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies for primary last month and was asked to put the recipe on this blog. So here it is for all of you who liked them :)

• 2 C shortening
• 2 C sugar
• 1 C brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tsp vanilla
• 5 C flour
• 1 bag chocolate chips

Mix everything together. Drop by the spoonful (I use a cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 min.

A Side Dish! It's POTATOES!!

I realized that I mostly post main dishes or desserts....but we can't just have a main dish without something to serve it with, right? And if our "main dish" is something simple or semi-boring (like hamburgers, or grilled chicken) it is nice to excite your dinner by adding a yummy side-dish. So, here are a few of our favorites:

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
4 medium potatoes, peeled (can use red potatoes, or any kind you like)
1 tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Slice potatoes in half, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Place potatoes in medium bowl and toss with oil (or in a zip lock bag). Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add herb/cheese mix to potatoes and toss to coat potatoes evenly. Arrange potatoes on prepared baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until potatoes are lightly browned and easily pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes.

Microwave Cheesy Potatoes
4 cups potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbs butter
3 tbs cornstarch
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (Cheddar, Colby or Monterrey jack)
1/2 cup sour cream, optional

Mix milk and cornstarch until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Put in 2 qt glass microwave dish. Cook 15-20 minutes on high in microwave, stirring every 5-7 minutes. Add cheese, and sour cream if desired, and let stand 3-5 minutes to allow cheese to melt.

Scalloped Potatoes
6 potatoes, peeled and cut into disks
1/2 onion, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
shredded cheese, to taste

Place potatoes and onion in pot of water with a pinch of salt. Boil until barely tender, but not done. Mix potatoes with soup and desired amount of cheese. Microwave until bubbly.

Asian Orange Beef

Asian Orange Beef

3 large naval oranges
1 bunch green onions
3 tbs sugar
2 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs fresh gingerroot, minced
1 ½ lbs boneless beef sirloin steak, ½ inch cubes
1 tbs canola oil
3 cups hot cooked rice

Finely grate the peel from 2 oranges; set aside. Cut thin strips of orange peel from the remaining orange for garnish; set aside (If desired). Squeeze juice from all oranges. Cut onions to separate the while and green parts. Thinly slice white parts; cut green parts into 1-inch lengths for garnish (I just sliced the green and white and put it all in the sauce).
For sauce, in a small bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in orange juice until smooth. Stir in the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, grated orange peel and white parts of onions, set aside.
In large nonstick skillet or work coated with cooking spray, stir-fry beef in oil until no longer pink. Stir the sauce and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice. Garnish with orange peel strips and remaining onions.

We like our beef tender, so I think next time I will cook the beef with a little bit of water in the crockpot, then add the sauce at the end.

Lemon-Basil Turkey Breast

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs grated lemon peel
1 boneless turkey breast half (about 1 1/2 lbs) or use thin turkey cutlets (about 6)
2 large lemons, sliced
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 325. In small bowl combine basil, garlic, and lemon peel. Mix well. Starting from short edge, gently loosen skin of turkey breast with fingertips. Spread basil mixture under skin, and arrange lemon slices on tip of basil mixture. (If using turkey cutlets, simply top with basil mixture and lemon slices, then fold each cutlet in half. Bake as directed for 25 minutes).
In large roasting pan, combine vegetables, broth, and water. Set a roasting rack over vegetables. Place turkey on rack; roast about 1 hour, until internal temperature is 170. Baste frequently with pan juices. Place turkey on carving board. Let stand for 20 minutes. Carve and remove skin to serve.
For an easy sauce, drain vegetables from roasting pan; place in a food processor fitted with metal blade (discard juices). Add 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken brother to vegetables and process until smooth. Warm puree in saucepan over low heat.

Cheese-Stuffed Chicken

Another YUM Recipe!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
For the stuffing:
4 tbs chopped fresh basil, divided
2 tbs nonfat cream cheese, softened
2 tbs grated Romano cheese (or Parmesan)
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp anchovy paste (I eliminated this one)
1/8 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside. To prepare stuffing: in small bow, combine 3 tbs basil, cream cheese, Romano cheese, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste (if using), and pepper. Mix well.
Using a sharp knife, cut a deep horizontal pocket in each chicken breast. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into each pocket. Secure openings with toothpicks.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until browned, about 5 minutes.
Transfer chicken to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and basil. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake chicken until cooked through and no longer pink, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve immediately.

When we made this the first time, all the sauce ended up coming out of the pockets, so it ended up being more like a sauce....I think that was just fine. If you don't want to "stuff" your chicken...don't! Just make the stuffing ingredients as a sauce, and bake as directed. (I would probably cook it more like 30 minutes at 400 if you are going to do it that way).

Jamie's sweet and sour meatballs

My Mom gave me the first recipe for this and it has been one of our favorites. I added some addition ingredients (the ginger, soy sauce, red pepper and Dijon). It gave the recipe a little more depth and we really liked the way it turned out. I usually add the ingredients to taste but I rounded it up the best I can for you all! I love this recipe because I always keep the ingredients in my pantry of freezer so if it is 4 o'clock and I don't know what to cook, I always can do this. Enjoy!

First bake:
2 lbs worth of frozen meatballs
Follow instructions on the bag and bake.

Then mix:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
2 Tbl Soy sauce
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper (or more if you like a little heat)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbl cornstarch, mixed with 1 Tbl water
1 can (20 0z) pineapple chunks with juice
Mix together until sugar is dissolved. Pour over hot meatballs and bake for another 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

German Chocolate Cookies

A bakery catered my little sister wedding luncheon and they had these delicious German chocolate cake style cookies. I decided to make up a recipe for them, meaning I changed up some other recipes to make it work. They turned out great! If you like German Chocolate cake you will love these!

Cookies:
2 c brown sugar
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c butter
3/4 c cocoa
4 c firmly packed flour
3 eggs
1 c milk
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

Cream the shortening, butter and sugar. Add the cocoa, mix. Then add the eggs and milk, mix. Slowly add flour, baking soda, and salt, mix. Place tablespoon size dough on a GREASED cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool.

Frosting:
1 c evaporated milk
3 egg yolks
1 c sugar
1/2 c butter
1 t vanilla
1 c chopped pecans
1 c coconut

Mix evaporated milk, egg yolks, sugar and butter. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes in a pot, on the stove over medium heat. Stir often so it doesn't burn on the bottom. After the 10 to 15 minutes, then the rest of the ingredients. Spread on cooled cookies.

Dad's Cookies

Are these fattening? Probably. Delicious? YES!

2 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 C softened butter(yes really 2 cups!)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 C flour
Dash of salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 C oatmeal
2 C chocolate chips
1 1/2 C coconut(optional)

Cream together first 3 ingredients. Add everything else. Bake for 12 min @ 350. Enjoy!

CALZONES

So I have made this recipe probably over 200 times in the past 10 years. It is a favorite in our family, my roommates loved it, missionaries etc. and I have many requests for a copy of the recipe. I decided to share it. This IS my hubby's favorite thing I make. It's at least a once a monther :) With that said here it is, hope you try it. The picture shows the calzone in a heart shape because they were made on Valentine's Day, yours will not have to look like that.

Ingredients:

Dough

1 package yeast (2 1/4tsp)

1 cup warm water

2 tsp sugar

~*~*~*~*
1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbl oil

2 2/3 C flour

Other Ingred.

2 cups pizza sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese

desired pizza toppings

garlic salt

powdered parm. cheese

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water, then add sugar and stir together. Set aside so it starts to slightly foam. When foamy add all other dough ingredients. Knead dough for about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 4's. Take one of the fourths and roll out on floured counter (about an 8 inch circle). Put on pizza sauce over 1/2 of the dough, leaving and inch on edge. Add desired toppings over the sauce then add 1/2 cup cheese. Moisten dough by brushing a little bit of water on the 1 inch edge. Flip over the non sauce side to form a calzone with the sauced side and gently roll the dough up slightly around all the edges. Then use a fork to seal around the outside. Poke a few holes on top with fork and , brush water over the top of calzone. Sprinkle a little bit of garlic salt over top and a little bit of powdered parmesean cheese and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 400 for 15-20 mins. or till golden brown.

Makes 4 calzones

Parmesan Tilapia

This is a REALLY good fish recipe. My husband LOVES it. He would eat it once a week if I would fix it that often. It is super easy and fast. You can limit the fat content if you use reduced fat Mayo and butter. I also buy the tilapia fillets from Costco. They are flash frozen and individually packaged so you can pull out one or as many as you need for a meal, and they are affordable since fish seems to be on the expensive side. Enjoy!

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup butter
3 T. Mayo
2 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 t. dried basil
1/4 t. black pepper
1/8 t. onion powder
1/8 t. celery salt
2 lbs. tilapia fillets

Preheat broiler. Grease broiling pan or line with foil. In a small bowl, mix together parmesan cheese, butter, Mayo and lemon juice. Season the cheese mixture with basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Mix well and set aside. Arrange fillets in a single layer on prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes. Flip fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove from oven and cover with Parmesan cheese mixture. Broil for 2 more minutes or until topping is browned and fish flakes. Do not over bake.

Sweet and Sour Mahi-Mahi (or Chicken!)

Kellen had some sweet and sour Mahi-Mahi on our honeymoon that he absolutely loved. He's been asking me to find a good recipe for some. This is what I made last night for dinner, and it was amazing (I did make a piece of chicken the same way to see how it tasted)!! I doubled the sauce and served it with rice.

Ingredients:
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce, such as Yamasa
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger)

Marinade:
Juice of 1 large lime
2 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce, such as Yamasa
1 1/2 pounds mahi-mahi fillets, cut into "fingers" about 3 inches in length
About 1 cup dried bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for pan-frying

Directions
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Whisk in 1/4 cup of water. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. When the sauce thickens lightly, remove it from the heat. It can be used warm or at room temperature.
Drizzle the lime juice and soy sauce evenly over the fish pieces and let them sit for several minutes. Place the bread crumbs on a plate. Warm 1/4 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet. When a few bits of bread crumbs sizzle merrily and brown quickly in the oil, drain each piece of fish and coat it with the bread crumbs. Saute the fish on all sides until the bread crumbs are golden brown and the fish flakes, about 5 minutes total. Serve the mahi-mahi immediately with the sauce drizzled over it or on the side for dunking.

My kids even ate it!
I found this recipe Here.

Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus

I got this recipe from a friend, and it's AMAZING. Seriously, I HATE asparagus, but this is delicious! Try it....it won't disappoint.


Ingredients--1/2 lb. sliced prosciutto (or pancetta)
1/2 (8 oz.) package Onion and Chive Cream Cheese (I used less-fat), softened
12 spears/1 bundle fresh asparagus, trimmed

Directions--
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Blanch the asparagus: Throw the asparagus in the water for 30-60 seconds. Drain and "shock" with cold water. Before you wrap the asparagus, throw it in a pot of boiling water and blanch it for about 30 seconds... it gives it nice color, and makes it so when you bake the asparagus with the prosciutto/pancetta, they get done about the same time.
3. Spread prosciutto slices with thin layer of cream cheese. Wrap slices around 2-4 asparagus spears depending on the thickness of the spears. Arrange wrapped spears in a single layer on a medium baking sheet (coat pan with some olive oil, and brush the bundles with some olive oil). Season the asparagus with salt (not the prosciutto because it is already salty).
4. Bake 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until asparagus is tender. You can also set the oven to broil for the last minute or so. Serve immediately.

You can get Pancetta or Prosciutto in many grocery store deli's. It's cheapest to have your deli cut you 5-6 pieces so you don't have to buy a huge package and have a ton of left-overs.

Peanut Butter Fingers

One words. YUMMMMMMMM!

¾ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
3 cups old fashioned oats

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add the eggs and peanut butter. Mix the baking soda, salt, flour and oats together and add to the creamed mixture, 1 cup at a time. It gets really thick near the end of mixing (I always end up using my hands). Spread into a jelly roll pan and bake for 15-17 minutes at 325 degrees.

Frosting:
½ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa

Mix with a hand mixer and spread on cooled bars.

{cupcakes cupcakes}

Who doesn't love a cupcake every now and again? Well, I am always on the look out for a fun and new cupcake recipe, and I got {this} yummy cupcake recipe book for my birthday last year-and have loved it!

We made these cupcakes last night, and if you are an Oreo lover...then you will definitely dig these tasty little cakes.

And the best part of all, is the surprise that you will find inside!

So here is the recipe:

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Devils food)

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

24 double stuffed Oreo cookies

Mix together the cake mix, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Place a spoonful of batter on the bottom of each paper liner. Place the whole Oreo cookie on the bottom lying flat. Cover the remaining batter until 3/4 full.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool on a rack completely.

Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together the frosting and sprinkle crushed up Oreo bits on the top. (I used about 12 cookies to crush up)

And these next cupcakes, I made for my son's birthday last year! I used the jellybean rock candy for the "dinosaur eggs" and bought the mini dinosaurs at the dollar store to top each one. I also crushed up Oreo cookies for the "dirt." Let me just say that they were a huge hit with all of the kids at the party!

Happy cupcake making!