Glaze of Sunshine Apricot Chicken

This recipe is from Hungry Girl's new cookbook. Both John & I liked it, and it was easy to make:

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon light whipped butter or light buttery spread

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar-free apricot preserves, room temperature

1/2 tablespoon dry onion soup mix

Two 6-ounce raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlets

Optional: salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place butter in a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until just melted. Set aside.
3. Combine vinegar and cornstarch in a bowl, and stir until cornstarch dissolves.
4. Add preserves, melted butter, and soup mix. Mix well and set aside.
5. Place chicken in a large sealable plastic bag and, removing as much air as possible, seal the bag. Carefully pound chicken through the bag with a meat mallet or a heavy can, until it is uniformly about 1/2-inch thick.
6. Transfer chicken to the bowl with the preserves mixture, and flip until thoroughly coated.
7. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Lay chicken flat in the center of the foil, and top with any remaining preserves mixture.
8. Fold together and seal the top and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges, to create a well-sealed packet.
9. Place baking sheet in the oven and cook for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
10. Allow packet to cool for a few minutes, and then cut to release steam before opening it entirely.
11. (Careful -- steam will be hot.)
12. Plate chicken and top with any sauce remaining in the foil. If you like, season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Nutrition

(1 cutlet with sauce) : 233 calories, 3.5g fat, 274mg sodium, 13g carbs, 0g fiber, <0.5g>

Crash Hot Potatoes

This is a recipe I got from The Pioneer Woman . Kroger was out of fresh Rosemary, so I used Thyme instead. They were yummy, and it was nice to have an alternative to a normal baked potato.

Ingredients

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
3. On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
4. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
5. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
6. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Sausage Loaf

That's right, a sausage loaf. This is another recipe from the cookbook John's grandma gave me:

Ingredients

• 1 long loaf french bread
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 lb pork sausage, browned and drained
• 8 oz sliced/shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Split loaf lengthwise, so there is a top and bottom.
3. Hollow out loaf, and put bread pieces in a bowl
4. Beat eggs & milk together; set aside
5. Brown and drain sausage
6. Mix bread with egg/milk mix and sausage
7. Spoon mix evenly into bottom of bread loaf, and bake 15 minutes
8. Remove from oven and top w/cheese
9. Place top of bread over cheese, and bake 5 more minutes
10. Remove and slice (big or little, whatever you wish. This was technically an appetizer recipe, so it said it could make 15-20 slices).
    

Looking ahead...

So, next week I have about 5 new recipes I will be trying...I may not get them all posted next week, but I will do my best! They include recipes from thew new Hungry Girl cookbook, the Pioneer Woman (see link on left), and the cookbook John's grandma gave me mentioned in previous posts. Should be yummy!

Susan Sullins' Pasta Shrimp Casserole

This is a casserole John's mom, Patti, made for us over spring break. It comes from the cookbook John's grandmother gave us that I mentioned in my last post, and is sooo yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 12 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 8 ounces shredded swiss
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked
• 1 (16 oz) jar salsa
• 1 1/2 pounds medium size shrimp, uncooked, peeled, and deveined
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In large bowl mix eggs, milk, yogurt, feta, swiss, parsely, basil, oregano, and garlic
3. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain
4. Spread half of pasta on bottom of greased 9x13 casserole dish, then cover salsa, then half of the shrimp
5. Put remaining half of pasta on top of shrimp, then cover this with the egg mixture
6. Top with shrimp, and then mozzarella cheese
7. Bake 30 mins, then remove from oven and let stand 10 mins before serving

Soooo good!

Poulet de Normandy

So, I apologize for such a long hiatus. I have been EXTREMELY busy with school, and I haven't tried many new recipes lately. However, this week I have tried out two recipes never-before-seen on this blog, and in this post and the next I will share them with you. Monday, I made "Poulet De Normandy," which is a super yummy dish that I get when I go to one of my favorite Huntsville restaurants, Victoria's cafe. I found a recipe for it in a cookbook given to me by John's grandmother as one of my shower gifts...it is from her church, and it has a ton of fantastic recipes (including Joy's Chicken, which I posted about before, as well as the recipe I will put in my next post). Anyways, here it is:

Poulet De Normandy

















(The fact there are carrots in this picture, which I abhor, indicates that I found this picture online...haha)

Day 1

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) package seasoned stuffing mix
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
  

Directions

1. Combine stuffing mix w/hot water and butter, and then set aside
2. Mix onion, celery, mayo, salt, and chicken, and then set aside
3. In a lightly greased 9x13 dish, spread half of the stuffing mixture
4. Spread all of the chicken mixture over stuffing, then spread the remaining stuffing mix over the chicken
5. Combine beaten eggs and milk, and beat again
6. Pour egg mix over chicken and stuffing
7. Cover and refrigerate over night
   

Day 2

Ingredients

• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  

Directions

1. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking, and spread soup on top
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Bake 30-40 mins or until heated thoroughly
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top
5. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 mins

I looove Poulet; its a lot of work, and ummm, calories, but every now in then, worth it!