Orange Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

When I prepared this recipe this week, my husband asked me if this was a mini Thanksgiving meal. Yes, in that the chicken is spiced with some of the favored seasonings of the holiday season and served with sweet potatoes. The chicken cooks in the slow cooker on top of the sweet potatoes covered in a fruity sauce for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. The chicken is then served over rice; add a vegetable or salad and dinner is ready. Simple and tasty. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. black pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 ozs. each)
2 tbsps. butter
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I use 98% fat-free)
3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tsps. brown sugar
1 tsp. orange zest
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms, if desired (I don't use)
Hot cooked rice

1. Layer the sweet potatoes in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Turn slow cooker on to low heat.
2. Combine the flour and seasonings in a pie plate. Coat each chicken breast completely.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken in butter for 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Arrange chicken on top on sweet potatoes.
4. Combine 3 tbsps. of the remaining seasoned flour with the pineapple juice, soup, brown sugar and orange zest in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and add mushrooms, if using. Pour over chicken and potatoes.
5. Cover and cook for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until chicken and potatoes are tender. Serve over rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Cinnamon-Apple Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving is coming and most dinner tables will have some form of cranberry sauce, gelatin salad or a taste-tempting dessert made with these tart little gems. Our family loves them, so we have had many varieties of salads and sauces over the years. Last week I did a variation of a recipe I found and tried last year in Relish Magazine that my husband wasn't crazy about. I thought I could possibly change his mind with a few changes to the recipe. Success was achieved with this recipe. Hope you might try it for your holiday meal. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 12-oz. pkg. cranberries, washed and picked over (3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups)
1 cup honey
1 cup apple juice
1 medium apple, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch dice (1-1/3 to 1-1/2 cups)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/16 tsp. ground cloves

1. Combine cranberries, honey and apple juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until cranberries burst and sauce is thick and chunky.
2. Remove pan from heat and stir in apple, pecans, cinnamon and cloves. Chill sauce until cold. This is best if served the second day and will hold in the refrigerator for several days. Cranberry sauce freezes beautifully.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups
14 - 1/4 cup servings
114 calories
1.6 gms. fiber

Note: A sweet apple like Gala, Jonathan or Golden Delicious is wonderful in this sauce.

Deep Chocolate Brownies

This delicious recipe was a reader-contributed recipe that won in the best brownie category in a Better Homes and Gardens contest back in 2005. The topping is like the topping on German chocolate cake, only butterscotch-flavored ice cream topping is used instead of corn syrup. These brownies are a chocolate-lovers delight. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 egg
1 cup butterscotch-flavor ice cream topping
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 cups flaked coconut
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl beat the 1 egg with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy and light colored. Stir in ice cream topping. Fold in pecans and coconut; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in cooled chocolate, the 2 eggs, and vanilla.
4. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; beat or stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in chocolate pieces. Spread in prepared pan; spread nut mixture over batter.
5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and set. Toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs on it. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yield: 24 - 36 bars

Blondie-Brownie Pie

This is another one of those recipes that I have had stuck away for a number of years and can not remember where it came from, so I can't give credit to a source, but I can tell you that it is an easy and tasty dessert. I would have called this pie a Candy Bar Pie. A portion of the batter is spread out in the pie plate to make the crust so there is no crust to roll out, which is a great time-saving help. We enjoyed the pie with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream along side. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/2 cup butter, cut up

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp. baking cocoa powder

13 fun-size Snickers or other snack-size candy bars

1. Grease a 9-inch glass pie plate; set aside

2. Melt butter and brown sugar in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes.

3. Stir in 1 egg and the vanilla until blended, then stir in flour and baking powder until smooth. Scrape 3/4 cup into prepared pie plate (don't spread); freeze 10 minutes or until firm.

4. Melt 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips as package directs. Stir melted chips, remaining egg and the cocoa powder into remaining batter.

5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Press chilled batter evenly over bottom and halfway up sides of pie plate. Top with the Snickers, then chocolate batter. Spread the chocolate batter to cover the candy bars.

6. Bake for 24 to 27 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips over the pie, let stand 5 minutes until soft, then spread to blondie crust. Cool pie before cutting in wedges.

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Note: 4 fun-size candy bars is equal to 1 standard-size candy bar. I cut the bars into chunks.

Crunchy Onion Chicken

This chicken recipe is popular in a few different versions, but I really like this one for it's simplicity when I'm in a hurry to get dinner on the table. I served it this past week with sauted potatoes and green salad. Easy and delicious; blessings...

Recipe: 

1-1/3 cups French's Original Fried Onions
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1 egg

1. Lightly crush onion in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. I then put the onion in a pie plate because I get the onion to stick to the chicken better than shaking in the bag.
2. Beat the egg with a fork in a pie plate.
3. Dip the chicken in the egg and then in the onion. Place pieces on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until tender and juices run clear.

Yield: 3-4 servings
Note: Chicken does not reheat well in the microwave oven. The onion gets soft and soggy, so I cut the remaining chicken pieces in half and reheat them in a covered casserole in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Saute'd Potatoes

This is such a tasty and simple way to prepare potatoes for dinner. Because of the simplicity in flavor, this dish compliments meat, fish, pork or chicken. I've offered some seasoning suggestions, but be creative so the potatoes compliment the flavors in the main dish you are serving at any given time. Blessings...

Recipe:

4 medium-sized red or gold potatoes
1 tbsp. each butter and olive oil for sauteing, use more if needed
1/2 tsp. seasoning blend of choice such as Italian, Cajun, barbecue or southwest. Also, seasoning with salt, pepper and garlic powder is wonderful.

1. Cook potatoes until tender in boiling salted water; drain.
2. Melt butter in skillet over medium-low heat; add olive oil. Stir in potatoes; sprinkle with half the seasoning and saute' until potatoes are golden brown. Stir potatoes and sprinkle with remaining seasoning. Continue sauteing until potatoes are all a lovely golden brown color adding more olive oil if skillet gets too dry. You want the potatoes moist, not dried out from over frying.

Yield: 4 servings

Cranberry-Apple Crisp

A few weeks back I was able to purchase some of the first-of-the-season cranberries for a wonderful price and I couldn't wait to make this favorite dessert. This easy to make crisp only takes about 30 minutes to put together and about 40 minutes to bake, so it works great for a weekday meal, as well as for a holiday meal.

I created this variation of an old favorite using Honeycrisp or Gala apples because they are sweeter than the traditional cooking apples, but don't cook down to mush. As a result, less sugar can be used. I also love the addition of apple pie spice in place of the traditional cinnamon. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups fresh or frozen thawed cranberries, rinsed and picked over
3 cups unpeeled, cored and coarsely chopped Honeycrisp or Gala apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Topping:

1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal, not instant
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup flour
1 1/4 tsps. apple pie spice
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In an 8" x 8" ungreased baking pan, combine cranberries, apples and granulated sugar. Set aside while preparing topping.
3. Combine topping ingredients in a medium - sized bowl.
4. Stir filling ingredients again to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling and gently press down.
5. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are fork - tender. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm, plain or with vanilla ice cream.

6 servings = 347 calories without ice cream and 5 gms. fiber
8 servings = 260 calories without ice cream and 4 gms. fiber