TASTY THURSDAY – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

BAKED PINEAPPLE ORANGE CHICKEN

BAKED PINEAPPLE ORANGE CHICKEN serves 6
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into large bite sized pieces
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 egg whites, beaten until foamy
1 cup FINELY GROUND Panko crumbs
1 cup Wondra flour
1 cup orange pineapple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Buttered rice (I use chicken broth and scallion whites while cooking)
1/2 cup sliced scallions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Line a shallow roasting pan with foil and spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
Use 3 shallow prep dishes – 1 for the cornstarch, 1 for the egg whites and 1 for the Panko Wondra combination.
Coat chicken pieces 1st in cornstarch, then in egg whites and finally in bread crumb mixture.
Place chicken pieces on baking sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

While chicken is baking, prepare sauce.
In a medium sauce pan combine, 3/4 cup of the juice, se sugar, liquid aminos, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/4 cup juice until smooth.
Stir into sauce pan and simmer until thickened.
Transfer chicken pieces to a large bowl, pour sauce over and GENTLY toss until chicken pieces are well coated.
Serve over rice and top with scallions.

Linking up with Julie over at Back to My Southern Roots.

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BRAISED BEEF & ONIONS aka BAKED STEAK, PARMESAN GARLIC POMMES ANNA and my new OXO tool

BRAISED BEEF & ONIONS aka BAKED STEAK

1 new york strip steak per person

1 LARGE Vidalia onion

garlic salt

white pepper

sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pat meat dry.
Generously sprinkle meat with garlic salt, sea salt and white pepper to taste.
Using a mandoline slice onion as thin as possible.
Place half the onions on the bottom of a baking dish.
Lay steaks on top of onions.
Top with remaining onions.
Seal with foil.
Bake for 2 hours.
Check for tenderness.
Bake another 30 minutes as necessary.

PARMESAN GARLIC POMMES ANNA

1-2 Yukon potatoes per person

Parmesan cheese

garlic salt

1 tablespoon butter per person, sliced very thin
Using mandoline slice potatoes on thinnest setting.
Spray baking dish with PURE.
Arrange potatoes in layers, sprinkling with garlic salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese between each layer and on top.
Microwave for 2 minutes on high.
Top with butter slices and then a bit more Parmesan cheese and bake with beef the last 30 minutes until crisp and tender.

LOVE MY NEW TOOL! It’s an OXO hand held mandoline. There are 3 thickness sizes and best of all a lock! The lock prevents those cuts that are inevitable otherwise.

Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday hosted by Lisa at Blessed with Grace.

Cooking Thursday is hosted by Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Weekend Cooking Creations is hosted by Jennifer.

French Onion & Tomato Soup with Baked Cheesy Croutons

This soup turned out sooooooooooooooooo good and tasted great even in the summer. I can’t wait to have it on a cold winter’s eve.

Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Trista over at Southern Fried Mama hosts Tasty Thursday
Tuesdays at the Table is normally hosted by Andrea over at My Chihauhau Bites but Andrea is taking a break while she has her baby. The button will take you to Andrea’s site, but TATT is being hosted by Cole for a while.

FRENCH ONION & TOMATO SOUP
4 tablespoons salted butter
3 medium Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
3 medium hot house tomatoes
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon minced garlic, jar
6 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Better than Beef Bouillon
1 tablespoon kitchen bouquet
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 thin slices french or sourdough bread, toasted
4 slices Gruyere cheese*

Melt butter in bottom of stock pot.
Separate onions into rings and add to butter. Cook until tender and golden.
Add flour and blend well with butter mixture and onions.
Add broth, beef bouillon, kitchen bouquet, paprika, onion powder, celery salt, sea salt and pepper and stir well.
Simmer 15-20 minutes.
Toast bread and then butter it.
Ladle soup into 4 oven proof bowls that have been put on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
Place 1 slice of toast over top of soup.
Lay 1 slice of cheese on top of toast.
Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Another great option is to use these cheesy baked croutons to top the soup. Both ways are super yummy!

BAKED CHEESY CROUTONS
6 slices thick sourdough bread
butter, melted, enough to coat bread
½ cup Fontina Cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread slices on oven rack and bake until dry and golden. Melt butter in flat bowl. Combine cheeses in flat bowl. Dip first in butter and the cheese mixture. Bake on cookie sheet 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted. Float croutons on top of soup bowls just before serving.

Yields: 6 BOWLS
Time to make: 1½ hr

*you’d think living close to Wisconsin, the cheese state, I could get all sorts of flavors of cheese, but alas I still can’t find gruyere and have been substituting provolone.
♥ ♥

National Hamburger Month

“I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” ~ Wimpy

I recently heard on a radio station that May 28th is National Hamburger day. I thought it would be a good time to share a recipe and make burgers. So, I started researching it and the ONLY consensus I can find is that May is National Hamburger MONTH. I found some sites listed National Hamburger day as May 28th, July 28th and even December 21st. I did find a site that seems to have a very comprehensive list of holidays and seems like a great reference. Another fun site is the History of the Hamburger~ anything you ever wanted to know about burgers, but were afraid to ask. All this aside, here is my recipe for our favorite burgers.

GARLIC & HERB BURGERS
1 pound ground round
1 JUMBO egg
1 stale & dried slice of San Francisco Sourdough Bread, crumbed
1 package Good Seasons Garlic and Herb dressing mix

Mix all the ingredients together with your hands until well blended.
Form patties.
Chill for 24 hours before preparing.
Grill.
Add sharp cheddar cheese, mayo, sweet and sweet red red onion relish, a tomato slice and red onion slice.
Enjoy.

SWEET RED, RED ONION HAMBURGER RELISH

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 large red onions, chopped small
2 large sweet pickles, chopped small

Combine the sugar, salt, cloves and vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring constantly until sugar dissolves.
Add onion and pickles and blend well.
Reduce heat and and cook a few minutes more until onion is translucent and tender.
Remove from heat and cool.
Keep chilled in refrigerator for up to a week.

Joy of desserts hosts Vintage Recipe Thursday
Trista over at Southern Fried Mama hosts Tasty Thursday

♥

SCALLOPED CARROTS CASSEROLE

Joy over at Joy of desserts hosts Vintage Recipe Thursday and Trista over at Southern Fried Mama hosts Tasty Thursday.

SCALLOPED CARROTS CASSEROLE
12 medium carrots, washed and sliced
1 small Vidalia onion, minced
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
2 cups buttered bread crumbs
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blanche carrots in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Drain well.
Melt butter in a skillet and cook onions until translucent.
Stir in flour, salt and milk. Cook until smooth and begins to thicken slightly.
In a buttered 2 quart casserole arrange layers of the carrots and cheese (ending in cheese) and then pour the sauce over top.
Top with the bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.

♥

Tasty Thursday ~ Frosted Pineapple Cheescake

Frosted Pineapple Cheesecake

1 box yellow cake mix*

1 (3-ounce) box Jell-O cheesecake pudding**

4 eggs

1/2 cup safflower oil

1 cup whole milk

1 large can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 cup sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the cake mix and pudding mix. Add the oil and milk, beat well. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Pour into a well greased 9×13 baker. Bake 45-60 minutes (or until center springs back). While cake is baking mix together the pineapple and sugar on top of stove until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and let cool slightly. While cake is still hot, punch holes in cake with a large round chopstick and pour hot pineapple mixture over cake. Let cool.

FROSTING:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add lemon juice. Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until creamy. Spread over cooled cake. Refrigerate to set frosting.

*Also good with white or butter cake
**DO NOT USE sugar free!

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Tasty Thursday ~ Chicken Pie

CHICKEN PIE
3 cups cubed or shredded chicken
2 cups hot water
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1 can cream of mushroom, celery or chicken soup
2 teaspoons minced garlic, Jar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self rising flour
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 can Leseur Peas, drained
1 medium onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray a 2 quart casserole with PURE.
In a medium saucepan whisk together the broth, salt and soup. Bring to a boil.
Arrange chicken, carrots, peas and onions in the bottom of the casserole.
Pour soup mixture over it.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, pepper, butter and buttermilk until well blended.
Pour over top of chicken mixture. Smooth it out, but DO NOT mix with the chicken mixture.
Bake 45 minutes uncovered until browned and bubbly.

Tasty Thursday ~ Jambalaya

JAMBALAYA

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large bunch green onions, diced
3 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
2 cups diced cooked ham
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup long grain rice

Heat the oil in a dutch oven. Add the green onions and garlic and sauté until fragrant and tender.

Mix in remaining ingredients except for the rice and bring to a boil.

Add rice and reduce the heat. Simmer until rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Garlic Smashers for Tasty Thursday & Favorite Ingredient Friday

Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch
Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy
SMASHERS

6-8 small YUKON potatoes, skin on
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 stick butter, melted
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Scrub potatoes
Boil potatoes until tender
Generously spread olive oil on cookie sheet
Space potatoes a couple of inches apart
With a potato masher, SMASH each potato
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika
Melt butter and mix butter and garlic together
Pour a tablespoon of butter mixture over each potato
Bake 30 minutes or until tops are crispy

♥

Category: TASTY THURSDAY