Mousse au Chocolat

This recipe was pretty easy and tastes great. It is a simple mousse with just the right consistency. This recipe calls for uncooked eggs, which can contain salmonella. So, be aware of this and consider egg replacement options. I used Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup) for the mousse and grated some for the topping. I just used regular spray whipped cream for the topping.

Safety note: Studies have shown that there are possible health risks to using raw eggs. Instead, substitute a pasteurized egg product.

Mousse au Chocolat

4 oz. semisweet chocolate
4 T unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated, room temperature
1/8 t. cream of tartar
1/2 c. heavy cream, whipped, for garnish
chocolate filigree for garnish

1. Heat chocolate and butter, stirring frequently, in top of double boiler over simmering water until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in egg yolks until blended. Immediately transfer to mixing bowl.
2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in second mixing bowl until very stiff. Using wire whisk, fold half the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Beat remaining whites quickly to make sure they are smooth and fold into chocolate mixture with rubber spatula.
3. Transfer mousse to serving bowl or individual stemmed glasses. Refrigerate covered until set, about 3 hours. Serve cold, garnished with whipped cream and chocolate filigree. Serves 6.

George's Shortbread Cookies

This family recipe can be traced back to a family friend of my grandparents' named George Jones, she gave the recipe to my grandmother and we have been making them ever since. These shortbread cookies are quite versatile. My mother always colored half of the batter red and made little red & white worms to twist into candy cane cookies. People LOVE this recipe, the cookie melts in your mouth. I like them because they taste great, they store well, and you can make them into a log to cut into cookies. This is what I did this time around, it is nice an quick. This recipe made two long logs, but I could have made three smaller ones and gotten more cookies. Logs are great because you can roll them in the appropriate color sugar for the event. On Valentine's day you can use pink or red, Independence Day you can use red, white, and blue sprinkles, etc. I tried stirring in some mini chocolate chips the last time I baked these cookies and they turned out great. This is a large recipe, simply cut in half if you don't need so many cookies.

George's Shortbread Cookies

2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
4 c. flour
food coloring (optional)

1. Cream butter with sugar.
2. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, blending well. (If you are coloring the dough add the food coloring now)
3. Cover with plastic wrap (or make into logs) and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
5. Prepare cookies in desired manner (slice logs, make candy canes, etc.) and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.
6. Leave cookies on the pan for a little bit before transferring them to a wire rack. Be careful when removing from cookie sheet.
7. Store in airtight container.

Spritz Cookies

This recipe has been in my family since at least my grandmother, perhaps longer. We always do these at Christmas time, and I did my batch today. You will need a cookie gun for these, and some almond extract.

Spritz Cookies

1 c. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1 t. almond extract
dash salt
2 1/4 c. flour

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Add egg yolks, almond extract, and salt. Blend well.
4. Add flour in three installments, incorporating between each addition.
5. Using a cookie press, make desired shapes and sprinkle with colored sugar. For our Christmas shapes we use the small star to pipe out candy canes and wreaths. I did poinsettias (with a red-hot in the middle), a Christmas ornament, and the old stand-by, the long strip, which is cut with the spatula when still on the pan for smaller sized cookies.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown edges. Leave cookies on the pan for a little bit before transferring them to a wire rack. Be careful when removing from the cookie sheet.
7. Store in airtight container.

Gourmet Potatoes

These potatoes were yummy. The only thing I would do differently is to add less salt and cook the potatoes a bit longer. I used medium cheddar cheese and Yukon Gold potatoes.

Gourmet Potatoes

6 medium potatoes
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded Longhorn cheese
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. (12 oz.) sour cream
1/2 c. chopped green onions
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T butter

1. Wash the potatoes. Boil or bake in skins until tender. Peel and shred coarsely or put through a ricer.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine cheese and 1/4 cup butter. Cook until the cheese is almost melted. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, onions, salt, and pepper. Fold in the potatoes. Put in a greased 2-quart casserole. Dot the top with an additional 2 Tablespoons butter. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes.

Lemon Chicken

This is another lemon chicken recipe, but it is not the Asian style type of dish. I used a boneless double breast for this recipe, and dried dill weed. I liked this recipe, the only thing I would do differently is to pound down the thickest portion of the breast so it would cook evenly. I had to put the breasts into the oven to get them cooked through.

Lemon Chicken

8 bone-in chicken breast halves, skinned
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 large egg
2/3 c. unsifted all-purpose flour
2/3 c. packaged unseasoned bread crumbs
1 T grated lemon rind
2 t. chopped fresh dill, or 1/4 t. dried dill weed
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 T butter
2 T olive oil

1. In 13" x 9" nonmetal baking dish, arrange chicken, flesh side down. Add lemon juice. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour to marinade.
2. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve marinade.
3. In a pie plate, beat egg with 1/4 cup of the reserved lemon juice marinade. In plastic food-storage bag, combine flour, bread crumbs, lemon rind, dill, salt, and pepper.
4. Dip each piece of chicken breast in egg mixture and then shake in the crumb mixture. In a large heavy skillet, heat half of the butter and half of the oil. Add chicken breasts and cook over medium heat until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Turn the chicken and add remaining butter and oil. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes longer. Serves 6.

Thanksgiving Turkey

Here is my Thanksgiving Turkey. 10.5 pounds, 3.5 hours at 325ºF, stuffed. The bird was stuffed with Mrs. Cubbison's whole grain stuffing (too healthy, I won't use this one again) and was basted with butter and poultry seasoning. I tented it with a piece of foil for three hours and then removed it for the last half hour. I made gravy with the drippings, but used too much flour and had to thin it down with water. The turkey was moist and had good flavor.

Two things I did differently from previous years was to create the stock using a crock pot overnight and using a cheesecloth bag for the stuffing in the bird. I would do both again, the crock pot had water, onions, celery, seasoning, and the giblets for 3 hours on high and about 6 more on low. That is the stuffing bag peeking out of the bird!!

Rich Potato Salad

This potato salad was good, but a bit too vinegary for my taste. I will keep this recipe and modify it next time. I think that raw carrots would go well, and perhaps less onion, and grate the onion instead of chopping. And, of course, a bit less vinegar. Cut up chicken would go well in this salad, also. This recipe originally was from Good Housekeeping in July 1952.

Rich Potato Salad

1/4 c. salad oil
2 T vinegar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
4 c. diced hot cooked potatoes
1 c. sliced black olives
2 diced shelled hard cooked eggs
1 c. sliced celery
1/4 c. chopped dill pickle
1/4 c. chopped pimiento
1 minced small onion
1/2 c. mayonnaise

1. Blend first 4 ingredients together and pour over potatoes. Toss and set aside to cool.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Toss and chill. Makes 6 servings.

Company Potatoes

This is definitely a keeper recipe. Why is it that the most unhealthy recipes end up being my keepers? This was an easy and tasty recipe, good for dinner or a special occasion brunch.

Company Potatoes

5 lbs. potatoes
2 c. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 lb. butter

1. Wash, peel, and cook potatoes until soft.
2. Turn into an electric mixer and add sour cream, cream cheese, and butter. Mix until smooth.
3. Spoon into a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes or until bubbly.

Sesame Chicken

This chicken was not to my preference, too much soy sauce. I will not keep this recipe, but you might like it.

Sesame Chicken

1/2 c. sesame seeds
3 T flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 T sugar
1 t. salt
3 T soy sauce
1/2 t. MSG
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 chicken breast halves, boned
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T sesame oil

1. Heat skillet to medium-high and add sesame seeds. Toast for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from pan.
2. Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, soy sauce, MSG, eggs, and garlic. Beat until smooth. Coat all sides of chicken with mixture. Sprinkle each side of chicken with sesame seeds. Let stand for at least 1 hour.
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in skillet and add the chicken. Fry slowly until golden, about 8 minutes on each side.
4. Mix together soy sauce and sesame oil. Drizzle over chicken before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Sesame Chicken

I have been out of the kitchen for a while, working on another project that took over almost every surface in my little house. I am finished with that project, so back to cooking my meals.

This recipe was good, but I would have doubled the sauce portion. I served it over steamed rice and it was a bit dry without enough sauce. I would also make sure you pound the chicken breast the same thickness so that it cooks evenly.

Sesame Chicken

2 whole chicken breasts, split, skinned and boned
3/4 c. water
1 T cornstarch
1 T sesame oil
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. white pepper
1/2 c. flour
1 egg
1 T sesame oil
2 T peanut oil
1 T butter

1. Pound chicken between 2 pieces of waxed paper to 1/4-inch thickness.
2. Combine water, cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
3. Combine flour, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
4. Beat egg with 1 Tablespoon sesame oil.
5. Dip chicken in egg mixture and then in flour mixture, coating completely.
6. Heat oil and butter in large frying pan over high heat. Add chicken, reducing heat to medium-high. Cook chicken for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove to platter and keep warm.
7. Add sesame oil-cornstarch mixture into the same frying pan. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens.
8. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken and serve. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Fung Lum's Lemon Chicken

Seems like I saved the best Lemon Chicken recipe for last!! One of the best Hong Kong style Chinese restaurants was Fung Lum, but the next generation didn't want to continue the restaurant tradition so they went out of business. The best I can recall is that a friend made this recipe for me once and I loved it, she copied the recipe for me. It looks like it was copied from the newspaper.

I liked this sauce the best of the three recipes I tested. I notice that there is no soy sauce in this recipe, but sesame oil instead. Also, it called for white wine vinegar, but I had none so used my balsamic vinegar. It also called for lemon extract in addition to the lemon juice. I served it over plain old steamed white rice. It seemed like there wasn't enough of the sauce, so I might increase the amount of sauce ingredients the next time. I ate my helping and wanted to dig into my leftover serving right away!! I might try to prepare the chicken with a cornstarch coating the next time, although this preparation was good also.

Fung Lum's Lemon Chicken

1 lb. boneless chicken, cut into julienne strips
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 drops sesame oil
3 t. cornstarch
2 t. salt
dash of black pepper
peanut oil for deep-frying
1/2 c. water
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T lemon juice
1/3 c. sugar
2 drops lemon extract
1 drop sesame oil
dash salt
1 T water
1 T cornstarch

1. Combine chicken, egg, 2 drops sesame oil, 3 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper until chicken pieces are coated and ingredients are blended.
2. Deep-fry chicken with marinade at 400ºF in peanut oil until lightly browned.
3. Drain chicken on paper towels. Cut into smaller pieces. Keep warm while preparing lemon sauce.
4. Blend together 1/2 cup water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar lemon extract, 1 drop sesame oil, and a dash of salt in a wok or small saucepan. Heat to boiling. Blend together 1 Tablespoon water and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Stir into lemon mixture. Heat and stir until smooth and clear.
5. Pour sauce over chicken. Makes 1-2 servings.

Lemon Chicken

I have several Lemon Chicken recipes, and this is one I will not be keeping. I prefer the Chinese style of lemon chicken which has the crispy coating. I made the mistake of having Lemon Rice under the Lemon Chicken, which made it too lemony. This sauce was not as Sweet and Sour-tasting as the last recipe I tried, but I still didn't like it. The sauce didn't thicken well and I had to add some flour. Also, the way the recipe ingredients were typed on the recipe, it looked like the oil and ginger were included in the sauce, so that may explain why it didn't thicken up. I also don't like mushrooms so I left them out. I used powdered ginger rather than fresh.

Lemon Chicken

1 T lemon juice
1 T cornstarch
1 t. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 boneless, skinned chicken breast halves (5 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
1/2 c. water
2 T lemon juice
1 T sugar
2 t. soy sauce
1 T vegetable oil
3 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 t. grated fresh ginger
2 c. shredded iceberg lettuce or hot cooked rice

1. Combine 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, cornstarch, 1 t. soy sauce, garlic, and chicken in a small bowl.
2. Combine water, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, sugar, and 2 t. soy sauce in a bowl.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken with marinade. Cook, stirring, until chicken is lightly browned, 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and ginger. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
4. Add sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Serve over shredded lettuce or hot cooked rice.

Lemon Rice

This rice was good, but I had it with my Lemon Chicken and the combination was too lemony. I did not use salt & pepper or rosemary. Also, I forgot to do step 3, which may have made a difference to the lemonyness. I preferred the creamy Lemon Rice I made last week, so this recipe did not make the cut. I am having to get ruthless and a recipe has to be fantastic to make my downsized recipe box!!

Lemon Rice

2 c. chicken broth
1 c. long-grain rice
2 T butter
1 t. grated lemon rind
2 T lemon juice
2 t. chopped parsley
salt and pepper
rosemary

1. In a saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil with butter. Add rice and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all moisture is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
2. Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Add a sprinkling of rosemary, if used.
3. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Butter-Nut Crunch Toffee

Because I am a real toffee lover, I have so many recipes to try. This one didn't make the cut. It was not crispy enough. I don't know if that is because it didn't call for corn syrup or because it only got to 285 degrees. It tasted OK, but I liked the other one I made a couple of days ago better. This one was also a bit too salty.

Butter-Nut Crunch Toffee

1 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 c. nuts, chopped fine
16 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Combine sugar, salt, water, and butter. Heat to boiling. Cook to light crack stage (285ºF) and stir in half of the nuts.
2. Pour on to a greased cookie sheet. Cool and spread the melted chocolate chips over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts.
3. Cool and break into pieces.

Lemon Chicken

I usually order Lemon Chicken at Chinese restaurants if they don't have Almond Chicken. I was disappointed in this recipe. Not because it didn't taste good, but because it should have been called Sweet & Sour Chicken instead. The sauce wasn't really lemony, in color or taste. Also, I would have served it over rice instead of lettuce, which was seemingly for decoration. I did like the manner in which the chicken was cooked (dredged in cornstarch before it went into the oil), so I will remember this technique when I try one of the other recipes I have for Lemon Chicken next time.

Lemon Chicken

1 1/4 lb. boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 T cornstarch
2 T soy sauce
2 T cornstarch
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. chicken bouillon
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 c. water
1/2 c. lemon juice
2 T catsup
additional cornstarch
vegetable oil
shredded lettuce or hot cooked rice

1. In a medium bowl, combine egg, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, and soy sauce. Mix well. Add chicken, stirring to coat. Marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, sugar, bouillon, and garlic powder. Gradually add water, lemon juice, and catsup. Mix well. Over high heat, cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and continue cooking and stirring until mixture thickens. Keep sauce warm.
3. Coat chicken with additional cornstarch. In a large skillet, cook chicken in 1/2 hot oil until tender and golden. Arrange chicken on shredded lettuce or rice. Pour warm sauce over chicken. Garnish as desired. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Toffee Candy

My sweet tooth kicked in after dinner and so I decided to make some candy. I am keeping this recipe, although I was so hungry for the candy that I didn't wait for the chocolate to cool completely. In fact, I was so anxious to get these finished that I think I forgot the water!! The candy still tasted great, though!! This recipe seems to have been published in an old newspaper, so I imagine it is a classic.

Toffee Candy

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 T light corn syrup
3 T water
1 c. finely chopped nuts
12 oz. chocolate chips

1. Melt butter in heavy saucpan. Stir in sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook slowly to hard crack stage (300ºF), stirring occasionally to keep from scorching. Remove from heat and pour into large shallow pan. Cool.
2. Melt chocolate chips over warm water. Spread half of the chocolate on one side of hardened toffee, then sprinkle on half of the chopped nuts. Keep remainder of chocolate warm.
3. When the chocolate on the toffee is firm, lay a piece of foil over the top and turn it upside down. Coat the second side in the same manner as the first. When the chocolate is firm, break the candy into bite-sized pieces. Store in an air-tight container.

Lemon Rice

This rice was nice and tasty. It ended up being a bit sticky, and a bit too lemony. That could be because I let the rice boil over and it was done early. I couldn't remember if the lemon peel and juice I had in the fridge was from one lemon or a half-lemon. I suspect that it was a whole lemon and I had halved the recipe!! This is a keeper, although it didn't really go well with the chicken dish I prepared to go with it. I should have saved it for my Lemon Chicken that I am cooking tomorrow. Also, I cut the parsley down because I wasn't using fresh.

Lemon Rice

1 c. raw white rice
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1/8 t. salt
juice and peel of 1 lemon
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. heavy cream, slightly warmed
2 T chopped parsley

1. Add rice to boiling water and season to taste with salt. Cook, covered, at medium for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Saute lemon peel in butter for about 3 minutes. Pour butter-lemon peel mixture through a strainer into the rice. Discard the lemon peel.
3. Gently toss in the lemon juice.
4. Add half of the cream, stirring gently. Add the rest of the cream, stirring to coat the grains of rice.
5. Garnish with parsley. Serves 4-6.

Chinese Chicken with Blanched Walnuts

This recipe was fraught with problems. It called for a chicken breast, but didn't specify if it was a half-breast or a full-breast. Also, I used almonds instead of walnuts. Normally that is not a problem, but I neglected to factor in the fact that slivered almonds take up less space than the walnuts. So, my proportions were off, not enough sauce (I added more water to the finished dish before I cooked it) and too many nuts. In addition to this, the sauce was not to my preference. I am learning that I do not like too much soy sauce or wine in my sauces. I like the way the chicken cooked up in the egg whites, though, and may use that technique in another recipe. I have never used peanut oil before, and I liked the taste. I won't keep this recipe, but if someone used walnuts and likes wine and soy sauce in their sauces, this isn't a bad recipe to try. I would serve it over rice, which is not mentioned in the recipe.

Chinese Chicken with Blanched Walnuts

1 chicken breast
1 unbeaten egg white
2 c. English walnuts
6 T peanut oil
1 T dry sherry wine
1 t. Accent (i.e. MSG)
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. powdered ginger root
3 T cornstarch
3 T soy sauce
1/4 c. water

1.Using a very sharp knife, remove all the meat from the chicken bones. Cut the meat into 3/4-inch cubes. Put the chicken in the egg white. Stir and turn so that all are covered.
2. Place walnuts in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil for 2 minutes, then let stand for 1 minute longer. Drain the walnuts and remove the skins.
3. Place the peanut oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the walnuts and saute over low heat until they begin to turn golden brown. Remove the nuts from the oil, then add the chicken-egg mixture and cook over low heat until the chicken is lightly browned and firm.
4. Mix together remaining ingredients. Stir well and pour over the chicken. Cook for a few seconds, until thickened. Add the walnuts and continue cooking over low heat until thoroughly warmed through. Serve piping hot. Serves 4.

Blonde Peanut Brittle

After my Cashew Brittle experience last week, I decided to try a "quick" peanut brittle recipe. This one does not require that you check the candy thermometer, but I did because I suspected the candy was not ready after 20 minutes, it wasn't!! I ended up cooking this for about a half-hour. I had trouble getting the peanuts evenly distributed in the candy, as you can see in the picture. The recipe had me put a lot of butter on the cookie sheet, which was also different, and there was no butter in the actual recipe. This affected the flavor, I much preferred the brittle part of the Cashew Brittle recipe, so this is not a keeper recipe for me. I will give some back to my parents to replace the See's brittle that I mooched the last time I was at their house!!

Blonde Peanut Brittle

2 c. (10 oz.) salted peanuts
2 T butter
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

1. Grease a large cookie sheet with the butter.
2. In a heavy 10-inch skillet, combine sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir to mix.
3. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat just enough to keep mixture from boiling over. Allow mixture to boil rapidly for 20 minutes or until syrup turns very light tan. Do not over-brown.
4. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in peanuts, salt, and baking soda.
5. Immediately pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Cool. Break into pieces. Store airtight.

Pan-Fried Potatoes with Scallions

These were good potatoes, but lots of fat. I will keep this recipe and use less butter and oil next time. They went well with my chicken dish. I didn't turn the potatoes often, because they were in one layer. I only flipped them once as soon as the bottom was ready and then cooked until the other side was ready. I also put salt and pepper in the pan while the potatoes were cooking.

Pan-Fried Potatoes with Scallions

2 pounds of small red potatoes, unpeeled
3-5 T butter
3-5 T oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch of scallions, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the potatoes and place in a large saucepan. Add water to cover. Bring water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook the potatoes until barely tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch slices.
3. In a 12-inch skillet, melt 1 Tablespoon of the butter in 1 Tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and the scallions, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and scallions from the pan and set aside.
4. Add 2 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons of oil to the pan juices, then add the potatoes in a single layer. Cook the potatoes, turning them frequently, until golden, about 13-15 minutes. Add more butter and oil as necessary during cooking. Stir in the reserved scallions and garlic.
5. Transfer the potatoes to a serving dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve. Makes 6-8 servings.

Baked Chicken Breasts Supreme

This recipe is very similar to the Baked Garlic Chicken recipe I tried a while back, the one with Ritz crackers. The sour cream marinade with Worcestershire sauce was almost identical. I didn't like the other recipe enough to keep it, but I will keep this one until my next recipe weed!! I liked dipping the potatoes in the crust that came off the chicken.

Baked Chicken Breasts Supreme

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 t. Worcestershire sauce
4 t. celery salt
2 t. paprika
1/2 t. garlic powder
4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 3/4 c. packaged bread crumbs
1/2 c. butter

1. Wipe the chicken well with damp paper towels.
2. Combine sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salts, pepper, etc.
3. Dip chicken in marinade and coat well. Let stand overnight in refrigerator overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Roll chicken in crumbs, coating evenly. Place in single layer in baking dish. Spoon 1/2 of the melted butter over chicken. Bake for 45 minutes.
5. Spoon the rest of the butter over the chicken and bake another 10-15 minutes more.

Deluxe Chicken Breasts

This chicken was great, I also used the sauce to dip the potatoes in before eating. I will make sure and cook the flour a bit longer next time, as the sauce was a bit uncooked tasting. I think it will make good left-overs.

Deluxe Chicken Breasts

2 T butter
4 boneless chicken breasts, skinned
2 egg yolks
2 T water
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. bread crumbs
3 T Parmesan cheese
dash salt
dash pepper
dash paprika
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 c. milk
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 T Parmesan cheese
3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Flatten the chicken between waxed paper with your hands.
3. Combine egg yolk and water in shallow bowl.
4. Combine 1/4 cup flour, bread crumbs, 3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and paprika in shallow bowl.
5. Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in large skillet.
6. Dip the chicken first in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture and add to the skillet. Brown the chicken on both sides and place in shallow baking dish.
7. Bake chicken for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, belt 2 T butter in saucepan and stir in the flour. Slowly add milk and cook until sauce thickens, stirring. Season with Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese.
9. Transfer chicken to warm serving dish and pour sauce over chicken. Makes 4 servings.

Herbed Garlic Potatoes

These potatoes tasted better than they seemed, so perhaps I will keep this recipe and try it again with fresh parsley and thyme. Also, I didn't read the instructions properly and neglected to quarter the potatoes!!

Herbed Garlic Potatoes

6 medium-sized red potatoes, quartered (about 1 1/2 lb.)
1 t. salt
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 T chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 t. fresh or 1/2 t. dried thyme leaves
1/2 t. pepper

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, heat potatoes, salt, and enough water to cover potatoes to boiling. Cook potatoes until just tender (15-20 minutes). Do not overcook or the potatoes will lose their shape. Drain potatoes in colander and set aside for 5 minutes to dry slightly.
2. Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Coarsely chop 2 cloves of garlic and add to oil. Cook until garlic browns slightly. With slotted spoon, remove garlic from oil and discard.
3. Add potatoes to oil and cook 2 minutes, turning occasionally. Finely chop remaining garlic clove and add to potatoes. Cook, stirring, another minute. Add parsley, thyme, and pepper. Cook, stirring another 2 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.

Glazed Strawberry Lemon Streusel Muffins

This is a great way to use up strawberries that are about to spoil!! I have to say that I think there is no point in making a muffin that doesn't have a crumb topping, I think I will go through my muffin recipes again and get rid of those that don't have crumb topping!! I halved the recipe and used almonds because I didn't have pecans.

Glazed Strawberry Lemon Streusel Muffins

1/4 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 T flour
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. grated lemon peel
1 T butter, melted
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
1 t. grated lemon peel

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Prepare 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
3. Combine pecans, brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 t. grated lemon peel in a medium bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon melted butter and stir until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
5. Combine 1 1/2 cup flour, sugar, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt in large bowl.
6. Combine milk, 1/2 cup butter, and egg in small bowl until well blended.
7. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in strawberries and lemon peel.
8. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle reserved streusel topping evenly over the tops of the muffins.
9. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
10. Drizzle lemon glaze over the tops of warm muffins. Makes 12 muffins.

Buttery Cashew Brittle

Yummy!! I got the craving for peanut brittle when I saw a box of See's peanut brittle at my parent's house. Of course I ate the rest of the box, hoping that my parents didn't miss it. So, when I was going through my candy recipes the other day I thought I should try this recipe. I had some cashews that I needed to use up, and the weather was clear, so I decided to try making brittle for the first time this morning.

This is a keeper, for sure. I will watch the nuts better after I add them so they don't burn. I used roasted salted cashews, even though the recipe called for raw. I made sure that most of the coating was removed, and I split the cashews in half. I ate all of it for lunch!! Now, I am off to the gym ...

Buttery Cashew Brittle

2 c. sugar
1 c. light-colored corn syrup
1/2 c. water
1 c. butter
3 c. (about 12 oz.) raw cashews
1 t. baking soda, sifted

1. In a 3-quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring syrup to boiling. Add butter and stir until butter is melted. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring occasionally, until thermometer registers 280ºF (about 35 minutes). This is the soft-crack stage.
2. Stir in the nuts and continue cooking over medium-low heat stirring frequently until thermometer registers 300ºF (10 to 15 minutes more). This is the hard-crack stage.
3. Remove mixture from heat. Remove thermometer. Quickly stir in the baking soda, mixing thoroughly. Pour mixture onto two buttered baking sheets or 15" x 10" x 1" baking pans.
4. As the cashew brittle cools, stretch it out by lifting and pulling with two forks from edges. Loosen from pans as soon as possible. Pick up sections and break them into bit-sized pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes about 2 1/2 pounds (72 servings).

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I have made these before, and I actually keep these in my "Candy" recipe box because they are more like candy than cookies. I will keep this recipe, even though it is sort of one of those recipes for kids. I can be a kid sometimes!!

Followup: I made these again and they failed. And worse, I didn't like them!! So, this recipe will not stay in my recipe file.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

2 c. sugar
3 T unsweetened cocoa
1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. milk
dash of salt
3 c. quick-cooking oats
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 t. vanilla extract

1. Bring the first 5 ingredients to a rapid boil.
2. Boil for 1 minute, then add the remaining ingredients.
3. Mix well and drop quickly by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

One Dish Chicken & Rice Bake

This dish was really easy to prepare, and used everyday ingredients that most people have in their pantry. I liked it better on the first day, the second day I realized that I may not like paprika as a flavor. Thank goodness I am not Hungarian!! I won't keep this recipe, but other people will like it.

As usual I halved the recipe and made my family's tuna casserole with the remaining soup. I have to say that I liked the tuna casserole better than this chicken dish. I guess that is one way to get fish in my diet!!

One Dish Chicken & Rice Bake

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
3/4 c. uncooked regular long-grain rice
1/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1. In 2-quart shallow baking dish mix soup, water, rice, paprika and pepper. Place chicken on rice mixture. Sprinkle with additional paprika and pepper.
2. Cover and bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes or until done. Serves 4.

Baked Garlic Chicken

This is one of several recipes that calls for "butter-flavored" crackers (i.e. Ritz crackers), so I thought I would try it. I have to say that this was more of a success than the Corn Flake recipes, but not spectacular enough to keep this recipe. If you have some Ritz to get rid of, by all means try this recipe, though.

Baked Garlic Chicken

2 c. sour cream
2 T lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 t. celery salt
4 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. paprika
1/2 t. pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 c. crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 50)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. vegetable oil

1. In a large shallow glass dish, combine the first seven ingredients.
2. Add chicken and turn to coat.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
4. Place cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl and roll the chicken in the crumbs until coated. Transfer chicken to a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish.
5. Combine butter and oil. Pour over the chicken.
6. Bake, uncovered, at 350ºF for 5o-60 minutes, or until chicken juiced run clear. Serves 8.

Mandarin Orange Salad

Yummy salad, I brought it to a pot luck dinner and it was a hit!! Definitely a keeper. I cooked up some chicken and added it to the salad. I didn't like the chicken, the salad was better without it, even the next day!!

Mandarin Orange Salad

Sugared Almonds:
1 T butter
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. slivered almonds

Dressing:
1/2 c. olive oil
1/8 c. balsamic vinegar
1/8 c. lemon juice
1/4 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. paprika
3 T powdered sugar

Salad:
1 bag Butter lettuce
1 bag Romaine lettuce
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 green onion, sliced
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained well

1. Melt butter in skillet. Stir in sugar until it begins to melt. Add almonds and stir until toasted, watching carefully. Sugar will begin to crystallize. Spread on foil to cool.
2. Mix dressing ingredients together and whisk until powdered sugar dissolves. Makes 3/4 cup of dressing.
3. Toss salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Add just enough dressing to moisten the salad. Sprinkle nuts on top of salad before serving.

Mayoneggs

These eggs were touted (by the Best Foods recipe card) to be "something special--the smoothest, creamiest ever". That much is true, they were smooth and creamy, and if you like wet scrambled eggs, then these eggs are for you. I prefer dry eggs, and won't be keeping this recipe. I thought it was strange that they just wouldn't get hard!! The ubiquitous egg-splash-cooked-hard pieces that are almost always on the edge of my scrambled eggs were not present, which was a good thing. I don't know if it was because of the butter added to the non-stick pan (which I normally don't add), or if it was that they were cooked at medium heat (I normally cook them higher), or the mayonnaise. I will test the butter and heat theories in the future to find out!! I added some shredded cheddar cheese.

Mayoneggs

2 eggs
2 t. mayonnaise
salt and pepper
2 t. butter

1. Beat eggs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper until well blended.
2. Melt butter in small skillet.
3. Add egg mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set. Makes 1 serving.

Variations: add snipped parsley, diced cooked potatoes, chopped green pepper, sliced mushrooms, finely chopped green chili peppers, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, curry powder, mustard, or dill.

Tiger Cookies

While I was going through recipes for using up my corn flakes I found a recipe that uses Frosted Corn Flakes!! They happened to be on sale this week, so I purchased a box. I won't keep this recipe, as it didn't impress me enough. If you have kids they will have fun crunching up the frosted flakes, and they will like eating the crunchy cookies.

Tiger Cookies

1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
3 c. frosted corn flakes, crushed to measure 1 1/2 c.
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Stir together flour, soda, and salt and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour mixture, mixing until well combined.
4. Stir in crushed cereal. Drizzle melted chocolate over dough. With knife, swirl melted chocolate gently through dough to achieve marbled appearance.
5. Drop by rounded measuring tablespoon onto un-greased baking sheets. Bake about 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove immediately from baking sheets and cook on wire racks. Makes about 5 dozen.

Corn Flake Cookies

I know, you are thinking "Another Corn Flake recipe!!" But, I had to use up the corn flakes I bought a couple of weeks ago and had so many disastrous recipes with. I am not doing so well with these cookie recipes. This one tastes pretty good, it sort of reminds me of a recipe I have called Crisp Cringles, basically a Rice Krispie cookie. What makes that cookie better than this is that the dough is nice and crispy, probably from the cream of tartar. I realized as I was typing the recipe up that I forgot the brown sugar and the baking powder (duh!!), perhaps that made a difference with the consistency. I won't be keeping this recipe, but other may like it.

Corn Flake Cookies

2/3 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 c. flaked coconut
2 c. crushed corn flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Beat butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together until creamy.
3. In separate bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in coconut and corn flakes.
4. Drop by teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto un-greased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool slightly, then remove from pan onto racks to finish cooling. Makes 4 dozen.

Crunchies

This recipe was a complete disaster. I don't know why it went wrong, except that perhaps the measurements were off. The final "dough" was not moist enough to hold together when I made the cookie. I baked them anyway, but only the portion of the cookie that had enough of the corn syrup mixture hardened up, the rest was still like a floury-sugary dough. I tasted the hard portions and it tasted good. I will include the recipe just in case someone can get the proportions better.

Since I hate wasting ingredients, I used the leftover flour-sugar-corn flake-coconut mixture and created a yummy bar cookie by adding more butter, brown sugar, an egg yolk, vanilla, flour and baking soda. I used a smaller pan, but wished I had used a larger pan because the middle didn't cook through. I will have to bake the middle again, but the edges were yummy!!

Crunchies

1 1/2 c. crushed corn flakes
3/4 c. sifted flour
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. shredded coconut
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 T light corn syrup
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Combine corn flakes, flour, sugar, coconut, and salt in bowl and set aside.
3. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add corn syrup and cook over meduym heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Add baking soda and stir rapidly to blend. When foam settles, remove from heat at once. Add vanilla and blend well.
4. Pour corn syrup mixture over flour mixture and mix thoroughly. The mixture will be dry and crumbly. Shape into rounds by pressing mixture by tablespoons against the side of mixing bowl. Arrange carefully on un-greased cookie sheet, placing cookies about 2 inches apart. Press with fork to flatten slightly.
5. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cook on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove carefully.

Peanut Butter Candy Cookies

These cookies were a bit difficult to shape, but they tasted good. I don't think I will keep the recipe, though. Someone with kids would definitely like these, they are easy to put together and with all the hand-work the kids can help out (and get a bit messy)!! I used half-and-half instead of evaporated milk because I didn't want to open a whole can of milk when I was cutting the recipe down.

Peanut Butter Candy Cookies

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 c. evaporated milk
2 1/2 c. corn flakes

1. Mix peanut butter, sugar, and milk to a smooth cream.
2. Stir in corn flakes until thoroughly blended with peanut butter mixture.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet.
4. Bake in a 375º oven for 6 minutes, or until evenly browned. Makes 32 cookies.

Spaghetti with Chicken and Asiago

This was a recipe that I couldn't resist. I like spaghetti, I like chicken, I like peas, how could it go wrong?? But, it did. I had forgotten that I don't like canned peas, not that frozen or fresh peas would have worked any better!! I can't imagine who thought this recipe up, much less put it in the chicken cookbook where I copied it from. I ended up eating it, but left the peas in the bowl, at least as many as I could. Other people might like it, but I didn't.

Spaghetti with Chicken and Asiago

2 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
3 T olive oil
1/2 t. salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
8 oz. baby peas, un-drained
1 pound spaghetti
3 T grated Asiago
1 egg, beaten

1. Saute chicken in olive oil until golden. Season with salt and generous amount of pepper.
2. Heat peas in their own liquid in saucepan. Drain liquid from peas into chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add peas to chicken mixture and season with more pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes longer.
3. Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water until just tender, following package directions, and drain. Place in heated bowl.
4. Blend cheese and egg together. Pour gradually into chicken and peas. Stir until sauce is well heated. Toss half the chicken mixture with pasta. Spoon remaining chicken sauce on top and serve. Serves 4-6.

Chicken Croquettes

This is one of those recipe cards that is hand-written in fountain pen ink. It is from "Mrs. Graves", and is a bit vague. I did the best I could, but can't use this recipe again, sorry Mrs. Graves. I wonder if people back in the good old days of trading recipes ever messed up a recipe so that other people would not be successful, because that is what seems to have happened here!! The mix was so runny that I couldn't make decent patties. The first croquette was the only one that held together in the oil. I could barely eat it, and am wondering about the other "croquette" recipes in my files. I will write this one out exactly as it was written, even though it doesn't follow the standard recipe format.

Chicken Croquettes

1 pint of fairly chopped chicken (packed in solid) 1 cup
chicken broth - 1 tblspn of flour and 1 tblspn of butter
1 tspn of lemon juice - a little salt & pepper. 1/4 tspn of
onion juice - a little minced parsley - 1 egg. Put
both over to boil - add flour & butter - salt pepper & egg
well beaten. Cook until it thickens - Take from fire
and add chicken. When cold form into shape. Dip
in bread crumbs - then egg - then bread crumbs again
Fry in deep fat

Berry Crisp

I love crisps, especially apple crisp. I have a recipe that I have used for years in the Betty Crocker cookbook. I thought I would try this recipe because I had some strawberries that were about to get too soggy to eat. I won't keep this recipe. There was not enough crisp to cover the amount of berries. Perhaps I miscalculated when I quartered the recipe, but it ended up being better over ice cream instead of with ice cream. The strawberries got really liquidy, and the crisp did not hold together, but it did taste good. The recipe was a bit vague, not indicating what size pan to use or how much sugar to use to sweeten the berries. I also used regular oats instead of quick-cooking oats, so that may have made a difference.

Berry Crisp

4 c. blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries
1/3 to 3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. quick-cooking oats
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Place berries in baking pan ; sprinkle with enough sugar to sweeten.
3. Mix butter, oats, flour, and brown sugar together in a bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over berries.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.