Easy Brie Bites

This is a great appetizer to take to holiday parties. It looks really gourmet and stylish, but it is super-easy to make. You don’t have to spend a lot of time making these, but they taste and look store-bought. I got this recipe from one of the old Pillsbury Christmas recipe magazines. I save all of my old recipes books, but occationally I pick them up at yard sales too.

2 pkg frozen mini fillo pastry shells (~30 shells)
1 8 oz round of Brie cheese (they sell these in wedges at my grocery store)
3 tablespoons raspberry spreadable fruit (apricot/strawberry work fine as well)

– Heat oven to 350 degrees.
– Place frozen pastry shells on ungreased cookie sheet.
– If there is an outer crust on the brie, cut that off and cut the cheese into small pieces and put into the shells.
– Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
– Remove shells from over and spoon about 1/4 teaspoon of the fruit over the cheese in each shell.
– Return to oven; bake an additional 2-3 minutes or until the fruit is melted. Serve warm!

Linda’s Notes:
– Each one of these appetizers has 2 grams of fat and carbs, but also 2 grams of protein which makes it worth it to me 🙂
– These look really nice if you garnish the plate with fruit and mint leaves.

Bacon-wrapped Chicken in Cream Sauce

This dish is pretty easy to prepare, but it either has to be baked for a very long time in the oven, or cooked all day in a slow-cooker. It makes the creamiest, not-so-healthiest dish that will be loved by everyone.

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8 boneless chicken breast halves
Garlic Power
Salt and pepper to taste
8 bacon strips (turkey bacon or dried beef if you are pork-free)
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
Hot cooked rice (optional)

– Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C).
– Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
-Wrap each chicken breast in 1 strip of bacon and place in a baking dish.
– In a bowl, mix the sour cream and soup.
– Spoon mixture over the chicken and bake uncovered for 60-70 minutes, or until slightly brown on top.
– Serve with hot cooked rice

Linda’s Notes:
–  This is one of the few recipes that I go light on the garlic so that it will not outshine the other flavors
– Since the bacon can be pretty unhealthy, alternative types of bacon can be substituted
– If you don’t want to use chicken or bacon, bake a package of frozen meatballs in the cream sauce instead for Swedish Meatballs

No-Knead Bread from Co-worker Ben

Easy bread recipe, originally from the New York Times

This recipe makes wonderful bread, it has a really crispy crust but a nice soft center.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

The day before you want to eat the bread

3 Cups of flour
¼ teaspoon of instant yeast (yes, just a ¼ teaspoon)
1.5 teaspoons of salt
1 5/8 cups of water

-Mix in a large bowl for just a couple minutes until everything is blended well.
-Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 18 hours

Bread Making Day!

-2.5 hours before you want to eat the bread
-Put a good layer of cornmeal in the center of a cotton towel (I’ve also used a paper towel)
-Coat your hands with flour since the dough will still be quite sticky, you can even dust the dough with flour if you want, but just a wee lil bit.
-Take the dough (which should be twice the size with lots of air holes) and form it into a ball, again no more then 1 – 2 minutes to form the ball
-Place the ball on the towel
-Dust with more cornmeal
-Place another towel on top of the dough
-Leave there for 2 hours

After 1 ½ hours

-Get the heaviest 6-8qt pot you can find (cast iron, ceramic,) with a lid.
-Place the pot in the oven
-Preheat the oven to 450 for half an hour (we want to get the pot really really hot)

Bread making time

-Take the pot out of the oven
-Put dough ball in pot
-Put the lid on the pot
-put pot in the oven for half an hour

After half an hour in the oven

-Take the lid off the pot
-Put pot back in the oven for 15-20 minutes

After 15 – 20 minutes

-Take the pot out of the oven
-Take the bread out of the pot
-Enjoy the bread!

Macaroni and Cheese the easy way

I used to make homestyle macaroni and cheese by cooking down milk, cheese, and cornstarch and then layering the casserole. This gets to be very time-consuming and you run the risk of scorching. This recipe tastes surprisingly similar to what I used to make and it’s REALLY easy. I originally got the recipe from the Kraft Foods recipe site and then modified it a little to my taste.

1 pkg. (16 oz.) elbow macaroni, uncooked
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 egg
2-1/2 cups milk
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up (Velveeta)
2 cups KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook macaroni as directed on pkg and drain,

Cut butter into small pieces; place in bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish.

Spoon half of the macaroni over butter in baking dish.

Sprinkle with 1 cup each of the Velveeta and Cheddar cheese

Beat egg and milk with wire whisk until well blended. Add half of the egg mixture.

Repeat layers of macaroni, Velveeta, Cheddar Cheese and egg mixture.

Cover and bake 15 min, stir until well blended. Bake an additional 15 min. (uncover for last 5-10 min) until macaroni mixture is until heated through and top is golden brown

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

This is a great side dish for the holidays and pot-lucks. My sister used to make this years ago and called it Broccoli Casserole, but in the mid-west they sometimes call it “green rice” – which is kind of catchy 🙂

1 cup instant rice (instant)
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1/4 cup milk
4 ounces processed cheese (Velveeta)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

– Preheat oven to 350°.
– Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and spoon into a 2-quart casserole.
– Cover with shredded cheese
– Bake at 350° for 45 minutes

Linda’s notes:
– Can substitute low-fat soup, or COM mushroom soup with garlic
– For extra texture, add water chesnuts or celery pieces
– To make this a meal add large mushrooms, pork or chicken
– My sister’s version of this recipe uses Cheeze Whiz instead of Velveeta, which has more calories and a saltier taste.