Making Tuesday Tasty-Herbed Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic

Every one loves potatoes right? I love them and especially in something that is considered a comfort food. I love Gratin's, not the boxed nasty Gratin that some people are used to but, the real potato and flavored ones. Here is an excellent one from Food & Wine magazine's recipe box. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 heads of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 quart half-and-half
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
9 ounces aged Manchego cheese, coarsely shredded (2 cups)
5 ounces San Simón or smoked Gouda cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a 9-inch cake pan, drizzle the garlic with the oil. Cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes, until tender. Let cool, then squeeze out the cloves.
Mash the garlic to a paste and transfer to a saucepan. Add the half-and-half, thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil. Simmer over very low heat until reduced to 3 cups, 20 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Arrange one-fourth of the potatoes in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with one-fourth of the shredded cheeses and drizzle lightly with the garlic cream. Repeat the layering with the remaining potatoes, cheese and cream. Pour any remaining cream on top and press the top layer of potatoes to submerge it.

Bake the gratin for about 1 1/2 hours, until golden and bubbling. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

MAKE AHEAD The gratin can be prepared through Step 3; refrigerate overnight. Return to room temperature before baking.

Making Tuesday Tasty-Lemon Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 lemon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

*recipe courtesy of Ina Garten/Foodnetwork.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

It's Valentine's Day next week already, not that I'm the least bit prepared with my baby on the way :). I thought I'd post a sweet treat that is not only pretty easy to do but, scrumptious. Fun for kids too!

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 ounce milk chocolate, chopped
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped

Directions

Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the semisweet and milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50 percent power until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Whisk the melted butter, sour cream, eggs, vinegar, vanilla and food coloring in a bowl until combined. In another bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in four equal batches, whisking each batch completely before adding the next. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto the prepared baking sheets and smooth the tops with a damp finger. Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly pressed, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla seeds. Sandwich a heaping tablespoonful of filling between 2 cookies; repeat with the remaining cookies and filling. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

*recipe and photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Gooey Chocolate Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

*recipe and photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Parmesan Crusted Chicken w/Sides

I love Parmesan chicken! This is a quick and pretty easy recipe. Also, if you don't like or can't eat peppers you can omit them and just use the onions and garlic. This is also one of Rachael Ray's 30-minute meals so it's a quick dinner night!

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 pounds fingerling potatoes or red skin baby potatoes

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 Italian mild green pepper, cubanelle, seeded and thinly sliced

1 medium yellow skinned onion, thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, cracked away from skin

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Coarse salt and pepper

2 cups shredded Parmesan, available in tubs near deli -- make sure to get shredded cheese, not grated

4 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 plum Roma tomatoes or small, vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped

15 to 20 leaves fresh basil, pile leaves, roll then thinly slice -- chiffonade

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Cut fingerling potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on thickness of fingerlings -- thin, small fingerlings may also be left hole, larger potatoes should be quartered to speed cooking process. If you are using small red potatoes, halve or quarter them in the same way.

Cover a large cookie sheet with foil. Place potatoes on cookie sheet. Combine with peppers and onions, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Coat the potatoes, peppers and onions with extra-virgin olive oil just enough to coat vegetables in a thin layer, 2 to 3 tablespoons. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Place potatoes in the oven and roast 20 to 22 minutes, until potatoes are just tender and peppers and onions are crisp at edges. Toss mixture with tongs, turning the potatoes after 15 minutes. When the potatoes are cooked, transfer them to a serving dish and peel the foil off the cookie sheet and discard for super-quick clean up!

While potatoes cook, prepare chicken. Roll out a 2-foot piece of waxed paper or foil near the stove top. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat -- your pan must be very hot when the chicken is added. Pile the shredded cheese on the work surface created with the waxed paper or foil. Season your chicken breasts with black pepper but no salt; the cheese will add enough salt to the taste of the dish. Press the breasts firmly into the cheese. Coat both sides of breasts with as much cheese as possible. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet, 1 turn of the pan. Set breasts into the skillet and cook 7 minutes on each side, until cheese forms an even, golden casing around the tender chicken breasts.

While chicken cooks, combine chopped tomatoes with basil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste.

Drain off any excess oil from chicken as you remove it from the skillet. Top chicken with big spoonfuls of raw sauce and serve with potatoes, peppers and onions.

Making Tuesday Tasty-Chicken Cacciatore

Here's another healthy Ellie Krieger recipe. Super yummy and you can edit out those things that you don't like. I like the flavor of red bell pepper sometimes but, most of the time it doesn't agree with me. So, I would probably replace it with another veggie like summer squash or something like that.

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breast halves on the bone, about 2 pounds
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, chopped and juice reserved
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more, to taste

Directions

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a saute pan over moderately high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the onion and pepper, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and juice, oregano, red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and simmer the mixture covered for 10 minutes.

Return the chicken breasts to the pan and simmer, covered, until the chicken is just done, about 20 minutes longer.

*photo and recipe credit foodnetwork.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Coconut Cream Pie

One of my favorites!! Here is a simple version of this from Emeril Lagasse. I don't like meringue nearly as much as whipped cream so that's what I put on mine. I love cream pies and coconut cream pie is just delicious. I really like the flavor of toasted coconut so I like it as a garnish on top.

Ingredients

Sweet Pie Crust, recipe follows
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter
Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish, optional
Toasted coconut, for garnish, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare Basic Sweet Pie Crust as directed. Roll the dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Place dough in a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and crimping the edges as the dough is gently pressed into the pan. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake until golden brown around sides and edges, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment paper and return the crust to the oven and bake until bottom of crust is pale golden, about 5 minutes longer. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

In a nonstick 1-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 3/4 cups milk together. Bring the milk to boiling point and scald the milk. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining milk, egg yolks, and cornstarch together. Whisk until smooth. Temper the egg yolk mixture into the scalded milk. Bring the mixture up to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is thick, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the flaked coconut, vanilla and butter.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill the pie completely, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Spread the meringue evenly over the top of the pie. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/3 cup coconut. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool. Alternately, top with fresh sweetened whipped cream and more toasted coconut.

Basic Sweet Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

4 to 5 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening. Rub the fats between your fingertips and thumbs, or use a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. One tablespoon at a time, work in enough ice water just until the dough comes together, being careful not to over mix.

Shape into a smooth ball of dough, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 days.

Yield: enough dough for 1 single-crust pie

*photo and recipe courtesy of foodnetwork.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Grilled Asparagus w/Lemon and Garlic

My all time favorite vegetable, which is now in season, is asparagus. I know some people shudder at the thought of asparagus and I can only say to that, you don't know what you're missing! A major part in a great asparagus eating experience is, the right preparation. I personally like to toss mine in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic and roast until tender and a little crispy. I could and have polished off a bundle myself with that combination.

Here's a Paula Deen recipe that has a good take on bringing out the flavors of the asparagus! I would probably do without the lemon zest and go with a good squirt of lemon juice. If you like a stronger lemon flavor, lemon zest all the way!

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Trim asparagus. In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic, zest and paprika and stir with a fork. Lay asparagus side by side and pierce on 2 wooden skewers to form a raft. Place rafts on the grill and brush with oil mixture. Cook to desired tenderness and season with salt and pepper.

*photo courtesy of Foodnetwork.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Tomatillo Salsa Shredded Beef

2lb Chuck roast or other beef roast that you prefer

2/3 jar of your favorite tomatillo(green salsa). I used Herdez salsa verde(16 oz jar)

Season with garlic powder, onion powder, pinch black pepper

1 tbsp. of canola or olive oil

2 garlic cloves

This is a guesstimate but, wanted to put this down because it was tasty and ridiculously easy! I cut up a 2 lb. chuck roast into a few large chunks. I put a tablespoon of canola oil into the bottom of a large pan(deep enough to hold the roast and juice on stove top). I seasoned it with garlic powder, a pinch of black pepper, and onion powder. I would advise not to add your own salt as mine came out a tad salty adding some of my own in. I seared the meat in the pan on about medium high and turned the heat down to low when finished. I poured salsa over the top and two coarsely chopped garlic cloves in the pan. Slow cooked the roast on low for about 3 1/2 hours. You can do it to your liking. The meat was very soft and tender and had a wonderful bite from the tomatillo's.

Serve with tortilla's, rice, beans, whatever you like! Makes an excellent chimichanga, or taco filling too!

*photo courtesy of mexicanfood about.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yum! And no, it's not good for you at all, ha ha. I'm not big on bleu cheese so, I use the alternatives instead.

Ingredients

1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing or ranch salad dressing
2 cans (12.5 ounces each) Swanson® Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1/2 cup any flavor FRANK'S® RedHot® sauce
Assorted fresh vegetables or crackers

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350° F.
Stir the cream cheese in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with a fork or whisk until it's smooth.
Stir in the dressing, pepper sauce and blue cheese. Stir in the chicken.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.
Stir before serving.
Serve with the vegetables and crackers for dipping.

Recipe courtesy of Buffalochickendip.com

Making Tuesday Tasty-Iced Lemon Cookies

I made these over the Christmas holiday for my Father in law who likes lemon cookies. Let me tell you, they were hard to say goodbye to. If you're a lover of lemon and want a hint or a "zing" of lemon, you're in for a treat. These turned out lovely, soft, and had just enough lemon for my liking. The nice part is you can adapt this to make it even more lemony if you choose to.

*I didn't have Meyer lemons, so I used regular*

Preheat oven to 375°F

Dough
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon rind (about 3 lemons)

Icing
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated Meyer lemon rind (1 - 2 lemons)
1 cup powdered sugar

Since the dough chills for one hour, you can delay preheating the oven. Using a microplane grater, remove the zest from 4 Meyer lemons. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons for the dough.

Mix butter on high speed until fluffy and add sugar and egg. Continue mixing on medium speed and add vanilla and lemon rind. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients until blended. Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until blended, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Gather dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

While the dough is being chilled, juice the lemons you removed the zest from earlier. Add the remaining lemon rind to the juice and slowly mix in the powdered sugar. It's better to err on the side of too thick for the icing as runny icing won't form nice stripes. Preheat the oven at some point before the dough is done chilling.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into 1 1/4 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies with a glass or measuring cup. Coat the bottom of the glass or cup with sugar between flattening. Try to get the cookies around 1/4 inch in height. These cookies taste better crisp, and failing to flatten the cookies will result in too cake-like a cookie.

Bake 10 - 11 minutes until edges are golden brown. More crisp is better, so don't be over eager to remove them until they start to brown. Remove from oven and tranfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

Set a plastic bag in a glass and pour the icing mixture into the plastic bag. Snip the corner off the plastic bag and pipe stripes along the cooled cookie tops. Let the icing harden fully before transferring to storage container. Makes about 24 cookies.

*recipe and photo source is chocolategourmand.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Pumpkin roll

This is Libby's pumpkin roll recipe. It's really super yummy and I make it for my Mother in Law every holiday season! She loves it. I don't add the nuts and have tried it just cream cheese. It didn't really work. You need the butter to hold things together. Comes out really moist.

CAKE

•1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
•3/4 cup all-purpose flour
•1/2 teaspoon baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•3 large eggs
•1 cup granulated sugar
•2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
•1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

FILLING

•1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
•1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
•6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)
conversion calculator DirectionsFOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:
Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Libby's recipes

Making Tuesday Tasty-High Heat Turkey

It's November so I'm gonna start things out right! A classic Turkey prepared and cooked on high heat. Whenever I cook poultry on high heat it turns out succulent and delicious. As long as you cover it properly in the beginning, make sure there's water at bottom of the pan and, and let it rest, you're going to have one beautiful bird! Not to mention shaving off precious time in the cooking process.

Ingredients

16-18 lbs fresh whole turkey

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh black pepper, to taste

3 cups as needed chicken broth

Directions
1. Dry a 16 to 18 lb. turkey inside and out with paper towels.

2. Oil the turkey inside and out with any kind of vegetable oil (olive, canola, etc.) using your hands.
3. Cut away any excess skin around the opening of the cavity and wedge a fork inside the cavity to open it further. Leave the fork in to keep cavity open.

4. Rub spices, herbs, or just pepper all over the bird with your oily fingers.

5. Place the turkey, breast side down on a rack in a large metal roasting pan.

6. Cover the top of the turkey, including legs and wings with greased foil.

7. Pour ¾-inch of chicken or turkey broth in the bottom of the pan. As the turkey cooks, check the liquid every 45 minutes and add more in case it evaporates.

8. Cook the turkey at 500° to 525° for 2 hours.

9. Remove foil, stuff the turkey with cooked stuffing and return it to the rack breast side up.

10. Cook the turkey 30 to 45 minutes longer until an instant-read thermometer stuck deep in the thigh reads 175°.

11. Let the turkey rest at least 20 minutes, this allows the meat to reabsorb its juices.

Suggestions to go along with this cooking process. If you salt or over salt you will be taking the juices from the bird. Find a large enough pan to fit the bird in and put it on a rack so it's not "stewing". Allow the heated air to flow around the bird and cook it properly. Don't baste the bird because it breaks down the lovely caramelization on the bird as well as uses up the pan juices that would be later used for gravy. Don't cover with cheesecloth because it prevents browning and color to the bird.

**This recipe I've used is taken courtesy of Recipezaar/kiwidutch. Photo courtesy of Recipezaar**

Making Tuesday Tasty-Chicken And Dumplings

I grew up eating chicken and dumplings. My mom made it every once in awhile and it was delicious! My mom, like myself, never really used recipes. She would add things to taste and now that she is gone, I don't really have her recipe. Once the air started to get crisp, our home would fill with the smells of chicken and herbs. Beans and hamhocks or bacon, potato soup, vegetable beef and even hamburger soup(ground meat beef veg soup) Here is a modified, quick version that Rachel Ray has adapted. It doesn't include any dark meat, so those of you that like your dark meat flavor will need to adapt this to your liking.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders

1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

2 tablespoons butter

1 russet potato, peeled and diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 rib celery, diced

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full

2 tablespoons flour, a handful

1 quart chicken broth or stock, canned or paper container, preferred brand Kitchen Basics

1 small box biscuit mix(preferred brand Jiffy Mix)

1/2 cup warm water

Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup frozen green peas

Directions

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.

Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.

Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve in shallow bowls.

*photo courtesy of myrecipes.com*

Making Tuesday Tasty-Pumpkin Bread

It's that time of year again! Fall and pumpkins go hand in hand. Good thing I love pumpkin, at

least in dessert form.

Here's a yummy recipe to try out for those Fall days, while they last.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin

1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and

fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour

into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and

flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should

come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For

muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, Photo courtesy of Proof Of The Pudding Blog

Making Tuesday Tasty-Pumpkin Pancakes

This is labeled as IHOP's pumpkin pancake recipe...they are a favorite here in my house! Delicious and they taste like Autumn, how can you go wrong?

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions

1 preheat a skillet over medium heat.

2 Coat with oil or cooking spray Combine eggs, buttermilk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

3 Blend ingredients together.

4 Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl.

5 Mix in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and blend until smooth.

6 Pour the batter into the skillet to form 5-inch circles (1/4 cup portions).

7 When the batter stops bubbling and edges begin to harden, flip the pancakes.

8 They should be dark brown.

9 This will take about 1 to 2 minutes.

10 Flip the pancakes and cook the other side for the same amount of time, until dark brown.

Courtesty of Recipe Zaar

Making Tuesday Tasty-Sugar Cookies

My grandma sent me this recipe. We grew up eating these and I loved them! They aren't the traditional sugar cookie that you frost. They come out tender and have just a little tang to them. delicious.

1 C shortening
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 egg

Cream these ingredients until fluffy

Dry

2 C flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Combine and add to creamed mixture slowly

Form dough into balls and roll in granulated sugar(you could use colored as well if you want). Bake at 350 until golden brown. Each oven is different so test yours out.

Making Tuesday Tasty

I'm an asparagus lover. I love it's earthy, distinct flavor that lends itself to many dishes. Most of all I love it made simply. If there's a little real butter or olive oil slathered on it, topped with a little garlic and salt, I'm in heaven.

Here's a simple recipe that kicks the asparagus up a level and compliments it nicely.

Asparagus Wrapped Prosciutto

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon chopped oregano leaves
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary leaves
8 to 12 stalks asparagus, blanched
8 to 12 thin slices prosciutto
1 head lettuce, optional
Tomato wedges, optional
Directions

Mix all ingredients for dressing together and let it set overnight. Do not refrigerate.

Marinate the asparagus in the dressing for 10 minutes.

Wrap 2 to 3 asparagus with prosciutto.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with tomato wedges, if using, and spoon dressing on top.

recipe courtesy of Chicago Chop House

Tuesday Tastiness-One dish Mac n Cheese

I found the base recipe off a can of evaporated milk. I edited it to my liking and what I had on hand. This is a fantastic, simple, one dish meal that pretty much everyone will eat and like! I love how easy it is to make and what little amount of dishes I had to use. Use this recipe on a night when you're in no mood to be preparing something major or on a weekend when everyone is home.

Mac & Cheese

1/2 lb elbow pasta-or sub penne or something you have on hand

2 C chopped frozen or fresh broccoli-also another way to sub in your favorite veggies. Great ones would be cauliflower,red,green, or yellow bell pepper, asparagus, mushrooms, etc.

8 oz package of favorite cheese shredded

8 oz package of another cheese shredded-recipe called for pepper jack

1 can(12oz) evaporated milk

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp. bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray non stick spray in a casserole dish(2 1/2 qt.)

Cook mac in large saucepan according to the package directions, adding broccoli to the water for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. drain.

Combine cooked pasta, broccoli, both cheeses, evap milk, 1/4 c of the parmesan cheese and black pepper in a large bowl. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Combine remaining parm cheese and bread crumbs, sprinkle over the the macaroni mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove foil; bake for additional 10 mins until lightly browned.

This comes out creamy and cheesy and just right to my liking at least. Not too wet, not too dry. The possibilites are endless for this recipe. I didn't have any pepper jack so I added a little red pepper flake to mine. I also used different cheese blends for my mac n cheese instead of just one or two. You can add any veggies you want and sneak it in to your kids yummy macaroni. You can add grilled or cooked chicken, sausage, tuna, etc. You can also use low fat cheeses just find something that melts ok. To top it, I didn't have any bread crums or panko bread crumbs so I used french fried onions. The ones you top your green bean casserole with. YUMMY.