Not another Chicken Dinner!

40 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken, 6 cups mayonnaise, 6 cups cheese, 10 packages Ranch dressing.....  Its another chicken dinner.

This is the time of year when many organizations, academic groups, and businesses have their spring banquets. Usually complete with recognitions, reports, and a chicken dinner.  But how often have you had "another dry chicken dinner"?
A few weeks ago our UMW group served the Eureka Honors Dinner. It would be chicken. After some searching and trials I found a great recipe! Moist and tasty, plus easy to prepare. My family likes this when I serve it at home and we had many compliments on the Honors Dinner meal. I think you'll like this amazing baked chicken with creamy, cheesy Ranch topping.

Here's the home version:

RANCH CHEDDAR CHICKEN

(to serve 8)

Ingredients:

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 (1-oz) package Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing mix

            (I buy this in a large jar. 1 package is equal to 3 tablespoons)

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

            (or Monterey Chicken Seasoning)

⅓ cup Panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

2.     In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cheese, Ranch Seasoning and garlic.

3.     Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken in a single layer onto the prepared baking dish and top with mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with Panko.

4.     Place into oven and cook until completely cooked through and golden brown on top, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F., about 25-30 minutes.

5.     Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Even on a white church plate, it looks good. 

Hot soup for a Hygge evening

     There's been a lot of social medial discussion about Hygge this winter. Hygge is a Danish term (pronounced hoo-gah) and a Scandinavian practice to create a cozy atmosphere during the long winter. The Scandinavian origin is to "cherish oneself, to keep or make one's self snug". It is about enjoying simple pleasures of friends, family and graciousness. The Danes are said to be the happiest people in the world, so they must be on to something. 

    Although our winters aren't usually terribly long like theirs, and our temps this year have bounced from 6 degrees to 60 degrees, I thought this sounded like a good idea. What's not to like about soft music, candles, warm decor, popcorn, hot and hardy foods, and warm drinks? 

     So for a recent UMW gathering, that is what we planned. To focus on a conscious appreciation of just being present and to simply enjoy being together. I promised no business meeting, just asked women of our church to come and enjoy an evening together. We dimmed the lights in a classroom, brought in softer seating and an electric flame heater (to mimic an old fashioned warm stove), and the office secretary brought her beautiful vases of Valentine flowers. We enjoyed visiting, a short devotional, and some chair yoga. Warm soups and tasty desserts (as well as some leftover Valentine's Day candy) were the meal. 

I made this Southwest Potato-Corn Chowder as well as the
Toasted Cardamon Nordic Crown bread from NFOB.

SOUTHWEST POTATO-CORN CHOWDER

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 ½ pounds red potatoes (about 5), peeled, cubed

1 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 can (10¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

3 cups milk

8 oz pasteurized process cheese food (like Velveeta)

1 package (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed

¼ tsp. pepper

Directions:

Cook bacon in a large saucepan until crisp, stirring frequently. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in pan. Drain bacon on paper towels.

Add potatoes, onions and celery to drippings; cook and stir 2 minutes.

Stir in soup and milk; bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until process cheese food is completely melted and potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Note: I increased the amounts slightly for our gathering, more potatoes and milk. You can thin with additional milk or chicken broth if the chowder gets too thick. You could also add some chopped chicken along with the cheese food, corn and pepper. 

This soup stays warm well in the slow cooker

We enjoyed eating as well as visiting! 

Sweet as a Christmas Cookie

Christmas cookies and happy hearts,   This is how the Season starts.                  

Our UMW/church women's group believes the season starts, and continues with cookies. Each December meeting is Cookie Plate time, when each member brings a batch of cookies and plates of assorted cookies and candies, with fruit, are assembled and delivered to friends and church members in care homes. I think this is a wonderful tradition.

This year the cookies I gave were from a new favorite recipe, Red Velvet Cookies. Red Velvet is another seasonal flavor I like and these are made with a cake mix. So they are very quick and easy, (about 10 minutes to mix and 20 minutes to bake two pans) besides looking festive. I'm going to try this recipe with other flavored cake mixes. I've seen a Blue Suede cake mix. Maybe Red Velvet, Blue Suede, and White cake mixes for 4th of July?

Red Velvet Cookies                                                         

Ingredients:

1 box Red Velvet cake mix

2 eggs

⅓ cup vegetable oil

Powdered sugar (or frosting)

Instructions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 375°.

2.     Combine one box Red Velvet cake mix, two eggs, and one-third cup vegetable oil with mixer.

3.     Form teaspoon size balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet or baking pan about one-inch apart. Slightly pat down the top of each ball (use the back of an oiled spoon)

4.     Cook for 8-10 minutes (the tops of the cookies will crack slightly)

5.     While hot, lightly sprinkle the top of the cookie with powdered sugar. Or wait until cooled and frost with your favorite white frosting.

Makes about 24

Simple ingredients!

For my first batch I frosted the tops

Next Best Thing to... or Better Than...dessert

This creamy layered pudding dessert has been a crowd pleaser  since the 1970's when it was called "The Next Best thing to Robert Redford", later versions of the recipe were called "Better Than Robert Redford". I've never heard what  Robert Redford thinks of this dish named after him, but in our community it is a popular dessert for pot lucks and group dinners. This week our UMW served it, in lemon and chocolate flavors, for the high school honors dinner. Since this was a group of teens, perhaps we should have called it "Next Best Thing to Justin Bieber".

THE NEXT BEST THING TO ROBERT REDFORD

Recipe from UMW cookbook (adjusted for more crust)

1 ½ cup flour

¾ cup butter or margarine, melted

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (12-oz) whipped topping

1 (3-oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 (3-oz) pkg instant chocolate (or lemon) pudding

3 cup cold milk

For crust, combine flour, butter or margarine and pecans. Press into the bottom of a 18x12-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Blend cream cheese with sugar; spread over cooled crust. Spread half of the whipped topping (6 oz) over the cream cheese layer and refrigerate. In mixing bowl, combine both pudding mixes with milk. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Set aside until thickened. Spread thickened pudding over whipped topping layer, then top with remaining topping. Garnish if desired with chocolate, nuts, or both. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Church Ladies handle this dessert well. 

Six pans of RR dessert served around 100.