Honey Balsamic Chicken

I've got some chicken in my freezer that needs to be used before it's burned to death, so I'm trying my hand at a honey balsamic chicken recipe with my own spin...

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HONEY BALSAMIC CHICKEN

Ingredients for glaze
 
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (I used the kind infused with pomegranate)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)

Ingredients for chicken

2 chicken breasts (or 4 tenderloins)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Pinch of nutmeg

Method

1. Coat chicken with dry ingredients
2. Place chicken in a skillet at medium heat with a pat of butter for 4-7 minutes
3. Remove chicken from skillet and simmer the glaze in the skillet for 1-2 mintues
4. Place chicken pieces in skillet again, making sure to turn so that glaze coats them. Heat until cooked

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Cheese Bread

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cheese. In another large bowl, beat together egg, milk and oil. Stir the flour/cheese mixture into the egg mixture, stirring until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

Layered chili dip

This is the easiest and yummies dip that is quick to make for impromptu parties or gatherings. Just buy your favorite corn chips and serve it up in less than 10 minutes! For being so easy, it's addictive, so beware!

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Ingredients:

1 block of cream cheese

1 can of beef chili or bean chili (I like meat, so I get the meat)

1 bag finely shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Spread the entire block of cream cheese at the bottom of a square baking dish. Then, empty the can of chili and spread it over the cream cheese. Empty and spread the bag of cheese over the top. Put dish in 300 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve warm.

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Parmesan Dip

My friend George made me this EASY EASY EASY dip because he knew I would love it...So I thought I would write it down...because it is really good, and also REALLY EASY.

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1 block of cream cheese
1 small cup sour cream
1/2 cup powdered Parmesan Cheese
Pinch garlic powder

Mix sour cream and cream cheese, fold in dry ingredients and mix until distributed evenly. Serve with Plain Ruffles Chips.

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Spinach Pinwheels

I love puff pastry probably more than anything on this earth, and when I saw Paula Deen making some spinach pinwheels, I freaked out and knew I had to make them. I might end up substituting the gruyere cheese with parmesan, but we'll see...

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1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
1 (17 1/2-ounce) package puff pastry sheets

Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, for 5 minutes. Stir together spinach, mushrooms and cheese; set aside.

Roll 1 pastry sheet into a 13 by 11-inch rectangle. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush 1/2 melted butter over pastry. Spread 1/2 spinach mixture over butter. Roll-up, jellyroll fashion, starting with the long side. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheet, butter, and spinach mixture. (Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days, if desired.) Cut rolls into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 heat, or until golden brown.

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Creamy Macaroni

Henry and I are hungry for macaroni and cheese tonight, so we're going to make an adapted version of Paula Deen's crock-pot macaroni found here. Hope it turns out well!

Add one pound of meat, seasoned generously with Worcestershire sauce to noodles for an extra kick and a more filling result.

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3 cups Elbow macaroni (1 pound box should do)
1/2 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese
1 clove garlic
2 eggs


Boil noodles with 1 crushed clove of garlic until soft. While noodles are cooking, brown meat in frying pan while seasoning generously with Worcestershire. Cook meat completely.

When noodles are done, strain them, then put them back in original pot over low heat. Add 1/2 pound of Velveeta cut into quarters. Cut 1/2 stick butter into pieces and stir them into the mixture. When Velveeta is completely melted, add all of meat and stir in.

When meat is mixed with Velveeta and noodles, pour noodles partially into casserole dish. Add some of the grated sharp cheddar and some of the grated Parmesan cheese to layer on top of noodles. Pour second layer of noodles and add more sharp cheddar and Parmesan. Pour the remainder of noodles into dish.

Beat eggs and milk together and pour generously over casserole dish. Then, cover top of dish with the rest of grated cheese.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes on 350 heat.

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Southern Cheddar Biscuits

Cheesy buttermilk buscuits: They have a Southern hominess about them that make them irresistible. The frame of the recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe for Southern Biscuits, but I added a few of my own elements.

If you just want plain buscuits, take out the cheddar, Parmesan and garlic powder. They are delicious anyway!

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Prep:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
1 cup sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

After cooked:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, and shortening in large bowl with fork until sandy texture is achieved. Add milk, cheese, and garlic powder. Mix dough by hand until chunky, very sticky dough is achieved.

After placing dough on floured surface, sprinkling flour on it, and folding it over itself 3-4 times, spread dough into 1-inch thick layer over floured wax paper and cut dough into circles with a diameter no larger than 3 inches. Place biscuits close together on greased cookie sheet (they will not rise or expand much). Bake for 15-20 minutes on 450 heat until biscuits are light brown on top and until visible cheese is dark brown.

Remove biscuits from oven and brush melted butter with parsley flakes on top. Makes 10-12 biscuits.
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Henry and I made 3 batches of these, refining them each time. This is the final recipe that we produced. We had these with sausage, egg, and (more) cheese, and it was delicious! This will definitely be a staple of our home-cooked meals and breakfast foods.

Pictures to come!