Monday, September 12, 2011

german potato salad>Publix Aprons

1 (24oz) bag Potato Inspirations Honey Gold potatoes, halved
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon pepper

*slice potatoes
*cut bacon into 1/4-inch pieces

1. Combine potatoes and water, microwave on high 7-8 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

2. Preheat large saute pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes. Place bacon in pan; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until crisp. Stir in sugar and vinegar. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low.

3. Stir potatoes into bacon and cover; cook and stir 4-5 minutes or until potatoes begin to break down slightly and sauce has thickened. Remove pan from heat; stir in pepper. Cover and let stand until ready to serve.
(Makes 6 servings)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

brocolli slaw>Paula Deen

1 pack of Oriental Ramen noodles
1pack of broccoli slaw
cranberries
almond slices (salad toppins)
olive oil & apple cider vinegar (lemon juice)
brown sugar
(mayo)

1. Put a nice of pat of butter in a saute pan and but in broken ramen noodles. Saute till golden brown. Set aside the packet of seasoning. Set aside to cool.

2. Put broccoli slaw, cranberries, noodles, and almond slices in bowl. (Instead of using almond slices, I use the salad toppins, they are cheaper and I like their crunch)

3.Mix 3/4 cup oil & Apple cider. Add brown sugar and oriental seasonings from soup. (Instead of using the vinegar I use lemon juice, once everything is stirred real good I add a tablespoon or so mayo. I find it makes the dressing cling to the salad better.)

Set aside in fridge till your serving.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

French Toast with fresh berries and Mascarpone cream>Delicious Disney

I made this for my husband and God-daughters. It was a hit. This recipe is mainly about the cream and it was so wonderful. I do plan on making this recipe again and again.

Serves 8
6 whole eggs
4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 pieces of thick-cut white bread or sourdough
  Cream ingredients:
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup fresh strawberries, hulled & halved
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.

2. Evenly coat bread, absorbing all the mixture.  (I used regular bread and found if I let it set, it would literally fall apart)

3. On a nonstick griddle, grill bread about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Keep warm in oven and cook in batches.

4. In a bowl, combine mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, and cream to the consistency of melted ice cream. Adjust with a few extra tablespoons of heavy cream if needed.

5. Cut French toast pieces diagonally; top with strawberries and blueberries., then drizzle with mascarpone cream. Sprinkle with orange zest and serve immediately.

Cooks note: You can serve with traditional maple syrup, but its not necessary-the mascarpone cream and fresh berries add sweetness.

I honestly have nothing else to add. This dish was so good.

Monday, August 15, 2011

hamburger mess

This one is extremely easy!! And its one of my one creation. I love one pot meals. So easy on the clean up!
1-2 lbs of ground beef (I use ground turkey for healthy reasons, also the amount depends on how many your serving.

1 box of rice-a-roni (I like rice pilaf, but beef is great for this also, again the amount of boxes depends on how many people are eating.)

1 bag of broccoli (florets or cuts, whichever you prefer)

season and brown the meat then drain.
In same pot start the rice. Once its browned and you put the water and seasonings in, give it a few minutes then throw the beef in. Let it cook the rice this way until almost done. When its within a few minutes of being done add the broccoli. Put the lid back on so the steam from the cooking rice will cook the broccoli. Once its all done, stir and serve.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

More hints for the homemaker>Betty Crocker

I find I try already to do some of the following. It does tend to cut out some of the chaos.

Plan Ahead
Write menus for a week's meals at a time. Shop for staples once a week, fresh fruits and vegetables twice weekly.

When cooking, assemble all ingredients and utensils before beginning to prepare the dish.
(This one, I am still working on, I keep forgetting to do this and then I ALWAYS forget something)

If you have a freezer, make several cakes, pies, cookies, main dishes or sandwiches at a time and freeze some for future use.

ORGANIZE WORK
Have a weekly plan for scheduling such tasks as washing, ironing, baking, shopping, cleaning the refrigerator or washing floors. One task done each day provides a sense of accomplishment and keeps work from piling up.

Alternate sitting-down tasks and standing-up tasks. Don't be on your feet too long.

Let the family help you. Very young children can set the table; older ones help cook and wash the dishes. Include them in party plans.

I hope these hints help you in anyway they can.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Savory Lemon Chicken>/Campbell soup

Vegetable cooking spray
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Condensed 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
2 Tblspn water
1 tbsp chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup chopped red or green pepper
4 lemon slices

1. Spray 10" nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat 1 minute. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet.

2.Stir soup, water, parsley, lemon juice, paprika and pepper in skillet and heat to a boil. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Top chicken with lemon juice.

Now I had a table full of people and not a lot of chicken to go around, so I chopped the chicken into small pieces and the dish was able to be spread farther. And it was very good, however I would have added more lemon, because I love the lemon taste.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

oven-fried chicken >Betty Crocker

1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup butter
1 cut-up frying chicken

(I just used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

Heat oven 425. Mix flour, salt, pepper and paprika in baggie. Put butter in oblong pan, 13x91/2x2" and set in oven to melt. Shake 3 or 4 pieces of chicken at at time in bag to coat thoroughly. Place chicken, skin-side-down, in single layer in hot butter. Bake 30 min. Turn skin-side-up and bake another 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Since I used boneless, skinless chick breasts, I put them in for 15 minutes, turned them over and cooked them for the last 15 minutes.
They came out rather moist and with a fried taste without out the mess. If you like a thicker crust I would toss them in the flour and  roll them in an egg/milk mix and toss them in the flour again. I have not tried that yet, but I will and I will give the results.