Sweet 'n Hot Mustard

When I was quite small, because I remember the swing of my legs against the chair and looking way up to see my grandpa's face, I was introduced to hot mustard.  It was Thanksgiving day and I was seated next to my Grandpa Murdock who was passing food to me. When the hot mustard came by, he touched only the tip of the spoon to my plate, leaving a tiny puddle, and telling me, "That's all you need."  I tried it with my turkey. I remember how hot it was, but also that I kind of liked it.

I have tried making my own mustard different times, but last fall I found a recipe that has become a staple at our house, and one I now offer to others who enjoy this zesty condiment. We love it on ham, poultry, sub sandwiches and to dunk pretzels in, the ones from the store, or especially the homemade ones. We find new uses for it all the time because it is so good. Awesome with brats, so maybe make some for the summer grilling season and then some more for the turkey and ham holidays. The original recipe came from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook called Celebrate Autumn.  I have made some adjustments.

Sweet 'n Hot Mustard
2 oz. dry ground mustard
1/2 c. white wine vinegar

1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. sugar
1 c. mayonnaise

In a small bowl, mix dry mustard and vinegar; cover and let stand for 8 hours or overnight.  In a small saucepan, mix egg, molasses, honey, sugar and mustard mixture.  Stir over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 min.). Allow to cool. Stir in mayonnaise; cover and refrigerate. Makes 2 cups.

Notes: This does have a thick, sticky texture. The original recipe stirs in about a teaspoon of mustard seed with the mayonnaise if you would like to try that. I have found it is cheaper to look for the dry ground mustard at places where they sell spices in bulk than to buy it at the spice aisle of the grocery store. If you are a real mustard maniac, and you want to double this recipe, you still only need to use one egg.
Jenny

Chicken and Potatoes with Feta

Our local library put together a little cookbook of the staff's favorite comfort foods and we brought it home to enjoy.  It is fun to play with a collection of homey favorites. We have tried several things, but this one was exceptional and should be shared. The original doesn't list amounts for  the main ingredients, so this is what I used, and you can adapt for your family.

Chicken and Potatoes with Feta
10 red potatoes, quartered
2 c. chicken, cooked and shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. fresh spinach
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 c. feta cheese
1 c. Italian dressing
salt and pepper

Boil potatoes until fork tender, drain. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss like a salad.  Place in a 9x13 baking dish and bake at  350 degrees for 30 min. Serve it with some French Bread.

Jenny

Parmesan Oven Chicken

This recipe comes from a community cookbook (my favorite kind!) and it is yummy and really easy to make. The breading becomes lovely and crispy on top while it bakes. The crumbs will actually cover two more thighs and four more drumsticks nicely, you just can't see them because I baked them in another pan.

Parmesan Oven Chicken
2-3 lb. cut up fryer chicken (I used only legs and thighs)
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed fine (about 2 cups)
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the powdery kind like Kraft)
1/4 c. parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cube butter or margarine, melted

Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towel.  Combine cracker crumbs, cheese, and seasonings.  Roll chicken pieces in melted butter, then in crumbs. Place in a greased 9x13 pan. Spoon any leftover crumbs over the top of the chicken, drizzle any remaining butter over the top.  Place in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for an hour. Serve this with a yummy potato salad or baked potatoes and some rolls.

Notes: According to the recipe, this can also be baked for 3 hours at 250 degrees.  The advantage of a slow baking is a bit like a crock pot, set it early and forget it for a time.

Jenny

Apricot Chicken and Rice

I first tasted apricot chicken in Australia when I was on a youth exchange--my host mother was such a good cook! She told me that she only made a few dishes, seven or eight things sticking with what she did well.  It was a good strategy and her apricot chicken was wonderful. Traditionally this dish is a sauce poured over chicken pieces and baked, but here we have a yummy skillet version, served over rice.  My kids loved this.

Apricot Chicken and Rice
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
3 c. chopped, cooked chicken
1 1/2 c. apricot preserves
2 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
pepper to taste
tiny pinch of chipotle flakes (optional)

In a large skillet, heat olive oil.  Cook onion and garlic in oil until onion is tender.  Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine and simmer for 10 min.  (If sauce is thin, you can thicken it with about 2 tsp. cornstarch in 2 Tbsp. water to a gravy consistency.)  Serve over rice.

Notes:  I served this at a meal when we weren't all home.  I will need to make a bigger batch next time.  I used homemade apricot jam. You could also add peppers to this...

Jenny

White Corn Chili

Here is one to warm you up!  My mom created this soup, which she calls "Oh No Soup" because it came about when Dad inadvertently brought cream corn to the kitchen instead of whole kernel, and when Mom opened it without looking at it.  Then it became soup as Mom was assigned a soup for a church event the next day.  I call it chili as that is what the flavor most reminds me of, and because I added beans to mine.  It is a breeze and fast to make!  A great one to remember when the natives are restless and time is short.

White Corn Chili
2 cans creamed corn
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 1/2 c. water
1 (4 oz.) can diced chilies
2 c. diced, cooked chicken
1 can white kidney beans (or other beans), with the liquid
2 Tbsp. dry minced onion
1 tsp. cumin

In a soup pot, combine ingredients and heat through.  Stir in:
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese or Velveeta cubes

Stir until cheese melts.  Serve with tortilla chips, if you like.

Notes:  My mom's soup uses only the first 5 ingredients.  You can stop here too, and have instant yummy soup.  I added the beans to stretch the servings.  I think it could take another can of white beans and still be good, I may try that next time.  We made this with leftover turkey and my kids ate it really well.

Jenny

Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas

I love Thanksgiving!  The only real preparation it requires is asking who will bring what food and finding a fun puzzle for people to visit over when they aren't wanted in the kitchen.  We eat, talk, laugh and spend time with loved ones.  We pray and thank God for the many blessings we enjoy.  The harvest is in, the winter can come and wrap me up in contemplation.  Today I will post a list of ideas for food from this blog.  May your time with this holiday be blessed.  May you have loving arms around you and enough--which, as Mary Poppins reminds us, is as good as a feast.

Thanksgiving Turkey How-to
Salads:
Pretzel Salad
Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Almost a Waldorf
Snickers Salad
Vegetable Sides:
Fried Sweet Potatoes
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Vegetables
Sour Cream Potatoes
Winter Squash Fritters
Onion Patties
Rolls:
Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
Heavenly Dinner Rolls
Parmesan Rolls
Butternut Squash Bread (this would make gorgeous rolls!)
90-Minute Bread (This is the recipe my family is most familiar with.)
Pies:
Basic Pie Crust tutorial
Cheddar Pear Pie
Swedish Apple Pie
Rhubarb Pie
Luscious Lime Pie
Cream Cheese Pie
Crisp Pie Topping for a fruit pie
Appetizers:
Ham and Cheese Ball
Hot Artichoke Dip
Gorgonzola Dip
Leftovers:
Pot Pie
Soup with Homemade Noodles

There are many other ideas here.  Click the recipe tab or browse by name in the seach box on the right sidebar.
Jenny

Chicken and Dumplings

The weather has turned chilly here, calling for a good pot of soup.  This is a favorite at our house. Think of this recipe as a guide and make your soup the way you like it!

Chicken and Dumplings
For the Soup:
In a large pot, boil 1 chicken with a whole stalk of celery for 1hour.  Remove chicken and celery from the pot.  Add water to the pot to make about 10 cups. (just estimate this)

Add to the boiling water:
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. frozen corn
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
salt and pepper
shred chicken and return meat to the pot

Cook this until the vegetables start to soften, remembering that the soup will cook for about 15 min. after you add the dumplings.  Now is the time to season the soup any way you like, adding more herbs, bouillon, salt and pepper. When it is yummy, add the dumplings.

Dumplings:
1 1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
3 Tbsp. melted butter
Drop dumplings by teaspoonfuls into hot soup, cook for about 15 min.

Notes:  you can use baking powder biscuit dough for dumplings too.  You can add 1/2 tsp. dried herbs to the dumplings or 1/4 c. shredded cheese (with the dry ingredients).  I usually shred about 1/2 of the chicken back into the pot and reserve the rest for a casserole.

Jenny

Mandarin Sauce

I tried this recipe two years ago, while facing a huge crop of tomatoes that I had bottled until I was out of ideas--then my aunt posted this recipe on our family web site.  I have found it a handy thing to have on the shelf.  See notes after the recipe for ideas on using this.

Mandarin Sauce
9 c. tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
4 c. onion chunks
4 c. green pepper, chopped
2 (20 oz.) cans chunk pineapple and juice
6 c. sugar
8 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 c. vinegar
1 c. water
1 1/4 c. cornstarch

Peel tomatoes, squeeze them to remove some of the juice and seeds, coarsely chop.  Cut onions and green peppers into chunks.  Mix sugar with cornstarch in a bowl and stir together. Combine tomatoes, pineapple and juice, onions, and peppers in a large pot.  Add soy sauce, vinegar, water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Slowly add sugar/cornstarch mix while stirring and boil until thickened.  Put in pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space and process immediately in a boiling water bath for 35 min.  Makes 12 pints.
To serve: Brown boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pour sauce over and bake in 350 oven for about 45 min.  or put this in a crock pot.  Serve over rice.

Notes:  This is a bit of an old-fashioned recipe for canning, as it calls for cornstarch.  Most new publications will not publish recipes with cornstarch because the resulting food product deteriorates in appearance over time.  It is perfectly safe to use, it will just separate, causing a clear liquid to gather on top of the food in the jar.  This may not happen for a year or more, but if it does, don't be alarmed, just use as is.  Alternately, you could make this without the cornstarch and thicken it before you use it each time.

I use the food processor to coarsely chop my vegetables.  To peel tomatoes, cut a small x in the bottom of the tomato. Put tomatoes into boiling water for 30 seconds then plunge into cold water.  The skins will begin to curl and you can pull them off easily with your hands.

My favorite way to use this sauce is over a pork roast in the crock pot.  When the meat is tender, I shred it back into the sauce and serve over rice.  This is also yummy over meatballs.

Jenny

White Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

While waiting for my husband to do some banking at the grocery store, I was browsing in a BBQ cookbook and found a recipe for a white barbecue sauce.  I was interested to try it, but it turned out to be way too vinegar for our tastes (I almost wonder if it was really a misprint in the book!) So we have experimented to come up with our own white barbecue sauce and this is the favorite way to eat it so far.

White Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

1 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp. Greek Seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

4-5 grilled chicken breasts

Combine mayo, sour cream and seasonings and stir well.  Chop chicken breasts really fine (you could use a food processor) and stir together with the sauce.  Heat if needed.  (I put the hot chicken into the sauce and serve it quickly.) Serve on buns.  Makes about 15 sandwiches on regular hamburger buns.

Jenny

Cheesy Chicken and Cauliflower

Cauliflower may be my favorite vegetable, I especially like it battered and deep fried.  I have a tough time getting my children to eat it though.  I like this casserole and it is the cauliflower dish that is eaten by the most children at my house.  Cheese helps anything go down!

Cheesy Chicken and Cauliflower
3 c. cooked chicken
1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
1 c. frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. sliced celery
1/3 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. flour
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 c. water
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. shredded cheese or cubed Velveeta

Parboil florets in water for 8 min.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter, add onion and celery and cook until onion is tender.  Sprinkle flour over the onion mix and stir to coat all the flour in butter.  Add milk and water, whisking to combine.  Stir and cook until sauce is thick.  Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, and cheese.  Let cheese melt.  Drain cauliflower and place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Add chicken and peas and carrots to cauliflower.  Pour sauce over all, toss to coat vegetables.  Top with more cheese if you like.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.

Note: I think this would be nice topped with crushed crackers, stirred with a little melted butter and sprinkled over before baking.  I haven't tried it yet, but if you do, let me know how it goes.
Jenny

4th of July BBQ Foods

I love a party!  This is just a quick post in case you are here looking for picnic or barbecue ideas for the weekend.  We usually have a family breakfast and a burgers/dogs on the grill at some point. Happy Birthday America!

Scones are a family favorite with us.  This recipe is a dream for a gathering in that you can make it days before and let it wait in the fridge until your ready for it.  You can plug in an electric skillet and fry these on the patio.  Set out the honey butter and let people eat them as they cook, hot and scrumptious! It will feed a crowd.  Our family standard for celebration breakfasts is Oatmeal Pancakes (batter prepared night before).

America should have a birthday cake, right?  Here are my summer favorites, as they are make-ahead and come out of the fridge cool and oh, so nice! Easy Jello Pudding Cake, Tres Leches Cake, Brownie Swirl Cheesecake, Frankie's No-Bake Cheesecake.  Here are two that travel really well, and are fast to make (and will feed a big crew!) Texas Sheet Cake; White Texas Sheet  Cake.

Salads and Sides: This is the list when someone says, "Just bring a side dish, dear."  Potato Salad is one of my personal favorites.  Cornbread Salad is the one I'm hoping my sister-in-law will bring. Snickers Salad is going to be one of the favorites on any table (this one you need to assemble just before eating). Two nice crunchy alternatives to the proverbial green salad are Broccoli Cauliflower Salad and Ramen Noodle Salad.  And no self-respecting relative in my family has a gathering without the Baked Beans.

There is a wonderful barbecue sauce for chicken with this recipe for Zesty Chicken Wings. Sloppy Joe's are nice to tuck into after a morning at the parade.  The meat can be hot and ready in your crock pot while you're away. Fried Chicken is classic for a picnic. If you don't have a grill, but you like a charred hot dog, try Hot Dogs and Onions.

What's more American than Apple Pie? Pie in general is one of my weaknesses!  Here are some favorites:

Aunt Elaine's Rhubarb Pie; Luscious Lime Pie; Cream Cheese Pie; and knock-your-socks-off Cheddar Pear Pie. Pie is welcome where ever it goes.

Just some ideas to get your mouth watering!  Eat watermelon.  Eat corn on the cob.  Let your taste buds know you're celebrating!

Jenny

Pre-baked Fried Chicken Method

I'm pretty excited about the way this last experiment turned out!  I find a consistent problem when I fry chicken of having the inside not done and the coating burnt.  Makes me mad.  This time I tried pre-baking the chicken and it worked out sooo well!  Here is the method:

Fried Chicken
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken pieces on a greased cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper or any other seasoning you like.  Bake for 20 min.  Turn pieces of chicken over and season the other side, return to oven and bake another 15 min.  Remove chicken from oven.  Heat oil in a skillet on med-high.  Mix coating ingredients from this recipe for Fried Chicken and proceed as directed.  The results were heralded as a great success at this house.  I was worried about rolling and dredging hot chicken, but it was really not hard to handle.  I used buttermilk in my egg mix this time and I prefer it, it makes a nice thick coating and it builds on the chicken with the two rollings. Do be careful of splattering grease any time you fry chicken!
Jenny

Chicken Noodle Skillet

I found another Cheater-pants meal this week!  It was fast and easy and my children sang my praises while they ate it.  What's not to love?

Chicken Noodle Skillet
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 soup cans water
2 soup cans milk
1 lb. uncooked pasta (I used rotini)

Whisk soup, milk and water in a saucepan.  Add uncooked pasta, bring mixture to a boil and turn heat down to simmer for 12 min.  Stir often to keep pasta from sticking. Add:
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Heat through and taste for seasoning.  I used seasoned salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Notes: You can vary the seasonings or use other cheeses.

Jenny

Lettuce Wraps

We tried these recently and my family loved them!  I'm adding them here as we will definitely be making them again.  The kids called them Chinese burritos.

Lettuce Wraps
Sauce: (to pour over wraps)
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cornstarch

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan, or microwave safe dish and heat until thickened.  Keep warm.

Stir fry:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 lb. ground pork or chicken  breast (you can grind the raw meat in your food processor)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained
1/2 c. mushrooms
3 green onions
1 can (8 oz.) bamboo shoots, drained

Stir fry sauce:
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Make both sauces and set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine water chestnuts, mushrooms, onions and bamboo shoots and chop fine.  In a skillet or wok, heat oils, add pork and garlic and cook through.  (If there is a lot of grease at this point, spoon off, leaving only about 2 Tbsp.)  Add chopped vegetables and stir fry a couple of minutes.  Add the stir fry sauce and stir to coat.  To serve, wrap stir fry in iceberg lettuce leaves and spoon serving sauce over the top.

Notes:  This sounds a bit intense, but if you measure out and set aside the sauces first, the stir fry takes only a matter of minutes.  We used pork that I ground in my food processor.  It was delicious!  I used the left over dipping sauce as a stir fry sauce with lo mein noodles.  You can skip the dipping sauce and serve them with Plum Sauce if you like.

Another Note:  I wanted lettuce wraps this week, but didn't have bamboo shoots or water chestnuts or even mushrooms on hand.  So I substituted carrots, potato and zucchini and they turned out wonderful.  Just play with what you have on hand!

Jenny

Zesty Chicken Wings

This is another recipe to dress up inexpensive cuts of chicken.  I do love the sauce on wings, but I use it on drumsticks the most.  It is from Taste of Home.

Zesty Chicken Wings
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
16 whole chicken wings (about 3 lbs.)

In a saucepan, combine the first eight ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 15-20 min. or until thickened.  Meanwhile, cut chicken wings into three sections; discard wing tips.  Place wings in  a well-greased 15x10 baking pan.  Bake at 375 for 30 min., turning once.  Brush with sauce.  Bake 20-25 minutes longer, turning and basting once or until chicken juices run clear.  Serve with additional sauce if desired.  Yield 10-12 servings.

Notes:  This only yields that many servings as an appetizer. :)

Jenny

How to Cook a Turkey

When turkeys are cheap at Thanksgiving, I get as many as my freezer will hold, then I cook them up periodically through the year and they become tasty, fast meals.  I would even argue that the turkey is a fast meal in and of itself, it only takes minutes of prep time and bakes quietly for hours until you are ready for it.  Everyone is impressed, everyone feels festive, what's not to love?  I learned this method from my mom several years ago.  I was eating some nice turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and asked her how she had prepared it.  She looked at me funny, and then laughed.  "I don't do anything to them anymore!" I reeled.

 I had helped with countless turkeys in my youth, my brother and I standing over the kitchen sink washing and animating for our giggling pleasure a naked, slippery turkey.  We would then pat it dry and salt and butter the bird, maybe some stuffing, and mom would lift the heavy treasure into the oven.  Now my mother was explaining to me (a very sensible woman, too) that the birds are brined so heavily before you buy them that all she does now is wash and bake.  I tried it, and she is right.  Beautiful bird, no fuss. This will probably not work for an organic or free range turkey, but I've never found one of those to be cheap!

Here are the instructions for the no-fuss bird:

1) Frozen turkeys will need to be thawed for several days in the fridge. I take mine from the freezer and place it on a baking sheet in the fridge and forget about it for about a week.

2) Cover a large pan with aluminum foil,  I have used both my 9x13 baker and my 12x17 heavy duty baking sheet for this. The baking sheet is the one I prefer. If I had a roaster, I would use it.

3) Unwrap and wash the turkey, remove the giblets and neck.  Just rinse well with water.

4) Tuck the turkey's wings behind its back and place on the pan.

5) Bake according to instructions on the roasting table provided with the turkey packaging.  Tent with aluminum foil which you can remove the last hour of baking.

You can baste if you like, but it isn't necessary.  There will be a lot of drippings, if you are using a baking sheet, it is wise to remove some or most of the drippings before lifting a heavy bird out of the oven!

I serve the turkey in a series of meals: Meal 1 looks a bit like Thanksgiving dinner, I make a box of stove top and open a can of cranberries, potatoes, if I am in the mood, and a can of corn. I carve one side of the breast and a bit of one thigh.  Remember to refrigerate the turkey right after serving.  It takes a while for the meat to cool on the carcass.  The next day, when it is cool, I will make a series of packages of meat for the freezer.  1 wing and 1 drumstick go into a bag for soup (two of these) then I cut one side of the turkey breast off whole.  If it is a big bird, this gets cut in half and wrapped as two portions of meat.  Then I pull off as much as I can of the rest of the meat, making 2 cup portions in freezer bags.  I will get a few of these.  Then, the turkey carcass will be wrapped and put back in the fridge waiting for me to make soup with it when the time is right. (If you are not in the mood for soup just now, the carcass can be frozen too.)  I will now have 3 soup meals, the original meal, and several more packages of pre-cut, yummy meat to use in dishes like Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Tetrazzini and Chicken Monet.  It takes only about a minute to thaw them in the microwave and they are ready to throw in a casserole! So versatile!  Even though the process extends through time, none of the steps takes long, and having instant meals on hand is worth it!

Jenny

Coconut Fish Curry

This recipe is from one of my kitchen mentors, Alison Holst.  She is a household word in New Zealand, and her cookbooks are wonderful if you can get your hands on one.  The flavor of this is reminiscent of the Bangkok noodles at Noodles and Co.  I really like it, and I think it would be great with leftover chicken or some shrimp substituted for the fish as well.

Coconut Fish Curry
2 Tbsp. butter

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. curry powder

1 (14 oz.) can coconut cream

1 1/2 lb. fish fillets

1/4 tsp. salt

Melt butter in a large pan and cook garlic and onion over low heat, covered, until tender, but not browned.  Stir in the curry powder, cook for 1 min. longer, then add coconut cream.  Cook, uncovered, for 5-10 min. until the sauce thickens.  Cut fish into pieces 4 inches by 1 1/2 inches.  Turn pieces in sauce, then pack in pan in one layer and simmer 5 - 10 min, until center of fish is opaque and fish will flake fairly easily.  Add salt to taste.  Serve over noodles or rice.

Notes:  This is a new and improved photo.  I changed my method, adding a couple of cups of chopped veggies (carrots and celery--but you could add what you like) to the sauce while simmering.  I stirred the noodles into the sauce, and I stir-fried the fish separately in a bit of garlic and butter, serving it in a pile on top of the noodles.  Yum!

Jenny

Cranberry Chicken

This is pretty as well as yummy, plus it only has four ingredients! 

Cranberry Chicken

4 large or 6 small chicken breasts

1 pkt. onion soup mix

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup Catalina or Russian red salad dressing

Place the chicken in a 9x13 pan.  Mix the other ingredients and pour over. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or at 250 for 2 hours.  You can serve the chicken breasts like this, but I like to shred the meat into the sauce and serve over rice.

Note: Since the original post, I have started making this in the crock pot and shredding the chicken off the bone, into the sauce after cooking. Makes it nice to serve over rice.

Jenny

Chicken Noodle Soup

My Grandma makes this best.  I keep trying, so someday I'll be that grandma....

Chicken Noodle Soup
1 recipe Egg Noodles
1 whole chicken or chicken pieces that include dark meat and bones
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 onion, chopped
2-4 chicken boullioun cubes
Parsley, thyme or poultry seasoning (opt.)

Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Boil the chicken for an hour.  Remove from pot, add noodles, carrots, celery, onion, boullion cubes and any herbs you like to the broth.  You may need to add some water at this point.  Remove chicken from the bones and add back to soup.  Boil about 20 minutes or until carrots and noodles are tender. Season to taste.
Notes: This is great with leftover turkey as well.  We like to pass the seasoning salt at the table.
Jenny

Herbed Lemon Chicken

This sauce is dark and flavorful.  I love that it all cooks in the microwave.  It is a good one for hot summer days.

Herbed Lemon Chicken

4 serving sized pieces of chicken, breasts or thighs

rind from 1/2 lemon

2 tsp. butter

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried tarragon

1 tsp. dried parsley

Combine all ingredients, except chicken,  in a microwave safe dish which is large enough to hold chicken too. Microwave on high 1 minute. Stir.  Clean chicken, skin if desired, and place in sauce ingredients, turning to coat.  Cover and cook on high 12-20 minutes.  (cooking time determined by cut of chicken) Check and redistribute chicken during cooking.  I like to spoon sauce over mine too.  Sauce may be served skimmed and thin, or thicken by mixing  2 Tbsp. water with 1 tsp. cornstarch and then add this to pan juices.  Microwave until sauce boils, stirring after 30 seconds.  Serve with rice. 4 servings.
Jenny