Nana Joan’s Curried Chicken

My Mother In Law taught me how to make this, and it is one of my kids FAVORITE recipes.

1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons Curry Powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons Spicy Mustard

Mix all the above ingredients.

Place 4-5 thawed chicken breasts in a glass dish.

Drizzle the sauce all over the chicken.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I serve this over rice. I prefer jasmine or basmati. As far as a vegetable with this meal, I usually serve it with beets or green beans. This is so easy to make and it is guaranteed to fill lots of hungry tummies!

Pecan Pie Bars

Crust:

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

Filling:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup of chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 9 by 13 pan. In a large bowl, mix sugar, butter, and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir in flour, mix well. Press dough in bottom and 1/2 up sides of pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Beat brown sugar, corn syrup, 1 tsp. vanilla, and the salt and eggs with fork. Stir in pecans. Pour over crust. Bake 20-25 minutes or until set. Loosen edges while still warm, cool completely.

If you want chocolate on top..I recommend this,take 1 cup of chocolate chips, and 2 tablespoons of butter, and melt in the microwave, checking every so often and mixing. Once, melted spread on top of bars. Let cool and then enjoy a little piece of heaven.

Burp Clothe

Okay so I wanted to do something with all the burp clothes that I have. And this what I came up with. I used felt and stitched her name on to it. And then I sewed a piece of fabric on to the back of it. I am still learning all these things. I get a bit frustrated with myself. Cause I have friends like Joy, who does some pretty incredible work.

Aunt Lucy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have wonderful memories of this recipe. My Aunt Lucy would make these for me and my sisters every time we went through MO. I have added a few of my comments at the end.

a little over 1/2 cup Crisco

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all of the above until creamy

1 cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix this with your creamy mixture

Add Chocolate Chips, as many as you want. Depends on your sweet tooth!

Add 3 cups of Oatmeal

Mix this until it is all blended nicely.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Once out of the oven place on a wire rack for cooling.

* I like to use cold grease, and I use the butter flavored Crisco. Yes, I know this is a heart attack waiting to happen. But they are so good like this. If you do not use cold grease, I recommend putting your dough in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to get it cool.

* When you are done mixing the dough you might think they need more flour. They don’t, they will turn out great…just follow the recipe. Enjoy…

Chocolate Mint Marvels

This past Christmas at my dad’s house my step-sister Heidi made these wonderful cookies. They are so addicting. Again this is another easy recipe for a busy mom or anyone just looking for something quick. Thanks Heidi, for the recipe.
3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups Chocolate Chips

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

3 or 4 packages of Andes Mints

Melt butter and brown sugar in sauce pan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt; put mixture into a bowl and let cool. Add eggs, and then mix in flour and baking soda.

Chill dough for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350.

Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes.

Remove cookies from oven and place one Andes mint on each one. As the candy melts, spread it across the top of the cookie with a butter knife. Makes 3 dozen.

FYI: I tried storing left over dough in the fridge, to make more the next day. The dough got really dried out and they did not turn out so great the next day. I covered them really well, so I recommend making all the cookies at once, and then store them in an air tight container.

Also, cook them for just 9 minutes. On one of the batches I left them in a minute too long and they were more of a crunchy cookie. These, like most cookies do, cook some more on the baking sheet when you take them out.

And of course, the best part about making cookies is licking the egg beaters, right? Well if you look at Benjamin’s face you can see how much fun that really is!

Heidi’s Red Enchiladas

This is such an easy recipe to make. My kids love it and they are picky eaters!

Start by bringing 4-5 boneless,skinless chicken breasts to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. To see if your chicken is done, simply cut it open and make sure it is not pink inside.  Once this is cooked take the chicken out and shred.

I buy 2 packages of McCormick Enchilada mix. Dump it in a separate sauce pan and add 16 oz. of tomato sauce. Then add 3 cups of your chicken stock. Cook this till it boils. Once boiling take off the heat and add 1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese; mix well. You are going to now divide this sauce into 2 containers.

In one of the containers add all your shredded chicken and mix well. Keep the other bowl of sauce separate.

Now you are ready to put it all together. You will need a 9 by 13 pan. Take one Corn Tortilla at a time fill it with the chicken mixture. Roll it up and place seam side down. Continue doing this till you have used up all the chicken. Then take the extra red sauce and dump on top of all the tortillas, making sure to cover them all. You can top this off with shredded cheese on top.

Bake this at 350 for 30 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

This recipe also freezes very nicely. Simply make the meal cover first with saran wrap and then with foil. If your baking dish comes with a lid place it on after you have done the saran wrap and foil.

White Enchiladas

This is my mom’s recipe and my family really enjoys it.

Start by cooking some chicken in water (I cook 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts; add some salt and pepper to taste. By cooking your chicken this way you will be making some chicken stock as well that can be used for other recipes. Once the chicken is cooked take it out and shred it. Take out your 9 by 13 inch pan and spray with a cooking oil. Then take one flour tortilla at a time spread sour cream all over the inside, then place some shredded chicken inside, then add some green chilies ( I buy the Old El Paso Green chilli’s), and then sprinkle some cheese in there. Roll it up and place seam side down. Continue doing this till you have used up all the chicken. Then take one Family size can of Cream of Mushroom soup; mix with 1 cup milk, and 1/2 cup of your chicken stock. Mix it well and then dump on top of your rolled tortillas. Top is off with some shredded cheese on top.

Bake covered for 30 minutes or until golden at 350.

The Dove’s Nest Chicken Apricot Salad

This past summer I ate at a Tea Room called The Dove’s Nest. It was so quaint and the food was delicious. I have included one of their recipes.

Chicken Apricot Salad

For the Dressing:

• 2 Large egg yokes
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3/4 cup vegtable oil
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey mustard
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

*Process the egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard and rosemary in a food processor fitted with a steel blade for 10 minutes

*Add the vegetable and olive oils in a fine stream, processing constantly until thickened

*Add the honey mustard, salt and pepper. Process until smooth; set aside.

For the salad:

• 3 pounds cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup dried apricots, cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• Green tops from 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

*Shred the chicken into a large bowl

*Combine the apricots and sherry in a small saucepan. Simmer for 3 minutes to plump the apricots.

*Add the chicken.

*Add the celery, scallions and almonds to the chicken mixture, stirring gently.

*Add the salad dressing, tossing to coat

White Chocolate Pretzels

This is one of my favorite treats to make. I love these year round. They are so easy too. I buy White Almond Bark. Lay out some wax paper, follow the directions on label for melting, and then dip your pretzels in it. Lay your pretzels out for cooling and then you are done. They are easy to store and freeze. FYI: I think the square pretzels taste better.