Swiss Chicken

8 boneless chicken breasts
8-10 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c. water
1 box Stove Top Stuffing
1/3 c. melted margarine

Put chicken in 9x13 inch pan. Place cheese slices over chicken. Mix chicken soup with water and pour over chicken. Sprinkle stuffing mix over top. Drizzle margarine over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours (I would do just 1 hour as I felt that the extra 15 minutes made it a little dry) uncovered.

Hearty Beef Stew

My sister in law, Amy made this stew for me once and I had to have the recipe. It is heavenly! I am posting it for her. My SILs have some serious cooking skills. I am trying to get them to post on here...we will see.

4 cups water
5 beef bouillon cubes
1tsp pepper
2 cups cubed cooked beef (sometimes I used leftover roast, it is good)
6 carrots, peeled, thickly sliced
3 potatoes cubed
1 med onion chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
1 small bay leaf
2 T flour

Bring water and bouillon cubes to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring until bouillon dissolves completely. Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper.

Stir beef, carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic into bouillon mixture. Return to boil. Place bay leaf on top; cover tightly and reduce heat.

Simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove about 1/2 cup of the liquid to a small bowl. Blend with flour.

Increase heat to boiling point. Stir flour mixture into stew. Cook, stirring continually until juices are thickened, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

This is a very thick stew. If you don't want it so thick, add more water or beef stock.

Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken

Don't you love slow cookers? You put in the ingredients and then... forget about it (I hope you inserted a Brooklyn accent when you read that last part). So I prepared a yummy chicken dish that was super easy (remember me? Miss Simplified).

Here is the yummy recipe... *note- the recipe makes a ton. So I'll give you the original and you can prepare it according to your individual family needs. Seeing how I was making din din for two... I cut it way down.

Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 envelopes (o.7 ounces each) Italian salad dressing mix

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

8 cups cooked rice

Dip chicken in butter and then sprinkle generously with dry dressing mix. Place chicken in a 6- to 7- quart slow cooker. Mix any remaining butter and dry mix and pour over chicken. Cover and cook 3-4 hours on high heat or 6-8 hours on low heat. Remove chicken and stir cream cheese into liquid in slow cooker. Add water in necessary to make the consistency of gravy. Return chicken pieces and cook another 30 minutes on high heat. Serve chicken with sauce over rice. Makes 8 servings.

This was from the "101 Things to do with Chicken" cookbook by Stephanie Ashcraft... I fancy her recipes.

Quinoa Pasta Salad

Have you heard of Quinoa? I hadn't until my awesome SIL Stacey (she has some great recipes) gave me this recipe to try four my family's Fourth of July picnic. Quinoa is a supergrain. It is super healthy for you, gluten free and pretty cute (when it is cooked it gets a curly tail). You can find Quinoa at a health food store and I have heard that Winco might carry it in their bulk section.

This recipe makes a ton so I halved it.


3 c. small shell pasta (I use whole wheat pasta)
1/2 c. red Quinoa
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1 c. cheddar cheese
1 can pineapple tidbits
2 gala apples (add these last)

Cook the Quinoa in a small sauce pan with 1/2 c. water for 15 minutes. You may have to add more water.

After Quinoa has been cooked, combine it with all of the ingredients together adding the gala apples last.

dressing:
2 tbs lime juice
3 tbs honey
c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. cream cheese softened
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Coat above salad evenly.

Chicken Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken. I have tried to make it before with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but to no avail. I was so happy when I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It is so good!

30 saltine crackers
2 tbs all purpose flour
2 tbs dry potato flakes
t tsp season salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 egg
1/4 vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1.Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag and crush crackers until they are coarse crumbs. Add flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper to bag and mix well.

2. Beat egg in a shallow dish or bowl; heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

3. One by one, dredge chicken pieces in egg beat, then place in bag with crumb mixture, seal bag and shake to coat.

4. Reduce heat to medium and cook coated chicken in skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown and juices run clear.

Spinach Chicken Pizza

I got this recipe at a women's conference. My family loves it!

Pizza Crust
4 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 T. olive oil
1 3/4 cups water

Pre-heat pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees.

Put flour, yeast, salt in bowel-mix. Combine oil and water and add to dry ingredients while mixing. Let mix until ball forms. Knead for 2 minutes in mixer or on floured surface. You can add a little water if it is too sticky. Let rise for 1 hour (I sometimes let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes and it is fine) Roll out dough thin on parchment paper. Top with desired sauce and toppings. Place parchment paper with pizza on top of hot stone in oven. Bake pizza for about 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Spinach and Chicken Topping for Pizza

1-2 T. butter
fresh mushrooms
spinach leaves
1-2 fresh garlic cloves
1-2 green onions chopped
1-2 chicken breasts cubed
mozzarella cheese
Brown chicken, remove from pan. Melt butter and saute green onions, mushrooms and garlic. Place butter mixture on unbaked pizza crust. Add spinach leaves and chicken, top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes on hot pizza stone.

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

I made this salad for a Fourth of July picnic. It is so good and tastes so fresh. Also really easy to throw together. I got it on My Kitchen Cafe. I love the taste of the lime zest in it. Although it isn't as pretty the next day, I think the lime taste intensifies and I LOVED it.

*Note: This fruit salad is best served right away (or at least within an hour of making) because the strawberries tend to stain the light colored fruit.
Serves 4
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained well
1 can mandarin oranges, drained well
2-3 ripe kiwi, peeled and sliced into thick half moons
1 cup green grapes, halved
1 cup strawberries, quartered
Zest from one lime, about 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)
Combine the fruit in a medium-large serving bowl. Add the lime zest and poppy seeds, if using, and gently toss. Drizzle the honey over the fruit and again, gently mix until the fruit is evenly coated with the honey. Serve.

Fish and Chips

I recently made this for a World Cup party. The USA was playing England and I thought it might be fun to try something English. I found this recipe here. I LOVE Sophistimom's blog, it is so good!

1 pound firm white fish, such as halibut
salt and pepper
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
pinch cayenne pepper
2-4 tablespoons oil
1-2 tablespoons butter
tartar sauce (recipe follows)
french fry dipping sauce
1. Cut fish into 4 inch, by 3/4 inch, by 3/4 inch strips. Pat dry. Season with salt on all sides.
2. Set out shallow trays. Fill the first with flour and mix in a teaspoon of salt. Fill the second with the beaten eggs. Fill the final with panko, and mix in a teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
3. Working with two or three pieces at a time, dredge the fish in the flour, and tap off excess. Coat in egg, and finally in the panko mixture. Place in another tray until ready to cook.
4. Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Cook 4 to 5 fish sticks at a time, rotating in the oil until golden brown on all sides and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Oven Fries

large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
pinch kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground rosemary
pinch cayenne pepper
oven fries sauce
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large glass bowl, toss potatoes with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 3-5 minutes on high. Stir halfway through heating time.

2. In a small bowl, mix together starch, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, pepper, rosemary, and cayenne pepper. Pour over heated potatoes, and toss to coat.

3. Coat a baking sheet with remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Place potatoes on the oiled baking sheet, and roast for 15 minutes. Turn each potato over, return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.

Sauce
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons ketchup
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch of paprika. Mix together and serve with oven fries

Creamed Asparagus-Lemon Fettuccinie

I first had this when I was a new married from my ward cookbook. It was so yummy, but I forgot about it for a while. I made it again recently and remembered why I love it.

Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbs butter
1 C heavy cream
1 lb fresh asparagus, thinly chopped in 1 to 2 inch pieces
1 lb fettuccine, cooked according to package directions
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (I use about 1/2 cup)
ground pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan, melt butter and add cream; allow to cook at low for 3 to 5 minutes. Steam asparagus until tender; rinse under cold water. Heat oil in a large skillet and add asparagus. Mix hot cream mixture and tomatoes together and stir in lemon juice and pepper. Top hot fettuccine with sauce and sprinkle with lemon zest and Parmesan cheese

Chocolate Fondue

I love fondue, but I have never made it. Today is National Chocolate Day and I wanted to do something special for my family (pay no attention to my poor scratched table). I decided chocolate fondue for dessert would be perfect. I wanted to make it from scratch as I had some high expectations. I found this recipe on epicurean.com. Here is the original, but I tweeked it a bit. The original is for dark/semi sweet chocolate lovers, that isn't me. I added a little more sugar and cream and it came out more like a fudge sauce. We loved it! My little boy ended up with two fondue forks in is had saying "this is a good idea!" We had a great time.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat.

Add cocoa, sugar, and cream. Heat until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Serve with slices of fruit (banana, pineapple, strawberries, apple), chunks of pound cake and marshmallows.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Em has invited the sisters to contribute to this amazing cooking blog. Seeing how Em's stuff is all gourmet (and tastes incredible!)... I feel a tad intimidated. So... you know how on those workout videos where there s the gal in the corner doing the "simplified version" of the workout? Well, that is going to be me... Miss Simplified.

Here is a delicious recipe that I just found from the cookbook "101 Things to do with Chocolate" (yes... my kind of cookbook). Super simple.

Here is the cute little cookbook by Stephanie Ashcraft


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 devil's food cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter of margarine, softened

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs and butter until dough forms. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate chips. Bake 10-11 minutes. Makes 30-36 cookies

Deeelish.