Recipe thread
 

Chicken Cordon Blue

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, about 2 pounds
4 slices black forrest ham, about 4oz
4 slices baby swiss cheese, from deli about 4 oz
1 package /roll of ritz crackers coarsely crushed
1 egg beaten with some milk
2 T dijon mustard
2/3 oz fresh basil in package container about a cup
4 pats of butter, salted, about 2 T

Butterfly chicken and flatten between plastic wrap and use side of hammer,
position the slick side of chicken inside (THE RUFF SIDE HOLDS ONTO THE CRACKERS BETTER SO IT SHOULD WIND UP ON THE OUTSIDE..SORRY IF THAT SEEMS TOO PICKY!) then coat with some dijon then a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. cover the cheese with basil and roll into an individual serving. Gently roll the chicken into the egg then cracker crumbs.
Do this with each chicken breast
Place each chicken seam side down on a pam coated glass dish. Sprinkle remaining crackers over top insuring that all of the chicken is covered with crumbs.
Put one pat of butter on top of each chicken.

Bake 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 30 minutes
serves 4 large servings!

I served this with zuchinni and yellow squash sauted in butter and basil and tomatoes and garlic and some onions, peppers and celery( the trinity here in the south).
Husband raved about it!
bizi

Crockpot roast
 

1 roast (large for the 9-10 I cook for)

2 family sized cans of cream of mushroom soup

1 packet of dry onion soup mix

Rice

I put the roast and soup mixes, no water or milk of any kind, into the crockpot first thing in the morning. I start the rice about an hour before eating. If I can find it, I use Thai rice I call sticky rice that is steamed and we make into balls to dip into the gravy. Otherwise I use jasmine scented rice and just put the gravy over it.

The easiest way I've found to make the rice is to put Two cups of rice into a pan, with the jasime it takes less water so instead of 4 cups of water I use 3 (1 1/2 cup to 1 cup instead of 2 to one), bring to a boil. Cover and turn the burner off. Usually it is done in 20-30 minutes.

An easy meal that my family really likes. A friend of mine sometimes uses one can of the mushroom and one can of cream of broccoli to change it up.

For a smaller amount I've used a small roast and the regular sized cans of soup. It works but with the army I feed have had to go up in the size of can. We mostly like the gravy over the rice, I'm not one for roast at all and don't do the meat. I have tried to use both packets of the onion soup mix but have found that one is what we preferr, the original recipe was two regular sized cans of soup and one packet. Upping the size can was enough to get the amount of gravy we need.

easy do
 

Chicken and sausage Gumbo
(this takes at least 2 hours to prepare,
makes alot to freeze for later and
can half the receipe of course!)

3 pounds chicken cut in small pieces..I use skinless boneless breasts but I think thighs would be better.
2 pounds smoked sausage cut .5 inch thick (some folks brown these first)
16 ounce jar of roux mix..I use richards in oil, (which is browned flour)
2 quarts of fresh trinity (I use guidry's)
or (3 cups chopped onions, 2/3 c green onion tops, small bell pepper,
1/2 c. celery, garlic and 1/3 c. chopped parsley...you can use the frozen Seasonings for stews use 3 packages then and add some garlic)
64 ounces of chicken broth
64 ounces of water
2 ounces of kitchen bouquet browning sauce (Optional)

season chicken with salt cayenne pepper, black pepper and garlic powder overnight...I did this the day that I made the gumbo.
In a very large pot bring 1/2 gallon of water to boil and
add the jar of roux, boil for at least 20 minutes to ensure the roux is completely dissolved, I used an emulsifier, hand beater in the pan to ensure it was all broken up.
Add 1/2 gallon of chicken broth and boil another 15 minutes
add the chicken and veggies and boil over med. heat 30 minutes uncovered.
add sausage and boil another 15 minutes.

serve over rice, some have potato salad to eat with it as well.
(I use a rice cooker and it takes about 30 minutes to cook)


There are many variations of this, seafood has oysters and crab claws
okra, I have even heard of whole eggs!

enjoy!
bizi

flax muffin (from Yo Yo girl)
 

the BEST muffin recipe EVER...

you need:
1 egg
1/4 C flax meal
1/4 tsp baking powder
sweeten to taste... I use splenda.. maybe 1/4 C??
2 tbsp butter already melted

mix up the first four ingredients then add in the butter. Microwave for 1 minute and VIOLA!! a perfect flax muffin.

you'll figure the sugar/sweetener out pretty quick once you make one. And the best part is that it has a just 1g net carb. Flax is awesome for you. Pleases every corner of the nutrition world i think.

What is flax meal and where in the grocery store would I find it near?

befuddled2

flax meal
 

Even the most health conscious consumers have taste buds to please. Flax meal’s crunchy texture and nutty flavor team up with it’s tremendous health benefits to make flax meal almost “too good to be true”.
Stir a serving of flaxmeal into a glass of water or your favorite juice, or add to a recipe. When you add flax meal to your cooking you add a very pleasant taste.
Because of it’s high fat content flax meal can stand in for all of the oil or shortening called for in a recipe. If a recipe calls for 1 tbsp. of oil, use 3 tbsp. of flaxmeal to replace the oil. A 3:1 substitution ratio. When flax meal is used instead of oil, baked goods brown more rapidly.
Vegetarians can substitute a flax meal mixture for eggs in selected recipes. The formula is 1 tbsp flax meal plus 3 tbsp water. Let sit for 1 – 2 minutes and add to recipe as you would an egg.
A delicious hot cereal can be easily made by mixing 2 tbsps of flaxmeal with a half cup boiling water and a little honey. Or flax meal can be added to any hot or cold cereal to make it that much more healthy.

Increasingly consumers are seeking “functional foods” like flax meal to promote health benefits as part of their regular diets. Flax meal’s “function” is to add essential omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, lignans, as well as vitamins and minerals.

Flax seeds can be used whole but to utilize the full value of flax it’s much better to process,by milling or grinding the seeds into a meal. Also there are two different varieties of flax, brown and golden. They both add a tremendous health benefit to your diet but the golden variety tastes much better. Plains Products flax meal is a premium ground, golden flax variety.

Got this off a forum:
k, heres a bunch of flax info for you (i have long been a flaxfan):
dont bother with the flax oil at all becuase, like someone above mentioned, you don't get any fiber out of it and flax seeds are chock full of fiber.
i dont think you need buy whole flax seeds either tho - just buy pre-ground flax seeds from someone like bob's red mill (google them) or arrowhead mills or something. any whole foods or health store (or trader joes) will def carry them. you can sprinkle this 'flour' over yogurt or into soups, etc. on salads sometimes it brings an almost-parmesan like quality, too. on anything.
in baking, its awesome. i just exchange about 1/4 of the flour (hopefully whole wheat, right?) with the ground flax with no problems. i do not, however, know what the heat of baking's effect on the nutritional benefits of flax is. be wary. better off going on yogurt, etc. for the health benefits i'd say.
also, if you are really trying to get more omega 3's, you really are better of eating a nice, cold water fish like salmon. the type of omega 3 in cold water fish is, for lack of a more lengthy, boring science conversation, much more readily bioavailable. in short, our bodies have to work the omega 3 from flax a whole lot more and, in the end, gets less actually from it, than from a fish.

Low Carb pizza
 

Low Carb Pizza

From Laura Dolson,

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 and 1/2 C flax seed meal, I used golden
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano or (basil worked well)
• Sweetener to equal about 1 T. of sugar (1 and 1/2 packet of splenda)
• 3 Tablespoons of oil
• 3 eggs
• `1/2 C water

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

1. Mix dry ingredients together.
2. Add wet ingredients, and mix very well.
3. Let sit for about 5 minutes to thicken.
4. Spread on pan (I put it on a silicon mat or greased parchment paper). I used a deep dish stone with pam
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes until cooked through, Browned on top then
6. Cover with pizza sauce, more seasonings to taste
7. 2 cups finely shredded italian cheese, (used 5 kind)
8. add pepperoni or other precooked meat toppings and veggies(I used onions, peppers, sun dried tomatoes)
9. cook at least 10 more minutes until they are done.

Nutritional Analysis: Whole crust has 7 grams of effective carbohydrate, plus 52 grams fiber, 47 grams protein, and 130 grams fat.

Alffe's french silk pie
 

French Silk Pie
Crust: 25 vanilla wafers, crushed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together and press into butered pie pan & bake 350 for 15 mins. Cool

Filling: 3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 squares Bakers semi-sweet choc, melted
3 eggs.

Cream together butter & sugar. Add vanilla & choc. Add eggs, one
at a time and beat well. Pour into cooled crust and refridgerate until
served.

Serves 6

bump for bobi
thanks!
WE could add low cost meals here?????
bizi