dinner tonight!

These are a couple recipes I made for dinner tonight and mmm mmm were they tasty! (I got this picture from the magazine because I forgot to take one after I made it!)

Honey Mustard Chicken & Swiss Broccoli Bake

Honey Mustard Chicken
Ingredients:
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. mustard
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 chicken drumsticks
6 bone-in chicken thighs
(I used 3 chicken breasts and made a smaller portion of the sauce - since I was only making it for 2 people)

For sauce, in a small bowl combine first 9 ingredients. Set aside 1/2 c. for serving. Place chicken in a greased pan (size relative to amount of chicken) and brush with remaining sauce. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 45-50 min. or until chicken juices run clear. Warm reserved sauce, serve with chicken. Yield: 6 servings.

Swiss Broccoli Bake
Ingredients:
3 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can condensed cream of broccoli (or celery) soup, undiluted
2 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk

In large bowl, combine the broccoli, soups, 2 c. cheese, and evaporated milk. Pour into greased 13x9 in. pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 min or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 5-10 min. longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 min. before serving. Refrigerate leftovers! Great for lunches or to add to homemade soup! Yield: 10 servings.

some other yummies

Here are a couple other recipes I have made recently. Easy and delicious!

Veggie Chicken Pitas

Ingredients:
1 med. red onion, sliced
1 c. shredded carrots
1 c. chopped fresh broccoli
1 c. fresh snow peas
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. cubed cooked chicken
1 jar (7 oz.) roasted sweet red peppers, drained and chopped
1/4 c. white wine or chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
5 pita breads (6 in.), halved
1/3 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In large skillet, saute the onion, carrots, broccoli, peas, and garlic in oil for 4-5 min. or until tender. Stir in chicken, red peppers, wine, oregano, and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 5-6 min. or until heated through. Spoon mixture into pita breads and sprinkle with cheese. Yield 5 servings. Great as leftovers for lunches, too!

Pecan Toffee Fudge
*a treat for those of us with a sweet tooth!*

Ingredients:
1 tsp. butter
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3-3/4 c. confectioners sugar
6 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 tsp. almond extract (remember: a little of this goes a long way!)
dash of salt
1/4 c. coarsely chopped pecans (I left these out)
1/4 c. English toffee bits (feel free to add more if you leave out the pecans. It kind of balances it out.)

Line a 9 in. square pan with foil and grease the foil with butter. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar. Add the melted chocolate, extract, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the (pecans) and toffee bits. Spread into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Gently peel off foil and cut fudge until 1 in. squares or smaller, if desired. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: 2-1/2 lbs. Makes a lot of fudge and is perfect for a big family gathering! Enjoy! I don't usually like fudge, but this was tasty!

February catch-up!

I have been absent far too long, my friends! Happy February! These nice days are giving us a preview of spring!! I love it!

I decided to post some recipes that we made over Christmas for my family. There are a lot of us and we are a fan of comfort food. Since we were making meals for about 15 people, they are pretty basic and a lot can be done with them regarding substituting and making them "healthier" and all that jazz. I will leave it up to you!

Pear Custard Pie

Ingredients:
1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry (or you can make your own!)
3 medium ripe pears, peeled and thinly sliced
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Unroll pastry into a 9 in. pie plate: flute edges. Place pears in pastry. In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour. Stir in eggs, cream, and vanilla. Pour over pears. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 min. or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, cover and refridgerate for at least 2 hours. Yield: 6 servings. Enjoy! This is a decided fave for my family! Except my husband... he doesn't like pears. He's crazy!!!

Vegetable Beef Skillet
*a GREAT meal if you're feeding an army*

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground lean beef (you can choose your own meat)
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cups frozen or fresh broccoli and cauliflower, thawed and chopped
1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed nacho cheese soup, undiluted (you can sub other cheese soups here)
3/4 c. water
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. uncooked instant rice
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 tsp. fresh ground garlic (optional - we're a garlic family)

In large skillet, cook beef and onion over med. heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in veggies, soup, water, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 6 servings. Can be easily doubled to serve more!

Curry Chicken

This is a great (and easy) crock pot recipe for curry chicken. It's super easy and really yummy! Great to make if you're going to be gone all day and want dinner ready when you get home!

Ingredients:
1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 small (or 1 large) cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 2/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (black may be substituted)

Instructions:
Chop chicken into large bite-sized chunks. Place olive oil in crock pot. Add the onion, garlic and chicken into your slow cooker Mix the olive oil and spices into a paste. Add it to the slow cooker and stir until it coats most of the chicken. Cut the 2 tablespoons of butter into 2 pats and place it on top of the chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Serve with rice or Indian bread such as naan.

chicken noodle soup

Happy December! My dear friend Amanda visited me a couple weeks ago and we decided to make some chicken noodle soup! Here's a basic idea of what went down in the kitchen. :o) It makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts
3 carrots
2 celery stalks
2-3 cans chicken broth
2 packages large frozen egg noodles

Boil your chicken breasts in water until done. Put them in a bowl and take two forks and shred the chicken. Meanwhile, bring to a simmer your broth, celery, and carrots. Add chicken and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Enjoy! It's really easy and basic, but yummy!

Cranberry Cinnamon French Toast

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it looks really good and I got it from my Mum so it has to be yummy! It's an easy casserole-style French Toast, the perfect dish to make ahead. And using whole wheat bread makes it healthier and heartier. Needs to be refrigerated overnight! (can use apple pie filling if you don't like cranberries!)

Ingredients
1 cup low fat 1% milk
6 eggs
2 cups free plain yogurt
3 tbs. honey
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 loaf whole wheat bread, sliced
1 1/2 cups cranberry sauce, homemade or canned (make sure it has whole berries)
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbs. confectioner's sugar

Directions
In mixing bowl whisk together milk, eggs, yogurt, honey, vanilla, and salt and set aside. Trim crust off of 8 slices of bread and set aside. Cut crust and remaining bread into 1" cubes. In a separate bowl combine 1" bread cubes, cranberry sauce, raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Coat 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Cover pan with cubed bread mixture. Top with whole slices of bread. Whisk yogurt mixture again to combine and pour evenly over bread. Press down with clean hands or wooden spoon. Cover with parchment paper or foil. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Bake for 40 minutes covered. Uncover and bake until puffy about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

Yields
8 Servings

Nutrition Facts
Calories 330; Calories from Fat 50; Total Fat 6g; Saturated Fat 1.5g; Cholesterol 140mg; Sodium 440mg; Total Carbohydrate 62g; Dietary Fiber 6g; Sugars 33g; Protein 17g; Vitamin A 4%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 25%; Iron 10%

Chili, Take #1

My husband and I threw this chili together tonight with just randon chili-stuff we had in the kitchen and it tastes really yummy, so I thought I'd share! It's been snowing here all day and that makes it taste even better!!!

We used:

1 large can of Hunts sauce

2 lbs of hamburger

1 jalapeno

2 cans of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion

1 packet chili seasoning

mexian chili powder

2 cans red kidney beans

2 cans chili beans

Brown your hamburger and drain. Put in heated pot and combine all other ingredients. Season to taste. Simmer. Enjoy!!!