BBQ Chicken Pizza

Doug made this yummy pizza tonight... here's how it works (adapt to your tastes):

BBQ Chicken Pizza

-prepared pizza crust (store bought or homemade)

-BBQ sauce

-thinly sliced red onion

-diced cooked chicken

-chopped fresh cilantro

-grated or chopped mozzarella

Spread prepared crust onto cookie sheet or pizza pan/stone. Spread BBQ sauce all over crust (leave a 1" border around the sides to avoid a mess). Sprinkle toppings all over pizza and top with mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Yum!

Plum Pecan Quick Bread

I have an abundance of plums, so I tried another new recipe... here's the original recipe.

Plum Pecan Quick Bread

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/4 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-zest of one lemon

-1 cup all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-pinch of salt

-3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk stirred with a tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice)

-1 1/2 cup fresh plums, pitted and diced

topping:

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine sugars, oil, and zest. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate slowly adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the sugar mixture until smooth. Add diced plums and pour batter into a greased loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Sprinkle topping on loaf.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and place on cooling rack until completely cooled.

***NOTES:

-In case you didn't notice, this recipe is eggless (yay Troy!)

-This recipe was very yummy, but...

-the diced plums sank to the the bottom of the loaf, so it was crunchy on top but mushy on the bottom... if I make it again, I'll probably pour half the batter into the loaf pan and then add the diced plums to the remaining batter and pour into the pan.

Plum Galette

I have made this twice in the last week! The recipe is Martha Stewart... you can see the original "fancy" recipe here.

I didn't use all her ingredients or do all of her steps... here is my adapted recipe:

Plum Galette

-1 prepared pie crust (if you are in a store where you have a choice of pie crusts, look for one that is specifically for tarts or fruits... pate sucrée or pate sablée)

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1 tablespoon all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-5 cups of pitted plums, sliced about 1/4" thick

-1 large egg

-1 teaspoon water

Unroll pie crust into pie dish and prick with fork. Place plum slices in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour flour mixture over plum slices and mix well until evenly coated. Place coated plums into the pie dish and fold the excess pie crust over the sides of the plums. Mix together the egg and water in a small bowl and brush the egg wash on the folded pie crust. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown and plum mixture is bubbling.

Cake Mix Cobbler/ Crumble

This is a good recipe if you are short on time... plus the ingredients are all things you can keep on hand. Call it a "cobbler" for dessert, and "crumble" for brunch, as well :)

Cake Mix Cobbler/Crumble

2 cans crushed pineapple

1 can cherry pie filling

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350. Drain pineapple and spread in 9x13 dish. Spread cherry pie filling over pineapple. Spread entire box of cake mix over fruit. Melt butter and drizzle over cake mix. Bake 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I love making homemade ice cream... I have a Kitchen Aid freezer bowl attachment that I keep in the freezer, so it makes homemade ice cream a simple treat.

Strawberry Ice Cream

3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups strawberries

1) Mix egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, milk, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook just to boiling (do not boil!), stirring constantly. Pour mixture into chilled bowl. Refrigerate uncovered 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 24 hours.

2) When batter is cooled, stir in whipping cream, and vanilla.

3) Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer instructions. (For Kitchen Aid, turn to stir speed for 15-20 minutes)

4) While ice cream maker is working, mash 2 cups strawberries with ½ cup sugar, using potato masher or food processor until juicy and slightly chunky (not pureed).

5) Add strawberries during last few minutes of mixing. Remove ice cream from freezer bowl/machine and spoon into a freezer safe container. Eat or freeze immediately.

For a lower fat recipe, substitute 2% milk for the whole milk, and half-and-half for the cream.

Galette de Banane

Galette de Banane

1 refrigerated pie crust

3-4 bananas

¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon gound cinnamon

1 Tablespoon water

4 Tablespoons butter and extra for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 450º
2. Place pie crust on baking sheet, brush both sides lightly with melted butter, prick with fork
3. In small saucepan, stir brown sugar, cinnamon, and water over medium heat. Stir in butter until melted.
4. Slice bananas diagonally ¼” thick and arrange in overlapping circles on the crust.
5. Brush the brown sugar mixture evenly over the galette. Bake 10 minutes or until shiny.
6. Cut warm galette into wedges, serve with ice cream.

This is a traditional Mardi Gras recipe- yum!

Chicken a la King

recipe from Pamela...

Chicken a la King

6 T butter, melted

6 T flour

1 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

1 cup diced chicken*

3 oz mushroom pieces

1 red pepper, diced

10 oz frozen peas and pearl onions

Place chicken in a pot of water with 1 bouillon cube and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, blend flour, slat, and pepper in the butter and cook over low heat, stirring until bubbly. Remove from heat; add 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth (from pot), and milk. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients. Serve over cornbread.

*can also substitute canned tuna

Chevre Burgers

Recipe from Pamela... yum!

Chevre Burgers

5 ounces soft goat cheese

3 tablespoons green onions, white part only, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

3/4 lb ground beef

Mix goat cheese, green onions, salt and pepper. Make 8 patties out of the ground beef. Place a dollop of the herbed goat cheese on 4 patties (you will have extra cheese left over- use it to spread on bread, etc.) Place remaining 4 patties on top of dollops and press around edges to seal. Broil 3" from heat for 5-7 minutes on each side. Serves 4

serve with roasted potatoes, crusty baguette, and green salad

Bananas Foster

This recipe is from Jeff Mankin.

Bananas Foster

1 cup brown sugar

½ stick butter

2 bananas, sliced

1 Tablespoon rum flavoring

1) Let brown sugar and butter simmer in skillet.

2) Stir in bananas, add rum

3) Serve over ice cream

Banana Bread

This is my mom's banana bread recipe... I always make it when we have over-ripe bananas!

Banana Bread

1/3 cup butter, plus a little to grease the pan

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2-3 ripe bananas

1 ¾ cups self rising flour

A little orange juice

1) preheat oven to 350º (325º if dark pan), place loaf pan in oven while it is heating.

2) melt butter for 30 seconds in microwave (not fully melted)

3) Mix butter and sugar together, add egg. Mix until fluffy.

4) Place bananas in measuring cup, mash down and add enough orange juice to make 1 cup

5) Mix banana mixture with egg mixture and add self-rising flour until just combined.

6) Remove pan from oven, rub butter over hot pan

7) Fill pan, cook for 45 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

The hint of orange and the buttery edges make this recipe really tasty!

Carrot Souffle

This recipe is from my friend, Caroline. The baby food is a great shortcut!

Carrot Souffle

2 cups mashed cooked carrots or 2 large jars baby food carrots

1 stick butter/margarine, melted

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs well beaten

1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

Put carrots in mixing bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients one at a time.

Pour mixture into souffle or casserole dish. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 for 35 minutes.

Chocolate Pie

Chocolate Pie

1 pie crust

½ cup milk

½ cup whipping cream

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated or broken up

2 eggs

2 Tablespoon sugar

Bake piecrust according to package directions. Bring milk and cream to a slight boil; add chocolate. Beat eggs with sugar; add to chocolate mixture; pour into baked piecrust. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Canned Peach Cobbler

I usually keep a can or 2 of peaches on hand so that I can make this easy pantry-staple dessert anytime. For fresh fruit, see here.

Canned Peach Cobbler

1 stick butter

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

2 cans sliced peaches, slightly drained

Melt 1 stick butter in 9x13 pan. Place sliced peaches in dish with butter. Mix together self-rising flour, sugar, and milk. Pour batter over peaches. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

*To make an 8x8 size, cut the recipe in half.

Sauteed Summer Squash

1 1/2 cups sliced yellow squash

1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper


Heat oil in sautee pan over medium heat. When oil is heated, sautee onion until tender, translucent, and sweet. Add squash and sautee 3-5 minutes or until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

more of Doug's pics here

Fudgy Bonbons

I got this recipe from 10th grade home-ec. They can be made ahead, and once cooled, can be frozen until you are ready to use them.

Fudgy Bonbons

1 12oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup butter/margarine

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

60 Hershey kisses

½ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chocolate chips and butter and microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Add flour, nuts, vanilla, and mix well. Wrap 1 Tablespoon of dough around each kiss and place one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes. Cookies will appear shiny and soft, but will harden as they cool.

Easy Toffee

This recipe is so easy, but so delicious! It is the perfect combination of sweet and salty.

Toffee

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 package saltine crackers

1 8oz bag semi sweet chocolate chips

¾ cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil. On the foil lined baking sheet, line up the saltine crackers until bottom is completely covered. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar. Let it come to a boil and cook 3 minutes. Pour the butter sugar mixture over the crackers and let it cook 5 minutes. After you remove pan from the oven, pour the entire bag of chocolate chips over the crackers. Let sit for a few minutes until the chocolate begins to melt. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the top. Sprinkle with ¾ cups chopped pecans while the chocolate is still soft. When completely cool (you can chill in the refrigerator to speed up cooling), break into pieces.

Sparkling Fruit Tea

My friend Elizabeth found this recipe for Puffy Muffin's Ginger Tea. It is so refreshing!

Sparkling Fruit Tea

3 heaping Tablespoons instant tea (plain--no sugar/ lemon)

1 1/2 cup sugar

6 cups warm water

2 cup orange juice

1 6oz can frozen limeade (undiluted)

2 liters Ginger Ale or enough to make 1 gallon

In a 1-gallon pitcher, combine the instant tea, sugar, and water. Stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Add the orange juice and limeade. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, add enough Ginger Ale to make one gallon of sparkling fruit tea.