Dijon Chicken with Spinach and Couscous

I got this recipe from a co-worker, it was originally for pork cutlets but I substituted chicken. I made this on my last night visiting in Utah, something quick and fun before we went and attempted an indoor surfing that ended up beating me up more than anything.

Ingredients

	3  Chicken breasts
	3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
	3 Tbsp sugar
	1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
	1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	1/4 cup(s) water

Instructions

• Cut chicken breasts in half.
  
• Combine mustard and next three ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a shallow dish; spoon 2 tablespoons mustard mixture over pork, turning to coat. Let stand 15 minutes.
  
• Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook 4 minutes on one side; turn chicken and spoon reserved mustard mixture over chicken. Cook chicken 2 minutes or just until done.
  
• Add water, stirring slightly; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Turn chicken to coat, and place on a serving platter. Pour pan juices over chicken. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 pieces). 

I put this over a bed of spinach that I cooked with garlic and some couscous on the side (any flavor you like).

Love and Enjoy!

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

I went down to Utah recently to visit my brother and sister in law and they're new baby girl. To help them out I offered to do the cooking. The first night I planned on making one of my favorites, this recipe came from my mother and has always been a hit each time I have made it, I know its one of my boyfriends favorite dishes for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 16 crescent rolls
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp slivered almonds
• 1 oz egg white
• 1 tsp dill weed
• 1 lb chicken breast meat
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

 Directions:

1. Pre-cook chicken in oven at 350 °F (175 °C) for 20 minutes. Dice chicken into cubes, should be 2-3 cups.
2. Adjust oven to 375 °F (190 °C). In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, mayonnaise, dill weed and salt.
3. Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough.
4. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1" wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3" wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side.
5. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Spread cheese over the top of mixture (sharp cheddar cheese is also good).
6. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.
7. Brush braided dough with the egg white, and press almond slivers gently into top of dough. Bake in the pre-heated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.

Love and Enjoy!

Cheese Enchiladas

I got tired of cooking the same old thing and always going out for Mexican, which is my boyfriends favorite. So one night I decided to surprise him with some Cheese Enchiladas. This is a quick simple recipe, my favorite kind. I will say it was a little messy dipping the tortillas into the tomato sauce, but well worth it in the end. 

 

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Creole-style seasoning
• 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
• 1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced ripe olives
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms (Only did half with mushrooms as I don't care for them)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine tomato sauce, tomato paste and Creole-style seasoning.
3. Warm tortillas in microwave, or in oven; dip them in the tomato sauce mixture and lay them in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Fill each tortilla with cheese, onion, olives and mushrooms; roll. Repeat until dish is full. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Recipe from Allrecipes
Love and Enjoy!

D's Famous Chocolate Chip Banana Peanut Butter Cookies!

I started making these because my roommate was Vegan and was craving cookies so we looked up how to make them Vegan friendly. Over time I have played with the recipe a bit but they are still Vegan friendly, they were also a great way to entice my employees to meet goals. I fully believe in bribery, it works especially when its something this good for everyone to enjoy. Just ask my old employees every time I would use making cookies to get them to go above and beyond, they had no problem complying. In fact, it is because of an old employee that I am now posting this.

D's Famous Cookies:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour ( I use 2 parts whole wheat flour and 1 part all-purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened ( For this I use one cup of melted peanut butter creamy or crunchy)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs ( I substitute I banana per egg, mash them up really good)
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Chocolate Chips (for vegan use Ghiradelli) 

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Mash bananas, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add melted peanut butter and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Love and Enjoy!

Turkey Squash Casserole

So with more squash coming our way, I decided to make a meal of it. After doing several different searches on the internet I came up with the following recipe. This was delicious, and it lasted about 3 nights for 2 of us.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups sliced yellow summer squash
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used the shredded cheddar I had on hand)
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup crushed saltines

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook turkey in oil over medium heat until no longer pink. Add the squash and onion. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender; drain.
2. In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, cheese, butter, salt and pepper. Stir into the turkey mixture. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Sprinkle with the cracker crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

Recipe found on All Recipes
Love and Enjoy!

Squash Pecan Muffins/Bread

We have gotten quite a bit of squash the last couple of weeks so I decided why not use the Zucchini recipe and substitute it with some squash instead? I have used both the yellow and green summer squash they both work really well. I recently took some into work for a potluck and they were a hit!

Quick Zucchini/Squash Bread

2 loaves or 24 muffins (I did one of each)
3 eggs
1 cup olive oil
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini/summer squash, yellow or green
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour ( I did one part white 2 parts whole wheat)
3 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt and nuts. Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.
Bake loaves for approx 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake quickly, approx 20 to 25 minutes.

I did the muffins first then added about 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to the remaining batter for the bread.

Recipe from Tiny's Organic Newsletter July 27, 2011

Love and Enjoy!

Grandma's Peachy Cool

We decided to make this for our nephew since he was staying with us and we had just picked up our CSA bag to find.....more peaches :) 

Peachy Cool

1pint Vanilla Ice Cream (I tried the new Ole' Vanilla made from Mexican vanilla, super yum!)
2 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup pealed and sliced peaches
1/4 Cup Honey
1 1/2 Cups Milk

Add ingredients to blender and mix until well blended. Makes about 3 1/2 12oz glasses.

Love and Enjoy!

Peach/Cherry Cobbler

This is a fun and easy recipe that doesn't take much time. (For the Peach I used almond milk instead of regular and did half wheat/half all purpose four, and it came out great.) Don't be scared to vary the recipe.

Easy Fruit Cobbler

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

2 cups sliced fresh peaches*

*you can use an assortment of any fruit on hand. (Ive also used Cherrys and it was great)

I also added some cinnamon to the peach cobbler about 1/4 tsp

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Melt butter in a 9 x 9 inch baking

dish. Blend together flour, baking powder, sugar, and milk.

Pour batter in baking dish over the butter. Sprinkle fruit on top of

the batter, do not stir. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.
(I noticed the cherry only took an hour but because the peaches get so juicy it took about an hour and a half just keep your eye on it)

Recipe from Tiny's Organic Newletter July 20, 2011
Love and Enjoy!

 

Whole Wheat Cherry Bran Muffins

We recently signed up for CSA delivery and have been getting lots of Cherries so I decided to get experimental with some of the recipes given in the newsletter. This one is a new favorite of mine although I must say it gets a little messy pitting the Cherries but its sooo worth it.

Recipe:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 Cup Whole Bran
3/4 Wheat Germ
3/4 tsp Salt
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Sugar
2 Cups Yogurt
1 Egg lightly beaten
1/2 Cup Honey
2 tbsp Butter
1 Cup Pitted Cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 425F. In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, bran, salt, baking soda, and sugar.  Beat together the yogurt, egg, honey, and butter in a second bowl. Add dry ingredients and fold in with a few quick strokes. Fold in the fruit (don't over mix). Fill greased muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until done. Makes 12 muffins.

Recipe from Tiny's Organics Newsletter July 6, 2011
Love and Enjoy!