Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

We had these with the lemon pasta. According to Sam, these were really what made the meal. I would probably decrease the garlic powder or the salt that you brush on the top by just a little. I thought it was a little overwhelming. And I used a fiesta blend of cheese that we had in the fridge. Yum. They were good and fast.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/03/cheddar-and-herb-biscuits.html

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3 tablespoons butter, cold
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok – the biscuits will be tough if they are overmixed).
2. Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden.
3. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine three tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture over the biscuits evenly (alternately, you can dip the top of the biscuit into the butter mixture). Serve immediately.

Peanut Butter Candy

This is Christie's recipe and it is amazing and wonderful and possibly very similar to Sara's recipe.  It makes me happy :)

Mix together
2 sticks of butter, melted
2 cup peanut butter
3 cups powered sugar

Add to
5 cups smashed golden grahams cereal (or whatever off brand you choose to buy, the malt o meal one is great!)

Spread in a cookie sheet or a 9 x 13 (depends on how thick you like them)

Melt 3 cups chocolate chips, 2 T coconut oil or shortening if doing a cookie sheet or half it for a 9 x 13 and spread it all over the peanut butter stuff.  Put in fridge or freezer until it is set up :)

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One Pot Southwest Chicken and Rice

Ok this was good. And easy. And fast. And most of the ingredients were ones that even I who have been gone for a long time had laying around. Super filling. And it is all in one pot. Woo!

I would probably season the chicken more though, it was a bit bland on it's own. Or I would use shredded chicken instead of chicken breasts so the flavor could soak in more. Mine were small but still didn't soak of the flavor. You could also add more of the spices or possibly cayenne or red pepper flakes to bump up the heat, although the salsa at the end helped that.

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn
4 ounces cheese (used a combination of Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar)
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Salsa and sour cream for serving

DIRECTIONS:
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. The chicken will cook more in a subsequent step. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

To the pot, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook until the edges are just slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Return the chicken to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter or plate. Stir the black beans and corn into the pot. Add the cheese and cilantro. Season the rice mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the rice with the chicken, adding salsa and sour cream, if desired.

I got this recipe from Mel's
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/08/one-pot-southwest-chicken-and-rice.html

Rice Pilaf

I needed something to go with chicken the other day, and I am really bad about planning side dishes.  So I was flipping through my zip list recipe box looking for something that I had the ingredients to or could feel good about leaving ingredients out and I tried this.  It was really tasty.  Plan double the cooking time though, I don't know what it is about rice with stuff in it (like Mexican rice or whenever I make Rice-a-Roni) but it always takes way longer than I think it should/what the recipe says.  


From Mel's: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/04/simple-rice-pilaf.html

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups basmati or long-grain rice (I used normal, medium grain rice)
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced (about 1/2 cup) (I used green onions because that is what I had and it was awesome!)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
4 ounces spaghetti or vermicelli, broken into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
3 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
Ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place the rice in a medium bowl and add enough water to cover by 2 inches; using your hands, gently swish grains to release excess starch. Carefully pour off the water, leaving rice in bowl. Repeat four to five times, until water runs almost clear. Using a colander or fine mesh strainer, drain water from rice and set aside. (I did none of this because I was lazy and because I didn't use basmati rice)

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, until softened but not browned. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the rinsed and drained rice and the broken, uncooked noodles. Cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in the water and salt and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 16-18 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, take off the lid and place a kitchen towel folded in half over saucepan (I didn't do this towel thing either); replace the lid. Let the rice stand 10 minutes; fluff with a fork and serve.

Sweet and Sour Chicken-mostly mel's but a little bit ours

here is the original post http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/07/sweet-and-sour-chicken-updated.html

I love this because it is EASY and YUMMY. And I always have these ingredients on hand. yay!

Often when I make this, we want more sauce to put over white rice...so we double the sauce-pour one serving over the chicken before baking and cook the other serving in a saucepan.

Here is what we do:

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-usually I do 2 to 3
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil (I use whatever vegetable oil is in my cupboard)

Sauce: (we make this TWICE-once to pour over the chicken and we cook the other in a saucepan to put over rice)

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:
For the chicken, cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken.

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve over rice.

In a hurry? I bake at 450 for 30 minutes stirring every 10. Seems to work fine.

Danielle