Herb Roasted Chicken

I had never made a whole chicken (or turkey, for that matter) before. It scared me to death. But I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman and was determined. It was SO easy. And it was delicious.

* 3-4lb Whole Chicken
* Something to stuff inside the chicken (Apple, Onion, Lemon, Garlic, Carrot, etc..)
* 2-3 Tbls Canola Oil
* 1 Tbls Salt

* 1 Tbls Pepper
* 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh, chopped herbs (I used sage, rosemary, and thyme)

You can stuff various items into the chicken for roasting and this will provide additional moisture and aromatics that will help to flavor the chicken from the inside. I used a lemon, some garlic cloves, and an onion.

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees while you pick the herbs from their stems.

2. Chop your herbs

3. Toss your herbs into a bowl and add your salt & pepper

4. Add oil & stir it up

5. Fill the cavity of the bird with your aromatics. (Lemon, garlic cloves, & onion) You won't be eating these items, so just give them a rough chop.

6. It’s important that your whole chicken be patted dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. This will help to insure a nice crust on your chicken once it’s finished. Begin rubbing the chicken down with your canola-herb-salt-pepper mix.

7. I tied my bird's legs to the body with floss. I don't know if it's necessary, but they were flopping open, and I didn't want them to burn.

(No, those are not my tattoo-covered arms)

8. Slide your herb coated chicken into that 450 degree oven for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes until it is golden brown and has developed a delicious crust.

9. Once the chicken has roasted, it’s good to let it rest for 10-15 minutes. This will allow all of the juiciness of the bird to redistribute to the right places. If you tore into it right away…all its goodness would run out and you’d be left with a dry chicken.

Viola!

Super Simple Cranberry Chicken

8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1 (8 oz.) bottle Catalina French dressing

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

2 cans whole cranberry sauce

Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or as much as 24 hours. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, uncovered, and then cover and continue baking for another 45 minutes. Serves 6-8.

Chicken Shish Kabob Marinade

· 1 cup soy sauce

· 1 cup veggie oil

· 2 cups 7-up

· ½ tsp. garlic

· 1 tsp. horseradish sauce

Blend the above together. Cut chicken into chunks and place in Marinade over night.

Add the following and grill!

Green, Red, yellow peppers

Onion

Mushroom

Pineapple

Squash

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

½ cup oil

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream oil, butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat 3-5 minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.

Apple Goody Recipe

6-8 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 c. sugar

1 ½ TB. flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

(Instead of buying fresh apples and having to peel them, I cheat and just use 2 cans of apple pie filling or canned apples. I add ½ tsp. cinnamon if the canned apples don’t already have cinnamon on them)

1 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)

½ c. melted margarine

¾ c. quick oats

¾ c. flour

¾ c. brown sugar

¼ tsp. soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

Bake at 350 in a 9 x 9 pan until filling starts bubbling through crumb topping. If using the pie filling or already cooked apples, it should take about 25-30 minutes. If using fresh apples I think it will take more like 40 minutes.

Barbacoa Pork Salad

This is our favorite recipe! If we've had you over for dinner this is probably what we made! We love it!

The dressing:

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch packet

1 C. buttermilk

1 C. mayonaise

1 clove minced garlic

1/3 bunch cilantro

1/2 tsp. lime juice

1 small jalepeno pepper

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Stick in the fridge to chill.

The meat:

Pork (I used a bone-in pork shoulder because it's economical, but also a little disgusting to me because it has some skin and some bones. Use whatever pork you want.)

Coke (a couple cans to a liter bottle, depending how much you want to use)

1 bottle of honey barbeque sauce

Put the pork in a crockpot. Pour the whole bottle of barbeque sauce over the pork, and then pour in the Coke until the meat is covered. I used a couple of cans, but it depends on how much meat you're cooking. Let it cook overnight or until the meat falls apart. Then pull out the meat and shred it.

To serve:

You can do this however you want. We put a tortilla in a biggish bowl. Put in the shredded meat, some hot rice, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, black beans, crunchy tortilla strips. Then pour on the dressing. MMMmmm! You can also put another sprig of cilantro on top for garnish if you want to.

Spinach Dip

2 loaves King’s Hawaiian Sweet Bread

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 cup Sour Cream

½ pkg Ranch dip

1 can Artichoke hearts, (13-15oz) drained & chopped

1 pkg Frozen chopped Spinach, thawed & drained

3 slices Provolone Cheese

2-3 oz Cream Cheese

3 TBS Parmesan Cheese

Carefully hollow 1 loaf, leaving 1 inch on sides and bottom. Cube removed bread and additional loaf.

Blend mayo, sour cream, and dip; mix together in a large bowl. Add artichoke hearts, spinach, and cheese. Warm up and transfer to bread bowl and serve with cubed bread

Salsa

4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced fine

½ white onion, chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic, minced

juice from one lime

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. sugar

½ of the leaves on one bunch of cilantro, cut up

2 cans chopped green chiles

1-2 ripe peeled, chopped avocados

Mix all the above ingredients except the avocado. Add the chopped
avocado after mixing the rest of the ingredients

Mini Fruit Pizza's

These turned out cute and super duper yummy!

I love fruit pizza's you have probably all had them before but I especially liked that these were small mini ones--much easier to make and serve. So here is my recipe...it's like 5 different recipe's combined. I thought they turned out delish.

the crust is just your favorite sugar cookie dough. or if your like me, just buy some pillsbury all-ready made dough and bake your cookies.

the frosting:
1 pkg cream cheese
1/3 c. powdered sugar
2 tbs vanilla
whip it all together and frost your cookies.

top with fresh fruit. then i put a glaze on top

glaze:
1/2 c. orange juice
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 tsp corn starch
bring it all to a boil in sauce pan then drizzle it over each cookie

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

Carolyn made these at institute this week and I asked her for the recipe. They are awesome! I can't wait to make them! She said she put about 1/4 cup extra blueberries and they baked in about 18 minutes for her.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Hootenanny Pancakes and Coconut Syrup

Hootenanny Pancakes (German Pancakes)
6 eggs
1 c. flour
1 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter


beat together eggs, flour, salt and milk for 5 minutes. (it really is important to do it for at least 5 min.) I just put it all in the blender...while it is blending heat your 1/2 c. butter in 9x13 pyrex dish in oven at 425 until melted. Then pour mixture into the pyrex with the melted butter. Bake at 425 for 20 min. Pancakes will grow up side of pan and sometimes make mountains in the middle. Top with fresh strawberry's or your favorite fruit.

Coconut Syrup
This is our favorite and I don't even like coconut stuff not even the syrup you can buy in Hawaii. It goes good with any fresh fruit and we love it on our crepes too. I can't eat my hootenanny pancakes without it.

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. soda

boil these ingredients in pan for a few minutes until everything is melted. then add 1 tsp. coconut extract. (i think you find it by like the food coloring, its just in a little brown bottle amongst other flavorings.)

Crock pot Lasagna

This is Jeanette's recipe but I love it especially on hot summer days when you don't want to cook.

• 1 pkg whole wheat lasagna
• Cottage cheese (fat free)
• Mozzarella cheese (fat free)
• Zucchini
• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Spaghetti Sauce
• ½ cup water (if not using oven ready noodles)—I often just use more sauce
• 1-2 links Italian sausage (I just used precooked sausage)

Layer in crockpot- sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, veggies, sauce . . . until filled. Swish ½ cup water in sauce jar and shake—pour all over lasagna. Cook on high for 3 hours.

Aflredo Sauce/ Baked Ziti

I use this alfredo sauce alone or in baked ziti.

½ cup Butter
2-4 oz. Cream Cheese (depending how much of a cream cheese taste you want)
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
¾ tsp. Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
1 cup Parmesan Cheese

In saucepan, melt butter. Add cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk constantly until it boils. Bring to a boil. Stir every few minutes. Simmer for 20 minutes. Take from heat and stir in cheese. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.




Baked Ziti:

Boil the ziti according to directions. Drain. Put the pasta in a 9x13 pan. Pour the alfredo sauce above over the ziti. Cook the meat of your choice (Hamburger, Sausage, etc...). Mix it with jarred or homemade spaghetti sauce (We prefer Tomato and Basil Classico). Pour the meat sauce over the alfredo sauce. Top with the mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Pumpernickel Squares

1 tube Jimmy Dean Sausage
¾ lb. Hamburger

Cook sausage and hamburger then drain.

1 lb. Mexican Velveeta (cubed small)
1 tsp. Oregano
1 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
½ tsp. Garlic Salt

Pumpernickel Bread Loaf

Melt Cheese in a fry pan then add meat mixture and other ingredients. Mix well. Spread on small deli cut squares of pumpernickel bread (Walmart has long, skinny, square loaves). Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meat Loaf

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. ground beef

2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Beat the egg and milk in a bowl. Stir in cheese, oats, onion, and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into one or multiple loaves. Place in a greased pyrex pan. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Spoon over the loaves. Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until meat in no longer pink.

Chicken and Rice Salad

1 package Uncle Bens Fast Cook Long Grain and Wild Rice

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (2-4 chicken breasts)
1 cup seedless grapes cut in half
1 cup cashew halves
2 TBS. onion

Cook rice according to package directions. When rice has cooled, mix the rest of the ingredients in.

Dressing

1 cup mayo

1 TBS. Milk

3 TBS. Lemon Juice

Whisk dressing together and pour over salad before serving.

I love to eat the salad on croissants, perfect for summer!

Baguette

I also got this recipe from The Sisters Cafe. If you don't know about this blog, do yourself a favor and go here.

I made this bread 2 nights ago and it was really simple, fast, and delicious. I think next time, I might try adding some herbs to it.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast
2 tsp. sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl mix the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes - foam should form on the top.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball and knead for 5 minutes. (I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook)

Cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. To make them smooth and pretty, roll each half of dough into rectangle and roll up lengthwise. Pinch the edges to seal and place on lightly greased cookie sheet (or silpat) with seam down. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a very sharp knife (I like to use a serrated blade) gently make a slash down the length of each baguette. This will give it that authentic look. Pour water in a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Half way through, brush the bread with melted butter.