Spoon Bread

Bread, bread, bread. You can never have enough bread. That is what my taste buds say over and over. My body doesn't always appreciate my insatiable appetite for the warm, make-the-house-smell-like-a-million-dollars comfort food. But my Zumba teacher knows that is what really keeps me coming back to class. So I should really say that it's the best of both worlds because I do love Zumba as well.


Here is the latest bread that I tried. It is something I found on Pinterest. It is very similar to my Artisan/bucket bread but it is stickier and you just spoon it into a pan as soon as all ingredients are stirred together. So I call it Spoon Bread.

1 Loaf Recipe

1 3/8 cups warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 3/4 cups flour

Measure flour, sugar and salt into a bowl and whisk together. Set aside. Measure warm water (not hot and not, not cold), into a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top of water. Add dry ingredients and stir with a large wooden spoon until all are combined. Spray a regular loaf pan with Pam. Spoon dough into pan and tap lightly on counter. Allow dough to double in size rising to just over the top of the pan. Bake at 350º F for 35 minutes or until the top is a golden brown. Brush top of bread with butter and try to wait 10 minutes before cutting it.

4 Loaf Recipe

5 1/2 cups warm water
7 teaspoons instant yeast
2 Tablespoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
11 cups flour

Same directions as above except divide the dough into 4 loaf pans that have been sprayed with Pam or well greased with Crisco.
 

Warning: Only make 1 or 2 loaves at a time because you will eat it all in one sitting. If you should have any left over it does make terrific toast. :)

Ritz Breaded Chicken

Sometimes I remember things and I am sure, in fact positive, that I am remembering them correctly. Then I realize a little too late that I remembered wrong. When it's my husband telling me he thinks I am not remembering  correctly I am not happy with him. Then I assure him I am right. When it turns out that I am not right he doesn't usually say anything because he knows I already feel bad about it. This time when I thought I knew exactly what I was doing when I made this chicken. I was totally happy after eating it that I remembered wrong. I love Ritz crackers and I don't know why I didn't think of this before. The buttery flavor is so delicious that no seasonings are needed but they are fun to try. So the first time you make it leave the seasonings out and the 2nd time add something like savory or thyme to the Ritz crumbs. Anyway have fun eating my mistake.

Ritz Breaded Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley (opt.)
1/2 teaspoon savory, or thyme (opt.)

If using large, thick chicken breasts, cut in half width wise so that they are a little thinner.  Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle butter over and stir to coat evenly.

Grind up the Ritz crackers to a nice crumb in a food processor. If using spices add them to the crumbs now.

Dip each piece of chicken into the crumbs and coat completely.

Layer the chicken in a single layer in a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover pan with foil and bake @ 400ºF for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook an additional 15 minutes or until the chicken is golden and crispy.

I serve mine with Smashers and Chicken Gravy.

Chicken Gravy (Easy version)

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 14 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

Milk butter in a sauce pan on the stove top. Let butter brown slightly and add sour cream. Mix well. Add soup and enough milk to make a nice sauce. Not too thick and not too thin.

Breakfast Sausage Crescents

I looked in my fridge and saw that I needed to use up some opened cream cheese, a 1/2 lb of sausage and a can of crescent rolls. Later in the day when I was perusing Pinterest I saw a pin of something yummy that looked like I could use all these ingredients.  So I went home and made it. Oh so yum and fun. I can't wait for my next brunch party to serve these little lovelies.

Breakfast Sausage Crescents

1 lb. sausage
2 cans crescent rolls
4 oz. cream cheese
1 cup cheese, grated
Pam or tin foil

Fry sausage. Drain.

Unwrap the crescent rolls. But do not separate.

Pinch diagonal seams together. (See bottom sections.)

Cream the cream cheese by microwaving for a few seconds. Stir until smooth.

Spread a thin layer over the rolls. Don't worry about using all the cream cheese. Too much is not better than to little. Besides if you have a little left over you can always pour a little salsa over it and eat with chips while this lovelies are baking.

Arrange the sausage in an even layer.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cut roll dough in half. Roll into a log. Cut each log into 4 pieces.

Place each piece onto a cookie sheet either sprayed with Pam or lined with foil.

Bake @ 350º F for 10 minutes or until dough starts to turn golden brown. Enjoy.

Buttered and Spiced Sweet Potato Bites

Buttered and Spiced SWEET POTATO BITES

I love sweet potato fries. Outback has fabulous sweet potato fries but there is a little rib place in the little town  just to the north of my city that beats them all. I think it is the combination of their fries and dipping sauce. Ummmmm. So I had been craving these fries when I came upon this recipe. I liked their idea but changed several things. Here is how I did it:

Buttered and Spiced Sweet Potato Bites

Ingredients:

• 3 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp white sugar

Peel and cut up the sweet potato.

Make the sauce by mixing the oil, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. (I did not use the nutmeg or ginger)

Don't worry if it looks like just a little bit. It will cover the potatoes just fine.

Spread out on a lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350ºF for 40 minutes. Turn over once during baking time.

 Combine the sugar and salt. As soon as the potatoes are removed from the oven sprinkle with the salt/sugar mixture.

Enjoy with your favorite fry sauce. Here is what I use for mine:

Sweet Potato Fry Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp bbq sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)

Emily's Southwest Pulled Chicken

My daughter-in-law is always showing me new things. She brought this chicken to our 'Ladies Night' gathering. It was an instant hit with all of us. I took it to work today and many requested the recipe. It is so easy I can just  tell them right on the spot, but at my age I might forget it by tomorrow. So for me and everyone else who requested it, here it is: (Unfortunately we ate it all so I will have pictures next time.)

Emily's Southwest Pulled Chicken

4 chicken breasts (I use the frozen ones from Costco so that would be 8 pieces of chicken)
1 large container Mango Peach Salsa (from Costco)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans

Place chicken in a crock pot layered with the salsa. Cook for 5 or 6 hours on high or until done. Remove from pot, slice lengthwise against the grain and let cool slightly. Add corn and beans to salsa. When cool enough to work with, jerk the meat and return to the pot. Ready to serve.

Home-style Chicken Noodle Soup

When someone in my house is ill I know it's time to make this soup, the traditional way. Boil them bones good. But if it's me not feeling so good, I just have my husband by a rotisserie chicken and make it the fast way. Both are delicious and so good for you mentally and physically. But you don't have to be sick to enjoy it. Soup is always a good choice. This makes a big batch so I often take a quart of it to one of my neighbors. It's especially good when you have warms rolls to go with it. Always look for ways to have better relations with your neighbors you can never have too many friends.

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup (traditional slow version)

1 whole chicken
2 cubes bouillon
2 qts. water
1 small onion, diced
1 pkg. Grandmas' Frozen Wide Noodles, slightly thawed
4 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
7 carrots, peeled and chunked
1 can green beans
Parsley

Boil chicken in water with bouillon and onion until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken from broth. Add noodles. Boil 1 hour. Remove meat from bones and cube meat. Add meat and veggies. Boil for 20-30 minutes.

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup (Fast version):

1 Costco Rotisserie  chicken (or the store of your choice)
2 cubes bouillon
2 qts. water
2 tablespoons chopped dried onions
6 oz. dry homestyle noodles (I use the Country Pasta brand at Costco called Homemade Style Egg Pasta)
4 small potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 cup baby carrots
1 can green beans
Parsley

Bring water with bouillon and onion to a boil, add noodles cook for 30 minutes. Add veggies and cook 20 minutes more. While noodles and veggies are cooking remove bones from chicken and cube meat. Add meat and drippings to noodle/veggie mixture and boil for until noodles and veggies are soft. Add green beans and parsley when there a only a few minutes left to cook.

Cupcake Chicken Pot Pies

One of the church groups in our town used to make individual chicken pot pies every Fall as a fund raiser. I remember waiting, with mouth watering, by the front window until I could see my Dad driving up our driveway. They were so amazing and the gravy to smother them in made them fantastic. I keep trying to duplicate them but to no avail. I never seem to have enough mini pie tins so I just tried it in my large cupcake tins. So close the what I am looking for but until then . . .Cute and fun. 

 Make a recipe of pastry for a double crust pie. If you have not made Pastry crust before go here for a link on how to do it. It is very easy the only equipment you really need is a pastry cutter. Divide dough into to pieces, one almost twice as big as the other. Divide each half into 6 balls starting with the larger half. Pat or roll out each of the 6 larger balls into a 7 inch circle.

 Tip: I use 2 pieces of waxed paper. Put one piece on your counter, place a ball of dough in the center. Pat out into a 3 inch circle. 

Cover circle with the other piece of waxed paper and roll into a 7 inch circle using a rolling pin.

The dough will slightly stick to the waxed paper so just carefully peel off the top layer. Pick up dough by the bottom waxed paper, place over one of the cups on a large muffin tin and gently peel off waxed paper. Gently help dough down into the cup making sure not to poke a hole in the crust. Allow the crust to fall over onto the cupcake tin.

Repeat process for each of the remaining cupcake sections. Fill each crust with filling (see below for a chicken filling). Repeat rolling out process with each of the smaller dough balls, rolling out to only 4 inches. Moisten surface of bottom crust before laying top crust over it. This will help to seal the edges.

Edges can be sealed together by pressing the tips of a fork around the edge of the crusts of by folding the outer crust up and cover the top crust and crimping in place. Make several slits in the top crust. Bake @ 400 ºF for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Filling:

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup potatoes, cubed or veggie of your choice, cubbed
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

In a small pan add chicken broth and 3 veggies. Simmer until tender. While simmering combine butter and flour to make a roux, no need to cook but you can if you want. Do not remove veggies from heat but add peas, chicken, seasonings and milk.  Keep heat on and slowly stir in roux and stir constantly until mixture is thickened.

Lasagna

I grew up in a little mining/railroad town. I think every nationality lived there. It was so fun to grow up with so many different cultures. We learned to enjoy so many different things and so I love all kinds of food just as long as there isn't too much heat in the spices. This is just a regular lasagna but add a few bread stix,  a beautiful salad and family and you have a feast.

Recipe:

Sauce:


6 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
1/2 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. onion flakes
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1 pound hamburger, lean
1/4 pound sausage
9 lasagna noodles
Cottage cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large saucepan simmer first 8 ingredients . Boil noodles according to package directions.

Fry the meats together and drain well. Do not add to the sauce yet.

Reserve one cup of sauce to dip bread stix in. Pour 1/2 cup of sauce in a dripper pan (9x13) and spread it around. Now add the meat to the sauce.

Place 3 noodles over the sauce and pour meat sauce on top of noodles.

Spoon cottage cheese down the middle of each noodle.

Add another layer of noodles and sauce. This time sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Add a third and final layer of noodles and sauce. On this layer make sure the sauce covers all of the noodles. Cover with as much mozzarella cheese as you like. I usually use about 8 ounces.

Cover with foil and bake on 325ºF for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown the cheese. If you are making bread stix make them while lasagna bakes.

Egg rolls with Raspberry sauce

Grandma made dinnertime fun for us. Sometimes outside, sometimes inside. Sometimes on a blanket under a tree, sometimes in the middle of a field around a fire-ring. Now my idea of fun is something new and different. 

 Recipe:
1/2 small head of cabbage finely shredded

 1 pound sausage cooked and crumbled

 4 tablespoons finely chopped onions fried

 1 carrot quartered and sliced

 Mix all ingredients together in a bowl

 Fill egg roll wrappers according to package directions. I like to wet the entire top edges of the wrapper to help seal the whole egg roll.

 Fry in a very small amount of oil.

Sauce is made by combining 

3 tablespoons raspberry jam, 

1 tablespoon Yoshidas Teriyaki  Sauce, 

1 tablespoon soy sauce.

Chicken Taquitos

It seems like in my childhood home we ate the same basic menu all the time, i.e. veggie soup, meat loaf, spaghetti, goulash. But when company came we had something special like my Dad's famous hamburgers or his spicy enchiladas. Even Mom's creamy meatballs with twice baked potatoes were special. Now I try to find something different every week to add to our menu. This recipe is totally different and special. If it has cilantro, cumin and fresh lime I know I am going to like it. Hope you do to.

Recipe

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 7 oz can Salsa Verde
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 minced garlic, not powdered
3 14 oz. cans cooked chicken, shredded
3 cups jack cheese, mild for me - spicy for others
18 flour tortillas
salt
cooking spray, butter flavored

Cilantro does not need to be finely chopped. The slightly bigger pieces will be just fine.

 Stir salsa, cumin, chili, and garlic into the softened cream cheese. It needs to be really soft for easy mixing. If necessary heat in the microwave for 15 seconds. It may need another time in the microwave but make sure not to cook it only soften it.

 Next add the cilantro and cheese. And then finally the chicken making sure there are no big lumps of chicken left in the mix.

 We like lots of filling in our taquitos so this is what they will look like. I recommend using a little less if you are used to eating store bought taquitos.

Fold sides in and roll tortilla around filling.

 Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray. Arrange some of the taquitos in the pan. Spray the tops with cooking spray and then lightly salt.

 Cook on medium heat until a nice brown color. Turn once and cook on the other side.

Serve with a green salad and cilantro dressing, salsa, sour cream and guacamole Or just eat plain and enjoy.