Thursday, May 31, 2007

Red, White and Blueberry Cookies

On Memorial Day, we had lunch with Matt at the community here in AZ since he had to work. For dessert, they had these Otis Spunkmeyer cookies called "Red, White, and Blueberry Cookies" and they were to die for. I went on a hunt to find something similar and didn't have much luck. I adapted another recipie I had and they didn't turn out that bad. Not as good as Otis Spunkmeyer, but we still gobbled them up. Anyway, here's the recipe for a fun patriotic cookie:

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup crasins
2/3 cup dried blueberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat Oven to 350

Beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a seperate bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in crasins, blueberries, and white chocolate chips.

Drop on cookie sheet and flatten with a spoon. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.

California Chicken

I made this the other night and it is a great summer dish! Especially if you have home grown tomatoes, YUM!!

6 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp garlic salt (to taste)
pinch ground black pepper
1 avocado, sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
6 slices of Monterey Jack cheese sliced really thin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Warm oil in skillet and add garlic. Add chicken, garlic salt, and black pepper. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until almost done.

Place chicken on a cookie sheet and top each chicken breast with 2 slices of tomatoes and a slice of cheese. Place in oven for 10 –15 minutes, until cheese melts. Remove from oven, add sliced avocado and serve immediately.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Easy Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This recipe can be used for a main dish over rice or as an appetizer with toothpicks. I've gotten lots of compliments both ways.

1/3 pkg. Costco Meathballs
1 16 or 20 oz can pinapple chunks (depending on how much pineapple you want)
1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c ketchup
1/4 c vinegar
2 T cornstarch
2 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced (or garlic salt)
1 small onion, diced
1 large bell pepper, dice (opional)

Mix together all ingredients except meatballs. Place ons tove in big pot over mdium heat. Add meatbals and bring mixture to boil, stirring so meatballs are covered in sauce. Turn down heat and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring often to prevent scorching. Excellent sauce.

note: both times I have made this I haven't had any vinegar so I did it without, but it was still very good. I also don't always use the cornstarch because I don't like it to thicken too much.

Chicken Tetrazzini

This is a family favorite of ours.

2 T Butter
8oz Mushrooms (I use more cause my family loves them)
4 green onions (I've used yellow onions more than the green and it tastes the same to me)
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 c Flour
2 c chicken stock
1/2 c whipping cream
1/4 c cranberry juice (I think the normal recipe calls for wine, but we use juice and it's sweet and yummy)
2 c cubed chicken
2/3 c freashly grated parmesan
8 oz pasta (obviously, whatever pasta you prefer, i like bowtie)

In large skillet, melt butter. Add mushrooms, onions, and basil; cook for 4 minutes. In a bowl, blend flour with 1/3 cup chicken stockt o make smooth past. Stir in remaining stock. Pour into skillet, bring to boil, stirring until thicker. Add cream and juice. When you're ready to serve, add parmesan, then add chicken and noodles in large bowl. Yummy!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Brockton Villa’s Coast Toast

We had this today at our Young Women's breakfast for our graduating seniors. It was so yummy, especially topped with cream, raspberry sauce, and fresh raspberries. I thought I'd pass it along!

1 Loaf soft French bread (sliced diagonally, about 1 1/2 –inch thick)
1 quart whipping cream
10 eggs
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 tablespoons orange extract

Combine liquid ingredients. Pour over bread slices. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Remove bread and discard liquid. Spread butter on flat grill. Cook bread until golden brown, then bake at 450 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes on until bread is puffed up like a soufflé.

Dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Acorn Squash Lasagna

Again, this may sound like a weird recipe, but it's one of our favorites. Even 2 year-old Q loves it -- and it only takes about 5 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients
2 (12 oz.) packages frozen squash puree (I usually find it at Harmon's)
1/2 t. dried sage
kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
1 (15 oz.) container part-skim ricotta
1 C. grated parmesan
8 no-boil lasagna noodles

Thaw squash in the microwave. Season with sage, salt and pepper (I never measure, and am sure I use a lot more than called for). In another bowl, mix ricotta with 1/2 cup parmesan and salt and pepper. Lay 2 lasagna noodles on the bottom of prepared 8-inch square baking dish. Spread with half the squash mixture. Layer with 2 more noodles (opposite direction), and spread with half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with remaining noodles and filling. Sprinkle top (ricotta mixture) with remaining 1/2 cup parmesan. Cover with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400 until lasagna is heated through, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden on top, 20-25 minutes more.

Cinnamon Chicken

This is a mainstay summer recipe for me. I use it a lot when we are entertaining or have a house full of people. It sounds like an odd combination but, trust me, I'm famous for it because it's delicious!

Ingredients
Chicken, any kind, with skin on (I like to use drumsticks)
Salt, pepper and cinnamon to taste (I really pour it on there)

Preheat broiler. Place chicken on a broiler pan (it's wise to line it with aluminum foil). Sprinkle all over with salt, pepper and cinnamon. Turn skin-side down and transfer to broiler. Broil about 6 inches from the heat for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken, sprinkle again, and broil until skin is crisp and brown, about 15 minutes more.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Check out Simply Recipes

I fell in love a while back with the food blog Simply Recipes. I don't even remember how I happened upon it. I just know that I love this blog and I think the author Elise knows how to blend health and good food. She has a section on wheat-free recipes as well as links to gluten-free blogs and she posts great pics of all of her recipes. She also explains carefully most of her cooking processes so even a beginner can do it. Also, she will periodically host specials on cookware that she has found on Amazon.com and they are such great deals they make my mouth water.

Anyway, check her out! I think you will like the site. http://simplyrecipes.com

Yummy Chicken Fingers

First, I just want to say that I'm thrilled that we started a blog to post our recipes on. Now there is one quick, easy way to find everything.

I sent this recipe around to many of you after our May Supper Club, but I thought it would be a great thing to post on our new blog (thanks Meg!). I read about the ingredients of fast food chicken nuggets in this article and it is also where I got the recipe. The article really opened my eyes. The next day was Sunday and I happened to have some chicken breasts in the fridge, so I took them over to my parents' house and made chicken fingers with the little kids that were there. They were a hit! The big kids (adults) liked them too and they were all gone in a second. I hope you like the recipe too.

Crunchy Honey Mustard Chicken Fingers

1 pound chicken tenders (I just cut up chicken breasts into strips)
1/4 cup honey, warmed
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup corn flakes, crushed (I put the cornflakes in a Ziploc bag and crushed them--no mess)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In a small bowl, mix mustard and honey together. In another bowl, place the crushed corn flakes.
In assembly line fashion, dip the chicken tender in the mustard mixture, then roll in the corn flakes and place on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or when cooked through. Serves 4.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Mexican Lasagna

This recipe is from http://marthastewart.com and I've tried it a couple of times and really liked it. There's even a demo video on how to make it and with a food processor it's quite simple. The link to the original is http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=e4d943e303a0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=Mexican%20Lasagna&rsc=ns2006_pic_r1
but I will also post it here.

1 C fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions, coarsely chopped (I use green onions and not quite as many)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 oz fresh baby spinach
cooking spray
8 corn tortillas
1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1 c prepared salsa
8 oz pepper jack cheese (I use mozerella)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees;. In a food processor, combine cilantro, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with as much spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped.

Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish (they will overlap slightly). Layer with half of beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese and pressing in gently.

Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving

Orange/Lemon Water




This recipe came from Bekah by way of lemonade and then Kie mentioned she does the same thing with orange extract and I love both...

For one pitcher size
1 1/4 C sugar
1/2 Tbsp citric acid (found at any health food store)
1/2 Tbsp lemon or orange extract
2 quarts water
lemons or oranges for garnish

Put in pitcher and mix up. Very refreshing on a hot summer day!

It's time to start blogging!

Okay ladies, it's time to get technical and what's a better way to share recipes than a blog? I hope that here we can all share recipes, photos, thoughts and much much more. Thank you all for being a part of supper club!