Baked French Fries II

I actually made these fries with Sarah’s chicken recipe listed below! I was going to make regular roasted potatoes, but I hadn’t tried anything new in a little while, so I thought I’d give this one a shot–especially since it looked relatively easy. Seeing as how I knew the chicken would get done really quickly, I went ahead and started the potatoes first, however, I did make a couple of changes, because I was afraid that this would be another recipe in which the potatoes took an ungodly amount of time to get done–like my red potato recipe! My “changes” consisted of increasing the oven temperature to 425 degrees and cutting the potatoes a bit thinner, however, I would NOT do either of those things again! This is a recipe that you can follow exactly and the cooking time is right on! (Recipe Source: www.allrecipes.com; Photo also from www.allrecipes.com, submitted by “LESLEYfromWI”).

Baked French Fries II

3 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch strips

cooking spray

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a medium baking sheet. Arrange potato strips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, skin sides down. Spray lightly with cooking spray, and sprinkle with basil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

This is one of my new favorites!  It is really fast and easy to make.  Tyson even makes  a package of “thin cut” boneless, skinless chicken breasts that makes it even easier.  They weren’t priced too high and gave a nice even cut of meat without the hassle of trying to pound it out to the perfect proportion.  The recipe is another one from the “McCormick Cooking with Flavor” book.  I made it with some fresh steamed green beans and Rachel’s roasted red potatoes (which, by the way, did take FOREVER to cook!) 

**At the end of the recipe, they say to keep the chicken warm and spoon the sauce over it to serve.  I ended up sticking my chicken back in the skillet at the end to reheat it a little bit.  I wouldn’t do this too long or it will get soggy. 

Lemon Garlic Chicken

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black ground pepper

1 lb thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 tbsp white wine

1 tbsp wet garlic

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix flour, salt, and pepper on plate.  Moisten chicken lightly with water.  Coat evenly wtih flour mixture.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat.  Cook chicken, several pieces at a time, 3 minutes per side or until golden brown.  Add 1 remaining tbsp of oil as needed.  Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.  Add wine and garlic to skillet, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.  Stir in chicken broth and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil on medium heat.  Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until sauce is reduced by half.  Spoon sauce over chicken to serve. 

Banana Banana Bread

I knew I was going to like this one when I found it on Allrecipes.com.  It was reviewed by 2,857 people (more than I have ever seen for one recipe on that site!) and received an average score of 4.5 out of 5 stars.  The people who gave less than 5 stars really didn’t have a reason for doing so, either.  Their explanation didn’t really give any details on what kept it from being a 5.  The only thing I would change when I make this next time would be to add a little vanilla or cinammon to it, as one reviewer suggested.  For the first time, I wanted to make it just as the recipe said.  One thing worth pointing out also, as another reviewer did, was that the recipe does call for a lot of ripe banana.  In order to get the 2+ cups that it calls for, I needed all 6 of my ripe bananas.  (Thank goodness for Josh’s picky stage at the moment!)  This made a great breakfast for Josh– I’m sure the boys (and girls) would love it too!

**Note: My loaf pan is 10 x6, so I adjusted my bake time a little bit.

Banana Banana Bread

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cup mashed, over-ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.  Stir banana mixture into flour mixture, stir just until moistened.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (Try the toothpick in a few areas– if you stick it in a banana chunk, it will look underdone.)  Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Weeknight Pepper Steak

I’ve been wanting to try a pepper steak recipe for a while but hadn’t really found one that motivated me.  I was looking through the new “McCormick Cooking with Flavor” cookbook and found this one.  Mike and I haven’t been feeling well, so I wanted something that would be a quick fix– this “weeknight” recipe qualified!  My only regret was that the meat that they called for was not on sale so I settled for a similar cut.  It was cut thin enough that it wasn’t a huge deal, but for people with strep thoat– splurging for a more tender piece of meat probably would have been a wise move!  My only other change for next time would be the red pepper flakes. (I didn’t have ground so I used crushed instead.)  It wasn’t too hot, but did have a bit of a spicy aftertaste.  For Mike, it was his favorite part… I really don’t know that he’d miss it next time if I just left it out, though!   

Weeknight Pepper Steak

1 package McCormick brown gravy mix

3/4 cup cold water

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 tbsp oil

1 lb boneless beef sirloin or flank steak, cut into thin strips

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges

1 medium green or red bell pepper (or 1/2 of each) cut into thin strips (I used 1/2 each of a red, green, and orange pepper.)

Mix brown gravy mix, water, soy sauce and red pepper until well blended.  Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add steak; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until no longer pink.  Stir in gravy mixture, onion, and bell pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; simmer for 6-8 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.  Serve over rice, if desired.

Lemon-Cream Cheese Cupcake

Mike’s parents came over for Easter and I had been looking for a nice light dessert since we were eating earlier in the day.  (Maybe I was hoping a Spring recipe might actually bring about some Spring weather, too!)  I’m a big fan of cupcakes at the moment also, as Josh is in his “I can do it myself” phase.  He easily (and quickly) fed himself this one!  *This recipe came from the latest Kraft Food and Family Magazine (Spring 2008).

Lemon-Cream Cheese Cupcakes

1 pkg. white cake mix

1 pkg. (4 serving size) lemon flavor instant pudding and pie filling

1 cup water

4 egg whites

2 tbsp. oil

16 oz. powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. butter, softened

2 tbsp. lemon juice

 Preheat oven to 350.  Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, egg whites, and oil in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until moistened.  (Batter will be thick.)  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Spoon batter evenly into 24 paper lined muffin cups.  Bake for 21024 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove to wire racks and cool completely.  Meanwhile, beat sugar, cream cheese, butter, and juice with electric mixer until well blended.  Frost cupcakes.

Updated Tuna Patties with Lemon Dill Sauce

 

Mom’s tuna patties have always been a favorite and are a true example of “comfort food.”  I don’t think there is any better pairing with macaroni and cheese!  When I went to make them the other night, I found that I had all ingredients except for one thing– the celery.  Rather than give up on the craving, I decided to get inventive.  In place of the celery, I cut up some fresh asparagus that I had in the fridge.  I have to say that the results were perfect.  As much as I love the traditional tuna patties, this had a nice flavor that I would definitely go for again.  I think it might be a new permanent replacement in my recipe book!  Otherwise, the recipe is basically identical to Mom’s.  i’ve included it here anyway for convenience.  (You can see from the picture that even Josh got in on the action!  He loved them!)

Asparagus Tuna Patties with Lemon Dill Sauce

2 small cans tuna, drained

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup finely chopped asparagus

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp dry mustard

Lemon Dill Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp lemon juice

dried dill to taste

Drain and flake tuna.  Stir in bread crumbs, asparagus, onion, mayo, eggs, and mustard.  Shape into 12 patties.  Cook in greased skillet for 8-10 minutes, turning once.  For sauce, combine mayo, lemon juice, and dill weed.  Mix well and spoon over tuna patties.

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

We LOVE asparagus and since it’s coming back in season, this is a wonderful recipe to add to your repetoire.  I, personally, love to have those few classic recipes to revert back to, in which you typically have all of the ingredients in your cupboard and don’t have to make a special trip to the grocery store.  Marcus routinely requests this recipe, whenever he knows I plan to make asparagus!  (Recipe Source: www.allrecipes.com; picture also from www.allrecipes.com, submitted by “SummerRain”). 

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed

cooking spray

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange the asparagus on the baking sheet.  Coat with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.  Bake asparagus for 12 minutes in the preheated oven or until tender.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Pour over the asparagus to serve. 

Garlic Red Potatoes

We have eaten these potatoes a few times now and they are truly delicious!  I first made this recipe a couple of years ago and somehow forgot about it!  Coincidentally, Marcus selected this recipe as part of his “surprise Valentine’s dinner”, not realizing that I had made it once before and to be honest, I thought they tasted WAY better when he made them!  I ended up finding out that he opted to use real butter and fresh lemon juice, instead of margarine and bottled lemon juice (as I had used the first time I made them) and it made a world of difference!  I recently made these potatoes again with real butter and I think that’s the key!  The one other thing I would suggest is to plan on baking the potatoes a bit longer than the recipe states…they probably take closer to an hour to get tender.  (Recipe Source: www.allrecipes.com; picture also from www.allrecipes.com.)

Garlic Red Potatoes

2 lbs red potatoes, quartered

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1 lemon, juiced

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place potatoes in an 8×8 baking dish.  In a small bowl, combine melted butter, garlic, salt and lemon juice; pour over potatoes and stir to coat.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over potatoes.  Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Bruschetta Chicken

I was desperately searching for a recipe for some extra boneless skinless chicken breasts that I had in the refrigerator, when Marcus stumbled across this recipe.  Glancing at the picture, I assumed it would be rather time consuming, but Marcus took pity on me and volunteered to make it himself!  Not only was it way less difficult than either of us anticipated, but it was extremely flavorful and would actually be a good recipe to make if you are having company over for dinner, as it looks relatively “fancy”.  (Recipe Source: Taste of Home Cookbook with Entertaining CD; picture from www.tasteofhome.com). 

Bruschetta Chicken

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup egg substitute

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approximately 1 lb)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 Tbsp butter, melted

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 Tbsp minced, fresh basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Place flour and eggs in separate, shallow bowls.  Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs; place in greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Combine the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.  Loosely cover baking dish with foil.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer or until top is browned.  Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Spoon over the chicken.  Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.  Yield: 4 servings.

Chicken Asparagus Pasta Supper

This recipe came from the Taste of Home “The New Potluck” cookbook.  Mike and I both really liked it– Josh even ate some, too!  It is a nice quick dinner for during the week– and I think it is one where you can easily experiment with adding new ingredients depending on what vegetables are in season.  One change I did make was to cook the vegetables a little longer than they recommend.  They do need to be crisp to hold up in the dish, but I didn’t want them to taste raw.  I did also add some fresh garlic to the sauce– I think it gives it a little necessary kick.  I was able to play with my ’super-size’ skillet, which made it a lot easier.  If you don’t have a large one, I would recommend cooking the vegetables in shifts.   Let me know if you make it… any other suggestions to change?

Chicken Asparagus Pasta Supper

4 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

1.5 lbs. fresh asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces

8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms

1.5 c. fresh broccoli florets

2 med. carrots, cut into julienne strips

2 med. zucchini, sliced

3 green onions, sliced into 1/2 in. pieces

1/2 tsp. salt

4 boneless, skinless chicken breats, cut into 1 in. pieces

1/2 c. frozen peas

SAUCE:

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

2 c. milk

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 lb. thin spaghetti, cooked and drained

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, onions, and salt.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.  Remove vegetables from skillet; set aside.  Add remaining oil to the skillet.  Cook and stir chicken for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.  Stir constantly.  Return vegetables to the skillet, add peas and cook for 3-5 more minutes.  Set aside. 

For sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Stir in flour to form a smooth paste.  Add bouillon.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened.  Season with pepper.  Pour over vegetable and chicken mixture and toss to coat.  Serve over spaghetti.