Orange Roasted Chicken

I am always looking for new recipes using a whole chicken.  Probably because I am never really satisfied with how they come out!  Usually they seem dry and lacking flavor.

NOT THIS ONE THOUGH!

This recipe for Orange Roasted Chicken is wonderful!  Very moist and bursting with a mild orange flavor!  I was pleasantly surprised!  Thanks to my sis-in-law Jena for the recipe!

All glazed up and ready for eating!  This is so easy to make!

Sprinkle a whole chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Make sure you lift up the skin so you can get the seasonings underneath the skin on the chicken breasts.  I had to use a knife to cut the skin away.

Roast chicken like this for 15 minutes.

On the stove, heat together preserves and low sodium chicken broth.

The recipe calls for orange marmalade, but I used apricot preserves because that is what I had in the frig and it turned out just delicious!

After 15 minutes take chicken out of oven and baste with 1/3 of the sauce.  Make sure and get it under the skin!  Continue roasting and basting for about an hour or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.  This part is vital!  Over-baked chicken is not tasty or moist!

When chicken is done, put on a serving plate and dump juices in pan over the top to glaze it once more.

Carve chicken and drizzle some of the juices over the top.  So yummy!!
Finish off the meal with cooked carrots and mashed potatoes!



ORANGE ROASTED CHICKEN


Ingredients

1/4 cup orange marmalade or apricot preserves
1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 whole roasting chicken (about 3 1/2 lb)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place marmalade and broth in small saucepan on low; cook 4–5 minutes or until marmalade melts.
2. Meanwhile, pat chicken dry; loosen skin from breast of chicken and around legs and wings. Sprinkle Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper over entire chicken, including inner cavity and under skin. Place chicken, breast side up, in 9- x 13-inch baking dish (wash hands). Remove orange sauce from heat.
3. Bake chicken 15 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from oven and brush with 1/3 of the orange sauce. Bake 45–60 more minutes, basting two more times, or until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness.
5. Let chicken stand 5 minutes before slicing. Slice chicken thinly and serve.

Delan's Chicken Panini

My husband was watching Food Network a few weeks ago and inspiration hit!  He insisted we go to the grocery store right away and get the ingredients to create this sandwich.  

I have to admit...it is very delicious!  I am proud of his creation!

I didn't get pictures of that first time we made it, but made sure to get some when I made it for dinner earlier this evening!  It is a sandwich worth sharing!

Rye bread, moist rotisserie chicken, cole slaw, provolone, and 1000 island dressing pressed together in a panini grill.  It is a fabulous combination!!  Thanks to my husband Delan!

It is best to make the cole slaw ahead because it develops more flavor as it refrigerates.  This recipe is from a Top Secret Recipe book.  It is a clone of KFC Cole Slaw.  It is excellent! (In fact the only cole slaw I have successfully made!)  

If you don't feel like making cole slaw you could easily go to KFC and pick some up to go!

Then make the 1000 Island Dressing.  

My mom showed me how to make this when I was very young.  It is the only 1000 Island dressing I will eat!  It is delicious! Not only is it an excellent addition to this sandwich, it is fabulous on a tossed salad!

I am not even going to recommend 1000 Island dressing from a bottle.  

This picture makes my meat look very pink!  It was not this color at all!  Oh well!

I used a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  I used some white meat and some dark.

Season the meat a bit with a sprinkle of pepper, Lawry's All-Purpose Seasoning, or whatever other spices sound good at the moment!  A bit of cayenne pepper might add a nice kick!

Soft rye bread from the bakery and provolone cheese sliced at the deli.

  I have also used a pumpernickel/rye swirl bread, and a plain pumpernickel bread. 

 The hubby prefers rye bread.  To me it doesn't matter... I love any bread!

Butter 1 side of each slice of bread.  Assemble like this:  buttered sides of bread facing out, 1000 Island dressing on the inside of each bread slice, provolone next to the dressing (i used 2 slices), then chicken sandwiched between the cheese.

Place the sandwich on a hot panini grill.  If you don't have one I would grill it in a pan like you would do grilled cheese.  Grill until cheese is melted and bread has golden grill marks.

Split sandwich open and put in the cole slaw.  Put sandwich back together.

Enjoy your yummy panini!  Use extra 1000 Island dressing for dipping if you so desire!

I am definitely having one for lunch tommorrow!  Oh I can't wait!

DELAN'S CHICKEN PANINI

Cole Slaw:

8 cups finely chopped cabbage (1 head)

1/4 cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 T. white vinegar

2 1/2 T. lemon juice

In a bowl, mix together cabbage and carrot.  In a smaller bowl, blend remaining ingredients with a whisk until smooth.  Pour into cabbage and stir until  well mixed.  Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Mom's 1000 Island Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

ketchup added until mayo is pinkish in color

approximately 1 T. sweet relish

Season with pepper, onion powder, celery salt

(sometimes I add a small dash of cayenne pepper)

Mix well with wire whisk.  Add a little water if you prefer a thinner dressing.

For both of these recipes I only use Best Food's or Hellman's Mayonnaise.

Sandwich:

Rye or pumpernickel bakery bread

Fully cooked rotisserie chicken, sliced thinly

Lawry's, Pepper, etc. to season chicken

Provolone cheese, sliced

Cole Slaw

1000 Island dressing

soft butter

Using 2 slices of bread, butter 1 side of each piece.  Placing buttered side down, spread each piece with 1000 Island dressing.  Place 1 slice of provolone on top of each piece of bread (on top of dressing).  Place seasoned chicken on top of cheese.  Put sandwich together.  Place on a hot panini grill or in frying pan on the stove.  Grill until cheese is melted and golden grill marks appear on bread.  

Open up sandwich (the chicken will stick to the melted cheese).  Place desired amount of coleslaw on top of chicken.  Close up sandwich.  Cut in half and serve with additional 1000 Island dressing if you so desire!

Enjoy!

Beef with Snow Peas

I have had my eye on this recipe for quite sometime over at The Pioneer Woman's website.  

I finally got the ingredients to make it and WOW do I have to rave about it!   It is absolutely incredibly DELICIOUS!  That woman can cook!! 

If you have ever had and enjoyed the beef and broccoli at PF Chang's, this is 1000 times better!  Plus, you can control the sodium and ingredients that go into it!

Tender and flavorful beef, crispy snow peas....YUM, YUM, YUM!!!

I loved it.  I want to eat it every day!! I did make a few minor changes to the recipe, but nothing drastic.

The best part?  Not only does it taste good but dinner will be on the table in say 20 minutes! It is super fast!

This photo does this dish no justice, but I went to where my hubby was working and we ate together, so it was the best I could do for that situation!

This is flank steak.  It is fairly thin and quite lean.  I halved the recipe so I bought 3/4 lb. of it.  Under $5 so not too bad!

Using a sharp knife trim off any visible fat, and then slice in the direction opposite that the grain of the meat is going.  Slice as thin as you can get it!

The marinade calls for ginger.  This is what ginger looks like, minus the frost on mine!  I buy a piece of it like this and keep it in the freezer in a freezer bag.  I recommend peeling it before freezing it though.  I didn't do it this particular time and takes a few extra minutes.  Peel it, then grate what you need.  I use the fine grater.  It grates very easily in a frozen state!

The marinade consists of soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and fresh ginger.  I didn't have sherry so I used rice vinegar, and I also added  1 large clove of minced garlic.  It smelled wonderful!

Add the meat to marinade and stir it up! I mixed mine up ahead of time and put it in the frig.  It sat in there for about 1 1/2 hours.

The snow peas.  Oh how I love snow peas!  I just trimmed the ends off.

In a hot pan or wok, saute peas in oil (I used expeller-pressed Canola oil) for 45 seconds.  No longer! You want them fresh and crunchy!  Remove from pan and set aside.

To the pan add half of the beef and sliced green onion.  Set in pan and leave beef alone without stirring for 1 full minute (I set a timer).  Then stir it around for 30 more seconds.  Remove from pan and repeat with rest of beef and onion.

Return all beef, snow peas, and remaining marinade left in bowl to the hot pan.  Saute over high heat for 30 seconds or so.  Pile it up on top of some jasmine rice and sprinkle with crushed red pepper!  Prepare for your taste buds to be overwhelmed with joy!

BEEF WITH SNOW PEAS

• 1 1/2 lbs. flank steak, trimmed of fat and sliced thin against the grain
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3 T. Sherry (I used Rice Vinegar)
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. minced fresh ginger
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz. fresh snow peas, ends trimmed
• 5 whole green onions, sliced thinly
• Salt as needed (Mine needed no salt!)
• 3 T. canola, peanut, or olive oil
• crushed red pepper for sprinkling
• Jasmine Rice, cooked according to package

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss with hands. Set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (iron is best) or wok over high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds. Remove to a separate plate. Set aside.

Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Add half the scallions. Spread out meat as you add it to pan, but do not stir for a good minute. (You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible.) Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, and the snow peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. Mixture will thicken as it sits.

Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the top to give it some spice.

Winter Fruit Salad

This fruit salad is perfect to make in the winter when fresh fruit is expensive and not as plentiful!

You won't be sacrificing flavor though!  This is very yummy and refreshing!

Someone always asks for the recipe when I make it!

I can't take the credit for this recipe though!  It is from my wonderful Mother :) 

 Thanks Mom!

WINTER FRUIT SALAD

32 oz. can of sliced peaches in syrup

32 oz. can of sliced pears in syrup

12-16 oz. bag frozen raspberries

12-16 oz. bag frozen strawberries

12-16 oz. bag frozen blueberries

Drain juice from peaches and pears into a large bowl.  Put fruit onto a cutting board and slice into bite size pieces.  Put into bowl with drained juice.

Cut strawberries into bite size pieces.  Put all frozen fruit into bowl with the peaches and pears and juice.

Mix together and place in refrigerator until frozen fruit is thawed.

Serve and Enjoy!

You could add your favorite canned or frozen fruit to this also! Such as frozen cherries or blackberries, canned mandarin oranges, or pineapple!

Soft & Fluffy Peanut Butter Bars

I had a slight addiction to these. 

 I would cut skinny pieces off each bar until the bar was gone.  Finally I just started eating whole bars.  Then I decided these have to go into the freezer so I wouldn't be further tempted. 

Well I went into the freezer yesterday, and lets just say I wasn't looking for frozen meat or veggies!

Something so delicious definitely needs to be shared!

These are moist, soft and the peanut butter/chocolate combination is intoxicating! 

That is if you like peanut butter and chocolate!  These also freeze well!

These bars have several steps, but don't let that scare you away! They are well worth the time involved!

Beat butter and PB until fluffy.

I am a HUGE fan of natural PB, but these bars do not come as moist and yummy if you use the natural stuff! So I broke down and bought some regular Jif

Add in sugars and continue beating.

Mixture should look like this.  Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

When dough is mixed well, add dry ingredients.  I used quick oats.  Mix on low speed until all is combined.

Spread dough into a greased jelly roll pan.  Mine measures 12 x 17.

Bake bars at 375 degrees for 10-13 minutes until very light brown. 

 Do not over bake these bars! They will not be as moist if cooked to long!  Edges should only be light brown.  The center of the bars will still be pale, but will appear cooked.

Meanwhile, put 1 cup of peanut butter into bowl.  This again is the Jif normal PB.

Whip with hand mixer until light and fluffy. 

 Who would have thought that just PB could look like this with a little mixing!

Spread whipped PB on warm crust.  Put in the freezer until PB layer is frozen.

While the bars are freezing, mix up the frosting. 

When PB is frozen, remove bars from freezer and pour frosting on bars. 

At this point, try to work quickly.  Spread frosting evenly over bars.  If you work quick enough, the frosting will be really shiny.  But if you continue messing with it, it will get dull like mine below. 

I like the shiny look, but I figured I would even it out a little more and it was too late! It became dull! It certainly doesn't affect the taste! Just the looks!!



And there you have it! A giant pan of scrum-didly-umptious PB Bars! 

SOFT & FLUFFY PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Dough:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup butter, slightly softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups oatmeal

Filling:

1 cup peanut butter

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa

1/3 cup milk

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

dash salt

Mix together peanut butter and butter until creamy.  Add in sugars.  Beat until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add in dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.  Spread dough into a greased 12 x 17 jellyroll pan.  Bake at 375 for 10-13 minutes until edges are a very light brown.  Center of bars will still be pale.  Do not over bake!

Whip 1 cup peanut butter with hand mixer until light in color and fluffy.  Spread onto warm crust.  Put pan in freezer until peanut butter layer is frozen and firm to the touch.

While bars are freezing, make frosting.  In a saucepan over medium-low, heat together butter, cocoa, and milk until mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Add in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Mix with hand mixer.  Frosting will be somewhat runny. 

Remove bars from freezer when ready, and pour frosting over top.  Working quickly, spread frosting over bars.  Slice into bars and enjoy!

These freeze well!