Lemon-Garlic Chicken

This recipe comes to you from one of my favorite celebrity cooks, Ina Garten. She's brilliant at coming up with recipes that are simple and delicious... I love this lady!

This lemon-garlic chicken is super easy to prepare, moist and screaming with flavor... a perfect recipe for those busy weekdays. I would serve it with boiled dill potatoes or steamed vegetables... oh, and make sure you use a good white wine. The first time I made this I used an out of date white wine and it was less than stellar... the wine makes difference!  

Lemon-Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/3 cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a pan, heat olive oil on medium-high and stir in minced garlic. Cook garlic for exactly 1 minute. Add white wine and lemon juice. Stir and remove from heat.

3. Pour mixture into oven safe dish. Place chicken breasts on top of mixture and roll the breasts so that they are coated. Sprinkle breasts with salt, pepper, oregano, lemon zest and fresh thyme.

4. Cut a lemon in quarters and spread around the chicken.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes. 

Fried Cauliflower

I know some people don't like cauliflower... but that's because they haven't tried fried cauliflower. :-) I had an extra head of cauliflower in my fridge the other night that needed to be used... otherwise it'd go to waste and wasting food in my house is sinful! I decided to fry it up and serve it as a side dish with a new chicken meatloaf recipe I was fixing. They were both a huge hit at dinner and everybody loved them. Will I be frying more cauliflower in the future? Absolutely! Give it a try and see what I mean!

Oh... in case you don't have self-rising flour, remember you can add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoons of salt for every 1 cup of all-purpose flower. So... in this recipe... if you're using all-purpose flour... add 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt and you're set to go!

 

Fried Cauliflower

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
Peanut or vegetable oil for frying
2 eggs


Directions:

1. In a pot, heat water to a boil. Place cauliflower florets into boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Remove and allow to dry.

 2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.

3. In another bowl, beat eggs; adding just a little water while beating.

4. Dip each cauliflower floret into the egg mixture, then immediately into the bowl with the flour mixture. Toss and coat each floret and set aside on a plate.

5. In an electric skillet heat oil to 350 degrees. Place coated cauliflower florets into the skillet. Make sure there's enough oil to almost completely submerge the cauliflower. Fry for 10-12, flipping occasionally, until the florets are golden brown.  Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Serve with ranch dressing.

Homemade Apple Butter

If you've never had homemade apple butter you're missing out on something special. This slow-cooker/crock-pot recipe takes a little time... but what you get in return is truly wonderful... not to mention your kitchen will be smelling delightful & delicious during the entire process. If you're looking to can or jar the apple butter, it makes a unique gift for the holidays... or keep it all to yourself and spread it on a piece of toast or a toasted bagel with your coffee in the morning.


* If you've never canned before, check out this video below to learn.

Homemade Apple Butter

Ingredients:

5 pounds (about 10 large) apples, preferably a mix of sweet and tart varieties, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups apple cider
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup Applejack or Calvados
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Zest and juice of ½ large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice



Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Spread the apple chunks in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast until they’re softened but not very brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the apples and any juices they’ve released to a slow cooker.

2. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover the pot. Turn the slow cooker to low and cook until the mixture has turned brown and reduced to a chunky purée, about 10 hours. (This is convenient to do overnight.)

3. Remove the lid, turn the slow cooker to high, and cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 3 hours or longer, depending on the desired consistency. (The longer you cook it, the thicker the butter will be.) Turn off the slow cooker.

4. Purée the apple butter with an immersion blender until completely smooth (or let the butter cool completely before puréeing with an upright blender or food mill). Serve the butter warm or at room temperature. (Keep apple butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month, or can it and keep it at room temperature for up to a year.)  

Baked Acorn Squash with Crushed Pineapple

If you're interested in preparing acorn squash in a new, sweet and delicious way... try this recipe for Baked Acorn Squash with Pineapple from Paula Deen's bookcook, Southern Cooking Bible. I was a little hesitant at first - the idea on squash and pineapple sounded a little strange to me... but it actually turned out quite good and a sweet side dish that would go wonderfully with a delicious, savory main dish.

Baked Acorn Squash with Crushed Pineapple 

 

Ingredients:

1 can crushed pineapple (8 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoons pepper
2 medium acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds and pulp removed


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the pineapple, butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat until syrupy, about 5 minutes.

3. Place the squash halves, cut side up, on he prepared baking sheet. Spoon the pineapple mixture into the cavities, making sure to cover all the cut surfaces with the syrup. You don't want to miss 1 square inch with the syrup. Bake until the squash is tender and golden brown. About 1 hour.

Peppermint Holiday Bark

If you're looking for something fun, easy and sweet to make for a Christmas or holiday party, take a look at this recipe video below by Stephanie Jaworski of Joyofbaking.com. One can NEVER go wrong with chocolate and candy canes. I sprinkled my batch of bark with green sprinkles to make them look even more festive. :-) If you have kids, this is an easy recipe they can help you make... or, if you're a big kid at heart with a sweet tooth, you'll love this!

 Peppermint Holiday Bark