Honey Glazed Chicken

I wanted to try something new but really just happened on this one. We tried it tonight and before I could finish saying "let me know if it's a keeper", 3 kids said "IT'S A KEEPER!". Later, after supper, I found two people gathered around picking at the leftovers! I made a few changes from the original recipe. Here is exactly what I made. 

 Ingredients 

 4 teaspoons onion powder 

4 teaspoons chili powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

 1 teaspoon garlic salt 

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

2 teaspoons paprika 

Sprinkle (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) Slap Your Mama or other Creole-type seasoning 

10 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or thighs 

Cooking spray 

 6 tablespoons honey 

 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 

 Preparation: 

 Preheat broiler. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush half of honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Tomato Soup

I have no idea where I found this recipe! I first made it for my Dad, who was on a strict diet. The original version was vegan. I have updated it here. My while family loves this, including my husband who doesn't care for either soup or tomatoes! We serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches, of course!

TOMATO SOUP

1 large onion
2 ribs celery
2 T olive oil
2 large cans tomatoes (whole or diced for chunky soup; pureed for smooth, of course it doesn't matter if you're going to blend it anyway)
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
6 WHOLE cloves garlic
1 tablespoon minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Cream or milk, if desired, for serving

Sauté the onion and celery in the olive oil in a large saucepan. When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes, broth, oregano, rosemary, garlic and cayenne. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Transfer half of the soup to the blender, and puree until fairly smooth. If you'd like a chunky soup, add the blended half back to the pot. For a smoother soup, blend the rest of the soup and return it to the pot. (I used an immersion blender and pureed the whole thing right there in the pot).

Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste the soup, and if it is too acidic, add a little agave nectar or sugar, just enough to take the edge off. Ladle into bowls, and stir a little cream or milk into each.

This recipe served 7 people along with grilled cheese sandwiches, with seconds and enough soup leftover for lunch tomorrow. If there's any left over, it freezes well. YUM!!

Italian Chicken

I created this on the fly tonight, and it was very highly rated by all tasters.

Disclaimer: a similar (or even exact) recipe may well exist somewhere; I have not seen it.

ITALIAN CHICKEN

Enough pieces of chicken to feed your family (I used legs and thighs. 10 total)
1/2 cup bottled Italian salad dressing
1 can artichoke hearts, undrained
Grated Parmesan cheese

Skin the chicken. If you skip this step, the sauce will be way too greasy to enjoy.

Put pieces in a baking pan. pour artichoke hearts, including liquid, into the pan and spread them out so everything is level. Pour dressing evenly over all. Sprinkle with cheese.

You will not need any extra salt for this, because of the dressing and cheese. I did not add any extra seasoning at all but you could add what you like.

Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more until brown. I turned the broiler on low and it made the cheese delightfully crispy.

Everyone loved it and the younger boys had seconds!

Mom's Cranberry Pudding

Last night I had a craving and even though it was getting late, and I knew it wouldn't be ready until almost midnight, I had to make this!

Mom may well have made this more often, but in my memory it's always just once or twice a year. After Christmas, and if I recall ALWAYS on the first night she made the turkey soup.

She would double the sauce recipe because that's the best part. I recall that Kurt and I would argue over who got to scrape out the pan with a spoon.

This is Mom's recipe exactly as I wrote it out a few years ago. See notes after the recipe.

Cranberry Pudding

PUDDING:

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup fresh cranberries, rinsed and sorted

SAUCE:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine pudding ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased metal bowl or mold, covered, in a large pot of water with a ball of foil crumpled under the mold. Keep the water on a simmer and KEEP THE POT COVERED!

Sauce: Mix ingredients. Boil and stir for 5 minutes. Serve over warm or cold pudding. Keep in refrigerator and warm it up to serve later as it will get very thick.


NOTES: One hour is never enough. I looked online and most recipes say 1.5 hours and one recipe said THREE hours! I did an extra 20 min last night and I think 1/5 hours would be perfect.

I use a metal bowl and cover it with foil. I think Mom put wax paper under the foil and then closed the foil on top. That should keep any steam from getting inside.

Fluffy Lemon Buttercream Frosting

John's favorite birthday cake is an orange cake, with lemon frosting. I always used canned frosting but am trying to go with making my own now (I do still use cake mix!). So I searched for a recipe and this one is awesome! I can't remember where I got it to give credit, and anyway I tweaked it quite a bit (the original was too thin and didn't make enough).

It still doesn't make as much as I would like for a double layer cake. Next time, I would like to use something like lemon curd for the filling, or increase the amount of frosting by about half. For now I am too lazy to do the math so just know that this makes enough for a double layer cake and filling - just not overly generous thickness!

INGREDIENTS:

4-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest, chopped fine
2 T lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix the butter, lemon zest and vanilla together. Blend well.

Add milk and blend well.

Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.

Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed.

Stir in the lemon juice.

Frosts a 13x9 sheet cake generously, or a 2 layer cake/filling not as thick.

I hope you enjoy! We thought it was absolutely delicious!

Chocolate Mousse Bars

My daughter's Girl Scout troop made their own cookbooks a few weeks ago. They were told to each bring a recipe to share with everyone the following week. So she went home and went searching for a recipe online! I have no idea what search terms she used but she came up with this one - and it was a keeper!

Here she is with her cookbook.

Chocolate Mousse Bars

1 - 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided

4 eggs

1 pkg (3.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding

1-1/2 cups whipped cream, slightly sweetened (or use Cool Whip)

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 F.

Spray a 9 inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Melt 1 cup chocolate chips: in microwave safe bowl, heat on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Then heat for 15 seconds at a time until melted and smooth, stirring in between.

Mix into melted chips: sugar, flour, 1/4 condensed milk and 4 eggs, until well blended. Pour into the prepared 9 inch square pan.

Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (do not overbake!). Cool completely.

Beat dry pudding mix and remaining condensed milk with whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in whipped cream. Spread over cooled bars.

Melt remaining chocolate chips (careful not to burn!) Drizzle over pudding layer.

Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Yum!

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Fried Apples 'n Onions

This dish comes from a book in the Little House Series, "Farmer Boy". It was one of Almanzo Wilder's favorite dishes. I've made it several times over the years (since Evan was into the Little House series at the age of 8) and each time I make it, I wonder why I don't make it more often! I'm not sure the kids agree - they are not really into savory cooked fruit - but I love it. It's very homey and comforting.

Here is the original recipe:

Fried Apples’n'Onions

• 1/2 pound bacon or salt pork, sliced
• 6 yellow onions, sliced in large “C” pieces
• 6 tart apples, sliced, with skins on, in large half moon shaped pieces, or cored and sliced crosswise as circles
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar (optional)

1. Fry bacon or salt pork slices in a skillet until brown and crisp. Set them aside.
2. Drain all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet, and add the onion slices. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes and then cover with layers of the apple slices. Sprinkle with the brown sugar (if using). Cover the skillet and cook until tender for a few more minutes. Move to the plate with the bacon or pork and serve together.

I adapted it slightly (of course!) and never get out the recipe to make it so it's probably a bit different every time. First of all, the above recipe makes way too much for us. Last night I used one large sweet onion and two medium apples (whatever kind I happened to have). I use 1 T olive oil instead of bacon fat, and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of bacon bits in while it's cooking. This is more a simplicity issue than a health one. We always cook more bacon than we need and freeze the leftovers so we have homemade bacon bits when we need them. I also don't think it needs an as much bacon as called for, unless you're serving as a breakfast main dish. I put just enough for some nice bacony flavored goodness. I never add the sugar, but the apples I have sitting around are usually the sweeter apples we keep around for snacks. Taste it and see if you think it needs any; it will depend on what kind of apples you use.

This adaptation made enough for 3 generous adult servings or 6 smaller ones.

This dish is wonderful with pork of any kind. I think next time I make it I will smother pork chops with it and bake, covered. It's also wonderful over rice or mashed potatoes. Yum!