Margarita Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime
2 tbs honey
2 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, Mexican style
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterrey jack)

DirectionsMix canola oil, juice and zest from the lime, and honey in a bowl. Dip chicken in mixture and roll in the tortilla crumbs to coat.

Place in baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 mins. Puree tomatoes and cilantro in blender (save some cilantro for garnish).

Remove chicken from oven. Pour on puree. Top with cheese. Return to oven until cheese melts.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Got this recipe from the Commissary coupon book of all places...

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients1 whole bulb garlic
2 2/3 cup chicken broth
5 large potatoes, cut into 1" pieces (~7.5 cups)
1 tbs chopped chives or green onions

Directions:
Cut off the top of the garlic bulb. Drizzle with 2 tbs broth. Wrap bulb in aluminum foil and bake at 350 for an hour or until its softened.

Place the broth and potatoes in a 3 qt saucepan and heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium.

Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Drain, reserving the broth. Mash potatoes with 1.25 cups of the broth, 2-3 cloves of roasted garlic and chives. Add broth as necessary until desired consistency is reached.

Rosemary-Dijon Pork Chops

(Image & recipe from kraftrecipes.com)

Found this one on the back of a box of Shake 'n Bake.

Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Shake n Bake Original Pork Mix
1/4 cup dried rosemary leaves (diced, so the thing doesn't look hairy like in the picture)
4 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
4 tsp dijon mustard

1) Heat oven to 425.
2) Spread chops with mustard.
3) Coat both sides of chop with the S&B and rosemary mixture.
4) Bake in foil lined panfor 15 mins or until done (internal temp of 160F)

Southern Red Velvet Cake

(photo courtesy of www.mccormick.com, recipe from www.foodnetwork.com)

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Oil Spray for the pans & cooling rack(s)

2.5 cups flour

1.5 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1.5 cups veggie oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tbsp (1 oz) red food coloring (this is a lot more than I thought it was, so have a lot on hand)

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil and flour 2 round cake pans (I used 9x1 inch).

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating pans halfway through cooking, until cake pulls away from edges of pans and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cakes cool 10 minutes on cooling rack in pan, and then remove from pans. Cool completely on cooling rack.

Make cream cheese frosting (see below)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 oz butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat ingredients with electric mixer until good and fluffy.

Place one of the two cakes on a plate and frost top liberally. Place second cake on top and frost top and sides. Decorate as desired after that.

Cake should be stored in refrigerator

The Verdict: Cake was good, but a little dry. Need to think up a way to moisten it some...or keep looking for a recipe we like more.

Chicken Rice Casserole

(photo credit to http://www.deliciouscheapmeals.com/)

Got a little experimental with some leftover chicken last night.

Ingredients

2 cups rice, uncooked

10 oz frozen peas

4 cups water

4 tsp salt

4 tsp butter

~2 cups diced cooked chicken

4 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup & can of milk

1 cup shredded cheese (mild cheddar/American) or bread crumbs

Directions

In a medium saucepan combine rice, water, and 1 tsp salt. Heat to boiling. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Add peas and cook an additional 8-10 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Saute chicken for about a minute. Stir in flour, pepper, and remaining salt. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, just until bubbling. Add in soup and milk. Continue cooking until sauce thickens and gently boil for about a minute.

Pour sauce over rice mixture in a shallow buttered baking dish (I used 13x9), sprinkle with cheese or bread crumbs. Bake dish at 375 for at least 30 minutes.

Roasted Chicken

(photo and recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com, key words: juicy roasted chicken)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hr 15 minutes (for 3 pd bird)
Ready 30 mins after done cooking
Serves 6 (3 pd bird)

Ingredients
1-3 pound whole chicken, giblets removed
salt & black pepper to taste
1 tbs onion powder, or to taste
1/2 cup butter, divided

My additions to make a meal of it:
Chicken Stove top Stuffing
potatoes
carrots
chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place chicken in roasting pan and season generously inside and out with salt & pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. I placed some Stovetop Stuffing in the bird at this time as well (prepare as per directions on the container). Melt butter and coat the exterior of the bird with butter. At this time I also cut up some potatoes and carrots and placed them in the roasting pan with the stuffed bird. In hindsight, I should have added some chicken stock to the pan at this point as well to keep the veggies moister.

3. Bake, uncovered, an hour and 15 minutes or until the minimum internal temperature of the bird is 180* (go by temp for a bird of a different weight). Remove from heat, baste with drippings in pan. Cover with aluminum foil and allow bird to rest for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Turkey Tetrazzini

(photo courtesy of www.examiner.com)

This recipe is another one out of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. The original calls for chicken, but we had some leftover turkey in the freezer, so I went with that instead. I've added in peas and would also recommend some breadcrumbs in the final step so I've added those to the ingredients list as well.

Prep: 20 mins

Bake: 15 mins

Makes: 6 servings

Oven: 350*

Ingredients

8 oz linguine or spaghetti

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1.25 cup chicken broth

1.25 cup milk

2 cups chopped chicken or turkey

2 tbs dry sherry (optional)

1 cup peas

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

breadcrumbs to taste

1. Cook spaghetti or linguine according to directions. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, in large saucepan cook mushrooms and green onions in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, pepper and nutmeg. Add broth and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken and sherry. Stir in peas and half the Parmesan cheese. Add cooked pasta; stir to coat.

3. Transfer pasta to a 2 qt baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 350, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Nutrition (w/o peas and crumbs): 379 cal, 14g fat, 2 g fiber

"Best-Ever" Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting

We had some leftover baby carrots, so I gave this one a whirl. I think it came out pretty good. I added the nutmeg in on a whim to the original recipe. The recipe is from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.

The frosting seemed a little too sweet for my taste, not really cream cheesy, if that makes sense. I'm on the look out for a better recipe for that. In the meantime...

Carrot Cake

(photo courtesy of http://www.reallynicerecipes.com/)

Prep: 30 mins

Bake: 30 mins

Cool: 2 hours

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

4 beaten eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups finely shredded carrots* (lightly packed)

3/4 cup cooking oil

(see recipe for frosting below)

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour two 9x1.5 inch round cake pans. Set pans aside. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg & baking soda.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, carrots and oil. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until combined. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350* oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans (cookbook had an excellent tip to sandwich the cake to get it out of the pan smoothly). Cool thoroughly on racks.

4. Frost tops and sides with Cream Cheese Frosting. Store cake in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

5-6.25 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating well. Continue to add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

This frosting will cover tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layer cakes. Halve the recipe to do a 13x9x2 inch cake.

Cover and store frosted cake in the refrigerator.