Monday, September 22, 2008

Dijon Chicken

I found this recipes on the side of a Rice-A-Roni box a couple years ago and our family has absolutely LOVED it! Everyone that tries it is suprised at what a good flavor it has. And you know, I've come to find that some of the best recipes come from the backs of packaged food. For instance, our favorite chocolate chip cookies came from the back of a bag of chocolate chips. Our favorite bar cookie came from the back of a flour package, and so on. I really have to say, give those recipes a try. You'll most likely be pleasantly surprised. These food companies are trying to show off their products, you know; so they'll be putting really good recipes on their packages to do so.

Anyway, back to the recipe...

Here's what you'll need:

2/3 C. dry bread crumbs
1 3/4 t. dried basil
1 t. onion powder
3-4 uncooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Dijon mustard
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 C. oil

Combine crumbs, basil, and onion powder. Spread on side of chicken breasts with mustard. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Coat with crumb mixture, dip into eggs, then again into crumbs. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, cook on each side until done. Can serve with Rice-A-Roni.

I always double this recipe for our family and we really enjoy it. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cowboy Casserole

This dish is my son's favorite meal. I don't know if it's his favorite because of the name or if it's just that good. But what I do know is that it is quick, easy, and cheap to make. It also freezes well, which is handy when you have a new baby and don't want to cook. You just pull it out of the freezer, thaw it, bake it, and eat it. Handy, handy, handy!!

Here's what you'll need:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 T. dried minced onion
2 (15 oz) cans baked beans
2 C. barbeque sauce

1/4 C. brown sugar

1 or 2 tubes refrigerator biscuits (not the Grand's super big biscuits, just the cheap 50 cent store brand refrigerator biscuits. We like bread, so we always use 2 tubes and what doesn't fit on the casserole, we just bake to eat on the side.)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with dried onion. Remove from heat. Stir in beans, barbeque sauce, and brown sugar. You can put it in a gallon freezer bag to freeze for another day or you can put it into a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, top with biscuits and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with shredded cheese and bake another 5 minutes. And that's it! How easy is that?!


If you haven't noticed, the majority of my meals are on paper plates. The reason being that the majority of my meals are going out to the people working on building my house, and they eat on paper plates. But even if I were to use real dishes, I only have one set. Maybe when I get into my new house with more room, I will have space to get fun dishes. Until then, you get paper plates. Sorry!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Crepes

Here is another recipe from my mom. I can't remember her making them, though I'm sure she did. But I decided to try them after I had gotten married and absolutely LOVED them! Now, the batter is super easy to make, but cooking them can take a little time. I always have two small pans going to help speed up the process. Be careful not to let one crepe burn while tending to the other if you use two pans, however. So make these on your next lazy Saturday morning when you have someone there with you to help keep little kids at bay for a little while.

Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 C. flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
4 eggs
3 1/3 C. milk
1 T. vanilla
Heat fry pan on medium to medium-high heat. Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a beater on low until combined. The batter is going to be really thin!
Melt 1/8 of a Tablespoon of butter in heated skillet.
Pour in 1/3 cup of batter and spread. Here is a little video of how I melt the butter and spread the batter...

Cook until batter is set except for the center; flip and cook until golden.
Remove to a place and keep warm until serving. You can serve these puppies with cinnamon and powdered sugar, or chopped fresh peaches and whipped cream, or chopped fresh strawberries and whipped cream (or both or all three!). The possibilities are endless, really!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Welcome!!!

Welcome to ALL THINGS DELICIOUS! My name is Hannah and I LOVE to cook!! I decided to start my own food blog to share my love for cooking with others.

People have told me that they think I'm a good cook. I don't know that I can agree with that. What I can say is that I think I have some good recipes. That's all it takes, well, and maybe a little practice, for anyone to be considered a good cook!

I've been adding recipes over the last month so that when people check out my blog, they will have a wide variety of recipes to look over and try. So take a look, give something a try, and let me know what you think! I hope these recipes will inspire you to get cooking!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sweet Pork Burritos

I made these burritos for my little (I really shouldn't call him little anymore, he's way taller than me) brother's birthday since he loves mexican food. It was the first time that I tried all three of these recipes, and WOW, I was amazed at how good they were. Like, seriously, they were as good as a really good restaraunt's food! In fact, one of my brother's friends said, "Have you ever eaten at Cafe Rio (a way good restaraunt in Utah)? This tastes just like their food!" I was so excited to hear that!!

The recipe for the pork, from my aunt, is actually a copy-cat recipe for Cafe Rio Pork. As I was making it, the sauce that it simmers in didn't smell that great. All I could smell was cola soda and salsa and the combination does not sound very good, I know, but you have got to taste this. The meat was amazing!!! I actually made the meat a day in advance because it takes 8 hours to cook in the crockpot, which turned out great. The flavors really came together overnight! Then you are just left with making the rice and the black beans the next day. And those are a breeze to put together.

Here are the three recipes I used to make Sweet Pork Burritos...

Sweet Shredded Pork:

6 lb pork roast
1 (16 oz) bottle of salsa
1 (12 oz) can cola soda
2 C. brown sugar

Place pork in crock-pot and fill it half way up the pork with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork in thirds. Mix together sauce ingredients and put on top of pork. Cook additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with forks. Can refrigerate overnight then warm in crockpot until ready to eat.

Cilantro Lime Rice (my oldest sister's recipe):

3 C. chicken broth
1 1/2 C. uncooked white rice
2 t. lime zest (I just zested one whole lime and used that)
2 T. chopped cilantro
2 small cloves of garlic OR 1/2 t. garlic powder
1 T. butter
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Pepper to taste

Pour all ingredients into rice cooker for the easy version, or leave the lime juice and cilantro to add at the end for a fresher look. Or on the stovetop: In a saucepan combine chicken broth, rice, lime zest, garlic, pepper, and butter. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low, simmering for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover, and add cilantro and lime juice, stirring to combine.

Quick & Easy Black Beans (from ourbestbites.com):

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T. dried, minced or chopped onion
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 C. chicken broth
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. coriander (I didn't have any coriander on hand, so I left it out and it tasted just fine)
1/4 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
Juice from 1/2 lime

In a saucepan on the stove, combine all ingredients except lime juice, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer for about seven minutes, stirring occasionally. When done, remove from heat and add lime juice. Using the back of a spoon or rubber spatula, smash most of the beans. It will thicken upon standing.

To make the burritos, put shredded pork on a tortilla, top with beans, then rice, and sour cream and guacamole. Oh so very good!!! The next time I make this, I will either use a 4-6 lb. pork roast and leave everything else as is, or I will use the 8 to 10 lbs of pork and double the rice and beans. Make this for a party or for your own family. You'll have tons left over, but this is one dish you won't mind eating for lunch and dinner a few days in a row. Trust me!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Sweet & Sour Meatloaf

I have spent years trying so many different meatloaf recipes in hopes to find one I would fall in love with. There have been only one or two that I really liked, but not LOVED. Well, for Christmas last year, I gave one of my nieces cooking lessons. She got to decide what she wanted to make and she and I would get together and make a full meal once a week for a month. It was so much fun! One week, she brought a meatloaf recipe. We threw it together and I didn't really think much about it until I took my first bite. Oh, my gosh!! That was it; I was in love. It was SO good!!! I made this for the people coming evenings to build my house and one of them said that it was the best meatloaf he had ever tasted. So there you have it, two people voting it the best meatloaf ever.
Here's what you'll need:

Meatloaf:
2 eggs
1/4 C. ketsup
1/4 C. mustard
1 C. dry bread crumbs
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 lbs. ground beef

Sauce:
1/4 C. & 2 T. ketsup
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. cider vinegar

In a bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add 1/4 cup ketsup, mustard, bread crumbs, soup mix, salt, and pepper.

Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.


Here is the beef crumbled


Here it is mixed well

Shape into 2 loaves and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I usually just press the meat mixture into the loaf pans just because it is quicker and easier, but you can make loaves to make them look nice.

Combine sugars, vinegar, and 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons ketsup.

Drizzle over meatloaves.

I doubled the batch to feed alot of people, hence the four loaves.

Bake 20 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Now doesn't that look yummy? Just wait until you taste it!!

Note: I made this recipe for a girls' night out and cooked them in eight mini loaf pans for a cute, individual presentation idea. Just bake for 20 minutes, then add the sauce and bake another 15 minutes. Really fun!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Zucchini Bacon Quiche

Since I have had an abundance of zucchini, I have been looking through my recipes to find things I can make with them. I came to this recipe and got so very excited!! This dish is so good! It is very flavorful - you MUST try this!!!

Here's what you'll need:

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated cresent rolls
2 t. prepared mustard
6 bacon strips, diced
3 C. thinly sliced zucchini
1 medium onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 T. dried parsley flakes
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. dried basil

Press cresent dough into a greased 9 or 10 inch pie plate to form a crust, seal any perforations.
Spread with mustard.
In a skillet, cook bacon. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 Tablespoons of drippings. Saute zucchini and onion in drippings until tender. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, seasonings, bacon, and zucchini mixture.
Pour into crust.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Cover edges loosely with foil if pastry browns too quickly.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Cinnamon Rolls

Have you ever bought those cinnamon rolls from one of those specialty shops that are so sweet and tender and big and gooey and so very yummy? And have you ever thought, "If only I could make these at home!" If so, consider this your lucky day!
This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, who is the QUEEN of cinnamon roll making!! These rolls are so amazingly good, you just may never buy another one again. They do take some time to make, but they are sooooooooo worth it!

Here's what you'll need:

4 C. warm milk with one cube (1/2 C.) butter melted in it
2 T. yeast in 1 C. warm water
3/4 C. sugar
3 t. salt
4 eggs
14 C. flour

Put the milk in a microwavable bowl and put the cube of butter in the milk. Microwave until the butter is melted.
Stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit 10-15 minutes to bubble (this is called proofing).
Mix together all ingredients, except the flour, in a Bosch mixer (or other stand mixer) using a dough hook. When well mixed add the flour slowly and mix well; it will be stickier than bread dough.
If you do use a Bocsh mixer, you can immediately roll out 1/2 of your dough to 1/2 - 1/4 inch,
spread with softened butter, sprinkle with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon, and a handful of granulated white sugar.
If you don't use a Bocsh, you'll have to let the dough rise until doubled in size. Then roll out and go from there.
Roll up the dough and cut 2 inch wide rolls with string or dental floss.
Place into greased pans (this time I used a 13x18 inch pan and two 9x13 inch pans, just whatever rimmed pan you have available).
Cover and let rise until they have filled in the pan (about 30-45 minutes).
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
Remove from oven; brush with melted butter and cut around the rolls now to be able to get them out easily later. Frost while slightly warm.

Frosting:
1 (2 lbs) pkg. powdered sugar
Milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 a cube (1/4 cup) softened butter - not melted

Mix all together and add enough milk to reach desired consistancy. If you like a more citrus-y frosting, you can substitute the vanilla for lemon extract.
This recipe makes close to 4 dozen cinnamon rolls, depending on how thick you cut them. And they are AMAZING the first day that you make them - nice and fresh. The second day, they are still pretty good warmed up. After that, they aren't the best. So since they make so much, make them for when company comes over or give them away to neighbors and friends. Then they can all be enjoyed fresh and people will love you for sharing with them!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Sloppy Joes

Today's recipe is one that my family really enjoys. When those evenings come around when you've been so busy and haven't given dinner a second thought, this is what I usually turn to. It's quick and easy and everyone seems to like them. Oh, and one more thing, you can double this (because, really, what are you going to do with a 1/2 can of tomato soup?) and freeze what's left. Super handy!
Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs. ground beef
1 T. dried chopped onion (or 1 medium onion - I rarely use fresh onions because I hate that they sting my eyes and make me cry, so I usually go with dried onions)
1/2 can tomato soup
1/2 C. catsup
2 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. chili powder
1 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. dry ground mustard
Hamburger buns

Cook ground beef with dried onion and salt and pepper to taste. Drain. Add remaining ingredients; simmer 20-30 minutes.
Serve on hamburger buns with cheese.


That's it! How easy is that?! Try it the next time you are in a pinch!!