Every time I have made this chicken, I have bought the prosciutto at Trader Joe’s. This week, I didn’t have time to run to TJ’s so I bought the prosciutto at the local Safeway.

Trader Joe’s prosciutto is soft and flexible and holds the goat cheese (or feta) securely around the chicken. The local Safeway prosciutto did no such thing! In fact, half way through cooking, the cheese was all oozing out and the prosciutto was breaking apart. So, I took it all out of the skillet and chopped it up.

So, if you make this dish and have problems with the chicken, cheese and prosciutto staying nice and neat,  just chop it all up!

We ate salad topped with dried cranberries, slivered almonds, grapes and chopped-up-fancy-chicken-dish. It was good!

I do have one fancy chicken dish. At least, I think it’s fancy!

It’s super easy too.

Prosciutto Goat Cheese Chicken (Even the name is fancy! )

Raw chicken breast tenders
Goat Cheese (or Feta)
Prosciutto
Butter

Place a slice of prosciutto on a cutting board. Put one chicken tender on top. Sprinkle (or dump if you like lots) goat cheese or feta on top of chicken. Wrap prosciutto around cheese, overlapping to make sure it stays inside. Saute chicken in butter until done. Yum!

My nephew, Dakota, is on his way to a food blog with this fancy version of Mac & Cheese.

Italian Soup

1 lb. sausage in casing (I used chicken sausage this time but smoked beef sausage is much better!)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I’ve reduced the oil to 1 tsp. without a problem…just watch to make sure the sausage browns but doesn’t burn.)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced carrots
5 beef bouillon cubes
7 cups water
2 small raw zucchini, sliced
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups shredded cabbage (I usually buy a package of pre-cut up cole slaw and use 2 cups of that.)
1 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
16 oz. can white beans, undrained
1 Tbsp. sugar
pepper to taste

Slice sausage in 1/2 inch rings and brown in oil in a large soup pot. Add onion through garlic powder. Heat to boiling, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. If you want your veggies done but not super soft, reduce time to 40 minutes or so. Add beans, sugar and pepper and heat through.

While perusing this total eye candy magazine, I found a recipe for Dumpling Soup. I wrote it down and made it a few weeks ago, with a few modifications.

I am seriously proud of this soup! It was so good that I was wishing for more room in my tummy to eat more!

Here’s my version of the recipe:

Asian Dumpling Soup
6 cups chicken broth
2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
2 t. sesame oil
1 T. sugar
1- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage (I buy the pre-cut up cole slaw in the produce department.)
24 frozen dumplings or potstickers (I used Trader Joe’s fully cooked chicken and vegetable Chinese dumplings.)

Put the chicken broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, ginger and garlic in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes to combine flavors.

Add the white scallions, carrots, and mushrooms. Simmer until the carrots are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage, dumplings and green scallions. Cover and cook about 3-4 minutes or until the dumplings are soft. Avoid over-cooking the dumplings.

This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving with the New York grandparents. I am in charge of the Sweet Potato Casserole. I’ve been making my Aunt Sandy’s sweet potato recipe for years. Lo and behold, the Pioneer Woman posted a very similar recipe a few days ago. That’s confirmation that these sweet potatoes are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! My Aunt Sandy’s recipe calls for less sugar and butter than the Pioneer Woman’s and I decrease both even more. I mean, I love butter and sugar but I would like to actually taste the sweet potatoes!

I wanted to make something extra for Thanksgiving so I whipped up my friend Vern’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip. And I made a quick batch of Orange Cranberry Sauce. Cranberry Sauce is soooooooooo easy to make. 10 minutes and you are done.

I am taking the dishes ready for the oven so imagine the marshmallows browned and the dip hot and bubbly!

Vern’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 package frozen chopped spinach, drained (I let it thaw and then squeeze every bit of the water out)
1 cup mayo
1 cup Parmesan cheese (I used fresh grated)
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix and spoon into 8×8 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve with crackers or bread.

Orange Cranberry Sauce

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Refrigerate until ready to serve. The sauce will thicken as it cools but you can cook it a bit longer if you want a thicker sauce. And you may need to add more sugar if the sauce is too tart. I taste and adjust the sugar amount as the sauce cooks.

So, what are you cooking (or just eating if you aren’t in charge of cooking) for Thanksgiving???

]]> http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/11/ready-for-thanksgiving/feed/ 7 http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/11/chicken-stroganoff/ http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/11/chicken-stroganoff/#comments Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:02:02 +0000 Lana http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/?p=9982 Today was a rainy day. I didn’t have any plans so I decided to cook something yummy. I had a package of mushrooms and a pound of chicken. Chicken Stroganoff!

Chicken Stroganoff

1 tablespoon butter
1 medium chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package pre-sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tablespoon flour
Cooked rice (I believe that stroganoff is typically served over egg noodles but I prefer rice.)

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add sage, salt, pepper, and mushrooms; saute 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mixture into a large bowl.

Combine 1/4 cup flour and paprika in a shallow dish. Cut chicken into strips. Dredge chicken strips in flour mixture; shake off the excess flour mixture. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Add chicken to mushroom mixture.

Add broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low. Place sour cream in a small bowl; sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon flour. Stir with a whisk until combined. Stir sour cream mixture into broth mixture. Stir in chicken mixture; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Salt and pepper taste. Serve over cooked rice.

* Since I always seem to have some sort of recipe dilemma, today was no exception. I got all the way to adding chicken broth to the pan only to discover that I didn’t have any chicken broth, not even a chicken bullion cube! I found an old can of chicken noodle soup in the pantry. By old I mean a few, ahem, years. (Have no fear. When I make food for others I do NOT use old or questionable ingredients!) It smelled OK so I used 1/2 cup of broth strained from chicken noodle soup. It worked. Oh and I used basmati rice because that’s my favorite.

A delicious creamy concoction of chicken and mushrooms!

While I was making the stroganoff dish, I was listenting/watching Francis Chan.

Very inspiring. Convicting. And disconcerting, in a good way.

Recently, I decided that we needed to branch out and try cooking beef. The only beef we know how to cook is hamburger. This week I went to the grocery store and, lo and behold, rib-eye steaks were on sale. I felt better about experimenting on $20 worth of steak rather than $40 (it was a big package of steaks).

Dave found some steak rub in our pantry and fired up the grill.

I want to tag this post to the recipe section so here’s the recipe: rib-eye, steak rub, grill.

OH. MY. WORD. Delicious. What in the world took us so long????

After I took this picture, I thought to myself that it looked kind of GROSS but I promise that it was wonderful!

What’s for dinner at your house?

Back when Dave and I could eat anything and not gain an ounce, I made this cake for special occasions. Those days are long gone thanks to babies, lethargy, and the passing years.

Lauren and I made two 8×8 cakes and popped one straight into the freezer. I felt better about us only eating half a cake!

Lauren helped me stir up the mix.

She took a break to lick the bowl clean.

This cake calls for crushed up cookies or candy so Lauren broke up Dave’s favorite cookies, Pepperidge Farm Milano Double Chocolate cookies. Pre-Lauren’s peanut allergy, I made this cake with chopped up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on top.

Here’s the finished product. Rich beyond words. I ate salad for lunch and dinner.

A close-up of the cookies.

My friend, Becca, gave this recipe to me years ago. I’ve since seen it various places with different cake mixes and toppings. It is most often called “Better Than Sex Cake.” I really don’t want to have the Birds and the Bees talk right now, so we are going to call it Crazy Cake at our house! Because this amount of sugar and fat IS crazy! And, it’s crazy good!

Crazy Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 jar hot fudge topping

1 tub Cool Whip

Candy or cookies for topping

Make the cake mix as directed. While still warm, punch holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour sweetened condensed milk all over. Spread fudge on top. Cool and then spread Cool Whip on top. Crumble cookies or candies on top of cake. Refrigerate.

I think this cake tastes best once it has been in the fridge for a little while. The fudge kind of solidifies and the whole thing is just yummy!

Dave, we hope you enjoyed your Father’s Day Cake!!!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo…

(It’s not really a Mexican dish but we call it Deep Dish Taco Squares so it will have to do!)

Deep Dish Taco Squares

• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• diced tomatoes
• diced avocado
• biscuit dough (see below)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9×13 pan. Brown ground beef and drain. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix sour cream, mayo, cheese and onion. Set aside. Make biscuit dough. Press dough into pan, making a ½ inch rim around the edges. Spread beef over the dough. Top with sour cream mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until edges are light brown. Top with diced tomatoes and avocado.

Biscuit dough

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.

I am Cookie Monster.

Dark Chocolate No Bake Cookies

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (We used soynut butter because Lauren is allergic to peanuts.)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal
• Waxed paper

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, salt, butter and milk. Let boil until soft ball stage then add peanut butter. Stir until melted. Add the vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by tablespoons, until cooled and hardened.

My mom said that these are a little tricky. It is hard to cook them for the right amount of time. Too short and they won’t harden; too long and they get grainy. So, it might take a bit of practice. However, you can certainly eat them with a spoon if they don’t harden up right!

ETA: My mom said to take a cup of very cold water and drop a small amount of the boiling chocolate mixture into the water. If you can pull it together with your fingers on the bottom of the cup into a very soft ball, then it is ready.