Monday, December 18, 2017

cranberry chicken























This recipe is a snap to make and I have good memories of this recipe because when we lived in Hershey several women made freezer meals for each other, a dinner club kind of thing, and my friend Suzette made this freezer meal for everyone in the group.  
I signed up to provide dinner for my son's teacher who just had a knee replacement so I made two batches which required chicken and the ingredients you see above, that's all!

cranberry chicken (my friend Suzette)
(for a double batch)
5 big chicken breasts, filetted
1 bottle French dressing
1 box onion soup mix (contains 2 envelopes- use both)
2 cups cranberry sauce 

Lay chicken breasts in bottom of a 13x9 pan.  In a medium bowl mix dressing, soup mix and cranberry sauce with a fork and whisk.  Pour over the top of the chicken and cover pan with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 20 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Note:  For a single batch, use 2-3 chicken breasts, 1 cup French dressing, 1 cup cranberry sauce and 1 envelope onion soup mix.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

chicken shwarma













I took my husband to a Middle-Eastern restaurant that he'd been wanting to go to for quite a while.  We enjoyed our meal immensely then walked into the little store attached to it.  We bought the above shwarma seasoning so we could make something delicious at home.  As we paid for it I asked exactly how to prepare it so I could get it right.  We enjoyed it TWO nights in a row because it was sooooo good.  I am going to go back and get more seasonings to try out at home!

chicken shwarma (the gentleman at Al-Jebal told me the recipe)
2 pounds chicken, thinly sliced
1 ounce schwarma seasoning (I had to weigh it to be sure how much an ounce was- the bottle contains 5 ounces)
oil

Combine chicken with oil and seasoning and let marinate a few hours.
When ready to cook, heat a little bit of oil in a pan and pan fry until done.
We like it one of two ways:
1.  Serve in a pita with tahini sauce, a hot garlic pepper sauce, cucumbers and lettuce.
2.  Serve over a fragrant rice with tahini sauce and a hot garlic pepper sauce.


homemade tahini sauce











When I bought this jar of tahini I actually thought I was buying tahini sauce.  Then I tried it.  I knew I couldn't pour that onto my chicken shwarma pita so I looked up a simple recipe and adapted it.  I love middle eastern food- it's such a treat!

simple homemade tahini sauce
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2-1 cup warm water (I used close to a cup)

Put all ingredients into a small bowl and whisk, adding water a little bit at a time until you get the consistency you want.

andes mint cookies











These are awesome!  My husband tried them at our kids' piano recital and my daughter who helped make them at a friend's house said they were sooooo easy to make so I asked for the recipe.  My friend Amy says she always has a box of cake mix and a package of Andes mints on hand in case someone in the family needs to take refreshments somewhere last minute and with kids going to mutual and firesides, it happens frequently!  Now I have a box of cake mix and a package of Andes mints in my food storage pantry. :)

andes mint cookies (my friend Amy N.)
1 (15.25) package devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 package Andes Mints

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs.  Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet.  Bake for 6-9 minutes.  Take baking sheet out of oven and while cookies are still very hot, place an Andes mint on the top of each cookie.  In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted.  Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

hello dolly cookies











Why do I always forget to make the easiest cookies?  These are the BEST!  I made a lot of the cookie recipes my grandma used to make to send to my grandpa for Christmas.  She always used to make these hello dolly cookies as well as about a dozen others at Christmas and I looked forward to them.  My kids can't remember me making these before and LOVED them.

hello dolly cookies
3 cups crushed graham crackers
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups chocolate chips
3 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1 can sweetened, condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine graham crackers and melted butter. Spread into the bottom of the 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top.  Sprinkle shredded coconut over the chocolate chips.  Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the coconut.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Friday, December 8, 2017

creamy garden spaghetti











It had been a while since I'd pulled out my Hershey Relief Society cookbook so I pulled it out and found a few recipes to try.  I love remembering these friends as I prepare the recipes.  This creamy garden spaghetti is delicious.  I wanted something with lots of veggies because of all the endless Christmas goodies in the house.

creamy garden spaghetti (Natalie from Hershey Relief Society Cookbook 2008)
1/2 pound fresh broccoli, broken into florets
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 large carrot, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons butter
sauted chicken, optional

In a large skillet, saute the broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and carrot in oil until crisp-tender.  Remove from the heat and set aside.  Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  In another saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender.  Stir in the flour, bouillon and thyme until blended.  Gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Reduce heat to low; stir in cheeses until melted.  Add the vegetables, heat through.  Drain spaghetti, toss with vegetable mixture.