Holiday Jar Gifts

This year, we were short on time and on money. I didn't really want to just give A's teachers gift cards, so instead decided to give them jars to make cookies. I really hope they use them and like them too!

The recipe came from here.

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Mix in a Jar

Layer the following ingredients in order in a 1-quart wide mouth canning jar:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder (clean inside of jar with tissue after this layer)
1/2 cup brown sugar (pack firmly)
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries I used one cup
1 cup chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon baking powder plus
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (mixed)

Remember to press firmly between each layer. Place lid and ring onto jar.

Attach the following instructions on a gift tag:

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Empty jar of cookie mix into large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until completely blended. Shape into balls and place 2 inches apart on sprayed baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-15 minutes.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

I was unable to fit all the listed ingredients into the jar. I google chocolate cranberry cookies and found this recipe in the exact same form all over the place, but it still seemed like a lot of cranberries when compared to other recipes I found. So, I cut it down so everything would fit. Hopefully, they still come out delicious!

Christmas Dinner

Well, the whirlwind that is hosting Christmas is over. We can relax, clean the house (boy oh boy has our "office" fallen into disarray as I have stashed clutter, mail, and crap in there for the past few months), prepare for our New Year's party. WTF am I thinking? Oh yeah, that I love doing this!

Our Christmas menu, in actuality, went like this:
Appetizers:
Spinach Dip (from the Knorr's box, an S family recipe)
Cheese and crackers
Bruschetta (my "famous" Ali's Amazing Bruschetta from allrecipes)

Dinner:
Shrimp Scampi with spaghetti
Corn, broccoli, red pepper mix
Chopped Layer Salad
Pillsbury Grands

Dessert:
Canoli
Fruit
Better than Sex Cake

I have to say, I was VERY impressed with the way the shrimp scampi turned out. Everyone I spoke with (especially my husband) thought it very strange that scampi would have Dijon mustard, but it was a nice hint of flavor. The aforementioned husband told me today he was really impressed with it and that it was REALLY good. We had a little bit of leftovers (7 adults, planning for 8), and they were pretty good reheated too! Definitely will be making that again. Oh, and no communication meant that someone used up the last of our Dijon mustard on a sandwich the day before Christmas, and I learned that no supermarkets are open on Christmas day. Soooo, to the trusty internet I turned, and made homemade Dijon... SO EASY, will definitely do that again too!
Recipe for homemade Dijon mustard:
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar -- (or 1/2 white wine, 1/2 white vinegar
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
pinch sugar

Mix all ingredients.

Yield: "2 tablespoons"


The Better than Sex cake was made by my husband. I was very glad he made it, since our dessert bringer didn't end up coming, and the backup frozen cheesecake I had in the freezer didn't defrost in time. He didn't quite follow the directions, so the cake would have been way better if served hot and had the toffee on top, but it was pretty tasty anyway.

Everyone seemed happy with the meal, even those picky folks who joke at every holiday about stopping at White Castle on the way home (yes, you read that correctly; it drives me BATTY).

No pictures, alas. Despite cooking the meal and hosting and being pregnant, I was told that I was responsible for taking the pictures for the day. I'm not bitter, but I just didn't get to do the things I might have otherwise as a result.

Hope your December 25 was merry, whether it was spent with family or with Chinese and a movie!!

Chocolate chip brownies

From The Cookbook Junkie
Chocolate Chip Brownies
Taste of Home Grandma’s Favorites Copyright 2006

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (6 ounces) vanilla or white chips I used peanut butter chips
1 cup chopped walnuts I omitted these

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; stir into creamed mixture just until blended (do not overmix).

Pour into two greased 9-in. square baking pans. Sprinkle with chocolate and vanilla chips and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool.

Yield 3-4 dozen.

I made these for a faculty meeting I was responsible for helping to bring snacks to. I had a little bit of trouble with the oven, and they had to bake for way longer than advised here, but other than that, these were really easy to make. BAJ really liked them a lot, having at least one the night of, and at least two the next day. As for my colleagues, one of them said that I should become a baker because the brownies were so good. Everyone raved about them and many couldn't believe they were homemade... and by ME!
So, as a result of all that, and the rush I was in getting them done on a weeknight, I didn't get around to taking pictures. I took one on my cell phone before I gobbled it down at the aforementioned faculty meeting, but it looks terrible. Take my word for it, or check out the picture Cookbook Junkie has on her post!

Aunt Teen's Creamy Chocolate Fudge

From allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

I went to allrecipes the other day, and the featured recipe was this one. It was highly rated by a LOT of people. It looked good, and it looked easy, so I figured I'd go with it. My first time making fudge, this was really very easy. BAJ's mom used to make fudge all the time, so he sort of told me what to expect. This is a very good, basic fudge recipe. I didn't add nuts, and the Fluff I found was 7.5 oz. I think it would have been much better with the nuts, but with a husband who really doesn't like them, I just didn't bother. I sprayed the aluminum with Pam before setting aside; don't know if this made any difference or not, but in the end the fudge came off the paper very easily. I'll be bringing this to my son's daycare as a gift for all the staff; hope they like it!!

My helper

Not so Sloppy Joes

I've made this several times before, and really have nothing new to report. The recipe is from Real Simple, and you can google it easily enough.

The reason I wanted to share this for the THIRD time, however, is that it was a meal my TODDLER, who generally refuses meat, ate it. And, he ate the meat part... ALONE...that is, without the roll.

As such, I didn't have enough to make tacos tonight as planned, but we saved the leftovers to feed...THE BOY!! Stellar!

I didn't so much like the look of the red peppers and chose green ones instead. I didn't think they would be as good as the red peppers in this recipe, but it worked just fine. I also used a leftover can of tomato paste; I think I used 2 or 3 T from it. I drained the fat from the turkey too. As a result, I didn't so much end up with a sauce; it was very thick and pastey, so I added a little bit of water. It really didn't affect the taste at all, but I might have liked it to be a little saucey.

I love this ole standby!

Vegetarian Chili

I originally got this recipe from Weight Watchers' Make it in Minutes cookbook. You can find the same recipe here. I love making this because not only is it tasty and easy, but it's a really different flavor than you would find in a typical chili recipe. I made it for lunch club, and no one could believe there was chocolate in there, but knowing that, I can definitely taste it.
So, this is a nice little lunch recipe or a nice something to have in the freezer for a night home alone. Keeper!! :)

Ingredients:

Serves: 4,
Yield:
6 6

6

Servings Size

• cups
  

cups

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsley ground black pepper
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

1. 1 Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. 2 Add garlic, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper; cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, 4-5 minutes.
3. 3 Add beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, cocoa powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
4. 4 Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often to prevent scorching, until beginning to thicken slightly, about 15 minutes.
5. 5 Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/vegetarian-chili-61515#ixzz1EESh5MfP

Crab Casserole

This is a recipe I received at my bridal shower. I don't know if it's a secret recipe or anything like that, so I won't post it here, but if you really want it let me know!

Layered Fiesta Casserole

I found this on my friend Lauren's blog, and since she reviewed it well, and it looked reasonably healthful and easy, I went for it last night. It wasn't exactly PRETTY when I served it, looking more like mush than casserole, so I didn't take any pictures, but it looked pretty enough in the baking pan.

I followed the directions Lauren posted, but I found them to be a little on the confusing side, so if you decide to make this, definitely follow the original directions, which can be found on the Kraft foods website here.

I substituted ground turkey for the beef to make this a little more healthful, but it was really missing something in the flavor department as a result. I was thinking maybe some taco seasoning would have helped, and saw some of the reviews on the Kraft website suggested chipotle seasoning.

In addition to the substitution of turkey, I sprayed the pan with cooking spray first. I don't konw if this made any difference in clean up time or not, but figured it would be a smart move. I used a different brand of salsa, but kept with the thick and chunky theme. I also would probably use a larger dish in the future, since I quickly ran out of room for all of the components in my 9x9 Pyrex.

I thought this was pretty tasty, although I think BAJ considered it too bland, calling it "ok."

Ingredients

• 1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 jar (16 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen corn, thawed
• 4-6 corn tortillas (12 inch)
• 1-1/2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided

HEAT oven to 375°F.

BROWN meat with peppers in large skillet; drain. Return to skillet. Stir in salsa, tomatoes and corn.

SPREAD 1 cup meat mixture onto bottom of 9x9-inch baking dish; top with 1 tortilla. Cover with layers of the remaining meat mixture and cheese; top with remaining tortillas and meat mixture. Cover with foil.

BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining cheese; let stand 5 min. or until melted.

Recipes to try

All from Real Simple

Appetizers:

Parmesan Twists, Real Simple
Easy Samosas, Real Simple
Rosemary Pecans

Dinner Salads:
Chicken and Peach Salad

Poultry:
Golden Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives

Dessert:
Berry Shortcakes

Cream of Tomato Soup

From foodtv.com, by Georgia Downard.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, juices reserved
• 2 cups reduced-sodium canned chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup light cream or milk
• Salt and pepper

Directions

In a large nonreactive saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes without allowing to color. Add tomatoes with their juices, broth, tomato paste, basil, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer stirring frequently, 15 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches until smooth. Return to pan and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes, and serve.

This is a pretty basic, very tasty cream of tomato soup, much like other tomato soups I've made, like this. I did use canned tomatoes, and the result was a thinner soup that I would have liked. I would use canned diced tomatoes in the future. I felt the soup was too thin, so added another tablespoon of tomato paste; as I've said in other tomato soup recipes, I've sometimes accidentally used the whole can (what are you supposed to do with the leftover paste??) so I might just go ahead and do that too. I also added a stalk of celery and some garlic with the carrots and onion. Finally, I only had about 1/2 c of chicken broth on hand, so I just used chicken stock I had to complete the 2 cups. What's the difference between broth and stock anyway? I had 2% milk around from another recipe, so went ahead and used that as the "cream."

So this was good, reasonably fast and easy to make, and has (temporarily at least) sated my craving for tomato soup.

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 1 1/4 cups water I used beef broth
  
• 5 1/2 pounds pot roast

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

I have made this once before, and raved about it. I made it essentially the same way I had made it before, and it was just fine. I wouldn't say I was nuts about it, and our guests seemed to like it, but also didn't really RAVE about it.

The good thing about this one, though, is that it was very easy to make. There are a TON of reviews on allrecipes of this one, and many people give suggestions for improvement, so I imagine some of them are going to improve this.

I also tossed in some quartered potatoes, celery, and carrots with the roast, and I used a 4 pound angus rump roast.

Shrimp Newburg

Another from Rachael Ray's December 09 issue.

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 15 min
• 
• Cook 20 min

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp—cleaned and cut into thirds, shells reserved
• 1 1/3 cups 2 percent milk
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup sherry wine
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup finely chopped chives

Slash sodium by serving the shrimp over brown rice instead of buttered toast.

Keep the flavor but lose the fat by replacing heavy cream and egg yolks with fresh shrimp broth and milk.

Shrimp is a good source of low-calorie protein—and it's more affordable than the traditional lobster.

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the rice with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes; fluff with a fork. Cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt 2 teaspoons butter over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells and cook, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the milk with the cornstarch, then whisk into the shrimp shells. Bring to a simmer, whisking, then cook for 1 minute. Strain the mixture into a bowl, pressing the shrimp shells to get all the liquid; discard the shells. Wash and dry the saucepan.
3. In the saucepan, melt the remaining 2 teaspoons butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the shrimp and sherry and cook, stirring, until the shrimp is firm, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the chives. Serve over the rice.

BAJ thought this was REALLY good and said he wants to have this again. I wasn't as convinced, however, partially because of a mental thing I had that perhaps the shrimp wasn't fully cooked.
It was easy, but I can't imagine it took the amount of time it said it did; I felt like it took me much longer.

Chicken Broccoli Couscous

Recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray December 2009.



* 4 Servings
*
* Prep 15 min
*
* Cook 20 min

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
* Salt and pepper
* 3 cups chicken broth
* One 10-ounce box couscous
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 1 head broccoli, broken into small florets
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
* 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted Omitted

Toast nuts in a 350° oven until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes.
Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a work surface, let cool, then shred; reserve the skillet.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 2 cups chicken broth and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a boil; season with salt and pepper. Add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

3. In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and the remaining 1 cup chicken broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken, raisins, parsley and couscous; season with salt and pepper. Toss with the almonds before serving.




Pictures coming soon, whenever I get around to uploading them.

This...sucked. Blandness all around, with the exception of those bites with raisin in them. I think, perhaps, we haven't found a decent couscous recipe yet, but the ones we've tried have been pretty terrible. The whole family's servings got tossed, and we had a package of ravioli for dinner.

Hey, at least it was reasonably cheap...

French Onion Macaroni and Cheese

From the December 2009 Everyday with Rachael Ray

• 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 large onions, very thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate or whole wheat penne rigate pasta
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup whole milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 3/4 pound gruyère cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, thyme and bay leaf for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook until the onions are browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate and discard the bay leaf. Reserve the skillet.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
3. In the reserved skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the chicken stock and milk and bring to a boil; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Lower the heat and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese until melted.
4. Combine the onions and sauce with the pasta and toss well.

I saw this in the new RR magazine, and immediately thought of my friend Lauren, who loves all things French Onion, and put it on my meal plan for the week.

BAJ and The Boy were going to be a little bit late getting home, so I started shredding the cheese and slicing the onions before I planned to start cooking. After completing these tasks, the recipe time took thirty minutes as suggested, but without it, I'd add another 5-10 minutes to the time.

BAJ REALLY liked this one, and said I could make it again anytime. I thought it was tasty, but that it wasn't as all that as he made it out to be. Nonetheless, this is the first mac and cheese recipe he's LIKED, let alone raved about, so it's definitely going to be a keeper around here.

Pan Fried Chicken with Fresh Tomato and Corn Salsa

From Everyday with Rachael Ray August 2009. See original here

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 20 min
• 
• Cook 5 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 chicken breast cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
• Salt and pepper
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 ears)
• 2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Easy does it
Stand an ear of corn upright in a large bowl and run a knife down the length of the cob to remove the kernels.

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish, stir together the breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons basil. In a separate shallow dish, add the buttermilk; in a third dish, add the flour. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Working with 1 piece at a time, coat the chicken in the flour, then dip into the buttermilk and coat with the breadcrumbs, shaking to remove any excess.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden-brown, about 5 minutes; drain on paper towels.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the corn, tomatoes, onion, the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Serve over the chicken.

This was really tasty; I especially liked the corn salsa. I definitely overcooked the chicken, however, which meant we didn't ultimately like the dish, but will need to give it another try. This has all the perfect flavors of summer, and, aside from screwing up the chicken, we'll have to try this again!! Oh yeah, I made this July 23, and just never got around to blogging it. Oops. I served with couscous, as suggested by Rachael Ray!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

From allrecipes.com, see the original here.
Ingredients

* 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 1/2 cups beef broth
* 3 potatoes, diced
* 4 carrots, sliced
* 1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

I made this for "lunch club" at work, partially (erm, largely) due to my husband's dislike of all things beef. I messed up modified the recipe by adding a whole can of beef broth, only using 2 potatoes, and using 2 stalks of celery. It was a little bit too much broth, I thought, but after taking the first serving, I decided that wasn't the case at all, and was glad I had done it.

This was a really flavorful stew, and I will certainly make it again. If you go to allrecipes and read the reviews, someone name Corinne made a bunch of modifications to the base recipe, but I'm not a fan of cooking meat before putting it in a slow cooker, so I went with the original recipe! When I make this in the future, I will add a can of mushrooms (almost did that this time, but, um, forgot) and a can of tomatoes--not sure if stewed or whole would work best. I also might take Corinne's modification of using a package of stew mix, although I love the idea of setting the spices on my own.

The good thing about lunch club is that you get the benefit of the opinions of several coworkers. First, they all commented (as did some students who could smell it in the hallway) on the delicious aroma of the stew. It's funny, you bring a crockpot into work and people think you're a domestic goddess. I heard feedback from two others who ate the stew, and they both commented (unsolicited) that it was really good.

In short, this beef stew isn't like Mom makes, but it's pretty good nonetheless... and until I get around to bugging Mom for her recipe, or finding one that comes close, this is a delicious (and fairly easy) stew!!

Lemon Thyme Chicken

For some reason, I never added Annie's Eats to my Google Reader. I've made some things from her blog before, via other bloggers, but I made sure to do it when I found this recipe. Today, I was looking for something with chicken (which I actually remembered to make sure was defrosted--an aside, I have about 30 vacuum packed chicken breasts in the freezer because I forget to defrost and then buy more when I need to cook dinner. BRILLIANT) and had a craving for some kind of creamy sauce. I stumbled upon this recipe, and knew it to be just what I wanted... although the sauce wasn't very creamy. I digress.
So, this is a Chicken Francese kind of thing. Except that it adds in thyme and some butter. It's also very smart in butterfly the chicken instead of POUNDING the chicken... so. much. easier! Also very smart to start browning in the pan and then continue cooking in the juices--so moist and juicy and not overcooked!
So, if you're reading this, and you haven't yet added Annie's Eats, do it NOW!
Lemon Thyme Chicken
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2/3 cup dry white wine I substituted vegetable broth
Juice of ½ a large lemon (or the juice of 1 whole lemon, if desired)
2-3 tablespoons butter
Directions:
Butterfly the chicken breasts to create four halves. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl, and dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off the excess. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute until lightly golden, about 2 minutes; flip and cook on the other side, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme leaves to the pan and saute just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off the heat, add the wine to the pan. Return the pan to the heat and bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce until the sauce has thickened and the chicken has become golden brown on each both sides. Add the lemon juice to the pan and stir in the butter until completely melted. Serve immediately, and spoon the extra sauce over the chicken.

Oh, yum. The hubs made mashed potatoes while I took care of the chicken, and the sauce tasted so good over those taters. I wish there had been more sauce leftover, but I might have reduced it just a little too much.

Braised Bratwurst with Bacon, Apples, and Sauerkraut

I found this on the Rachael Ray meal planner. You can see the original here.

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 10 min
• 
• Cook 25 min

Ingredients:

• One 12-ounce bottle beer
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 8 cooked bratwurst sausage
• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 pound sauerkraut, drained
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 granny smith apples, cut into matchsticks

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, simmer the beer, chicken broth and bratwurst for 10 minutes. Reserve the bratwurst and cooking liquid separately.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until softened. Add the reserved cooking liquid, bring to a boil and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, carrots, bacon and bratwurst and cook, covered, until heated through. Stir in the apples.

We enjoyed this recipe, but it took WAY longer than the suggested time frame.
I used a bottle of Yeungling Lager, which added a nice flavor, and I also used beer flavored brats.
I basically halved the recipe, using 4 brats (although still 1 c of chicken broth and a whole bottle of beer, and 1 lb of sauerkraut..woops!), 4 slices of bacon, 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 1 apple. It was a bit too much for my skillet to handle, but it did work.

I would have liked the apples to be a little bit softer, but perhaps had I sliced them smaller, they might have been. Next time, I will add them to the heat a little bit earlier.

So, I'll probably make this again, but not for a weeknight...

Stromboli

I found this in a cookbook from allrecipes. You can also see the recipe here.

This was very easy to make, but not a big hit in our house. BAJ complained the whole time about the beef, but he did eat his entire serving. I just didn't like it, but I'm not such a great test case these days.

I made a few substitutions... I used a cubanelle pepper instead of a bell. I omitted the pepperoni, and used spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce.

There's a picture on allrecipes, and their creation looks very different from mine... perhaps a slice of ham might have changed the texture/flavor instead of the diced ham I used. I also folded my dough in half, instead of creating a log like a typical stromboli... this made it VERY difficult to cut.

I also found that this got overcooked, and came very close to burning after 20 minutes at the recommended temperature.

Soo, maybe I'll make a stromboli this way again, but not with this particular filling.