September 29, 2016

Chicken Pockets

Alright, I promised months ago I would put this on the blog but I had a minor freak out. This was posted on one of my old, no longer existing blogs and I didn't think I had the recipe anywhere. Luckily younger me was smart and wrote it down and placed it in a safe place in my recipe book. I found it and a HUGE wave of relief came over me. It is one of my favorite recipes and was one of my first original recipes. I think I can say this recipe gave me the confidence in my baking/cooking knowledge/abilities. I never used to create or cook without a recipe.I tried a variation of this at a friend’s dinner party. It was really good but I had this recipe for a yummy hot lemony chicken salad that I thought of frequently. So I decided to take the two and combine them into the wonderful deliciousness I have today. I eat this with rice or quinoa or potatoes or some other veggie as a side. Of course you don’t need to have those you can just eat them by themselves. Now this is sort of a base recipe. You can add more of somethings if you want or less of others. Honestly it depends on my mood on how much celery I add, or if I want more of a kick.
2 Pillsbury SEAMLESS crescent roll containers (can be done with regular crescent roll dough but that includes another step. You will need to put the seams together for this. or you can try to make it work with the crescent shapes.)
2 cups shredded chicken
4-6 oz cream cheese (you choose how creamy you want it)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
2 TB onion, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 TB parsley
1/8 tsp chili powder
2 TB milk
4 TB butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 TB almonds, slivered (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Unroll dough and cut each sheet into 8 squares.
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and scoop about 2 tablespoons into center of squares. Then bring together corners and make them into a cushion. Place cushion on pan, seem side down to help them stay in place. Bake for 20 mins.

Microwave Score: 4 dough can get a little doughier. I prefer to eat them freshly baked or heated in a toaster oven.
Freezer Score: haven't frozen it. but if I did I might actually freeze them raw.
Jake Score: 4.5 thinks they are great. He even asks for them, which is a big deal for something other than Mexican food.
Overall Score: 4 I really like them and they are easy to make but they really are best when fresh.

September 7, 2016

Peach Pound Cake

We had peaches that we getting soft and I wasn't prepared for canning yet so I found this yummy recipe to try. The family all loved it, and my coworker referred to it as peach ambrosia bread, which I agree with, so I might change the name in my recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup real butter, softened (2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1/2 tsp. almond extract (or more vanilla if you do not care for almond)
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups diced fresh or frozen peaches (approx. 6-8 fresh peaches), peeled, pit removed and diced
3-4 Tbl. butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take your 9"-10" nonstick Bundt pan and cover the pan really well with the 3-4 Tablespoons butter making sure to cover all the crevices and areas really well. Dust with the ¼ cup of granulated sugar, rotating the pan to coat well.
In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the almond and vanilla extracts.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt and mix. Add this dry mixture to batter alternately with sour cream; beating well after each addition. Fold in the cut up peaches. Be very careful not to break them up, but to leave them in chunks. Pour the peach batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out almost clean. It's important to cool the cake for 15 minutes before removing from the pan to a serving plate. When the cake is completely cooled, you can dust it with powdered sugar.
Fresh Peach Pound Cake
Microwave Score: Not needed!
Freezer Score: haven't frozen it, but you probably could. and it will probably still taste good later on, especially if you freeze it in loaves.
Family Score: 4.5 "delicious"
Overall Score: 4.5 yummy treat that isn't overly sweet.

http://amothersshadow.com/2014/09/09/fresh-peach-pound-cake/#