Yummy Chicken!

This is really good chicken and very easy to make.

For One 3-4 lb. Chicken:

3-4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard, you could use regular but it is not as flavorful.

1-2 cloves of minces garlic

salt & pepper

1/2 onion

1 stalk celery cut in half

1 fresh lemon

water (enough to cover bottom of pan)

white grape or apple juice (optional)

What to do: Preheat-375

Slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice all over the outside and inside of bird; set one of the squeezed lemon halves to the side to put inside bird latter. Mix the mustard and garlic together in a bowl and slather it all over the bird, inside and out, covering it well. You will need to use your hands. Stuff the bird with the lemon half, celery, and onion. Salt and pepper the bird and place it on the rack inside your roasting pan. You do not want the bird sitting directly on the pan in the juice. Poor water or a water juice mixture in the roasting pan. You may need to add more liquid as it cooks. Cook approximately 50 min. or until juice runs clear. Temperature of chicken should be 165 degrees at the thigh . This is the correct temperature, my husband is a USDA food inspector. Garnish and serve. This is nice with mash potatoes, green beans and sliced tomatoes.

Pizza

I love homemade pizza; not only does it taste better it is so much fun to make. I make and bake my crust ahead of time so that when I want pizza I can whip it up fast. You can get really creative with pizza and put really whatever you like on it. This is a very good pizza, everyone always likes it!

Pizza Crust
Makes 3 crusts or 4 thin and crispy crusts
1 cup warm water
2 Tbs. Oil
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
3 cups bread flour (King Arthur is the Best)
1 ½ tsp. Yeast
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl as listed. Mix well; knead on lightly floured counter for 6-8 min. Sprinkle flour on counter to keep dough from sticking. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, cover with damp cloth rest for 20 min. Divide dough into 3 balls, roll out dough on lightly floured counter to about 10- 11 inch. As you roll the dough check to make sure it is not sticking to much, it will some, but you should be able to get it up. You can make smaller and thicker pizza crusts if you like, just don’t roll out so thin. Place dough on a lightly sprayed cookie or pizza sheet prick with fork and place in oven. Pre Bake in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 min. dough will not be browned just done enough that you can put toppings on them later. This is great for making ahead and storing for later use. You can freeze them in a zip-lock bag.
Top with whatever you like, bake for 6 -8 min. until cheese is melted through.
Note: If you want to eat pizza right away you do not have to precook dough, just top dough and enjoy!

Ranch Chicken Pizza
Makes: 8 slices
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
2-3 garlic, minced or a little dry garlic would be fine
1-2 tomatoes, chopped, optional
½-¼ cup and 3-5 Tbs. Ranch dressing (Thick dressing)
Grated cheese (mixture of Parmesan and mozzarella)

Saute chicken in a little oil. As soon as it is no longer pink ,stir in enough dressing to coat chicken well, 3-5 tablespoons, saute until done. Chicken will get a little golden around edges. Set aside. Combine ranch dressing with garlic. Spread ranch mixture over pizza crust, Top with chicken and grated cheese. Bake about 6-8 min. until cheese is melted. Sprinkle chopped tomatoes on top after taking it out of the oven.
Note: This may seem strange but it is very good.

Skillet Spaghetti

(This is very good and easy)

Serves: 7 (1cup servings)

1 lb ground beef, chicken, turkey, sausage or a mixture
3 cups water
1 18oz. can tomato juice
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 Tbs. Minced dried onion
1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tsp. Dried Italian herbs or oregano
1 7 oz. package whole wheat spaghetti (when cooked like this taste no different)
Fresh Parmesan cheese to grate on top

In a large skillet or pot with lid, brown meat, add everything to meat except pasta and cheese. Bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 30 min. stir often. Add the uncooked spaghetti, I break pasta in half; simmer, covered, 30 min. Stir often. This can also be done in a crock pot.

Serve with:
Fresh Grated Parmesan cheese
Garlic Bread
Green Salad

Apple Crisp Pizza

Preheat oven 350

Pastry for 1 pie

Apple Topping:

3 Tbls. Flour

4 apples cored and sliced

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup oats ( old fashion)

1/4 cup melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Caramel ice cream topping,

You will need pie crust or pizza dough. Roll it out to fit 12" pizza pan. Combine the apple topping mixture together. Arrange apples in a circular pattern to completely cover crust. Combine flour, oat, butter, sugar, and cinnamon, mix well, and sprinkle on top of apples. Bake at 350 for 35-40 min. until apples are tender. Remove and drizzle on caramel topping. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

It's Greek to Me

I enjoy cooking and trying new things. I have been accused of not making things twice. This is one recipe I make all the time and my family loves it. My children smell it cooking and begin telling me how much they love me, what a great mom I am and give me hugs. So for all of that I will continue to make it. Oh, my husband after eating this always says, " That was a delicious meal, thank you for making it." I hope you will try it and like it!!

Greek Steaks, Burgers or Appetizers

1 1/3 lb. ground chevon, beef, chicken or turkey

1/4 lb. crumbled feta cheese

1 Tbl. steak seasoning ( I use a Canadean seasoning from Sam's Club. It is mostly course salt and course pepper . McCormick's Montreal Seasoning is good also.)

2-4 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil

1 box frozen chopped spinach thawed and water squeezed out well

Mix everything together and shape the meat like a steak, or burger. Drizzle olive oil on both sides. Get your grill really hot before putting these on. Place them on the grill, then turn the heat down. I have cooked these on the stove top as well. The time depends on the thickness of the meat. I generally cook mine between 10-15 min., until juice runs clear.

This steak is great with roasted potatoes and greek salad. It is also good as a burger. Just butter some bread and grill it , also make oven fries. Use the yogurt dip instead of the usual, mayo and mustard. You can also make an appetizer by rolling the meat mixture into balls and baking them on a cookie sheet. Serve them with the yogurt dip. These are good with veggies, hummas and toasted pita chips on the side.

Yogurt dressing:

1 1/2 cups Greek style plain Yogurt

3 Tbl. fresh dill

1/3 cup grated seeded cucumber

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

salt to taste

Place in food processer. If cucumber is grated fine you could just mix everything up really well in a bowl and chill.

Roasted Potatoes

5-6 med. red or yellow skin potatoes cubed not peeled

2-3 Tbl. dried onion

1-2 Tbl. dried garlic

olive oil to coat well, you can also add a little butter

salt, pepper

*You can also add fresh dill, rosemary or thyme

I cut my potatoes small so they cook faster and the flavor is better. Mix all together. Bake in 350-400 oven for 30-45 min. covered. Potatoes should be done. Uncover them and cook until they begin to stick to the pan. This makes them have a little crunch, this is my favorite part. The time will very depending on the size you cut the potatoes and how crowded they are in the pan. I cook mine in a iron skillet ,but I have cooked them in a glass cassarole dish with good results. In the summer I put the potatoes in foil and grill them.

Cookie Cake

We made this cookie for my son's birthday. It is a nice change from the usual cake and ice cream. One year we did a sugar cookie with cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit arranged in a circular pattern. You use a regular cookie recipe, just make sure to leave plenty of room for the cookie to expand; the cooking time will be longer as well. I always put another pan underneath just in case it runs over the sides. This has happened ,but then you have cookie to nibble on while you decorate.

Chili Time

I made this chili on our wood stove for lunch and served it with corn chips instead of crackers, yum,yum. We had Chili Dogs for dinner.

1 1/2 lb. beef, chevron, venison or pork

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic or dried garlic

1/2 cup bell pepper chopped

28 oz can tomatoes

6 oz. can tomato paste

16 oz drained beans, kidney or black

Worcestershire sauce, few shakes

salt/pepper

1 Tbl. chili powder

1-2 cups of water (depending on how thick you like your chili)

1-1 1/2 cups corn kernels, optional


Brown meat with garlic, onion, pepper, until veggies are slightly tender. Add in tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, pepper, water and corn. Cook for 1 1/2 hours add beans cook 15 min. before chili is done. Top with cheese and serve with corn chips. You do not have to have a wood stove but it sure is fun!