Friday Foreshadowing

After almost a month of not posting any recipes I've found recently I had a hard time choosing just five. These five that I choose are all ones that, given the time and ambition, I would love to try in the near future.

• Soft & Chewy Homemade Bagels from Life Blessons: I've made bagels a handfuls of times but it's been probably close to a year since I've done it. This looks like a good recipe to re-enter the delicious bagel world with.
• Apple Crisp Pizza from The Girl Who Ate Everything: What a fun idea! A classic dish with a fun twist.
• Crunchers from Confections of a Readaholic Mom: A no-bake dessert that provides "sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy." Sounds good to me! {Bonus: You're sure to find crackers on sale in these coming weeks.}
• Pumpkin Gnocchi Treats from Weelicious: I'm thinking if you leave the glaze off of these you could almost pass them of as a semi-healthy snack.
• Meltaway Cookies from Landee See, Landee Do: No eggs and simple ingredients you likely already have on hand could make these a great go-to cookie recipe. That and the fact they look delicious!

This is linked to Friday Favorites.

Breadsticks with Garlic Butter

This is one of many recipes that I tried for the first time when we had company. Why do I do that to myself? I'm fortunate in that I've never had any major disasters. Anyway, these breadsticks were far from a disaster, instead they've become a mainstay in my menu planning.
After trying a few different methods I've found a great way to keep these in the freezer to pull out for unexpected uses. That, along with keeping a batch of Garlic Butter on hand, means breadsticks are never more than 10 minutes away from the table!

Breadsticks
 Print Recipe
Source: Clover Lane

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1 T yeast
3 T brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 T oil

Directions:
   1.  Pour water in a large mixing bowl; sprinkle yeast and brown sugar over top. Allow yeast to bubble, about five minutes.
   2.  Add flour, salt and oil; mix with dough hook until dough forms a ball. Cover and let rise one hour.
   3.  Roll dough out to size of cookie sheet. {I usually split it between two sheets.} Transfer to greased and cornmealed sheet. Using a pizza cutter cut into breadsticks. Let rise 1 hour.
   To Serve Immediately: Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Spread with Garlic Butter {recipe below} and serve warm.
   To Make For Freezer: Bake at 375 for 5 minutes. Store in a freezer bag. When ready to serve, place on greased and cornmealed sheet and bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes. Spread with Garlic Butter {recipe below} and serve warm.

Garlic Butter
3 T butter, softened
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder

Menu September 24

Stuffed Peppers: I avoided making these at first because they seemed complicated. Once I got started, however, I realized that breaking it down into a few smaller steps made it quite easy. We really enjoyed these peppers and all the different flavors in them.

Chicken Noodle Soup: We're slowly working our way back to a weekly soup night and I'm excited! There's something about chicken noodle soup that just can't be replaced. I wouldn't call this a replica of the canned stuff but instead it had it's own twist with amazing flavors. {Recipe coming soon}

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes: Again, we are loving the return to fall flavors. My husband is a big fan of cinnamon so it's quite possible these are his favorite brunch food.

Peanut Butter Muffins: These are wonderful! They're somehow creamy and, like she recommends, a smear of jelly is the perfect touch.

On the Menu...

Sweet & Sour Chicken {Crock Pot}
Ham & Peas Mac & Cheese {from the freezer}
Crepes with ham & cheese filling
Bunsteads
Southwestern Pizza {using dried black beans for the first time}
Brunch TBD

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

 

I happened upon this recipe a few months ago in Woman's Day magazine and, unlike most recipes I find, I tried it immediately. Since then I've made these cookies numerous times because these Easy Peanut Butter Cookies have quickly become a family favorite.
With only four ingredients they are incredibly easy to put together {hence the name}. In fact, in the time it takes your oven to warm up you can mix the dough and prepare the first sheet to bake.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
 Print Recipe
Source: Woman's Day
Yields: ~4 dozen 

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg

Directions:
   1.  Mix all ingredients until well incorporated.
   2.  Drop by heaping teaspoon onto baking sheet, slightly flatten. {These cookies don't spread a lot so it's okay to put them close together.}

  

   3.  Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.

 

This is linked to URS.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

We're always looking for a new variety of pizza to add to our repertoire. This Chicken Alfredo Pizza is the newest addition and one we really enjoy. My husband especially enjoys it because he can easily add shrimp to his side. {I'm not a seafood lover so we almost never have it at home.}
To speed up the process the sauce can be made ahead of time and any leftovers can be used on pasta later in the week.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza
 Print Recipe
Source: Recipe Dose
Yields: 2 13-inch pizzas 

Ingredients: 
Alfredo Sauce
2 T butter
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch red pepper flakes
1 T flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper 
Toppings
pizza dough
Alfredo Sauce (see above)
2 medium tomatoes, diced or 1/2 can diced tomatoes
spinach- 2 large handfuls fresh or 1/3 package frozen

1 chicken breast, cooked and diced

2 cups shredded cheese

 

Directions:
   1.  In a medium saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add garlic powder, red pepper flakes and flour; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring frequently; cook until slightly thickened and season as desired.
   2.  Roll out crust; top with sauce, tomatoes, spinach, chicken and cheese.
   3.  Bake at 450 for 13-16 minutes until slightly browned on top.

This is linked to URS.

Menu September 17

Breadsticks: These are definitely our favorite recipe and I've finally figured out a great way to make them for the freezer. {Recipe coming soon}

Chicken Alfredo Pizza: The newest addition to our pizza repertoire. My husband especially likes it because he can add shrimp to it. {Recipe coming soon}

Chocolate Banana Melts: I modified these a bit because I didn't have nutella but the result was quite a treat. {Recipe coming soon}

 

On the Menu...

Pasta with leftover alfredo sauce
Stromboli
Stuffed Peppers {New}
Chicken Noodle Soup
Southwestern Pizza {using dried black beans for the first time}
Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Simple Basting Mixture for Grilling

We've come to really enjoy this simple mixture we use when we make kebabs. It's simple, using common pantry ingredients, but the combination is stellar while still allowing the food's original flavor to shine as well. Even though the weather is becoming sporadically cool there's still plenty of time left to grill. This is really quite an easy sauce to put together for the next time you grill.

Simple Basting Mixture for Grilling
 Print Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
   1.  Combine ingredients in a small bowl; stir until well combined.
   2.  Brush over food while grilling. {We've used this on chicken, shrimp, onions, potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, etc.}

Menu September 10

Watermelon Rind Pickles: I remember when I was little having Watermelon Rind Pickles my grandma made. I saw something in a magazine this summer that made me decide I wanted to try making them myself. We've been enjoying these summery pickles immensely.

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Bites: I ended up using my regular French Toast recipe but the method from this recipe and we really enjoyed the end product. We think the big difference is the extra surface area that can get toasty and therefore delicious.

Black Beans & Rice Burritos: According to my husband, for a meatless meal this was pretty good. We all loved this, even the 10-month old so we will surely have them again.

 

Grilling Glaze: This is the second time we've tried this simple glaze and have been extrememly impressed both times. {Recipe coming soon}

On the Menu...

Hawaiian Tuna Sandwiches (made with chicken instead) with Corn on the Cob {our daughter absolutely loves corn on the cob right now}
Cream Cheese Pasta with Breadsticks
Stuffed Peppers {New} with Creamy Corn Salad
Cheesy Salsa Meatloaf {from the freezer} with Twice Baked Potatoes
Chicken Fajita Pizza
Chocolate Banana Melts {New}
We were given a lot of tomatoes from a church member so I'll also make Red Sauce for the freezer.

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Pear Chicken Salad Sandwiches

We are blessed to have two pear trees in our backyard. I never would have thought to put fruit trees in so it was definitely a bonus when we discovered them in the backyard. We got about fifteen pounds of pears this year so definitely lots of pears for experimenting.

When grapes were on sale I knew one great use for some pears would be a chicken salad. I looked at a few recipes for inspiration and then just started putting things in the bowl. It turned out quite well and thankfully I took notes!

Pear Chicken Salad Sandwiches

 Print Recipe

Yields: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 cup grapes, halved

1 medium pear, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 cooked chicken breasts, diced

3 T onion, diced

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup mayonaise

salt & pepper

1/8 tsp dill

1/4 tsp parsley

dash nutmeg

dash ginger

Directions:

   1.  Mix ingredients in a medium bowl; refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve on bread or rolls.