Pecan-crusted Chicken with Sweet Mustard Dressing

This is a great recipe. Easy enough to prepare on week-nights, but elegant enough for the week-end. Makes 4 servings

Chicken:
1 egg white
1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb chicken tenders or chicken breasts
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Dressing and greens:
1/4 cup peach preserves
2 T stone-ground mustard
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp blsck pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 T vegetable oil
4 cups mixed baby greens

For chicken, lightly beat egg white in bowl. Finely chop pecans and place in second bowl. Combine salt and cayenne pepper in small bowl. Slice chicken into 10-12 pieces. Sprinkle cayenne pepper mixture over chicken. Dip chicken into egg white, then into pecans, pressing pecans into chicken.

Add oil to skillet. Heat over medium heat 1-3 minutes. Cook chicken 2-3 minutes or until deep golden brown. Turn chicken over. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes or until centers of chicken are no longer pink.

For dressing, whisk together preserves, mustard, vinegar, salt, black pepper, garlic, and oil in small bowl. To serve, toss greens with some of the dressing. Drizzle remaining dressing on cooked chicken strips.

Maple-Butter Blondie Sundaes

(This is my favorite dessert from Applebee's...luckily I found this copycat recipe in the most recent issue of Food Network Magazine).

For the blondies:

10 TBSP butter, at room temperature
1 cup walnut pieces
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 TBSP vanilla
6 oz white chocolate (chips or chunks)

For the topping:

1/3 cup maple syrup
6 TBSP butter
1/4 cup heavy cream

Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Walnut pieces for garnish

Make the blondies: Preheat the oven to 350. Pulse 1/2 cup walnuts in food processor until almost fine. Wisk the ground nuts, four, baking powder and soda, and salt in medium bowl.

Beat butter and the brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 mintues. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in the white chocolate and the remanining walnuts.

Spread the batter in a 9x13 pan and bake for about 30 minutes. (I did mine at 28 and they were a little too crunchy on the ends...

For the topping: Place the maply syrup and butter in a small suacepan over medium heat and cook until the mixture bubbles and thickens, swirling the pan, about 6 minutes. Add the cream and continue to cook until the mixture is like caramel.

Serve blondies warm with ice cream, topping, and nuts.

Whole Wheat Carot Cake Muffins

In my quest to learn to cook with food storage, I tried the following recipe. Cory and Adam really liked it.

2 C. brown sugar
1 c. oil
3 eggs (powdered)
1 c. dried carrots
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1 T. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. vanilla
1 c. raisins
1 c. walnuts, chopped


Before you begin, add 2 cups cold water to dried carrots and let sit for 20 minutes. Also, soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes.


Grease muffin pans. Beat together brown sugar, oil, and eggs. Stir in carrots and pineapple. Blend dry ingredients together, then combine with wet ingredients. Add vanilla, raisins, and nuts. Pour into pans and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.

Giada's Breakfast Tart

Butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the pan
1 9 inch pie crust
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 ounces pancetta, cut into pieces
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 cups shredded Grugere cheese
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

(The store was out of mascarpone, so I just used low fat cream cheese. The pancetta didn't look that great, so I just used bacon).

Preheat oven to 400. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of the tart/pie pain. With tines of fort, prick the pastry. Using a pastry brush, coat the crust with the beaten egg white. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake until the egg white has set, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel.

In a medium bowl, combine the beaten eggs, mascarpone, Gruyere, green onions, salt, pepper, and pancetta. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake until the mixtrue has set and the top is golden, about 18-20 minutes. Cool and serve.

Orange Cranberry Cookies

Mix together:
1 cube butter
1 cup minus 2 Tbl butter shortening
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbl orange juice
1 Tbl vanilla
1-2 tsp orange extract
Orange zest

Add 2 eggs
Add 3-4 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp salt
Blend then add:
1 pkg white chocolate chips
1 cup craisens (dried cranberries)

Bake 375 for 10 min.

Wolf's Tasty Puffed Corn Treat

1 bag of butter flavored corn puffs
1 1/3 cube butter or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP water
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in pan. Add sugar and water. Bring to boil. Boil fast for 4 minutes while continually stirring. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Empty puffs into large bowl and pour syrup on top. Mix well. Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 225 for 10 minutes. Remove and cool.

Turkey Cranberry Wreath

2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 cup mayo

2 T Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups cooked turkey, chopped

1/2 cup celery, sliced

3 T fresh parsley, snipped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

4 oz Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1/4 walnuts, chopped

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on large baking stone. Corners of wide ends will touch. Arrange remaining 8 trianges in center, matching wide ends to outer triangles. Seal seams.

Combine mayo, mustard, turkey, black pepper, celery, parsley, cranberries, and cheese in large bowl. Mix and scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle.

Sprinkle walnuts over filling. Beginning in center, lift one triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangles, slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first.

Beat egg white lightly and brush over dough. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.