Sunday, February 27, 2011

Favorite Chicken!

This is another recipe I tried from the I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it is now my new favorite for chicken! The recipe called for goat cheese, which I was going to use, but when I went to use it I realized it was 3 weeks expired when I bought it!(glad you're on top of things, Walmart) I ended up using tomato basil feta by Atheno's instead, and don't think I will change a thing!




The recipe said to use an oven safe nonstick skillet, which I don't have. I ended up browning them in the skillet and then transferring to a baking dish, and it worked just fine.I did bake them for quite a bit longer than the 5-9 minutes it said it should take, but my chicken breasts were a little larger.

4(4 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup canned, drained fire roasted tomatoes
2 ounces goat cheese(I used the tomato basil feta I mentioned earlier)
Fresh basil for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place medium oven safe nonstick skillet over high heat, mist with spray when hot, add chicken. Cook chicken just until outsides are golden brown, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove pan from heat and top each piece of chicken with 2 tablespoons of the tomatoes, followed by about 1/2 ounce of cheese. Transfer skillet to oven and bake chicken until it is no longer pink inside and cheese is melted, about 5-9 minutes. Top with basil, serve immediately.

*The nutritional info in the book says that these chicken breasts only have 171 calories each!

Source: I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening

~Kiss The Cook

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Boneless Honey BBQ "wings"

XP from my personal blog!

This is from the I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening book. I don't know why it never occurred to me to cook chicken this way, but it's so simple and delicious! This will be added to list of quick work night meals.



Boneless Honey BBQ "wings"

1 lb chicken tenderloins
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil cooking spray

Combine BBQ sauce and honey in small bowl, set aside. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and pepper over chick and toss to combine. Place large nonstick skillet over high heat, lightly mist skillet with spray and add chicken strips(they should sizzle). Cook about 2-3 minutes each side, until cooked through. Turn heat to low, add BBQ sauce and gently stir until coated. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes and then toss again.

Source: I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening

~Kiss The Cook

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Chicken & Herb Dumplings

I have been looking for a good crockpot chicken and dumpling recipe and found this one by Campbell's.  It was delicious and husband approved!

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts and/or thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)
4 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
3 1/2 cups Swanson Chicken Broth
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
2 cups all-purpose baking mix
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed

Directions:
1. Stir the chicken, carrots, celery, corn, broth, and black pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. (On HIGH for 4-5 hours)
3. Stir the flour and water in a small bowl.  Stir into the cooker.  Turn the heat to HIGH.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens.
4. Stir the baking mix, milk, and rosemary in a medium bowl.  Drop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls over the chicken mixture.  Tilt the lid to vent and cook on HIGH for 40 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked in the center.

Enjoy!
Yankee Doodle

Friday, February 4, 2011

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a repeat from my blog but thought it would be appreciated here too.

I just made this recipe last night, and it turned out great (moist and delicious) , I definitely making this again, I mad a few changes to the recipe adding Cinnamon, less sugar, and using milk + lemon juice rather than buttermilk.
Photo source
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups ripe, mashed bananas (approximatively 3 bananas)
2 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (heaping spoonfuls)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup softened butter (3 sticks butter)
2 cups sugar *I probably only added 1 1/2 cups 
3 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Cream Cheese frosting:
1/2 cups of softened butter (1 stick)
1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioner (powdered) sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees  *Since I've notice my oven does not always heat properly I actually preheated to 300 degrees and then when I put the cake in turned it down to 275
2. Grease and flour a 9x13" pan
3. In a small bowl, mash up banana & lemon; set aside
4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside *I added about a tablespoon of Cinnamon
5. In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy. *this is where I love my KA standmixer
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla extract
7. Add in approximatively on cup of flour mixture, mixing alternately with buttermilk (approx. 1/2 cup) until all flour mixture and buttermilk is added.
8. Stir in banana mixture.
9. Pour batter into pan, bake for approximatively one hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes, this will make the cake very moist. *For you cold weather ladies, I stuck my cake outside with the snow (as long as it wasn't currently snowing or raining)
11. While cake is chilling prepare the frosting, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth
12. Beat in vanilla extract.
13. Add in about half of powdered sugar, beat at low speed until combined, then beat at high speed until smooth.
14. Taste frosting, continue adding powdered sugar until frosting reaches your desired sweetness *I never add the total 3 1/2 cups of adding powdered sugar 
15. Spread frosting over cooled cake
16. Sprinkle walnuts over frosting

~ Homemade Goddess