Chicken Parmesan

Easy, delicious moist chicken every time!

Ingredients:

8 chicken breasts (pat dry)
plain yogurt
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
3 TBS grated parmesan
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp seasoned salt
melted butter

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in bowl or ziploc bag. Coat chicken with yogurt, then roll in crumbs. Put in buttered/greased pan and drizzle butter over chicken. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Salsa Verde Pork

INGREDIENTS:

Pork tenderloin

2-3 jars of salsa verde like this picture:

DIRECTIONS:

Put into crock pot on low for 8 hours. Shred.

Make into this goodness (or into a taco salad, etc):

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

--------------------------

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

(Recipe from allrecipes.com)

Hummus

I finally made this after many years of having it on my to do list! Add more/less cumin and lemon to suit your taste. You can also either omit the tahini (ground sesame seeds) if you don't have it or don't like it, or can try using peanut butter in its place. I also plan on trying it with roasted garlic, roasted red peppers or kalamata olives.

Ingredients:

One 15 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed OR 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1/4 cup tahini
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
2-3 TBS water (or liquid from cooked chickpeas)
dash of paprika for serving

Directions:

In food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice. Process for 1 minutes. Scrape sides. Process another 30 seconds. Add garlic, olive oil, salt and cumin. Process 30 seconds. Scrape sides. Process another 30 seconds. Add half chickpeas and process 1 minute. Add rest of chickpeas and process 1-2 minutes. Add water until consistency suits your fancy! Put into bowl and sprinkle with paprika.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

from allrecipes.com

Ratatouille

This is a great fall dinner food. Most everything is in season. You can add more eggplant if you want, or leave out the yellow squash and add more zucchini if that is all you have. I like it with less bell peppers, so I just added 1 cup instead of two. Delicious served with bread.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups small diced yellow onion
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups medium diced eggplant, skin on (1 medium eggplant)
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (1/8 tsp dried)
1 cup diced green bell peppers
1 cup diced red bell peppers
1 cup diced zucchini squash (1 zucchini)
1 cup diced yellow squash (1 yellow squash)
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes)
1 Tbs thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (1 tsp dried)
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley leaves (1 tsp dried)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Set a large sauté pan over medium heat and add olive oil.
Once hot, add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the eggplant and thyme to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant partially cooked, about 5 minutes.
Add green and red peppers, zucchini and squash to pan. Cook additional 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, basil, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cook additional 5 minutes.
Serve hot or at room temp.

From Food network

Green Bean Casserole - Pioneer Woman (from scratch)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Fresh Green Beans, Ends Cut Off (or frozen is okay--still blanch)
• 4-6 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/4 Inch Pieces
• 1-3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1/2 whole Large Onion, Chopped
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Half-and-half
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (I didn't add this)
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs (I do a thin layer of panko and a think layer of fried onions)
• Chicken Broth If Needed For Thinning

Preparation Instructions

Cut green beans in half if you like pieces to be a little smaller.

Blanch the green beans: drop them into lightly salted boiling water and allow green beans to cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain beans once they're cool and set aside.

Add bacon pieces to a skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon for two minutes, then add diced onion and garlic and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes, or until bacon is done (but not crisp) and onions are golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle flour into the pan and whisk immediately to evenly mix it into the butter. Cook for a minute or two, then pour in milk and half and half. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, while sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne then add the grated cheddar. Stir while cheese melts. If sauce is too thick, splash in some chicken broth as needed. Turn off heat.

Add add bacon/onion mixture. Stir to combine. Pour over green beans and stir gently to combine. Pour into a baking dish and top with panko crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and panko crumbs are golden.

Simple Black Beans

1 lb black beans pre-soaked in 2 TBSP salt and 8 cups water (I soak 24 hrs) and drained
1/4-1/2 onion (whole)
1-2 garlic cloves
3-4 bay leafs
1 TBSP oil
1 tsp salt

Add the above ingredients to a pressure cooker with 7 cups of water and cook for however long your pressure cooker suggests. Mine cooks for 30 minutes after it gets to a boil. After it finishes cooking and the pressure is released, I removed the bay leaf and cook for an extra 30 minutes with the lid off. I then mash up some of the beans.

Kairle's Brownies

Cream:
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa

Add:
4 eggs, one at a time
2 tsp vanilla

Then add:
1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup nuts (optional)

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes in a greased 9X13 pan.

*The key to getting these to cut and serve nicely is to make them well in advance and allow time for them to cool completely (they taste even better old, imo).



CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-5 TBSP milk

Cream butter, cocoa and approximately half of the powdered sugar, scraping sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add 3 TBSP milk and vanilla and beat well. Add remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to make a nice spreading consistency. Beat for 3-5 minutes.

Dill Weed Dip

1/2 pint sour cream
2 TBSP mayo
2 tsp grated onion
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp dill weed

Mix above ingredients together and refrigerate for an hour before serving.