Cooking with the Shaws - Poppy Seed Chicken

Michael and I go to the gym 3 to 4 days a week after he gets home from work. This makes it necessary to either have something really quick to fix when we get home or something that I can make ahead. Rita’s Poppy Seed Chicken (pg 141) definitely fits the “make ahead” category. I simply get it all together in the afternoon and then throw it in the oven when we walk in the door after the gym. It’s ready in 30 minutes and we can get supper eaten at a decent hour. It warm and creamy and really comforting.

Poppy Seed Chicken

1 chicken (or chicken breasts)

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz sour cream

40 ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick of margarine

2 tsp poppy seeds

Cook chicken, debone, and cut into bitesize pieces.

Put in the bottom of a greased casserole.

Mix soup and sour cream; spread over chicken.

Melt margarine and add crushed crackers; Sprinkle over soup and sour cream mixture.

Sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.

I really like to serve this with hot cooked rice or pearled barley. YUM!

If I'm correct, this is my 10th recipe!! 90 more to go! I actually have a few more that I just haven't posted yet. 2 more recipe posts this week and I will be caught up!! I actually have 4 recipes on deck for this week: Chicken Cacciatore, Butter Me Not Rolls, Mario's Carrots, and Chicken Fried Steak.

Oh and Joseph decided that my cookbook made a good scribbling pad today. It never ceases to amaze me how he refused to scribble on the coloring books, etc that I give him and instead goes after my cookbook. No harm done though..I can still read the recipes.

Cooking with the Shaws - Zucchini Squash Bread

I had a zucchini left from my trip to the farmer’s market and I’ve pretty much decided that I don’t like zucchini. What do people do when they don’t like zucchini? They make bread with it. I thought that if I was going to make some zucchini bread, then I might as well make it from a recipe from the family cookbook. So here is Lillian’s Zucchini Squash Bread (p 98)

Zucchini Squash Bread

3 eggs, beaten

1 c oil

2 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 c plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp cloves

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 tsp cinnamon

2 c grated zucchini (1 ½ to 2 zucchini depending on size)

½ c chopped nuts

1-8 oz can crushed pineapple

Sift together flour, baking powder, cloves, soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Combine oil and sugar; stir in beaten eggs.

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir in nuts gently.

*Now this is the point in the recipe where I realized that no mention was made of zucchini and pineapple in the instructions. So I stirred mine in at this point. *

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans and place batter in pans (3 pans may be used if desired).

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

It is a miracle in itself that this bread turned out. Not because of the recipe. No..because of the spazzy mind set I had when I made it. You see, I was trying to get this bread together and baked before I went to my yoga class. Michael was supposed to be stopping and getting me some crushed pineapple on his way home from work, so it was all working out beautifully. After he called and said he was at the grocery, I got everything else going. But things just went wrong from the get go…

First of all I sifted my sugar into my flour mixture instead of mixing it with the oil….so I just mixed the oil and eggs for my wet mix. Then Michael got home but he was on the phone and didn’t get out of his van for 15 minutes or so. I couldn’t go out and get the pineapple because then Joseph would want to go outside and he was a meltdown a minute yesterday anyway. So I waited. In my waiting, I forgot what I was waiting for and dumped my batter in my pans and got it in the oven for a minute before I realized I was waiting on pineapple. So…out the bread came and back into the bowl to wait for pineapple. I mean, I sent him to the store specifically for that….I wasn’t about to not use it!!

Finally, Michael came in and I got the bread in the oven. I was also boiling some noodles for supper and I guess when I turned off the timer for them, I also turned off the oven. So, 50 minutes later, I found a raw zucchini bread in the oven. Grrr. I turned the oven on again and left for yoga (much needed at this point). I left the timing of the bread baking in the hand of Michael. And it turned out pretty good in the end. The bread is moist and I really love the addition of the pineapple. I love a bread that makes you feel like you are eating something healthy. Of course, you would probably have to eat half a loaf to get a serving of veggies, but still. I feel good about it.

So, breathe…find your center (and a zucchini) and make this bread. Don’t go at it all spazzoid like me.

Oh and FYI, my crescent roll dough did some back from the dead and my apple dumplings were AWESOME. Recipe to come later. :)

Cooking with the Shaws - Chicken Picatta

I made this for my parents and sister while I was home last week. It was a huge hit. The flour on the chicken makes a light delicious crust and the chicken bouillon adds salty flavorful goodness. I made this quite often when I was in college since it didn’t require a lot of ingredients, but for some reason I haven’t made it since until last week. Pity. I’ve been missing out. That’s the good thing about this project. I’m adding lots of things to my regular go to rotation….Things that I can make when I just don’t know what to put on the table. This recipe comes from Linda and is on page 138.

Chicken Picatta

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

3 Tbsp lemon juice (separated)

¼ c flour

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp paprika

¼ c butter

2 Tbsp instant chicken bouillon or 2 cubes

½ c boiling water

Beat egg and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.

Combine flour, garlic powder, paprika.

Dip chicken in egg and then dredge in flour mixture.

In skillet, brown chicken in butter.

Dissolve bouillon in water and pour over chicken. Add remaining lemon juice to skillet.

Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until tender.

I did a few things different. I get all freaked out about not salting my meat. If it doesn’t freak you out not to, then by all means, I think it will be fine. I did add a few grains of salt to my flour mixture. Also, I used chicken tenders because that’s what I had and I pounded them thin. And since I used chicken tenders, I had to almost double my flour mixture to get them all covered. I did not cover my skillet because I wanted my liquid to cook down a bit. But other than that, this recipe is all Linda.

Enjoy!!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week!! I have really been enjoying these cooler mornings. Joseph, Shelby, and I have been spending most of our time in the AM outside taking walks or playing in the yard. We went downtown to the Farmer's Market yesterday and I picked up some wonderful "Sweet Candy" apples and some asian pears. Good stuff.

Oh and one of my good friends, Christy, had her baby Monday morning. So welcome to the world, Baby Gavin!!! They are in Maryland, so I have no idea when I'll be able to meet him.

Anyway, I hope all of you have a great weekend. The huge 127 yard sale is in full swing, so I will be driving carefully. The Hot Rod Nationals car show is also this weekend in Louisville, but Michael has to work most of the weekend so I don't know if we will be able to go or not. Hope you all have big plans or plans to relax!

Cooking with the Shaws - Parmesan Potato Fingers

This was a collaborative effort between mom and I. I did the coating..she did the baking. They were very tasty. LeeAnn and Charlotte provided the recipe for this tasty side dish (p198).

Parmesan Potato Fingers

¼ c flour

¼ c grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp parsley flakes

¾ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/3 c margarine

6 medium potatoes, cut into eights lengthwise (peeled or unpeeled)

In a plastic bag combine flour, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper.

Melt margarine in shallow baking pan.

Drop potatoes a few at a time in flour mixture. Shake to coat.

Place potatoes in a single layer in margarine.

Bake uncovered at 375 for one hour, turning once after 30 minutes.

A few notes: We dipped the potatoes in water to help the cheese mixture stick. Also, we doubled the cheese mixture. Our wedges may have been smaller but we only baked them for 40 minutes total, turning after 20 minutes.

Whats not to like? It's potatoes, Parmesan, and margarine...YUM!!!

Cooking with the Shaws - Imperial Chicken Bake

I made this a little while ago and it was wonderful. It is similar to a Parmesan chicken dish that I make often, but actually it so much better and will probably take the place of my regular Parmesan chicken. It's Mary Ann's Imperial Chicken Bake (p143). It's super simple which is always good!

Imperial Chicken Bake
Serves 6
1/2 c dry bread crumbs
1/4 c plus 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 c milk
1/4 butter or margarine
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
Paprika

Combine first 5 ingredients. Dip each breast in milk and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Arrange in a lightly greased 12x8x2 inch baking dish. Combine butter, lemon juice, and garlic. Drizzle over chicken. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until tender.

I used thin chicken breasts and thus it did not take 40 minutes for mine to cook. As with any recipe, it's a good idea to keep an eye on what you are cooking to keep it from getting over done since all ovens are different.

I am getting back into the swing of things after being in Tennessee for almost a whole week. I feel like I've been doing laundry nonstop since I've returned!! I know Joseph misses his daily tractor rides and getting to feed the cats and chickens, but I'm trying to make sure he doesn't get bored. :) He doesn't get to drink out of the hose as much here though...he was a big fan of drinking straight from the hose:

Cooking with the Shaws - Pizza

Cooking with the Shaws – Pizza

This recipe is one I have been using since my mom gave me the Shaw Family Favorites. It’s for my mom’s pizza. Now, growing up, I rarely had pizza from Pizza Hut or Dominoes or anywhere else. For one thing, they wouldn’t deliver out to the country where I was raised… and the other reason is that my mom made fantastic pizza almost weekly so there was no need for any “brought-on” pizza. :)

Don’t worry, I got plenty caught up on delivery pizza while in college. And none of those can touch homemade pizza.

I’ve started having Pizza Fridays at our house. It’s a good tradition. It makes for a quick and easy meal as long as I remember to get my dough going earlier in the day. While I LOVE to think outside the red sauce when it comes to pizza, last Friday I took it back and cooked my mom’s Pizza (p 155). Here’s how you can too…you may notice a few differences between the cookbook and what I put here….we have made a couple of changes like subbing Italian seasoning for oregano in the sauce):

Dough

1 pkg dry yeast

1 cup Water, warm but not hot

1 tsp Sugar

3 cups Flour

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp Oil

Stir yeast and sugar into warm water and let proof for 5 minutes.

Beat half the flour into yeast mixture. Add salt oil, and remaining flour. Mix well.

Knead until smooth, adding more flour if needed.

Place in lightly oiled bowl, turning dough to coat. Cover and let rise until double…1 hour at least.

Sauce (I don’t know why, but I could eat this by the spoonful…and sometimes I do, but I’m weird like that)

8 oz Can tomato sauce

6 oz Can tomato paste

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Sugar

1/8 tsp Pepper

1 Tbsp Oil

Mix all together!

Toppings

Mozzarella cheese (12-16 oz for 2 pizzas)

1 lb sausage or ground beef or a combination of the 2, browned

Parmesan cheese to taste

This recipe will make 2 pizzas or 1 really big one. 1 of the smaller ones can feed 2-4 people depending on if you have sides or not. So you will need to divide the dough in half. If you just make one pizza, the dough freezes really well..just plop it in a Ziploc bag. Get it out the day you plan to make your next pizza and put it in an oiled bowl, cover it and let it thaw and rise.

The rest is pretty explanatory….spread the crust out on a baking sheet or pizza pan (dust your pan with cornmeal to keep it from sticking), top with sauce, meat, and cheeses. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or so. Enjoy!!

This will probably be my only post this week. My grandfather passed away yesterday and I am probably going to drive down to Tennessee tomorrow for the funeral and such. Now don’t be sad for me. As awful as it sounds, I was not fond of the man. This is not a place to list the reasons why. Just know that I don’t have any warm memories of him. It makes me thankful that Joseph has such wonderful grandparents and won’t have to worry about having one that treats him like he’s nothing. I am sad…but not because I will miss him. I am sad because of the grandmothers that left me too soon and the grandfather that I never knew at all who I know would have loved me.

So anyway…enough sadness. I hope you all have a great week! I have many more Shaw Family recipes in the works and will be moving to another kitchen this week. I’m sure mom won’t mind. :)