Apologies!

Hello fellow chefs! I feel bad that I have somewhat neglected my cooking blog...I have many ideas and would love to share them, but time has not been on my side lately. I don't want to  post just a plain old recipe without pictures...I think you would agree that pictures make it so much more interesting.
I do plan on posting something again very soon! As the season changes, I will be cooking in a very different way than I do in the winter months. I hope you continue to join me here at the table, as I love to share with you!

Amazing Oven Barbecued Chicken Tenders

Don't you just love the buffalo chicken tenders you can get at restaurants? Sometimes they are sweet and sour, and sometimes they are so spicy you need cool ranch dressing to dip them in!
Well, I recently found a great recipe that copies the tenders described above. The family LOVES them!


Frying before baking locks in the juice.


A basic honey/barbecue sauce for coating tenders.


After frying, brush on the sauce, then bake!


Amazing Tenders, homemade french fries, and green beans...classic!


Recipe:

4 whole chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
seasoned salt
garlic salt
pepper
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup flour

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
~Slice chicken into 1/2 inch strips. (you can also use wings for this) Place chicken in a large bowl and coat with worcestershire sauce.
~Put 1/2 cup flour in a gallon bag with seasonings, add chicken tenders, seal and shake to coat.
~Heat 1/2 cup oil on med/high in a large skillet. Fry chicken until golden brown. Place on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil, coated with cooking spray.
~Mix barbecue sauce and honey in a bowl. Coat each piece of chicken with a liberal amount of sauce.
~Bake for 10 minutes, turn pieces over and coat other side with sauce. Bake 10 minutes more.

Substitutions can be used for most of the ingredients, but the important part is to fry, then bake with the BBQ sauce. It is the most juicy, flavorful chicken! Well worth the time in preparation! To make the spicy buffalo version, just add some hot sauce to the barbecue sauce.

p.s. Melody loves to make a sandwich with the leftover chicken. She cuts up the chicken to bite sized pieces and puts it on bread. She shreds cheddar cheese on top and toasts the whole thing.

Mac n' Cheese with Ham and Peas...

3/4 of 16oz package (approximately 12oz) of cooked noodles. I cook the whole 16 oz package and the kids usually have the plain noodles for lunch the next day.I used Rotelle this time

~Cook according to package directions, put into a greased 13x9 baking dish.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

CHEESE SAUCE
6 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups of hot milk (heat in microwave for 5 minutes, until very hot)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

~Melt butter in a large saucepan.
~Sprinkle flour gradually, whisking constantly to keep smooth.
~Cook over med-low heat for a minute.
~Slowly add hot milk, whisking constantly to keep smooth.
~Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add 2 cups of cheese, salt and pepper.
Pour cheese sauce over noodles in baking dish. Mix gently.


TOPPING
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese or mozzerella cheese (whatever kind of cheese you want to top casserole)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or crushed ritz crackers

~Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese and crumbs on top. Bake for 30 minutes.

We had a ham for Easter....I chopped up some of the ham (and leftover peas) and added them to the noodles before pouring on the cheese sauce. It made a complete dinner. The family LOVED this version.

Mom's Mincemeat Cake

My mom was so sweet to pass along this recipe that she has been making for years...it's a very moist bundt cake. It is also very versatile. (now I have to wrangle her meatball recipe from her! ha ha)

Mincemeat cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup oil (or 1/2 cup melted butter + 1/2 cup oil)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups mincemeat (or 2 cups whole berry cranberry sauce-or 2 cups applesauce)

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Grease and flour bundt pan. (Mine is a non-stick type, so I only greased it)
~Combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla in a large bowl.
~Beat well
~Stir in mincemeat (or cranberry sauce or applesauce)
~Combine dry ingredients, add to wet ingredients.
~Mix well.
~Pour into prepared pan.
~Bake for 50-60 minutes. Check towards last ten minutes to make sure you don't over-bake.
~Cool in pan on rake for 5 or 10 minutes. Remove carefully from pan.

Glaze with orange or lemon glaze...or serve with whipped cream.

(the cake pictured above is one that I baked to bring to an Easter gathering. I used condensed mincemeat that I reconstituted) I glazed it with lemon frosting and had covered it with plastic wrap held up with toothpicks...if you're wondering...I can't wait to cut into this cake!! Hope it's as yummy as my mom's!!)

Inexperience and new ideas

When I was a young wife, I made the attempt at roasting a turkey. I bought a HUGE bird, unwrapped it and put it in the oven...but there was something weird about this bird...no giblets. Where in the world were the giblets?

Well, after it was done cooking, I was carving it and what do you know? I found the plastic wrapped organs in the neck cavity and the neck all cooked in the body cavity....oops.

Even though I had attended culinary art classes in high school, I still needed to gain experience...I just didn't know enough when I got married. I knew some, but I was still making many mistakes!

Nowadays, I feel much more confident in the kitchen. I know how to time each part of a meal to be put on the table at the same time and be served hot! I have a repertoire of meals that I can make very easily and I am always happy to try new recipes. Keeping my recipe file filled with new ideas is a good way to stay out of that rut.

A couple of nights ago we had a pork roast for dinner. I rubbed it with salt, pepper and garlic and this time, instead of using dried rosemary, I used some fresh rosemary from a plant I just bought this week at the grocery store. It made all the difference! However, the family didn't want to eat very much of it...they were all looking forward to the pork pie the next day and wanted to make sure I had enough leftover meat to make a nice BIG pie!! I guess I should fore go the roast and just skip right to the pie!

My latest endeavor is to try to make some homemade pasta! I am looking into getting a pasta attachment for my stand mixer. I hear that fresh pasta is something that dried pasta can't compare with. I will keep you updated on that.

Here's to keeping things exciting in the kitchen and yummy at the table!