roasted chicken

lazy sunday roast chicken
serves: 2, with plenty of leftovers to be reinvented on a hasty weeknight
prep time: a couple hours
cook time: 1 hr, 10 minutes, or until skin is crispy and brown.

ingredients:

• 1 small organic roasting chicken (3-4 lbs)
• 1 bulb garlic (halved)
• 1 lemon, quartered
• fresh rosemary
• fresh thyme
• 3 T. butter, melted
• salt and pepper
• 10 new potatoes

first, rinse the cavity and outside of your chicken, then pat the skin dry with a paper towel. salt the inner cavity as well as the skin, and refrigerate for a couple hours before baking (it's sort of a cheat/quickie way to brine). when you're ready to cook, heat your oven to 410 degrees. quarter the lemon and halve the garlic. stuff the cavity of your chicken with plenty of rosemary and thyme sprigs, the quartered lemon, and the halved garlic bulb. brush the skin of the chicken with the melted butter, then add a little ground black pepper. nestle your potatoes (or whichever root vegetables you like) around your chicken, and put it in the 410 degree oven, uncovered, for an hour and ten minutes.

french toast kabobs

Ingredients

• 1 (11-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crusty French Loaf
• 4 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup raspberries

• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 6 inch bamboo skewers
• 4 tablespoons butter
• maple syrup
• powdered sugar

Directions

1. 1Bake French loaf according to package directions. Slice the French loaf into 1-inch cubes. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. 2In a medium bowl, slightly beat eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add half of the bread cubes to the bowl and stir to coat.
3. 3In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Using a slotted spoon remove the soaked bread cubes and add them to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium high heat flipping frequently to brown on all sides. When done, place on a cookie sheet and keep them warm in the oven.
4. 4Pour the remaining bread cubes into the egg mixture and stir to coat. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan and using a slotted spoon remove bread cubes and add them to the pan. Cook second batch of bread cubes in the same method as the first.
5. 5Thread fruit and bread on skewers. Serve immediately with maple syrup and a sprinkle of powedered sugar.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

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• 1/3 c. butter, softened
• 1/4 c. milk
• 2 c. oats
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Let stand for 5-10 minutes allowing the oats to soak up all the milk. Drop by tablespoon full onto a cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees*. Allow to cool. Makes 2-3 dozen.
*NOTE: I baked the first batch at 350 for 15-20 minutes, but they didn't seem cooked all the way through, but they were getting too dark on the bottom. I did the next 2 batches at 325 for 25 minutes and they were much better. I would suggest this temp, but all ovens vary, so you'll just have to keep an eye them.
These are not your typical "cookies". They don't contain flour or leavening, so they won't rise or spread. They taste very much like banana bread. Even the texture is the same. I was pleasantly surprised by these "healthy" cookies. The family loved them.
Other additions (add 1/4 c of any of these to batter):

• mini chocolate chips
• chopped nuts
• dried chopped fruit (cranberries, apricots, cherries)
• shredded coconut

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the shortening, sugars and eggs. Add vanilla. Combine flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add to creamed mixture. Mix in oatmeal. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes or so and then mix again.
Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 10-12 minutes. (They spread so I bake them 6 at a time on large cookie sheets). The edges will become golden brown but the middles will look underdone. Cool on pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on racks. Makes 2-3 dozen.
Note: Do not double. If you want to make a lot of these (who could blame you?), just whip up a second batch of dough. It will only take a minute.
Glaze

• 2 egg whites
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Beat well. Hold cookies by outside edges and dip upside down in icing.

Sinkerdoodle Brownies

Ingredients
2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon Mixer:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In mixing bowl, blend together softened butter, light brown sugar, and sugar until blended. Add one egg at a time, then add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and blend well. Spoon half of the batter into the 9×13 pan and spread evenly.
Make the cinnamon mixture by combining one tablespoon sugar and one tablespoon cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly on top of the batter. Using the remaining batter, place teaspoon sized dollops on the top of the cinnamon mixture covering the pan. You will be able to see some of the cinnamon mixture peeking through. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven and let cool for one hour. Combine the ingredients for the icing and drizzle it over the brownies.

slow cooker Teriyaki chicken

Ingredients:1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 an onion, chopped
4-6 chicken breasts (mine were frozen)


Directions:
Put all of the ingredients but chicken into a pot over medium heat until boiling. Pour over chicken in crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice.

Parline Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups browned butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped pecans (reserve 1/3 cup for sprinkling on frosted cookies)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes or until deep brown with small flecks. Butter will melt, bubble, foam and then turn a deep brown, from the bottom up. Be careful at this point, it can burn quite easily once it has turned brown. Remove from heat. Take out ½ cup and set aside for frosting.

Beat slightly cooled remaining butter with brown sugar until it isn’t hot anymore. Add eggs, vanilla, soda, powder and salt. Beat thoroughly. Add flour and 2/3 cup chopped pecans.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes depending on size of cookie you scoop out. Small ones are better because this is a VERY rich cookie. Combine frosting ingredients and beat well. Spread over cooled cookies and sprinkle remaining chopped pecans on top. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Frosting:

½ cup reserved brown butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup hot water

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Frosting is thick but you can add a tad more hot water to make it spreadable if you need to.