Crushed-Ritz Baked Chicken

Chicken breasts are dipped in beaten eggs and cracker crumbs, then baked with butter. These chicken breast are really tender and moist.  My non-chicken lover said, "You were right, Mom!  This is really good!" 

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

          ½ teaspoon garlic salt + ground black pepper to taste

                  or 

          1 packet dried Italian salad dressing mix 

                  or 

          1 packet dried ranch dressing mis

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

½ cup butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F 

Step 2

Place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow pans. Mix cracker crumbs with chosen seasoning. Dip chicken in the eggs, then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat.

Step 3

Arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place pieces of butter around the chicken.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Aunt Judi's Caramel Brownies

Oven:  350

48-50 Caramels (I prefer to use 1 - 1.5 bags of caramel bits)
1/3 C. evaporated milk

1 box German chocolate cake mix (just the dry mix)
1/2 C. melted butter
1/2 C. evaporated milk
.5-1 C. chopped nuts (I'd love these, but my family not so much, so I omit them)
1 pkg milk chocolate chips

Melt caramels and evaporated milk in double boiler (or microwave).

Mix in large bowl until moist:  cake mix, butter, evaporated milk, nuts.

Spread 1/2 of mixture in greased 9x13 pan (I often use a slightly smaller pan).

Bake 6 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over baked crust.  Put rest of crumbled batter over crust and drizzle caramel over that.

Bake 15 more minutes.

Cool, mark into 2" squares and refrigerate until set (I don't typically refrigerate them).

Southern Peach Cobbler

Southern Peach Cobbler 

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

Recipe slightly adapted from and with thanks to Allrecipes.com

Servings: 8

Found at:  https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/southern-peach-cobbler/

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Ingredients

Peach Filling

• 8 medium-size fresh peaches sliced into thin wedges or bite size chunks - about 9-10 cups
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons arrowroot or cornstarch

Crust Topping

• 2 cups all-purpose flour *
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons butter chilled and grated
• 1/2 cup boiling water

* Gluten-Free Substitution

• 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca starch
• 1/3 cup potato starch

Cinnamon Sugar Topping Ingredients

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a large baking sheet covered in foil on the lowest rack in the oven. This cobbler overflows a bit almost every time I make it. The baking pan will catch the drips and prevent a mess in the oven.
2. In a large bowl, combine the peaches and the lemon juice and then add the rest of the filling ingredients. Stir to coat and then pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Bake the peach mixture in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. While the peaches are baking, combine the  dry topping ingredients and whisk to combine. Toss the grated butter in the flour mixture. Stir in the boiling water, just until combined, leaving plenty of little lumps of butter.
4. Remove the peaches from the oven and drop the topping over them in spoonfuls. (I like to use my smallest cookie scoop to do this.) Sprinkle the cobbler topping with the cinnamon sugar topping. Bake until the crust is golden and a toothpick inserted into the crust comes out clean, about 28 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
5. FREEZER DIRECTIONS: The peach filling can be prepared and frozen in advance. I have frozen it for up to a year without any problems. Combine the peach filling ingredients in a large ziploc bag, press the air out and freeze flat. When you are ready to bake the cobbler, thaw in the refrigerator and then pour into the baking dish and proceed with the recipe.

Notes

Using a cheese-grater to "grate" cold butter is my favorite hassle free wait to cut in the butter. It takes just a moment and I think it's simpler than the more traditional methods. If you choose not to use the grater, simply cut the cold butter into small pieces and then blend it into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender or your fingertips.

It is entirely up to you whether or not you choose to peel the peaches for this cobbler. For years, I took the time to peel the peaches and loved the recipe like mad. About a year ago, I stopped peeling the peaches and I've never looked back. I can hardly tell a difference and I doubt I'll ever again peel the peaches for a dessert.

Instant Pot Cooking Times

Here's a website I found with a table of pressure cooker cooking times for various cuts/types of meat:

Pressure Cooker Cooking Times

Alfredo Sauce

Colin LOVES the chicken alfredo from Costco, but it costs a fortune and the girls don't like it very much ("there's too much chicken!").  Colin's always asking for it, so I thought I'd search for a recipe I could make from scratch.  I found this from a random Google search.  I omitted the Parmesan cheese because I don't like cheese, and instead thickened the sauce with about a tablespoon of flour.  It was delicious served over some penne.  The only complaints were that sometimes there was something crunchy and gritty - it must be the coarse-ground pepper I used.  So, if you have it on hand, you might use fine-ground pepper instead :).

Here's where I found the recipe:

Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

10 mins

 

Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce is rich, creamy, and packed with garlic [parmesan] flavor!  This Alfredo Sauce is easy to make and perfect with your favorite pasta!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 Cups

Calories: 535 kcal [bonus:  less if you omit the cheese :)]

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream [I only had 1 cup of regular whipping cream, so I used that plus 1/2 cup of whole milk]
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Minced
• 1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
• 2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese [I left this out completely and substituted 1 Tbsp of flour]
• [1 Tbsp flour]

Instructions

1. Add the butter and cream to a large skillet.
2. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper for one minute.
4. Whisk in the parmesan cheese until melted [or the flour (liquefied so it's not clumpy) until thickened].
5. Serve immediately.

Brownie Cookies

Brownie cookies are so great - the yum of brownies, with the convenience of a cookie.  A favorite twist is to place andes mint chips on the cookies fresh out of the oven, then spread them as frosting once they've melted. 

I got the recipe here:  Ghiradelli Brownie Mix Cookies

Ingredients

• 18 ounces brownie mix (you can't beat the Ghiradelli triple chocolate mix)
• 
  
• 3-4 tablespoons whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour , (1/3 cup for high altitude)
• 
  
• 2 large eggs, room temperature (mine are always straight from the refrigerator)
• 
  
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (I just use canola oil)
• 
  
• 1 cup chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, mint chips, or nuts can be mixed-in (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a mixer, stir flour into brownie mix until well incorporated. 
2. In a separate bowl, slightly beat eggs with the coconut oil and add to the mix along with any add-ins. Mix on low speed until the flour is moistened. The dough should be stiff like cookie dough.
3. Place the dough in heaping tablespoons (about .80 ounces each) in on a parchment-lined baking sheet; this amount will spread to 2 1/2-inches when baked.
4. Bake for 10 minutes and allow the cookies rest on the pan for 2 minutes after removing from the oven. Remove from the pan and cool on baking racks.

Notes

Recipe TIPS:

• If you're a fan of the chewy edge pieces lining a pan of brownies, you'll want to follow the cooking time of the recipe just as it's written.
• If you're more of the gooey middle brownie lover, reduce the baking time by 1 minute and see if that is closer to the brownie cookie you dream about.
• Any 18 ounce brownie mix should work for this recipe, though I highly recommend Ghirardelli.
• One 18 ounce mix will make 3 1/2 dozen, 2 1/2-inch cookies based on .80 ounces of dough per cookie.
• High altitude baking: add 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour (about 1/3 cup)
• Make ahead tip: Bake as directed and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Facts

Ghirardelli Brownie Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 95Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Cholesterol 9mg3%

Sodium 41mg2%

Potassium 5mg0%

Total Carbohydrates 12g4%

Sugars 8g

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A0.4%

Calcium0.6%

Iron2.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Hootenanies (aka German Pancakes)

The kids love these.  They DEVOUR them.  We double the recipe, no questions asked.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 Tbs butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. As oven preheats, place the butter in 9x13'' baking dish and put in oven for the butter to melt.
2. Place the eggs, milk, flour, salt and vanilla in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour batter into the baking dish with the melted butter. Bake, for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
3. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with syrup and powdered sugar or fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.