Ultimate Chicken Strips

Ok, so this isn't the best picture of these chicken strips, but time was short and my family was hungry!  Trust me that these will get devoured in no time!  It's a pretty easy Betty Crocker recipe that my friend gave me a few weeks back.  She said her kids loved them and I can definitely see why.  I doubled the recipe to fit our family, but honestly I should have tripled it.  Kinda thought we'd have leftovers so I could pack them in the kids lunches, but that didn't happen!
Oh, and another plus is that these strips are baked, not fried.  I made my sweet potato fries and some sugar snap peas to go along side.
Enjoy!

Chicken Strips {Recipe by Betty Crocker }


INGREDIENTS: {This is the doubled recipe, serves 5}

• 1 1/3 Cup Bisquick Mix {I used Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake Mix}
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 Tbsp. butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Spray the foil with non-stick spray.

Mix biscuit mix, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and paprika in a large ziploc bag.  Dip about 4 chicken strips into the beaten egg then drop into ziploc bag.  Shake until coated well and place on baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining chicken strips.  Once all strips are placed on baking sheet, drizzle them all over with the melted butter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning half way through {about 7-10 minutes} with a spatula.  

Waikiki Meatballs

I can't remember the last time I sat down at my computer to type out a recipe, but I'm thinking it's been a while.  Life has been busy but good!  With baseball season officially in full swing, both my boys {and their daddy} will be spending many afternoons out at the ball field with practices, and once games begin, us girls will be out there rooting them on!  Which means my nightly meals are going to need to be strategically planned.  

This is a meal that I've made many of times and it's also another one of my childhood meals.  I don't know where my mom got this recipe, but it's a good one!  This has always been winner with my kids and my husband.  

*Do ahead tip*  Shape the meatballs up and put them in the refrigerator until ready to cook.  You could also make up the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and put in refrigerator until you need it.  

Serve these meatballs over rice and just add a vegetable to round out the meal.  

Waikiki Meatballs {serves 6}

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey {the original recipe calls for ground beef, but I like the turkey}
• 2/3 cup cracker crumbs {I use saltine crackers}
• 1/3 cup dried minced onion
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 cup milk

Sauce ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 can {13 1/2 oz.} pineapple tidbits, reserve juice
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

  Mix ground turkey and next six ingredients until thoroughly combined and shape the mixture by tablespoon-full into balls.  Place a small amount of canola oil {don't use olive oil, it will burn} in a large pan set over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs on all sides.  Be sure meatballs have cooked most of the way through {about 10 minutes total}.  They will cook some more once they go back in the pan.  Set meatballs aside on a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm.

For the sauce, mix the cornstarch and sugar.  Stir in reserved pineapple juice, vinegar, and soy sauce until smooth.  Pour the sauce into the warm skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens and boils.  Boil for 1 minute.  Add meatballs and pineapple chunks.  Heat for another 5 minutes.  Serve over steamed rice.  

Chicken Pot Pie

This to me is the ultimate in comfort food.  My mom used to make chicken pot pie and we would scarf that thing down in no time!  I've kind of changed things up a bit from her recipe, but it still reminds me of dinner-time when I was a little girl.
I only use a top crust on my pot pie, mostly because my husband isn't a crust guy, and also it's easier to just roll out one crust instead of two!  I've also swapped in fresh vegetables instead of frozen.  Every now and then I'll make it with frozen veggies, but I try to buy fresh when I can.
If you don't want to buy fresh vegetables, look for the package of frozen veggies you like best, a 10 oz. package will work.

CHICKEN POT PIE


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 half chicken breasts, bone in
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fresh corn, cut off cob
• 1 cup red potatoes {find the tiny ones and cut in half}
• 2 carrots, cut into large dice
• 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped finely {or 1/8 tsp. dried thyme}
• 2 tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

*Pie Crust recipe below, or use refrigerated pie dough {works great}

DIRECTIONS:

  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken in a roasting pan, drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven uncovered for 50 minutes, then cover with foil, turn oven off, and let sit in oven for about 30 minutes to an hour.  This will make your chicken nice and tender.  Remove chicken from roasting pan and cut into chunks or shred; discard bones.  Set chicken aside.

In a medium stock pot, heat butter.  Add cut potatoes and carrots.  Saute for 5-7 minutes.  Add corn and green beans.  Saute for another 7-10 minutes, or until veggies are tender.  Add flour and stir.  Once vegetables are coated with flour, pour in chicken broth and milk, and stir.  Heat to medium-high and bring to slight boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer. Add thyme, salt, and pepper.  Stir until thickened, about 5 minutes.  

Remove from heat and stir in chicken.  

To make pie crust:

Combine 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Cut 1/3 cup cold butter into small chunks.  Add butter to flour mixture and, using your hands, crumble the butter into the flour until the butter turns into tiny pea-sized balls.  Slowly add 3 Tbsp. ICE COLD water.  If the dough seems way too crumbly, add another 1 Tbsp. of water.  Bring the dough together with your hands and turn onto a floured surface.  Lightly turn the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.  Roll dough on floured surface to about a 9-inch circle.

To assemble Pot Pie:
Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease a 9-inch pie dish.  Pour chicken mixture into pie dish and top with pie dough.  Fold the overhanging dough under the edges to make a nice thick crust.  Cut a couple slits in the middle of the pie to let steam escape.  If you would like you can brush the top of the pot pie with a little egg wash {1 egg yolk beaten with a little water}.  This will give it a nice golden top.
Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.  If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cover them with some foil. 

Saturday Morning Biscuits

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day.  I love the smell of bacon cooking, coffee brewing, and toast in the toaster.  This isn't always a reality in our home, but I do love it when we have a Saturday morning that I can get up and cook a big breakfast for my family.  Actually, what I really love is going out to breakfast, but cooking at home is usually a cheaper option!
This morning I decided on biscuits.  My son adores a good biscuit and he is always asking me to make them.  This recipe came from my tried and true cookbook JOY OF COOKING.  It's an easy recipe and produces a nice fluffy biscuit...absolutely delicious with some raspberry jam!  The one thing I liked about this recipe is that you don't need buttermilk, which I rarely have.  Be sure to handle the dough carefully, not pressing down hard when you roll it out.  Also, when using a biscuit cutter, be sure not to twist the cutter.  Just make one cut nice firm cut without twisting.

Rolled Biscuits {makes 10 biscuits}


INGREDIENTS:

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small chunks
• 3/4 cup milk
• melted butter to brush on biscuits before and after the bake

DIRECTIONS: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Be sure to sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.  This really is a necessary step to be sure all of those ingredients are incorporated well.  Cut in the butter, using a pastry blender or your hands, until the size of small peas.  Make a well in the center and pour in all of the milk.  Stir just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board.  Knead GENTLY and quickly, about 8 to 10 times.  Roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin, to between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  *I rolled mine to to 1/2 inch thick just to be sure I was going to get a nice tall biscuit.  Cut with a 2-3 inch biscuit cutter and place with sides touching on an ungreased baking sheet.  Brush tops with melted butter.  Bake until lightly browned, 12-15 minutes.  Brush with remaining melted butter and serve warm!

**To re-roll scraps, just use your hand to gently pat out dough.  I was able to use up all of my scraps in order to get 10 biscuits.**

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

In trying to pull off dinner the other night, with very little to work with, I decided to stuff some baked potatoes.  Ever have one of those nights?  I do...very often!  Either I'm not in the mood to think of what to make or I just haven't been to the grocery store, so our options are limited.
Thankfully my sweet husband is NOT picky and he doesn't mind a good old sandwich or top ramen when I'm in a pinch.  Well, the baked potatoes actually worked really well and I'm not too sure why I haven't made them before.  I mean, stuffing a potato with cheese and broccoli and chicken...that's just one of the endless possibilities!  You could stuff any sort of combination of veggies to make a really great meal.  And honestly, it was a really satisfying meal!


Chicken, Broccoli, Cheddar Stuffed Potato {serves 2}


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large russet or baking potato
• olive oil
• coarse salt
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks {I used the breasts from a rotisserie chicken}
• 1 cup broccoli, cut into tiny pieces and quickly steamed
• salt and pepper 

DIRECTIONS:

To bake the potatoes, heat oven to 425 degrees.  Place potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with some olive oil.  Poke holes all around potatoes with a fork and then season with coarse salt.  Bake in oven for 1 hour or until soft.

Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut an oval circle on the top of each potato and scoop out the inside of the potatoes into a bowl.  Be sure to leave about 1/8-inch thickness around the potato so it doesn't break.  

Add the butter, sour cream, 1/4 cup cheese, cut up chicken, and broccoli to the bowl with the scooped out potato flesh.  Season with salt and pepper as desired and stir to combine.  With a spoon, scoop mixture back into potato shells.  Don't be afraid to mound those potatoes high.  

Put back in oven and bake for about 10 minutes more or until heated through.  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and serve.  

French Lemon Cream Tart...Yep it's amazing!!

Once again, the citrus is ruling my kitchen right now!  I'm trying to make the best use of the HUGE bag my mom gave me of lemons, limes, and oranges.  The kids are eating up the oranges like crazy, so that leaves lemons and limes of abundance!  

I've been eyeing this recipe for a few weeks now and figured I'd take the time to make it on Valentines Day.  The lemon cream filling is absolutely worth every minute spent stirring...trust me!  The shortbread-like crust looks very crumbly, but don't worry, with all of the butter in the crust, it comes together very nicely.  I especially liked the pat-in-the-pan style!  Next time I make this I may actually try a graham cracker crust.  Oh, and don't forget to make some whipped cream to go on top!  

THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY FRENCH LEMON CREAM TART

**Be sure to plan for refrigerating time of the cream and the dough**

Recipe adapted from Ezra Pound Cake  

Original recipe by Dori Greenspan "Baking: From My Home to Yours"

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup sugar
• grated zest of 3 lemons
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice {from 4-5 lemons}
• 2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons {10 1/2 ounces} unsalted butter, cut into Tbsp. size pieces, room temp.
• 1 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough, fully baked and cooled {recipe below}

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Have an instant read thermometer, a strainer, and a blender at hand.  Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler or a regular saucepan.

2.  Put the sugar and zest in the top of a double boiler OR a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water.  Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic.

3.  Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.  Set the bowl over the pan and whisk until the cream reaches 180 degrees F.  It will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks.  Getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.  {Mine stayed at 160 degrees for a while before it started climbing...be patient}

4.  Remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the blender; discard the zest in the strainer.  Check the temp of the cream again...you want it to be about 140 degrees.  

5.  Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time.  Keep the machine going for another 3 minutes.  The cream will be nice and thick at this point.

6.  Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  

7.  To assemble the tart, whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.

**Refrigerate the assembled tart if not serving right away***

SWEET TART DOUGH

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 stick, plus 1 Tbsp. {9 tablespoons} very cold {or frozen} unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Put the flour, confectioner's sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine {you can definitely do this by hand too}.  Add the butter and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in-you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size or peas.  Stir the yolk, and add it a little at a time, processing in long pulses, until the dough forms clumps.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients.  

2.  Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom {I didn't have one, so I used a 9-inch pie pan}.  Whatever works!  Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking.

3.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust.  Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes.  Carefully removed the foil.  {If the crust has puffed, press it down with the back of a spoon}.  bake for another 8-10 minutes, or longer, until it is firm and golden brown.  Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust completely before filling.  

Ingredients for the lemon cream...don't be afraid of the butter!

Look at my little worker bee

I LOVE my new juicer!!

baked tart shell...I didn't have a tart pan, so I used my pie pan

Oh, this cream is soooo incredibly good!  

Finished product...not too shabby

Fettuccine Alfredo

This pasta has got to be one of my favorites, although it's also one that I try to stay away from.  It's usually loaded with cream and butter...a full-fat kind of meal.  Sometimes though, nothing else will satisfy but a big bowl of creamy pasta!  I tried to tweak things a little to make it somewhat of a "lighter" version.  From start to finish, it's probably a 15 minute meal.

Fettuccine Alfredo {my version}


INGREDIENTS: {Serves 4}

• 1 lb. dried fettuccine noodles {I used linguine, because it's what I had on hand}
• 3/4 cup heavy cream {you could also use milk, it just won't be as thick}
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• fresh parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

  Bring water to boil in a large pot.  Add salt and noodles and cook according to package directions.  While noodles are cooking, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add cream and stir until sauce begins to thicken {about 3-5 minutes}.  You may need to lower heat so the sauce doesn't burn.  Add 1 cup of the parmigiano reggiano cheese and stir to incorporate.  Turn heat to low and add salt and pepper to taste.  

Once noodles are done, use tongs and lift noodles from the pot directly into the pan with the sauce.  The pasta water will actually help the sauce come together in the end, so don't worry about the noodles being too wet.  Stir noodles to combine and turn off heat.  Add lemon zest and the 1/2 cup of cheese.  Stir to combine.  Heap the pasta into a bowl and sprinkle with the fresh parsley.  Mange!

fresh cream, cheese, and butter

first the butter goes in...try not to burn it like I did!

Next the cream

Once the cream has thickened, add the cheese

This is when I start dipping the spoon in for a taste

Add the hot pasta straight from the pot