Smothered Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small onion, diced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon dark roux

1/2 teaspoon sugar

desired seasonings

Season chicken as desired and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar on each side. Coat non-stick skillet (could also use a cast iron pot or dutch oven) with vegetable oil. Cook chicken until really browned on each side. I let the pan run out of water several times and add just a little bit of water and turn the chicken.

Remove the chicken and add onions, let them cook down a few minutes. Add about a cup of water and the dark roux. Slowly simmer until roux has dissolved. Add chicken back and enough water to cover the chicken about halfway up. Let simmer until chicken gets tender, you may have to add a little more seasoning.

I served over white rice with green beans. So simple, but so yummy! This is the way my mom used to make it, so I don't have a "recipe".

HERSHEY'S Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

This was not the best chocolate chip cookie we've ever had. I didn't have a lot of special ingredients on hand, so this was what I was able to make. I added the m&m's on my own. It was ok, but I think I will be looking for a new recipe next time I want to make something like this again.

That hasn't stopped DH from eating half of it though....

HERSHEY'S Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-2/3 cups HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips, HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, HERSHEY'S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate or HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12-inch metal pizza pan with foil.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in medium bowl until fluffy; add egg, beating well. Stir together flour and baking soda; stir into mixture with chocolate chips. (This is where I added one small bag of m&m's) Spread batter evenly in prepared pan, spreading to 1-inch from edge.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly brown and set. (20 minutes is WAY too long, I cooked it for 13 before taking it out) Cool completely; carefully lift cookie from pan and remove foil. Decorate as desired; cut into wedges to serve. 8 to 10 servings.

Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce

OMG, this stuff was so good. I had a loaf of regular white bread that was about to go bad in the pantry, and I knew I wanted to make bread pudding with it. I had to search for a while to find a recipe that used just plain white bread, but this one was a winner. Recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/.

INGREDIENTS
6 slices day-old bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional) (I didn't use any)
4 eggs, beaten (I will probably just use 3 next time)
2 cups milk (I used one cup of milk and one cup of half-and-half)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. (I accidently added the butter with all of the other ingredients, but it still turned out well) If desired, sprinkle with raisins. (no raisins for me)
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

The only liquor we have is Amaretto and Crown Royal. I found this recipe for Amaretto sauce and it was divine. It has quite a bit of sugar in the sauce alone, but you really don't need much of the sauce. Even after it sat for a little while, I was able to whisk it for a minute and it came back together nicely.

Amaretto sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg well beaten
1/4 cup amaretto Liqueur

DIRECTIONS
Stir the sugar and butter on top of double boiler, set over simmering water, until butter melts, sugar dissolves and mixture is very hot. remove from over water and whisk in the egg. Continue whisking until cooled to room temperature. Mix in the Amaretto. Serve as a top for the Bread Pudding.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

I made these to bring to our annual New Years Day lunch with my in-laws. They were delicious and so easy to make. I found the recipe in Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats, and she got it from Kyla's blog.

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of Nestle mini chocolate chips

For dipping:

1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips (I used 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 tsp shortening)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat all ingredients together, except chocolate chips. Stir in chips.

Shape heaping tablespoons of dough into 3" think logs. Place on non-stick or lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake until the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and place on waxed paper, carefully, to cool. Freeze overnight or longer. (This confused me a bit, so I just threw them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to help them "set".)

Melt a half bag of milk chocolate chips in a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler, melt the chocolate in your microwave on high heat for 1 minute, at 30 seconds intervals, stirring well between each interval. If the chocolate is not completely melted, continue heating it in your microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring well between each interval, and being careful not to burn the chocolate. (I had to add a little bit of milk to my chocolate to make it smooth enough to dip in)

Dip each stick into the chocolate about 1/3 the way up. Immediately place on waxed paper.

Chill to solidify chocolate.

Yield: Approximately 24 cookies.

Smothered Potatoes

I wanted something different to go along with my (gasp!) Shake-n-Bake pork chops. I haven't made smothered potatoes in long time and I forgot how good they were!


5 medium sized potatoes, washed and sliced very thin
1 medium onion, diced
olive oil
salt and pepper



I sliced the potatoes very thin, then cut them in half. I coated my electric skilled with olive oil and tossed the potatoes with the onion and lots of salt and pepper. Then I just cooked on low, stirring often because they would stick. They cooked up in about 20 minutes and I used the spatchula to chop them up.

Italian Breaded Chicken Over Fettucine Alfredo

Italian Breaded Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 packed of dry zesty Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup of grated parmesean cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 stick of melted butter

Mix together all ingredients except for butter. Pound down chicken until thin and coat with butter, then bread crumb mix. I sauteed in olive oil, but you can also bake them on a greased sheet at 375 for about 25-30 minutes.

Fettucine Alfredo (Olive Garden)

This recipe was given to me when I got married in a recipe box, and I've also seen it online. It's tastes exactly like Olive Garden's sauce and is so easy to make.

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream (I used half and half and added a little cornstarch to thicken it up)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
black pepper
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb fettuccine, prepared as directed
I also threw in a handful of grated romano cheese

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. When butter is melted, add cream cheese. When the cream cheese is softened, add heavy cream. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Serve over hot fettucine noodles.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This is "my dish." I am always forced to make this for every family function, I don't even have a choice. Today was my sister's bridal shower, so it was only natural that I make this! It is always a crowd pleaser and I have served with chips, pita bread, crackers and fried bowtie noodles. Today I served with just plain tortilla chips, but I fried up some bowtie noodles for me to enjoy before the shower!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

(adapted from Mike Anderson's Seafood cookbook)

3 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped artichoke hearts (marinated in water, NOT oil)

6 jalapeno slices

1 1/2 tablespoons jalapeno juice

2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

2 3/4 tablespoons flour

3/4 pound frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained well

1 cup half and half

1 pound Velvetta Cheese, cubed

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden brown. Simmer for a few minutes over low heat. Add artichoke hearts, jalapenos, jalapeno juice and black pepper. After artichoke hearts start to break apart, add flour. Stir well and add spinach. Gradually stir in half and half. Continue to stir over low heat and slowly add Velvetta cheese. Serve warm with chips or crackers.

For the fried bowtie pasta, I cook the noodles al dente and drain well. Mix with a little bit of seasoned flour and flash fry for a minute. They are really good, but get hard fast.