Sunday Chicken

     As we prepared our menu for the week on family night, my son perused my pinterest food board to find something for his choice.  He chose Sunday Chicken because it was bacon wrapped chicken strips.  I don't know what it is with bacon wrapped meat.  Males just seem to have a fascination with it.  Well, I decided that we'd try to make it.   It seemed simple enough. The bonus was that I could put it in the oven just before I left for church and within an hour of returning home dinner would be ready.

     As some of you may already know, I don't usually make a recipe exactly as I found it.  This dish was no exception and I am really glad because it was fabulous....definitely not for a diet though. 

     It is boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins wrapped in bacon and then topped with a mixture of cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Cover with foil and bake for about 4 hours. Then remove foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. This is great for Sunday dinner...just put it in before church and it's ready by noon! The chicken is so tender and tasty...you can cut it with a fork!

Sunday Chicken

9-15 boneless skinless chicken tenderloins

1-2 packages of bacon

2 can cream chicken soup

1 cup all natural sour cream

1/2 can diced green chiles

1 tsp cummin

1-2 cups shredded Mexican style cheese 

Wrap the chicken with a piece of bacon and place in a baking pan.

 Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl.  (except cheese)

 Spread over chicken strips and sprinkle with the cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for 4 hours at 225 Degrees F.  Uncover and bake for an additional 15-25 minutes.  (I let it cook a little longer because I like the cheese to begin browning.)

 Remove the foil.  Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.  We ate it over rice with some green salad.  Enjoy

Even this amount was too much for the two of us.  We ate it twice and then got tired of it.  Later in the week, I took the leftovers, shredded up the chicken, mixed it all together with some veggies, mushrooms and rice, added some more cheese, and baked it into a casserole.  (350 D F for 45 min)  I served this with a green salad.  It was very good.

Stain Removal from an Old Sink

Stain Removal from an Old Sink

     I think I fell in love with this home when I bought it 5 years ago because it reminded me of my grandmother's home.  It just 'felt' like coming home.  Who can argue with that?  It did have its problems but nothing that I could not live with.
     Over the years last few years in my new home, I have found that it is decidedly difficult to clean old fixtures.  One of my favorite pieces is the old farm style kitchen sink that I have in my kitchen.  I don't want to replace it!  So I searched for and tried many different ways to clean it so that I could be happy with it once again.  

This was after I had used an SOS pad and lots of 'elbow' grease.

Even after a regular cleaning my wonderful sink STILL looks filthy!

This is after I tried my new solution.

     Finally, I found something that worked.  Not only did it work, but it worked with almost no effort on my part.  So I must share it with you.  It worked so well in fact that I am also going to try it on the older fixtures in my bathroom too.   I will let you know how that goes.

     The trick?  It was a solution of:  1 part bleach to 2 parts baking soda.  I made enough to fill the 1/2 pint jar on the sink about 3/4 full and I still have half of a bottle left.  I mixed the two together with the handle of a spoon.  (The solution separates so you will have to remix it each time you use it.  For this reason, I don't recommend making a larger amount.  It would be too difficult to mix and you may end up splashing it all over yourself.  WEAR CLOTHES THAT YOU DON'T MIND GETTING BLEACH STAINED TO DO THIS.)

     

     Unfortunately, I could not find my gloves but I wouldn't do this again without them.  It did dry out my hands quite a bit.  To use this mixture, I took the corner of a green flat plastic scrubber and dabbed a bit of the solution on it.  I then went to work rubbing it on the sink.  At first I scrubbed hard but I found that this was not necessary.  Just make sure to rub it into every area and let it sit.  You might want to ventilate the room as well because the bleach smell is very strong.  It took me less than five minutes to do this!  Cleaning IS really all about having the right tools!

Homemade Maple Flavored Syrup

     During my first year of my married life, my husband and I didn't always see eye-to-eye.  One of those instances happened to be about--of all things--maple syrup.  I had been making my own for years because it was cheaper and tasted as good as or better than the ones I could buy.  Well, he insisted that it just wasn't as good as the store bought syrup.  So one day while I was doing the grocery shopping, I bought a bottle of Maple flavored syrup at the store.  I even bought the better more expensive name brand.  He was pacified.  

     When I used the last of it one morning, I stuck the bottle back in the fridge.  Later that day while my husband was at work, I made some of my syrup and poured it into that bottle.  He never noticed a difference.  I continued to do this.  About 6 months later, I told him what I had been doing.  He was so amused that I had 'tricked' him into eating my syrup that he had to tell all of his friends.  After that, he no longer had a problem with my syrup (or most of the other things that I 'DIYed') or at least, he gave them a fair chance.

    Homemade syrup really is better.  It doesn't have all of the additives and preservatives in it that are in the traditional maple flavored syrups that we buy at the stores.  The thing is......it is SO EASY to make that I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to make their own.  It is simply one part white sugar, one part brown sugar, one part water, mapeleine, and vanilla.  The vanilla is optional but I like the flavor that it adds to the syrup. 

    We use ours on a regular basis so it doesn't sit in the refrigerator for long.  If that isn't true for you or your family, it may crystallize inside the refrigerator.  You can fix that by doing one of two things.  Either, just put the jar in a pot of warm water on low on the stove and allow it to remain there until the syrup becomes liquid again.  Or, you can add one part corn syrup to it.  In most cases, that will keep it from crystallizing.

     I usually store my syrup in glass canning jars.  This facilitates warming it up and also it is easier to pour the warm syrup into when I have finished cooking it.

Maple Flavored Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/4-1/2 tsp mapleine (depending on how strong you want the flavor)

1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

Instructions:

In a small to medium pan combine the sugars and water.  

Bring to a boil.  Allow to boil slowly until the sugars are all dissolved.  

Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes.

Add mapleine and vanilla. 

Pour into storage container and serve or refrigerate.  It will become thicker as it cools in the refrigerator.  If you would like it to be thicker than this recipe, just let the syrup boil a little longer (5 min).  However, don't let it boil for too long or you will end up with maple hard candy instead of syrup.  To check just pour a strand into ice water.  It shouldn't become hard.  It should still be 'soupy' in the water.

This will be good for approx. 1-2 months in the refrigerator (ours never lasts that long because we also like it as a topping for Vanilla bean ice cream).  However, it will develop mold on the surface when it gets too old.  If you have a bottle with older syrup, open it and look inside before shaking it up. Do not eat it if it is moldy.  I have gotten food poisoning from unknowingly eating moldy food.

Enjoy! 

     Bacon Chive Cheeseball

     Today was my turn to teach the lesson in Young Womens.  I chose the Plan of Salvation and for my object lesson, we went on a trip....first, to a place where we could have all the candy we wanted (but only candy--Telestial Kingdom).....second, to a place where we could have all the candy, bread and water that we wanted (a few more choices but still very limited--Terrestrial Kingdom).....and third, to a place where we could have our pick of all the choices that were available and as much as we wanted (unlimited choices and unlimited resources--Celestial Kingdom).  In the 'smorgasbord' for the last one, I had made a cheese ball and was asked for the recipe so I will share it here.

     I actually got the idea for this cheese ball from the elementary school where I did my student teaching.  Someone brought one in and left it on the teacher's table in the staff room.  I loved it!  I didn't get a recipe but a co-worker did tell me the ingredients sooooo being my usual self....I experimented until I found something which I liked that was similar.

Bacon Chive Cheeseball

2 pkgs cream cheese (room temp)

3 oz bottle of Hormel Real Bacon Bits (Use more or less depending on your taste...you could also use real bacon and break it up into bits)

1/4-1/2 cup chives (cut fine)

1-3 T Worcestershire sauce (depend again on your taste....I like it strong)

 1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)

      

Mix all ingredients together (except nuts) until well blended.  Place in refrigerator for several hours to allow it to firm up.  Mold into a ball and roll in the nuts.  Serve with crackers.

I didn't serve mine with nuts but that is only because I can never be sure who might be allergic to them.  I prefer mine covered with walnuts.  Enjoy. 

Easy Cookie Heart Pops

(Made with a cake mix)

     For today's soap box, I need to tell you that our old, old house has some lead pipes.  We've lived here for about 5 years now.  About a year after we moved in, we had some plumbing done.  It seems that after that we were sick a lot more frequently than was normal for us.  It didn't dawn on me to connect the two until a plumber friend told me that cutting into lead pipes made it possible for the lead to leech into the water.  Since then, we have been drinking bottled water and most recently water from the dispenser at Smith's Grocery.
     This week the dispenser has been broken so I had to go back for a few days to buying the drinking water in the gallons.  Being the miser that I am, I opted to run the few blocks to Walmart to get their water that is about .50 less per gallon.  While there I found these cute candy lollipop bouquets.  Even better, there were 10 pops in the bouquet for only $1.  I didn't know what I might use them for at the time but they were so cute and such a bargain that I just couldn't resist.  I picked up three of them (and will go back this afternoon for more).

     As I continued my shopping (this was from 7:30 am-9:30 am right after I dropped my son off at early morning seminary), I started thinking about the Young Women's activity tonight and the cookies I planned to make.  A 'light' flickered!  I could marry the lollipops with the cookies somehow to make cookie pops!  I wasn't sure how it would work because I didn't know if these beauties would tolerate a 350 F oven or not.  There's only one way to find out though so I began the experiment.  I decided that if baking them in didn't work then I could just frost the remainder of the cookies and stick them on.  Baking them in worked just fine so.....Wonderful!  No waste!  and they looked presentable....at least most of them did.  I made 24 with lollipops and had enough to make 8 more cookies for a plate of cookies for one of our young women (that won't work out now since I overcooked them while blogging).   We will be delivering them tonight to the girls who don't come as regularly....and we will be giving the Bishop a 'Heart Attack'.

     No we're not going to kill him....except maybe with kindness.  For those of you who don't already know, a 'heart attack' is basically decorating his office door with hearts for Valentines day.  So tonight is a service and fellowship night for our group.

Before baking

After baking

     The hardest part about making these was getting the darned wrappers off.  I tried pulling them off but they were wrapped tightly.  I found that the easiest way was to use my kitchen scissors to cut the cellophane along the top and pull the wrapper off down the stick.  So now that you know the 'story' of how these came to be.....I will give you the recipe.   I think I may also dip them in a very thin cream cheese frosting glaze.   Enjoy and have a wonderful Valentines day!

Basic Cake Mix Cookies

1 package white cake mix (2 layer size)
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening (like Crisco) or margarine or butter (I used butter)
2-3 tablespoons water (I ended up using almost 3 TBLsp)

About 10-20 drops of neon pink food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Blend all ingredients in large bowl. Add water intermittently and blend in before adding more until the dough is cookie dough consistency.  Drop by teaspoonfuls (I used a small ice cream scoop) 2 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheet (I sprayed mine).  Put the lollipops on top of the cookie ball and flatten slightly.   Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

(Unless your too busy blogging about your success making Cookie pops and over cook the last batch.  Oh well, my teenage boy will appreciate my cookie mishap.)

LOWER-SODIUM CRESCENT BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

(The only sodium is what is naturally in the foods.  To lower the sodium even further, use low sodium substitutes for the Canadian Bacon, green chiles and Cheese.)

This morning I wanted to make something more than just toast, cereal or any of the other quickies. So I took some inspiration from Pinterest and made it my own. Just FYI, I have been cooking for almost 40 years (since I was old enough to hold a spoon) so I am now at the point where I rarely follow a recipe exactly. (My teenage son says that most of my food is pretty good too....high praise from a teenager.) I look for recipes similar to what I want and see what ingredients they used. Then I decide what ingredients I WANT based on WHAT I HAVE. I really hate running to the store in the middle of a cooking 'expedition'. Also, I have sodium issues so I don't normally add it to recipes. If you would like more salt, add it. However, my recipes don't normally tend to need it as I use a variety of spices.

This is what I came up with (in it’s uncooked version):

Ingredients:

½ roll of crescent dough
5 eggs
½ can of diced green chiles
¼ cup of milk
¼- ½ tsp cumin (depends on your taste)
¾ cup of shredded Mexican style cheese (my store brand has Monterey jack, mild cheddar, queso quesadilla, & asadero cheeses)
4 slices of the large Canadian bacon rounds (cut into 1/8 size wedges)
1 Tblsp oil (for greasing the pan or just use spray)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
3. Spread crescent dough in a layer across the bottom of the pan. Pinch together so that none of the pan is showing. If you would like it going up the sides too then add more of the dough.
4. Spread most of the Canadian bacon wedges around the bottom. Reserve about ¼ for the top.
5. In a medium sized bowl, mix together eggs and milk. Whip briefly (I used a fork.)
6. Add green chiles, milk, cumin, and ½ of the cheese. Mix together and pour over the dough and bacon.
7. Spread the rest of the bacon and cheese over the top.
8. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the egg is set and no longer runny in the middle.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 min.
10. Serve with garnishes of your choice. I used salsa, sour cream and a few more sprinkles of grated cheese.

And here is what it looks like baked! Enjoy!