Scrumptious Sunday ~ Picnic Edition ~ Fried Chicken

What is a picnic without fried chicken?

12 pieces of chicken
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
2 sticks butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine salt and warm water to cover the chicken pieces.
Soak for 1 hour.
In a large cast iron pan melt one stick of butter.
Drain chicken pieces and pat dry.
In a large Ziploc bag combine the flour and buttermilk powder.
Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.
When butter is melted and hot arrange chicken pieces to fit into the pan.
Salt and pepper to taste.
DO NOT turn chicken pieces until you see blood.
Salt and pepper to taste on the second side.
Cook until golden on both sides and you cannot see any blood.

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!

The Revival of a Family Sunday ~ Breakfast through Dinner

We’re changing up the menu plan a bit! The catch to dinner: My recipes, but the teenager has done all the menu planning (which she hated making choices – said it was hard work), shopping, prep work, cooking and clean-up. On the Menu: Toasted French Toast for breakfast and for dinner, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Garlic Smashers, Home Made Carrot Cake she made a gourmet meal that was quickly devoured! We used multi-grain and sourdough for the French toast and it was truly scrumptious.

TOASTED FRENCH TOAST ~ We hate soggy French Toast and this recipe conquers that.
8 slices thick white bread
1 1/4 cup milk
5 egg yolks
1/8 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Toast bread, but not browned.
Preheat griddle and coat with a small amount of butter.
Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, salt, vanilla, butter and cinnamon.
Whisk in flour until smooth.
Pour milk mixture into a baking dish.
Soak bread pieces for a few seconds on each side.
Grill for several minutes on each side until golden brown.
Serve with warm maple syrup.

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
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

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 thin slices cooked ham
4 thin slices swiss cheese***
1/2 pound bacon (8 slices)
2 jumbo eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic, jar
1 teaspoon oregano

Flatten chicken breasts.
Spread butter evenly on the tops.
Smooth garlic evenly amongst the 4 breasts.
Sprinkle the thyme evenly between the four breasts.
Top with a slice of ham and then a slice of cheese.
Roll up tightly.
Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each one and secure with toothpicks.
Whisk together the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl. Place flour in another shallow bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, oregano and cheese in a 3rd shallow bowl.
Dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture first, then the flour, then the egg mixture again and the crumb mixture last.
Place on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before serving.

*For really easy servings, I lay the bacon on the cookie sheet and cut the flattened breasts in half. On top of 1/2 of the bacon strip lay a chicken piece, top as directed and then lay the other chicken breast. Bring the other 1/2 of the bacon slice over the top and bake as directed. NO ROLLING AND NO TOOTHPICKS!

***I also use Muenster or Gruyere if that is what I have on hand.

SCRUMPTIOUS CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
CAKE
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Jumbo eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup golden rum*
3 cups grated carrots
8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pour rum over raisins and set aside for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour 2-9 inch cake pans.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars.
In another bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and 1 egg. Add additional eggs and beat until well creamed.
Add dry ingredients gradually until well blended.
Add carrots, pineapple and walnuts until well blended.
Drain raisins and fold in last.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes.
Invert cakes onto rack and cool completely.

*As an option you could soak the raisins in orange juice instead and then substitute 1 teaspoon maple flavoring for the rum.

FROSTING
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until blended.
Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended and smooth.
Ice first layer and then add 2nd cake top and ice again including sides of cake.
Refrigerate 1 hour to set icing before serving.

Slow Cooking Thursday collides with Scrumptious Sunday this week with Beef Bourguignon

Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks
Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
BEEF BOURGUIGNON

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cubed
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 slices bacon, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped
12 pearl onions, peeled
8 ounce package sliced mushrooms
flour
1 tablespoon Classico sun dried tomato pesto
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 cups red wine of your choice

Melt the butter and saute’ the beef chunks and garlic until browned. Remove to small crock pot.
Sprinkle flour over the browned beef chunks.
Add bacon and brown until crisp. Add to the slow cooker.
Sprinkle flour over the bacon.
Add the onions and carrots and saute’. Add to the slow cooker.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the slow cooker contents, adding bay leaf last.
Set slow cooker to low and cook 2 hours undisturbed until meat is tender.
Add the pearl onions and mushrooms during the last 1/2 hour at least.
Check every 20 minutes after 2 hours until desired consistency is reached.
Good over mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.

Swedish Meatballs

Traditionally this recipe is served with lingonberries – YUMMMMMMY!!

MEATBALLS
1 Jumbo egg
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large slice white bread, crusts removed, and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces ground pork, double ground
8 ounces ground beef, double ground
1 medium onion, grated or minced

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
Olive Oil, heavy coat

Whisk egg and cream together in small bowl. Stir in bread and set aside to soak.
Blend hamburger & pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, and salt smooth and uniform.
Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain.
Add mixture to beef mixture and blend until well mixed.
Form 1-inch round meatballs. You’ll have about 25-30.
Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat.
Add meatballs in single layer and fry, turning several times, until lightly browned on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes.
Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.
Transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.

SAUCE
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
Table salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour off and discard the oil in pan.
Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. Once melted, add flour and cook, stirring constantly with whisk, until flour is light brown.
Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits.
Add brown sugar and bring to simmer.
Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes.
Stir in cream and return to simmer.
Add meatballs back to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over noodles.

Freezer Food Friday ~Sweet & Zesty Meatballs

hosted by mjpuzzlemom
These are a great recipe for a potluck or buffet.
I always make too much on purpose because the leftovers freeze so well.

MEATBALLS*

2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, finely minced
1/2 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon minced garlic from the jar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 jumbo egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients and blend well.
Shape into 1 inch balls.
Place meatballs on un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake 25-30 minutes until browned and baked through.
For frozen meatballs, put the sauce in the crock pot first and then stir in frozen meatballs. They’ll be ready in 3-4 hours.

*I sometimes cheat and buy the bags of meatballs from Costco or Sam’s Club

SAUCE
3/4 cup Welch’s grape jelly
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 3/4 cups Heinz chili sauce
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin slivers

In a large saucepan combine jelly, chili sauce and vinegar.
Bring to a soft boil and simmer 5 minutes stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
Layer meatballs, peppers and spicy sauce in crock pot.
Warm meatballs in sauce for 3-4 hours before serving.

You can put all the leftovers in the freezer together. Be sure to thaw them thoroughly before reheating.

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by aura 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 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!

Taco Ring Salad ~ Recipe of the Week

A lot of people have asked about this recipe of late, so I thought it was time to share it.
It is so simple and looks so good too.
It’s great for Super Bowl parties, potlucks, etc…
Kids really love it too.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
taco seasoning
1 large onion, chopped small
4 oz. can chopped green chiles, not drained
1 package refrigerator crescent rolls 1
large tomato, chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
3 cups shredded lettuce
1 package Sargento Mexican blend fine shredded cheese
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet brown the ground beef and onion. Drain.
Add taco seasoning and green chiles.
Simmer 5-10 minutes. Drain again so there is no excess moisture.
I use my stoneware pizza stone. Lightly spray it with PURE.
Unroll the crescent rolls and separate them.
Arrange the rolls (wide edges inward with the thin corner edge slightly hanging off the pizza stone) in a circular pattern around the pizza stone with the corners slightly touching.
Arrange the meat mixture in a circular pattern covering the large end portion of the crescent rolls. Sprinkle 1/3 -1/2 of the cheese over the meat.
Pull the small pointed end up over the meat mixture and pinch into large portion creating a ring that resembles a wreath. You will have an open area with meat showing through.
Bake according to the biscuit directions and golden.
I also serve it on the stoneware. Arrange the shredded lettuce, green onions and tomatoes in the center and edges. For just us, I just put it directly on the plate.
Garnish with sour cream and remaining cheese.
Serve immediately.

Freezer Food Friday ~ Chicken Pot Pies

hosted by mjpuzzlemom

6 cups shredded chicken (2 rotisserie chickens)*
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 celery stalks
1 small bag baby carrots
1 small bag frozen green beans or 1/2 pound fresh, cleaned and cut
2 cups chicken broth
12 oz. evaporated milk
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Wondra flour
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1/8 cup parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Separate chicken from fat and bones and set aside. Heat oil in dutch oven. Saute’ onions and celery until just tender. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss with chicken. Mix together chicken broth and milk and microwave until steamy, 2-3 minutes. In a large sauce pan melt butter. When foamy stir in flour, parsley and thyme until golden. Gradually whisk in the hot milk mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick. Turn off heat and stir in sherry, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chicken mixture and vegetables. Divide into 6-8 small French white Pyrex round baking dishes. Cover with lids and freeze.

When ready to bake, thaw and bring to room temperature. Cover with pie crust** and bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. With this recipe you don’t end up with a bottom crust, but just think of how many calories you’re saving.

*I usually make this when my local market has a buy one get one free on the rotisserie chickens.

**Pillsbury pie crust from the dairy section will make 2 pot pies with left over pieces for decorative leaves. Unfold a sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out gently. Measure the diameter of the pot pie bowls, and cut out dough rounds that are slightly larger in diameter. Repeat until you have made all the necessary tops. Whisk an egg in a small bowl. Lay the dough rounds on top of the pot pies. Brush the dough lightly with the beaten egg. Bake the pies for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Favorite Ingredient Friday ~Easter Edition~Heavenly Hash

My entry is actually for after Easter, what do do with those leftover ham scraps.
hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy

1 – 2 pound package frozen diced hash brown potatoes
1 can cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup
2 cups diced ham
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups grated sharp or longhorn cheddar cheese (about 12 ounces)
1 cup sour cream
1 bunch green onions, finely diced
1 cup crushed potato chips

Mix soup, sour cream and thyme until smooth. Add the ham and green onions. Add in the cheese and blend well. Fold in the hash brown potatoes. Bake until top is slightly golden, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with crushed potato chips and bake an additional 10 minutes.

I like to serve this with fluffy scrambled eggs.

Great for brunches or large groups.

Freezer Food Friday ~ Chili

hosted by mjpuzzlemom

3 pounds hamburger
2 large white onions, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans Rotel original tomatoes
2 – 4 oz. cans diced green chiles
3 cups V-8 juice
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons jar garlic or 3 cloves fresh

In a large stock pot, brown the hamburger and onion together. Drain the fat off. Mix in all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a low simmer for 3-4 hours. After dinner separate the remaining chili into 4 freezer containers, label and freeze for future meals.

CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN with PEPPERED GRAVY

Chicken Fried Chicken

2 large boneless chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2-4 tablespoons butter(enough to keep chicken from burning~add as necessary)

Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts. In a shallow glass pan, pour buttermilk over chicken 1-2 hours prior to cooking. Make sure to coat chicken well and turn at least once during soaking. Drain, but do NOT rinse the buttermilk off.

In a medium sized fry pan melt the butter over medium heat. As butter melts and begins to very slightly sizzle, prepare breasts.

In a small ziploc bag mix together the flour, salt and pepper. One at a time, put each chicken breast in bag and coat well with flour mix and then into sizzling butter. Cook on one side until edges begin to bleed and then turn. About 6 minutes each side depending on plumpness. Keep chicken warm.

Peppered Gravy

3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons Wondra flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper + (to taste)

Melt butter into bottom of pan you just cooked the chicken in. Scrape up any of the chicken pieces and mix into new butter. Add flour slowly, stirring until absorbed by butter and golden brown. Slowly add first the milk and then the cream. Stir constantly until thickens. If necessary sprinkle in more Wondra until desired thickness is reached. Serve over chicken and mashed potatoes.

Freezer Food Friday Spinach Stuffed Manicotti

hosted by mjpuzzlemom

MJ over at MJPuzzlemom recently left me a comment which indirectly let me find this wonderful new meme that the she hosts, Freezer Food Friday. I’ll join in this week by recycling this great updated freezer recipe of mine for Spinach Stuffed Manicotti Shells.

1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons minced jar garlic
1 box chopped frozen spinach (thawed & drained)
salt & pepper to taste
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 can Contadina tomato paste
10 ounces beef broth (I use granules and make my own)
2 tablespoons Classico sun-dried tomato peso
1/4 cup butter
2-8ounce shredded mozzarella cheese packages
1 box organic pasta Manicotti Shells (prepared al dente, very al dente)

Brown hamburger. Add garlic and onion about half way through. When the hamburger is browned, add spinach and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain off fat.
Mix all other ingredients together except the shells and cheese and bring to a simmering boil. Add one third of the sauce to the meat mixture.
Stuff the shells with the meat mixture. Continue until all shells are full. This recipe serves 4, but at this point since there are just 2 of us I try to think ahead and prep meals to freeze for easy cooking on the nights we’re busy with appointments, but still need a home cooked meal. This Manicotti recipe is great for that. The shells come in a box with 2 layers of plastic protectors. I make sure to save one to protect the shells I’m going to freeze. I prepare the recipe like normal, but split it in half before baking and freeze half. As you can see it all slips easily into a gallon size ziploc bag. After removing everything, I roll the bag up and stick in the freezer door until the next time I prep the whole recipe.
In a small greased casserole layer some sauce on bottom. Lay in half the shells, pour more sauce over top reserving half the sauce for the freezer. Put that sauce in a quart size ziploc. Top with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove fol and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes.
In the gallon sized ziploc bag slide the extra tray of shells into it. Slide the bag of sauce on top of that as well as the second bag of mozzarella cheese. Zip shut and freeze. You now have a home cooked meal for another night.

Chicken Marsala

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup sweet cooking sherry

With a mortar and pestle grind the oregano. Sift together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat the chicken pieces well.
In a heavy skillet, heat oil and butter. Slice onion into rings and separate. When oil and butter is hot saute’ onions until just carmelized. Set aside and place chicken breasts in skillet and brown on both sides about 6 minutes per side over medium heat. Remove and set aside.
to the skillet, add the wine, lemon juice and sherry. Stir, reduce heat, and cook for about 10 minutes until the sauce is partially reduced and begins to thicken.

Return chicken breasts to the skillet. Spoon sauce over the chicken.

Cover and cook over low heat for about 5-10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Hubby doesn’t care for cooked mushrooms, but you hardly miss them. If you want to add the mushrooms back in, slice 1 cup mushrooms and add at the same time as the wine and sherry.

Category: PROTEINS

Chicken Marsala