Piccata Chicken

6 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Tenderloins/strips of Breasts
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/8 Cup Butter/Margerine
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Cups Boiling Water
2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1-2 Tablesoons of white sugar

Preheat over to 250 degrees and boil desired pasta.

In a small plate put 1/4 Cups of Flour and dip in chicken.
In another small bowl, beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and dip the floured chicken in. In another shallow bowl mix together the other 1/4 C. flour, garlic powder and paprika. Dip the floured chicken from the egg/lemon mixture into the seasoned flour.

In a skillet, melt butter/margarine with the olive oil and brown the coated chicken pieces
When done, transfer chicken to a cookiesheet and keep warm in the oven.

Dissolve the bouillon in the boiling water in skillet, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and sugar. (Alter previous three ingredients to your likeness and taste, i.e. more sugar if too tart)In a little bowl mix cornstarch and a little cold water. Then drip into sauce for desired thickness.

When ready to serve, drain pasta, pull chicken pieces out of the oven and transfer to sauce. Pour sauce and chicken over pasta. Garnish with parsely, basil, or whatever you desire.

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

3 Sticks of String Cheese (Aldi's has an amazing brand)

1 beaten egg

1 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 cup of oil

Optional: Spaghetti Sauce for Marinara

*This recipe is easily doubled for more

Cut string cheeses in 1/2 horizontally. Put them in the freezer for over an hour (this is so they don't melt when you fry them). Roll frozen cheeses in egg. Mix the Italian bread crumbs with the garlic powder in a separate bowl and roll egged cheese in this bowl. Repeat these two steps two or three more times until the stick of cheese is completely breaded. Put oil in a frying pan and heat up until a drop of water will sizzle, then put it on medium. Fry and occasionally rotate the breaded cheese until golden brown (takes about 1-2 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel covered plate and pat off grease. Enjoy :-)

Peanut Butter Pie

* SO I can't claim full credit for this recipe because it was actually Sarah Taylor's recipe and it's on the Dental Wives Sweet Teeth blog. It is absolutely TO DIE for and I might have to venture out there and say that it is my favorite dessert I have ever found! I made it for craft night to try, and I really really loved it! You wont be sorry if you make it, and I'm sorry I don't have a picture!

20 cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies, divided (oreos)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup powder sugar, divided
1 carton(16oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
25 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (3.9oz)instant chocolate pudding mix
Crush 16 cookies, toss with butter. Press onto bottom of ungreased pie dish(I used a 9x13 baking dish and added a little more oreos because I was feeding a bigger crowd)). In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter and 1 cup powder sugar until smooth. Fold in half of the whipped topping. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with peanut butter cups. (save a few for the top)
In a separate mixing bowl, beat the milk, pudding mix, and remaining powder sugar on low speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over peanut butter cups. Crush remaining cookies, sprinkle over the top and sprinkle with last few PB cups. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours prior to serving.

Salsa Chicken

This is one of Eric's favorites and it is SUPER easy.

Chicken breasts
Your favorite salsa (we use Pace Picante Mild)

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with foil to help with clean up. Place raw thawed chicken on pan and pour as much salsa as you would like over each breast. Bake for about an hour or so. Check around 30-45 min to see if done. Generally has taken us about an hour every time. Enjoy!

Key Lime Cheesecake

Here's the recipe of the cheesecake from Tasha's Shower:

4 Packages of 8oz Cream Cheese

1 1/4 Cups of White Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Corn Starch

4 Eggs

1 Tablespoon of Lime Zest (I just used the small end of a cheese grater on the peels, took about 2 limes)

1/3 Cup of Key Lime Juice

1/3 Cup of Lemon Juice

A few drops of green food coloring

*This produced enough filling for 2 cheesecakes, so I did a store bought crust on one and a homemade crust on the other.

CRUST 

Combine:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Press into pan and refrigerate.

Mix cream cheese, sugar, zest, and cornstarch until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add key lime juice and lemon juice with mixer on low as well as drops of green food coloring. Finish mixing by hand. Do not overbeat, or cake will crack during baking (An example would be my picture above :-) ). Pour batter into crusts.

Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 to 65 minutes, or until set. To minimize cracking, place a shallow pan half full of hot water on lower rack during baking. (For me all was well until I put it into the fridge)

Turn oven off, and let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes with the door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven. Refrigerate cake overnight, and up to three days. (I just froze my second cheesecake.) Top with cream and limes.

Peanut Butter Krispies

1 Cup of Canola Oil

1 Cup of White Sugar

1 Cup of Peanut Butter

6 Cups of Rice Krispies

Optional:

(1/4 cup of chocolate chips)

Bring corn oil and sugar to a boil. STOP immediately. Add in peanut butter and stir. Add in rice krispies and stir. Transfer to a pan and press into it. If you want you can sprinkle chocolate chips on top. 

*We usually form these into giant hershey kiss shapes with a real hershey kiss in the middle and wrap them with tin foil as we leave love notes on the tail that comes out the top. This is fun to sneak into lunches.

Pork Tenderloin

This is such a great recipe! I just made it for the first time Sunday. It's easy and delicious. Sorry, there's no picture.

1/2 c soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ginger or 1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 T sesame oil
1-11/2 lb pork tenderloin
1/4 c honey
2 T packed brown sugar
1/4 c sesame seeds

Combine first four ingredients in bag. Add meat and marinate at least 2 hours.
Combine honey and brown sugar.
Remove pork from marinade and pat with paper towel. Roll in honey mixture and then in sesame seeds.
Roast in shallow pan for 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Poppy seed dressing

Ingredients:

1 cup oil
2/3 cup vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 green onions
dash of salt
3 Tbsp poppy seeds

Combine ingredients in the blender. Makes enough for 2 salads.

I like this best over fruity salads. My favorite is salad greens mixed with mandrine oranges, candied pecans, craisins and feta cheese.

Chicken Salad

Someone asked me for this recipe, so now you all get it. :)
It is from Tasha's shower

Ingredients:

1 can chicken breast (1-2 boiled chicken breasts)
2 green onions
1 celery stalk
halved grapes (I prefer red, but other kinds may work)
slivered almonds (can substitute with cashews)
1/4-1/2 cup miracle whip with a little milk to soften it and a little sugar (about 1 Tbsp)

Cut up green onions, celery, and grapes (also cube chicken if using a boiled breast). Put in a bowl with chicken and almonds. In a small separate bowl, mix miracle whip, milk and sugar. Pour over chicken mixture and stir to coat. Adjust portions to liking. I like fruits, so I will sometimes add mandrine oranges and pineapple to this. Serve in a croissant, roll, or just on bread. Enjoy!

Chicken bacon ranch pizza

This is one of my favorite pizzas we have made. :)

Dough:

4 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil (can use shortening if you prefer)
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/4 Tbsp yeast
1 1/4 Tbsp sugar

Proof yeast in warm water and sugar. Mix flour slat and oil. Add yeast mixture. Mix. Knead for about 4 minutes. Let sit about 15 minutes. Roll out dough. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees. Take out and add toppings. (If you have a favorite pizza dough recipe, use it. As a disclaimer, I use half wheat and half white flour, so I can't vouch for how this will turn out with all white flour because I've never made it that way).

Suggested Toppings:

Ranch dressing
Cubed grilled chicken
Cooked crumbled bacon
Grated mozarella cheese
Fresh vegetables (we did tomatoes, peppers and onions)

Pour dressing over dough (Not an exact amount, just depends on how saucy you like it). Cover with remaining toppings and cheese. Oh, and we sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top too. Bake for 10-15 minutes more at 350 degrees until done (will look golden brown).

This is pretty easy and delicious!

egg casserole

Here's the egg casserole from Rachel Fordham's shower. I'm not huge on egg caseroles so Rachel Nielsen kindly gave me this recipe. It was super easy! I didn't have dry mustard so I just left it out.

12-15 slices of bread (cut up into cubes)
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
3 c. milk6 eggs
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. dry mustard
In a greased casserole dish, alternate layers of cubed bread, milk mixture, and cheese. Bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Pork Chops and Potatoes

I made these two recipes last week for the two of us on Sunday and divided it to last for Jacob's lunch for about 3 days after.

Pork Chops:

6 boneless pork chops (I had three and cut them in 1/2)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 cloves garlic crushed

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional) 

1 teaspoon of cornstarch (optional if you like it saucy)

Put pork chops in a crock pot. Stir everything else except cornstarch and pour over the meat. Heat on low 4-5 hours and add cornstarch premixed with some water if you want a thicker sauce when done.

Bay Potato Casserole 

8 medium potatoes cook until almost done with bay leaf ( which means drop potatoes and one bay leaf in enough water to cover potatoes and cook, I just have bay leaf pieces in the spice rack so I sprinkled the top of the pot with them) 

When they are cooked, peel skins and cube very small  

Combine  :  

1  can cream mushroom soup                     

1 cup onion chopped                     

3/4 cup sour cream or butter milk                     

3/4 cup mayonnaise   

Pour over potatoes and mix well. Sprinkle 1 cup grated cheddar cheese over the casserole. Bake at 350 degree for 20-30 minutes.

And we sided the meals with corn muffins and steamed broccoli with Velveeta melted on top.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is really easy and fast to put together but does take planning as it takes a long time to cook. This is actually one of Eric's favorites.

1 1/2 c. rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans milk
1 can water
2 chicken breasts
salad shrimp (optional)

chop up and add however much of these veggies you want (you may omit whatever you don't like)

onions
celery
carrots (grated)
mushrooms
green pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Sprinkle rice evenly over bottom and then sprinkle all the veggies and shrimp over top. Cut up chicken into the sized you want and place it raw on top of the casserole. Mix soup, milk, and water together then pour over the casserole. sprinkle Mrs. Dash, paprika and a little celery salt over the top.

Cover with foil and cook for 2 1/4 hours.

Boston Cream Cakepuff

My cousin's recipe: She calls it a mix between an eclair and Boston cream donut.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 package (1.5 ounces) instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix

1/2-3/4 cups fat-free milk

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

Ganache (melted chocolate with a little milk added to make smooth)

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring water and margarine to a boil, stirring constantly until margarine is melted. Reduce heat to low; add the flour. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms a smooth ball. Remove from the heat.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until the batter becomes smooth. Spread into a greased 8 inch cake pan. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden. Immediately remove from pan and cut in half horizontally. Cool completely.

For filling, beat the pudding mix, milk and cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth. Just before serving, place bottom eclair layer on a serving platter; cover with filling. Replace top layer and drizzle with chocolate.