Zesty Chicken Barbecue- Slow Cooker

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Ingredients: 
3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
18 oz. BBQ sauce (Mesquite)
1/2 c. Zesty Italian Dressing bottle
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Place chicken in crock pot. In a bowl, mix BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, & Worcestershire. Pour over chicken Cover and cook 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW. With 2 forks shred the meat after cooking. Serve on buns.

Notes: I found this recipe in a local grocery paper. The first time I tried it, my family LOVED it! If your chicken is frozen, I'd recommend thawing it a bit if you plan to cook it for 3-4 hours. The sauce is a lot, so you could probably add a bit more chicken if you are planning a bigger crowd. We used this recipe at a reception and it work perfectly! Makes lots of leftovers. Great BBQ chicken sandwich. Pair it with coleslaw and it's even better!

Welcoming 2012!

Happy New Year 2012 Everyone! Here's hoping you all had a wonderful holiday season. For those of you that may not have known, I had a baby boy! Hence my absence for over the past 9 months. We are adjusting a bit better to the new addition & changes within our family now, so I deemed it appropriate to start back up on my cooking blog. Plus I know some sister-in-laws of mine have been using several recipes on here frequently, which makes me one happy camper! Hopefully their hubby's are enjoying their cooking just as much!

As you can see I've designed the blog a little bit better so that it is hopefully easier to read. I plan to review all my old recipes to make sure all the measurements are accurate (I tend to add my only little favor here & there which tends to not be very fair to those who need preciseness). This of course may take a little more time though, so bare with me.

Also you may have noticed I have added a simple "Reaction" format under the comment section. This is for those of you that don't really feel like commenting or lack the time, but still want to give a simple feedback on a recipe. I love to see how everyone's taste buds differ, so please fill free to comment/react truthfully.

Stay tuned for some new recipes coming your way! I'm excited to get started & happily feed your families' tummies!

Hugs- T'

Blueberry Applesauce Loaf

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup apple sauce (natural, cinnamon or sweetened) 1/4 cup 100% Apple Juice 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries Topping: 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Tip: Using 1/4 cup apple sauce adds 55% DV vitamin C and 1 gram of fiber. Directions: In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, apple sauce and apple juice. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking powder; add to creamed mixture just until combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over top. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. FOR BEST RESULTS: Mix the apple sauce with the other "wet" ingredients, such as milk, water and eggs. Don't mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you are ready to put the pan into the oven. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together gently and as little as possible to avoid a tough batter. Notes: I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out delicious. My kids LOVED it! Good way to get your blueberries in for the day!

Easy Homemade Pancakes

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For months I have been wanting to find a good homemade pancake recipe. Finally I found a yummy one we used this morning. It's definitely a keeper in our home now. No more buying bought mixes. It's much cheaper and healthier to use fresh ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour (try whole wheat flour)
• 3/4 cup milk ( or desired consistency)
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  

Directions:

Mix your dry ingredients together, then add in your wet ingredients. Mix until smooth and to desired consistency (add a bit more milk if batter is too thick), using beaters or blender. I used a 1/4 c. measuring for each pancake. Pour out onto semi-hot griddle or skillet; not too hot or the middle of your pancakes won’t cook through. When it’s bubbled up on one side, flip! Serve with your favorite syrup, fruit or sugar!

Half & Half Substitute

I ended up making the Chicken Florentine recipe and realized I had no half & half. I ended up finding out about this substitute, so I thought I'd share. So in the future, if you don't have half & half, feel free to use the substitute below:

1 tbsp. of butter
1 cup of milk

Melt the butter and then add milk to make one full cup. Mix well. Voila! Refrigerate leftovers. It's that easy!

I used this for the Florentine recipe tonight, and it turned out great! By the way, if you want to make a romantic Valentine's dinner for your honey... I sooooo recommend this Florentine chicken! My hub said to me tonight, "I feel like I'm eating at Macaroni Grill, it's that good!"

Chicken Florentine

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Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 (13.5 ounce) cans spinach, drained
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2/3 cup bacon bits
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute the spinach, garlic, and mushrooms and then place in bottom of dish.
3. Place the uncooked chicken on top of spinach mixture.
   
4. In a separate bowl combine lemon juice, soup, Italian season, half & half and Parmesan. Spread this sauce on top of the raw chicken and topped it off with real crumbled bacon. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
   
5. Remove from oven and topped with 1 cup mozzarella and continued baking for 10 minutes at 350.
   

Notes:
This chicken is AMAZING! Seriously it reminded me of a chicken dish from Olive Garden. It is so moist, yet rich. Instead of using mozzarella, I used Havarti. I just laid small slices directly on the chicken breast. Also, I used fresh spinach versus can. I sauteed about half a bag of spinach. I also used freshly cooked bacon & crumbled it! I also sprinkled a few dry Italian bread crumbs for texture. I would definitely serve this with some angel hair pasta next time around. I promise you that you won't be disappointed with this dish!

Honey-Ginger Baked Salmon

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Ingredients:
1/3 c. orange juice
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/3 C. honey
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
4 salmon fillets
1/4 c. green onions. sliced

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine orange juice, soy sauce, honey, garlic & ginger. Reserve 2/3 cup of marinade. Place remaining marinade in a shallow 11x7 baking dish. Add salmon fillets; turn twice to coat with marinade, place aluminum foil-lined baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, return 2/3 cup reserved marinade to small saucepan and simmer over med-high heat for 5 minutes or until syrupy. Remove fillets from oven and serve over rice. Top with sauce and garnish with green onions. Serves 4.

Notes:
I just love fish recipes! #1 They are healthy #2 They don't take long to make #3 They are easy.
I actually got this recipe from a Success Rice package, and it turned out fabulous. My kids absolutely loved it. It left us not feeling full, but just rightt. I didn't have salmon on hand, so I substituted tilapia instead. It was just as good! I also didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, so I substituted 1/2 tbsp of ginger powder. Serve it over brown rice to make it an even healthier meal.