Grilled Caesar Chicken Breasts

This recipe is found in the August/September 2010 Taste of Home Simple & Delicious. I saw it and thought it sounded good. My daughter, Kelly, of What's Cooking Kelly made it and said it was really delicious. I had all the ingredients, so I did!

It is so simple to make. Just got to remember to leave time to marinate. I broiled mine since I'm having issues with my grill at the moment. It did splatter some. It did have a good taste. I will make again. It would taste really good in a wrap!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing

3 T olive oil

3 T Dijon mustard

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz each)

Directions:

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the dressing, oil, mustard and garlic. Add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 inches fromt he heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

I found another recipe on Fake Ginger that I wanted to try. I had some bananas getting ripe, and I had all the ingredients, so I had to make it. OMG! This is awesome! Amanda has the most awesome site. You really must check it out.

The recipe can be found here. You MUST try it!

Cookie Carnival: Coconut Cherry Bars

One of the selections for The Cookie Carnival this month was the Coconut Cherry Bars by Betty Crocker. I wasn't sure how I would like them even though I love cherries and coconut and nuts. I must say...they are delish! The only part about making these that I did not like was cutting the cherries..I had red fingertips for a while! But it was well worth it.

If you want to try these, go to Betty Crocker to find the recipe.

The crust after baking.

My Girl, Paula: Slip 'N' Sliders

This week's theme for My Girl, Paula was lunch. I couldn't decide at first what to make until I spotted this recipe in the July/August Cooking With Paula Deen Magazine. It was good, but I think next time I will do my own seasonings. Jimmy ate 4 of them! It was his first week of high school and he was starving!!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground round

1 T dill pickle juice

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3/4 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

6 slices sharp Cheddar cheese, quartered

12 slices fully cooked bacon, cut in half

Ketchup

1 (15 oz) pkg miniature wheat sandwich buns or 12 (3 inch) dinner rolls

24 hamburger dill pickle slices

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ground round, pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper; mix gently to combine. Shape mixture into 12 (3 inch) patties.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot. Add patties; cook for 2 minutes. Turn patties; cook for 1 minute. Top with cheese; cook for 1-2 minutes or until patties are done and cheese is melted. Top with 2 half-pieces of bacon.

Spread ketchup on cut sides of buns. Place pickles on bottom of buns; top with patties, and cover with bun tops.

Peanut Butter Blondies

I saw this recipe on Fake Ginger's blog. I kept looking and looking...finally I printed out the recipe. My son had Freshman Orientation this morning so I took the day off. The orientation was very informative and he was interested in some clubs, saw lots of friends. I hope he has a great experience with high school. I took the whole day off today just to hang out. I had the time and needed a dessert for dinner at my parents' tomorrow, and this is what I wanted...badly! I did try a little piece and YUMMY GOOD! I love it! I'm sure everyone will tomorrow. I definitely will make this one again!

The recipe is found here on Fake Ginger.

My Girl Paula: Chicken Fried Chicken

This week's theme for My Girl Paula is Anything Goes. This was not the original Paula Deen recipe I was going to make. I was going to make oven fried chicken, but did not read recipe close enough to realize it had to sit in fridge for several hours. So, I searched on line and found Chicken Fried Steak and decided to make it with chicken instead. It was easy to make. The chicken was very tasty. The gravy.....never thickened up and I felt like I kept adding and adding salt and pepper. But, served with mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and biscuits...very yummy meal.

The recipe can be found here.

Four Cheese Baked Ziti

This recipe came in an advertisement for a Taste of Home Cookbook. I kept looking at the recipe and wanting to make it. After Mom broke her foot, I decided it would be good for our Thursday night dinner. I made breaded baked chicken, 1/2 of the ziti, salad, garlic bread and the cherry pie previously posted. Dinner came out delicious if I do say so myself! My mom was glad to not have to cook...but she would not stay out of the kitchen!

I forgot to take a picture of it until after we served, so here's the whole dinner. It was so good!

Ingredients:

1 package (16 oz) ziti or small tube pasta

2 cartons (10 oz each) refrigerated Alfredo sauce

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 3/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta; drain and return to the pan. Stir in Alfredo sauce and sour cream. Spoon half into a lightly greased 3 qt. baking dish.

2. Combine eggs, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese and parsley; spread over pasta. Top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.

3. Cover, bake at 350 degrees, 25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

My Girl Paula: Chocolate-Cherry Chiffon Pie

This week's theme for the My Girl, Paula is Pies. I love pies! It's been so hot out, that when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. It involves no baking! Since I'm making this on Wednesday, we all know it's for dinner at my parents' house tomorrow. I tasted the filling. Awesome. I am making the entire dinner tomorrow since my poor mom broker her foot on Saturday. I feel bad for her!

The picture is before being frozen. I will take a picture of it tomorrow!

Ingredients:

24 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (oreos)

2 T butter

1 cup boiling water

1 (6 oz) box cherry-flavored gelatin (Jell-o)

1/2 cup ice

1 (16-oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (12 oz) package frozen cherries, thawed

Directions:

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine cookies and butter. Pulse until crumbs form. Press into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine boiling water and gelatin, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Add ice, and stir until melted. Fold in whipped topping until smooth. Fold in cherries. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Cowboy Burgers

My friend, Michele, at Alwayz Bakin' made this recipe the other night. She raved about it and I love a good hamburger, so Jimmy and I decided to give it a try. She was so right! It was so awesomely good! Jimmy did a great job grilling for me (especially since the grill didn't want to start for quite a while!). I did not set the burgers in the fridge for 30 minutes since Jimmy was afraid to turn grill off and then have it not start again! This was very easy and so good.

The recipe is from Deep South Dish. You can find the recipe at her site. Please try...you won't regret it!

Fresh off the grill!

My Girl, Paula: French Toast Stuffed with Banana and Walnuts

Last week's Theme for My Girl, Paula was Breakfast. I found this recipe in the The Lady & Sons, Too cookbook. I can't say this was my favorite recipe, but it was still good. I think I would have liked a little less banana stuff.

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

4 very ripe bananas

1/4 cup (1 oz) coarsely chopped walnuts

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

3 slices egg bread

4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

In a large, shallow bowl, using a fork, beat the eggs until lightly frothy. Stir in the milk; set aside.

Peel bananas into a small bowl and mash them with a fork. Stir in the walnuts and nutmeg. Spread the banana-walnut mixture evenly over half the bread slices, leaving a 1/4 inch border uncovered on all edges. Top with remaining bread slices and press down gently to seal.

Place 2 sandwiches in the egg mixture and press down gently. Turn gently and let soak for a moment, until evenly saturated on both sides. Remove from the bowl and repeat with the remaining two sandwiches.

In a frying pan or on a griddle large enough to hold all the sandwiches at once, melt 2 T of the butter over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and fry until the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Cut the remaining 2 T butter into several pieces and dot them around the pan. Flip the sandwiches with a spatula and fry until the second side is browned, about 2 minutes longer.

Place the French toast on warmed individual plates. Using a small, fine sieve, lightly dust the tops with confectioner's sugar. Serve hot, with jam or maple syrup.

Sweet and Spicy Jerk Ribs

This recipe is from the August/September 2010 "A Taste of Home" Magazine. It did not take any time to put together into the crock pot. And, man, was it DELICIOUS! Just the right amount of kick to it. The meat fell off the bone. I will definitely make this again.

Ingredients:

2 racks pork baby back ribs (about 4 1/2 lbs)

3 T olive oil

1/3 cup Caribbean jerk seasoning

3 cups honey barbecue sauce

3 T apricot preserves

2 T honey

Directions:

Cut ribs into serving-size pieces; brush with oil and rub with the jerk seasoning. Place in a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over ribs.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Skim fat from sauce before serving.