Potato Chip Chicken

This is an fast meal to put together on a busy work/school night and a good way to use up an open bag of potato chips.  I had gotten a free bag from the grocery store and it wasn't my usual brand.  I found these to be way too salty so I wanted to find a way to use them up.  Of course, Sunday rolled around and I had chicken to make for dinner so I combined the two.  The chicken stays very moist thanks to the sour cream and chip coating.

Potato Chip Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp parsley

3 cups ripple potato chips, crushed

Combine all of the spices together in a small bowl.  Rub each chicken breast with sour cream on both sides.  Sprinkle the spice mixture, also on both sides and then roll in the crushed potato chips.  Place in a non-stick foil lined pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350°.  

Cinnamon Cranberry Butter

Give me a bag of cranberries and I'm going to make sure I find a way to use it all.  This recipe is easy to make and a nice added touch to serve on your holiday table.  It also is great on a turkey sandwich for the leftovers you'll have to contend with.  And you can whip this up in your food processor so very little handwork.

Cinnamon Cranberry Butter

1/4 cup frozen cranberries, chopped

1 stick butter, softened

2 tbsp honey

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Chop the cranberries in your food processor.  Add in the remaining ingredients and combine until completely mixed.  Refrigerate in an airtight container.  Take out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Cranberry Lemon Bread

Cranberry and lemon flavors mingle together in this easy to make quick bread.  Normally I use orange and cranberry together, but I wanted to try using lemon this time and I was really pleased on how well they blend together.  Chopping the frozen cranberries was quick and mess-free using a food processor. 

Cranberry Lemon Bread

1 cup frozen cranberries, chopped

3/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp lemon extract

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl, mix together cranberries, sugar, oil, eggs, milk, lemon extract and zest.  Add in dry ingredients and pour into a greased loaf pan or 3 small pans.  Bake for 50-60 minutes for a large bread or 40-45 minutes for 3 smaller ones at 350°.  Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out and placing on a cooling rack.  Icing is optional ~

Icing ~

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Drizzle over the top of the cooled bread and let sit until it hardens.

Sour Cream & Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes are one of those easy sides that everyone loves.  I was making baked chicken breasts that weren’t going to have gravy so I decided to make a potato that would stand on its own.  It’s an easy variation to the mashed potatoes you normally make.  Just reduce the amount of milk and add in the sour cream and cheeses.  I opted for  cheddar to create a nice color.  

Sour Cream & Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

2 ½# red potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½” thick slices

2 tbsp butter

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup milk

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp chives

Boil the potatoes in a salted water.  When fork tender, drain and mashed together with the butter.  Add in the sour cream and milk.  Fold in the cheese and stir until melted.  Season to taste.  Place in a serving bowl and sprinkle chives on top.

Caramel Apple Dip and Cinnamon Dippers

This is a versatile dip that can be served warm or cold.  I do recommend making the dippers fresh to go with them.   I originally intended on making these for Halloween and using cutters of cats and ghosts for the dipper but I’m running a little behind so I went with fall leaves.  You can make these for any season or event since apples are always in the market. 

 

Caramel Apple Dip

3 lbs apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup honey
11 oz caramels

Put chopped apples into a crockpot with the lemon juice.  Cook until apples are tender. Puree apples in a food mill or just simply mash with a spoon.  Add in caramels and stir well.


Cinnamon Tortilla Dippers

8 small Flour tortillas
3 tbsp butter melted
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Cut flour tortillas into desired shapes.  Brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Bake for 5 minutes at 325°.

Sweet Potato Bread

I always keep an abundance of fall vegetables on hand since they are my favorites.  I had a couple sweet potatoes and some buttermilk in the refrigerator that needed to be used and this is what I created.  It's very moist and dense and has all the spice flavors of Fall.  You can even see the orange flecks of sweet potato in every slice.

Sweet Potato Bread

2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 3/4 cups flour

Microwave the sweet potatoes (remember to poke with a fork a few times) until completely baked.  Allow to cool completely.  In a medium bowl, combine the mashed sweet potatoes, oil, buttermilk and eggs.  Stir in the sugars, baking soda and spices.  Gradually fold in the flour.  Spread out evenly in a greased loaf pan.  Bake for 70 minutes (it's dense so it takes awhile) at 350°.  Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out and placing on a cooling rack.

Kentucky Hot Brown Pizza

I’ve been fascinated by this sandwich ever since I saw it on a Bobby Flay throw down.  Since I had made a small turkey breast and had some leftovers, I decided to incorporate it into a pizza instead of a sandwich.  There’s still the dough, it’s just spread out instead of stacked and it doesn’t take long to make it but you can buy a ready made dough too.

From now until Thanksgiving, I'm going to be making different recipes using Thanksgiving ingredients but in a non-traditional way.  My cranberries will not be in a sauce, sweet potatoes not covered with marshmallows...you get the idea.  This is how I'll be using leftover turkey because it's that good.

 

Kentucky Hot Brown Pizza

Toppings –

1 ½ cups turkey breast, cooked and diced

3 thick slices of bacon, cut into 1” pieces, cooked and drained

2 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 ½ cups Pizza cheese

1 tsp parsley

Dough –

1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water

Mix sugar and yeast into the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour and 1 1/2 tsp sea salt.  Slowly mix in water.  Mix together (using your hands works best) until it forms a ball.  Knead for a couple minutes on a lightly floured surface and return to the bowl and rub 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil on top.  Cover with a towel and let rest for about 45 minutes.

 

Sauce –

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1/3 cup Romano cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Melt butter in a small saucepan.  Stir in flour and allow to cook for a minute.  Gradually stir in milk ¼ cup at a time, allowing to thicken after each time.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese and spices.

 

Spread out the dough to your desired shape.  Spread the sauce on top.  Sprinkle the turkey, tomato and bacon pieces over the sauce.  Top with the pizza cheese and then sprinkle the parsley on top.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.