Raspberry Sauce

Raspberry Sauce

Hi everybody :)

I love a simply easy recipe. That's what this raspberry sauce recipe is all about, it's simple, easy and quick. Let's get it started... 

Raspberry Sauce partly adapted Allrecipes
1 bag frozen raspberries
1/4 cup white sugar, or more if needed
 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water 
2 teaspoons lemon juice 
1 teaspoon raspberry extract, optional 

Combine the raspberries, sugar, and juice in a saucepan. Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the desired consistency is reached. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.

Strain sauce through a fine sieve. (You may have to use a spatula or the back of a spoon to help push the sauce through.)

Serve warm or cold. Pour into plastic container and label it. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Serve over cakes or ice cream, if desired.
The Taste: This sauce was delicious, I served it with pound cake and whipped cream. Definitely a winner in my book and a tasty REPEAT! 

ENJOY! Come again... 
Linked to:
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage   
The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday 
Show Case Your Talent  @What's Cooking Love 
Thursday's Treasures Week 108
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck
From the Farm Blog Hop 

Honey Garlic Drumsticks

Honey Garlic Drumsticks

 Honey Garlic Drumsticks

 Hi everybody :)

I know I'm getting off to a late start on blogging today, but better late than never :) Drumsticks are what's for dinner tonight. Today I took out of the freezer one of my favorite part of the chicken, drumsticks. I spotted the simple and easy recipe from one of Mr.Food ebooks, and had to give it a try. The drumsticks are roasted in a 400 degrees oven for 30 minutes, pasted with a sweet spicy garlic sauce and finish off for about 25 more minutes. Let's get it started...

Honey Garlic Drumsticks
Makes: 24 Drumsticks
Ingredients
24 chicken drumsticks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup honey
1/4 cup chopped garlic
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place drumsticks on 2 rimmed baking sheets and season with salt and pepper;
bake 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine honey, garlic, 2 tablespoons chili sauce and hot pepper sauce; microwave 30 seconds and mix well. 
Remove drumsticks from oven and carefully brush with sauce (sauce may be hot).
Bake 20 to 25 additional minutes, or until no pink remains and juices run clear.  NOTE: You may want to make an extra batch of the honey-garlic sauce for dipping.

Source: Mr. Food's Piece-by-Piece: 20 Easy Chicken Recipes for Drumsticks, Thighs & More

What I Did and/or Think:
The only change I made to the recipe is in Bold, Italic, & Purple, and that was to add 2 tablespoons chili sauce.

The Taste: I love the slightly sweet, spicy, garlic taste of the drumsticks. The sauce was very good, I made extra to serve along side. This is definitely a A.G.R. (Another Great REPEAT!)

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to: 
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff
Foodie Fridays @ Designs By Gollum  
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living  
It's a Hodgepodge Friday  
Miss Information: I Freakin' Did It Friday   

Chicken Barley Chili: Chili with a Healthy Twist!

Chicken Barley Chili: Chili with a Healthy Twist!

Back of the Box Recipe Part 2

Hi everybody :)

As promised when posting Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup last week, I said was going to do a chicken chili with barley, well  here it is.  

I been reading up on barley lately and discovered  the healthy benefits of eating it. Like oatmeal, it's heart healthy, loaded with fiber and niacin. It's low fat, sodium and have no cholesterol. Barley can be use in the place of rice or pasta in soups or stews or served as a side dish.

Like with the Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup, this recipe comes from the back of  a QUAKER Medium Barley's box too. Let's get it started...
Chicken Barley Chili
Ingredients

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can Tomatoes, diced, undrained,
(may use seasoned tomatoes)
1 (16 oz.) jar/can Salsa or tomato sauce (I used mild salsa with a little medium salsa)
l (14 1/2 oz.) can Fat free Chicken broth
1 cup QUAKER: Medium Barley
4 cups Water
1 tablespoon  Chili powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 (15 oz.) can Black beans, drained, rinsed
1 (151/4 oz.) can Corn, whole kernel or corn with peppers, undrained
3 cups Chicken breast, cooked, cut (I used  chicken tenderloins and boneless/skinless chicken thighs)
(about 1 1/2 lbs.)  into bite-sized pieces
Reduced or no fat Cheddar cheese (optional)
Reduced fat or fat free sour cream (optional)

In 6-quart saucepan, combine first 7 ingredients. Over high heat bring to a boil: cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add beans, corn and chicken; increase heat to high until chili comes to a boil. 

Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for another 5 minutes, or until barley is tender. If upon standing the chili becomes too thick, add more chicken broth or water until chili is desired consistency. 

If desired, top with shredded cheese and sour cream. MAKES 11 (1 CUP) SERVINGS.

What I Did and/or Think:
I'm loving barley more and more each day. The chili was GREAT! Not too spicy for me because I used mild salsa and topped it off with a little medium salsa, but if you like the heat, use hot salsa.  

If you'll love the Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup, then you're going to LOOVVVVE  this! Both soups are wonderful, the healthy side-effects do not effect their taste at all :)  Cold days ahead, this chili will be in my weekly forecast :)

This IS my new way of making chili! REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT!

Chicken Chili with Sour Cream & Cheese and Herbed Oatmeal Pan Bread 





OR

 
 Chicken Chili  (Plain)






ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen  
Melt In Your Mouth Monday@ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!  
The Bulletin Board @ Mrs Happy Homemaker
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks 
Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor
Sew Can Do - Craftastic Monday Link Up Party
Recipe Sharing Monday @ Jam Hands 
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck
Carole's Chatter Rice& Grain Recipe Links Food Friday
Katherine Martinelli: Chili Blog Hop  
Tumbleweed Contessa: Superbowl and Chili Party 

Pork Chops in Sour Cream Sauce

Pork Chops in Sour Cream Sauce

Hi everybody :)

I'm a meat lover, once upon a time I thought about becoming a vegetarian because of health issues. I DO love my fruits and vegetables too, but I think everything in moderation will balance itself out in the end.  Now I'm making smarter choices about what I eat. Being a food blogger is helping me out with those choices by   giving me the chance to create and explore all the different varieties of foods and how it's prepared. I get to try new ideas and share them with you :)

The recipe I'm sharing today is from my collections of cookbooks. I picked this one because the sour cream sauce caught my attention and since I had all the ingredients already on hand, I thought it would be perfect for dinner tonight.

Pork Chops in Sour Cream Sauce adapted Pure & Simple: Beta Sigma Phi

Ingredients
6 loin pork chops
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons catsup
1 clove of garlic, minced  (I used Freeze Dried Garlic)
1 beef bouillon cube (I used Better Than Bouillon Beef Base, reduced sodium)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream

Brown pork chops in large skillet.

Browning Pork Chops

Add next 6 ingredients.

Water

Next 5 Ingredients

Reduce heat; simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.

Pork Chops with the 6 Ingredients Added

Remove pork chops to serving platter; keep warm. Combine flour with 1/4 cup water in small bowl. Add slowly to cooking liquid, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened.

Cooking Sauce until Thickened

Stir in sour cream. Heat through; do not boil.

Adding Sour Cream

Serve over pork chops. Yield: 6 servings.

What I Did and/or Think:
Please forgive my late post. I been really busy.

I only cook four pork chops, used Freeze Dried Garlic and Better Than Bouillon Beef Base instead of garlic clove and beef bouillon.

Now for the pork chop, I was very please with this dish. The cream had a nice slightly tangy taste to it, not overpowering the meat. The meat was tender and juicy. This made a GREAT dinner so it will be going into my REPEAT file

ENJOY! Come again....

 















Linked to  
Mandy's Recipe Box: Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Tuesday-Talent-Show:  Chef In Training
Kathe With an E You're Gonna Love It 
 33 Shades of Green-Tasty Tuesday
Trick or Treat Tuesday: Inside BruCrew Life
Tasty Confessional: Crafty Confessions

Baked Buffalo Wings: NO FRYING!

 Hi everybody :)

I been browsing the web again looking for a recipe that make buffalo wings that are not fried. I do like fried foods, but not all the time. I mostly cook my meat and fish dishes in the oven, as you know from yesterday post never in the microwave.

While browsing I came across a lots of buffalo wings recipes, but this one stood out. Here we go....

Baked Buffalo Wings adapted partly  Live Better America

Ingredients

Chicken Wings

2 lb chicken wing drummettes (about 24)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons red pepper sauce (I used Frank's Original )
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I 1/2 teaspoon  used McCormick Worcestershire Ground Black Pepper Blend)
1/2 teaspoon A.1. Dry Rub Bold Original
Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce
Paprika
Celery sticks, if desired
Served with blue cheese dressing and bleu cheese crumble

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil. Remove skin from chicken. (I didn't do this)
Step 2 In resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix honey, ketchup, pepper sauce , Worcestershire sauce,  and  A.1. Dry Rub. Add chicken. Seal bag; refrigerate at least 15 minutes but no longer than 24 hours, turning occasionally. I marinade it for 2 hours.
 

Wings with Marinate Mixture

 











Step 3 Place chicken in pan; sprinkle with Hot Wing Sauce and paprika. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes. Drain. Sprinkle with more Hot Wing Sauce and cooked 10 minutes longer, or until crisp and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Wings after marinating for 2 hours, Paprika, and  Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce

Uncooked Wings

What I Did and/or Think:
I know this is not a healthy recipe, being partly adapted from Live Better America but I didn't want a fried recipe, so I used this one. I made a few changes to the recipe: I didn't used Worcestershire sauce, used a  Worcestershire Ground Black Pepper Blend instead, added a Dry Rub seasoning, and Hot Wing Sauce for a little spicier taste. I also didn't skinned the drummettes, didn't have the time or the patience :) 

I served it  with blue cheese dressing with bleu cheese crumble. The wings were GREAT! Not too hot, but hot enough, just the way I like it. You all know what that means .... IT'S....A....REPEAT!  If you're looking for a baked hot wings recipe, because you're tried of fried, give this one a try, it's gooooooood y'all.


















ENJOY! Come again....

I was feature on appetizers on the Gallery of Favorites!
  
I linked this to:
Rattlebridge Farm: Foodie Friday , Tidy Mom I'm Loving It: RadLab , Simply Designing: Simply Link Party , Eat Your Heart Out Foodtastic Friday ,  The 21st Century Housewife: Gallery of Favorites , Simple Living with Diane Balch: Foodie Friday ,  Whipper Berry: Friday Flair Link Party,  Appetizer Round-Up and Your Best Party Recipes Blog Hop and  Comfy in the Kitchen: Friday Favorites!

Microwave Hot Fudge Sauce

Microwave Hot Fudge Sauce

Hi everybody :)

I have a confession to make, I don't use my microwave for cooking. I mostly use it to reheat  food already prepared, to melt something in a hurry, or for popcorn. I know,  it's suppose to make food prep easier, save time, and energy.

Candy recipes are fine for the microwave, but I shy away from any microwave-cooking that deal with meat or fish; especially chicken. I totally avoid that section in my cookbooks.  I just can't get pass the idea of microwaving certain things, maybe one day I will...

Now I would like to share this recipe with you from my collection, this one is just too good to avoid  :)

Microwave Hot Fudge Sauce adapted "Yours, Mine & Ours" Cookbook

1/2 cup sugar 
3 Tablespoons cocoa (I used Hershey's Cocoa Special Dark)
1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch ( I used 2 1/2 Tablespoons)
Dash of salt
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in a 2-cup glass dish.

Dry Mixture

Stir in water and cook 1 -2 minutes; stir every 30 seconds, or until thick.

Mixture with Water

 Add butter and cook 30 seconds more. Stir thoroughly and add vanilla. Makes 1 cup. Serve on ice cream.

What I Did and /or Think:
This was GREAT, what could be bad about hot fudge sauce anyway, NOTHING. I did add an extra tablespoon cornstarch for a little thicker sauce, but if you like it a little thin this recipe is perfect.

For a Macho Taste add 1 tablespoon instant coffee along with the dry ingredients or 1 - 2 Tablespoons of Kahlua after adding the vanilla.

This is another great REPEAT!

ENJOY! Come again.....

Linked to:

Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday  , Something Swanky: Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff Link Party , Momnivore's Dilemma: Creative Juice # 88 , A Little Nosh:Tastetastic Thrusday  , The Mandatory Mooch: Tasty Thursday #7 , and Just Wing It:: Show Your Stuff # 40 , Sweets for Saturday @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies, and  Show Off Your Stuff (Separate Craft/Food Parties) @ Fireflies and Jellybeans

Easy Cheesy Mac & Cheese

Easy Cheesy Mac & Cheese

 

Hi everybody :)

I would like to share the Eeesssssssasy Mac and Cheese Dish ever! The sauce is what make this so easy. I use Southwestern Mills Cheddar Cheese Sauce Mix, if you can not find it in your area go here. I LOVE this sauce. I talked about it once before here.

This make THE CREAMIEST AND CHEESIEST MAC & CHEESE. The next time you make mac & cheese try this one, you won't regret it, I promise.

What You Need:
1 pound (16 ounces) Macaroni Noodles
1 package Southwestern Mills Cheddar Cheese Sauce Mix
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Cheese-Flavored French Fried Onion

Cook noodles according to package. Drain all but 1/2 cup of water. Measure 1cup cold water to mix with sauce mix, mix well and add to noodles along with sour cream, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons butter. Mix well, pour into a greased casserole dish or foil-lined pan. Top with extra cheese and fried onions.

Bake at 375 until golden brown on top and cheese is heated through about 25 minutes.

Before Baking

BTW,  I'm not being paid by Southwestern Mills producers to say this about their product, this is my own opinion.

ENJOY! Come again...

Shared with: 
Chef In Training's Tuesday Talent Show # 51 
 Milk & Cuddles Mommy Club Link Up

Zesty Buffalo Wings - Wings & Things

Zesty Buffalo Wings with Orange Dipping Sauce

Hi everybody :)

I winging out today. Buffalo wings, hot wings, chicken wings... while the name may change, these spicy tidbits remain a traditional favorite. They are often served with celery stalks and a cool, creamy blue-cheese dressing, but I decided to mix things up a little. When I saw this recipe for zesty wings with a orange glaze in my Creative Cook's Kitchen cookbook, I knew I had to give it a try.

You Will Need:

FOR THE GLAZE
3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2  cup orange marmalade

FOR THE BUFFALO WINGS
24 buffalo wings (about 4 pounds)

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2  tablespoons honey mustard
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
SERVES 8

MAKING THE GLAZE

In a medium bowl, combine orange juice concentrate, vinegar, mustard, oil, hot sauce and pepper. Measure 1/2 cup of this orange mixture and combine with orange marmalade; set aside.

The Marinade

1/4 cup of Marinade + Orange Marmalade =

The Pasting Sauce

MAKING THE BUFFALO WINGS
Pour remaining glaze into a large resealable plastic bag. Add buffalo wings; shake to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Wings + Marinade

Preheat oven to 450°F. Remove buffalo wings from glaze and place in a shallow roasting pan; discard glaze.

Brushing with Marmalade Mixture

Bake until chicken is almost cooked, 20-25 minutes. Brush with marmalade mixture; return to oven and bake until chicken is browned and cooked through, 5-7 minutes longer.

Wings after cooking 7 minutes longer

Dipping  Sauce

MAKING THE DIPPING SAUCE
In a small serving bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, honey mustard and orange juice concentrate. Serve with hot buffalo wings.

If your a stickler for tradition here a great blue cheese dressing you can try :)
CLASSIC BLUE-CHEESE DRESSING
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3  cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/3 cup coarsely crumbled blue cheese

In a small serving bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and hot pepper sauce. Add crumbled blue cheese and stir just to combine.

Tip: For easier cleanup, bake buffalo wings or other sticky finger foods on a wire rack inside the roasting pan.

Variations
Grilling 
This citrus-flavored glaze is great for dressing up chicken. For a simple summer dinner, use as a baste on skinless breasts while grilling.
 Other Meats
Try this recipe with a different type of meat. The glaze gives grilled braised pork ribs an incredible burst of flavor.

From:  CREATIVE COOK'S KITCHENS

What I Think:
If you like wings with a milder flavor, this recipe is for you. I think it needed a little more pop. The next time I make these, I would add some lemon zest to the mix (about 1 tablespoon), use lemon pepper in the place of plain, and up the hot sauce to 2 teaspoons. I had to admit, I was kind of skeptical about the dipping sauce after reading the ingredients, mayonnaise, sour cream, ....what??? But to my surprise, it turned out GREAT! It had a nice sweet creamy tangy flavor and added an extra boost to the wings. So, with the minor changes, I' d definitely make this again.

ENJOY! Come again...

Linking to:  
Showcase Your Talents Thursday # 20