Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here with a recipe I saw on facebook. I love those little videos that show people cooking. I could watch them all day! Of course, I'd have to stop watching them to actually cook, but you get the idea. 

 The one I saw the other day was spinach stuffed chicken breasts. I didn't make it exactly like the recipe, but that's because everything we make ends up on a bed of lettuce with chopped tomatoes. LOL.
                                                        
So, take some raw chicken breasts, slice them lengthwise but not all the way through and cook them in a pan on both sides for about 4 minutes each. I seasoned them all a bit differently because I wanted to try lemon pepper, garlic pepper, mustard, etc. There were two traditional Italian and one thyme, too.
                                                          
Layer spinach and cheese inside. I used Jarlsburg because that's what we had on hand but any kind of cheese would be good. I can imagine mozzarella and sundried tomato, swiss and mushroom, cheddar and bacon, etc. Tuck a little bit of butter inside to keep it from drying out, although I found the spinach really helped with that. We seasoned the top with garlic flakes, some thyme, and red pepper flakes.
                                                           
Bake in a foil packet (in a casserole dish) on 350F for about 40 minutes. These are really not very uniform, and I was afraid the flavors would mix together, but it turned out fine. I think if someone hated red pepper flakes, or jalapenos or something like that, I'd cook them separately.
                                       
They smell delicious! But we were trying to use up some lettuce so we put them on a little iceburg bed.

 Then my son realized we had some leftover pepperoni so he chopped that up, warmed it in a skillet, and added it to the top.

 By this point it was definitely giving me an enchilada vibe. All we needed was some hot sauce.

Ta-dah! I didn't even have to use the toothpicks to keep it closed. Delicious and not at all dry! I think the pat of butter helped a lot with that.

Until next time! Be sure to stop by my author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael for all my book news!

Vegetable Soup...to Shrimp Stew: Part 1

Missy Tippens

I told y'all a couple of weeks ago that I've joined Weight Watchers. Since then, I've been trying to find ways to eat vegetables to fill up without using many points.

Today, I wanted to share a healthy, tasty vegetable soup. I didn't follow a recipe. I just threw in whatever I could find on hand. And then next week, I'll share how I used part of the batch to make shrimp stew.

Missy's Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup

Cabbage, chopped or shredded (I used a full head but might use half next time)
Carrots, peeled and chopped (I used two larges ones)
1 Onion, chopped (I used sweet--Vidalia)
2 tsp garlic, chopped
Cauliflower chopped (I used 3/4 of a small head)
1 large or 2 small zucchini, chopped
1 small bag frozen corn
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes (or diced if you prefer)
1 bunch of Greens, stems removed (I used Tuscan kale)
2 boxes broth (I used 1 vegetable and 1 chicken)
Additional water as desired
2 tsp dried Italian spice mix (crushed to perk up the flavor)

Heat a little olive oil in a large soup pot. Cook onions until translucent, then add garlic. Add in the carrots and cabbage and cook until beginning to soften. I usually add some kosher salt at this point and each time I add new vegetables. I tend to season as I go.

Add zucchini and cauliflower.

Add corn and broth. Add additional seasonings of your choice. I used about 2 tsp dried Italian spices.

Add additional water to bring the level of liquids up to the desired level. Let it simmer.

While the soup is cooking, cut or pull stems out of the greens. You can actually slide the greens right off the stems when using this type of kale. Then chop the greens.

During the last few minutes of cooking, add the greens. Once they're wilted, you can serve the soup. You can see here that I remembered the tomatoes right at the end! I'd suggest adding them when you add the broth.

This turned out so good! It made three huge Tupperware containers to store in the freezer or fridge. Next week, I'll share what I made with one of those containers of leftover soup: shrimp stew!

www.missytippens.com

Cookie Cake and The Boys of Summer

WE BEGIN THIS DAY WITH A COMMERCIAL MESSAGE!!!

It seems like I've been waiting for this book to release for a long, long time... and here it is!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!

Peace in the Valley releases May 2, 2017... and to take advantage of the preorder offer with the copy of this beautiful hymn go here: https://t.co/ZtVHQorYqF

And now we return you to your regularly scheduled programming! 

We love baseball.

We love the history of baseball, woven with America's past... Ken Burns did a great documentary that Dave watches every winter... "Baseball".... If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can watch it here... or on MLB.TV EVERY SINGLE WINTER.... :) And winters are long in upstate New York!

I think seeing the history of civil rights and baseball and power-hungry owners and politicians... oh my stars, there is a lot of insight when you look at these things through history-loving eyes. And I love that I can go to a baseball park and people of every creed and color are sitting there, mowing popcorn and hot dogs and sodas watching an amazing group of similar players, an international sampling....

All for the love of the game.

Elijah turned seven last week.... and like his Grandpa, he was born loving baseball. I don't even know how that happens, but at six months old he'd sit on Grandpa's lap, or Dad's, or mine, and watch the game with baby intensity... None of the other kids did that. Not one.

But Eli practices hitting and throwing and catching all the time. If no one will play with him, he sets it up himself... and chases his own fly balls, then bats again. He starts Little League this month, his first OFFICIAL baseball team experience... and he's so excited!

He wanted a cookie cake for his birthday.... and I wanted to do something baseball related, because a March birthday, on the cusp of opening day... well, that's a no brainer!

I don't have a round cookie cake pan, so I used my pizza pan and lined it with parchment paper. I drew a circle with a plate and then pressed the cookie dough to within about an inch/inch-and-a-half  of the penciled circle...

You can use your favorite chocolate chip or any cookie recipe to do this... And my decorator buttercream icing recipe is HERE

And I reduced the oven temperature to 325°. Cookie cakes take a while to cook and I didn't want the outside edge to get all crispy...

I flipped it onto a foil-covered round platter and (using a smaller plate as a guide) I outlined my circle...  That circle would become the baseball.

And then I made the circle more definite by using "dots". (No tip needed, just snip the end off a frosting bag to make a smallllll opening.

Now all I had to do was fill in the circle with more "dots" of frosting...

I piped a border using a star tip and then did the red "lacing" with another frosting bag... and I took just the tiniest part of that frosting bag tip off.

We had the perfect baseball cake for a baseball-loving kid born at the end of March...

And the BIG STAR tip for the outside edge is perfect because it covers up the uneven edges, LOL! And no one cares because it tastes mighty good... and makes a little boy smile.

This is what we have going on this Saturday at Greece Ridge Center Mall...

It's always so much fun to see folks, and huge thanks to Barnes & Noble for hosting this!

And after the book signing, there's this:

I've got a few of my little ones in this production and it's so fun to go down to the high school and see them shine!

And who doesn't love Cinderella???? Oh, rags-to-riches, #mustlove!!!!!

Cakes and cookies and time with little (and big!!) kids.

I am beyond blessed.

And one last look at this book... :) Coming soon to stores across the country.

And here in Western New York, I am counting my blessings!

Ruth Logan Herne is shaking the winter dust off of EVERYTHING in her old farmhouse in rural New York State when she's not writing beautiful stories that make folks laugh... and cry. Find her at ruthloganherne.com or friend her on facebook (she loves to talk!) or give her a shout out on Twitter!
She loves to chat it up with readers and writers!

Something Yummy This Way Comes

I recently saw a group of 8th graders doing an amazing performance of Macbeth. I'd forgotten that the line "Something wicked this way comes," derives from the Scottish play.

Anyway, it popped into my mind as I was writing this blog and switching yummy for wicked certainly fits.

Warning - there is nothing healthy about this post, despite me being known as the healthy writer. Sometimes you just need comfort food.

Are any of you fans of the Stouffer's pizzas?

I used to love the 5 cheese white pizza. I haven't had it in a while, and I wasn't consciously trying to imitate it, but my daughter and I both agreed the result of my experiment tasted remarkably similar (in all the good ways).

The background: it was late, I was hungry. I needed something fast and filling.

I had a loaf of Italian bread. I had cheese.
I opened the cabinet and grabbed my freeze-dried garlic and set it to soften in some olive oil. I spread that mix on the halved loaf of sesame bread.

I sprinkled some cheese over that, mixed in some oregano, basil, and more garlic, then covered with more cheese and baked.

Oh, did it ever smell delicious!

It tasted even better!!!


I did remember to take photos!

Old Cookbook Fun

Mindy here and, after months of planning and preparation, it's finally happened.

Yes, our house in the suburbs is finally on the market.

You know what that means--everything is clean, clean, clean. And while it's rather nice having things so tidy, it also means there's not much cooking going on. Who wants to whip up a big meal only to have to rush to get everything cleaned up when someone wants to come and look at the house?

And so it goes.

As we were packing up some of our stuff, though, I came across a couple of old cookbooks that belonged to my mother. Neither of them had any photos, except for the front covers, however there were some rather interesting recipes.

In this casserole book, copyright 1965, you can find recipes for just about any type of casserole one could possibly imagine. And if not, there's a page that gives you guidelines on how to come up with your own main dish masterpiece.

In this book, you will find intriguing recipes, such as Hawaiian Venison (yep, there's pineapple in it) and Mock Chicken Casserole which uses sausage in lieu of chicken. You can have a Super Supper that includes onion, celery, ground beef, noodles, cream of mushroom AND cream of chicken soups. Or perhaps you would enjoy a heaping helping of Chicketti comprised of chopped chicken livers, onion, spaghetti noodles, celery leaves, salt and cream of chicken soup.

Did these people like their canned soup or what?

The cover says it all. With Basic Freezer Cookery, copyright 1959, you can have a feast on the table in no time. Delicious meals like Beef 'n Prune Stew. You simply thaw a portion of your Basic Beef Stew Mixture (made from cubed stew beef, flour, salt, pepper, suet or other fat and water) over low heat. Simmer 4-5 prunes and 1/4 tsp. pickling spice (in a cloth bag) in water until tender. Add prunes to stew mixture, season with 1/8 tsp. onion salt, heat 5-10 minutes and serve with cooked noodles liberally sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. I guess all that cheese helps to cover the taste of the prunes.

And I know all of us here at the café will appreciate Harlequin Meat Loaf made from frozen mixed vegetables, evaporated milk, day-old bread cubes, onion, ground beef, salt, a couple of eggs and a little dry mustard.

But my favorite has to be Lime Frappe Punch. Two cans frozen orange and grapefruit juice, diluted with six cans of water, 1 cup lemon juice, 4 qts. lemon sherbet and 1qt. ginger ale.

Um...so why is it called LIME frappe punch?

Yes, once I get back to cooking, I can't wait to try out a few of these dishes.

Now it's your turn.

I know a lot of you here at the café have an affinity for old cookbooks.

What's the craziest recipe you've ever come across?

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and the last of her five children. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

Strawberry Scones

With spring comes strawberries!

I found these at our local Sam’s Club over the weekend, and after taste-testing one (I love the free samples at Sam’s!), I decided they were worth the price I had to pay.

Because nothing says “Hello, Spring” like fresh strawberries!

At the same time, I’ve become gently addicted to British mystery and travel shows on Netflix, which started a craving for scones.

So you know what comes next – Strawberry Scones!

I started with my favorite scone recipe, and substituted strawberry bits for the raisins:

Strawberry Scones

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

½ cup strawberries, diced very small

Preheat your oven to 375°.

In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt together, stirring until blended.

Cut in the butter, and stir. Add the sour cream mixture and egg, and mix just until moistened.

Stir in the strawberries.

Turn the dough out on a floured board and knead briefly. Pat into a circle, about ¾” thick.

Cut into wedges (I never make two the same size!), and lay on a baking sheet, two inches apart.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 375°, or until golden brown on the bottom.

Now that you have your scones, bring them up a notch! They make a great base for strawberry scone shortcake!

Layer a scone, then sliced strawberries, and top with whipped cream.

Yum!

What is your favorite way to make strawberry shortcake?

And before we go, we must wish Thatcher a Happy Birthday! He turned four on Thursday. We celebrated with new chewies for everybody! (Well, everybody who wanted one....)

Thatcher at 8 weeks

And since Thatcher and Ruthy's Jeter share a birthday, Happy Birthday to the big furball in Upstate NY, too!

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Key Lime-alade rolls for spring!

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here and I have a great recipe for spring! Warm, sweet, and a little bit sour-- perfect!

First, isn't this the most beautiful rainbow? We saw it when we were working the Cub Scout fundraiser. The goal was to sell 20 bags of coffee or raise $125. We'd never sold anything before, so we Googled. Apparently, the first rule of marketing is to prove to your customers that your product has value. 

Hmmmm. How did we do that? We rented a coffee dispenser, brewed five gallons of coffee, and stood outside Walmart giving out free samples. (And cookies. Everyone loves cookies.) You know, a lot of people can't drink or don't want to drink coffee. But they would donate. 

Also, I paid my older kids to entertain us with some lively sea shanties, hymns, and folk songs. Probably half the money we made was from their playing but since busking is illegal in our town, I made sure to let people know they were supporting the Boy Scouts. Total raised? Over $2,000! So proud of all my kids pulling together and getting the job done. :)

 Now, for our spring recipe! We've made this lime "marmalade" before when Key limes are in season and love it as a glaze on cookies and cakes. This time, we made some sweet rolls with 2 tsp of lime zest, and added the glaze. PERFECT. Not too sweet. Not too sour.
                                      

So, the glaze needs 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water, 4 TBS of lime zest, and 1/2 cup lime juice, fresh squeezed. Boil everything together, then turn the heat down to a simmer and let it cook, stirring constantly for 20 minutes. It should reduce to a nice glaze. Taste it to make sure it's not too sweet. Add more lime juice if necessary.

Looks bad. Tastes SO GOOD.

 I like to add butter to mine because real butter makes everything better!!

For a garnish, lightly heat half slices of lime in a little bit of the syrup. Don't let it boil or the pith will make everything bitter. Enjoy!

Be sure to stop by my author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway and Virginia Carmichael for all my latest author news!