Tomato Herb Focaccia

This was so good. We ate it all the first night I made it and wanted more. If you are a bread family, double this and enjoy.

1 pkg yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsb Olive Oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. each oregano, thyme, and Rosemary crushed.
1/2 tsp. dried basil
dash pepper
2 to 2 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp. Parmesans cheese.

Dissolve yeast, water, 1 part 0il salt and sugar. Let sit 5 mins. Add seasoning and 1 1/2 c. flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead on floured surface for 6-8 mins. Return to bowl, cover and let rise till doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down, cover and let rest 10 mins. Shape into a 9 x 13 pan. Cover and let rise 30 mins. With finger tips make several dimples.

Brush with remaining oil. Arrange tomatoes over bread. Cover with cheese. I used more Parmesan as I love it. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

Buttery Herbed Dinner Rolls

I don't have a bread machine. I just did it the old fashion way, by hand. Turned out great. I used a little less flour, probably due to doing it by had.

1 cup water (70° to 80°)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary, crushed
3-1/4 cups bread flour
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Additional butter, melted
Coarse salt, optional

Directions
In a bread machine pan, place the water, butter, egg, sugar, salt, seasonings, flour and yeast in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting(check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).

(After I mixed it by hand, I let is rise for 1 hour. Then I made them into rolls, dipped them into melted butter, placed on cookie sheet, and let rise again. Then I baked as below.)

When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 16 portions; shape each into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter and sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. Remove from pans to wire racks. Yield: 16 rolls.

Honey Glazed Chicken

I found this on Taste of Home. I used chicken breasts in place of a whole chicken. It was wonderful. I served it with Butter Herbed Rolls.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 broiler/fryer chicken (about 3 pounds), cut up
1/2 cup butter, melted, divided
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder

Directions
In a bowl or bag, combine flour, salt and cayenne pepper; add chicken pieces and dredge or shake to coat. Pour 4 tablespoons butter into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan; place chicken in pan, turning pieces once to coat. Bake, uncovered at 350° for 30 minutes. Combine brown sugar, honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, curry powder and remaining butter; pour over chicken. Bake 45 minutes more or until chicken is tender, basting several times with pan drippings. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Mystery Candy

One of the favorites in our house growing up, and so easy to make.

1 cup BUTTER
1 cup brown sugar
Enough saltine crackers to line a large rimmed cookie sheet (about 2 sleeves)
3/4 pkg. chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)
chopped nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheet with oil. Line with single layer of saltines.
Boil butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes. Pour over crackers and spread to cover. Bake for 5 minutes. Turn off oven. Evenly sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and place in hot oven for 5 minutes. Remove and spread, sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Kale Smoothie

Look up the health benefits of Kale and you will be drinking this smoothie a few times a week.

2 cups of raw washed kale
1 ripe banana
2 cups orange juice
2 cups frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons raw washed ginger
juice of 1 lime

1. Blend orange juice and kale until smooth ( I press the pulse button several times)
2. Add frozen blueberries, banana, ginger, lime juice
3. enjoy- this a rough guideline, suit the recipe to fit you families taste buds

Ashley's Chicken Chili

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast

1 can 14 oz. diced green chili's

1/2 medium onion

3 cans great northern beans, drained.

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup flour

pepper jack cheese

chili powder

cumin

1. Cut chicken in 1 inch pieces and saute in large pot or dutch oven with onion and green chili's until cooked through.

2. Add chicken broth and beans. Season with chili powder and cumin to taste (about 1 tsp. each). Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer.

3. Remove one cup of broth and let stand for 10 minutes. Mix into reserved broth sour cream and flour.

4. Add sour cream mixture back to pot and bring back to a boil.

5. Either mix in 4 cups of pepper jack cheese at this point (it adds a lot of heat) or let everyone add the amount they want. Sometimes I just use cheddar or whatever I have. This recipe heats up great the next day.

Banana Muffins

This recipe makes a large batch of muffins, about 2 1/2 dozen. They are soft and moist, not flakey at all. To me it's like a less dense version of banana bread.

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. butter (two sticks), melted and cooled
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3-4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Mix dry ingredients; add melted butter and blend. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, banana and nuts.