Cheese Bread

My sister-in-law Laura has passed along many many awesome recipes and this is another awesome one she sent me this week. I made it for dinner tonight. SOOO good. & I love a good recipe that I don't have to let rise! I will be making this many more times. Laura said she freezes it in slices so she can just reheat a couple slices at a time. She found the recipe on My Kitchen Cafe, one of my favorite cooking blogs.

http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/03/simple-and-delicious-cheese-bread.html

Simple and Delicious Cheese Bread
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

**If the toothpick comes out with what looks like uncooked batter after testing the bread for doneness, try again in a different spot since the toothpick may have hit a pocket of cheese the first time. You definitely don't want to overbake the bread or it will be dry. According to the original recipe, the texture of the bread improves as it cools, so if you can, resist the urge to slice the bread while it is still very hot. I can attest that this leftover cheese bread makes excellent toast. Use a toaster oven or baking sheet in a 425-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes (a conventional toaster can be messy because the pockets of cheese will melt and burn).**

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded on large holes of box grater (about 1 cup)
3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4-5 ounces sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups whole milk (2% milk may be substituted but don't use skim milk)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg lightly beaten
3/4 cup sour cream

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 5 by 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, then sprinkle 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese evenly in bottom of pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper to combine. Using a rubber spatula, mix in cheddar cheese cubes, breaking up clumps, until cheese is coated with flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg, and sour cream. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (the batter will be heavy and thick). Do not overmix. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level surface with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly over surface.

Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes; invert loaf from pan and continue to cool until warm, about 45 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

NOTE: I suggest putting a sheet pan under the loaf of bread. The cheese oozed out of mine while cooking & got on the bottom of my oven.

Chicken a la Sheena

I made this last week for my friend Trenda's baby shower & got some requests for the recipe, so here it is! I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture.

This has been a favorite recipe in my family for several years since my mom got it from a friend. It's a super easy, really tasty dish that serves a lot of people.

CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM ALA SHEENA JOYCE


(British Friend in Maryland and changed by Torie)

This is a recipe you change and develop as you go along.


In bottom of crock place:

2 ½ pound of raw chicken tenders

2 cans sliced or mushroom pieces (Or fresh sautéed)

In a bowl mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.

3 jars Classico Tomato Alfredo sauce

2 cups sour cream

1 cup milk

fresh garlic several cloves (I used about 5 cloves) and salt a pepper (3 packages of linguini)

Four snipped sun dried tomatoes (Kerstin used ½ a bag-too much if cooked all day

She cooked it seven hours, 4-5 hours is how the recipe reads, but they sauté the chicken first.

Peanut Butter Everywhere!

My sister-in-law Heather and I were asked to help with a primary activity next month where they're going to be making FHE packets. They asked us to come up with a little recipe book of FHE treats and to demonstrate how to make one of the treats. I saw the Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Balls on My Kitchen Cafe's blog awhile ago and had it tagged to try. I thought they would be a good option since we don't have any peanut allergies in our ward. Then I also remember my sister-in-law Holley telling me about some peanut butter balls she makes for her friends all the time when I was in Seattle last. Holley's a great great cook. I decided to try both of them yesterday. They were both really really really good. & they're both good food storage recipes. Holley's are definitely much less labor intensive.

Holley's Peanut Butter Balls (the chocolate covered ones)

1 c of Peanut Butter
1 c of powdered sugar
1 c rice krispies
1 T of butter
1 t vanilla
Mix all together (I add a little more powdered sugar if it seems too wet to roll into balls)
roll into balls...fairly small ones but you can do them whatever size
Melt Chocolate chips in a double boiler? not sure what that's called but I just put a metal bowl on top of a pot of simmering water.
I usually use about 2 cups of ch chips and then add 1 t of vegetable oil (I used chocolate almond bark coating) and dip the balls in to coat and then put on wax paper on a plate and put in the freezer or fridge. they are so yummy!

Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Balls
adapted from Michelle N.

Makes about 120 balls.

2 cups honey
6 cups peanut butter (creamy or crunchy) (I used half & half)
3 cups rice krispies
1½ cups grape nuts
3/4 cup applesauce
2 cups coconut
3 cups crushed cereal (I used crushed corn flakes)
1½ cups chocolate or butterscotch chips - or substitute dried fruit, like raisins (I did some chocolate and some craisins)
5-8 tablespoons powdered milk
4 cups crushed mini-wheat cereal

Mix all but last two ingredients and mix until well combined. Add powdered milk, like flour, to make a soft, cookie-like dough. Form into 1” ball and roll in crushed mini-wheats. A scoop works very well for this. Refrigerate or freeze.

Banana-Cream Cheesecake

I saw this recipe in the Kraft recipe magazine that comes free in the mail occasionally. I tried it a couple of Sunday's ago. It was really easy and tasty. I didn't have a white cake mix, so I used a lemon one. It just made it a little extra lemony.

Banana-Cream Cheesecake
- kraft.com
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/banana-cream-cheesecake-111264.aspx


1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix, divided
4 eggs, divided
3 Tbsp. oil
2/3 cup packed brown sugar, divided
2 bananas, sliced
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

HEAT oven to 300ºF. Reserve 1 cup dry cake mix. Mix remaining cake mix with 1 egg, oil and 1/3 cup sugar with mixer. (Mixture will be crumbly.) Press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of greased 13x9-inch baking pan; top with bananas.

BEAT cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer. Add reserved cake mix, remaining eggs and lemon juice; beat 1 min. Blend in milk. (Batter will be very thin.) Pour into crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 to min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Top with COOL WHIP. Refrigerate leftovers.

Caramel Bars & Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I took these to my young women's class for 2 birthdays last week. I got the idea for the peanut butter cup cookies from a woman in my ward that made them a couple of weeks ago. For those you just use your favorite peanut butter cookie dough and put a heaping tablespoon of the dough in a mini cupcake pan. Then cook them according to cookie directions and when they come out of the oven and are still hot put a peanut butter cup in the middle. They're really good.

I found the caramel bars on allrecipes.com. They are seriously good good & easy.

Caramel Bars

- allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 32 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
* 5 tablespoons heavy cream
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup rolled oats
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup butter, melted
* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt together the caramels and heavy cream, stirring occasionally until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well blended. Press Half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Reserve the rest.
3. Bake the crust for 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour the caramel mixture over the top and then crumble the remaining crust mixture over everything.
4. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes, or until the top is lightly toasted. Cut into squares while it is still warm.

Penne Rustica

I took dinner to a family last week and decided to try this recipe from yourhomebasedmom (see my side bar). It was very tasty. Not a healthy dish by any means, but good. I saved some of it in my fridge to reheat for my family later on in the week. I don't think this is a great make ahead dinner because it's cream based, so when you reheat it it makes it a little too oily. The flavor is great though. Just needs to be eaten right when it's made.

Penne Rustica
Ingredients:
12 oz. grilled chicken breast (marinate in olive oil and garlic salt overnight, then grill on barbecue for best flavor)
½ pack thick bacon
48 oz. (3 boxes) penne pasta
2 large red bell peppers- diced
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp paprika

Gratinata Sauce:
2 tsp butter
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup marsala wine OR 1/3 cup apple juice + 2 tbsp red wine vinegar +enough chicken broth to equal 1 cup
1 tsp dijon or dry mustard
1 tsp salt1 tsp chopped rosemary
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
8 cups heavy cream

Directions:
Sauté garlic in butter in large pan. Add marsala wine, mustard, salt, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and heavy cream.Cook pasta according to directions. Cook bacon. Slice chicken into medium-bite size pieces.Combine sauce, cooked pasta, diced chicken, cooked bacon, bell peppers, parmesan cheese, and paprika and mix thoroughly. Spread in pans. Top with chopped rosemary and mozzarella cheese.

Bake @ 475 for 10 minutes. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator the day of. Cover with foil and bake @ 375 for 1 hour. Remove foil during the last 15 minutes.
Number Of Servings: Yields one 8×8 and two 9×13 casserole dishes.
Preparation Time: More than an hour

Honey Lime Enchiladas

My sister-in-law Laura sent me this recipe a long long time ago to try & then I kept seeing it on various blogs with everyone saying how amazing it is. I finally got around to trying this last Sunday. I loved them. You have to like sweet/heat combo to like them though. Matt is not so big on the sweet/heat combo, so he said he would like them better with a lot less honey. Next time I will cut the honey by at least half. They were really really good though. & super easy!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
from Brittany at The Sisters' Cafe

http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/03/honey-lime-enchiladas.html

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (to lighten them up, I have substituted sour cream with good results)

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

*Freezable Meal: Freeze prior to baking. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake enchiladas, covered (without thawing first) for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, until brown and crispy on top.

Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins

I LOVE Lion House's pumpkin bread recipe. It's SO SO good. I was at my friend Cristina's a few weeks ago and she was making pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from a recipe she just got from a friend. The muffins were really good & I wondered how close the recipe was to the Lion House bread recipe. Well...they're the EXACT same recipe except the muffins have choco chips in them. Bread or cupcakes, they're both SOOO good.

Lion House Pumpkin Bread
1 1/3 C Veg oil
5 eggs
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
2 pkg (6 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 C nuts (I don't add)

Grease pans. Mix well oil, eggs, pumpkin, beat well. Seperate bowl: sift flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in pudding and nuts. Pour into pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Makes two loaves.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

I tried this for dinner last week. It was simple and really tasty. Not the most amazing casserole I've ever had, but good & I will make it again.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
Submitted by Melanie @ allrecipes.com

2 Packages reduced sodium Stuffing mix
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 lb sliced deli ham, cut into 1 inch stips
1 cup swiss cheese shredded
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
2 cups cooked chicken ( I used shredded--but I think cubed would be better)

Prepare stuffing mixes according to directions on box. Meanwhile in a bowl, combine soup and milk. Put chicken in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper. Layer with ham, swiss cheese and 1 cups of cheddar cheese, soup mixture ans stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. At this point you can freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer