Italian Chicken

This is AMAZING and easy.

(Can be halved easily for smaller families, but the leftovers are delicious for days and days!)

5 - 6 chicken breasts - (I cut them in half so they cook through faster and so it's easier to dish out correct portions to my little ones)

4 - 5 roma tomatoes chopped up

2 cloves of garlic minced

Jar of artichoke hearts drained (no need to buy marinated ones - I just got the metal can of quartered hearts in the vegetable aisle)  

1 C mozzarella cheese grated

salt and pepper

2 T olive oil

2 T flour

fresh basil if desired - chopped up

Cut up chicken, arrange in bottom of 9 x 13 pan and season with salt and pepper.

Chop up tomatoes and artichoke hearts.  Mix with minced garlic, olive oil, flour and some salt and pepper.

Arrange tomato / artichoke mixture around the chicken in the pan.  (Looks so pretty!) 

Bake at 350 until chicken is done (start checking after about 1/2 hour).

Place basil and melt mozzarella on top before removing from oven.

Serve over pasta (like angel hair or whatever!) Be sure to scoop up some of the delicious sauce from the bottom of the pan.

Black Sorcery Fondue

Our Valentine's day tradition is to have a fondue dinner with our kids.  I don't feel the need to go out ON valentine's day and wait hours to eat at a restaurant that I can go to a few days later and get right in.  So, it's a stay-at-home, celebrate-with-the-family type of day for us. 

This year, I'm foregoing the entire fondue dinner because I may or may not be having a baby, but we're going to stick with dessert.  So, here is my favorite recipe - Black Sorcery Fondue!

2 T light corn syrup

1/2 C half-and-half

8 - 9 oz of semi-sweet good chocolate - like Ghiradelli

1 t vanilla

Put everything together in a double boiler and heat slowly, stirring frequently until melted and blended.

You can transfer the mixture to a true fondue pot to keep warm, but we eat it so fast, we just keep it in the double boiler.

Our favorite things to dip:

vanilla wafers

strawberries

bananas

marshmallows

pretzles

pound or angel food cake squares

     

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

This one's an award winner!  Sure to win any ward's pie making contest!

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 package (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 C cold milk

1 package (5.1 oz) vanilla or white chocolate or banana cream instant pudding

2 medium bananas

Strawberries for garnish, if desired.

1.  Heat oven  to 425 degrees.  Bake pie crust 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool completely.

2.  Place 1 1/2 C of the whipped topping and chocolate chips in a microwave safe container and microwave, uncovered, for 30 seconds.  Stir.  If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate, zap it again for another 20 - 30 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Put 2 Tablespoons of the chocolate mixture into a small, ziplock bag and set aside.  (I usually stand it up in a small cup so that it doesn't spread all over inside the bag.)  Spread remaining chocolate mixture over the bottom and sides of the pie crust.

3.  Slice the bananas and place slices on top of the chocolate.

4.  Whisk the pudding and the milk for 1 minute or until mixture begins to thicken.  Fold in 1 1/2 C of the whipped topping.  (There should be just a bit of topping left to use as garnish).  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

5.  When ready to serve, garnish the pie by snipping a small tip off the corner of the ziplock and squeezing the chocolate mixture over pie in a decorative design.  Pipe rosettes of whipped topping around the edge of the pie (I usually do 10 - 12).  Place sliced strawberries, pointing up, just in front of, or in the whipped topping rosettes and you can place a slice of banana too (but those can turn brown rather quickly, so unless you're serving it right away, I'd hold off on the banana slices.)

Tempura

 Batter:

1 egg

1 C ice water

1 C flour

Beat egg in a bowl.  Add ice water in the bowl.  Be sure to use very cold water.  Add flour in the bowl and mix lightly.  Be careful not to over-mix the batter; it will be lumpy.

Items to fry

Choose any of the following:

*Sweet potato

*Broccoli florettes

*Carrots

*Zucchini

*Onion

*Green Beans

*Mushrooms

*Shrimp

Cut vegetables up into thick slices or chunks.  Dip the "wet" items into plain flour before dipping into batter so that the batter will stick.  Dip items just before placing in the hot oil.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan - around medium high heat (whatever temp you think that might be - 350ish?).  Drop dipped items into batter and let fry, turning over at least once, until veggies are tender.  Remove with slotted spoon and put on a cooling rack over paper towels to catch oil.

Dipping Sauce:

Plain soy sauce will do, but this is yummy!

2 T rice wine vinegar

1/2 C soy sauce

1 T ginger, grated

Mix together.  Ta da!

Serve all with a plate full of hot rice.

Hot Wassail

1 C. Tang

2 C. Sugar

1 1/2 C. Country Time Lemonade

1/2 C apple cider drink mix (10 envelopes)

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

Shake or stir all ingredients together well.

To serve: Stir 2 - 3 T of mix in 1 cup of hot water.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb. cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded

1 C salsa, divided

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1 T chopped cilantro

1 t. ground cumin

1 C shredded cheese (Cheddar & Monterey Jack is yummy)

8 flour tortillas

1)  Heat oven to 350

2) Heat large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat.  Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min.  Add chicken, 1/4 C salsa, cream cheese, cilantro and cumin; mix well.  Cook 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.  Add 1/2 C shredded cheese; mix well.

3) Spoon about 1/3 C chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place seam-sides down in 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining shredded cheese and salsa.

4) Bake 15 to 20 min or until heated through. 

Salmon Asparagus Pasta Salad

1 lb. of pasta (I use bowties - large or small - called Farfalle, I think)

1 bunch of asparagus (the thinner the spears, the better)

1 fillet of Salmon - around a pound

dressing: 

3 T mayonnaise

1/2 C sour cream

3 T lemon juice

1 1/2 T Dijon mustard

1/2 t dried dill

optional:

ground black pepper

green onions

1.  Cook the pasta until at dente, rinse, and drain well.  While the pasta is cooking, microwave or steam the asparagus for 3 minutes and either grill or broil the salmon.  (My hints:  I cut the asparagus up into bite sized pieces, put it in a microwave safe container with a couple tablespoons of water, put on a lid and vent the corner and microwave for 3 minutes.  The Salmon, I put into a tin-foil "box" that I make by folding up the edges of the foil.  I put a couple pats of butter, some garlic salt, & some onion powder on top and then grill outside so my house doesn't smell like fish.  When it's done, I flake it with a fork.)

2.  Combine the cooked pasta, asparagus, salmon flakes and green onions if desired, in a large serving bowl; toss to mix.

3.  Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Pour over the pasta salad and toss.  Add back pepper to taste.

4.  Serve right away, or it may be chilled and served cold as well.  (I like it warm better, but it's yummy both ways!)

Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup

The perfect ending to a cold day!

2/3 C Butter
2/3 C Flour
6 C Milk
1 T chicken bouillon
3/4 t salt & pepper
1 C sour cream
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese (sharp is best)
4 peeled, diced baked potatoes
1 head of broccoli chopped finely and steamed
Optional toppings: crumbled cooked bacon, chopped green onion, shredded cheddar cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan and whisk in flour. Let bubble a minute or two. Add milk slowly, whisking the entire time. Add bouillon and salt and pepper. Over medium heat, allow the milk to warm before whisking in the sour cream. Once again, let soup warm up before adding the shredded cheese. Stir until cheese melts completely. Add potato pieces and chopped broccoli and heat through. Serve with toppings if desired!

Hint for potatoes: I start cooking my potatoes before I do anything else. I bake mine in the microwave - about 5 minutes a potato - so roughly 20 minutes total (my microwave has a potato button, so I don't pay close attention anymore.) As soon as they are done cooking, I quickly peel them with a paring knife - it's really easy - and then dice them up. Careful - they're hot!

Hint for broccoli: I wash the broccoli, cut off the flowers and chop them up finely using my pampered chef chopper. I like mine really fine. I dump it all into a microwave safe container, add a couple tablespoons of water, put a lid on leaving one corner up for venting and then microwave about 4 minutes as soon as I take the potatoes out. It is steamed and ready to go in the soup!