Blueberry Jam

I found a great recipe for blueberry jam. I made my first batch this week. It was easy and it turned out great.  For the recipe and great pictures to help you along follow this link:

http://afewshortcuts.com/2011/07/tide-you-over-tuesday-blueberry-jam/

Smack Yo' Mama Mac & Cheese

*** FEEL FREE TO CUT THIS RECIPE IN HALF ***

Ingredients:

1 lb box elbow macaroni cooked

Blond Roux (White Sauce)

1 stick butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cheese Sauce

6 cups milk

1/2 cup blond roux (made in advance)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup diced onion (about 1 large onion)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

5 cups white cheddar cheese

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (reserve 1 cup for topping)

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Blond roux:

Melt 1 stick of butter in small saucepan. Add 3/4 cup of flour. Blend well. Cook while stirring constantly, about 3-5 minutes, until flour and butter are well blended and start to dry slightly. Reserve for cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce:

In a large saucepan, bring milk to simmer over medium heat. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the roux. Continue to whisk over heat until smooth and sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Saute diced onion in oil over medium heat until soft. Add onion to roux. Next add Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk to incorporate all ingredients. Begin to add cheddar cheese, gradually, in small amounts. Whisk constantly to help dissolve. Add remaining cheddar and 1 cup of Parmesan. Whisk until smooth.

Mix cheese sauce with cooked macaroni. Place in a large buttered oven-proof dish. Top with breadcrumbs and remaining 1 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until hot. To brown, place under the broiler until top is evenly browned; watch carefully.

Blue Hawaii

How to make your very own Blue Hawaii... The distinctly-colored beverage also shares the name with the Elvis movie from 1961. Cheers!

1 oz. Vodka or Rum
1 oz. Blue Curacao
3 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix
1 cup Ice
Splash of Pineapple Juice

Combine all ingredients with ice in a blender, blend until smooth and firm. Pour into 14 oz. glass and garnish with pineapple and orchid. Voila!

Mama Lisa's Pizza Pie

Ingredients:

1 pizza crust (store bought or homemade)

1 jar of sauce (store bought or homemade)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Italian Seasoning

Toppings of your choice

For homemade sauce (which is worth the effort) watch this video:

In my world, homemade pizza crust is a lot of work and I typically stick to store bought. You can buy the kind in the can in the refrigerated section of the grocery store or they sell packets of dry mix on the baking aisle close to the jiffy cornbread. I usually use the kind in the can for calzones and stick to the flat crusts that they just have hanging up by the peperoni. If I use store bought sauce, I prefer the Boboli that comes 3 packs to a box. It is much easier to use and keeps longer than the jars, however, I have not found them in all stores.

Homemade pizza is pretty basic. You preheat your oven to 400 degrees, rub the olive oil directly on the top of your crust, spread the sauce on the pizza dough in a circular motion, add the cheese and toppings and bake it. The most important thing is to make sure you season it with either an Italian blend seasoning or oregano. This will make or break your pizza. I season mine on top of the cheese before I add the toppings. Also, when spreading your cheese, spread it along the outside edge first and try to make sure all your sauce is covered, then cover the center. The bake time will depend on your crust so follow the package directions (usually 10-14 minutes).

Tips for success:

* If using thin crust, spread the sauce to the edges, for hand tossed or deep dish, leave one inch around the edge uncovered.

* If using sausage, buy hot (I use Tennessee Pride). Cook the sausage thoroughly and dry on   paper towels before putting in to in the pizza. Pepperoni is greasy and the sausage needs to be as dry as possible.

* Bake pizza directly on the wire racks instead of on a pan for a crispy bottom crust.

* Let pizza sit 3-5 minutes after removing from oven, allowing it time to set, before slicing it.

Here's mine.....

Sweet & Crunchy Honey Nut Chicken

Ingredients:

4 ounces, 2 small packages, honey roasted peanuts,about 2/3 cup

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick)

2 eggs

A splash half-and-half or whole milk

2 teaspoons hot sauce, several drops

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 (6 to 8-ounce) pieces of chicken breast

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put nuts, bread crumbs and grill seasoning in food processor and pulse grind to combine the nuts into bread crumbs. Pour nutty-breading onto a plate.

Beat eggs and half-and-half or milk with hot sauce in a shallow dish.

Pour flour out on a plastic board or plate.

Dust both sides of the chicken with flour. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then coat with the nutty-breading.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer, 2 or 3 turns of the pan. Brown chicken pieces 2 minutes on each side in hot oil or until evenly light golden in color. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook in oven until juices run clear and breasts are cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Christmas Breakfast Pudding

I usually don't post a recipe before I make it for purposes of providing a picture that I took but I am going to make an exception today....(I have made it several times, I just do it on Christmas so I don't have a picture) This is a delicious breakfast for Christmas and it can be assembled the night before so all you have to do on Christmas morning is put it in the oven and that makes it EVEN BETTER!!!!!!!!

This recipe serves 10 so unless you have a gang of kids or plan on having guests, I would advise you cut the recipe in half. It makes a FULL 9x13 pan and will bubble over the edges so I usually split it into 2 pans which also give you the option to share or freeze half of it. The recipe looks like its a lot of work but it really isn't and it is definitely worth the time and effort.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped yellow onions

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell peppers

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

6 ounces Canadian bacon or baked ham, trimmed and diced

6 ounces hot smoked sausage, chopped

8 large eggs

3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 teaspoons Creole Seasoning

8 cups (1-inch cubes) stale French or Italian bread, or rolls

8 ounces grated Gouda or Fontina cheese (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Lightly grease a 3-quart (9 by 13-inch) baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.

In a medium skillet, melt 2 teaspoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, green and red bell peppers, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the parsley, stir, and remove from the heat. Let cool.

In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 1 teaspoon butter over medium-high heat. Add the Canadian bacon and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and let cool.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, cream, 1 teaspoon of the Essence, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper and whisk to combine. Add the bread cubes and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the cooked Canadian bacon and sausage, the onion mixture, and the Gouda cheese and stir to incorporate the ingredients. Pour into the prepared dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake until almost completely set, 50 to 55 minutes.

(Alternatively, the bread pudding can be assembled up to this point, covered, and refrigerated 8 hours or overnight, and then baked. Let sit at room temperature while preheating the oven, before baking. )

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, melted butter, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon Essence. Uncover the pudding and sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the top. Return to the oven, increase the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until the pudding is completely set in the center, puffed, and golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.

Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

FYI... this is an accurate picture of what it looks like when it is done.

Sour Cream Chicken

Since so many people asked for this recipe I thought I would post it. It is super easy and can be made a little more healthy if you want to use fat free sour cream. I loved the sound of coating the chicken in sour cream and once I started making it I was so excited for this recipe because it makes a thick and creamy coating and the breadcrumbs stick to it! This chicken is good, fast and doesn't require any additional seasoning.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons of onion seasoning (dry onion soup mix will work - or you can substitute the sour cream and onion seasoning for sour cream and onion dip in the dairy section)

2 cups of seasoned breadcrumbs **

Directions:

1. Mix the sour cream and onion seasoning.

2. Dip the chicken in the sour cream and coat completely.

3. Coat in breadcrumbs.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear.

** Another option is to substitute breadcrumbs for crushed sour cream and onion potato chips. I have used this as breading on chicken nuggets and it is good. But my scale tells me that I do not need to bread my chicken in potato chips!

And sorry for not having an actual photo of what I cooked... it was long gone by the time I posted this.

Happy Holidays!