Chicken Parmesan

We had last minute company on Sunday and this is what I came up with:
Simple, quick, easy, spur of the moment Chicken Parmesan:
6  frozen chicken breast in a 9x13 baking dish
! bottle Prego
Bake until the chicken is tender on 325 (about 1 hour)
When the Chicken is cooked top with::
2 TBSP grated Mozzarella cheese
2 TSP grated Parmesan cheese
And melt the cheese
 Serve over Rice
We also had mixed vegetables (corn, peas and carrots, and chopped broccoli) 

Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup potatoes diced to squares 2x as big as your sliced carrots
½ cup sliced onion (or ¼ cup dehydrated onion)
¼ cup sliced celery
¼ cup butter
2 cups cooked chicken, (toss with 1 Tbsp flour for thickening)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 cup canned green beans
1 box Pillsbury pie crust (you need 2 layers, bottom and top)

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery in butter and broth till tender. Stir in chicken, soup, and greens. Spray pie pan and put in a double pie crust. Bake at 350^o for 45 min.

I like to take a square of foil, fold into quarters and cut a corner off so there’s a hole in the center, then put over the pie so the crust doesn’t burn!!

But You Haven't Had MY Meat Loaf

2 eggs, beaten

¾ cup milk

2/3 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 Tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt

Pinch of oregano, basil, and/or sage

Pinch of pepper

2 lbs ground beef

Glaze: 1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp mustard

Combine ingredients together(I used my hands to mush it all ) Then put in a bread loaf pan and bake @ 350^o for 1 to 1¼ hour. Take out and put mixed glaze on top then bake for 10 more minutes. Let Stand for 10 minutes before eating

MeatBalls

1 egg
3/4 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt
a dash of pepper
a dash of oregano
1 lb. ground beef

Shape into 24 meatballs and bake on cookie sheet for 15 -20 minutes at 350.

I make a double batch, put 20 in a Ziploc bag and freeze! Goes great with a bottle of Prego over Spaghetti or with Mr. Yoshida's over Rice!

Nanaimo Bars

I got this recipe from my roommate from Victoria, BC my freshman year of college!

Crust Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup butter .......Melt complete in a medium saucepan
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar ........add to melted butter and stir til smooth
1 large egg ................{whisk at room temp. by itself first} add slowly to saucepan over
. ................................................low heat while whisking constantly until smooth/thick consistency
1 tsp. vanilla ............add to chocolate sauce
2 c. crushed graham crackers
1 c. coconut.................add chocolate to these last ingredients and mix
**Put in 9 inch square pan and chill for 1 hour!!


Butter Cream Center Layer:
4 TBSP butter ...............................................beat (kitchenaid, hand mixer, etc) at room temp til creamy
2 TBSP vanilla pudding powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar.................................add to butter and mix until consistent
2-4 TBSP Milk .................................................start with 2, add more if needed and mix until thick
............................................................................................but creamy {needs to be spreadable}
**Spread over refrigerated crust and refrigerate for 1 hour


Chocolate Top Layer:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips .......NOT milk chocolate
1 TBSP butter.......................................................... melt chips and butter in double boiler and spread
................................................................................................... over refrigerated butter cream
**Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes (if it's too long, when you slice them the chocolate will crack/break, if that's the case, let it sit out for 5 minutes until they can be sliced easily. Put on plate and refrigerate until you need to serve them. ***They're quite rich so slices should be small!! Here's a video if you want to see the steps.

Dragonfire Chicken

Don't let the name of this recipe fool you--I am a total wuss about spicy food and I really love this recipe. If you wanted to make it hotter, you could leave the seeds in the jalapenos; however, I don't want hot, so I remove every little bitty seed. It's delicious and a great way to use some of those wonderful summer fruits!

Marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 Tablespoon diced onion

3/4 teaspoon salt

Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a blender on high speed for 1 minute.

Then, grab a gallon Ziploc bag or you could use a Tupperware or some such container. Place the marinade in your chosen bag/container and add three large chicken breasts which you have pounded flat with a mallet. Allow these to marinate for at least 2-3 hours (I always do more because I do the marinade in the morning and the rest later.)

Pineapple Pico de Gallo:

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup canned sliced pineapple--I prefer the flavor of fresh

1/2 cup diced red onion

2 Tablespoons minced cilantro

4 teaspoons minced jalapeno

2 Tablespoons lime juice (or a little more)

1/8 teaspoon salt (I eyeball it)

Make the pineapple pico de gallo by combining all ingredients. Remember, this is a pico and you want to try and get a little bit of every flavor in each bite, so you will be chopping/dicing tiny, tiny, tiny! Store the pico in your fridge till you're ready to use it. As a side note--if you double the recipe, you could serve it with chips too. I like to chop up the rest of the pineapple and use it as a side dish with the chicken.

Kung Pow Sauce:

1/4 cup water

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon chili sauce

1 Tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

Make the Kung Pow sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium to medium high heat. When the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or however long it takes to thicken it a bit. Remember, it will thicken a bit on its own after you turn off the heat.

When the chicken is done marinating, preheat BBQ grill to medium heat (I used my George Foreman type grill to keep it all inside and easy). Slice your chicken breasts if you prefer--I do. Place the chicken on the grill for 5-6 minutes per side or about 6-7 minutes total on an indoor grill. Serve chicken drizzled with Kung Pow sauce and Pico de Gallo topping. Delicious!!!

Cooking bacon in the oven

Time Required: 20 minutes

1. Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
2. Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F.
3. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done.
4. Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat.

TIPS:

1. Don't pre-heat the oven! Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
2. Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. Also, remove the cooked bacon from the hot pan right away. The heat from the pan and the hot bacon fat will continue cooking the bacon.

Kimberly's Fruit Dip

1whole Cream Cheese {thawed}
1 large bottle of Marshmallow Cream

Stir together and serve, Voila!
This is so easy and so yummy!

Good Water

Good Water
5 quarts water
3 C sugar
1 Tbsp lemon extract
1 Tbsp citric acid
3 sliced lemons
1/2 pkg of ice
Mix ingredients together in a large container. Serves 30
You can get citric acid at the health food store.
Once you serve it, you will get lots of requests!

Baked Spaghetti

1 Tbsp. Oil
1 lb. Ground beef
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans tomato soup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Thyme leaf
6 ounce tomato paste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
2 can sizes of water
1 minced garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. basil leaf
3/4 lb Spaghetti Noodles
Make Pasta accordingly.
While pasta is boiling, mix together oil, onion, thyme, Italian seasoning, garlic clove, and basil leaf in small bowl. Microwave for one minute. Set aside.
Brown ground beef, drain.
Add mixture.
Stir in soup, paste, water, salt, pepper, bay leaf and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Cook on low for 15 minutes. Add pasta.
Put in 8x10 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.