Chicken Marsala

½ cup flour (or breadcrumbs)
1 ¼ tsp salt, divided
3 chicken breast, split, skinned & boned (slice thinly in half)
¼ cup oil
¼ cup (1/2 stick) margarine
½ cup marsala wine or sherry
1 cup chix broth/bouillon)
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tbs parsley flakes
1 cup sliced mushrooms

In shall dish, mix flour & 1 tsp salt. Dredge chix in flour and shake off excess.
Heat oil over med hi heat in large skillet & sauté chix 6 to 8 minutes, til brown on both sides.
Remove chix from skillet & set aside (keep warm), add margarine, wine, broth, ¼ tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley. Reduce heat & simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Return chix to pan, add shrooms, cover & let simmer 10 minutes more til chix is tender & no longer pink.

NOTE: This is a simple recipe from my Mr. Food Cooks Chicken book. I usually double the sauce mix and serve with pasta. Also, you can use canned shrooms with this.

Chicken Picatta

Coarse salt & ground pepper
½ cup flour
3 lbs chicken cutlets (can take b/s breast and slice in half thinly)
4 tbs olive oil
16 oz linguini
3 cups spinach (optional)
6 tbs butter
1 ½ cup dry white wine
4 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs capers, rinsed & drained

Bring large pot of water to boil.
Place flour in shallow bowl. Season chix with salt & pepper. Dip in flour, turn to coat, shake off excess.
Heat 1 tbs oil over med hi heat in large skillet. Add half chix, cook until lightly browned & opaque, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate & keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil & chix.
Meanwhile, cook linguini according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Add spinach & stir til submerged. Drain pasta/spinach & return to pot, toss with 1 tbs butter. Season generously with salt & pepper. Add some reserved water if necessary and cover to keep warm.
In skillet (that you cooked chix), pour wine & lemon juice. Cook over med hi heat, stirring to loosen brown stuff on bottom until liquid has reduced to 1/3 cup, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat & swirl in remaining butter. Add capers, season with salt & pepper. Divide linguini & chix onto plates and top with sauce.

Enjoy!

NOTE: I have never ever added the spinach to this. Just isn’t what I imagine the piccata to have.

Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies

These are easy peasy lemon squeezy (sorry, it’s going through my head all day, have no idea what commercial it is and then I have hubby walking around saying it too)

1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temp/soft
½ cup powder sugar (plus extra for rolling them in)
¼ t salt
1 t vanilla
2 ¼ cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (we don’t do nuts I our cookies, but did add 1 cup on mini choc. chips)

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla.
Slowly mix in salt, flour and then stir in nuts/chips
Roll 1 T of dough into ball, place on ungreased cookie sheet (for easy peasy lemon squeezy cleanup, use parchment paper!)
Bake at 350 10 to 15 minutes
Roll cookies in additional powder sugar while still warm (but not HOT otherwise it melts and turns gooey!)

I made the dough & baked 12 cookies to be sure they were suitable. Then rolled out the rest of dough, place all on one baking sheet & froze before putting in a Ziploc. These will be cooked Friday night (if not Saturday morning) for the boat parade. If I make them any sooner, the animals will eat them up!

Bruschetta (using canned tomatoes)

1 can fire roasted diced onions (you can use ordinary diced too)
2 tbs fresh chopped basil
1 tbs olive oil
1 garlic cloved, diced

mix all together. Put in large mouth jar & hide in the fridge . Ok, don't hide it.
Slice a baguette or other long bread into even thickness slices. Toast the slices on both sides under broiler (careful not to burn).
Spoon bruschetta over the bread slices and serve.

*I've done it where I put a slice of fresh mozzeralla on the bread & then the bruschetta & it's so yummy!

*And for lunch today, I made an open face turkey sandwich and used this as the topping ... super yummy!

Here's hoping that everyone had a good, uneventful Thanksgiving day!

I dropped a half gallon of peanut oil in the kitchen & wouldn't you know it, the lid popped off & oil shot all across the floor. Major panic attack (I was visualizing sliding across the floor for the next 6 months!) ... luckily, ds recommended I put floor on the floor & then sweep it up (where does he get this odd information stored in his pea brain???) ... you know what? He was so very right. Thank god! Less than 45 minutes later my kitchen was as good as new.

We fried 3 turkeys and had one that was roasted. Of course, we are soooo over turkey at the moment. Ordered pizza on Friday night & dh & I will go out to the Japanese buffet this evening.

I have started to bag the turkey meat into quart size bags. I want to make turkey enchiladas. Turkey shepards pie. Turkey pot pie and so on. But not yet

Of course, all the sides need to be dealt with too. Sweet potatoes, mashed taters, corn, green bean casserole, etc. Whew.

Garlic & Cheese Herb Spread

1 12 oz whipped cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp onion powder

gently stir all ingredients together. Store in fridge for at least a couple of hours before serving. Stir before serving, serve with your favorite crackers.

NOTES / TIPS:
I've used an 8 oz block of cream cheese that I beat with handheld mixer and a few tsp of milk. Not as spreadable when cold though, so you may need to let it sit out for a bit before serving.
Fresh garlic is best, but can use garlic powder. If using garlic salt, which I do NOT recommend, eliminate the salt.

Spinach Dip - heated

1 6.25 oz jar artichokes, drained
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained very well
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup grated romano cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup cream or half and half
1/2 cup sour cream

In food processor, blend artichokes, romano and parm cheese with garlic for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. They should be minced BUT not pasty.

In mixing bowl, add drained spinach, cream, sour cream, mozz and stir well. Spoon into mixing bowl with mix from food processor. Blend all well. Should have medium thick consistancy. Spray shallow oven proof dish and pour mixture into dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Should be bubbly and cheese melted through. Serve with your favorite heated tortilla chips.

NOTES/TIPS: I use milk if I don't have cream on hand.
To really get the spinach drained, I squeeze with my hands. You lose a little spinach but it's much drier.
Also, have used the parm/romano cheese mixes from Kraft in the green bottles. Not as good but will work.
Bake & then keep mix in crockpot to keep warm for parties/gatherings.