Category: MISC

GARLIC HERB ROAST CHICKEN with ROASTED ORANGES and RED ONIONS

GARLIC HERB ROAST CHICKEN with ROASTED ORANGES and RED ONIONS
1 chicken, 4-5 pounds
2 navel oranges, sliced in thick slices or wedges
2 red onions, sliced or wedged (zest one orange)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter, softened + 2 tablespoons butter, cubed or thinly sliced
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 + 1 teaspoons fresh thyme
pepper to taste

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Mash garlic and 1 teaspoon salt into a paste.
  • Combine garlic paste, 2 teaspoons thyme, butter and zest until well blended.
  • Gently separate the skin from the chicken and rub one half of the butter mixture all over.
  • Season the outside with the remaining salt and some pepper.
  • Fill the cavity with a few of the orange slices, onion wedges and remaining thyme.
  • Place chicken, breast side up on a rimmed baking sheet with the wings folded in and legs banded together.
  • Scatter the remaining orange and onion pieces around the chicken.
  • Dot onions and oranges with the 2 tablespoons of butter pieces.
  • Roast for 30 minutes. At this point I added some potatoes also.
  • Brush chicken with remaining garlic butter mixture.
  • Flip oranges and onions.
  • Rotate the baking sheet and roast 15 minutes more.
  • Remove the onions and oranges if caramelized.
  • Roast chicken 15 minutes more or until juices run clear.
  • Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

HIP HIP HURRAY for BANANA JAM

I LOVE!!!!! trying new recipes, but more importantly I LOVE!!!!! trying a new recipe that blows my socks off! My friend Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home mom featured a Banana Jam the other day.  I know, sounds weird right?  WRONG!!!! It’s the most fantastic, addictive recipe I’ve tried in a long time and even better it’s SOOOOOOOO simple.  

BANANA JAM
4 cups mashed bananas
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure Madagascar vanilla extract
Juice of 1 large lemon

  • Combine ingredients together and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until your boil.
  • Turn down heat and simmer until nice and thick, stirring frequently.
  • Pour into sterilized jars and water bath for 10 minutes.
  • Once open, refrigerate.
I’ve already added pineapple for a varied flavor and caramel for an ice cream topping.  Next is turning it into a Banana Cream Pie.

And OMG you have to try it on sourdough toast with JIF peanut butter.

LEMON CHEESECAKE SQUARES

I found this recipe in an issue of Fine Cooking, just can’t remember which one LOL. I tweaked it very little and it is one of our new favorites!

I’ve also made it using Limes, Lemons & Limes and Bloody Oranges.  We liked them all, but by far, the Lemon Lime combo was our favorite.
You’ll notice in the picture with the pan that there is a very strange looking apparatus in the curd.  That is an AS SEEN ON TV automatic stirrer that I picked up at Big Lots.  I really thought it was going to be like so many other gadgets and go by the wayside, but I was wrong!  This is the best gadget I ever indulged in.  It’s battery operated and is like a second pair of hands in the kitchen.  All those recipes that call for “stirring constantly”are now handled by this gadget and turn out beautifully!

LEMON CHEESECAKE SQUARES

8×8 straight edge pan
2 pieces of parchment paper 8 inches wide x 16 inches long

  • Alternately overlap the parchment pieces so that they cross each other and fold over all 4 sides.
  • Push the parchment into the edges and the corners making a straight crease.

CRUST
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Graham cracker crumbs

  • Using a fork add graham cracker crumbs until mixture resembles wet sand.
  • Press into the bottom of prepared pan.

CHEESECAKE
1 pound cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 LARGE eggs

  • Combine the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until well blended.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition until completely smooth.
  • Pour into prepared pan.

CURD
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, strained twice
1/2 cup sugar
2 LARGE eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

  • Whisk together the sugar, eggs and lemon juice until sugar is completely dissolved.
  • In a small non-reactive sauce pan cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until steaming, but not boiling. The mixture will have thickened.
  • Remove from heat and add butter, stirring until butter is melted.
  • Pour through a sieve to remove any lumps.

ASSEMBLY

  • Preheat oven to 325˚.

  • Prepare crust.

  • Prepare cheesecake portion.

  • Bake 40 minutes or until sides are slightly puffed, cake is not too jiggly and center is dry to the touch.

  • While baking, prepare the curd.

  • Remove cheesecake from oven.

  •  Pour hot curd on top of cheesecake and lightly spread to even out.

  • Cool 20 minutes on rack.

  • Move to the refrigerator and chill 5-6 hours or overnight before serving.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE DROPS

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE DROPS
2/3 cup Hot water
10 ounces Land of Lakes cocoa mix
2 cups JIF creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 cups C&H powdered sugar, divided 2cups + 1 cup
2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
2 cups crushed ginger snaps
72 Hershey Kisses (I like the cherry cordials)

  • Whisk together the hot water and cocoa mix until smooth.
  • Add peanut butter and corn syrup. Blend until smooth.
  • Add 2 cups powdered sugar and stir until well blended.
  • Stir in cookie crumbs until well blended.
  • Spray wax paper with PURE (these will be sticky so don’t forget this step).
  • Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto the wax paper.
  • Place the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
  • Roll each piece of dough into a ball and dredge in powdered sugar.
  • Press your thumb into the center and fill with a Hershey’s kiss.

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO with BBQ SAUSAGE

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken pieces
1/2 pound sausage, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces and then quartered
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small Vidalia onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh green beans, cleaned and chopped
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper

  • Melt butter and oil over medium high heat in a large saute’ pan.  Add flour and whisk continuously until golden brown.
  • Add onions, garlic and celery stirring continuously for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are tender.
  • Add thyme. salt and pepper.
  • Add green beans, stirring to coat.
  • Add broth, chicken and sausage pieces and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes until desired consistency.
  • Add parsley and stir well.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes.
  • I coated the remaining sausage pieces with barbecue sauce and broiled them for a few minutes as an appetizer/compliment.

CHICKEN KIEV

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large whole eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
2 cups Panko crumbs + 1/4 cup for filling
1/4 bag frozen broccoli florets, chopped
salt and pepper to taste for chicken pieces
Safflower oil for frying

  • Combine butter, parsley, tarragon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. 
  • Fold in broccoli floret pieces.
  • Place mixture on plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into small log; place in freezer.
  • Place chicken breasts, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Spray chicken lightly with water as well as the top of the plastic wrap. Pound to no less than 1/8-inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.
  • Lay 1 chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap and place 1/4 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs in the center of each breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in ends of breast and roll breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter; roll very tightly. Repeat with each breast. 
  • Place chicken in refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.
  • Place egg and water mixture in 1 pie pan and 2 cups bread crumbs in a different pie pan.
  • Heat 1/2-inch of safflower oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F.
  • Dip each breast in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. 
  • Gently place each breast in oil, sealed-side down, and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. 
  • Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

LASAGNA BOLOGNESE

I think I finally topped myself and found the perfect seasoning combination for bolognese sauce!  I made the sauce a couple of days ahead so it could sit and let the flavors meld together.

LASAGNA BOLOGNESE
1 pound COSTCO organic ground beef
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
5 large Roma tomatoes, slice thin
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Lasagna  Noodles, prepared or oven ready**

  •  Brown ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic. Drain fat.
  • Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato sauce.
  • Stir in sugar, salt, pepper, basil, Italian seasoning and fennel, mixing well.
  • Lay tomato slices evenly on top. Cover.
  • Simmer for 2 hours over low heat. Stir in tomato slices until well blended.  At this time you can proceed to finish the lasagna or refrigerate the sauce until ready.

16 ounces Ricotta Cheese
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
lasagna noodles

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix together the Ricotta cheese, egg, nutmeg and parsley.
  • Spray baking dish with PAM.
  • Spread some of the meat sauce along the bottom. Top with lasagna noodles.  Add a layer of the Ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle with some of the Parmesan and then the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat two more times.
  • Cover and bake 25 minutes.
  • Uncover and bake another 25 minutes or until cheese is golden and starting to crisp.
  • Let rest 10 minutes before cutting or serving.

 **I love the oven ready noodles – no pre-cooking and so much less breakage.  No one can tell the difference after you bake it!

UNION STATION COOKIES

I was searching the web for a specific copy cat recipe for a salad dressing and somehow found this great site with a ton of recipes that made my mouth water as I searched through them.  Funny thing is I never found the recipe I started searching for, but I did find dozens of others including this one for Union Station Cookies that said it was sourced from St. Louis, Missouri.  These were really, really good!
I did end up making a few modifications which I’ve listed in red. The changes made them a bit moister.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz. Hershey bar, melted (3 regular sized bars)
12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips (half of the bag melted)
2 JUMBO eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 cups Quaker oats (powdered in blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (Walnuts, chopped VERY fine)

  • Cream together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. 
  • In separate bowl mix flour, oats, salt and baking powder. 
  • Mix creamed and dry ingredients. 
  • Add chocolate chips, melted chocolate and nuts. 
  • Place dough (golf-ball-size or smaller) on an ungreased cookie sheet. 
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. 
  • Makes 3 or 4 dozen.

CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET

CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
1 pound fat sausages of choice, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, sliced
1/2 pound snap peas, washed and deveined
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
1 14-ounce can petit diced tomatoes, basil, garlic & oregano
1 tablespoon Classico sun-dried tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried
2 +/- cups chicken stock
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs**
salt and ground black pepper

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Brown the bacon until browned and crumbly in Dutch oven casserole dish.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
  • Add chicken and sausages and brown on all sides. Remove from fat and set aside. 
  • Add the onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. 
  • Add the carrots, snap peas and parsley, sauteing 3-4 more minutes.
  • Add tomatoes, tomato puree, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add meat back in.
  • Add enough of the stock to just cover the meat and veggies, you don’t want things swimming around too much.  You can always add more stock during the cooking if needed. 
  • Cover dish and cook 1 hour.
  • Add more stock if necessary. Spread crumbs over the top and cook uncovered for 40 more minutes or until browned. 

**Try adding other vegetables such as broccoli or white beans for variety.   I used crushed Ritz crackers today and they worked reallllllllllllllly well as a substitute!

CHILI HOMINY BAKE

Back when I was a latch key kid I was supposed to go home after school, lock the door, do my chores and homework and then start dinner. Dinners were mainly casseroles and a pre-planned set of recipes at that. One of those recipes was my great aunt Louise’s Chili Hominy Bake. I recently ran across that recipe and it drudged up memories – some good, some not so good. You see I can’t stand kidney beans or black olives and I hated hominy – or so I thought. I did love the overall flavor, but since I didn’t like the parts I decided to rework them to make a better whole!

AUNT LOUISE’S JIFFY CHILI HOMINY BAKE
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pound can chili with beans (2 cups)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can yellow hominy, drained (2 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives
1/2 cup shredded American cheese

  • Cook ground beef and onion until browned.
  • Stir in other ingredients except cheese.
  • Put in casserole.
  • Cover and bake in medium oven for 25 minutes.
  • Sprinkle cheese over top, continue baking uncovered 5 minutes more.
  • Good re-heated.

MY CHILI HOMINY BAKE
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet Williams Chili seasoning
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles, drained, but save the juice
1 can cream of celery soup
1 large can hominy, drained & chopped small
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

  • Cook ground beef, garlic and onion until browned.
  • Add in the chili seasoning mix and tomato juice.
  • Cook until well blended and juice is absorbed.
  • Chop hominy smaller.
  • Stir together the soup, tomatoes and chiles, hominy until well blended.
  • Stir together the soup mixture and beef mixture until well blended.
  • Put in greased casserole.
  • Sprinkle cheese over top, continue baking uncovered 25-30 minutes more.
  • Good re-heated.



The key was taking out the kidney beans, black olives and chopping the hominy into better sized pieces. Now that might not be the key for you so add them back in! This is a very versatile recipe. I guarantee these changes will make this a great kid friendly casserole.

BAKED OMELETS a.k.a. CRUSTLESS QUICHE

The beauty of making individual omelets is that you can truly have what you want.  Hubs hates mushrooms and I love them.  He likes his with more salt and I like more pepper.  You see where I’m going with this?  It’s all about what YOU want.  They also take half as much time to bake as a whole casserole would.
The one on the left is rotisserie chicken, mushroom, onion, fresh ground pepper and nacho cheese.  The one on the right is pot roast, onion, green Tabasco, salt and pepper with sharp cheddar cheese. These are a good place to use up some leftovers!
BAKED OMELETES aka CRUSTLESS QUICHEBASIC EGG MIXTURE – per person

2 eggs
1/8 cup whole milk
1/8 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Fillings to taste

  • Spray ramekins with cooking spray,
  • Fill bottom with your favorites.
  • Whisk together the eggs, sour cream and milk.
  • Pour over fillings.
  • Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Let sit 5 minutes.
  • Invert onto plate and enjoy.