Category: RECIPES

ITALIAN LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

I found this recipe at ALLrecipes and it was amazing!!  I did make a few changes for my family’s likes so go check out the original recipe.

ITALIAN LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

Lemon Butter Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup white wine*
  • Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream❉
  • 1 cup butter, chilled❉
  • salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:
1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces bacon
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

  1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
  3. To make the chicken, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. Stir the bacon, mushrooms and artichokes into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
  4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
  5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley. 

*a dry blush works well also.
❉I didn’t want to use so much butter so substituted 3/4 cup buttermilk this time and was pleased with the results.

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL COFFECAKE

GRANDMA’S STREUSEL COFFEECAKE
2 + 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 + 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 + 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
6 + 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 JUMBO eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cups blueberries

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Sift together the 2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel in a large mixing bowl.
  • Whisk together the eggs, 6 tablespoons butter, buttermilk and vanilla.
  • Gently fold in the blueberries.
  • Pour liquid mix into flour mixture and beat until smooth with a hand mixer.
  • Pour into a prepared 9×9 pan.
  • In a small food processor process all the remaining ingredients except the walnuts until smooth.
  • Using your hands form small flat pancakes with the mixture and scatter over cake batter until well covered.
  • Poke a few holes down into the cake for the streusel to run into or run a knife through creating a swirl.
  • Scatter walnuts evenly over top.
  • Bake 1 hour.
  • Serve warm with a dab of butter melting on top of each piece.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

This is a fantastic low calorie tasty salad. I used to make the super fattening broccoli cauliflower with tons of mayo, sugar, sunflower seeds and tons of bacon. Delicious yes, but so fattening, you can eat such a tiny portion compared to this salad. The red wine vinegar is so good in this. It’s a nice make ahead salad but I wait until about an hour or two before serving time to add the dressing.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

3 roma plum tomatoes

1 pound fresh broccoli florets, about 8 cups
1 small head of cauliflower, about 1/2pound
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup light sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup Splenda

Dice tomatoes, chop broccoli and cauliflower. Mix veggies together in a large bowl. Mix mayo, sour cream, salt and pepper, Splenda and red wine vinegar together in a small bowl. Add to veggies. Stir thoroughly and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, stirring often. Keeps in the fridge for about 24-36 hours nicely in my opinion.


Total calories = 791

13 loose filled cups

LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

I found this recipe at ALLrecipes and it was amazing!!  I did make a few changes for my family’s likes so go check out the original recipe.

LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

Lemon Butter Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup white wine*
  • Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream❉
  • 1 cup butter, chilled❉
  • salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:
1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces bacon – OPTIONAL
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced – OPTIONAL
6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved – OPTIONAL
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

  1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. (TONIGHT DIDN’T WANT TO THICKEN!) Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. (TONIGHT I MADE RICE – A GREAT SUBSTITUTE)
  3. To make the chicken, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. OPTIONAL – Stir the bacon, mushrooms and artichokes into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
  4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
  5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley. 

*a dry blush works well also.
❉I didn’t want to use so much butter so substituted 3/4 cup buttermilk this time and was pleased with the results.

MAPLE VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

One of hubby’s favorite cookies is chocolate chip.  I’ve experimented for years on getting the right combo of flavors.  According to hubby I’ve finally done it.
MAPLE VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
3 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/3 cups butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Jumbo eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple extract
pinch cinnamon
12 ounce package milk chocolate chips

  • Preheat oven to 375˚,
  • Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.
  • Cream butter.
  • Add sugars and cream again.
  • Add eggs and cream again.
  • Add vanilla and maple, beating until smooth.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture until we blended.
  • Add chocolate chips and nuts if desired.
  • Drop by spoon fulls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Bake 10 minutes.

MARVELOUS MINI-MEATLOAVES

I found tonight’s main dish on a blog, Gourmet Meals for Less, and I knew that Scott liked meatloaf so I thought I would give it a try. 

Marvelous Mini Meatloaves–
makes 12 meatloaves

l pound extra-lean ground beef (1.69)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Chicken flavored stuffing mix (use the cheapest you can find)
1 cup water

and choose from your favorite of the following combinations:

1 teaspoon italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, shredded mozzarella
2 teaspoon chili powder, chunky salsa, mexi-cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 375°. 
  • Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and preferred seasoning until well blended.  
  • Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. 
  • Make indentation in center of each with back of spoon; fill each evenly with spoonful of preferred sauce.
  • Bake 30-40 min. or until meatloaves are done (160°F). 
  • Top each meatloaf with sprinkle of cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. 
  • Let stand 10 min.

Make Ahead and Freeze:  Bake meatloaves as directed. Remove from muffin cups; cool completely. Place in single layer on baking sheet; freeze 1 hour. Transfer to airtight container. Store in freezer up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator, and then reheat in 375°F-oven 20 min. or until heated through.

Here’s what you’ll need: 
(we went with the Italian Seasoning, spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese)
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  
  • Put the hamburger meat in a bowl and add the stuffing.
  • Add 7-8 good dashes of Italian seasoning and 1 cup of water.  Mix together. 
  • Spray a muffin pan with Pam and then stuff each pan with the meat.

  • Push a little hole in the middle of each. 
  • Scoop in 1 Tbsp of spaghetti sauce in each (if you are making the Italian-style).
  • Bake for 40 minutes.

  • Once the meat is cooked through, pull out and add cheese to the top.  Put back in for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:

This is the type of meal, too, in which if some of the people in your family like Mexican and some like Italian then it would be easy to make 6 of each.  Plus, I love how the recipe tells you how to make ahead and freeze, too.

If I could have changed one thing, I think next time I won’t get a chicken flavored stuffing.  I think, instead, I would look to see what other varieties there were.  For me, there was still just a hint of the taste of stuffing instead of traditional crumbled up crackers or I guess you could even use just bread crumbs as a binding.
Either way, we will definitely be having this meal again!

Hope you enjoy!
April

CHILE LIME CHICKEN PATTIES with LIME REMOULADE SAUCE

Good morning everyone! We had these little yummies this past week and hubby is already asking for them again so I think they were a hit!

CHILE LIME CHICKEN PATTIES with LIME REMOULADE SAUCE
2 cups rotisserie chicken. chopped small
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, fresh
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 cup Panko crumbs, divided in half
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg, lightly beaten
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons Franks Chile hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons butter

SAUCE
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Several drops Franks Chile Hot Sauce

  • Process chicken until just ground, or choppy VERY fine.
  • In a large bowl mix together chicken, celery, parsley, green onions, 1/2 cup Panko crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, lime juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce until well blended.
  • Form into 6-8 patties and coat with remaining Panko crumbs.
  • In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat.  Cook patties slowly until browned, about 10 minutes, turning halfway through.
  • For the sauce, whisk together all ingredients until well blended and smooth.
  • Serve with lime wedges if desired.

CINNAMON ROLL CAKE

I can’t remember where I first saw this recipe, but it is soooooo good and needs to be passed around again and again!

CAKE
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

  • Mix everything together except for the butter. 
  • Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9×13 pan.

TOPPING
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon

  • Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. 
  • Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. 
  • Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

GLAZE
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
4-5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

  • Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. 
  •  Pour over top of warm cake.

Deano Jalapeno Burger – Fire Day Friday

Don’t you just love those Durkee Fried Onions?  Yeah, those ones that you put on top of green bean casserole.  Yes, the ones you guiltily snack on when you think no one is looking.  
Imagine the same thing but instead of onions, imagine it made out of thin sliced jalapenos.  I received a fiery care package from my friends at Hot Sauce Daily (a blog about all things hot and spicy) and one of the items was a mysterious gold foil package of Deano’s Jalapenos brand Jalapeno Chips.  
One taste and Alexis said they were like super spicy fried onions.  I loved them too and immediately knew I had to use them as a burger topping.  To offset the heat, I made a ranch dressing with cilantro and avocado spread to help cool it off.  
Deano Jalapeno Burger
source:  NibbleMeThis
Ranch dressing adapted from Barefeet In The Kitchen
Ingredients
  • 2 lb ground beef
  • 4 teaspoons burger seasoning*
  • 6 buns
  • 6 oz monterey jack cheese, thin sliced
  • 2 cups shredded lettuce
  • 1/2 cup fried jalapeno slices*

For the cilantro and avocado ranch spread

  •  3.5 oz heavy cream
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dill
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 ea Haas avocado, diced

Instructions

  1. Mix the cream and lemon juice together and rest for 5 minutes.
  2. Mix together the sour cream, mayo, garlic, cilantro, dill, salt and pepper.  Stir in the cream mixture.
  3. Place the diced avocado and half of the dressing mixture in a blender or food processor and blend until the avocado is broken down, about 30 seconds.  Fold this batch back into the rest of the dressing.
  4. Mix together the beef and burger seasoning.  Divide into 6 third pound portions and form into 5″ patties.  
  5. Preheat a charcoal grill to 450f.  
  6. Grill the burgers for 4 minutes.  Flip and grill another 4 minutes.  Top with the cheese slices in the last minute.  Remove and let rest for 5 minutes.
  7. Top bun bottoms with shredded lettuce, a cheese burger, a handful of jalapeno chips and slather the but top with a healthy bit of the ranch dip. 

Notes

  • I used a commercial burger seasoning tonight but you can make a simple one of 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp onion powder.
  • I used Deano Jalapenos’ Jalapeno Cheddar chips.  I have made my own before by doing a standard flour, eggwash on slice jalapenos and deep frying them in 350f oil.  It was a lot easier using theirs.   
  • The recipe makes about twice the amount of ranch dip that you will need, but you will be glad.  Use the rest for a great dip for chips or thin it with some milk to make a great ranch dressing.
The thick creamy avocado dip helps cool the heat of the jalapeno chips.

Grilled burgers, a sign that summer is coming soon!

The ranch makes a great dip for spicy fries too.

FTC Disclaimer:  I have no affiliation with Deano Jalapenos and didn’t receive any compensation for this post.  I did get the sample for free but it was a care package from some friends of ours. 

ITALIAN LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

I found this recipe at ALLrecipes and it was amazing!!  I did make a few changes for my family’s likes so go check out the original recipe.

ITALIAN LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

Lemon Butter Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup white wine*
  • Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream❉
  • 1 cup butter, chilled❉
  • salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:
1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces bacon – OPTIONAL
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced – OPTIONAL
6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved – OPTIONAL
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

  1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. (TONIGHT DIDN’T WANT TO THICKEN!) Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. (TONIGHT I MADE RICE – A GREAT SUBSTITUTE)
  3. To make the chicken, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. OPTIONAL – Stir the bacon, mushrooms and artichokes into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
  4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
  5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley. 

*a dry blush works well also.
❉I didn’t want to use so much butter so substituted 3/4 cup buttermilk this time and was pleased with the results.