Pizza

Pizza sounded really good tonight, so I set out to find a good and quick pizza recipe. I hit the jackpot. Allrecipes came through for me again with this pizza dough recipe. I added rosemary, basil and dill to the dough as well as the white sauce I put on it. I topped it with chicken, sauteed spinach, musrooms, olives, onion, garlic, and cheddar cheese (unfortunately our mozzarella had seen better days and found a new home in the trash). I baked it the full 25 minutes and it came out fully cooked but not dark. When I rolled out the dough, I left a 1" border slightly raised for the crust, and it was the perfect pan crust. I think I'll try making this dough into bread sticks like one of the comments suggested. It would be wonderful brushed with some garlic butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Snickerdoodles

I get my snickerdoodle recipe here, and really love the way they turn out. It's the only snickerdoodle recipe I've tried, and I don't feel the need to test another one out. I of course add ginger, nutmeg and cloves wherever it calls for just cinnamon, and I've had several requests for the recipe because it tastes just a little bit different from the traditional cookie.

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

Ken loves chicken and dumplings, so I decided to make it for him last week. Unfortunately he ate it late, since we had a freak snow storm and the main road into town was closed down for a few hours because the hill was too dangerous to pass. I really enjoyed it, even though I'm not the biggest dumpling fan. I like that this dumpling recipe makes smaller dumplings, instead of the big yeasty ones.

Boil 4 chicken breasts in large pot, dice, reserve water for stock (8 cups)
After pot is emptied, add a little butter or oil and saute 1/3 C. chopped onions, 2 cloves chopped garlic, and 2 chopped carrots. Add water back in, and add bullion cubes to season the water. I used 4-5 for 8 cups water. Add dumplings in and cook as directed by recipe, but don't worry about the broth it calls for. WATCH your pot... it needs to be pretty deep so they don't boil over. I had to keep lifting the lid every 30-60 seconds because my pot wasn't very deep. Add chicken and let simmer for a few minutes.

I didn't serve it with anything since the soup is great alone. It's perfect for a cold day, and even better when you're snowed in. :)

Tina Markham's Cinnamon Rolls

This was my contribution to the Cook family post-Christmas breakfast. The cinnamon rolls are unique because they aren't rolled at all. You simply break off dough, stretch it, dip it in butter, coat in in cinnamon sugar, and tie it in a knot. They're also topped with a caramel glaze instead of icing. I think they taste better than your average cinnamon roll, and I won't be posting the recipe because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to. I think you could probably make a pretty close match if you just made the roll modification on a regular dough recipe.

Quick oven chicken with scalloped potatoes

Ok, so the title is a bit of a misnomer. I needed a quick dinner one night, so I layered in a quart baking dish a thawed chicken breast, potatoes, and broccoli and topped it all with a homemade white sauce and some cheese. I covered the top with tin foil and baked it for 30-45 minutes, poured it onto a plate, and had dinner!

Chicken A La Theresa

Mushrooms, sliced and ready to go

Mushrooms, butter, garlic, cream, and a touch of marinade

Chicken A La Theresa with baked potatoes on the side

Tonight I tried a friend's recipe for Chicken A La Theresa, and I might have a new favorite meal. I love, love, LOVE the mushroom cream sauce that goes with this baked chicken. I did modify the original recipe quite a bit to fit what we had on hand and in our budget, but it was fantastic. I would probably choose to serve the chicken with angel hair pasta next time, and pour the extra sauce over it. The potatoes weren't bad, but they just didn't fit. You'll find the original recipe here. Here's what I did:

Chicken:
3-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Cups chicken broth
1/4-1/2 Cup White wine
1/2 tsp Pepper
1-2 tsp each rosemary and basil
1/8 tsp dill

Place the chicken in a zip top bag, add the marinade ingredients, and let marinade for 2 hours.

1lb Mushrooms, sliced
2 Cloves Garlic
6 Tbsp Butter (1/2 Cup works, too)
1/3-1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Chicken marinade

After chicken has marinaded (preheat oven to 350F now):
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-medium high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are slightly browned (20-30 minutes for me). Add cream and marinade, reduce until mushrooms have absorbed a bit of the liquid.

Place chicken in buttered baking dish (for 3 small breasts I used an 8x8). Pour mushroom sauce over chicken. Cover pan with tin foil. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Pan Grilled Chicken with Scalloped Potatoes

Pan Grilled Chicken with Scalloped Potatoes

We eat a lot of chicken in this house. It's by far the most cost effective and versatile meat I can buy, and I'm constantly trying to find new ways to serve it. So far I haven't tired of it, and I do cook other kinds of meat, so you will eventually see variety! In the picture, the potatoes don't look quite like they should because we were hungry, and a little too impatient to wait until the cheese had browned. It still tastes fantastic, though. I prepare the potatoes, and cook the chicken while the potatoes are in the oven so they're done at roughly the same time.
To make this meal:

Chicken:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder

Put your pan over medium heat (I use a big pot because our kitchen is cold and the pan loses less heat). Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and coat the chicken breasts with it. Add seasonings to taste. Cook chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through- 15-20 minutes for me, and I adjust the temperature throughout the cooking to make sure the chicken doesn't get too dark.

Scalloped Potatoes:
5-6 Medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin rounds (enough to go in a 9x13 pan)
1/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2-1 tsp Salt
1/4-1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4-1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4-1/2 tsp Dill
1/4-1/2 tsp Oregano
2 Cups milk
2-3 Cups grated cheese

Boil sliced potatoes until slightly soft, but not falling apart. Drain and pour into 9x13" pan.
While potatoes are boiling, melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour and spices (I don't measure the spices, just do it to taste), increase heat, and stir until smooth and bubbly. Add milk and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil one minute; sauce will be thicker. Turn off heat. Add half of the cheese to the sauce, stir until melted. Pour sauce over potatoes and stir a little to make sure they're all coated. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese over the top. Bake in a 350F oven 30-45 minutes or until the top of the cheese is slightly browned. Let sit a few minutes before serving to let it set.