Super Bowl

Every year we host a Super Bowl party at our house, and last year I thought it would be really cute if we decorated the island to look a little more festive. 

We bought a piece of AstroTurf at the hardware store, cut it to fit, and painted on the grid iron.  It rolls up nicely and stores easily, so hopefully we should have this for many years to come.  The island is in the center of our kitchen and serves as the 'buffet' for all the food.  It looks SO GREAT with this grid iron on it!

These Spicy-Sweet Chicken Wings were such a hit at last year's party, that I decided to make them again this year.  They have a cirtus flavor that's slightly sweet with some heat, to quote Martha Stewart.

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for the recipe

Caroline really has been after me to help decorate some cookies, so I told her she could help with the Superbowl cookies.  She was so excited!  I piped on the outline and she filled them in.  She was quick to point out that I wrote the 8 using two circles and her teacher says that's the wrong way.  *HA HA*

A few years ago I started picking up seasonal and themed serving dishes.  They only make an appearance a few times a year, but I love them!

Caroline had her friend Sydney over for the afternoon and by the looks of it, I'd say they were having a pretty good time! 

Olives are always a magnet for kids, aren't they?  I always buy an extra can of them, just to make sure there's enough to do this:

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS!

Chicken Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls

As I mentioned, we are going to my parent's home for a New Year's party.  If I was arming myself with cookies for all the kids, then I thought I'd better bring a little something for the adults!  These are little bites of love that are stuffed with chicken, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese and bacon.  They are wrapped up in Crescent pizza dough, brushed with butter and then drizzled with parmesan cheese and a little bit of powdered ranch dressing.

So easy and so delicious!  I bet they'll be gone in 10 minutes.

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for the recipe

I found these little bites of love while I was browsing the internet late one night.  It comes from a site called Our Best Bites.

Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface and cut into 24 squares.  Toss aside any pieces that are too thin, trust me... save yourself the trouble.

We had some left over chicken in the fridge, so I decided to make use of it.  Put a little bit of chicken in the center along with some crumbled up bacon, one square of mozzarella and one square of sharp cheddar cheese.  The mozzarella pieces were smaller than the cheddar as I wanted mostly a cheddar flavor.

Take two opposite corners and pinch them together.

Then pinch the other two corners together.  Make sure it's closed entirely.  Pizza dough is very easy to work with.

I used my mini muffin pan to cook these in.  You really could use anything, a 3 quart oval dish or 9x13 rectangular dish.  Spray it well with nonstick spray.

Since I am going to serve these with some ranch dressing made from a packet,  I took some of the powdered ranch dressing and mixed it with some parmesan cheese.  I brushed a little melted butter on top of the rolls, then sprinkled the ranch-parmesan mixture over them. 

Bake these until they are brown on top at whatever temperature your pizza dough suggests.  These took 18 minutes.

I can't even tell you how good these are!  Easy and quick to make... fool proof appetizer sure to please everyone!

Baked Fried Chicken

This is the easiest and *tastiest* fried chicken I have ever found!

What caught my eye about this recipe, is that it DOES NOT require a cast iron pan (which I don't have).  Can I share a secret?  I am terrified of using cast iron because it's totally different than cooking in regular pans.  I used to be afraid of pie crust and now we're friends, so maybe next year I'll make nice with the cast iron.

Most kitchens will have all the ingredients required to make this:  milk, flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard, thyme, ginger, oregano, paprika and eggs.

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for the recipe

I buy a whole chicken and ask the butchers to cut it into fryer pieces for me, which they are happy to do.  Once I mix the spices together, I set up my "dredging station". 

One at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then coat liberally with the flour and spice mixture.  Carefully set them down in the heated oil and brown about 3 minutes on each side.  Only brown 4-5 pieces at a time as not to crowd the pan.  When they are brown, move them to a greased 9x13 dish. 

**Side note** How do you know when your oil is ready? I take a pinch of the flour mixture and toss it into the oil. When it hisses back at you, it's ready.

After all the chicken is browned, bake at 350 degrees 50-60 minutes.

Whenever I make fried chicken, I always serve it with cornbread.  I have been asked for my cornbread recipe more times than I can count!

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for the recipe

First I heat up the oil for the chicken, as it takes awhile.  Then I start on the cornbread.  While that's baking, I fry up the chicken.  Right when the cornbread's done, the chicken is ready to go in the oven.  While the chicken in cooking, I prepare the other side dishes.  This way, everything comes up at once.  Tonight the menu consisted of potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, corn bread and apple pie for dessert.

So easy and so delicious! Often times, I double the recipe and we have friends over for dinner.  You can never go wrong with this fried chicken!

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

These chicken enchiladas are so tasty, you won't even believe it! 

A few months ago, I was searching for a main dish that would go with the Margaritas I was making.  I found it while browsing on the Food Network's website.  It's one of Tyler Florence's recipes... its wonderful and easy to make.

See that nice little chicken there in the back?  The one that's already cooked?  I couldn't believe it, but the recipe actually called for a deli roasted chicken!  Normally, I prefer to make everything from scratch, *but* ... it is a work night, I was running behind... and the recipe called for it.  Can't beat that, right?

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for the recipe

I always pass by these in the grocery store and wonder what they are. Before I can process my thought to actually pick one up, or ask the produce clerk about them, one my kids is asking to have something, running off because they saw someone in the store they knew... etc.

Well... they are tomatillos.  Also called a "Mexican green tomato," it does look like a small green tomato with a papery husk in place of skin. It doesn't taste like a tomato though, it has a tart flavor all its own. These little beauties are what make the green sauces green!

You start by roasting all the vegetables for 15 minutes, then you throw them in the food processor with a little lime juice to make a salsa.

Next, cook the onion, garlic and spices down, add some flour and the chicken broth.  When it thickens, add in some of the salsa, cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken.

This is my version of an assembly line.  Dip the tortillas in the remaining salsa, add some of the chicken mixture and sprinkle with cheese. 

Roll them up like cigars, place them in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I wish you could smell a picture, because these smelled incredible!  The sour cream really makes the dish though.

We ate these with Mexican rice and black refried beans.

Chicken Pot Pie

Fall is my favorite time of year, and I find myself making comfort food nearly every weekend.  This chicken pot pie ranks near the top, if not at the top of my favorite foods list.  This recipe definitely falls under the "tedious" category, but the final product is SO WORTH IT!!

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for the recipe

Make sure you read the entire recipe before begin to cook! This recipe is fairly easy to make, just tedious as I mentioned. You start by boiling your washed chicken (make sure to take the gizzards out) with some chicken stock, fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, an onion, a celery stalk and just enough water to cover the bird.

Bring it all to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hr.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that it's made entirely from fresh produce!

Leeks are vegetables that grow into the soil, so they retain lots of dirt in their layers and leaves.  The best way to ensure that every bit of dirt is washed from leeks is to cut them first into the size that is called for in the recipe.  Transfer the leek pieces to a large bowl of cold water, stir and let stand for 5 minutes to let dirt and sand settle to the bottom.  Lift leeks out of the water with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.

Start by making your dough for the crust.  It needs to sit in the fridge for 1 hour before you can use it.  The crust for this pot pie so fabulous.... it has fresh thyme leaves in it!  I love the way it smells when it mixes together...

The dough is chilling in the fridge, and the chicken is boiling on the stove... now is a good time to cut up all the vegetables and get them ready to just throw in when the recipe calls for them.  Don't zest the lemon until right before you are going to start cooking the veggies.  It loses some of it's flavor the longer it sits.

Doesn't that look pretty?

Once the chicken is done, cooled and picked clean, time to start putting it all together.  This is one dish that is very pretty when you're cooking it, and it smells incredible!

10 minutes later, this is what you have!

Roll out your crust and brush it with the egg wash.  The egg yolk and heavy cream mixture will give the crust a nice shiny brown look to it.

Of course Princess Caroline wanted to help with the rolling pin!

40 minutes later, the chicken pot pie is ready to come out of the oven!  The house smells SO good while this is baking it's ridiculous.

This recipe makes enough for 8.  I like to serve this with caesar salad and dinner rolls. This will go equally as well with a glass of white wine or a tall glass of cold milk!  Yum yum!