Boston Market Chicken

I love, LOVE, going out to eat. It is my weakness. My favorites are Cafe Rio, Kneaders, Magelby's Fresh, Rubio's and El Pollo Loco. Which I can all find locally. Yay me!

My VERY favorite I can't find here anymore. It went out while I was in college. Boston Market is the BEST. It way beats out KFC in taste and yumminess. And it's better for you as well. Many years ago I tracked down the recipe for Boston Market Chicken. I huffed a little when I saw the recipe because it called for Chicken BREASTS. What? Anyone, who is ANYONE, knows they keep the skin on their chicken. So I used a whole, cut up chicken. It worked fairly well, even though it wasn't rotisserie.

1/4 cup canola oil

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1/4 tsp. paprika

4 chicken breast halves, washed and patted dry

--Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Ina small bowl, combine canola oil, honey, lime juice and paprika. Place chicken, skin side up, in a 7x11 inch baking dish. Apply mixture to chicken pieces in a single layer. Bake in over for 35-40 minutes, basting every 8-10 minutes, until well browned and juices run clear when you cut into the thickest part of the chicken. Remove from oven. Cover with foil for 15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Fingers

These remind me of the school lunch peanut butter fingers. Yum!

--Cream together the following:

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 cup peanut butter

--Add the mixed remaining ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup oatmeal

3/4 tsp. soda

1/3 tsp. salt

--Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Do not overcook. Cool. Spread thin layer of peanut butter when still warm. Top with chocolate frosting. This was made in a jellyroll pan when I had it. It can also be made in a 9 x13 pan.

Chocolate Frosting:

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cube butter

6 Tbsp. milk

--Bring to a boil. Add:

4 cups powdered sugar

4 tsp. vanilla

1 cup nuts (walnuts)

--Mix together thoroughly, then pour over Peanut Butter Fingers while they are still warm, but not hot!

Sausage and Lentil Soup

My friend Kerri posted a couple of soup recipes. I haven't tried them but all my friends loved them. It came from kalynskitchen.com.

Spicy Sausage, Lentil, and Tomato Soup
(Makes about 6-8 servings, recipe adapted from Sausage and Lentil Soup at The Joy of Soup.)

2 tsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil (or more, depending on your pan)
1 onion, chopped small
1 cup finely diced celery
1 T minced garlic (or less, but I like a lot of garlic in this)
1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried Greek or Turkish oregano (or regular oregano will work, but don't use Mexican oregano)
1 tsp. ground fennel seed (optional, but this really adds to the flavor)
5 links (19.5 oz.) hot turkey Italian Sausage (check the label to find turkey Italian sausage with less than 10% fat for South Beach Diet)
8 cups chicken stock (or use 5 cans chicken broth; 14.5 oz. can, and freeze the extra 8 oz.)
3 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice (14.5 oz. can)
1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils
2 dried bay leaves
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil, add chopped onion and celery and saute until it's just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute 1 minute more, then add red pepper flakes, dried thyme, dried oregano, and ground fennel seed and saute 1 minute more. Put onion mixture into large soup pot.

Add 2 tsp. more olive oil, squeeze turkey sausage out of casings and saute until the sausage is nicely browned, breaking it apart with a metal turner as it cooks. (You may need a bit more olive oil if you don't use a non-stick pan.) Add browned sausage to soup pot, then deglaze the pan with 2 cups of the chicken stock, scraping the browned sausage bits off the bottom of the pan, and add that to soup pot.

Add the rest of the chicken stock, diced tomatoes and juice, dried lentils, and bay leaves to the soup pot. Heat soup until it's barely boiling, then reduce heat and simmer on low for about 1 hour or until lentils are soft when you bite into one.

When lentils are soft, remove about 1/3 of soup mixture and use an immersion blender, food processor, or blender to puree the mixture until it's very smooth, about 2 minutes. (Be very careful with the hot soup if you use a food processor or blender.)

Add pureed mixture back into the soup left in the pot, stir to combine, and simmer on low for 30-45 minutes more, until soup is as thick as you'd like it. (The longer you cook it the thicker it will get.) Taste soup, season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley if desired.

This soup freezes well, so you might want to make a double batch and freeze some for lunches to take to work.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 cup Spinach; rinsed and chopped
14 oz Artichoke hearts; drained and chopped
8 oz Cream Cheese
¼ cup Sour Cream
¼ cup Mayonnaise
½ cup Parmesan cheese; grated
½ cup Mozzarella cheese; grated
½ tsp Red Pepper flakes
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Garlic powder

Heat Cream Cheese in microwave until hot and soft. Stir in the rest of ingredients and place in oven safe dish, sprinkle cheese on top and heat in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and dip is warmed all the way through.

Raspberry Bread Pudding

Raspberry Bread Pudding Recipe

1 1/2 loaves aged, white bread

1 qt. heavy cream

3 C. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

5 C. raspberries, fresh or frozen (hers were fresh)

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. apple juice

In a large bowl mix the cream, sugar, egg and vanilla.

Cut bread into 1 1/2 inch cubes and add to cream mixture,

coating the bread well. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring every

5 minutes to allow cream to absorb.

Mix the raspberries, sugar and apple juice, stirring

until sugar is dissolved.

Layer a 9x13 inch baking pan 3/4 full with the bread mix

and pour fruit filling over the bread mix, spreading evenly.

Top with the remaining bread. Bake 40 minutes at 375.

Serve warm topped with vanilla cream sauce.

(If you want it to cut into nice squares you can chill

it and then cut it into squares, then microwave it

for 20-25 seconds per piece and top with sauce.)

Vanilla Cream Sauce

1 1/3 C. butter

5 T. flour

3 C. heavy cream

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp vanilla

2/3 C. sugar

Melt butter in medium saucepan and add flour. Stir

10 minutes until it has a nutty aroma, do not brown. Add

salt, cream and sugar until mix is thick. Remove from heat

and stir in vanilla. Serve warm over the pudding.

Nana-Sour Cream Bars

Here is another Donette recipe. Elijah liked these and he wants me to make them for the Blue and Gold Banquet next week. And I think they will be perfect because they were addicting.

NANA-SOUR CREAM BARS

1-1/2 cups Sugar

1 cup Dairy sour cream

1/2 cup Margarine or butter, softened

2 large Eggs

1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 large)

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all-purpose Flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

Vanilla Glaze (recipe below)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, sour cream, margarine, and eggs in large mixer bowl on low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 1 minute. Beat in bananas, and vanilla on low speed 30 seconds. Beat in flour, salt, and baking soda on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 1 minute. Spread in greased and floured jelly roll pan, 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 inch. Bake until light brown, 20-25 minutes; COOL. Frost with vanilla glaze.

VANILLA GLAZE

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp hot water

Mix powdered sugar, margarine or butter, softened, vanilla and hot water together. Stir in 1 to 2 tsp. additional hot water until smooth and of desired consistency.

Cheeseball

My mom made some recipes for Super Bowl that she got from her boss, Donette. Her bosses name is said, Don-ette, but for some reason I think it looks like Donut, or doughnut. And then I want to go to Krispy Kreme. Yum.

Anyway, here is her cheeseball recipe:

Cheeseball

1 Jar Kraft Old English Cheese
2 Packages of cream cheese
1/3 cup (or more) of grated mild cheddar cheese (I always do more-up to
3/4 a cup)
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 Teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 Teaspoon of onion salt
1 small can of shrimp (omit if there is any possibility of an allergy) (I omit anyway. Not a huge shrimp fan.)

Blend everything except shrimp with a mixer. Gently mix in shrimp at the
end.
Refrigerate.