Bacon and Rosemary Chicken

We thought this chicken recipe had a delicious sauce, certainly good for a special meal.  Cook the chicken on medium heat – so you don’t burn it.  I usually flatten my chicken breasts in quantity, before freezing them, so I don’t have to do it at the last minute.  I found that my chicken cooked in about 6 minutes, total, not on each side.   It continues to cook as you keep it warm while making the sauce. 

Bacon and Rosemary Chicken

  4         Chicken Breast Halves -- boneless, skinless (about 5 ounces each)

     1/2  Teaspoon  Salt

     1/4  Teaspoon  Pepper

     1/4  Cup  Flour, All-purpose

  5         Slices  Bacon -- chopped

  1         Tablespoon  Butter

  4         Cloves  Garlic -- thinly sliced

  1         Teaspoon  Rosemary -- dried, crushed

     1/8  Teaspoon  Crushed Red Pepper

  1         Cup  Chicken Broth

  2        Tablespoons  Lemon Juice

Flatten chicken breasts to an even thickness; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag.  Add the chicken breasts, one at a time, and shake to coat.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings.

Cook chicken in butter and reserved drippings for 4-6 minutes on each side or until thermometer reads 170°. (I found it only needed 6 minutes total cooking time.) Remove and keep warm.

Add the garlic, rosemary and pepper flakes to the skillet; cook for 1 minute.  Add broth and lemon juice; bring to a boil.  Cook until liquid is reduced by half.  Return chicken and bacon to pan, heat through.

4 Servings

Per Serving: 117 Calories; 7g Fat (55.9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 14mg Cholesterol; 614mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat. 

"Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners"

Chicken with Lime Butter

  Bettie’s daughter sent her a birthday gift package from Omaha Steaks. Among the packages of meat were four boneless skinless chicken breasts. I rarely buy the boneless skinless chicken so this was a nice treat.

  Looking for a good recipe to try, I ran across this recipe from the Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners cookbook. All of the recipes I have tried from this issue have been good so this was the one we decided on.

  I must say this was excellent. Simple, quick to fix and a great flavor. I had lime juice in the freezer from the last limes I squeezed so that was simple. Sue gave me some of her lovely thyme and I used it instead of the dill called for in the recipe. I really think this is a great recipe and one we will make often. For all of you working mothers out there this was so quick and tasty. Hope you will give it a try.

Chicken with Lime Butter

Yield - 4 servings

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons salad oil

¼ cup butter

1 tablespoon lime juice 

½ teaspoon dill weed (or herb of your choice)

  Sprinkle chicken with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet on medium heat, Saute in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 170°. Drain and keep warm.

  Add butter and lime juice to skillet; cook and stir until butter is melted. Drizzle over the chicken and serve.

Savory Chicken Dinner

  Paging through the Taste Of Home Grand Prize Winners magazine I was impressed with how many good looking chicken recipes there were. We decided we could do a whole week just on chicken.  This one, baked together in one pan sounded like a winner to me. 

  Since I rarely use boneless skinless chicken breasts I used a mixture of skin in, bone in thighs and chicken breasts. You can use the chicken pieces that your family likes best. We feel that the boneless, skinless pieces lose a lot of flavor and are dry. 

  I also used Yukon Gold potatoes as I had some that needed to be used.  The results were great. Everyone enjoyed it and I will make again when the weather is cool. All in all, a easy recipe with few dirty pans. The leftovers were just as good for lunch the next day.

  Savory Chicken Dinner

2 envelopes Lipton savory herb with garlic soup mix

6 tablespoons water

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)

2 large red potatoes cubed

1 large onion, halved and cut into wedges

  In a small bowl, combine soup mix and water; pour half into a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken. Seal bag and toss to coat. Pour the remaining soup mixture into another large resealable plastic bag.  Add potatoes and onion to second bag. Seal and toss to coat.

  Drain and discard marinade from the chicken pieces. Transfer the chicken to a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Pour the potato mixture over and around chicken.

  Bake, uncovered at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender and a thermometer reads 170°; stirring vegetables occasionally.

Sunday in Iowa

St. Andrews Christian Church

A simple country church  on a two lane road
Between Galesburg and Kilduff, Iowa

Grand Prize Winners

The Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners is a nice paperback special edition cookbook that contains the best recipes from 106 of their cooking contests.  An all-around book, it includes appetizers, side dishes,, soups, salads, sandwiches, main dishes, breads and desserts.  Its 144 pages are full of great photos, many of the recipes are “scratch” recipes and I would classify everything as “comfort food.”

If you feel like you’re getting in a cooking rut, a book like this will get you enthused about trying something new.  We didn’t have any trouble finding recipes to make and share, with some extra-good chicken dishes.

Savory Chicken Dinner

Chicken with Lime Butter

Bacon and Rosemary Chicken

Chicken in Basil Cream

Three Cheese Enchiladas

Penne Gorgonzola Chicken

Pepperoni Chili

Raspberry Streusel Coffeecake

Risotto Primavera

  Lyle and I really do like rice and it is one thing I can eat without problems. I like risottos but they can be time consuming to fix. Lately I have been trying out recipes for a creamy risotto without the usual time spent making it. The following recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens 75 years of All Time Favorites. I did some changing to the ingredients adding some grated Parmesan cheese and using less rice than called for. This meant adjusting the amount of liquid added, but made a nice amount for 4 servings. Three for us for supper and one for lunch the next day. 

  We all thought this was excellent and I even ate the peas which I really don’t like. I used frozen peas and added them frozen at the end and they worked great. I do think fresh or frozen they need to be good quality peas. The ones I used were Green Giant as that is what I usually buy. 

  The pan I used was wider and shallow and worked well. I have had problems with the rice burning on the bottom and this nonstick pan worked quite well. The rice was very creamy and well spiced. Again, I will make this recipe often. The recipe I am giving you is the altered one.

Risotto Primavera

¼ cup thinly sliced celery

¼ cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic minced

⅛ teaspoon pepper 

1 tablespoon butter

⅔ cup Arborio or long grain rice

1 cup water and 1 cup chicken broth

1 cup frozen peas

¼ to ½ cup grated Parmesan (grating your own is better than the jarred cheese)

½ teaspoon grated lemon peel

  In a medium saucepan cook the celery, onion and garlic in butter till tender about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook and stir about 2 minutes more. You want all the rice coated with the butter. Carefully stir in the water and chicken broth. Add the pepper and cover. Simmer over low heat for 25 minutes. A glass lid is nice as you can see the rice and know that it is not going dry. DO NOT lift lid till the time is up. Stir in the frozen or fresh peas and put the lid back on. Let stand off of the heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan cheese and lemon peel and serve.

Green Beans in Yellow Pepper Butter

We love vegetables, and I had to try this pretty recipe from Better Homes and Gardens "75 Years of All-Time Favorites".  We like pine nuts, but here in the Midwest they are expensive, and I think almost any other nuts you like would also be good.   I steamed my green beans for 10 minutes instead of boiling them as the recipe calls for.

 Green Beans in Yellow Pepper Butter

  1         Tablespoon  Butter

  1         Medium  Yellow Pepper -- coarsely shredded

  6         Tablespoons  Butter

     1/4  Cup  Pine Nuts

  1         Tablespoon  Lemon Juice

     1/4  Teaspoon  Salt

     1/8  Teaspoon  Black Pepper

  1 1/2  Pounds  Green Beans -- whole

  1         Large  Yellow Pepper -- cut in thin strips

In a small saucepan, melt the 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add the shredded sweet pepper and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until crisp tender.  Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, combine the 6 tablespoons of softened butter and pine nuts.  Cover, blend until almost smooth.  Add cooked sweet pepper juice, salt and pepper.  Cover; blend and process until almost smooth, set aside.

In a covered saucepan, cook beans in a small amount of boiling water for 12 minutes.  Add the sweet pepper strips the last 3 minutes of cooking.  Drain.

To serve, transfer peppers and beans to a serving bowl.  Add the blended butter mixture; toss to coat.

8 Servings

Per serving: 159 kcal , 13 g fat (7 g sat. fat , 0 g polyunsaturated fat , 0 g monounsaturated fat ), 27 mg chol. , 71 mg sodium , 11 g carb. , 2 g fiber , 0 g sugar , 3 g pro

Pepper Shrimp in Peanut Sauce

  I used orange marmalade that Myrna made from a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa to make this dish – certainly a luxury!  And it was worth it.  My husband and I are both shrimp fans and this dish was excellent.   The cookbook says this recipe is from 1995, when woks were really becoming trendy.                  

Pepper Shrimp in Peanut Sauce

  1        Pound  Shrimp -- fresh or frozen

  6        Ounces  Farfele -- or linguini

     ½    Cup  Water

     ¼    Cup  Orange Marmalade

  2        Tablespoons  Soy Sauce

  2        Tablespoons  Peanut Butter

  2        Teaspoons  Cornstarch

     ¼     Teaspoon  Crushed Red Pepper

  1         Tablespoon  Cooking Oil

  6         Each  Green Onion -- bias sliced into 1" pieces

  2         Medium  Red, Yellow and/or Green Bell Pepper, cut into thin strips

             Peanuts -- chopped (optional)

Thaw shrimp if frozen.  Peel and devein, leaving tails on.  Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.  Set aside.

Cook the pasta following package directions.

For sauce, in small mixing bowl, stir together the water, marmalade, soy sauce, peanut butter, cornstarch and red pepper.

Pour cooking oil into wok.  preheat over medium-high heat.  Stir-fry green onions and sweet pepper strips for 1 to 2 minutes until crisp-tender.

Remove from wok and keep warm.  Add shrimp to wok.  Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until shrimp turn pink; remove and keep warm.

Stir sauce; add to center of wok or skillet.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat.

Drain pasta and return to hot saucepan; add cooked vegetables, shrimp and thickened sauce.  Toss to combine.

If desired, sprinkle chopped peanuts on top.

4 Servings

  "Better Homes and Gardens 75 Years of All-Time Favorites"

Per Serving: 282 Calories; 10g Fat (30.1% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 173mg Cholesterol; 738mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

New Year

Happy New Year from our homes to yours....

Perhaps, like Myrna and I, you spent some of your teenage New Year's eves making money babysitting...the one night of the year you could be sure to have a job!  What memories - I think we even had the saddle shoes and red sweaters.