Mediterranean Chicken Wraps

Sooooo yummy! We had these for dinner tonight and no one complained when I said we'd be having them again tomorrow : ). This is a delicious summer recipe.

Place in crock pot:
2-4 chicken breasts (The chicken goes a long way)
1/2 c olive oil
1 t rosemary
1 T chicken base or bouillon
2 t. white vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1/2 t pepper
Cook for 6 hours until done, shred and place back in juices.

Tzatziki sauce (this is like the sauce that comes on gyros, if you've ever had one)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and grated
1 small plain yogurt
1 T mayonnaise
1 T lemon juice
1 t dried dill
salt & pepper
1/2 t garlic powder

Serve wrapped in tortillas with lettuce, chopped tomato, feta cheese, etc. It's good stuff, Maynard : )

Tamara

Chinese Style Lemon Chicken

So in my quest to make my own chinese food - hence save a little cash I signed up for a Thanksgiving Point Cooking class with my friend...if you want more chinese you'll have to fork over some dough she'll teach again in sept- but I figure it saves me buying take out if I can make it....here is one of the recipes from our little class, and let me tell you, it beats the lemon chicken you would order from those places - it tastes much fresher, less sugary.

1 lb. skinless chicken breast fillets
1 cup each: flour & panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 cup vegetable oil

marinate:
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp. mushroom seasoning - can buy it at the chinese type markets / stores
1 tbsp. rice wine
1/4 tsp. pepper

Sauce:
2-3 large fresh lemon, makes about 3/4 cup juice
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
cornstarch mixture: 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water


Cut chicken breast lenghtwise in half; marinate chicken for at least 15 minutes or overnight.

Cook the lemon mixing sauce in a saucepan and bring to boil. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Turn off the heat.

Place the flour, beaten eggs & bread crumbs on a different bowls. Heat 4 cups of oil until hot to deep-fry chicken. Dip marinated chicken in the flour first, then in the egg, last in the breadcrumbs. Deep fry the chicken until golden brown crust forms. Set on plate, cut chicken into strips & top with sauce.

Karley

"Instant" Pancake Mix

I have been on a quest to save some serious money at the grocery store. So in my quest to make things more from scratch I found this recipe. It is from my favorite food network guy, Alton Brown.

*6 cups all purpose flour
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
*3 teaspoons baking powder
*1 tablespoon kosher salt
*2 tablespoons sugar

I made a huge batch of this and will now just keep it in the pantry. Way easy and all things most people have on hand anyway.

Instant Pancakes
*2 eggs, separated
*2 cups buttermilk (you can use regular milk and just add a little lemon juice or vinegar)
*4 tablespoons melted butter
*2 cups "instant" pancake mix (above recipe)

Whisk together egg whites and buttermilk
Whisk together egg yolks and melted butter (be sure the butter isn't still hot or you will cook the egg yolks)
Mix the liquids together and then mix with dry ingredients. Do not over mix, there will be some lumps.

I added blueberries (I had some left over from a 4th of July dessert I made).

To feed my family of 7 I didn't double the recipe but I added 50%. Does that make sense? I did 3 eggs, 3 cups buttermilk. 6 tablespoons butter, 3 cups pancake mix. It was just the right amount.

Mall Pretzels

Here's another great recipe I found on Allrecipes. I've made them twice now and was able to figure out all the little quirks this time. They are totally yummy!

With lots of kids in and out of the house all day long, it seems more economical to whip something up from scratch rather than open a box of something, and these are so worth the effort!

Here ya go:

MALL PRETZELS
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
2 T brown sugar
1 1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour (more, if needed)

Baking Soda Bath:
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. The dough should be soft and workable--if it's totally sticky, add more flour until you can handle it without getting it stuck all over your hands. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.

2. Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.

3. After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place on cookie sheet greased with butter or margarine and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

My own personal tips: Cutting the dough into 12 pieces (instead of pulling off random chunks, like I did the first time) is important, otherwise some of your pretzels will be too thick, others to thin. I roll mine into ropes on my glass stovetop and I know I've got them thin enough when the rope reaches from one side of the stovetop to the other. Also, I used regular table salt the first time because that's all I had, but then I bought coarse kosher salt to use on the next batch and it made a huge difference.

Enjoy!

Tamara

Easy Italian Crockpot Chicken

This little beauty came out of the last ward cookbook - cooking with class. Its creamy and delicious, but best of all super easy.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 c. milk
1 pkg dry italian seasoning
4-5 chicken breasts

Melt the cream cheese, milk, and cream of chicken soup in the microwave. Stir together and mix in the italian seasoning packet. Place 4-5 chicken breasts in the crockpot, pour the mixture on top and cook on low 4-5 hours. Serve over rice or pasta.

Jello Cake with Pudding Frosting

So, I assume everyone has made a jello cake, but then I find some people have never tasted it's deliciousness and its one of my fav's, I just made it for my baby girl who just turned one and she LOVED it- I also found a new recipe for a pudding frosting in the lastest Kraft magazine which gives the classic cool whip topping a kick. Here goes.....

1 bx white cake mix
1pk jello any flavor - I like the 6oz box cause I like a lot of jello in mine, but you could use either
1 pk 3.9 oz Instant Pudding mix - I'd use vanilla here but you can use any flavor
1 cup cold milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tub cool whip

First bake the cake mix according to the box directions in a 9x13 pan. A little trick to make your cake more moist is to switch out the water for milk - its optional. After the cake is done let it sit out and cool - about an hour. Then poke it with a fork all over and all the way through in the pan - kids like to help with this part. Then check your package of jello - make the jello using half the normal amount of water listed on the box for standard jello prep. Pour the jello over the cake; yes its o.k. , fill all the holes and just our it everywhere - kids like to help with this part too. Then put your cake in the fridge and let the jello set 3-4 hours. Then take a seperate large bowl and mix / beat the pudding mix, sugar, and milk all together. Stir in cool whip - frost your jello cake and its ready to serve.

Easy Granola Bars

3 1/2 cups Rolled Oats 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Packed Brown Sugar 1 cup Rice Crispies
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt 2 teaspoons Vanilla
2/3 cup Butter (not margarie) softened 3/4 cup Honey
3/4 cup Dried Fruit or Chocolate Chips 1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds or Nuts

Preheat oven to 325 F

Combine all ingredients except Fruit and Nuts. Mix until all ingredients are incorpated. Stir in Nuts and Fruit (or Chocolate)

Press foil in the bottome of a jelly roll pan or a 9X13 pan and spray

Press mixture in pan, press firmly or use rolling pin to pack in tight.

Bake 25 minutes

Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Then lift foil and bars out of pan and cool on top of a cooling rack. This causes the bars to be crunchy on both sidesl.

Store in air tight container or plastic bags.