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About, Mexican

Mexican Chicken Manicotti

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I came across this delicious recipe over at That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Please do head over to her site to check out her vast array of recipes!

Mexican Chicken Manicotti

Mexican Chicken Manicotti

Mexican Chicken Manicotti

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 1 hour 15 mins Total time: 1 hour 45 mins Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package manicotti shells

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 jalapeño peppers, minced

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can use a rotisserie chicken)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

¼ cup sour cream

1-1/3 cups salsa, divided

1 (8-ounce) can enchilada sauce

¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

See a Quick Sausage Alfredo Recipe

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13″ x 9″ pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In large skillet, cook onion, garlic, and jalapeños in butter until softened. Remove from heat and stir in chicken, cream cheese, and sour cream; stir until blended. Let cool 20 minutes, then add ⅓ cup salsa.

Cook the manicotti shells until almost al dente according to package directions; drain. Stuff the shells with the chicken mixture.

In small bowl, combine remaining cup of salsa and enchilada sauce; mix well. Place ½ cup of this mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Top with stuffed manicotti shells. If there is leftover chicken filling, just put it on top of the stuffed shells. Pour remaining sauce mixture over and sprinkle with both cheeses.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until mixture is bubbly and cheese is browned.

About, Coffee Cakes

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

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Sometimes I buy Sour Cream; I don’t know why I do this, no one here really likes it. I must have bought it because a recipe called for a bit of it leaving me with a whole lot to use up! That lil tub of sour cream kept was right at eye level in the fridge so each time I opened the fridge I would say to myself, “Right, I have to make something with that sour cream.” Well, I finally did something with it!  I turned to my friend, Betty Crocker, and she came through!You can find the original recipe at Betty Crocker . I keep not one, but two Betty Crocker cookbooks in my kitchen; it was fabulous being able to look at a printed recipe instead of having to scroll through the recipe as needed on my iPhone!  I did follow this recipe to the T, for a change…next time I might try adding some steamed apples? hmmmm!   A super moist Sour Cream Coffee Cake that was well received by all.

coffee cake, sour cream, cinnamon
Wonderfully moist coffee cake

Brown Sugar Filling
1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/2 cup chopped Nuts – I used Slivered Almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground

Cinnamon Batter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
3 large Eggs
3 cups Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cups Sour Cream

Vanilla Glaze
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
2 – 3 Tablespoons Milk

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease bottom and side of Bundt pan or two Loaf Pans (9×5). Lightly dust with flour, tapping out excess.

Prepare Brown Sugar Filling: In a small mixing bowl, mix together brown sugar, chopped nuts and cinnamon. Set aside.

In medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add vanilla and eggs, mixing well after each egg is added; cream until light and fluffy.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and stir just until all the flour is moistened. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Add half of the sour cream and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add another 1/3 of flour mixture and stir just until flour is moistened. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Add remaining sour cream and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add remaining flour and stir until all flour is moistened.  Scrape down sides of bowl. Increase speed on mixer and beat for 1 minute.

For Bundt pan, spread 1/3 of the batter (about 2 cups) in prepared pan, then sprinkle with 1/3 of Brown Sugar Filling; repeat twice.
For loaf pans – spread 1/4 of the batter (about 1 1/2 cups) in each pan, then sprinkle each with 1/4 of Brown Sugar Filling; repeat once.

Bake Bundt cake  for about 1 hour,  Loaves for about 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean.
Remove from oven, place on wire rack and cool for about 10 minutes.
Remove from pan(s) and place top side up on wire rack.
Cool for about 10 minutes longer before finishing with Vanilla Drizzle.

Vanilla Drizzle Mix all ingredients until smooth and drizzling consistency.

Oh, and by all means, do have this for Breakfast!  I added a bit of Cottage Cheese and a handful of fresh Blueberries to make it a lil bit healthier!

sour cream coffee cake for breakfast
Sour Cream Coffee Cake for Breakfast!
About, Yeast

Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread

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I have recently rediscovered my bread maker. Great, a loss of more valuable real estate on the counter! But so worth it. I can’t honestly remember the last time I regularly bought bread at the shops. Home made bread, whether you do it completely from scratch or with the assistance of a bread maker…just so yummilicious! The house smells good, the bread is good – even if it doesn’t come out just right- oh, yes, the taste of freshly baked bread, straight out of the oven with a bit of butter or good olive oil.
I have to admit that I love a slice of homemade white bread; it’s like you have died and gone to foodie heaven. It’s what childhood should taste like. White, pure, absolutely delicious. Maybe that is why I love it so much; it symbolizes what I miss, what I hope I gave my children and what I hope to give to my grandchildren.
I digress, while I do love white bread and all it has to offer, I also love a fresh-outta-the-oven slice of whole wheat goodness! It is more sensible, right?  Now the cookbook that came with my bread maker was sadly lacking in everyday recipes…who makes Potato Bread on a regular basis? Or Banana Bread…in a bread maker?? So I sat down at the computer and googled whole wheat bread; I settled on this one from my trusted friends over at Betty Crocker <-she taught me how to cook, bless her soul! I chose this recipe for Whole Wheat Cranberry Bread but have changed it up a few times: once I used Epicures 3 Onion Dip mix and Parmesan Cheese, another time I used Garlic and Italian Herbs…subbing out the Cinnamon and Cranberries, of course. So far they have all been a hit!

whole wheat cranberry bread
Grilled Cheese on Whole Wheat Cranberry Bread

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Hot Water (70degreesF – 80degreesF)
1/4 cup Honey
2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) Butter, cubed
2 cups Flour
1 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 teaspoons Bread Machine or Quick Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries or Raisins

Carefully measure all ingredients into the bread pan, in the order listed, except for cranberries – I often use the a bit of this a bit of that regime for making recipes but never for bread! It wants precision.
Select Whole Wheat cycle (on my machine Setting 2)
Use Medium or Light Crust colour.
Do NOT use delay cycle – Dough cycle is alright.
Add Cranberries when the machine beeps.
Remove baked bread from pan and cool on cooling rack.

herb and garlic whole wheat bread
Herb and Garlic Whole Wheat Bread

Omit Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Cranberries.
Measure water, butter and honey into baking pan.
Add flours, salt and ADD
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
Carefully stir herbs and garlic into the flour without disturbing underlying water.
Sprinkle Yeast over combined flour mixture.
Use the same Whole Wheat Bread cycle (Setting 2 on mine)

Three Onion and Parmesan Cheese Bread
Three Onion and Parmesan Cheese Bread

Omit Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Cranberries.
Measure water, butter and honey into baking pan.
Add flours, salt and ADD
1 Tablespoon Epicure 3 Onion Dip Mix
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated – when the machine beeps.Carefully stir herbs and garlic into the flour without disturbing underlying water.
Sprinkle Yeast over combined flour mixture.
Use the same Whole Wheat Bread cycle (Setting 2 on mine)
When machine beeps, add Parmesan Cheese.

About, Vegetarian

“Steak” Fried Rice

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Just after Christmas I cleaned out my refrigerator freezer; lots of odds and sods in there! Multiple bread bags containing heels of bread waiting to be made into breadcrumbs, a couple containers of leftover rice, a few little containers of leftover mashed potatoes, container of chopped green pepper…What to do with all this stuff? Well, I crumbed the heels of bread and condensed to one container; I will remember to use the mashed ‘taters the next time I make a soup or stew. Same goes for chopped peppers…spaghetti sauce, stew or Hot Pepper Pot Soup. Ah, the rice…??

I just so happened to have had some “beef” strips in the crisper so I used them to make this Steak Fried Rice that came through my Canadian Living Facebook feed. Please do make the real beef version that I have linked for you but I recommend that you also try the meatless version!

I did have to make a few substitutions to make it Vegetarian…used faux beef, obviously; I was out of mushrooms so left them out but will definitely use the next time I make this; not so obvious: I left out the oyster sauce with no subs in. I cannot eat that stuff unless I want to have a major allergic reaction…food intolerance…reaction? ! Is there such a thing?  My children are forever saying that they are going to MAKE me eat meat and I won’t even know the difference…my body WILL know and I will react simply because my system no longer knows what meat is! I have been without for 30+ years and I don’t think there is any going back after this long. The thought never crosses my mind…espeically now that I cook meat for my husband…reinforces all the reasons I DON’T eat meat! Thanks for making it so much easier for me to stick to my convictions, dear 😉

steak fried rice
“Steak” Fried Rice

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, diced
3 Green Onions, chopped, separated- greens and whites
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh Ginger, minced
4 Mushrooms, sliced
1 Carrot, peeled, julienned
1 rib Celery, finely diced
1/2 Sweet Red Pepper, diced
5 cups cooked Rice
1 pkg Beefless 
1/2 cup frozen Peas
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil

In large, deep skillet (28cm) heat oil over high heat.
Stir fry onion, whites of green onion, garlic and ginger for about a minute.
Add mushrooms, carrot, celery, red pepper; stir-fry until the veggies are tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.
Stir in rice, “beef”, peas, soy sauce; stir-fry for about 3 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in green bits of green onion and sesame oil.
Serve with a sprinkle of Sesame Seeds.

Serves 4 – 6

About, Indian Cuisine

Lightly Spiced Indian Rice

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I love the rice we get when we go out for Indian so I have tried to make my own version at home.

Lightly Spiced Indian Rice
Lightly Spiced Indian Rice

2 cups Basmati Rice
3 1/2 – 4 cups Water
1 teaspoon Turmeric
1 teaspoon Cumin, ground
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
1 cup Frozen Peas

In medium size saucepan with tight fitting lid combine rice, water, turmeric, cumin, butter, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, place lid on saucepan and cook for 15 minutes.
Briefly remove lid, add frozen peas, replace lid and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.
Remove from heat, fluff rice with fork.

Serves 6