Dijon Baked Chicken

One of my go-to recipes on lazy nights, this is easy, tasty, and customizable. Don't like Dijon? Try BBQ. Or ranch. Or anything else your heart desires.

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/4 c Parmesan cheese (I use a mix of store bought and fresh grated)
1 T butter
1 T Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Blend the crumbs and cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in a second bowl and stir the mustard in. Dip the chicken first in the mustard mix, then coat with the crumb mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

Shoofly Cake

A twist on the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly pie, this can sometimes be an acquired taste - but for me, it's a wonderful comfort food.

Ingredients
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
2 c flour
1/2 c molasses
1 c cold water
1/2 t baking soda

Cream the butter and add the sugar. Blend in the flour. Reserve 1/2 c of this mixture for the topping. In another bowl, combine molasses, water and baking soda. Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry, blending well.

Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and top with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Spinach Salad

Simple, quick, and tasty. What more could you ask for? Oh yes - it's healthy, too!

Ingredients

1 cup baby spinach, washed
1 handful each craisens, dried apples, pecans
light raspberry vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients in a bowl, and you are ready to go in three minutes!

Cake in a Cup

No, those are not root beer floats!

Currently, when I make cakes I don't worry about the recipe so much as the presentation. Here is a quick how-to on making these root beer float cakes.

Ingredients

Your favorite recipe for chocolate cake and yellow cake
Additional flavorings of your choice (I used Irish creme and butterscotch schnapps)
Chocolate pudding mix
Tall glasses
Circle shaped cookie cutters of varying sizes, not larger than the opening of the glass
Straw

Bake your flavored cakes and allow them to cool. Use the cookie cutters to slice enough circles to fill each glass 2/3s of the way with chocolate cake. Layer this with warm pudding mix. Top with circles of yellow cake and refrigerate until pudding firms. Serve with a straw and a long fork!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? For me, the perfect cookie is soft and slightly chewy - none of that crunchy stuff! The pudding mix is the secret to this, in addition to adding flavor! I prefer to use butterscotch pudding, but any flavor works.

Ingredients

1c butter
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
2 1/4 c flour
1 package pudding mix
chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together. Blend in eggs and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, blending thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Irish Cherry

Who doesn't love a good dessert drink? This is one of our favorites.

Ingredients

2 parts Bailey's
2 parts Godiva Chocolate-Caramel liquor
2 parts brandy
1 part Chambord
1 part butterscotch schnapps
1 graham cracker, crushed
water
chocolate shavings

In one shallow bowl, pour a thin layer of water. In a second, the crushed graham crackers. Dip the edge of a martini glass first in the water, then the graham crackers.

Meanwhile, mix the first 5 ingredients in a shaker, then strain into the glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Cheddar-Jalapeno Beer Bread

Today, I wanted bread. It was a spur of the moment decision, so my sourdough starter wasn't ready. I decided I'd try a whole-wheat bread instead. So I hopped online to search for a recipe. Of course, I am easily distractable, so I ended up with beer bread instead! I found this recipe over at Farmgirl Fare. True to form, I tweaked it a bit - and wow. This bread is amazing and simple! I used Alaskan Amber (of course!), and baked it while wearing my new Tastiest Catch shirt, courtesy of the husband.

Indgredients

1 c whole wheat flour
2 c bread flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1 T baking powder
1 c grated cheddar cheese
4 slices jalapeno, minced
12 oz beer
1 egg
2 t water

Preheat oven to 375. Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a bowl. Slowly add the beer and mix well. Pour into a greased 8 inch bread pan. Meanwhile, beat the egg and water together and brush over top. Bake about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.