Super Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle

Shopping is finished. Presents are wrapped. And now the baking is done. Not that I did very much baking, in fact I don't really think you can call this recipe baking at all. I decided to make peanut brittle for Christmas presents when I recently discovered my son loves it. When my grandmother, Mimi Bates made peanut brittle it seemed very complicated. She even roasted her own peanuts! I never, ever considered making it myself until I saw this recipe on Pinterest from a great blog, Plain Chicken. Believe me it is as easy as it looks and it tastes fabulous! You should try it soon!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup salted peanuts
1 tsp baking soda

Directions
Combine sugar and syrup in a microwave safe bowl (I use a glass bowl), stir. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add butter, vanilla and peanuts; stir. Microwave on high for 1 minute 25 seconds. Remove bowl from microwave and quickly stir in baking soda. Immediately pour mixture onto parchment paper, aluminum foil or a silpat. Spread into a rectangle and let cool for 1 hour. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Smoky Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Who doesn't love BBQ ribs? Puppy Daddy and I certainly do. I have tried every way imaginable to prepare ribs, baking, grilling, smoking...but I think the slow cooker is the easiest and makes the most tender ribs. Just coat the ribs in your favorite dry rub and place in your slow cooker on low for 8 - 10 hours. I used Park Hill Maple Sugar and Spice Pepper from Savory Spice mixed with some smoked paprika and garlic salt. When you take the ribs out of the slow cooker put them on a baking sheet, brush with BBQ sauce and bake in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. Serve with a bit more sauce. You can use your favorite store bought sauce, but I love to make my own. It's super simple and you can make it to suit your own personal taste. The magic of Liquid Smoke gives you that smoked flavor with out the work of tending a smoker all day long. You should try these soon!

Ingredients

Ribs
baby back ribs or spare ribs
2 TB Park Hill Maple Sugar and Spice Pepper
1 TB smoked paprika
1 TB garlic salt
BBQ Sauce
1 TB butter
1/4 cup onion,chopped
1 cup ketchup
2 TB brown sugar
1 TB vinegar
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/2 TB hot sauce
2 TB liquid smoke
1 TB Dijon mustard

Directions

Ribs
Combine Maple Sugar Spice, smoked paprika and garlic salt. Coat ribs with spice mixture. Place in slow cooker and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. Remove ribs from slow cooker and place on  a baking dish. Brush ribs with BBQ sauce and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Serve with more BBQ sauce.

BBQ Sauce
Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Add chopped onions. Cook until onions soften. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook over low for about 10 minutes.

Fresh Tomato, Artichoke and Basil Pasta

With apologies to my favorite Italian TV chefs and friends, I am not a big fan of tomato sauce or gravy. Yes, I use it on my stuffed shells or lasagna, but other than that you won't find it on my menu. But when I made Grilled Chicken Involtini this week pasta with some type of tomato sauce seemed like the right side dish. While it does have tomatoes, the pasta is not smothered in sauce.

You can use what ever shape of pasta you choose. I used a corkscrew which did a nice job of holding on to the sauce. Just cook your pasta in salted water and be sure to reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce.

To start heat up some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Then add a pint of fresh grape tomatoes. I prefer these because they have so much more flavor than anything else I can find in the grocery store. Cover the skillet and cook the tomatoes on medium heat until they burst open. Next just add crushed garlic and artichokes. When the pasta is finished cooking add it along with some pasta water to the skillet along with Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil. You should try this soon!

Ingredients
8 oz corkscrew pasta, cooked
1 cup pasta water, reserved
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 pint fresh grape tomatoes
6 oz canned artichoke hearts, quartered
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Heat extra virgin olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, cover and cook until tomatoes burst open. Add artichokes and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add Parmesan and enough pasta water to bring sauce together. Finish with fresh basil. Top servings with more Parmesan.



Grilled Chicken Involtini with Proscuitto and Basil

Puppy Daddy and I had a major dilemma this weekend, what to have for dinner on Sunday night. While our Wednesday night dinner tradition is something quick and easy, I try to make our Sunday night dinners something special. Now when I was working full time, I spent Saturday mornings planning a menu for the week and making my grocery list so that I could shop once for everything I'd need for the week. But since I've been working part time from home, I've gotten lazy about our weekly menu, deciding many times day by day what I feel like eating, thus the weekend dilemma. At about 3 PM Sunday afternoon I started trying to decide what we would have for dinner that night but nothing was inspiring me. So, I asked Puppy Daddy what he wanted for dinner. He thought something cooked on the charcoal grill would be good so I put him to work looking through my Weber Grill cookbooks. He let the first book, Weber's Way to Grill by Jamie Purviance fall open and Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil was the first thing he saw. After perusing the cookbooks and discussing several options, we decided to try this recipe and boy were we glad we did!

 

The ingredients are very simple, chicken breast, prosciutto, provolone cheese, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. The result is super tasty! Just pound your chicken breast out nice and thin. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Top each with prosciutto, provolone and basil.

Next roll up chicken breast and tie up in several places with kitchen twine to keep the cheese from oozing out while it cooks. We cooked this on a charcoal grill which I think gave it a great smoky flavor, but you could use a gas grill, stove top grill or even bake it in the oven.

Yes the finished product photo from the cookbook shows it served on  tomato sauce, but I served it with pasta and homemade sauce made with fresh tomato, artichoke, garlic, basil  and parmesan . DELICIOUS! You should try this soon!

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 8 ounces each, tenders removed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 very thin slices prosciutto
4  slices provolone cheese, halved
8 large basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups good-quality tomato sauce

Directions
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat.

For each piece of chicken, use about 12 inches of plastic wrap. Place the chicken, smooth side down, to one side of the plastic, about 2 inches from the edge. This will allow the chicken to spread out as it gets thinner. Starting from the thick side, gently pound the chicken with the flat side of a tenderizer or the bottom of a small, heavy skillet, moving to different areas with every stroke until it is about 1/4 inch thick and just about doubles in size. Don’t pound too hard or the chicken might break apart.

Season each piece of chicken with salt, granulated garlic and pepper. Arrange the chicken with the smooth side down on a work surface.

Lay a slice of prosciutto on each piece of chicken. Then lay down 2 halves of the provolone and 2 basil leaves. Carefully roll up the chicken, keeping it snug as you work, until it is tube-shaped. Tie 2 pieces of butcher’s twine around each piece to keep it together. Trim the loose ends of twine.

Lightly brush each rolled piece with olive oil.

Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the chicken over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until golden on all sides, about 12 minutes, turning a quarter turn every 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and let rest for 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the tomato sauce.

Remove the twine from each chicken piece, cut into slices and serve warm on a pool of sauce. Garnish with torn basil leaves.
                                                                                                                                                                                     

Moo Goo Gai Pan

 

As I'm typing, the Whippets are sound asleep on the couches in our living room. They appear totally exhausted, though I'm not sure from what. Actually this is how they look most of the time, except for the couple of times a day when they are either racing around the backyard, or having a howl fest. I was very excited the week after we put up the Christmas tree that they had not removed and destroyed any ornaments for the first time ever. But, I shouldn't have bragged too quickly to the puppy's Uncle Steve because that very day I came home to find destroyed ornaments in the middle of the living room floor! Thankfully they are cheap plastic ornaments and not priceless family heirlooms. I keep thinking every year that surely they have grown up enough not to care about the Christmas tree, but each year I am of course, wrong. It's true, boys never grow up!

Now why in the world would I combine a Chinese food recipe with a story about Christmas? Have you seen the Christmas Story? It's one of my favorite holiday movies. I'm posting this recipe just in case your Christmas turkey gets eaten by the Bumpus' hounds. You can make Chinese food. Be sure to have the ingredients on hand!

Seriously, this is a great, easy recipe. You should try it soon.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 pound sliced fresh mushrooms

1/4 pound broccoli florets or snow peas

1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

salt and black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root

3/4 cup skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - thinly sliced

1 teaspoon white wine

1/4 teaspoon white sugar

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

 

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, broccoli, and water chestnuts; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the wok and wipe the wok clean.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok. Stir in the garlic and ginger; cook a few seconds until the garlic begins to turn golden brown. Stir in the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, sugar, and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir into the simmering sauce. Once the sauce returns to a simmer, stir until thick and clear, about 30 seconds. Return the vegetables to the wok and toss until hot and coated with the sauce.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

I did not grow up eating Brussels sprouts. In fact I don't think I had them until I was in college, but after eating them I loved them. I love them even more since I tried them roasted at The Farmhouse at Serenbe in Serenbe, Georgia outside of Atlanta. My husband took me there on a Thanksgiving trip.  I think it may be the best restaurant we have ever eaten in. They serve regional cuisine using locally grown, organic ingredients from the restaurant’s own garden as well as from Serenbe Farms and other area producers. If you are near Atlanta, I encourage you to make reservations and enjoy an amazing meal there.

Roasted Brussels sprouts are about the easiest side dish I can think of. Just slice them in half along with a bit of onion, some mushrooms and I love to add a bit of bacon  prosciutto. Mix with some olive oil and rosemary, garlic seasoning mix. Then roast at 350 for about 30 minutes. Delicious! You should try this soon.

Ingredients
1 lb Brussels sprouts, stem removed and slice in half
1 cup mushroom, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped bacon or prosciutto
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB dried rosemary and garlic seasoning mix

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, onions and bacon on a rimmed cookie sheet. Using your hands coat with olive oil and seasoning mix. Roast for 20 - 30 minutes until Brussels sprouts begin to brown.

Pork Chops in Spiced-Apple Pan Sauce

Last night's dinner was a version of a recipe from Rachael Ray's cookbook, 30-Minute Get Real Meals. The original recipe calls for serving with roasted broccoli spears, but I had Brussels sprouts in the fridge so I roasted those instead. With some mashed potatoes, this meal was really yummy. The spiced-apple pan sauce tastes like a savory apple pie. You should try this very soon.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

4 boneless pork loin or rib chops

2 TB butter

1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced

3 TB fresh thyme leaves, stripped from 4 or 5 sprigs, chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

2 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 cup chicken stock or broth

A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

 

Directions

Preheat a large skillet over high heat with olive oil. Liberally season pork chops with salt and pepper and sear on both sides for 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove the chops from the skillet and reserve. Add butter to the pork skillet, add the onion, thyme, sliced apple, and pie spice. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the onion and apples are tender. Add the chicken stock and bring up to a simmer. Add the pork chops back to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until the chops are cooked through. Add parsley and lemon juice to the chops and stir to distribute.

Giada's Venetian Panino

I saw this recipe on Giada De Laurentis' show and just had to try it. It's as good as it looked on TV. It's perfect with soup, which is what I served it with last night. We had Aztec Chicken Soup which I froze the last time I made it. If you have looked at the recipe for this soup, it calls for 1 chipotle chili in adobo placed at the bottom of the bowl. The last time I made it, I didn't put the whole chili in Puppy Daddy's bowl because I was afraid it would be to spicy for him. I just put in a bit of the adobo sauce. He told me that it wasn't very spicy at all and next time I should give him a whole chili. So last night I put a whole chili in his soup, but warned him that I did not actually eat the chili. It gives enough heat just sitting in the soup. Well, he decided that he really needed to eat the chili. After his first bite he said, "That's not very hot at all." Then came the second bite. "Ohhh, that had the seeds in it!" And that was the end of the chili eating for the night!

That story has nothing to do with the sandwich, but I just had to share! The spread for this sandwich is made by combining Gruyere cheese, garlic, mustard and butter. It is the glue that holds the sandwich together. Place some turkey between the bread and toast it up in a skillet with some olive oil. The recipe says to cut the crust off of the bread. I have done that in the past, but I honestly don't think it's necessary unless you are serving them at a fancy, schmancy party. I hope you'll try this soon.

Ingredients

8 ounces Gruyere, shredded

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, chopped

12 ounces sliced turkey

12 slices wheat or sourdough bread, crusts removed

6 tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions

Into a food processor, add the cheese, butter, mustard, and garlic. Blend until the mixture is thick, smooth and spreadable.

Spread the cheese mixture over 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange the turkey slices over the cheese mixture on 6 of the bread slices. Top sandwiches with the remaining bread slices, cheese mixture side down, pressing gently to adhere. Cut the sandwiches in half.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Cook half of the sandwiches until golden brown and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and tent with foil to keep them warm. Repeat with remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and sandwiches. Serve immediately.

Apricot Pork Tenderloin

This recipe is easy enough to make for a week night dinner, but impressive enough to make for guests and special occasions.

Even though the recipe calls for apricot preserves or jam, you can use a variety of flavors including blackberry. In fact if you look at the picture of the ingredients I used to make this dish you will see orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves. I didn't even realize that I had picked up orange marmalade until I opened the jar and noticed it didn't smell like apricots. Now I am not an orange marmalade fan, but the dish turned out great!

The recipe also calls for Chinese 5 Spice powder. This blend include star anise, cloves, cinnamon, sichuan pepper and fennel. For many years I couldn't find 5 Spice in my grocery store so I just used cinnamon, which works just as well. Just rub the spice mixture all over the pork tenderloin.

You should try this soon!





Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
2 TB Chinese 5 Spice powder or cinnamon
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 TB butter
3/4 cup apricot jam or preserves
3 green onions, chopped
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB dry sherry, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend 5 Spice powder, salt and pepper. Rub all over pork tenderloin. Bake tenderloin in oven for 30 - 45 minutes until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add jam, green onions, soy sauce, dry sherry. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand until tenderloin is ready to serve. Let tenderloin sit for 10 minutes after removing from oven. Slice and serve with apricot sauce.

Creamy Stove Top Mac & Cheese

For week two of the Wednesday Mac and Cheese Challenge I made this recipe with an unusual ingredient, Worcestershire sauce. I got the idea for this mac and cheese after reading a recipe from Cooking Light magazine. My recipe is not light, but it is delicious. It even gets the Puppy Daddy seal of approval. You should try it soon.









Ingredients
8 oz macaroni
6 oz evaporated milk
4 oz cream cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic, crushed
salt & pepper

Directions
Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions. In a medium sauce pan heat evaporated milk over medium heat. Add cream cheese and whisk until melted. Then add cheddar cheese, whisking until cheese is melted. Next add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk until incorporated. Drain macaroni and add to cheese sauce. Toss to coat.

Easy Cheesy Ranch Rice and Beans

Yes, as you can tell if you read my posts, Puppy Daddy and I love, love, love Mexican food. Of course, some type of rice and beans are a must for sides with a Mexican meal. Last night at our house was tacos and football night. I love tacos on football night because they are quick, and easy to eat while we watch TV and cheer on our favorite team. This recipe accompanied our tacos perfectly and thankfully our FSU Seminoles won the ACC championship. This recipe is super easy and really delicious!

All you need for this recipe is a package of yellow rice mix, a can of ranch style beans and some cheddar cheese. Just make the rice according to package directions. Then drain a little of the liquid out of the beans. Mix them with the rice and cheese.  Put mixture in an oven proof dish, top with a bit more cheese and bake for 20 - 30 minutes. Garnish with green onions to make it pretty.

Ingredients
1 package yellow rice mix, prepared according to package directions
1 can ranch style beans
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare yellow rice mix according to package directions. Drain about half of the liquid from canned beans. Mix beans and 1 cup of cheese with rice. Put in oven proof dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I know that a few weeks ago I said that my stuffed shells were Puppy Daddy's favorite meal that I make. Well, when I made this casserole this week he said I might have been wrong and that Mexican Chicken might be his all time favorite. I first had this recipe when I was a teenager. My grandmother, Mimi Bates, who loved to cook, found the King Ranch Chicken recipe in Southern Living magazine. Every year she spent several months with us and cooked up a storm, preparing one delicious dish after another. This one was a big family hit! This is my own version which doesn't include canned creamed soups, though you could definitely use those instead of my mayo and sour cream combination.

This is also a great way to use up left over chicken. This week I used left over turkey breast and it was equally yummy. It's also a great way to use up corn or tortilla chips that may be getting a little stale. If you use chips larger than Fritos you should crush them a bit. I encourage you to give this a try soon!

Ingredients
2 TB butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 TB dry taco seasoning
2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped or shredded
6 oz Fritos Corn Chips
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 TB chicken bouillon powder
2 TB dry mushroom gravy mix
1 can Rotel tomatoes, choose your own spice level, drain partially
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in frying pan. Saute onions, peppers and celery until softened. Add taco seasoning and mix together. While vegetables are sauteing spread Fritos in the bottom of an 8 X 8 baking dish. Pour chicken broth or stock over chips. Spread vegetables over corn chips. Then spread chicken over the vegetables. Mix
mayonnaise, sour cream, chicken bouillon powder, dry mushroom gravy mix and partially drained Rotel tomatoes. Put this mixture over the chicken. Top casserole with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.