Monterey Chicken

I was basically gone for the entire weekend and when I finally blew through the door on Sunday afternoon, I figured my poor husband could use and deserved a good, home cooked meal. The trick was staying awake long enough to cook it.

I must say, we were not disappointed-Monterey chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh broccoli and cheesecake for dessert. Yum!!!
Monterey Chicken

adapted from double dipped life

2-4 chicken breasts

1/2 -1 cup bbq sauce

bacon, whatever kind you liked cooked

shredded cheddar cheese

tomatoes, chopped

green onion, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in preheat 350* oven for 20-40 minutes, depending on how large your chicken breasts are. Spread bbq sauce generously over each piece of chicken. Bake for another 10 minutes. Wrap cooked bacon around each piece of chicken, using as much or as little as you want and sprinkle with cheese. Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes to melt cheese and quickly combine flavors. Sprinkle with tomatoes and green onions. Enjoy!

Favorite Cupcakes

I have become a total slacker at blogging. I just forget to take pictures and what's the point in posting a recipe if you can't see how good it looks? On St. Patrick's Day we had a dinner at church, so our corned beef and cabbage was postponed until Thursday night. It was yummy, I must say. We had a little St. Patrick's Day party with our neighbor kids and all the mom's brought something green for everyone to eat. I made these babies-my favorite cupcakes. They are moist and delicious-even 4 days after you make them. (We were still eating them last Sunday.) The cupcake batter was supposed to be green, but I was talking on the phone while I was making them, so I totally spaced it. Green frosting is still festive, right? Nothing fancy, just a good cupcake.
Velvet Cupcakes

picky palate

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 small box vanilla pudding

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350*. Prepare pans by placing cupcake liners in muffin tins. Mix all ingredient together in a large mixing bowl on med-high speed until well mixed, 2-3 minutes. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (Mine actually only took about 14 minutes.)

Place on cooling rack and cook completely. Once cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe below), eat and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 lb powdered sugar

food coloring if desired

Mix cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Gradually add in powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. You may need to add a splash of water and milk to help thin it out a bit.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Birthday Brunch

Every year my Mom, my cousin April and I always try to go out to breakfast sometime the end of spring to celebrate our birthdays. Last year we never made it out together-I have no idea why, we just didn't. Last week I had everybody down to my house for brunch. Mom April, Abby and Katy all came down and we ate well! I served some of my favorite breakfast foods and everybody loved it! April-these are for you.

Breakfast Sticky Buns

16-18 frozen dinner rolls

1 (3oz) pkg regular butterscotch pudding (not instant)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 stick melted butter

The night before, place frozen rolls in a well greased bundt pan. Sprinkle dry pudding mix over rolls. Sprinkle brown sugar over pudding, pecans over sugar and pour melted butter over all. Cover with damp towel or tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Let rise overnight at room temp for 8-10 hours. Preheat oven to 350*. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before turning onto serving plate.

Pull apart and enjoy!!

Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole

barbara bakes

Crust: 1 (24oz) shredded hashbrowns, fresh or thawed

1 egg, beaten

Topping: 7 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup ham

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

4 scallions, chopped

Heat oven to 450*. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Combine potatoes and egg; mix well. Spread mixture into prepared pan and pat down evenly to create a crust. Bake 10 minutes until edges start to crisp.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Scramble eggs in a non-stick skillet until set. Mix in ham and chopped veggies. Spread egg/veggie mixture over potato crust. Top with shredded cheese. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to crisp.

The Most Delicious French Toast You Will Ever Eat!!

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 loaf French bread, cut into thick slices

1-2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Preheat griddle or skillet. Spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 200*.

In a shallow dish, beat together eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Dip the slices of bread in egg mixture, then place on heated skillet and cook about 3 minutes each side, or until golden brown. Place on baking sheet in the warm oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of the bread.

In a saucepan, cook the butter and brown sugar. Stir together until the butter is melted. Add walnuts and toss to coat with the mixture. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved and walnuts are fragrant. Stir the mixture into ricotta cheese.

Spread walnut mixture on individual pieces of French toast and serve with syrup below. Delicious!!!

Magelby's Famous Syrup

1/2 cup butter (not margarine)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

Heat butter, buttermilk and sugar in saucepan. Heat until boiling, stirring often. Boil for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. Stir until well combined. Sere immediately over French toast, pancakes or waffles.

Keeps well in fridge, just needs to be reheated before serving. Amazing!!!

Lemon-Pepper Fettuccine

I don't think I will ever eat "regular" fettuccine ever again. I LOVE the lemon in this recipe. It really gives it a refreshing flavor. Plus, it only takes about 20 minutes to make. Can't complain about that! It is not terribly figure friendly-but who cares! All things in moderation, right?

Lemon-Pepper Fettuccine

food network magazine

12 oz fettuccine

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large shallot, minced

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 large egg yolk

1-2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1/3 cups grated pecorino cheese, plus more for garnish

freshly ground pepper

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add the fettuccine and cook according to pkg directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Whisk the cream, egg yolk and lemon zest in a bowl. Reduce the heat to low and add the cream mixture and cheese to the skillet. Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to the skillet and toss, adding enough of the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce. Garnish with additional cheese if desired.

Serves 4-6

Peanut Butter Heaven

Monday was National Peanut Butter Lovers Day. So of course I had to make something with peanut butter for our treat that evening. I found this recipe the other day and as soon as I saw it I had to taste it! It is super rich, but delicious! You can serve the mousse by itself or serve it with a brownie or chocolate cupcake. Personally, the brownie is my favorite way to serve this. Throw a peanut butter cup on top and you have a great dessert to entertain with!

Peanut Butter Mousse

3 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 cups (cold) heavy cream

1 tbsp vanilla

Using a mixer, mix cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Put in fridge. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, milk and peanut butter. Fold in whipped cream. It may take a couple minutes, but it will come together. Refrigerate until cold. Serve as is or with another chocolate dessert.

YUMMY!!!

A month ago I was called to be young women's president in our ward. Since then, Sunday's have been anything but a day of rest. Valentine's day was full of meetings and therefore-no cooking occurred. We had leftovers. I had a beautiful menu planned, but wasn't able to make it until this week. However, as I got dinner on the table, my kids decided to go wacko on me resulting in no nice tablecloth, no candles, and cold food by the time we sat down to eat. I was frustrated that it wasn't the nice, calm, romantic meal I had been hoping for, but I guess that is life. The food still tasted delicious (even though Tessa wouldn't touch it. I tried not to be offended.). Maybe next year will be a bit calmer-ha ha ha!

Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup honey

Bake pork tenderloin at 325* for about 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, combine vinegar and honey in a small saucepan. Simmer until reduced by half. Remove pork from oven, brush with reduced vinegar. Place under broiler until sauce is bubbly and starting to caramelized. Remove, turn, brush with vinegar and repeat. When finished, remove from oven and let rest 7-10 minutes before cutting. Drizzle with remaining vinegar.

Green Mashed Potatoes

redhead recipes

6 russet potatoes

1/2 bag frozen peas

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

milk

Boil potatoes until soft. Add in peas for last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain peas and potatoes. Add butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mash. Add milk as needed to obtain desired texture. Serve.

Catalina Apricot Chicken

I had like 6 hours of meetings on Sunday-so I think those will be our crock-pot days from now on. I totally forgot to take a picture of this until I was putting all the food away. It doesn't look terribly appetizing, but it is good! I promise! This is one of our favorite chicken dinners.

Catalina Apricot Chicken

3-5 chicken breasts

1 cup Catalina dressing

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 cup apricot jam

Place chicken in greased slow cooker. In a bowl, combine other 3 ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Do not cook on high heat.

Serve over rice.

Serves 4-6