Chicken Boudine

I was looking for a recipe to use my ground chicken in and found some inspiration from Paula Deen. My version is slightly different, because I'm picky and I don't like mushrooms and pimentos. It reminds me of lasagna with the pasta, sauce and cheese. It was very yummy.

1 lb. ground turkey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
salt & pepper
1 pkg. pasta, cooked (I used bow tie pasta)
2 c. shredded cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar)
2 c. tomato or spaghetti sauce
small can of sliced mushrooms (or you can use some fresh broccoli, like I did)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray.
2. Brown ground chicken with garlic, onion, salt and pepper, until cooked through and no longer pink. Drain off fat; there shouldn't be much. (I just used a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the pan into the bowl).
3. In a large bowl, combine chicken, pasta, sauce, 1 c. cheese and mushrooms. Spread into prepared pan. Top with remaining 1 c. cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. (I cook mine a bit longer. Just until the cheese lightly browns on top.)

8 servings

Homemade Freckled Lemonade Cupcakes

If you've been to Red Robin in the last year, you've noticed they now have cupcakes and they turned their signature drink, the Freckled Lemonade, into a cupcake. I love them! I had to recreate them myself.

1 Lemon Cake mix, prepared according to box instructions
12-18 fresh strawberries, divided
strawberry preserves
strawberry frosting
24 lemon twists or grated lemon peel

1. Line 24 baking cups with paper liners.
2. Prepare cake mix as directed on package. Using a small scoop (I used the small one by Pampered Chef-melon ball size) scoop two scoops of cake mix into each liner.
3. Place 1/4 strawberry on top (don't press down) and top with 1 tsp. strawberry preserves. Top with one additional scoop of cake mix, covering berry and preserves. Bake in oven according to instructions for cupcakes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes in pan and then finish cooling on wire rack.
5. Frosting-you can mix in the grated lemon peel into your strawberry frosting or use the twists for a garnish on top of the cupcakes.
6. Frost the cupcakes with frosting. Top each with 1/4 or 1/2 strawberry (depending on berry size and lemon twist).

24 cupcakes

Guava Mango Shooter

Courtesy Charles Phillips, Executive Chef of the The Hutton Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee; People magazine.

6 oz. guava paste
5 oz. frozen mango chunks
8 oz. apple juice
1/4 c. water
7 basil leaves

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth.
2. Pour into 10-2 oz. shot glasses.

Savory Basil-Lemon Scones

I was so excited about these scones, but they were just way too bland for my liking. I added a little margarine to the pieces I ate. This recipe comes out of my August/September 2011 issue of Cooking Club magazine, and it was submitted by Hallie Harron.

1 3/4 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
2 tsp. basil
Grated peel of a lemon
1/2 c. plain yogurt
5 tbsp. milk, divided

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. With pastry blender, cut butter in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces. Stir in basil and lemon peel.
2. In small measuring cup, combine yogurt with enough milk (2-3 tbsp.) to reach 2/3 c. Stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture until dough comes together. (using your fingertips is fine. Dough will be moist)
3. On lightly floured surface, pat dough into 7 inch round 1-inch thick; cut into 8 wedges (I then cut those 8 wedges in half to make 16 mini wedges.) Place wedges on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining milk. (I had a big problem with the milk browning on the parchment and sticking to my baking dish. The baking sheet had to soak in water for a full day.)
4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

8 scones/16 small scones
48 mini scones (10 inch round, 1/2 inch thick, 1 1/2 inch round cutter, baked at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes)

CHANGE-UPS:
Olive-Feta-Rosemary: 1/2 c. feta, 1/2 c. Kalamata olives, pitted, drained & chopped, 2 tsp. rosemary
Green Olive-Cheese: 1/2 c. stuffed green olives and 1/2 c. aged jack cheese
Olive-Goat Cheese: 3 tbsp. olive tapenade, 1/2 c. mild crumbled soft goat cheese
Sun Dried Tomato: 2 tbsp. sun-dried tomato pesto, 1/2 c. shopped provolone

Betty Crocker's Raspberry French Toast

Thsi was good. It was just okay for me. I'm not a big raspberry fan, never really have been. I don't know if it is because they aren't all that sweet or what, but for anyone who enjoys raspberries, this is a breakfast dish for you.

TOAST:
1 (1 lb.) loaf soft french bread, about 18 inches long
4 oz. soft cream cheese
1/2 c. raspberry preserves
1 c. fat free egg product
1 c. fat free milk
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

SAUCE:
1 (10 oz.) Cascadian Farm frozen organic raspberries, thawed
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch

1. Spray bottom of 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Cut bread into 24 (3/4 inch) slices. Spread 12 slices with cream cheese. Spread remaining slices with preserves; place over cream cheese to make 12 sandwiches. Arrange in dish, press together if necessary.
2. In a medium bowl, beat egg, sugar, milk and salt with wire whisk until blended. Pour over bread. Let stand 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover dish with foil and bake 10 minutes. Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, in 2 quart saucepan, mix sauce ingredients together until blended. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil 30 seconds to a minutes or just until thickened. Place strainer over medium bowl; pour raspberry mix into strainer. Press mixture with back of spoon through strainer to remove seeds; discard seeds. Serve sauce over toast.

12 servings

Breakfast Bake

Very tasty but a little on the rich side. I think it is from the buttery-flaky crescent rolls. From www.greatpartyrecipes.com.

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 pkg. (8 oz.) chopped ham
6 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll dough into a 13x9 pan and press to cover bottom of dish. Firmly press holes and seams together to seal. (I sprayed the pan with Pam cooking spray first.)
2. Sprinkle crust with ham. Beat eggs, milk and pepper with whisk until blended; pour over ham and top with cheeses.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until center is set.

8 servings (I got about 12-3x3 servings)

Ginger Lemonade

This is another recipe from the great party recipes website, too. While it was good, I had trouble tasting much of the ginger in the lemonade, but I also ran out of time to make this the way it should and cheated and used Simply Lemonade.

9 c. water, divided
1 thumb-size piece of fresh ginger
1 c. sugar
1 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Garnishes: fresh mint, lemon slices, pineapple sticks

1. Thinly slice ginger ans set aside. Pour 2 c. of water in a glass jar and bring to a boil in the microwave (or use a non-reactive saucepan on the stove). Remove, plop ginger in and cover with lid. Let ginger steep for about 10 minutes to make ginger tea. Then, strain out the ginger, replace with the lid and chill in the refrigerator.
2. Stir the sugar into 1 c. boiling water to make simple syrup. Stir until dissolved.
3. Pour the remaining 6 c. of water into a large pitcher. Add simple syrup and lemon juice. Stir, cover and chill.
4. Before serving, stir in the ginger tea into the pitcher of lemonade.
5. Serve over ice with a garnish.

8 servings

Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

Since starting boot camp in February, I've been eating a lot more fruit and vegetables and I'm finding out just how much I enjoy lemon and lime flavors in my food and this one is no exception. I love the hint of lime and sweetness of the honey with the fruit. This recipe comes from www.greatpartyrecipes.com.

12 c. fresh fruit, bite size pieces (strawberries-halved or quartered, whole seedless grapes, cantaloupe, honey dew, apricots-quartered, whole raspberries, whole cherries, pineapple, kiwi, sliced banana)
1 c. broken nuts (not whole, but larger than chopped)

1. Combine all fruits in a large bowl. Gently stir in the nuts and the dressing.


Dressing:

1/3 c. fresh lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
3/4 c. honey

1. Combine all ingredients and fold into salad.

16- 3/4 c. servings

Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I love these meatballs! Not just because they are only 105 calories for 4, but because they have taste and a punch. I did make one little change. Instead of making the sauce with the butter and hot sauce, I just put 2 tbsp. of hot sauce in the mix. With my veggies, I used ranch dressing because I don't care for bleu cheese. I know. I know. I'm so picky.

1 lb. ground chicken
1/2 small onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 c. parsley, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. hot sauce
bleu cheese dressing
baby carrots
celery sticks

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, onion, garlic, and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Flatten meat in the bowl and score it into 4 portions using side of hand. Shape each portion into 4 meatballs.
3. Arrange meatballs on a nonstick sheet pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Place the pan in the oven and bake the meatballs 10-12 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
4. While the meatballs are baking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add hot sauce and whisk to combine. Toss baked meatballs is sauce to coat.
5. Pour bleu cheese dressing into a bowl and serve alongside meatballs, carrots and celery.

4 servings

Memphis Dry Ribs

I pulled some boneless pork ribs out of the freezer last week and I was just going to season them like normal with some herbs and spices, when I noticed there was a recipe on the package under a pull-tab, so I pulled it and I liked what I read, so I decided to give it a try. They were very good-not too spicy. Of course, I didn't have everything on hand, so I had to make a few substitutions and although we cooked them on the grill, I didn't have the hickory wood chips or a charcoal grill. They probably would have had more of a smoke flavor that way, but I did what I could with what I had.

4 lbs. pork loin back ribs or meaty spareribs (I used boneless pork ribs)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. onion powder (I used garlic powder)
1 1/2 tsp. celery salt (I used season salt)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. black pepper
3 c. wood chips-hickory or oak chips for best flavor

1. Cut ribs into four portions (my boneless ribs were already cut into single portions-this allowed me to get a coating on all four sides of each rib). Place ribs in shallow dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, celery salt, cumin and pepper; rub evenly over meaty side of ribs (in my case all four sides). Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in fridge 4-24 hours.
3. One hour before grilling, soak wood chips in enough water to cover. Drain before using.
4. In charcoal grill with a cover, place preheated coals around a drip pan for medium indirect heat. Add 1/2-inch hot water to drip pan. Sprinkle half of drained wood chips over coals. Place ribs, bone side down, on grill rack over drip pan. Cover and grill for 1 1/2-2 hours or until ribs are tender. (We don't have a coal grill, so we grilled them on our gas grill and cooked them for 5-10 minutes on two sides).

4 servings

French Breaded Asparagus-Roasted

I'm new to asparagus. I didn't like it growing up, but as I get older and my palate evolves and matures I'm rediscovering foods. My neighbors steams or roasts her asparagus and that is what I was going to-I found a roast asparagus recipe and then when I took the band off the asparagus, there was a recipe attached. However, it called for it to not only be breaded but fried. Well, that defeats the purpose of trying to eat healthy and lost weight so I made a compromise. I used the seasonings in the recipes, but stuck them in the oven and roasted them, instead of frying...it was so GOOD! Definitely a keeper.

1 lb. fresh asparagus
olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

1. Cut off the white ends of the asparagus and discard. Spread on baking sheet (for easy clean-up, line up with foil) and brush with olive oil.
2. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
3. Roast in the oven at 375 degrees fro 10-15 minutes, until tender-crisp.

4 servings