Chicken Scallopini makes my heart sing



Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond


A couple of weeks ago I made a new family favorite, Ree Drummond’s Chicken Scallopini. The kids and Mr. Homemaker have been raving about it ever since, so it’s gotta be a once a month thing now:) The bright flavor of lemons, white wine and capers make this dish a winner. Believe it or not- it’s so easy. Not mac n cheese easy, but close. Give it a try and tell me what you think- and if it doesn’t turn out so good, come see me when I make it next, and I’ll fix you a plate.  And by the way Ree if your lookin, I just love ya girl, you are one of my heros, right up there with Amy Matthews, Paula Deen & Ina Garten:) 
Check out her recipe here

chilly nights = gourmet grilled cheese

chefo

I know that sounds crazy in August, but we're going through a much needed cool spell right now in Oklahoma, and well, as the mercury drops, most of us get HUNGRY for something savory.  So, I'm going to share one of our family favorites for those chilly nights.  It's gourmet/grown up grilled cheese sandwiches.  It's important that you don't skimp on ingredients, quality is really important here.  I'll give you the basic recipe, and some options you could add later as you explore the wonderful land of le fromage.

You'll need a panini maker,  a george foreman, or even a regular griddle to make this sandwich.  If you don't have any of the above, try a frying pan- placing a weight on the sandwich as it grills- make sure to flip it once browned.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese sandwiches

Makes 4 sandwiches

good sourdough bread- sliced
1/2 stick butter softened (the real thang)
2 cloves  garlic minced
kosher salt

Mix, butter, minced garlic and a smidge of salt- butter both sides of each slice of bread. set aside
heat up your griddle
mix a combination of 3 of your favorite cheeses, here are some recommendations:
gruyere
havarti
cheddar
swiss
mozzerella
fontina
asiago
pecorino romano
Parmesan (not the powdered stuff:)

Once your pan is heated   you can start constructing.  It's nice to have the griddle heated and to have a great selection of add ons for your grilled cheese such as :  fresh spinach, bacon bits, ham, dijon mustard, horseradish, onion, tomato, sprouts, avocado.........and on and on and on- the possibilities are endless.

Make your sandwich, place it on the griddle, close cover if applicable, and remove once the sandwich has browned, and cheese has melted. 

You'll thank me later- this is fun, easy, and oooooooooooooh so yummy in your tummy.  Let me know what you think once you've tried this.

Have a great evening friends- bundle up:)

sweets for the sweet

courtesy of PaPeR.cLiP

One of the hard lessons in life comes during your adult years.

• You can't lose weight as quickly as you did at 17
• You can't eat everything you ate at 17
• You can't act like you did at 17 booooo

Well, my sweet tooth is ginormous, so I've really got to be careful when I'm around anything sugar.  If I can avoid it, and 'save up my sugar points' for a really special occasion, I'd rather do it.  I have a great friend Donna who is the go to girl for recipes that are low calorie, low sugar and great big in flavor.  I thank her for allowing me to share some of my favorite Donna recipes~

courtesy of chotda

These Chocolate-Chip Meringue Cookies are light and crunchy and have just the right amount of cocoa so satisfy your chocolate cravings. They are lighter than traditional chocolate-chip cookies because they are made primarily with egg whites and not grains but they are also lower in fat and calories.



Yield: 4 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

Ingredients

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate minichips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°.



Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt at high speed of a mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sift cocoa over egg white mixture; fold in. Fold in minichips.



Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper; secure to baking sheet with masking tape. Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake at 300° for 40 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan on a wire rack. Repeat procedure with remaining batter, reusing parchment paper. Store in an airtight container.



Nutritional Information

Calories:22 (12% from fat)

Fat:0.3g (sat 0.2g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.0g)

Protein:0.3g

Carbohydrate:4.7g

Fiber:0.0g

Cholesterol:0.0mg

Iron:0.1mg

Sodium:16mg

Calcium:1mg

courtesy of andelmann

Pumpkin Cobbler

1 (15 oz.) Can Solid Pumpkin

1/2 Cup Egg Substitute

1 (12 oz.) Can Fat Free Evaporated Milk

3/4 Cup Splenda Granular

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1 (9 oz.) Package Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix

4 ounces Diet 7UP or Sprite

1/2 Ounce Chopped Pecans



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine the Pumpkin, egg substitute, evaporated milk, Splenda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves. Spray a 9X13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the cake mix evenly on top. Next pour the diet 7UP over the dry cake mix. Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool. When ready to serve, top each piece with fat free cool whip (optional).



Serves: 12

Per Serving: 154 Calories; 4g Fat (22.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 292mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.






PUMPKIN SPICE BARS

4 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder

2 c. Splenda Granular 1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. oil 3/4 tsp. salt

1 can pumpkin ½ tsp. ginger

2 c. flour 1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. cinnamon ½ c. raisins (optional)



Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan (17 x 11 x 1 inches)

with Pam. Beat eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Stir in dry

ingredients. Fold in raisins. Pour into pan. Bake 20-25

minutes. While still hot put on a thin glazepowdered sugar

and milk mixed together.

courtesy of akhater

Pea and Corn Salad

1 can shoe peg corn, drained

1 can small english peas (I use LeSeur), drained

1 small jar pimentos, drained

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion



In saucepan mix:

1/2 c. vinegar

1/2 c. Splenda granular

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Cool and pour over vegetables.

Store in refrigerator for several hours

before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

I say tomato

epicurious

Howdy folks.  Sorry, it's been a little too long since I've posted on this puppy.  Today when I went to my inbox, I found this great little article about this summers bounty:  The tomato, or the "apple of love".  If you live in my neck of the woods, you probably have friends, neighbors, and family who are constantly sending you home with a bag full of these beauties.  Here's a yummy recipe courtesy of Ina Gartens Back to Basics:

Tomato Caprese Salad

12 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, seeded

1/4 cup good olive oil, + a little extra for drizzling later

1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

16 oz. fresh salted mozzerella

12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F

Arrange tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to  caramelize.  Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temp.

Cut the mozzerella into slices slightly less than 1/2 inch thick.  If the slices of mozzerella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the cheese slices in half.  Layer the tomatoes alternately with the cheese on a platter and scatter basil on top.  Sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temp.

Try some of the following recipes with fresh tomatoes:

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

Homemade tomato sauce

Homemade salsa

The list is endless, but I'd encourage you to eat as many fresh home grown tomatoes as you can this summer.  Your body will thank you.

Crafts coming later in the week

Blessings friends:

Mama Mia this is delish!

Oh, my goodness, I've made a discovery, and I'm sure I'm the last person on earth to have this sauce----Bolognese.  Have you tried it?  If you haven't,  your tummy is telling you right now that you've got to make this sauce.  You can eat it in lasagna, or on any kind of pasta you'd like, but you gotta try it. We had Lasagna Bolognese with Bechamel sauce last night, and WOWZA!  I think the kids really liked it.  It's very different, yummy different.  In America, we don't cook the way Italians do, they do everything with love and gusto!  I'd like to cook like that everyday.   Here's my recipe, but, if you'd like you can find tons of great recipes on the internet and in good cookbooks:

Lasagna Bolognese

Meat Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 strips bacon, diced
• 1/4 lb. pancetta diced
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/4 lb. thin sliced mushrooms
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
• 1 1/2 lbs fresh pasta of your choice
• Bechamel sauce, recipe follows
• 1 cup fresh grated parmesan

Bechamel:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 4 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat and stir in flour, stirring constantly until smooth  Slowly whisk the milk into the flour, then stir vigorously to blend well.  Set over high heat and quickly bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring- allow to cook for another 5 minutes until flour taste is gone.  Remove from heat and add salt and nutmeg to taste

Directions:  In a large pot heat butter over med. high heat.  Add bacon and pancetta, saute until caramelized and browned.  Add ground meats and cook over high heat until well browned, stirring constantly.  Add the onions, carrots, celery & mushrooms cook until soft.  Add garlic and nutmeg, cook for 2 minutes.  Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated.  Add stock and simmer over med high heat until sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 45 minutes.  Season to taste, stir in cream and parsley, set aside until you're ready to assemble lasagna.

Pre heat over to 350 degrees F

Butter a large rectangular baking dish and spoon a little meat sauce into the bottom of the dish.  cover with pasta, layer with meat sauce and then the bechamel, with a sprinkling of cheese.  Continue layering, ending with a topping of bechamel & cheese.  Bake for 1 hour, and enjoy.

This takes a little time, and alotta extra love- but you can do it, I know you can!



Ciao

pucker up

photo courtesy of missmae

One of my very favorite things to cook with is lemon. Lemons can liven up dishes with both flavor and color. Lemons can be used to clean and freshen your home, they can be used to flavor teas and special drinks, or as a viniagrette, in a main dish and in all kinds of desserts. If you can get your hands on Meyer lemons, you may want to give them a try, they have an orangey-lemony flavor that's hard to beat. If you can't get your hands on Meyers, you can use lemons found in your local market.
When choosing lemons, look for lemons that feel heavier than they look, if you can find smaller ripe lemons, they'll be juicier. Store lemons at room temp. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into ice cube trays- and freeze for a quick fresh lemon juice. Before cutting into a lemon or any citrus, roll fruit on the counter pressing lightly, this will release the juices from their little juice sacs. The bright yellow part of the peel can be zested and used in recipes, you can also freeze the zest. Make sure to zest your fruit before you cut it.

photo courtesy of cruccone

Now hows about some lemon recipes from some of my favorite cooks:

Cool Lavender Lemonade
7 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup lemon juice from concentrate-thawed
3 fresh lavender sprigs
bring water to boil over med high heat. stir in sugar and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2minutes, until sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and lavender; let stand at least 2 hours
pour lemonade mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a large pitcher, discarding herbs. serve over ice with a slice of fresh lemon
Southern Living Cookbook

Lemon Curd is a wonderful addition to any kitchen, you can spread in on toast, use it in a cake or dessert, and it's great with fresh fruit. Lemon Curd is a wonderful gift when packaged in a pretty jar. If you like sweet and tart, you'll love lemon curd.

Lemon Curd
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.

Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.
Ina Garten

Chicken Piccata has to be one of my favorite dishes. When you take a bite, there are so many flavors that go coursing through your mouth, it just makes you happy. I think the lemons and capers make this dish sing. Wow, could I be any more emotional about food??:)

Chicken Piccata
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.
Giada De Laurentiis

Here's a great dessert for your next 4th of July bash- who doesn't love lemon squares- ok, Mr. Homemaker doesn't, but I think thats because his tastebuds are broken.

Lemony Lemon Squares
Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
6 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 1/2 sticks or 12 tablespoons)
Filling
6 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Garnish
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, approximately
Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until mixed. Add butter and continue to mix until the butter is the size of small peas, about 30 seconds. The mixture will be very dry. Gently press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and then flour. Pour the filling on top of the crust.
Bake until the lemon filling is set, about 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator for an hour or keep at room temperature for three hours before cutting. Cut into squares, about 2 1/4 inches. Dust tops with confectioner's sugar.
Emily Luchetti

So pucker up and enjoy some lemons this summer- you'll be pleasantly surprised.

photo courtesy of james bowe

boiled, poached, over-easy, sunny side up..................

I love eggs! So, today, I thought I’d share some silly trivia, great facts, and some yummy egg recipes.
As I am preparing for the chicken coop in my future, I've learned alot of things about chickens and their special presents. Chickens are incredible little birds who work hard for the money. And those eggs are quite a versatile little food in it's own packaging.
So lets go, here’s a little useless information tossed with a great big helping of eggseptional tips. Sorry, that was sad. Let’s start with the birth of the egg, and how fitting since the egg actually represents new life. We will focus only on chicken eggs-but I’m sure most of this applies to any egg that you’re willing to stick in your beak.
Chickens lay eggs, and don’t need a roosters help unless you want baby chicks// The average hen lays 245 eggs per year// Most hens start laying when they are 4-5 months old and up through their teens// Egg colors are often determined by the colors of the hens lobes// In addition to white eggs, you may find brown, blue and even green eggs// How to find the boiled egg: spin it, if it spins and doesn’t wobble, it's a boiled egg.// Eggs are very good for you (in moderation)// Some say an eggs flavor can be affected by the chickens diet- I'm gonna give it a try;)// If you accidently drop an egg on the floor, sprinkle it heavily with salt for easy cleanup// There are approximately 2.5 million egg recipes in the world (I just made that up)

How to Boil an Egg

gently place your eggs in the saucepan/pot
cover eggs with cold water and bring to a boil
turn off the heat
put a lid on the pot
start timing your egg at this point:
Runny egg-- 2 1/2 minutes
Soft egg-- 3 minutes
Soft egg with no gooey middle-- 4 minutes
Hard-boiled egg-- 15 minutes
drain and put eggs in cold water
when cooled, peel and enjoy

When I was young my mama told me that there was only one real mayonnaise, everything else is nasty. So I’ve always used that mayo that begins with an ‘H’. And I discovered that making my own mayo was very similar in taste to the superior 'H' mayo. I love to use homemade mayo in chicken, ham, and egg salads, and deviled eggs. Homemade mayo is easy and fun to make. Try this, you may actually like it:

Homemade Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks at room temp
1 tsp mustard (yellow or dijon)
mix in food processor
add oil slowly 1 cup+ (vegetable or canola)
blend until thick- for thicker mayo add more oil a little at a time
then add
salt
pepper
herbs( add as much as you like. Parsley, dill, basil etc)
lemon juice - a fresh squeeze
whip it a couple of seconds
Refrigerate, and eat within a week- it's best when you make it as needed.




Eggsellent Deviled Eggs sorry again:)

1 dozen boiled eggs, chilled and peeled
carefully slice eggs in half lengthwise
scoop yolks into small bowl
arrange whites on platter, put in fridge

mash yolks with a fork and add
2 tsp. mustard
1/3 cup homemade mayo
2 tsp minced onion (Mince- to cut or chop into very small pieces)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
3 tbsp. canned ham
1/2 tsp pickle juice
mix well

To make the deviled egg look purty, I prefer to fill the deviled egg using a cake decorating tip, or you can just scoop the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Sprinkle paprika over the top for good measure. These are quite yummy.

I encourage you to pull the eggs out of the fridge this week. Cheap, easy and quite good for you.

photos courtesy of: themissiah, food network, jaroslawpocztarski, & perpetualplum

Karens Broccoli Salad

c










pic courtesy of Rach_the goat Flickr

I am a lucky girl to have a sister in law that I actually love to be around, and it's not just because of her good cookin'. There are people in our lives who are such inspiration and encouragement, and my sis Karen is just like that. I lub her! Well, usually a few times a year we'll have a meal with the family where a new dish will be added to our list of favorites. Karen made this a few years back, and this cool crisp salad has been a winner ever since. It's an evolving recipe for me, sometimes I add bunches of goodies to it to dress it up, and sometimes I'll leave it plain. It's just good. On a hot Oklahoma summer day, this makes a great lunch. Thanks for sharing Karen.



Broccoli Salad

5-6 broccoli florets (new cook tip- the part of the broccoli that looks like a tree)
1/2 cup chopped red onion (new cook tip- yellow, white & vidalia won't do)
6 strips of bacon fried up crispy and crumbled
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise (the mayo that starts with an 'H')
1/3 cup sugar (or sub with splenda according to taste)
2 tbsp vinegar

Optional add ins
sunflower seeds
craisins
golden raisins
almonds
cherry tomatoes
the kitchen sink

put broccolli, bacon, onion & cheese in bowl. Mix dressing separately, then pour over broccoli, mix well, pop it in the fridge and refrain from eating this for 24 hours. You'll love it.

Minnies Peach Cobbler

photo courtesy of I Nancy-Flickr

Who doesn't love homemade cobbler with a little whipped cream, ice cream or both, here's an easy go to recipe that my husbands grandmother gave me a few years back. Nothing ever tastes as good as grandmas, but it's pretty close:

Peach Cobbler

4 cups fresh fruit washed & cut into pieces
1/2 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup boiling water

Place fruit in casserole, set aside. cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar beating well. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and add to creamed mixture. Stir milk and vanilla into creamed mixture. Pour batter over fruit. boil water, remove from heat and add remaining sugar and cornstarch to water, mix well, pour over batter and bake for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees.

Be sure to check the center of your cobbler with a fork, if it slides out clean, it's done.