Holiday Toffee

This stuff is amazing. I dream about it as Christmas approaches. Seriously, I made a batch Sunday and now I am sitting here at my computer eating some and I just had to post it. This recipe is so easy and delicious! It is also perfect for putting in little bags tied with ribbon for gifts! It makes a LOT as written, but can be halved easily. Just ignore how much butter and sugar are in it...it is worth it! And hey, it IS Christmas after all!

Ingredients:

2 boxes Crispix cereal
2 cups melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Spray 2 large baking sheets with Pam and fill with cereal, set aside. Melt butter in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. It will start to bubble and expand a little.

Pour liquid evenly over cereal, don't mix. be very careful, it is hot! Place pans in preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

You can also try fun variations like adding nuts of your choice, or chocolate chips the last 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Homemade Granola Bars

This recipe is from Barefoot Contessa. It is pretty simple and very delicious. Ben loves these!

You can play around with the dried fruit, I have tried dried cherries and have also tried them as written. I am not a big fan of the apricots. My favorite combination so far has been with dried cranberries and dates and then sprinkle white chocolate chips over the top before baking. Yummy! Hope you give these a try, you won't be sorry!

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a 8 X 12 baking dish that has been sprayed liberally with Pam. Using the back of a spatula, press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

"Spicy" Chicken and Rice Bake (not super spicy, in my opinion)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 lbs. of meaty chicken pieces, skinless (I used 4 boneless, skinless breasts)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
1 15-ounce can of baked beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 1/2-ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Paprika
1/4 to 1/2 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

In a large SAUCEPAN cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until vegetables are tender.  Stir in black beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, chili powder, red pepper, and salt.  Bring to boiling.

Transfer this mixture to a 3-quart rectangular baking dish.

Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice mixture.  Sprinkle chicken with paprika.  Top chicken with cheese.

Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and the rice has cooked.

NOTE:  I added the cheese to this recipe and cooked uncovered.  Original recipe does not call for cheese and lists to bake covered.

Steaks with Bordelaise Sauce

(I forgot to take a picture, sorry!)  Also, this is not the most healthy recipe...lots of butter!

Ingredients:

1 cup low-salt beef broth

2 ounces beef bone marrow (from four 2-inch-thick beef crosscut shank bones)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 cup dry red wine

4 1/2-inch-thick New York strip steaks (each about 8 ounces)

Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

Bring broth to simmer in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add marrow; reduce heat to low and poach gently until marrow looks translucent and gray, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer marrow to small plate. Refrigerate marrow poaching liquid. Refrigerate marrow until cold and firm, about 45 minutes. Dice marrow finely; cover and chill. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep marrow and poaching liquid chilled.)

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced to scant 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer reduction to small bowl.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle steaks lightly with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and sear until cooked to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates. Add wine reduction to skillet and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add 1/4 cup reserved marrow poaching liquid and diced marrow. Cook until marrow melts and sauce is smooth, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Thin sauce with more poaching liquid by tablespoonfuls, if desired. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks. Sprinkle with parsley.

Taco Pie

This is a very simple dish- very "man" friendly. Brad LOVED it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (this would probably also be good with ground turkey)
1 packet taco seasoning
Refried beans
3 tortillas (I used whole wheat)
Salsa
Mexican shredded cheese
Chopped green onions
Additional toppings of choice- lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc.

Directions:
1. Brown meat and drain, add taco seasoning according to packet directions.
2. Place tortilla in bottom of pie dish. (For easier serving later, you can cut your tortillas into fourths and place in the dish.)
3. Spread with a layer of refried beans, then a layer of meat.
4. Top with another tortilla, a layer of refried beans, and a layer of meat.
5. Top with the third tortilla.
6. Cover with salsa
7. Top the entire thing with cheese.
8. Cook at 350 until cheese is bubbly.

9. After taking out of the oven, top with green onions and other toppings of choice!

Parsley-Garlic Chimichurri

Great way to use leftover parsley!  I used this chimichurri as a marinade for chicken.  It is also a condiment, can be added to a basic salad vinegarette for a dressing, or can be used for cooking fish or roasted vegetables.  It is versatile! 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley (I left on about 1/3 of the stem)
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons minced onion
5 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
5 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra virgin olive oil  (I only used about 2/3 of a cup)

Instructions:
Chop up the parsley a bit. This will make processing easier.
Add parsley and garlic to food processor and hit the pulse button a few times to mince.
Add remaining DRY ingredients and pulse some more.
Slowly pour oil through the chute, while taping away on the pulse button. Pulse just enough to where everything is mixed properly.
If you like the fresh crisp flavor of parsley, use immediately. Letting it rest overnight will balance out the flavors.

Note: Not all large bunches of parsley are equal so you may have to adjust the liquids a bit. I left out a few tablespoons of oil. You can also add an extra bit of vinegar for more tang!

Chicken Cacciatore

Low-fat!  Easy to prepare the night before and reheat the next day.  This yummy dish made the house smell SO good!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 pounds of meaty chicken (I used 4 Bare Chicken breasts, our favorite)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (Scar, you can leave this out, Josh ate around them)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14 1/2-ounce can of diced tomatoes (I used petite diced tomatoes), undrained
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3/4 dry white wine (I didn't use a "dry" white wine, just a white wine that I had in the house)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
Hot cooked fettuccine or linguine (optional, we use quinoa pasta, you could also do mashed potatoes)

Instructions:

Skin chicken (if you didn't get skinless).  In a 12-inch skillet, cook chicken in hot oil about 15 minutes or until light brown, turning to brown evenly.  I upped it to 20 minutes and turned it every 5 minutes.  Remove chicken from skillet; letting the chicken drippings stay in the skillet.  Set chicken aside.

Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to drippings in skillet.  Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just tender.  Return chicken to skillet.

In a medium bowl, combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano and pepper.  I did this while the chicken was cooking.

Pour mixture over the chicken in skillet, bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Turn once during cooking.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve over hot cooked pasta.