Brooklyn Girl's Penne Arrabiata

I didn't think I would like this just because we have eaten alot of pasta lately. It was great and very yummy!!! Everyone enjoyed it!

1/2 cup olive oil divided
6 cloves garlic sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil (I used plain diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped (I used dried)
1 (12 ounce) pkg dried penne pasta
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 pound thin chicken breast cutlets

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, and saute for a few minutes. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and saute for another minute. Pour in the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and add the basil. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook for 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs with a fork. Place bread crumbs in a seperate bowl. Stir the garlic powder; salt and pepper into the bread crumbs. Dip chicken cutlets into the egg then press into the bread crumbs until completely coated.

Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken for about 5 minutes per side, or until the coating is a nice dark brown color.

Remove chicken, and cut into slices. Toss the chicken slices into the sauce,and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in cooked penne, simmer a few more minutes to soak up the flavor, then serve.

Savory Cheddar Bread

Dawson loved this and he doesn't eat alot of my homemade bread! I want to try to sneak veggies in it soon!

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp leaf oregano
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg well beaten
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter melted

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, onion salt, oregano, dry mustard and cheese; set aside. Combine egg, milk and butter; add all at once to dry ingredients; stirring just until moistened. Spread batter in a greased 8 1/2 in x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Cara's Sweet and Sour Crock Pot Chicken

The dish
In the crockpot

Simmering the sauce
Frying the chicken

I tried this tonight, it takes 1 1/4 hours for prep though (didn't really like that) but it was pretty good. I didn't serve it with rice but with macaroni noodles. The recipe also calls for 5 1/4 hours in the crock pot, I would maybe make it 3 due to my chicken being kind of dry.

Serves 4-6

Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, well beaten
2 tbsp oil (I used olive)

Sauce

1/4 cup sugar or temp stable substitute
1/2 cup rice or white vinegar
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 dash salt
3-4 tbsp catsup to taste
1 tbsp soy sauce

Trim the chicken fat and gristle, then cut the breasts or thighs into thirds.
Sprinkle both sides with garlic salt; place into container and let stand in the fridge for an hour.
Pre heat your crock pot on low
Take the chicken from the fridge; put cornstarch and beaten eggs in seperate shallow pans or dishes.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the corn starch, then the egg
In a large skillet over medium temp, heat the oil; slowly cook the dredged chicken pieces; frying to a golden brown on both sides; about 6-7 min per side
Remove the chicken from the skillet and place in the crock pot.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar (or sugar sub)vinegar, chicken stock, salt, catsup and soy sauce; simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and ingredients have incorporated well.
Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken in the crockpot
Cook on low for (4 hours or 3 if you don't want dry chicken.. your crockpot may be different than mine.. i have a extra large one), then serve with rice or noodles.. enjoy!

Devils Fudge Cake

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Super yummy cake that is a killer~ 2179 calories! I made this for a church pot luck and it was gone within 30 minutes!

Cooking spray with flour
1 1/2 cups flour or cake flour (I used the first)
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup cocoa, sifted

Preheat oven to 350. Coat 2 8 inch pans with cooking spray with flour in it. Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of mixer fitted with the wisk attachment. On low speed add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the butter and mix for 2 minutes, until smooth. Add the water and mix for 2 minutes, until smooth. Add the cocoa and mix for 2 to 3 minutes, until evenly mixed through-out. Scrape down the sides of the bbowl after each ingredient addition. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire racks. Cool completely before filling or icing; you may even wish to refridgerate the layers for a couple of hours.


Colette Peters Chocolate Truffle Filling:

1 cup heavy cream
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate
(chips or chopped blocks)
2 tsp extract or flavoring or liquer

Put the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream just as it starts to bubble. Pour the cream over the chocolate; make sure all of the chocolate is covered. Cover the bowl and let it sit there undisturbed for 10 minutes.Whisk the mixture until the chocolate is dark and shiny, then cool to room temperature, or stick it in the fridge until ready to use.
If you refrigerate the filling before you put it on the cake, it will get very hard, and you'll need to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.
You can, of course, pour it over the top of cake while it's still warm for a beautiful, smooth, shiny ganache topping.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

From my good friend Kim and they yummy and so easy to make!

2 cups bisquick
2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Mix all ingredients until dough forms, beat 30 seconds. Drop spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown. While baking make:
1/4 c. margarine or butter melted
1/4 t garlic powder
parsley flakes for color

Melt in the microwave. When biscuits are done cooking, brush butter mixture on top and bake for 2-3 minutes. Serve HOT!

Apple Chicken

Apple Chicken

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup apple cider

2 tbsp butter

1 apple, sliced

1/2 cup cream or half and half

salt and pepper to taste

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides in the oil (about 4 minutes). Add 1/2 cup of the apple cider, cover and let simmer on medium low heat for 30 minutes. In another pan;heat butter over medium heat. Saute the sliced apple in saucepan for about 2 minutes.

Whisk the remaining apple cider and cream. Then add to the pan with the sauteed apples. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes or until reduced. Remove chicken from pan and pour sauteed apple/cream sauce into pan in which you cooked the chicken. Simmer on medium heat for 3 minutes until combined. Stir frequently. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

First Blog

Welcome to my cooking blog! I will import some of the recipes from my original blog into this one so I won't get confused! I will use this as an online cookbook for me as I cook for my man and kiddos. Enjoy!