Rosemary Chicken with Wild Rice

Colleen: "My husband just thinks the world of this recipe. I think it's the slight sweetness from the marmalade & spiciness from the Dijon mustard. But either way it's always being requested in our home."

Ingridents:

1 cup wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts, cubed
2 carrots
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Cook the wild rice according to the package directions. 
2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the garlic and saute until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and carrots and saute, stirring frequently, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the rosemary; cook until chicken is cooked through, 3-4 minutes longer. 
3. Stir in the marmalade, mustard, and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the rice; toss to combine. 

Creole Poached Chicken Breasts

Colleen: "I have been making this recipe for years, we love the Weight Watchers cookbook and after I feel fat I always whip it open to locate some of my favorites. This recipe is so hearty with vegetables you don't need pasta or rice, plus it's got a good kick ya in the pants spice." 

Ingridents:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped (I usually use the whole thing if not two)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (I always use dried)
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
4 (4oz) skinless boneless chicken breasts

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; saute the onions, bell pepper, celery, and carrot until tender, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, parsley, thyme, salt, and cayenn; add the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and poach, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. 
2. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a platter, Simmer the sauce, uncovered, until reduced by half, 4-5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. 

Recipe courtesy of Weight Watcher New Complete Cookbook

Vegetable & Chickpea Curry

Colleen: "I thought I would give this recipe a go, I attempt to cook vegetarian once a week & I have a new love for curry. I was delighted by this recipe. All the veggies cooked to a great textural consistency & the flavors all melded together. This is one of those dishes where I didn't miss not having meat. I hope that you can try this out and enjoy it as I have."

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 6 lemon wedges

Preparation: 

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients (through broth). Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts. Serve with lemon wedges.

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Italian Chicken with Sausage & Peppers

Colleen: "Now here I go again making a crock pot dish that requires cooking before hand. In case you haven't been keeping up, I think it's stupid.. That's right STUPID. Cooking something before its supposed to go into the crock pot to be cooked all day makes absolutely zero sense! What's the point of a lazy crock pot dinner if you have to do a lot of work?? But I did and I liked it, I added rice & corn, so it kinda seemed like Jambalaya to me (that's a southern dish for those of you who don't know) it was a lot of extra work but I guess it was worth it, I don't know if I will add this recipe to my normal routine but maybe a few times a year."

this is one of the ugliest pictures i've taken! 

2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces (I used breasts with bone in & skin)
2 tbls olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 lbs sweet italian sausage
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (19 oz) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (was out of, so didn't use)
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper

1. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down. Cook about 10 minutes, turning to brown both side. Remove and reserve. 
2. Add sausage to skillet and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Remove and cut into 1-inch pieces; reserve. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. 
3. Add bell peppers, onion, carrot and garlic to skillet. Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 
4. Add tomato sauce, tomato soup, oregano, basil, and bay leaf; stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker. 
5. Add chicken and sausage to slow cooker. Cover; cook on Low 6 to 8 hours or on High 4 to 6 hours. Remove and discard bay leaf before serving. 

Recipe sourced from Rival Crock Pot Slow Cooker Recipes

Annah's Brussel Sprouts

Colleen: "This was my very first experience with Brussel Sprouts so I thought who better to trust this experience to than my good buddy Annah!! I trusted her guidance and did as she told. I like cabbage so I was delighted to learn that these brussel sprouts are just tiny little cabbage babies. I loved them and thought this recipe was a great simple way to make them. My husband did not approve however, I should mention he also hates cabbage! (loser)"

Annah's Roasted Brussels sprouts

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Wash, dry, and cut Brussels sprouts in half
• Place sprouts in a single layer on a baking sheet
• Drizzle EVOO, slat, pepper, and garlic powder on the sprouts and mix
• Put in oven, check on them and mix them around about every 10 minutes
• When they are lightly brown on the outside, warm and soft throughout they are ready to be eaten

Recipe sourced from Annah's recipe in this post here!

Mama's Amazing Ziti

Colleen: "I didn't have a dutch oven, so I just used a good old sauce pot & lid, it seemed to turn out alright. This recipe was o.k., I don't think I will make it again though. I didn't enjoy the carrots, I know they were supposed to seem hidden but it seemed to be all that I could taste. What I did enjoy was throwing the ziti in the pan and just letting it go, not to mention I am a huge fan of one pot dinners."

ingredients

• 1
  pound 95%-lean ground beef
• 2
  cups shredded carrot
• 2
  10 3/4 ounce cans reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup
• 2 1/2
  cups water
• 8
  ounces dried cut ziti pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2
  tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
• 1
  teaspoon onion powder
• 1
  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1
  cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/4
  cup shredded Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)

directions

1.In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook ground beef and shredded carrot over medium heat until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir tomato soup, the water, uncooked ziti, dried basil (if using), onion powder, and garlic powder into meat mixture in Dutch oven.

2.Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook about 25 minutes or until ziti is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil (if using) and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

nutrition facts (Mama's Amazing Ziti)

• Servings Per Recipe 6,
 
• Calories 420,
 
• Protein (gm) 32,
 
• Carbohydrate (gm) 49,
 
• Fat, total (gm) 11,
 
• Cholesterol (mg) 73,
 
• Saturated fat (gm) 4,
 
• Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 2,
 
• Sodium (mg) 649,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Easy Parmesan Chicken

Colleen: "I don't like having to do any cooking before I put food in the crock pot, I think that its stupid. But for this recipe I made an exception & it was worth it. I threw this dish over some penne & my little boys just gobbled it up. I did add in some bonus spices such as Pasta seasoning thats mixed with red pepper flakes & rosemary." 

Ingredients:
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar (26 oz) pasta sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Hot cooked spaghetti

1. Place mushrooms and onion in slow cooker.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Lightly brown chicken on both sides. Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour pasta sauce over chicken; add herbs. Cover cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove and discard bay leaf. 
3. Sprinkle chicken with cheeses. Cook, uncovered, on LOW 15 to 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Serve over spaghetti. 

Serving Suggestions: Other vegetables, such as sliced zucchini, cubed eggplant or broccoli florets, can be substituted for the mushroom slices. 

Recipe courtesy of Rival Crock Pot slow cooker recipes

Blackberry-Blueberry Jam

Colleen: "My Mom was in town this week so we seized the moment and went blueberry/blackberry picking, it was a stinkin humid morning but we ended up picking two gallons worth! I have recently (within the last few years) ventured into canning. (I have a pear tree in my yard that I try and take advantage of) Since I had two gallons of berries I thought I would try out this recipe, I googled Low Sugar Jam and this is what came up. I enjoyed the recipe but I will try out something else next year, the black berries can be tart and full of lots of seeds. I might just stick with blueberries from now on, but until then we will enjoy these."

Blackberry-Blueberry Jam

4 quarts mixed berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)

4 tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup honey, more if your berries are particularly tart
2/3 cup sugar

1/2 package pectin (Sure-Jell, Certo, or the like, about 2 1/2 T.)

Clean and sterilize jars, lids, and rings.

Put clean, stemmed berries into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Pare and chop apples. I used Granny Smith, but any tart cooking apple will do.

Take a bit out on a spoon and put it on a cold plate. Are the juices watery-looking? Keep cooking until you when you put a little dab on a plate it has a more syrupy consistency. Let the dab cool a bit. It should begin to set up a little. It doesn’t have to be terribly thick or gelatinous (you want to be able to spread it on your toast without undue effort). If you have much foam, skim it off with a spoon. At this point, turn off the heat and ladle the jam into the jars.

Then I fill them up within 1/2 inch of the top, add lids and loosely screw down the rings.

Lastly they go into the canner for a 5 minute process and they are done. Let them cool. Tighten lids up a bit. Over the next hour or so, the lids will seal with a pop. After they seal, if you press a finger on the top of the lid, the lid will be pressed in and will not pop back and forth. That’s a good seal.

This recipe makes 5 pints.

Recipe Source littlehouseinthesuburbs.com

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies {Annah}

    
This is the first time I have ever made cookies with butterscotch chips. Have you ever heard of haystacks? I make them in the winter and it is butterscotch and chocolate chips and chow mein noodles. Since it is melted down with chocolate you only get a hint of butterscotch.

    I liked the cookies they are not really sweet and you get a good taste of cinnamon and oatmeal. They are very similar to an oatmeal raisin cookie, but I do like butterscotch chips better then raisins. They were very easy to make. Just throw all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, roll out the dough, bake, and eat. They did taste better when they came right out of the oven then a couple days later.

    Although I said I liked these, if I want to make cookies this isn't really the flavor I am craving. I want indulgence, chocolate, and lots of unhealthy stuff. I am glad I made these because they are a change from the norm, but I think I will stick to cookies with chocolate in them!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats, uncooked (I used quick-cooking)
• 1-3/4 cups (11-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Butterscotch Chips 

Directions 

Heat oven to 375°F.

Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips; mix well. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.