Monday, December 31, 2012

New Year, New Chicken Recipe

I have about had my fill of Christmas cookies...I don't know about you, but I am ready to get back to everyday life. That being said, time to get back into the kitchen!

Yet, another chicken recipe, yes....but a healthy bake, nonetheless.


New Year Chicken Bake
(this recipe is for 2-3 people)

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. shredded Italian cheese, divided in half
1 c. plain greek yogurt
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 tsp. sundried tomato seasoning
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. oregano
PAM spray

Step by Step Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking dish with PAM. Place the chicken in the dish.

2. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Over low heat, cook the garlic, tomatoes, and 1 tsp. sundried tomato sesaoning. (this is a picture of the garlic and seasoning)

3. Mix the greek yogurt, garlic salt, remaining sundried tomato seasoning and 1/2c. of cheese. Spread evenly over chicken. Then, top with tomatoes and garlic mixture.


4. Top with remaining cheese and oregano. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Crock Pot Lasagna Casserole

This meal is SUPER easy! It is another one of my "dump" recipes. Meaning, everything gets dumped into the crockpot. VERY little prep needed. Very little clean up, too! Possibly a cutting board, a knife and the crockpot...anyone can handle cleaning 3 things!

This is also a great recipe for those of you who don't think you can cook or those who want something that doesn't take a lot time! (Or, it's for those who need a meal to share!)




Crock Pot Lasagna Casserole

Ingredients
*1 pound ground beef (mine was frozen)
*handful of fresh basil, chopped
*3 c. beef broth
*1 can tomato paste
*1 can diced tomatoes (I used an Italian blend)
*5 cloves garlic, sliced
*1/2 onion, diced
*mozzarella cheese
*a few shakes (however many you decide) of red pepper flakes, oregano, parsley, garlic salt
*handful of spinach
*spaghetti sauce
*pasta noodles

Step by Step Directions
1. Dump the beef, basil, broth, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, garlic, onion and spices in the crock pot.
Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.

2. About an hour before you are ready to serve, cook the pasta a few minutes less than the package indicates, then add the noodles to the crock pot with additional spaghetti sauce (about a cup and a half) Also, if you are adding spinach, add that now.

3. Continue to cook on low for 30-45 minutes. The pasta should absorb more liquid and the texture should be similar to a casserole.

Serve with warm garlic bread. YUM!


Monday, December 17, 2012

Another Deep Dish Pizza Variation

As I was grocery shopping this evening, I couldn't pass up the smell of freshly baked Italian bread....call it a weakness...so I just HAD to purchase a loaf.

As you know, fresh baked Italian bread is only good for one night...and yes, you know this! Therefore, I had to do something with it...yes, I made a deep dish pizza a week ago, but I LOVE pizza...and there are endless possible topping combinations...so you could follow my recipe (which ended up with amazing flavor) or you could use your own favorite toppings....all you need to follow is how to set up the bread and the time and temperature...(I didn't mean to sound biased, but it was SO GOOD!)

Here's an "inside" look....

Bread Bowl Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients
*1 loaf of fresh Italian bread
*pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce (enough to cover the bottom of the bread bowl)
*1/2 sliced roasted red pepper
*1 chicken breast
*chicken stock
*1 minced garlic clove
*fresh basil leaves
*mozzarella cheese
*oregano

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Create a "bread bowl" out of the loaf of bread. (not sure what I am going to do with the left over bread...I WAS tempted to eat all of it...thank goodness I didn't)
(yes, I sprayed the cookie sheet with PAM spray)

3. Meanwhile, diced the chicken breast and cook on the stove top in the chicken stock.

4. Spoon sauce into the bread bowl. Don't be afraid to add a bunch if you like sauce...I made sure to cover all of the bread that was poking out of the bottom of the bowl. And, make sure the sauce gets into the ends.

5. Spoon in your "toppings"

6. Cover with cheese. (and I added extra basil) If you want the top to truly be covered with cheese, you need to pack the cheese in. I didn't and when it baked the cheese dropped down into the bowl.
7. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes. This one was in the oven for about 17 minutes.



Sunday, December 9, 2012

Peanut Butter Fudge...or at least I tried!

When I was little, I remember we used to get the most amazing Peanut Butter Fudge from someone. It was smooth, creamy, and super sugar-y. So, I thought it would be pretty simple to recreate the delicious treat.

Well, practice (I think) will make perfect. This time out...not the worst, but definitely looks like there is room for improvement! Any helpful hints are DEFINITELY appreciated!
 
 

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients
*1/2 cup light butter
*2 cups packed brown sugar (I had dark brown on hand)
*1 cup creamy peanut butter
*1 tsp vanilla extract (definitely had a bit more because I poured too fast)
*3 cups confectioners' sugar
*1/2 cup evaporated milk

Step by Step Directions
*You will need a thermometer for this recipe*

1. Put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Melt the butter in pan over medium heat.


Once the butter is melted, stir in brown sugar and milk. Make sure your thermometer is in this liquid.


3. While CONSTANTLY stirring, bring mixture to a boil and boil until the thermometer reaches 234 degrees.

(if you stop stirring, the mixture will rise up and boil over...what a mess that would be!)
4. Once the thermometer hits 234 degrees, remove mixture from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.

5. Pour over the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. (mine never became smooth, it was crumbly...this is where I need some input...what did I do wrong?)

6. Pour mixture into a greased pan (I used an 8x8). I had to press the mixture into the pan.
Chill until firm. (mine was firm)
 



Recipe inspired by Baked Perfection

Short On Time & Need a Holiday Treat? Read On!

This continues my holiday "baking" theme...however, this isn't a "baking" treat, but a super simple and super quick holiday treat! Chocolate Covered Pretzels!!!

I wanted to add another treat to the basket of treats I am making for my husband's office and I wanted one that added some color to the entire basket...(bonus it is one that taps into the sweet tooth of my husband...)

Prior to this, I have melted chocolate and made chocolate covered strawberries. That was when we lived in Florida (by the way, if you haven't experienced a true Florida strawberry from Plant City, Florida...you haven't LIVED!) and if I had covered all of the strawberries and still had chocolate left over I would start throwing anything in....but for some reason, I never even thought about using these treats at Christmas...silly me.

Anyway, without further to do...


Chocolate Covered Holiday Pretzels

Ingredients
*1 bag of Snyder's "Olde Tyme" Pretzels
*1 bag unwrapped Hershey Kisses
*PAM spray
*wax paper
*variety of holiday themed sprinkles (and/or crushed peppermints)

**Set up is VERY important**
Cover the counter with wax paper.
Pour the sprinkles into bowls that allow the pretzels to lay flat when pressed into the sprinkles.
Put "whole" pretzels in a bowl you can pull from quickly.
Keep a spoon handy to continually stir the melted chocolate between pretzel dippings.

Step by Step Directions
1. Set up a double broiler. If you don't know what that is (or have an "official" one)...improvise, put water into a pan and place a bowl into the pan. (see below)

2. Set the heat setting to medium. Spray the bowl with PAM! Dump the Hershey Kisses into the bowl. (I didn't throw all of them in at once, as they melted I added more)

3. Keep the water to a low boil. It will take a while for the Kisses to melt. Keep stirring from time to time to rotate the chocolate. I don't know if this helps, but I also spray PAM on the chocolate a few times before I stir. (at most, I spray the chocolate 2 times)

4. Once the chocolate is melted, dip a pretzel in the chocolate. Tap extra chocolate off and even wipe the excess off the back on the side of the bowl.

5. Press into the sprinkles.

6. Lay on wax paper.

That's it! If you need the chocolate to set quickly...put them into the refrigerator. Otherwise, leaving them on the counter for awhile works. (some may disappear over the course of the day, but really, who can resist?)

I will DEFINITELY be making these every Christmas. Next year, I might try other types of chocolate...definitely add in some peanut butter. But, for a first time...I am very happy with this outcome! Happy Dipping!

Friday, December 7, 2012

M&M Christmas Cookies!

This is beginning to make me rethink my character...my third cookie recipe? Seriously? I still do not enjoy baking, but it is very helpful in giving me a mindless task to do! And, I am sure for some of us, we need that around the holidays!

So, this recipe was decided upon because of the mass amount of leftover Halloween candy. Now, I am sure some of you think that is rather ridiculous that we still have it, but we are not huge candy consumers. Therefore, I had to do something with it. What I was suprised about was the lack of the color red used in the 33 packs of plain M&Ms I opened.
Kind of ridiculous if you ask me...
 
Anyway, I separated the M&Ms and thankfully, I had more than enough...again, what is with the lack of the color red? This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but green was definitely the more popular color...
 
 
So, to go along with the lack of the color red, I also realized I didn't have cornstarch (which the recipe I was using called for and it was merely 1 tsp.), so I had to Google a replacement....it's cold and rainy outside...I wasn't about to run to the store for 1 teaspoon! Also, the recipe called for light SALTED butter..my husband picked up light SWEETENED butter....go figure.
 
Well, in the end, the cookies turned out to taste really good. Sweet, but delicious. And, very easy to make.
 
 
M&M Christmas Cookies
 
 
Ingredients

 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (and an additional tablespoon of flour to take the place of cornstarch)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (and an extra pinch if using sweetened butter)
1 cup light salted butter, chilled and sliced
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of red and green M&Ms
 
Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. (If you haven't sliced the butter, do so now!)
 
3. In a bowl, mix butter and sugar. (best if you use a standing mixer, but I used a hand mixer and all was well!) Whip until creamy...it does become creamy, it takes while!

 
4. Once creamy, mix in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients. Once everything has been combined, stir in the M&Ms (a great arm workout!)
 
6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
(Recipe based off of Cooking Classy recipe)

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Deep Dish Pizza at HOME!

Only recently have I been interested in the idea of making my own deep dish pizza...I don't really like deep dish pizza...but the Pizza Hut commercial with the girl holding the frying pan made me wonder...could I do this on my own?

As Barney would say, "challenge accepted!"

Deep Dish Pizza Bake

Ingredients
*pizza dough (I got mine from Wegman's...I wasn't about to make my own from scratch)
*pizza sauce
*cheese
*your favorite pizza toppings
*garlic salt and oregano
*PAM spray

Step by Step Directions
*the dough should be at room temperature for at least an hour*

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack of the oven while it is preheating.

2. Spray the pan with PAM spray and spread the pizza dough on the bottom of the pan. Spear it with a fork a few times. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.


3. Meanwhile, get your pizza toppings ready.

4. Spray the pizza crust with PAM. Cover with sauce (I also added some garlic salt). Then, cheese and toppings.

5. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Check the crust. It may need a few more minutes. Move to the top rack for an additional 5 minutes.

**Don't try and cut the pizza in the pan...it is really messy! Put it on another surface to cut into wedges!**

There are endless ways to make this more delicious...this being my first time trying it...if I try it again...I will definitely try different ways to make the crust more flavorful...

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Ryan's Favorite Xmas Cookie MUST HAVE!

As you know, I am not a baker. My mom is the baker. But, now that we have our own house, I thought it was about time I begin to try and bake some of our own favorite Christmas cookies! This is by no means a recipe I made up on my own...it is the recipe my mom has used for years...it is probably very similar to others you have read!

Without further ado, here is Ryan's favorite Christmas cookie recipe...


PB Hershey Kiss Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup light butter (2 sticks)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 T. milk
2 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour (yes, I used white flour)
2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
approximately 2 packages of Hershey Kisses (I used traditional and dark chocolate)

Step by Step Directions

**Unwrap the Hershey Kisses before you begin!**

1. Cream butter and peanut butter. Gradually add both sugars and cream well.
2. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.
3. Blend in dry ingredients.
4. Shape into small 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

5. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for approximately 6 minutes.

6. Take out of the oven and press a Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie.
7. Put back into the oven and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes. Cool on baking racks.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Soft and Chewy Chocolately Delights

Back into the kitchen I go to do some more baking...this time, I came across this recipe in my book of recipes I have collected over the years. It was originally from Kraft Kitchens recipe collection. In fact, it is from so long ago, you cannot find the original recipe on their website! (I checked)

These cookies are similar to a brownie, but in cookie form. You can put your own spin on these cookies by what you top your cookies with. These cookies are relatively easy to make, but can be somewhat of a pain to get onto the cookie sheet because it becomes hard to handle. But, then again, I am impatient when it comes to baking....so that may just be my own personal opinion.

So, here is my own take on these soft and chewy chocolately delights...


Soft and Chewy Chocolately Delights

Ingredients
*4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
*3/4 cup light butter
*2 cups sugar (I only used 1 1/2 c. and I could tell they needed to be a bit more sugary)
*3 eggs
*1 t. vanilla
*2 c. flour

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in a microwable bowl. Cook on HIGH for 2 minutes.

3. Stir until the chocolate melts completely.


4. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs, vanilla. Add flour. Mix.
5. REFRIGERATE for at least 15 minutes until dough is easy to handle.

6. Drop dough onto GREASED baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

7. Bake for 8 minutes. Then, top with your favorite toppings.


*If you need to wait on cookie sheets that are baking in the oven, put the dough back into the refrigerator, so the dough doesn't get warm.

*Toppings I used...mint chips, almond slices, caramel Hershey Kisses, sprinkles (decorate with sprinkles BEFORE you bake), chocolate covered peanuts, dark chocolate Hershey Kisses...all completely up to you!