Author: Cindy Randolph

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Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 6 slices Swiss cheese
  • 4 slices cooked ham
  • 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 7×11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.
  3. Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish, and sprinkle chicken evenly with bread crumbs.
  4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately.
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Twist on Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

  • 1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 5  teaspoons  butter, melted
  • 1  large garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2  cup  dry breadcrumbs
  • 1  tablespoon  grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1  teaspoon  paprika
  • 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/4  teaspoon  dried oregano
  • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 4  thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
  • 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place broth in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in butter and garlic. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and paprika in a medium shallow bowl; set aside.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound each to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, oregano, and pepper. Top each breast half with 1 slice of prosciutto and 1 tablespoon mozzarella. Roll up each breast half jelly-roll fashion. Dip each roll in chicken broth mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place rolls, seam side down, in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour remaining broth mixture over chicken. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden.

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Turkey & Pesto Ravioli with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
6 oz (175 g) 93% lean ground turkey
1½ cups (375 mL) loosely packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup (125 mL) loosely packed fresh parsley
5 garlic cloves, peeled, divided
3 shallots, divided
1½ cups (375 mL) plus 2 tbsp (30 mL)
unsalted chicken stock, divided
½ oz (15 mL) Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup (50 mL) mascarpone cheese, divided
½ tsp (2 mL) coarsely ground black pepper, divided
24 round wonton wrappers
½ cup (125 mL) dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
2 cups (500 mL) grape tomatoes
2 tsp (10 mL) sugar
Shaved Parmesan cheese and thinly sliced fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. For ravioli, place turkey in Classic Batter Bowl; microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 3–4 minutes or until no longer pink. Break up turkey using Mix ‘N Chop. Drain well and return to batter bowl. Place basil, parsley, two of the garlic cloves, one of the shallots and 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the stock in Manual Food Processor; cover and pump handle until finely chopped. Add herb mixture,
Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the mascarpone cheese and ¼ tsp (1 mL) of the black pepper to turkey; mix well.
2. Place 12 wonton wrappers on flat side of Large Grooved Cutting Board. Using level Medium Scoop, scoop turkey mixture onto centers of wrappers; lightly brush edges with water. Place remaining wrappers over filling, pressing around filling. Using rounded edge of (2 ½-in./6-cm) Biscuit Cutter, press around filling to seal firmly.
3. Finely chop remaining shallots using Food Chopper. Spray (12-in./30-cm) Skillet with olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Add remaining shallots and remaining garlic pressed with Garlic Press; cook and stir over medium heat 60–90 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add
remaining 1½ cups (375 mL) stock, tomatoes and sugar; cook, covered, 3–4 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst. Crush tomatoes with Mix ‘N Chop. Stir in remaining mascarpone and black pepper. Add ravioli to Skillet; cook, covered, 3–4 minutes or until tender, gently swirling Skillet to coat ravioli with sauce. Garnish with additional Parmesan and basil, if desired. Serve  immediately.
Yield: 4 servings

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Tuna Patties Recipe

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 6-ounce cans tuna
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup white bread torn into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp water (or liquid from the cans of tuna)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, green onions, or shallots
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • A couple squirts of Crystal hot sauce or tabasco
  • 1 raw egg
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon butter

Method

1 Drain the liquid from the tuna cans. If you are using tuna packed in water, reserve a tablespoon of the tuna water, and add a teaspoon of olive oil to the tuna mixture in the next step.

2 In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, mustard, torn white bread, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, parsley, chives, and hot sauce. Sprinkle on salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste the mixture before adding the egg to see if it needs more seasoning to your taste. Mix in the egg.

3 Divide the mixture into 4 parts. With each part, form into a ball and then flatten into a patty. Place onto a wax paper lined tray and chill for an hour. (You can skip the chilling if you want, chilling just helps the patties stay together when you cook them.)

4 Heat the olive oil and a little butter (for taste) in a cast iron or stick-free skillet on medium high. Gently place the patties in the pan, and cook until nicely browned, 3-4 minutes on each side.

Serve with wedges of lemon. You can also serve with tartar sauce on slider buns for a tuna burger.

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Tomato-Basil Soup with Ricotta Dumplings

Ingredients:
Soup
1 tsp (5 mL) Basil Oil or olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can (15 oz or 398 mL)
crushed tomatoes, undrained
1½ cups (375 mL) vegetable broth
¼ cup (50 mL) snipped fresh basil leaves
Dumplings
¼ cup (50 mL) part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tbsp (30 mL) grated fresh
Parmesan cheese
1 egg white, lightly beaten
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
¼ tsp (1 mL) coarsely ground black pepper
1/3 cup (75 mL) all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. For soup, combine oil and garlic in (3-qt./2.8-L) Saucepan; cook and stir over medium heat 1-2 minutes or just until garlic begins to turn light golden brown. Immediately add tomatoes, broth and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, for dumplings, combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg white, salt and black pepper in Small Batter Bowl; mix well. Add flour; stir just until combined. Using Small Scoop, scoop dumpling mixture directly into simmering soup. Cook until dumplings float to the surface, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Ladle soup into bowls; sprinkle with thinly sliced fresh basil.
Yield: 2 servings

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Tequila Christmas Cake

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle tequila
2 cups dried fruit

 

  • Sample the tequila to check quality.
  • Take a large bowl, check the tequila again.
  • To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
  • Turn on the electric mixer.
  • Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.
  • Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.
  • At this point it’s best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup… just in case.
  • Turn off the mixerer thingy.
  • Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
  • Pick the frigging fruit up off floor.
  • Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry> it loose with a drewscriver.
  • Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity.
  • Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.
  • Check the tequila.
  • Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. No wait..shtrain the lemon juice and shtift your nuts.
  • Add one table, no, add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
  • Greash the oven.
  • Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
  • Don’t forget to beat off the turner.
  • Finally, throw the bowl through the window.
  • Finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.

 

Cherry Mristmas

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The Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French Bread, Split Lengthwise
  • 2 sticks Regular (salted) Butter, Softened

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread one stick of softened butter on each half of the loaf.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until butter is melted and starting to soak into the bread.

Crank on broiler and broil bread for 3 to 5 minutes, watching the whole time. Remove when butter has started to brown and blacken. Don’t under-broil it! The flavor really kicks in when the butter’s color changes.

Slice into strips and serve immediately.

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Sweet and Sour Onions Recipe

These onions are just as tasty at room temperature as they are hot.

Ingredients

  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boiling or pearl onions
  • Salt
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil or butter
  • 3 Tbsp cider, malt or white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp honey

Method

1 The hardest part about this recipe is peeling the onions. If you are using pearl or small cipollini onions, blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so and then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking. Slice off the root and stem ends, and the papery skin should slip right off. If you are using the larger boiling onions, as we did here, just slice the stem end off the onion and peel as you would a normal onion.

2 Bring a pot of salty water to a boil, and boil your onions for 4-10 minutes, or until they are tender. Smaller onions will need less time. You want them al dente, not soft, because they will cook a bit more in the frying pan. Drain the onions well and set aside.

3 Get a frying pan hot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Let the olive oil get hot for a minute or two and add the onions. They will spit a little because they are full of moisture. Let them sizzle until you get some browning on a couple sides of the onion, about 4-5 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, mix the honey and vinegar vigorously until the honey dissolves. Add it to the frying pan. It will spit and sizzle violently. Turn the onions to coat with the mixture and turn the heat down to medium. Sprinkle salt over everything.

5 Let the vinegar-honey mixture boil down to a thick syrup. Turn the onions often to coat evenly. Serve hot or at room temperature, with a little sprinkling of a fancy salt like fleur de sel, if you have some.

Serves 4.

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Steamed Carrots with Olive Oil and Lemon

Ingredients

2 bunches of small carrots with tops
Ice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lemon

Directions

  1. Peel the carrots and cut off the tops, leaving just about 1/2 inch on.
  2. Place them in a steamer basket and steam over medium-high heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until they are tender enough to be pierced with a fork, but not overcooked or mushy.
  3. While the carrots are steaming, fill a large bowl with ice water.
  4. When they’re cooked, dunk the carrots in for just a few seconds to stop the cooking process.
  5. Place them on a serving plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Squeeze the juice from the lemon over the carrots.
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Streusel-Topped Peach-Blueberry Pie

  • 35 min prep time
  • 1 hr 20 min total time
  • 10 ingredients
  • 8 servings

A Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust makes pie-making just peachy!

Ingredients

Crust

1 box Pillsbury™ refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

  • 3  cups sliced peeled peaches or 1 can (29 oz) peach slices, well drained
  • 1  cup blueberries
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine

Steps

  • 1 Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie pan as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.
  • 2 Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pan.
  • 3 In medium bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork or pastry blender until crumbly; sprinkle over filling.
  • 4 Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown. After 15 or 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.