Sherry’s Aussie Chicken

I got this recipe here, tried it last night and it was amazing.

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness (sometimes it’s easier to filet them, instead)
• seasoning salt
• 6 slices bacon, cut in half
• ¼ cup regular mustard
• ¼ to 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups shredded Colby/Jack cheese

Sprinkle and rub the chicken breasts with seasoning salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon. ***Do not discard grease.*** Saute chicken in the bacon grease for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned. Move chicken to a 9×13 pan.

In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayo and dried onion flakes. Apply the honey mustard to each breast, then layer with mushrooms, bacon, and shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken is done. (Be sure to cut into a breast to see that it is fully cooked before serving to guests who will find raw meat in their main dish. Ask me how I know…)

Serve with honey mustard sauce.

Carrot Cake

I am not a huge fan of carrot cake but it was my mother in laws birthday it is her favorite cake so I made this for her. It is by far the best carrot cake that I have ever had. I don't like chunks so I blended the carrots and pineapple....so good.

3 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 c. sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (1 lb.) bag carrots, peeled and grated
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. flaked coconut
1/2 c. raisins Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Marzipan carrots (optional)

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine sugars, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl; stir until all ingredients are well blended. Add flour mixture, carrots, pineapple, walnuts, coconut and raisins, stirring just until well blended.

Grease 3 (8 inch) round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper; grease and flour waxed paper. Pour batter into cake pans.

Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; loosen cake layers from edges of pans with a sharp knife and invert onto wire racks. Peel off waxed paper and cool completely.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with marzipan carrots, if desired. Cover and refrigerate overnight before cutting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) pkg. powdered sugar
2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl; beat until light and fluffy. Add sugar, orange rind and vanilla, mixing well.

Makes enough frosting for 1 (3 layer) cake.

Chicken Baked Stuffed Pizza Rolls

This is another recipe from Our Best Bites and it is SUPER good.

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
sharp cheddar cheese (I used 75% sharp cheddar and 25% mozzarella)
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
about 1 C shredded, cooked chicken.
3/4 C mayo
3/4 C milk

First take 1 teaspoon of your ranch dressing mix and combine it with 1 1/2 T parmesan cheese. Set aside. Combine the remaining ranch mix with 3/4 C mayo and 3/4 C milk and place in the fridge to chill.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400-425 degrees.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.

I grab the four corners first and then squeeze the seams shut. Then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish). Brush with melted butter or olive oil and sprinkle with the parmesan-ranch mixture.

Place your rolls in the oven. I've noticed baking time really depends on the type of dough I'm using. Whether it's different brands from the store, or homemade dough, they all take different amounts of time. Set your timer for 10 minutes and check on them after that. They may take up to 15 or 20 to be done. Take them out when they're lightly golden on top.

Serve them warm with a side of freshly made ranch dressing for dipping.

Note:
These can also be baked individually in a mini-muffin tin. This might work better for serving depending on the situation. You're making 24 rolls, so it fills up the pan perfectly. They cook quicker this way than in a pie pan so keep an eye on them. Mine only took about 8 minutes whereas the ones in the pan took about 13-15.

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pastry Pockets

I got this from the wonderful food blog, Best Bites. I like it because it taste great and I can turn it into a meal or leave as appetizers.

1 box puff pastry (2 sheets)
1 8oz container Philadelphia Chive and Onion flavor Cream Cheese
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 C cooked shredded chicken breast
1/3 C cooked crumbled bacon
3 Tbs finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 egg
1 Tbs water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Warm cream cheese in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften. Place in a mixing bowl with mozzarella cheese, chicken, bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir to combine and set aside.

Defrost puff pastry sheets according to package directions. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll one sheet at a time into a 12 x 12 inch square. Cut 4, 3 inch strips each direction to make 16 squares, 3 x 3″ each.

Place about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese mixture onto each square. With your finger, brush a dab of water around the edges of each square and fold over diagonally to make a triangle. Press edges together and crimp with a fork to seal.

After stuffing and folding each pastry, place on a baking sheet. Whisk egg and 1 tablespoon water together and brush over the top of each pastry. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Can also be served at room temperature.

Freezer instructions: Follow directions through egg wash. Place baking sheet in the freezer. When pastries are solid to the touch, transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer. When ready to bake, place frozen pastries directly on a baking sheet in preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden.

CHEESY TORTELLINI

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed

1 (16 ounce) jar marinara sauce

1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated or fresh cheese tortellini

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions: Crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage into a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain.Combine the ground meats, marinara sauce, mushrooms, and tomatoes in Bean Pot/Slow cooker. Cover, and cook on 250 degrees heat for 7 to 8 hours or 350 degrees for 3 hours.Stir in the tortellini, and sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the top. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes until the tortellini is tender.

Mint Brownies

It was my friend Bonnie's birthday and her favorite dessert is mint chocolate so for her party that is what I made, Mint Brownies. I now think that they are my favorite and I think that these go great with Bryers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING

5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES OR BARS

I was in a hurry and needed to make a fast dessert but was really craving cookies. I remember that my mom used to always make these cookies bars and it would sure save me a lot of time so this is what I made. Not only did they save a lot of time, they were super good as well.




1 c. butter
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp. hot water
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. oatmeal
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 - 1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter, add sugar, cream together. Add eggs, hot water, mix together. Add flour, soda, salt. Add oatmeal, chocolate chips, vanilla and nuts slowly. Mix well. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees, 10-12 minutes.

For bars put in greased 9x11 inch pan. Bake 350 degrees 20-25 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Put on top while still hot. After melted, spread.