Green Salad with Goat Cheese, Pecans, and Craisins

Taken from Livin, Laughin, Lovin.... and Eatin too.

Romaine or bibb lettuce, chopped
Green onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 of a bundle)
Celery, finely chopped (4-5 full stalks)
Crumbled goat cheese
Craisins
Grape tomatoes, halved
Candied Pecans, chopped

For the dressing:
1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp of brown sugar

Candied Pecans:
In a sauce pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter/margarine over low to med heat; add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans and 2 tbsp of brown sugar; stir for a few minutes until well coated; remove and cool completely.

Chicken Ritz

Taken from A Little of This, A Dash of That

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts--fat trimmed
1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackers crunched up
1 stick of melted butter
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Salt


Pre-heat oven to 350.

Melt butter in a bowl large enough to place your chicken breasts in.

Combine crunched up Ritz crackers, spices, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt on a plate. Adjust to taste

Dip each chicken breast in the melted butter, then coat with the Ritz cracker mixture. Place in a casserole dish. Once finished dipping all your chicken, pour some of the remaining butter over top of the chicken. I also sprinkle some extra cheese over top. Bake in preheated oven uncovered for approximately 40 minutes.

Marscapone Stuffed French Toast

Taken from Blakes Makes

For The French Toast:

• 8 slices (1/2 inch thick) of good bread (we used a small Country French round from Whole Foods)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt

For The Mascarpone Filling:

• 1 8oz. tub Mascarpone cheese
• 3 to 4 tblsp. dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. (good, Bourbon) vanilla
• dash of cinnamon

For The Berry Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh berries (we used blackberries and strawberries)
• 1 tblsp. lemon juice
• Sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Blend the Mascarpone with the brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. It will turn an amazing buff color, and will smell amazing, too. We would have had more to work with at meal time, but I made it last night (to make things easy this morning) and we couldn’t keep our little fingers out of it.

Slice the bread. Next, make little Mascarpone sandwiches by spreading a generous amount of the filling between slices. Beat the eggs, milk and salt together (I do this in a baking dish). Place the sandwiches in the egg mixture, and press down lightly so the spongy bread can drink in the yellow bliss.

Turn the sandwiches over, and repeat.

Heat some butter (enough to cover the bottom) in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter starts talking to you (bubbling, sputtering), place the sopping sandwiches in the skillet.

Cook for about 2 minutes on either side until golden brown. Add the French toast to a fresh, buttered baking dish. Pop them in the oven for about 5 minutes (until they cook through).

While the toast is in the oven, toss some berries with a little lemon juice in a blender. I used about a cup of fresh strawberries, and about half a cup of fresh blackberries. After the blitz, I pass the sauce through a sieve to remove the pesky little seeds, and to make the sauce silky-smooth.

The oven timer dings. I take the toast out. One French toast sandwich on a plate (I heat the plates in the microwave for 2 minutes). Drizzle over a little berry sauce, and garnish with some whole, fresh berries. Devour.

French Toast Strata

Taken from Busy Mom's Cookbook


INGREDIENTS

• 1 (1 pound) loaf cinnamon bread, cubed
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced
• 8 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Cube bread and let set in open air for about a day, allowing it to become stale.
2. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange 1/2 of the cubed bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the cream cheese evenly over the bread, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Top with remaining bread.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, butter, and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and press down so that all bread pieces are soaked. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
5. Drizzle remaining maple syrup on top.
6. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Ghirardelli Award Winning Brownies

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
2/3 cup unsifted flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts (I did not use)
1 cup Chocolate Chips (I used 1/2 semi sweet and 1/2 milk chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350.
Line 8x8 pan with foil and spray with PAM.
In bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add butter.
Sift Cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into egg mixture.
Stir in chips (and nuts if using).

**Spread into pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs.

Beef Stroganoff

Taken from Taste & See

Ingredients:
8 ounces egg noodles, uncooked
1 pound ground round
3 green onions, sliced or 1 cup chopped onion
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (12-ounce) jar fat-free beef gravy
1 (8-ounce) carton fat-free sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 TBSP dry sherry (optional)

Directions:
Prepare noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
While noodles cook, cook meat, green onions and mushrooms in a large nonstick skillet until meat is browned, stirring until it crumbles; drain.
Return meat mixture to skillet; add gravy and next 3 ingredients, stirring well. Cook over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in sherry, if desired. Serve over drained noodles.

Yield: 5 servings.

Pecan Pie Cookies

Taken from Open The Oven & Take a Look

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 p firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in each cookie with thumb; rotate thumb to hollow out slightly.Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl; fill each cookie with 1 rounded teaspoon filling. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.