Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata (or pork piccata) is one of my favorite dishes. Shawn and I always order it when we go to the Cheesecake Factory, they have a delicious one. There are a couple of variations, but really it is pretty simple. I have simplified the sauce a little, but you can make it the original way if you want.

4 Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
2 eggs, beaten with 1 T. water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T. Capers

Flatten chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick. This is really important to get a good crust and tender, moist chicken. Combine Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs. Dip breasts in eggs mixture and then in cheese and bread crumbs mixture. Put in fridge for about 15 minutes. Combine oil and butter in skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Saute chicken fillets for 5 minutes per side, or until brown and cooked.

I usually just make a simple sauce by adding the lemon juice into the pan drippings and then adding capers. But, to make the original sauce you add garlic or shallot to the pan drippings and saute for a few seconds. Next, add 1/2 to 1 cup chicken stock and fresh lemon slices. Simmer until sauce thickens (about 4 minutes). Add lemon juice and capers and simmer. Once sauce thickens remove from heat and add 2 T. butter until it melts. This sauce is a little thicker and richer, but I am lazy most of the time and think it tastes great either way.

*chicken cooked this way also is great cut up and served in salads, without the sauce!

Pineapple Ginger Fruit Salad

1 pineapple chunked into bite size pieces
2 kiwis thinly sliced
1 cup coconut
2 limes zested and juiced
1 inch piece of ginger root peeled
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Combine coconut with lime zest. Toast until golden brown

Put lime juice, water, sugar, and ginger in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand.

Arrange pineapple and kiwi on plate. Scatter coconut mixture over fruit. Drizzle with ginger syrup.

*I read some people added strawberries and Mandarin oranges.

Zucchini Fudge Cake

I found this recipe right after J.D. and I got married. It's delicious and moist and above all chocolaty. You can used a prepared chocolate fudge frosting (which is what I usually do) but I think the frosting from the Hershey's cake on here would be wonderful too. What a great way to sneak vegetables into your day!

1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups shredded zucchini
3-1/2 cups prepared chocolate frosting

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in zucchini.
Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes (I had to bake it about 42 minutes--I don't know why) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Mexican Tinga

Jenn, I feel like you've been carrying this blog for a little while, and I thought that I might help out with this recipe.
I found this on allrecipes.com, but I changed it a little to fit our tastes. You can find the original recipe here. It's pretty simple, but I enjoyed it and will make it again. Here's my changes to it.

4 chicken breasts
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies.
1 onion, chopped
sour cream
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
tostada shells (you can fry your own corn tortillas in oil until crispy, that's what I did)

Season chicken with salt and pepper and a little cumin. Puree tomatoes and add to chicken. Add onion and cook on low for 6 hours, high for 4. When chicken is cooked, shred and return to crock pot.

To serve, put chicken on tostada, top with sour cream and what ever else you want. Like I said, it's pretty simple, but it's different and good.

Lemon Pie

This was a really easy pie that I made a few days ago. Shawn's first comment was, "wow, this is interesting", but then he told me he really liked it. I think this pie would be GREAT on a warm summers day! You could easily garnish this pie with whipped cream-that would be delicious, but I was just lazy.


3 egg yolks
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whipped cream
3 egg whites, beaten stiff
3 T. sugar
Vanilla Wafer Crumbs or Graham crackers crumbs

With a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Place mixture in to of a double boiler and cook slowly to make a custard, stirring continuously. Remove from heat when thickened, and let cool. Whip the cream, then beat the egg whites until stiff;fold in sugar and whipped cream. Fold this mixture into the cooled custard. Line a glass pie dish with vanilla wafer crumbs and fill with lemon custard. Freeze until firm and the slice and serve.

Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole

This recipe was a nice change to the typical chicken and rice casserole. I liked the Alfredo sauce added to the mix and this was very easy to put together!


1 10oz. bottle Alfredo pasta sauce
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cup cooked wild rice (or you could use white rice)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped bottled roasted red sweet peppers
1/4 cup silvered almonds, toasted (optional)
1 T. snipped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 T. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl combine pasta sauce and milk. Stir in rice, chicken, peas, sweet peppers, nuts, and basil. Transfer to baking dish. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and stir. Combine the bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake, uncovered 20-25 minutes more or until heated through and crumbs are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine!

Amazing Creamy Lemon Bars

This is definitely my new favorite lemon bar recipe. I got it from a great food blog http://www.the-daily-bite.blogspot.com/. I love the creamy texture to this lemon bar.

Creamy Lemon Bars
20 Nilla Wafers, finely crushed

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold real butter

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. flour

3 Tbsp grated lemon peel divided

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice-use FRESH!

1/4 tsp. Baking Powder

Powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a bowl, combine Nilla Wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar. Chop butter into small pieces and then cut into crumb mixture with a pastry blender. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

While crust is cooking, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 2 Tbsp. flour, and baking powder; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon zest, and lemon juice and then pour mixture over crust.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel just before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover squares in refrigerator.

Sweet Rice and Spicy Cilantro Dressing

I have been searching for a copycat recipe for the sweet rice that Bajio's makes. They actually use fruit juice-probably pineapple, but I can't find their recipe anywhere. This is a close second. I served this tonight on tortillas with bean, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and a yummy new spicy cilantro-lime dressing (recipe below).

Sweet Rice
1 T. oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 1/3 cup white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup sugar (you can add more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

Put a little oil in bottom of pan and saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the cilantro and saute for a minute more. Add the rice and cook until light brown-be careful not to burn. Combine the chicken broth and sugar so that the sugar dissolves (I actually put these two ingredients together in a Pyrex bowl and microwaved for a minute to make sure the sugar dissolved). Then stir the chicken broth mixture into rice. Bring to a boil and then cover the pan. Turn the heat down to low and let cook for 25-30 minutes, or until done. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Spicy Cilantro Dressing
tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 whole green onions, coarsely chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Place lime juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, green onions, and jalapeno peppers together in a blender or food processor. Process until well blended and smooth. Add sour cream and mayonnaise. Process again until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the container as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Ranger Cookies

These are probably my #2 favorite cookie (right after chocolate chip). Thought I'd share.

Ranger Cookies

1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
2 c flour
2 c quick cooking rolled oats
2 c corn flakes
1 c flaked coconut
1 c milk chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine with soda, powder, salt, flour. Mix well. Stir in oats, flakes, coconut, and chocolate chips. Form into 1 inch balls. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes

Banana Bars

J.D. made these tonight. He got the recipe from a woman at work. Although he says that his frosting wasn't as good as hers, they were still really good. I'm a so-so fan of banana bread (I prefer zucchini) and these blow banana bread out of the water. I will definitely make these again when the bananas go brown.

1/2 c. butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
2-3 bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a jelly roll pan at 350 degrees for approx. 20-25 minutes.

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy; slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla.

Easy Chicken and Broccoli Lo Mein

I made this for dinner tonight and everyone seemed to like it. It was so fast and easy AND incorporated some veggies (I'll try anything to get my kids to eat healthy).
8 ounces long pasta, such as linguine
2/3 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup fresh button mushrooms (I didn't have any, but it would be a great addition)
1 T. peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 large onion
1 bag (16 oz.) frozen broccoli (I just used a few crowns of fresh broccoli that I steamed)
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. ketchup
1 tsp. dark sesame oil

Boil noodles until tender. Meanwhile cut chicken into bite size pieces. Heat oil in deep skillet and sauce chopped onion. Next add the chicken. Let that cook for a few minutes and then add the mushrooms, broccoli, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms release their liquid and the chicken is no longer pink.

Add the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup (I thought this was a really odd ingredient for this recipe-but it worked), and sesame oil to the skillet and mix well. Remove the skillet from heat and add the drained, cooked pasta. Mix all together are serve immediately.

Asian Noodle Salad

Okay, another recipe from The Pioneer Woman cooks. It was really good. However, I warn you about making this for dinner--it makes a TON!! I had a 5 friends over and we didn't finish it. I even eliminated one of the ingredients and reduced the cabbages by about half and I still have leftovers. The dressing is good and I really like the addition of noodles in the salad. Mmmmm.

Asian Noodle Salad
adapted from Jamie Oliver

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage (I used regular cabbage, that's all they had)
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin (if available)
1 small bag bean sprouts (this is what I left out, there just wasn't enough room)
3 sliced scallions
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers (I didn’t have a cucumber for the photos above, but they’re yummy in the salad)
LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet (I didn't toast them, but wanted to)

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapeños, chopped (I accidentally left out, but it was still good)
More chopped cilantro—LOTS

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.
*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, WITHOUT cilantro.

P.S. You might need some Gas-X or Beano with this meal.

Apple Dumplings

If you don't ever check out The Pioneer Woman Cooks, you should. I love her pictures and this particular recipe came out great!

Anyway, I made these apple dumplings for dessert yesterday and I was so surprised at them. They were so good!! I topped mine with cool-whip and J.D. with ice cream.

2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

Revel Bars

I have made these treats a few times in the past few weeks for friends, Home Teaching, and Playgroups and EVERY time the recipe is requested. So, I thought it would be a good idea to post it. This recipe involves a lot of butter and chocolate so I hope you enjoy!

Revel Bars

Crust: 1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
3 cups quick oats

Filing:
1 package chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter and sugar for crust. Add in the eggs, vanilla, soda, and salt. Add in the flour and oats and mix well. The dough is really sticky. Press 2/3 of mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Next, melt the chocolate chips and butter together. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Pour over the crust and then pat the remaining crust flat with hangs and lay over the top of filing in pieces (or you can just crumble the remaining crust on top). Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY!

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

This is the absolute best chocolate cake. One hundred times better than anything mixed up from a box. I've made this several times and it's always turned out perfectly moist and oh, so good. You can always find this on the back of Hershey's cocoa powder.

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.