Oven Fried Lemon Garlic Chicken

Mmmmmm! Stephanie told me I should make this dish and yowsa she was right! It came together extremely quickly with very limited things on hand and smelled divine while it was baking! I strongly urge you to try it out! I'm anxious to try some variations of it too, we'll see how those turn out.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic or 1 tbsp garlic powder
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp parsley, dried or fresh
3 chicken breasts or 5 chicken thighs, boneless
Cooking Spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the garlic and lemon. Allow to sit for a few minutes, stirring, and remove from heat once it is completely melted. Place on a hotpad on the counter (no need to dirty another dish here).

Mix the bread crumbs and spices in another bowl. Dredge the chicken in the butter followed by the panko mixture. Place on a greased cooking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees.

Creamy Fiesta Salsa Chicken

This was recommended as a delicious slow cooker dinner. I am very skeptical on chicken in the crock. For whatever reason it never turns out good. I'm not sure if it's what happens to the texture of the chicken or what, but they always seem kind of blah to me. Last night's though was a real winner! It doesn't look pretty, but don't let that fool you!


Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
1 jar salsa
1 can black beans
1 block cream cheese
1 can or bag of corn
Put chicken in with salsa - make sure salsa covers the chicken. Cook all day on low, then, 45 minutes before serving put in the black beans (drained and rinsed), corn and cream cheese.

*my notes: When I got home from work, I just used a wooden spoon to shred the chicken and blend with the salsa. The chicken had been cooking for about 8 hours and fell apart quite nicely. I just made some boxed Spanish Rice with diced tomatoes and served the chicken mix over it. So yummy!

Annie's Broccoli Cheddar Soup

1st, yes, I am alive. And yes, I actually have been eating the last 6 or so months, even though I haven't been telling you about it. To be honest, I haven't tried many new things and when I have, they just haven't been that exciting. But, I think last night might have got me back in the swing of things food-wise!

2nd, I want to live at Annie's house. I would be her maid and she could pay me in food. I love that she makes things that are reasonable and not too far fetched where I can't find the ingredients in my local store.

I had starred this recipe for Broccoli Cheddar Soup awhile back and this week was finally up to the challenge of making some new meals. I can't really say it's healthy, but you do get a truckload of veggies in your system and it's a super frugal dinner option! Oh and it came together quickly, for a soup especially! I'm enjoying a bowl of it for lunch today and am looking forward to having it for lunch again tomorrow!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
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Ingredients:
6 tbsp. butter, divided
¾ cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped or shredded
4 cups small broccoli florets
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
½ tsp. onion salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
4 tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots to the pan and cook a couple minutes more. Stir in the broccoli, chicken broth, onion salt and garlic powder. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt remaining butter. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk and cook until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, whisk in the cheese until completely melted. Remove from the heat and add the cheese sauce to the soup pot. Allow to simmer until warmed through and broccoli is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. If desired, puree the soup with an immersion blender for a smooth texture.

Source: Annie’s Eats original

My notes: I used my mandoline with the cheese grater slot to shred the carrots and I just rough chopped the broccoli. I like a chunkier soup though. I also noticed that it needed a decent amount of salt and pepper on the first day- so I added a little to the pot, but day 2 was perfect. No need for any additional seasoning. It easily made enough for 4-6 servings.

Individual Upside Down Black Forrest Cake

This recipe was in Everyday Food a couple months ago and looked awesome, so I added it to the menu for our dinner party this weekend. The photo is awful. It was dark outside, and I was in a hurry, but I promise, they looked really cute! I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 so I would have enough for 6 4-ounce ramekins.

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup(s) unsalted butter (1/2 stick), room temperature
* 1/3 cup(s) plus 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
* 1 1/2 cup(s) drained jarred sour cherries (1 teaspoon juice reserved)
* 1/3 cup(s) all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
* 1/4 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon(s) coarse salt
* 1 large egg yolk
* 3 tablespoon(s) whole milk (I used half and half)
*If jarred sour cherries are not available, frozen sweet cherries, thawed and drained, may be substituted. Substitute 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice for the cherry juice. (Which I did)


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cherry juice in the bottom of each of two 8 ounce ramekins. Microwave ramekins until butter and brown sugar are melted and bubbling, about 1 minute. Arrange cherries in a tightly packed layer in the bottom of each ramekin.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in egg yolk, then flour mixture and milk. Divide batter between ramekins.
3. Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out with only a few crumbs attached, about 30 minutes (Mine only took about 20 minutes since they were smaller ramekins). Let cool on a wire rack, 20 minutes.

Banana Pecan Bread

I had some extra ripe bananas just begging to be made into something fantastic. Luckily, I didn't have any walnuts on hand, so it made me search for a new recipe that included pecans, something I did have. This recipe calls this Moist Banana Pecan Bread, and it is! I'm enjoying a warm piece out of the oven now...and you should too!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until creamed. Beat in eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla until creamy.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add this dry mixture into creamed mixture and mix well. Batter will get thick.
4. Stir in chopped pecans.
5. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for 70-80 minutes. (Mine took the full 80 minutes)
   
6. Makes 1 loaf.

Beef Rolls with Spring Salad

I had, oh, about 12 magazines I hadn't even touched. So this past Saturday was a fun game of catch up. I got through about 3 of them. I'm actually going to be reading the magazine while the month that's on the spine is the same that is on today's calendar. Anywaaaaay, Everyday Food had a really delicious looking dinner that not only was quick but healthy! We are trying to focus more on what we eat, so this was really appealing to us. I can't wait to make this in the summer! It's the perfect light dish for eating outside.

I modified it just a touch from the magazine- mostly the amounts of things.

Ingredients:

• 1 pepper (I used 1/2 of a red and 1/2 of an orange)
• 1 small onion
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 c water
• 3/4 pound braciola beef (I used just a thinly sliced sirloin tip and pounded it a bit thinner)- cut into 4 equal pieces
• 2 ounces pepper Jack cheese
• 7 ounces spring lettuce mix
• 1 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar)

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high. Add onions and peppers; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add 3/4 c water; cover and simmer 3 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and liquid has evaporated, 2 minutes.

2. Pat meat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place cheese and onion-pepper mixture in center of beef pieces. Beginning with narrow end of meat, roll filling up tightly. Carefully flip meat seam side up and secure with toothpicks.

3. In the same skillet as in step 1, heat to medium high. Place meat rolls, seam side down, in skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until beef browns and cheese melts, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat is beef is browning too quickly. Transfer beef rolls to a plate.

4. Toss lettuce with vinegar and 1 tsp oil; season with salt and pepper. Remove toothpicks from beef rolls; serve with salad.

Enjoy!

Ginger Pumpkin Tart

I was watching 5 Ingredient Fix and saw this recipe. It looked way too good not to try! (I made a good choice!)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups crushed thin Swedish ginger cookies, (about 55 to 60 cookies)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree, organic if possible
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large egg yolks
• Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put a 9-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan on a baking sheet.

Make the crust by combining the ginger cookie crumbs and melted butter in a large bowl, until well blended. Add the crumbs to the tart pan and evenly press over the bottom and up the sides with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake until set and a bit darker in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, condensed milk, egg yolks and salt until well blended. Pour the filling into the cooled crust, return to the oven, and bake until set and beginning to brown on the top, about 30 minutes. Remove tart from the oven, cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator, at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

To serve, carefully remove outer tart shell ring and slice. Eat and enjoy!

NOTE: Any crushed gingersnap cookie will do; just be sure to use 2 1/2 cups crumbs for the crust.

Freezer Ready Chicken Pot Pie

Back when my sister had her baby in September, I made her 3 freezer meals to help out their tired, hungry bellies. While I was at it, I went ahead and just doubled each recipe and kept one of each for ourselves. I found the recipe here, and it was super easy! Of course I was a bit skeptical as this was my first time making freezer meals...and because this just seemed too simple. I.was.wrong. It was REALLY good! My plan next time is to make about 6 of these bad boys at once. I could easily eat this once every couple weeks. Sorry my picture is awful...I forgot to take one after we cut it, and it was gone really quickly.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Freezer Recipe

1 pkg frozen peas & carrots
1 8oz can small whole onions, drained
1 small can mushroom pieces
2 cups cooked & cut-up chicken pieces
2 cups chicken gravy
Pie crust (frozen or homemade)

Combine all ingredients well and pour into 9" pie pan. Cover with pie crust, pressing edges into foil pan. Freeze as is for one hour, remove, wrap with freezer wrap and label, then freeze.

On cooking day:
Remove one and a half hours before baking, remove from freezer to thaw. Preheat oven to 450F. Cover edges of pie crust with foil to prevent the crust from burning. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until crust is brown and mixture inside is hot. Remove from oven and allow to sit for ten minutes.