Hope all of you out there have been doing well. Been keeping busy around here and have been cooking up a storm. Breads, muffins, soups...we have not been starving, that's for sure. I still have not taken the time to just sit, put my thinking cap on and make up a meal plan or menu....BOO to me! I know. Believe me, I KNOW that I HAVE to do it...making several trips to the grocery store just isn't working (especially financially). I plan on going on post to the commissary tomorrow and I am also planning on making up the next week's worth of meals (which shouldn't be too hard as we'll have company and I know at least two days we'll probably be eating out).
Yesterday was Valentine's Day and though we try not to make it a huge deal, I did want to make it a little special so used fancier serving dishes than I do for every day dinners and I tried out a new recipe for baked chicken & roasted veggies, made up a yummy pasta dish that I make once in a blue moon and made two desserts; one of which I knew Gene and Kate would really like and then we had the left overs from the Magic Cookie Bars that Kate and I made up Monday night to add to her boyfriend's gift bag. I think we all had full tummies by the end of the evening.
Now, onto the recipes....
Happy eating, folks!
Bongo Bongo Dip (I don't know why it's called this..it's a warm spinach dip)
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained really well
1 8 oz block cream cheese, room temperature
1.5 lbs container sour cream (I think I'll use a bit less the next time I make it as my dip was a bit runny)
1 pk Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 sm. can chopped water chestnuts, drained
garlic powder to taste
Mix all ingredients until well blended. Spread into a 9 x 9 baking dish and bake until bubbly and slightly golden on top. Serve with tortilla chips, a variety of crackers or warn garlic bread.
Baked Lemon Chicken
4 lemons, divided...2 for juicing and two for slicing
1/2 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
2 TBS oregano (I used the Greek Rub, from The Pampered Chef instead of oregano and it was very tasty)
1 tsp salt
4 bone in, skin on chicken breasts, rinsed & patted dry
4 bone in, skin on chicken thighs, rinsed & patted dry
10 small red potatoes, washed and dried and cut in half
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into wedges
8 oz white mushrooms, cleaned and patted dry
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch slices
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Zest two of the lemons and put zest into a medium mixing bowl. Juice two lemons into mixing bowl. Press garlic into bowl. Mix in olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Place chicken on baking pans, in center of pans. Using a basting brush, coat chicken with lemon juice/olive oil mixture. Reserving the extra for veggies. Toss veggies in mixture to coat. Arrange veggies around chicken on pans. Bake for about 1 hour, until chicken reaches 180 degrees.
*I baked the chicken breasts for about 15 minutes before I put the thighs in the oven.
Cream Broccoli & Sun Dried Tomato Orzotto (orig. recipe from The Pampered Chef)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
3 1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 jar sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and patted dry, chopped
2 cups fresh, chopped broccoli
2 oz Parmesan cheese
8 oz cream cheese, softened
In large, microwave safe covered dish add onion, garlic and olive oil. Cover and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir in orzo pasta, broth and wine. Cover and microwave on high for 14 - 16 minutes. Stir in broccoli and sun dried tomatoes. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
Stir in cheeses. Cover and let stand for another 2 - 3 minutes. Stir. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.
Heavenly Lemon Angel Cake (Another yummy Pampered chef recipe)
5 drops red food coloring
1 pkg angel food cook mix (16 oz)
3 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar
1 pkg frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
Fresh raspberries for garnish
Cool Whip
Heat oven to 350. Mix Angel food cake as directed on package, adding 5 drops of food coloring to the water. Pour batter into 9 x 13 pan and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven, invert onto cooling rack without removing baking pan, let cool for 1 1/2 hours.
Poke holes in cake about 1/2 inch apart. Zest lemons, add to mixing bowl. Juice lemons measuring 1/3 cup, add to mixing bowl. Whisk in powdered sugar until all lumps are gone. Pour over cake, spreading evenly. Let stand 30 minutes or until glaze is set.
Garnish each serving with raspberries in syrup and a bit of Cool Whip.
*I drizzled the raspberries & syrup over the entire top of the cake and sprinkled fresh raspberries all along the sides of my serving platter and also down the middle of the cake. Then just put a dollop of Cool Whip on each serving along with a few fresh raspberries.
No comments:
Post a Comment