Garlic Dijion Chicken, Noodles, Broccoli & Chocolate Crinkles

The chicken is something from the freezer. It is from a recipe called "dump chicken" where the author makes all of these different chicken recipes and you freeze the marinade with the chicken and then when it thaws it all soaks in and takes on that flavor. We made up a bunch of these a while ago and are starting to use them. So far the ones we have had have been really good. The one is called Garlic Dijion Chicken. I made a simple broccoli side and then spaghetti noodles flavored with olive oil and garlic powder. Everything was really good and tasty, enjoyed by all. I will post the recipe for the chicken at the bottom.


OK so these aren't exactly good for you but not too bad. I took the recipe and changed it a little bit, and besides the sugar, they aren't that bad for you. Nice for a treat and I probably won't get around to making any more "holiday" cookies so this is it. The recipe made a lot, though! I'll post it along with the changes I made to it.

Garlic Dijon Chicken

2 Cloves Minced Garlic
4 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice


For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into alarge baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices runclear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chickenbreasts).


For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flatin freezer.To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, makesure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthestfrom the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although thismay not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat theoven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish andbake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30minutes for chicken breasts).

Recipe for Chocolate Crinkles

From “Family Fun” December/January 2008

Beneath the crackled, powdery surface of these cookie-brownie hybrids is a soft interior that tastes like a fresh chocolate doughnut. Consider these the answer for any chocoholics on your gift list.


Ingredients:

¾ cup butter, melted
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder (I used half of this)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces mini (or regular size) semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar (I didn't use near this much for all of them)



In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter, cocoa powder, and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a large spoon to slowly add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture. Stir in the chips. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll them in confectioners’ sugar. Bake the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Set the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then lightly dust the cookies with the remaining confectioners’ sugar. Transfer the cookies directly onto the rack to cool thoroughly. Makes 4 dozen.

Baked Potato Soup & Garlic Cheese Biscuits

OK More comfort food apparently! But it was really good. This is what we will be having tomorrow night as well... if the biscuits make it that long. Oh and I forgot to buy green onions at the store so our soup didn't have any.

Baked Potato Soup

5 large potatoes, baked

10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (my note: use nitrate free bacon!)

3 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz. sour cream

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup butter

6 cups milk

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1. After potatoes have cooled, scoop out pulp into a bowl and mash.

2. Melt butter in large pot. Add flour. Stir until smooth. Gradually add milk over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly. Do not let milk burn on the bottom of pot!

3. Stir potatoes into cream sauce.4. Add salt, pepper, most of bacon, 2 TB. green onions, and cheddar cheese. Cook until heated through, but do NOT boil.

5. Stir in sour cream, but do NOT let boil.*Serve with extra cheese, bacon, and green onions for toppings.

Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits Copycat

Recipe #9494 (RecipeZaar)
2 cups Bisquick (my note: or you can use a homemade substitute)

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (my note: I used about 1/4 cup)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix bisquick, milk and cheese until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder. Brush mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.

Creamy Ranch Pork Chops, Rice, & Peas

Well the title says it all. This was really good. I'm craving "comfort food" lately and this filled the bill. Here is the recipe:

Creamy Ranch Pork Chops and Rice

From: Cindy mommy_of_love1
1 tbsp. oil

4 boneless pork chops

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use a substitute!)

1/2 soup can milk

1 pkg. ranch mix

paprika
Heat oil in skillet. Add chops amd cook until browned. Add soup, milk and 1/2 ranch packet. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika.
Tip: add remaining ranch packet to water when cooking rice.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Cheese Casserole

I always try to shorten the name of this dish but I just can't leave anything out! Anyway, the name says it all, and it was yummy! I made it with the leftover chicken from last night and we had carrots, also from last night, on the side.

Chicken, Broccoli, Rice, & Cheese Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or use substitute, I use this one)

1 can cream of cheese soup (or use substitute, I use this one)

1 bag of frozen baby broccoli florets

2 cups uncooked rice

1 8oz bag of shredded cheese

2 cups cooked shredded chicken
Cook the rice per package directions. Mix all ingredients except shredded cheese together in a bowl. Mix in about ½ cup of the shredded cheese with the rice mixture. Place into casserole dish. Bake about 25 minutes or until all is hot in 350 degree oven. Top with remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Chicken & Veggies

Tonight was a whole roasted chicken with red potatoes and carrots. I seasoned with some spices including rosemary & thyme and baked it in the oven on 350 until the chicken was done. I think next time I will cover it until the last 30 minutes or so because the tops of the vegetables got a little too crisp. But it was all very good! I like making this because we have plenty of leftover chicken to turn into another meal like chicken pot pie or chicken broccoli rice casserole.

Spaghetti from the leftovers

So tonight I took the leftover sauce and sausage and made spaghetti out of it. We topped it with a lot of cheese and used whole wheat noodles. It was really yummy actually with the sausage instead of just veggie or with beef.

Sausage Pizza

Well there wasn't much in the house tonight and I had to be creative. This is a horrible picture but at least it shows the pizza. I made the sauce for the pizza with the intention of making sausage and spinach stuffed shells. Then after I made the sauce I realized the ricotta cheese we had was expired. So I went with plan two and made some pizza dough. I used the sauce on top and then topped it with mozzerella, onions, and sausage. It was really good, we all enjoyed it.

Pizza Dough III from AllRecipes

INGREDIENTS

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

• DIRECTIONS

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.