CROCK-POT CHICKEN PARMESAN

This is a quick and easy "cheater-recipe" for chicken Parmesan. YES, I KNOW, technically it's not fried and crispy chicken Parmesan, but it IS delicious and it IS quick and easy...you just throw everything into the slow cooker and 4 hours later its ready to devour...comfort food at its best, trust me.

 

 

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (see note)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg beaten
1 jar meatless marinara sauce (about 25 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dry onion flakes
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Mozzarella cheese

Coat the bottom and sides of your slow cooker with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Coat the chicken breasts with beaten egg, then roll in the crumb-cheese mixture and place the meat in your slow cooker in a single layer.

In a bowl, mix the marinara sauce, onion flakes (see note), oregano, basil, sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over the coated chicken, DO NOT STIR.

Set your slow cooker on low for 4 hours, do not disturb chicken. About 45 minutes before it's time to eat, put a nice thick layer of Mozzarella on each chicken breast and spoon a little of the sauce over the cheese and continue cooking.

NOTE: All crock-pots cook at different temperatures, so keep that in mind when you set your timer. I usually cook 2 chicken breasts, so I cut the breading in half, but I DO NOT CUT DOWN THE SAUCE. My chicken is done (nearly fall-apart tender) in 3 1/2 hours on LOW. If you cook all 4 chicken breasts, you'll need a larger slow cooker and you'll have to adjust the cooking time a little (about 4-4 1/2 hours) just keep an eye on it the first time you make this recipe.

NOTE: If you want to use fresh onion in this recipe, rather than onion flakes, just sauté them in a little butter before adding.

NOTE: Use whatever commercial marinara sauce you enjoy. Personally, I use an inexpensive brand (like Ragu) because the extra onion, oregano, basil, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper jazz up the marinara nicely.

NOTE: This would be a fantastic recipe for a potluck dinner if you quarter the chicken breasts.

FRUIT JUICE JIGGLERS

“Fruit Juice Jigglers” are a fun treat to serve your children and grandchildren when the weather turns warm because they are cool and refreshing. Better yet, they require NO cups/spoons/napkins; they don’t melt in those hot little hands AND they are nutritious!!

Jigglers are super quick and easy to mix up and after a 3 hour chill in the fridge, they are ready to snack on or take to a potluck (adults love them too!!)

 

2 cups your favorite fruit juice (divided)
2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin powder

You will find it on  

the regular Jello aisle

 

Measure 1/2 cup COLD fruit juice into a bowl. Sprinkle TWO envelopes of UNFLAVORED gelatin over the juice and stir it a little. Set aside for about a minute or until it becomes fairly solid.

 

Once it becomes solid, pour 1 1/2 cups BOILING fruit juice over it and stir until everything is completely dissolved.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes and stir it again.

 

Pour this mixture into an ungreased 9x9 dish and let it chill for three hours.  Cut into squares and serve.

 

NOTE:  The dish size is not crucial: smaller dishes will give you thicker jigglers, larger dishes will give you thinner jigglers.

 

NOTE: I have only ever done this with clear (no pulp) juices, so I don't know how it would turn out with a heavy pulp juice.

 

NOTE: I use a sharp knife to cut the squares, then I use a 2" (narrow) spatula to help release them from the pan.

NOTE: You can use any flavor fruit juice or fruit juice blend.

 

 

ENJOY THE SUMMER FUN !!

OLD FASHIONED BANANA SPLITS

It is finally barbecue season!! So, why not finish off your cookout with a good old-fashioned classic banana split, complete with home made toppings? Your family will love them!!

Below you will find the recipes for three excellent ice cream toppings. They last up to a week in the fridge, so go ahead and make them ahead of time.



FUDGE TOPPING

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 2/3 cups white sugar
1 and 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, combine the cocoa, sugar and milk. Bring it to a boil (stirring) and let it boil for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Tastes good warm or cold.
STORE IN THE REFRIGERATOR.

FRESH STRAWBERRY TOPPING

1 pound ripe strawberries (washed and hulled)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chop the strawberries into medium size pieces (I use the food processor) and cook them in a heavy bottomed sauce pan with the water and sugar until it gets nice and thick. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and chill.  STORE IN THE REFRIGERATOR


PRALINE TOPPING (this one is sinfully delicious!!)

1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar (packed)
16 large marshmallows
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
dash of salt
1 cup of evaporated (canned) milk
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the sugar, marshmallows, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Simmer gently for one minute. Remove from heat and cool for five minutes. Stir in evaporated milk, nuts and vanilla, mix well. This is good warm or cold.  STORE IN THE REFRIGERATOR.

ENJOY !!

HOME MADE PEPPERONI

A blogging friend, over at Hey, What's For Dinner Mom? posted a recipe for home made pepperoni. It started me thinking and, after searching the Internet, I found at least  a dozen more recipes that convinced me I needed to give this a try; I'm so glad I did.

Have you ever read the ingredient list on a package of commercial pepperoni or looked closely at a slice of it and wondered what all those "bits" were? Exactly!! Pretty gross thought wasn't it?? Well, now I have pepperoni and I know EXACTLY what is in it.

The recipe I decided to try is very simple because it does not involve sausage casings or a smoke house or any weird preservatives. It's just meat and spices baked in the oven at a super low temperature for 8 hours ............ and it was really good (even picky-picky husband love it!!)

 

 

First of all, when it's all cooked, it's NOT going to be bright red/orange like commercial pepperoni, and it's not going to be shaped perfectly round, but that certainly didn't bother us. At least I know exactly what is in my sausage!!

1 pound of ground pork (see note below)
1 pound of ground beef (very lean, I used 96%)
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons fennel seed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (see notes)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 slightly heaping teaspoons salt (see notes)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water

Grind the dry spices together (I used my mortar and pestle) until they are roughly ground (it doesn't have to be super fine).

Mix the two ground meats together (I used my stand mixer). Then mix in the spices, the liquid smoke and 1/4 cup water. After it's well mixed. Cover it well, and chill it for 48 hours.

After 48 hours, mix again and roll the mixture into 2 logs and place them on a foil lined baking sheet (make sure the baking sheet has a lip).

Bake in a pre-heated 200° oven for 8 hours. Most of the recipes tell you to keep turning the "logs" every two hours, as they bake, but I didn't turn them at all, and they were fine. Your house is going to smell wonderful!! 

After 8 hours, they will look like this:

The "pepperoni" logs will be quite firm to the touch when they come out of the oven. Since I used very lean mean, I didn't have much grease in the bottom of my pan, but, if you use a fattier grade of meat, you might have to wipe off any obvious grease on the outside of the baked sausages before you chill them.

CHILL  BEFORE  YOU   SLICE !!

Let the baked logs cool a little, then wrap them in plastic wrap and chill them until they are very cold before you slice them.  Use a sharp knife and slice the sausages very thin.

We were very pleasantly surprised how easy this was to make and what a nice flavor it had. We will definitely be making this recipe again!!

NOTES:  For the ground pork, a small pork butt roast works great because it has the right amount of fat, but you can also just buy a pound of ground pork (UNseasoned....not sausage).

UPDATE: Since posting this recipe, I've tried the same spice mixture with ALL ground pork and I think we like the texture even better. If you use ALL pork, just reduce the cooking time to 6 hours.

NOTES: I used 1 1/4 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes and it was just the right amount of heat for us, but then we are pretty timid when it comes to food heat tolerance. If you like spicy pepperoni, just add more flakes.

NOTES: Several of the recipe I found online called for Morton's Tender Quick which has salt, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and propylene glycol in it.  The only advantage to using that product (that I can see) is to give your sausage that bright pink color.  Since that is not important to me (and I tend to keep my pepperoni in the freezer)I just used plain old table salt and it worked fine.

BIG MAC SECRET SAUCE

Every once in a while, rather than going to McDonalds and buying a "maybe hot...maybe not"  Big Mac (with only 3 ounces of beef) , we make a full size version at home. Here's another idea: Ever thought of Big Mac sliders for a kids party?  

This recipe tastes EXACTLY LIKE the secret sauce on the Big Mac, trust me, it really does.  It's quick to put together and lasts in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks.  Surprise your family with home made Big Mac's for dinner.

BIG MAC SECRET SAUCE

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 heaping tablespoons French dressing  (salad dressing)
1/2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
2 heaping tablespoons dill pickle relish
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon dry onion flakes
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix everything and chill for several hours or overnight.  Makes 1 cup.

 

 

ENJOY !!

SOFT MAPLE COOKIES

This recipe for SOFT and CHEWY maple cookies is excellent; they really do stay soft for days (if they last that long) and who doesn't love maple?!?! This recipe makes a large batch, so it is perfect for bake sales, potlucks or any large gathering.

 

 

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup REAL maple syrup (not pancake syrup)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons maple extract

4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar till well mixed; add the egg, syrup and extracts; mix until smooth.

 

Mix the flour, salt and baking soda together, and add it to the wet mixture, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. The cookie dough batter will be very thick.

 

Lightly grease your cookie sheets with vegetable spray or cover your baking sheets with parchment paper.

 

Roll cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll them in granulated sugar. Place the sugared cookie dough balls (a couple inches apart) onto cookie sheet and flatten them just a little.

 

 

Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes (my electric oven takes 9 minutes).

I like to cool my cookies on a sheet of waxed paper.

 

Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on how large you make them.

 

 



DYE EASTER EGGS WITH KOOL AID!!

I found this fantastic idea on Pinterest and it works extremely well. Not only does it produce a pretty colored Easter egg, but  it doesn't smell up the whole kitchen like a vinegar based dye does, PLUS it is very economical!!

 

This could not be simpler: 

Mix one small packet of UNSWEETENED Kool-Aid powder into 2/3 cup warm water and mix.

A coffee mug works well for this; a different color Kool-Aid in each mug. Place a hard boiled egg in the liquid for about a minute then set the colored egg on paper towels.  That's it!! I TOLD you it was easy!!

The lemonade (yellow)isn't very bright, but if you add a little orange to it, it will give you a great color. Pink lemonade is a beautiful color; try them all and have fun!!

Happy Easter !!

Note: Use the small packets of Kool-Aid. Most of them are about .15 ounce, (it isn't critical).