Week #3

I'm back with a delicious dinner recipe for this week's recipe. This recipe comes from A Year of Slow Cooking. I've been feeling a bit sick today so some good comfort food was in order. This recipe definitely fit the bill. 


Brown Sugar Chicken



6 boneless, skinless breast halves
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (I actually used blackberry citrus soda - sounds weird but trust me, it worked)
2/3 cup vinegar
3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper


1. This is a crockpot recipe. Easy, easy, easy.
2. Place your chicken in your crockpot. 
3. Cover the chicken with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. 
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. (Mine actually took 3 and was extremely tender). 

5. I served my chicken over noodles with some of the remaining broth on top, but you could serve it over rice as well.

The verdict? Absolutely delicious. This dish has just the right amount of tang and is really filling. I made some green beans to go with it, and I have plenty left over for a nice lunch tomorrow. I'll definitely be making this dish again.

Week #2

Week 2, and I'm still cooking. That's a good sign, right? I know, I know. It's early in the year, but I've been sick for the last week and it'd be very easy to take this week off so I'm proud of myself for sticking with it.


This week I'm going with another recipe that I found on Pinterest, Mexican Dorito Casserole courtesy of the awesome blog Jam Hands. 


Mexican Dorito Casserole

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I baked my chicken first at 350 F for 30 minutes)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos-mild)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more to taste)
Doritos

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the Doritos.

3. In a baking dish, put a layer of crushed Doritos, then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes.

The verdict? I went way too heavy on the taco seasoning powder. It's much better to use too little than too much. I made my casserole entirely too spicy. It was still yummy but very spicy. I'd make it again, but I'd cut way back on the spice.


Oops. Guess I learned another important cooking lesson. I think I'll be going with something a little more neutral next week.

Moving Right Along...

This is one of those "more than one recipe" weeks. I had one last day off from work for the holidays so I decided to make a nice dinner before heading back to work tomorrow (and enough for leftovers for a nice lunch tomorrow too so I can save money instead of going out for lunch).

For my dinner I decided to go all out with cheese. I made a cheesy chicken and veggie. 

Cheesy Baked Indoor BBQ Rub Chicken

Chicken

Spice Rub (I used a local brand but any BBQ rub will work)

Butter (or margarine)

Butterkäse cheese

This recipe is my own creation. I didn't really measure the quantities I used. It was one of those "do what feels right" kind of dishes, but it turned out delicious so I must have done something right.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 

2. Place chicken in a flat layer in a baking dish. 

3. Cut up small pats of butter or margarine and drop on top of the chicken. You don't have to cover the whole chicken. Just randomly drop them so that the butter will spread over the chicken when baking.

4. Liberally sprinkle the chicken with your spice rub. When you finish one side, turn the chicken over with a fork and sprinkle the other side. 

5. Cut up small cubes of your Butterkäse cheese and randomly place over chicken so that it melts when baking. Use as much or as little cheese as you like. 

6. Bake for 30 minutes. 

For my veggie, I turned to Paula Deen. I have a feeling that she would wholeheartedly approve of my chicken dish (butter AND buttery tasting cheese!!!) so a Paula veggie seemed like an ideal pairing for the chicken. 

Cheesy Asparagus

1/2 lb. fresh asparagus

salt

pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2.  Place asparagus on a baking sheet. I made kind of a boat shape with my foil to prevent the olive oil from running.

3. Toss asparagus with oil, salt, and pepper.

4. Spread Parmesan over the asparagus. I was very liberal with mine. 

5. Bake until asparagus is tender and the cheese is melted and slightly golden. 10-12 minutes.

And the finished product...

Yummy! So far this has been a very good New Year's resolution for me. 

The Beginning

A new year is here. For my New Year's resolution, I decided to embark on a culinary challenge. Okay, I admit it's not a huge culinary challenge, but it's a challenge nonetheless. 52 weeks, 52 new recipes. Each week, I'll try (at least but maybe more) one new recipe, whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, and then I'll post my results here. Hopefully, you'll enjoy my newly found culinary treats and share ones with me that I can try as the year moves along.

 

One new recipe a week seemed like a manageable goal for me. I'm a busy, young woman, just beginning my legal career (I'm an attorney), and I didn't want to make the challenge something too big, like a new recipe every day, because I know that doesn't work with my schedule. I work long hours, and I don't always feel like cooking when I get home. I didn't want to set myself up for something that I knew wouldn't work for me like most New Year's resolutions.

 

I'm fascinated by cooking, and I love watching Paula Deen (The woman's amazing and makes you feel good. Don't believe me? I dare you to watch one of her shows when you're feeling down and not find yourself smiling by the end of the hour or half hour). I use to cook way more than I do now, mostly back in college and before my days in law school, and I'd like to get back to that. Hopefully I'll be eating healthier and saving some money this year by not eating out so much.

 

So here I am. One new recipe a week as I try to branch out with my cooking skills and stick to a yearlong adventure that should be a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I hopefully will. And to start, here is my first recipe of 2012.

Pudding Cookies

I found the recipe on Pinterest, one of my very favorite websites (it's beyond addicting). If you're not a member, you should definitely sign up. It's a free site where you can find great recipes, crafts, home and fashion ideas, and so much more. 

The recipe I found for these cookies comes from the blog Chef in Training. I'd never made cookies from scratch by myself before so I decided to give it a try. I might as well start with a bang, right? And besides, cookies for New Year's Day sounded like a good idea to me. 

So I started with my ingredients. 

1 1/2 sticks of butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 - 3.4 oz box of instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 cups flour

1-2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Stir together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together.

4. Add the pudding and beat until well blended. Just dump the powder right in. We're mixing the powder, not pudding already made.

5. Add the eggs and vanilla.

6. Gradually add the flour mixture in until well blended.

7. Roll into 1" balls and place on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper.

8. Bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes.

Make sure you wait long enough for the butter to soften up, or you'll have a big mess on your hands like I did. Oops. At least I learned an important lesson. Paula Deen would be proud. 

Also, make sure you use a big enough bowl for mixing. Large should probably read very large. Another reason I had quite a mess on my hands. I probably should have taken a picture, but I'll leave that to your imagination. 

The cookies turned out quite well, but it'll probably be awhile before I try baking cookies from scratch again. I'll leave you here with the first batch and hopefully the beginning of a very fun, creative year.