Chicken Marsala with Sauteed Spinach w/ Golden Raisins

Well, it’s official…I’m on the dinner making list in our home. haha! Oh wait, I forgot to write that I am back in KY at the moment on what you could call my “1st official furlough”.  It feels wonderful to be home for awhile! It’s kind of fun to be able to bake pretty much whatever I want because there’s no question if I can acquire the ingredients that I need or not.  I can make quite a bit in Thailand, but ingredients can be quite limited.

Anyway, all that to say, I made dinner tonight for my mom and dad and I. We have been trying to come up with more ways to cook chicken, so I’ve been searching the internet like crazy lately to find some recipes. This one I found on Eat Better America. It is very good! We don’t have marsala, so I replaced it with cooking sherry (which is what was advised to use if you do not have the original ingredient. That, or chicken broth)  and it tasted just fine.  We are sauce people, so we actually came to the conclusion to double the recipe for the sauce next time. The recipe also calls for fresh mushrooms, but does not say what kind. I chose small bellas and they were wonderful.

For a side dish, I made Martha Stewart’s sauteed spinach with golden raisins. Very good as well.

Both dishes were amazingly easy to make.  I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as we did! =)

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Peppermint Fudge

Here is another fudge recipe that is pretty much the same as the Butter Rum Fudge a couple of posts below but is even yummier in my opinion. 🙂

1 pkg. white chocolate chips

1 can Pillsbury Vanilla frosting (you don’t have to use the brand name, but we found it to taste the best)

Few drops of peppermint extract (to taste)

2-3 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Line a 9×9″ pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. In a medium size pan, over low heat, melt white chocolate chips. Stir in frosting until mixed well and smooth. Stir in peppermint extract and then mix in candy cane.  Pour in fudge mixture into pan and refrigerate for at least on hour. Lift fudge out of pan and cut into small square pieces. 

 

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Butter Rum Fudge

I know it’s not Christmas yet, but I don’t have very many Thanksgiving type recipes so I’m going to start the Christmas ones early 🙂 .

Butter Rum fudge

1 pkg. butterscotch chips

1 can Pillsbury Vanilla frosting (you don’t have to use the brand name, but we found it to taste the best)

1/2 tsp. rum extract

3/4 cup pecans

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

In a medium size pan, over low heat, melt butterscotch chips. Stir in frosting until mixed well and smooth. Stir in rum extract and then mix in pecans. Line a 9×9″ pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour in fudge mixture into pan and refrigerate for at least on hour. Lift fudge out of pan and cut into small square pieces.  Enjoy, and a friendly reminder to not over indulge because it will be very easy to give into temptation! 🙂

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And The Winners Are…

 And the Grand Prize winner is…

JODI

 Congratulations Jodi! Your Ice Cream Sandwich Delight won you a brand new Oneida Silicone Spoon Spatula and a Oneida 10.5″ Balloon Whisk!

Congratulations once again and I really hope you enjoy getting a lot of use out of you prize. Your dessert tasted wonderful! It was the favorite with my whole family 🙂 .

 Congratulations to…

LIZ

 Your Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping has one 2nd place!

 When I was at the store picking out the prizes, everywhere I looked was Christmas stuff already, which helped me get into the Christmas mood. Your prize is a result of that mood 🙂 . You have won, in my opinion, some very cute cookie cutters that I’m sure you will have a lot of fun using. I hope you like them! Congratulations!

 

 And last, but definitely not least, Congratulations to…

MORGAN

 Your Ice Cream Crunch Cake has won 3rd prize!

 As another result of my spur of the moment Christmas mood, you will be able to show off some of your artistic flair with some Christmas pretzel molds(I almost kept them for myself 🙂 ). I think they would be great to use to make treats for Christmas plates for your friends or neighbors. Congratulations!

Honorable Mention:

Brittany’s Caramel Pudding Cake

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who participated in my first recipe contest. I’m sorry if you participated and didn’t win anything and I am also sorry it took me such a long time to get to the final results, but I hope you still had fun. I know I did!  God bless you!

To view the winning recipes, please click ‘Continue Reading’.

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Peanut Butter Pie

Okay, I must admit that when this pie is made, it is my weakness 🙂 . This recipe was given to us from a very good friend of ours whom I call, Aunt Kristy. Thank you soooo much Aunt Kristy for introducing me to the best and most peanutbuttery pie ever! 🙂

Peanut Butter Pie

1 (4oz.) cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup milk

1 (9oz.) coolwhip

1 Box graham cracker crumbs (make according to directions for 9″ pie.)

(For 9×13 double recipe, including crust- which is how we make it)

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar on low. Add and beat into mixture the peanut butter and milk. Fold in cool whip, pour into graham creacker crust. Freeze.

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Cheddar Potato Casserole

Very Yummy! Great for potlucks or home dinners! It tastes good freshly baked or for lunch the next day!

Cheddar Potato Casserole

2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 1/2 tsp. dried onion flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 pkg. (24oz. ) frozen hash-brown potatoes, thawed

8oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients, mix well. Spread in greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Bake 1 hour or until bubbly and golden brown. Grab a spoon and start eating 🙂 .

Yield: 12-16 servings

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Strawberry – Spinach Salad

A great salad! Healthy and sweet 🙂 .

Strawberries, Baby Spinach, Almonds

Dressing:

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp. onion juice

1 cup vegetable oil

2 TBSP poppyseeds

Just mix all dressing ingredients well. Easy!

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No-bake Peanut Butter/Butterscotch cookies

These are sooo easy! And, in my opinion, are just as good 🙂 . My mom received this recipe many years ago from a friend.

(1) 12oz. bag butterscotch chips

1 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth

4 cups corn flakes

In a large pan, melt butterscotch chips. Add Peanut butter and corn flakes. Stir until cereal is well coated. Spoon out on to wax paper. Let cool. Enjoy!

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No Bake Cookies

This a brand new recipe that my Mom just found in a magazine in the doctor’s office 🙂 . They are so good! My dad even wants them to be a regular!

 

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup lightly crushed cornflakes

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

Start melting chocolate in a large pan. When chocolate is melted turn heat down and add all other ingredients except the butterscotch chips. Turn heat completely off and let cool a little bit so as not to let butterscotch melt when they are added.  Drop spoonfuls onto wax paper and let sit until set enough to pick up quickly so you can put them in the refridgerator to completely set. Enjoy!

 

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A Bit of Egg Randomness ;)

 Tip: To add flavor to your eggs pour a little hot sauce in! My mother puts it in her Egg Beaters and she really likes it. She kept telling me that I should try it,I personally thought it sounded kind of strange, but after awhile I gave in and tried it. I’ll never eat eggs plain again! 🙂 Adding some cheese to your eggs also tastes very good.

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