I know...I don't usually post the entree...I'm usually in the kitchen knee deep in sugar! LOL!! I made this terrific Bacon Chicken and wanted to share it with you. Carol has made a wonderful Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole that's the perfect side dish. Cyndy made marshmallows for the very first time...Spumoni Marshmallows to boot! Wait until you see them! OK kids...dinner's ready!!
Bunny made:
Bacon Chicken
I don't make a whole lot of chicken for dinner...the reason? My hubby tolerates chicken....barely tolerates it I might add. He does have some recipes he'll actually request, like chicken and waffles or a recipe for Honey Sesame Chicken that Giz posted on Equal Opportunity Kitchen... thank you, Giz! SO...when I made this recipe, and he actually liked it, I HAD TO post it!
This was very easy to put together, which I really like. The aroma of fried bacon and onions was absolutely wonderful!
You might want to try this if you have a "picky-chicken-eater" too...they might very well be surprised!
Bacon Chicken
About.Com
Ingredients:
* 6 slices bacon
* 1 Tbsp. butter
* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
* 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/8 tsp. pepper
* 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preparation:
Cook bacon in 12" skillet until crisp, about 4-6 minutes. Crumble bacon and set aside. Pour bacon grease out of skillet, but don't wash or wipe it. Add butter and olive oil to skillet. Saute chicken breasts in this mixture over medium heat, turning once, until chicken is cooked and no longer pink in center. Place chicken in ungreased 12x8-inch baking dish.
Cook onion and garlic in drippings remaining in skillet; cook until onion is softened, then stir in salt, pepper and cooked bacon. Spoon over chicken breasts and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted. Serves 6.
Carol made:
Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
This is a FANTASTIC and super easy way to serve broccoli and cauliflower. I could make a meal out of this and be a very happy person.
The original recipe calls for frozen broccoli and cauliflower. We prefer fresh, so that's what I use......and I don't precook it.....it bakes in the oven for 40 minutes which is ample time to make the vegetables tender-crisp, which is the way we like them. If you like your broccoli and cauliflower more "cooked through"..by all means, go with the frozen, or partially cook the fresh vegetables a little before mixing them with the sauce and baking.
The cream cheese/Italian seasoning sauce really enhances the taste of the broccoli and cauliflower, and the bread crumbs on top add a nice touch to the top.
This is a wonderful side dish for a brunch, lunch, dinner, and it reheats beautifully....AND it can be made ahead, refrigerated and baked just before serving.....now THAT'S what I call one great recipe!
Carol
BROCCOLI CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE
(Source: McCormick.com)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbsp.melted butter and 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning in small bowl; set aside. Cut up any large broccoli florets or cauliflower into bite-size pieces.
Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, remaining 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, garlic salt and pepper. Add milk; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese and remaining 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese; cook and stir until cream cheese is melted. Add vegetables; toss gently to coat. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish (I spray the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray). Sprinkle top evenly with crumb mixture.
Bake 40 minutes or until heated through and top is lightly browned.
Makes 10 servings.
Cyndy made:
Spumoni Marshmallows
I get inspiration from random places. Sometimes I have no idea why I come up with some of the ideas I do...some pan out, others not.
This is my first attempt at making Marshmallows. Making marshmallows is intimidating to me. I had no idea why until I was researching other blogs and sites and read different experiences people had making them. While no one argued the point that Homemade is better, it was the degree of difficulty one must go through just to attain that perfect Puff of sugary mallow that would be light and fluffy. Some said they had followed directions explicitly and yet wound up with sugary globs of goo. Others raved that their Marshmallow had set, but the taste was lacking. Then there were some that were happy, as they had made the perfect Puff.
I was determined to make them today, so I got to work. Not only was I going to make Marshmallows, but I was going to attempt to make layered Marshmallows. Ohhhhh boy, when I set out to do something, I don’t do it half way, do I? NOOOO, I have to be different and when an idea pops into this constantly whirring brain of mine, I know I have to try it.
My first attempt, while not bad, wasn’t perfect by any means. I've learned that you can’t oil your hands too much, or the layers won’t stick. I’ve learned you have to work quickly when dividing the marshmallow to do add-ins, or your layers won’t stick. Detect a pattern here? I followed the directions and the taste was good, in fact it was really nice. I had the crazy idea that since we had already tried Spumoni Cookies, that I could tackle Spumoni Marshmallows. I diced my cherries and used cherry flavoring for the cherry layer with just a touch of red paste coloring. I diced the pistachios, but forgot to buy the pistachio flavoring, so I just added the pistachios and a touch of green paste coloring (it tasted good without the flavoring), then used cocoa powder for the chocolate layer.
I wasn’t too exact in trying to divide the marshmallow, since I was trying to work fast, so the chocolate layer was bigger (not a bad thing that I can taste). It set up SO fast. I made my first cut and wouldn’t you know it, the green pistachio layer wanted to come off in some places. I had oiled my hands too much when I spread it out. It did spread nicely, but now I know I won’t do that again!!
All in all, I think it was a good experience and most certainly something I’ll do again and again... and you know what? Homemade Marshmallows can’t be beat! These are the lightest and fluffiest I’ve ever eaten! It’s so simple that you can make them up pretty fast.
I'm so impressed with this recipe by Thomas Keller. I won’t be buying Marshmallows any more!!
My changes are in parenthesis, not many changes but different types of sugar and vanilla and the temperature.
Spumoni Marshmallows
Adapted from: French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller (Artisan)
My Notes for add-ins are below the post
Prep Time: 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
3 envelopes of unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar( used baker's sugar)
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt (used Kosher salt)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (used vanilla bean paste)
Confectioners' sugar for dredging
Preparation:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.(I boiled undisturbed until the thermometer reached 240º). Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed (while drizzling in the hot sugar mixture). Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.
Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12 equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef's knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar.
Yield: 12 large marshmallows
My Notes:
I divided the Marshmallow into three portions and to the first I added ¼ cup diced pistachios, a smidgen of green paste food coloring and mixed well. For the second layer, I added 1/3 cup Maraschino Cherries, diced and rolled in a paper towel to dry them out (so it would let the layer set) and a smidge of red paste food coloring and a few drops of Cherry Flavoring (LorAnn). For the chocolate layer, I added ¼ cup of Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate cocoa (sifted).
Just make sure you have everything measured out and ready to go BEFORE you start and it will be a breeze!! BTW, the flavors come up more pronounced the next day!
