Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 8 slices rye bread
• 4 quarter-inch slices of fresh mozzarella
• 3 plum tomatoes, cut into thick slices
• 1 cup fresh basil pesto (recipe follows... or use store bought stuff)
• fresh ground black pepper

(basil pesto)

• 1/2 cup pine nuts (we've used sunflower seeds as a substitute :)
• 2 C fresh basil leaves (we put the stem in too)
• 1 C fresh italian parsley
• 1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese 
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 t salt
• up to 1/2 C EVOO

Directions for pesto

1. toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes.  combine pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined but still a bit rough-textured
2. Use either a panini press or skillet on medium heat...
3. assemble the sandwiches by smearing the insides of the bread slices with pesto, arrange a layer of sliced tomato an season with a few turns of fresh pepper.  layer the mozzarella slices over the top and then place the other slice of bread on top.  if not using a panini press, use something to form a "press" over the sandwiches.  turn after 2-3 minutes.  they are done when golden brown and the cheese has melted around the edges.

Review

uhm, SOOOOOO delicious!  and the pesto can be used for all sorts of dishes! the possibilities are endless :)

Acknowledgement

this came from www.anediblesymphony.blogspot.com

ritzy chicken

This is a delicious favorite of ours that was introduced by my good friend wendy barlow! (thanks wendy!!!!)

i apologize for no picture but we'll get one up soon... OR if you make it and want to send me your picture I can post it too!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts (I cut them up into kid-friendly sized pieces... also helps them cook faster)
• 20 crushed Ritz crackers (generic works fine too)
• 1 T dried parsley
• 1/8 t pepper
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t garlic powder

1. preheat the oven to 350.
2. Melt the butter an pour just a little to cover the 9 X 13 dish, the rest will be used to coat the chicken.  
3. combine all the other dry ingredients in another bowl.  
4. roll the chicken in butter, then in the dry ingredients.
5. place in the baking dish and sprinkle any remaining crumbs and butter on top.  bake for30 minutes or until chicken is done.

serve with chicken rice, salad, favorite veggie ect....

Review

seriously one of our FAVORITES and definitely good as a leftover too! EVERY family member enjoys this meal!

Acknowledgment

as i mentioned above we learned this recipe from one of my favorite friends, (she's an awesome cook and mom too...) wendy. 

French Toast and homemade syrups

French toast is soooo yummy. Especially when made with homemade bread! in fact we will NEVER go back to french toast any other way!

• Bread
• eggs
• milk

So to make french toast, it's not really tricky. get your loaves of bread and cut them up, then in a bowl of some sort combine eggs and a dash of milk, i usually use 1 egg per 2-3 slices of bread.

pre-heat your griddle or pan (i love using my griddle:)

Dip slices of bread in your egg/milk mixture and cook on each side till done/crisp/toasted (hence the name french TOAST)

top with whatever you want, powdered sugar, fruit, whipped cream, or syrups!

which brings us to our next part, homemade syrups!!!!

I have 3 for you, Maple, Cinnamon, and Buttermilk. (not for the non-sugar dieters or calorie watchers :)

First: Maple

• 1 lb of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 C water
• 2/3 C light Karo syrup
• 2 t maple flavoring

1. Combine all ingredients and heat until dissolved.  Keep leftovers in a jar in the fridge.  If it crystallizes just heat gently to dissolve the sugar when next used.

Cinnamon

• 2 C white sugar 
• 1 C water
• 1 t vanilla
• some good shakes of cinnamon (i prefer my saigon cinnamon)

1. Combine all ingredients in a pan on the stove, stir well and then don't touch till it starts to bubble up to the ridge of the pan. quickly remove and let cool and enjoy!

Buttermilk

• 1 Stick butter
• 1 C white sugar
• 1/2 C buttermilk (or milk with vinegar or lemon juice mixture) (we also have just substituted plain greek yogurt and it works out fabulously!!!)
• 1 t Karo syrup (I've substituted agave nectar for the syrup and LOVED the results!)
• 1/2 t soda
• 1 t vanilla

1. bring everything to a roiling boil EXCEPT the vanilla for about 5 minutes.  Take of heat and add vanilla.

REVIEW: OHMYGOODNESS we just love these.  the buttermilk is best in my opinion over german pancakes, but they are all just delicious. 

Acknowledgements: the cinnamon recipe is one i learned growing up from my friend, Natalie Morris and her family.  The Buttermilk is from my friend, Wendy Barlow, and the maple syrup is from the Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook (can be found at walmart... pretty good book overall :)

Strawberry Lime Riviera Bars

• 1 1/4 C finely crushed pretzels (i used a little more than 1 1/2 C)
• 6 T butter melted
• 1 (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk OR (1/2 C HOT water, 1 C sugar, 1 C dry powdered milk, 1 T butter mixed thoroughly in a blender)
• 1 C pureed strawberries
• 1/2 C lime juice
• 1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed

1. mix crushed pretzels and butter in a 9X13 inch pan
2. press firmly into bottom of pan (refrigerate until ready to use)
3. in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients EXCEPT whipped topping and mix well
4. gently stir in whipped topping and pour mixture evenly over crust.
5. place in freezer (doesn't have to be covered) for at least 6 hours.
6. let stand at room temp about 20 minutes before serving
7. store leftovers in freezer.

REVIEW

Kids loved this, as did brad... i liked the combination of the sweet with the salty of the pretzels... but still not considering this one of my absolute favorites... a good one for a potluck or taking a family a meal though.

Acknowledgement

Another Food Storage recipe from Crystal Godfrey's I Can't Believe It's Food Storage.

Oven "Fried" Chicken

(after looking at the picture, i realized this was a pretty starchy dinner! oops)

Oven "fried" Chicken

• 1 lb chicken breasts cut into pieces (the recipe calls for 3-4 pounds of chicken pieces, but i'm assuming those are with bone and such, i had boneless c.b. so that's what i used:)
• 1 large egg (or 2 T dry egg powder and 1/4 C water)
• 2 T milk (or 1 t dry powdered milk and 2 T water)
• potato FLAKES for coating
• 1/4 C (1/2 stick of butter)

1. preheat oven to 425 F
2. mix egg and milk together
3. spread 2 T of butter on a pan or casserole dish with at least a 1 inch lip.
4. dip chicken in mixture then dredge in potato flakes and place in pan.
5. bake for 25 minutes, flip chicken then bake 20-25 more minutes. (this is for bone in, about 15-20 per side for boneless skinless chicken breasts)
6. sprinkle with salt and pepper as the pan comes out of the oven. 
7. serves 4-6

Potatos (i never measure stuff for my potatoes.... sorry)

• about 2 pounds of red potatoes cut into small bite size pieces
• EVOO
• salt and pepper
• your choice of seasoning... we really enjoy rosemary.

1. mix evoo and spices together
2. toss over potatos
3. cook at 425 for about an hour, till soft, tender, and crispy on top :) (hint on potatoes, you can shorten your cooking time by "steaming" the potatoes in the microwave for a little while to "pre-cook" the taters... unfortunately ours died tonight while making the corn :( 

Bread

this is the same bread recipe used here

REVIEW

This got  TWO thumbs up from everyone at the table, EVEN my picky eater... (he's behind the flowers) everyone's plates were completely clean when we finished.  This has kind of a chick filet texture to it.  I think i may try doing little nugget sized chicken pieces next time. :) Brad even said this a DEFINITE repeat! (yeah for food storage :)

Acknowledgements:

The bread and chicken reicpes come from Crystal Godfrey from her website www.everydayfoodstorage.net, and her book, I Can't Believe It's Food Storage. The potato recipe is another noel original (hehe it rhymes :)

Angel Food Cake and Custard

This is our absolute FAVORITE! we can't even eat the store bought stuff anymore!

Angel Food Cake

• 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 ½ c egg whites (about 12 eggs)
• 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Oven @ 375
2. Beat eggs and cream of tartar at high speed until foamy.
3. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, scraping bowl often.
4. Add salt, almond extract and vanilla.
5. Mix flour and powdered sugar and add to the mixture.
6. Fold until flour mixture disappears.
7. Put into pan.
8. Cut through with metal spatula.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
10. Cool by placing upside down on top of a bottle with the bottle nose at the center of the back pan. Cool for 1 ½ hours. (we have a new angel food cake pan and it has little things on the outside of the pan so it just flips over to cool and then you pop out the center)

Custard for Angel food cake  (this is a single batch... I usually triple it since i have 12 egg yolks anyways)

• 1 ½ cup whipping cream
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Bring cream to a boil and remove from heat.
2. In a separte bowl mix sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and egg yolks.
3. Gradually add cream.
4. Cook over medium heat until custard can coat the back of a metal spoon (probably about 3-4 minutes)
5.  Can be served over berries as well.

REVIEWS

A classic that just can't be outdone! this is light and fluffy, and just plain delish! bet you can't stop at just one bite!

Acknowledgement

This came from my mother in law... she KNOWS yummy desserts!

Black Bean Chicken Nachos

(Good news is we have BOTH a camera AND a chord now... i'll update the posts with pictures as we make the meals again, bad news... i haven't taken any pictures lately) 

• 1 bag of tortilla chips
• 2-3 chicken breasts frozen or thawed sliced/cut into bite size pieces
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil... or whatever you like to add to your pan to cook up your chicken)
• 1 can of black beans
• taco seasoning
• shredded Monterey jack cheddar cheese
• taco/nacho toppings that your family enjoys

1. pre-heat oven to 375
2. in a frying pan, add oil and warm for a few minutes.
3. add chicken to pan and sprinkle with some taco seasoning and cook till done
4. while chicken is cooking, line a big cookie sheet with foil and place a good layer of taco chips
5. in a bowl, mix cheese with more taco seasoning and sprinkle on top of chips... good and thick!
6. drain and rinse beans really well (once there are no bubbles when rinsed with water, all those fun gas bubbles will be no problem:)
7. sprinkle beans over cheese
8. once chicken is done, layer over the beans and add a little more cheese
9. put in the oven until cheese is melted... about 5-10 minutes.
10. to serve, put pan in middle of the table (careful for little fingers... it's still hot!) with choice of toppings and let everyone dish up on their plates! mmmm. soo good fresh out of the oven, AND easy clean up, just wrap up with the foil, and then pretty tasty as leftovers too! just unwrap and place back in the oven. :)

REVIEW

This is ALWAYS a big hit in our family, poor brad hadn't ever had them fresh out the oven till this last time, and despite that he still always enjoys them :)

Acknowledgment:

This is a genuine original from yours truly :)