Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

I found the 'original' recipe for this here. I've adapted it a little to satisfy my love for fresh tomatoes and basil. Not to mention cheese! If you can't find sun-dried tomato dressing, Italian dressing will work too. We enjoy our Bruschetta Chicken with vegetable noodles or rice.

Who doesn't love dinner straight off the grill? Especially if your husband is grilling!

What You'll Need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup sun-dried tomato dressing (plus more for marinating)

2  tomatoes, chopped

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Fresh basil, chopped

Here's How:

1.Have your husband heat the grill.

2. Place the chicken in a big re-sealable bag. Pour dressing over chicken to coat.

Seal, shake, refrigerate (Minimum of 10 minutes).

3. Grill chicken, on both sides, until almost done. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

4. Place chicken on foil squares. Top with 1/4 of the tomato and cheese mixture. (Repeat) Fold up sides and ends of the foil to form a pocket and cover chicken.

5. Return the chicken to the grill. Grill until tomatoes are soft, cheese is melted and chicken is done.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently purchased a container of oats, twice, thinking I had forgotten to buy some on my last trip. Needless to say, we have plenty of oats around here! What better way to use some than oatmeal cookies? I found this recipe in a kids cookbook called, 'The Cookie Book'. Only, they didn't have chocolate chips!!! Who would want oatmeal cookies without chocolate? Not me, so here's what I made... 

What you'll need:

2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks softened butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 T honey

1 t vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Here's How:
1. Preheat your oven to 350*

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat brown sugar, butter and sugar at medium until blended and then kick into high until it's light and fluffy.

Add the egg, honey and vanilla; beat at medium until blended. (When adding honey, spray the measuring spoon with cooking spray and the honey will slide right out!) 

Gradually stir in flour mixture and chocolate chips, 1/2 cup at a time. Don't over mix!

3. Drop by tablespoons, 2 inches apart.

(I ALWAYS use a baking stone for cookies rather than a sprayed cookie sheet.)

Bake 12 ish minutes until light golden.



Bagel French Toast

This is a twist to the very popular classic that is served quite often in my house. (OK, so I like breakfast that can be finished in the morning by someone other than me!)

What you'll need:

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup milk

1/4 t baking powder

1 T pure vanilla extract

8 (or so) small bagels, cut into 1/4's 

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 t cinnamon

Here's How:

1. Combine eggs, milk, powder and vanilla

2. Put bagel pieces into a 9x13 dish and pour milk mixture over all, making sure all sides of the bagels are coated. 

3.Cover and refrigerate over night.

4. In the morning, combine sugar and cinnamon and generously sprinkle each bagel piece before placing on a greased cookie pan. Place the bagels an inch apart because they puff slightly while baking. 

5. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 for 15 minutes.

Serve with powdered sugar or syrup and butter... or both.... or whipped cream and fruit... really the possibilities are endless!

Chocolate Chip (Banana) Muffins

I'm not a huge fan of bananas. Like when I'm ordering ice-cream, there's about 29 flavors I'd rather have than banana. That's why the banana is in ( ) for this recipe. You just get a subtle hint of those bananas! They will turn out so moist, you can 'hear' the moistness when you take that first bite!

Here's what you'll need:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips (I add extra)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

1 cup mashed bananas

Here's How:

Preheat oven to 400*

1. Start by mashing 2 bananas:

2. Mix your dry ingredients in another bowl; then add the mini chocolate chips:

(This is where little hands can help!) 

3. Mix all the wet ingredients together: 

4. And pour into a 'hole' (or well) of your flour mixture: 

5. Stir lightly, just until mixed and scoop into greased muffin pan:

(I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to do the scooping. One of these days I'll get one of those ice-cream scoops that will make this process a little easier.) 

6. Bake for 15-17 minutes. (And thoroughly enjoy the instant aroma in your kitchen!) 

(And that's why I use mini chocolate chips.... little bits of chocolate everywhere!)

On my mind...

I find myself talking to myself as if I'm typing for others to read. That's when I decided, since I already know what I'm going to type, I might as well share....