boneless chicken recipes: June 2011

Jam Jewels

I am participating in a virtual picnic over at Months of Edible Celebrations and the letter I received was 'J'. Which was a little harder than I anticipated. I was excited to find these cute cookies that started with J! They are a tender and lightly sweet cookie. I used raspberry jam, but lots of others would be very delicious also. I actually thought these tasted better the next day!!

Jam Jewels

1 cup butter, softened slightly
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg yolk
3 oz. cream cheese, softened slightly
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Seedless jam for filling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolk then add cream cheese and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly mixed. Add dry ingredients and mix until welll blended. Let dough stand for 5-10 minutes to firm up slightly.
Shape portions of the dough into 1 inch balls. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Using your thumb or knuckle, press a deep well into the center of each ball. Place about 1/4 teaspoon jam into each well.

Bake for about 9-12 minutes ro until edges are slightly brown.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

Tip:Fill the cookies with jam or preserves and not jelly.

Most jellies are too thin and will bubble over and run during baking.

ENJOY!!

I will be posting the rest of the picnic soon...

Mom's Potato Salad Recipe ♥

My mother's recipe for a traditional American-style homemade potato salad -- it's the one I make again and again without needing a "recipe". While not "diet food," the recipe calls for cooked eggs and cottage cheese so the potato salad contains a good measure of protein too. Fresh herbs really brighten the flavors!

~recipe & photo updated 2011 & 2013~
~first published 2006, republished 2011~
~more recently updated recipes~

2006 Original: A few weeks back, Michelle from the food blog 'Je Mange la Ville' shared her Secrets to Amazing Potato Salad (scroll down, they're near the end). It got me to wondering why I'd yet to post my mother's potato salad "recipe" here on A Veggie Venture, despite making a big batch several times a summer.

So. Without further ado, here are my Mom's tricks for a classic potato salad and now, as mothers pass important things to daughters, my own "recipe" and tips too. Always.
Keep Reading ->>>

Chocolate Caramel Goodness

I wanted to treat my family to something special when they arrived last week. I knew with all the delicious ingredients it had to be a winner...I wasn't disappointed and neither was anyone else. In fact they ate most of them before breakfast!!

Chocolate Caramel Goodness

1 bag caramels, unwrapped

2/3 cup milk

1 package German Chocolate cake mix or any chocolate version

3/4 cup melted butter

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup peanuts, almonds or other nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine caramels and 1/3 cup milk in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1/3 cup milk, melted butter, flour and nuts (if desired).

Press half the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 6 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Spread melted caramel mixture over top of the chips then crumble the remain half of the dough over the top.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes to set the caramel before cutting into bars.

Delicious!!

A good chocolate fix!!

Menu Plan Monday & The Newest Family Member

Last time my parents came to visit my extremely talented and sweet cousin Barry sent us this

Meet our newest family member!!

Who is there ready to greet you at the door!!

Check out the details and expression carved into this bear!

Makes me smile everytime I see it!

This is his business and Barry is so talented and does the most amazing carvings, with perfection.

THANK YOU BARRY and I can't forget his incredibly sweet and talented wife GAIL!!

Thanks for bringing sunshine into my life each and everyday!!!

This Week's Menu

Monday: Corn Bread & Chili Casserole

Tuesday: Steak Burritos

Wednesday: Bruschetta Chicken

Thursday: Picnic Night

Friday: Cheeseburger Pie

Saturday: Tex-Mex Chicken

Sunday: Pizza Pasta

Have a Delicious Week!!

Linked to: Menu Plan Monday

Connor's Triple Chocolate Muffins

When my family came to visit my kids still had one last day of school. My eight year old nephew was really bored without them. So when I mentioned that we should make something he was all excited and was amazing in the kitchen. The muffins were light and loaded with flavor. They were gobbled up in just a few minutes!

Connor's Triple Chocolate Muffins
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 (3 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding
3/4 cup water
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate, but any would be delicious!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix cake mix, pudding, water, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Lightly grease liners or muffin pan and fill cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your muffins. Muffins will be done when you touch the top lightly and it bounces bake. Be careful not to over cook.

I got 24 regular sized muffins. YUMMY!!

Check out my cute helper!! Thanks Con Man!!

Linked to:

Firday Favorites

Sweet Tooth Friday
Foodie Friday
Sweets for Saturday

Free samples never stink.

Vocalpoint’s giving away FREE samples of Glad® ForceFlex® OdorShield® with Febreze® Freshness bags. Get yours!

Tried and True: Mom's Seven Layer Bean dip

Since my Mom left my kids and I have been discussing how great a cook she is. My daughter said it is because she makes everything with love.. So in honor of my mom I pulled another of her great recipes out of the archives...This definitely fall in the tried and true category. It is requested at all family events as well as all the teacher and team dinners she hosts. It is so delicious!!

Grab your favorite corn chips and dip in!!

You can find the complete recipe here.

YUM!!

Sweet Potato Wedges with Rosemary & Lime Juice ♥

Sweet Potato Wedges with Rosemary & Lime Juice

Finally, a summer-y way to cook sweet potatoes. You're going to love these, I think!

Do you think of sweet potatoes as a summer vegetable? Me either. Growing season aside, sweet potatoes always seem just a little heavy for summer, don't they? But they're so good for us, so easy to find, so many people like them – I'm thrilled to have a good way to cook sweet potatoes in the summer – easy, quick, fresh and light. So good!

Just cut sweet potatoes in half and rub the cut sides in a little oil and butter and snips of fresh rosemary, then toss them in the oven. I love how the flat sides get slightly crispy and caramelized, how leaving the jackets on during baking keeps the sweet potatoes moist and ever so sweet.

You could serve them hot, I suppose, but it's summer. Just let them rest at room temperature and serve later – drizzled with a squeeze of lime juice. Heaven! How heavenly? Well I'm adding it to this small collection of My Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes. And I've decided they are "the" summer vegetable this year, the one to serve again and again.
Keep Reading ->>>

Mom's Coffee Cake

I haved raved before about how good of a cook my mom is. I can make something exactly the way she does and it still never tastes as good as hers. I have been wanting her coffee cake recipe so I was excited that she made it for us while she was visiting this past weekend. It is so light and really delicious!! We had no leftovers..in fact there was a fight over the last piece!

Mom's Coffee Cake
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
3 Tablespoons sugar
Topping
1/3 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 9x9 or 8x8 pan. Mix dough ingredients until everything is well blended. Pour into the baking dish. Mix topping ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Spread topping over the dough and drag a butter knife across like you were making a tic-tac-toe board several times. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

YUM!! We served it with Deb's Delight Breakfast Casserole.

Thanks MOM!!

Creamy Chicken Breast

This is an easy and quick meal to throw together. The kids loved it.

Creamy Chicken Breast
4 chicken breasts (I used about 10 chicken breast tenders)
5 slices swiss cheese
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
2 cups dry stuffing mix (I used stove top)
1/3 cup melted butter
Arrange chicken in a 9 x13 casserole dish. Place a piece of swiss cheese on each piece of chicken.

I halved the pieces of cheese.

Stir together the soup and water. Spoon over top of the chicken.

Sprinkle the stuffing mix over top and drizzle with melted butter.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 55 minutes if using whole breasts or 30-35 for tenders.

YUM!!

Linked to:

Foodie Friday

New Brownie Crunch Cereal Giveaway!!

You all know how much I LOVE brownies and now thanks to General Mills I can now have brownies for BREAKFAST!! My kids are so thrilled!! The whole family is in love. We have been eating them at breakfast and for snacks!!

With the delicious taste of brownies “baked” into every bowl, Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch is a delicious chocolate-y cereal ready to be enjoyed for breakfast or as a satisfying snack on the go. You will be sure to get some brownie points as your family’s taste buds delight in the perfect balance of whole grain goodness and delicious chocolate flavor in every bite.

Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch has at least 8 grams of whole grain (48 grams recommended daily) and a good source of calcium and Vitamin D in every serving. For chocolate lovers everywhere, Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch is sure to become a choco-licious go-to! :

Connect with General Mills on: www.growupstrong.com | www.wholegrainnation.com

Now for the fun part. One lucky reader will win:

One box of the new Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch cereal, two cereal on-the-go containers and, a fun Cocoa Puffs frisbee .

It is an incredible prize package!!

To enter be a follower of One Crazy Cookie and leave me a comment telling me when you would eat Brownie Crunch Cereal.

For additional entries blog about the giveaway and leave me the link.

Winner will be drawn by random number generator on June 23, 2011.

Are you Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch??

The Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch product, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.” All opinions are my own.

Tried & True: Smore Cookie Bars

I am a little late with my tried and true post, but this one is well worth the wait!! These are easy to make and oh so delicious!! Total chocolate marshmallow goodness! With one bite you will surely want 'smore'!

You can find the complete recipe for Smore Cookie Bars here.

Now I am off to make a batch....YUM!!

Cauliflower "Potato" Salad ♥ Low-Carb, Low-Cal Light "Potato" Salad

Cauliflower

Potato salad made not with potatoes, but with cauliflower so a great choice for low-carb for dieters and diabetics -- and anyone who just loves cauliflower! Weight Watchers? You are going to love this salad!

When my friend Lyn from the poignant and inspiring weight loss blog "Escape from Obesity" posted a recipe for Low Carb "Potato" Salad last year, a light went on. Wow -- cauliflower just might be a dieter's best friend.

Cauliflower has virtually no calories; it's easily available year-round; pound for pound, it's an inexpensive vegetable. But most of all, cooked cauliflower creates a creamy mouthfeel that's akin to both potatoes and rice, so can either substitute for potatoes or rice or supplement potatoes or rice for a lower-calorie, lower-carb dish. Without realizing, I've collected several of these "potato" and "rice" dishes that aren't made with either potato or rice but instead with cauliflower. There's the Cauliflower Spanish "Rice" from A Veggie Venture and Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes" from Kitchen Parade.
Keep Reading ->>>

Menu Plan Monday

We are so EXCITED because this weekend we have family coming to visit and we will be spending a good share of the time at my favorite place...the ballpark!! My generous brother bought us all tickets for two games. It will also be fun to spend Father's day with my dad! It has been along time. I have a lot to get done so off to this week's meals.

This Week's Menu
Monday: Creamy Chicken Breasts (new)
Tuesday: Pizza Pasta (from the freezer)
Wednesday: Deb's Delight Breakfast Casserole
Thursday: Picnic Night
Friday: Make Your Own Sandwich Bar
Saturday: Grilled Chicken & White Macaroni & Cheese
Sunday: Cheeseburgers

Wishing you a delicious week!!

Linked to: Menu Plan Monday

Creamy Burrito Casserole

Is anyone else still having trouble leaving comments? I am really frustrated and want to apologize to everyone that I have tried to leave comments, but can't. There have been some amazing things posted this week.

I had another craving for Mexican food! This one was delicious and really easy!! I was a little skeptical using the cream of mushroom soup, but it made it amazing. It was a huge hit with the whole family!!

Creamy Burrito Casserole

1 pound hamburger
1/2 cup onions, diced
1 (1 1/4 oz.) package taco seasoning
6 large flour tortillas
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Optional:
1 tomato, diced
sliced olives
Preheat oven to 350 degreees.
Brown hamburger and onions. Drain off grease. Stir in taco seasoning, refried beans, tomatoes and olives. Mix soup and sour cream in a separate bowl. Put 1/2 sour cream mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cut or tear 2 of the tortillas in small pieces and spread over sour cream mixture.

Put 1/2 the meat mixture on top of that.

Add a layer of cheese.

Spread the rest of the sour cream mixture on top of that.

Repeat the layers, starting with 2 more tortillas cut into pieces.

Follow with the meat and cheese.

Top with the remaining 2 tortillas and add some more cheese on top.

Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes.

If desired garnish with salsa, sour cream, lettuce or tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday
Friday Favorites
A Themed Bakers Sunday

Beet Smoothies ♥ Two Recipes

Beet Smoothie

Today's new smoothie recipes, both starting with beets. The first is an unusual smoothie, just two-ingredients long, with cheek-pink color that would make a peacock blush. The second pairs mango with beets, with no added sugar, just plant-based sweetness.

But stick with me here, okay? Give me 30 seconds to make the case for making a smoothie with beets.

We know that beets have a natural sweetness – hence the garden beet's cousin, the sugar beet, accounts for a third of the world's sugar production. (Source: Wikipedia.)

The first recipe starts with pickled beets – that means that there's sweetness but a welcome note of sharpness, too.

This means that taste-wise, a beet smoothie isn't as outlandish as its admittedly outlandish pink color!

Tastes differ but I gotta tell you, I love beet smoothies. I didn't set out to create a beet smoothie recipe but one day I was out of fruit and wanted a morning smoothie – the Quick Pickled Beets in the refrigerator called to me. So simple! But if you're not ready to go for an all-beet smoothie yet, try the recipe for a Beet and Mango Smoothie!
Keep Reading ->>>

Chex Muddy Buddies Giveaway

Chex Mix^® heard you loud and clear and is making every day a holiday by offering the previously limited-edition Chex Mix^® Muddy Buddies year-round!

Chex Mix Muddy Buddies offers a unique combination of Corn Chex cereal, peanut butter, and chocolate, dusted with a powdery sweet coating. It’s the same delicious snack you’ve been making at home for years, now conveniently packaged and sharable for all occasions. Plus, it’s made with 50% less fat than regular potato chips so you can enjoy the taste without the guilt. Yum!

My family got to try out the Chex Mix Muddy Buddies and they were a huge hit!! Everyone loved them. They were the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter!! OH YUM!! Now one lucky reader gets to try them out also. One reader will win a Chex Mix Muddy Buddies gift pack:

It includes a bag of Chex Mix Muddy Buddies, an airtight sealed container, a snacking bowl, and a magnetic clip.

It is a fabulous gift package!!

To enter:

Be a follower of One Crazy Cookie and tell me your favorite Chex Mix flavor or one you are dying to try!!

For bonus entries blog about this giveaway and leave me the link in the comment.

Winner will be drawn by random number generator on June 15, 2011.

OH YUM and GOOD LUCK!!

The Chex Mix Muddy Buddies and gift pack were all given to me from Chex Mix through MyBlogSpark. All Opinions are my own.