Lemonade Chicken

We are back up and running! All three of us were pregnant, and I had twins in october and my sister in law Brooke had her sweet baby boy in November and my sister Lori will have her little boy in March. So needless to say we all have been pretty busy, but now that I got (somewhat) the hang of things, its time to start posting again! Here is a delicious lemonade chicken recipe. I love chicken, but one of my favorite parts of a chicken are chicken legs. They are just so delicious to me! So any recipe that calls for them , I am all for it. This particular recipe has such a good flavor, its one that is constantly requested by my hubby, and it goes great with these potatoes I will post about later :)

Lemonade Chicken

2 1/2 to 3 lbs of chicken pieces

1/4 c flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 T. oil

1 (16 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate

3 T. Brown Sugar

3 T. Catsup

1 T. Vinegar

1/2 c cooking sherry

dust chicken with flour and salt. Brown chicken in hot oil. Place in 9 x 13 pan. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. bake at 325 for 1 hour. Baste occasionally. Can also cook in a crock-pot for 2 1/2 hours on high.

Beef Brisket with Mop Sauce

I went to the farmers market last week and ran into a guy who sales grass feed beef. I totally want to buy half of a grass-fed cow from him and split it with some families and have all that good beef on hand. We will see if it happens. I was going to buy some fillets, but the guy talked me into brisket. I have never cooked brisket before, so I figured why not? I checked the family cook book and lo and behold... there was a brisket recipe! This turned out delicious. I did it in the crock pot, so I had to guess how long to cook it. I put it in on high for about 2 hours and then turned it down to low for the next 4 hours. It was perfectly cooked. I bought some really yummy honey wheat rolls at the farmers market and we made these sandwiches.

Beef Brisket with Mop Sauce

1/2 c water

1/4 c cider vinegar

1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

1/4 c. dark corn syrup ( I didn't have this so I used agave nectar)

2 TB vegetable oil ( I didn't even use this)

2 TB mustard

1 (3lb) beef brisket

Combine first 7 ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 min, stir constantly. Remove from heat. Place brisket in shallow roasting pan (or you can use a crock pot like me if you wish). Cover brisket with sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 2-2.5 hours or until meat is tender. Let stand for 5 min. Thinly slice meat against the grain.

Zucchini Bread

We made this yummy bread last night and it is a miracle that it turned out!  Half way through the baking the power went out for an hour.  The second the power came back on we had to leave the house, so I turned the oven on 220 and let it stay in there for the hour and a half we were gone.  We got home and the bread wasn't quite ready, but another 15 minutes at 325 did the trick.  It turned out delicious and I was so excited it survived the power outage and my ingredients and effort weren't for nothing!

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

1 c. oil

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. peeled and grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 c. raisins

Beat eggs, then gradually beat in the sugars and oil.  Combine dry ingredients.  Add half the dry ingredients, half the zucchini, then repeat.  Stir in the vanilla, nuts and raisins.  Pour into 2 greased and lightly floured (or non stick sprayed) loaf pans.  Bake for one hour at 325.  Let stand 10 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool.  Glaze with lemon frosting to make it extra special!

 We didn't have raisins or nuts so we just threw in some chocolate chips because the kids love anything with chocolate chips in it.  But it would have been delicious just plain.

Hamburger Noodle Bake

maI'm back! New Year resolution #1... try to post a recipe once every other week. I was going to do once a week, but who am I kidding... I want to be able to stick with this! Tonight we were in the mood for a good, comfort food type of meal. So I turned to the family cookbook and decided on this one. It was yummy and even James ate a good sized portion. The only thing I would do different next time is add a little spice. Maybe some chili powder would do the trick.

Hamburger Noodle Bake

~Barbara Davis

1 1/2 - 2 lbs Hamburger Meat ( I used 1 lb of extra lean ground beef)

4 TB butter (I omitted this all together. Didn't seem like it needed it)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp sugar ( I didn't add this either)

32 oz tomato sauce

10 oz egg noodles, cooked and drained

1 small onion, chopped

8 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 c. sour cream (I used light sour cream)

1 c. shredded cheese ( I used light cheddar)

Brown hamburger, drain. Add butter (if using), sugar, garlic and tomato sauce. Simmer 15 min. Combine noodles, onion, cream cheese and sour cream. In a 9x13 pan, layer half of the noodle mixture, half of the meat sauce, repeat and then top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Butterhorn Rolls

I had to get this recipe up before Thanksgiving. These are the yummiest Thanksgiving rolls - or anytime rolls, and they aren't that hard or messy to make. My least favorite part about cooking or baking is always the clean up afterwards! I made these for a bridal shower and as always everyone loved them.

Butterhorn Rolls

1pkg. quick-rise yeast

1/4 c. warm water

1/2 c. butter, melted

3/4 c. milk scalded (heat until just before boiling)

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs, well beaten

4 1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. butter (for later)

Soften yeast in warm water. Set aside. In your mixer, combine the melted butter and scalded milk. Stir in the sugar, salt and eggs. Add the softened yeast and then the flour. Mix everything until it makes a soft dough. Set dough aside in a warm place and allow to rise for 2 1/2 hours.

(here's my before and after pics of the rising)

After dough is risen, divide in half (it will be sticky but don't add more flour). Put the first half on a lightly floured surface and roll around until it is coated with flour. Then roll it out in a 14-inch circle. Spread the dough with 1/4 cup melted butter and cut the circle into 16 pie pieces.

Roll each piece from the large end to the small to form rolls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Then repeat with the other half of the dough. Allow your rolls to rise for another two hours covered with a kitchen towel, then bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Everyone is sure to enjoy these yummy rolls. You can even make them days ahead, roll them out into the rolls, then freeze. When you take them out of the freezer, allow 3 hours for rising instead of 2.

Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole

I remember this one from when I was a kid. Coming home from a long day of dance classes and then eating about 3 servings of this stuff! It really hit the spot. Since James loves broccoli, I thought this was something he would like... and he did! I didn't have bread to crumble on the top, so we just did with out it. It is good either way.

Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole

6 chicken breasts, boiled and then shredded

2 bunches of broccoli

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 TB lemon juice

1 c. mayonnaise ( I used plain greek yogurt. I am not a mayonnaise fan)

1 1/2 c. grated cheddar

1/2 tsp curry

1/2 c. chicken broth

4 c. cooked rice (I used brown rice)

1/2 loaf white bread

Cook and cut up chicken. Cook broccoli until slightly tender. In a nonstick 9x13 pan, spread rice in bottom. Top with broccoli and then chicken. Mix mayonnaise, soups, cheese, curry, broth and lemon juice. Heat in saucepan until cheese in melted. Pour over chicken. Cut crust of 1/2 loaf of bread. Break up into chunks. Place over soup mixture until it is completely covered. Bake at 350, covered in foil, for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake until bread is browned, approximately 10 minutes.

Texas Sheet Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes. I think it is mainly because of the frosting... it is to die for!!! I would eat it by the spoonfuls if I could. This was the first thing I made that really made me sad about the gestational diabetes. I did manage to get ONE spoonful in though and it was divine :)

Texas Sheet Cake: Barbara Davis

1/2 c. butter

1 c. water

1/4 c. cocoa

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 c. buttermilk

2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

Bring butter, water and cocoa to a boil. Mix dry ingredients together and add cocoa mixture. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and mix well. Grease a 12x17-inch cookie sheet and pour cake mixture into it. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. buttermilk

1 lb powdered sugar

1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Heat butter, buttermilk and cocoa. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Pour over cake. Sprinkle nuts on top.