Garlic Red Potatoes

Red potatoes were on sale at the grocery store the other week. I decided to make some garlic red potatoes to serve with some tilapia. These potatoes were so good!  The original recipe called for parmesan cheese but I omitted that. I had some fresh dill in my fridge that I added and I really could have added even more. I used about 3 potatoes per person.

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes, quartered
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• fresh dill chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place potatoes in an 8x8 inch baking dish.
3. In a small bowl combine melted butter, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and dill; pour over potatoes and stir to coat.
4. Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serves 2. Adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Shredded Chicken

Usually when a recipe calls for shredded chicken I'll either get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or just boil some chicken and shred it.  Rotisserie chicken is good but Matt and I prefer to only eat white meat.  Boiled chicken can be really bland and shredding the meat can be a pain. I found this recipe for shredded chicken. It was so easy and delicious!  This is how I'll be making shredded chicken from now on. The chicken just shreds on its own and I just drain the liquid.  You can always add other spices too depending on your dish.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1-2 cups chicken broth (or enough to cover the chicken)

Directions

1. Place chicken breasts in pan with broth. (Can use frozen or fresh- frozen adds to your cooking time) Bring to a boil.
2. Turn heat to medium, and let simmer covered for 15-20 minutes (around 10 minutes if yours are defrosted), turning occasionally.
3. Turn to medium low and let cook covered for another 60 min (or until shreds with a fork). You may need to add more broth during that hour if yours cooks down.
4. Let rest in pan for at least 10 minutes, or until you can shred the meat without burning yourself.
5. If you are saving the chicken for later, place it in a ziplock with the excess broth from the pan.
6. Enjoy in any recipe that calls for shredded chicken.

Source: Food.com

Chicken, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Ever since Christmas, it's been rough getting back into the swing of cooking and blogging again. I cook but I'll just throw together quick meals that don't need a recipe. Hopefully soon I'll start trying new things again. I did make a couple of things though. I had a ton of grapefruit so I decided to make a salad. I found a couple of different recipes online, one from Cooking Light and a salad dressing also from Cooking Light, that I combined. I should have used the salad dressing from the Roasted Chicken, Grapefruit, and Avocado salad because the other salad dressing wasn't my favorite. Maybe it would be better with just a little extra sugar. Matt liked the salad but I ended up just using the chicken and avocado with store bought ranch dressing.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cups fresh squeezed Grapefruit Juice
• 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Large Grapefruit, sectioned
• 1 Avocado, sliced
• 6-8 cups fresh spinach
• 1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 6 minutes). Remove from heat; cool.
2. Place the grapefruit juice mixture, cilantro, sugar, and pepper in a blender; process until smooth. With blender on, slowly add 2 tablespoons oil; process until smooth.
3. Arrange spinach on each plate. Top each serving with grapefruit sections, chicken, and avocado wedges. Drizzle dressing over each serving.

Candy Cane Bark

This is a staple Christmas baking recipe. It's the only time that I actually like peppermint.

Ingredients

• Crushed candy cane, about 1 cup
• 2 pounds white chocolate

Directions

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate. 
2. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces.

Toffee Crackle Cookies

This recipe came from Better Homes and Garden's 100 Best Cookies magazine. It was really good and I'll definitely make them again.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chocolate-covered toffee pieces
• granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Stir in toffee pieces. 
2. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar until 1/4 inch thick.
3. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until edges are firm but not brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack;; cool. Makes about 48 cookies. Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Source: Better Homes and Garden's 100 Best Cookies magazine

Toffee Pretzel Bark

Mom found this recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker. It was a really easy but really good recipe. It's a great filler for trays for other people.


Ingredients

• 14 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• ¾ cup broken pretzel pieces, divided
• ¾ cup Heath toffee pieces, divided
• 7 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a double boiler or in a microwave on low power, melt the semi-sweet chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in ½ cup of the pretzel pieces and ½ cup of the toffee pieces. Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Melt the white chocolate in the same manner as you did the semi-sweet chocolate, stirring until completely smooth. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator and spread the white chocolate on top of the hardened semi-sweet chocolate layer. Sprinkle with the remaining pretzel pieces and toffee, using your palm to lightly press them into the white chocolate. Return the pan to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
4. Use a sharp knife to cut the bark into pieces. (I usually just press the tip of the knife into the bark and let it break into pieces/shards.) Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Peanut Brittle

I know that Peanut Brittle has been around forever. But can you believe that this is the first year I've even tried it? I thought it would be a good treat to fill trays for other people. The recipe was easy and good. It calls for raw peanuts which get cooked as the sugar cooks. Since I used already roasted peanuts, I didn't add them until the sugar was just about to 300 degrees.


Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup peanuts
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

1. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches; cool. Snap candy into pieces.

Source: Allrecipes.com