Chicken in a Pan

recipe from The Morris Family
INGREDIENTS
5-6 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup apple juice
1 box stove top stuffing
3/4 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, mix cream of chicken soup with apple juice until well blended. Set aside.

Layout chicken breasts evenly in a 9x13" baking dish. Top with cheese, and then with soup-juice mixture. Spread the dry stuffing mix evenly over the top, then top with melted butter.

Baked covered with foil at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5-10 minutes longer.

I grew up a home where we never ate casseroles… like, ever. So just the idea of all that cheese, and butter and the cream of whatever soups would gross me out like there is no tomorrow. And it still does, so when my friend, Karli was talking about this recipe, which her family affectionately calls, "Chicken in a Pan" I was thoroughly disgusted by it. Thankfully, Karli is as determined as they come, and let me know that the next time her family has it, I WILL be over for dinner, and if she has to, she WILL forcefully feed me this dish. So when the time came for me to come over, I was hesitant, but from the first bite, the to last bite of my second serving, I was in Mormon-Relief-Society-Arms Heaven. Seriously, this dish is SO good, it has me converted to the gospel of casserole dishes.

Tortilla Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS
1tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, small dice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 23-oz box chicken stock
2 cups water
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn
1.5 lbs shredded chicken*
1 16-oz tub of sour cream
Shredded colby-jack cheese
Crushed tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS

Sauté diced onion in canola oil over medium high until fragrant, add minced garlic and continue to sauté until onions are translucent. Add crushed tomatoes, and spices. Stir continuously while cooking for at least a minute. Add chicken stock, water, black beans, corn and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil for one minute, then turn heat down allowing soup to simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, add sour cream, and stir until sour cream is fully blended into the soup.
Serve with crushed tortilla chips and colby-jack cheese, and enjoy!

For my shredded chicken, I cooked up some boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a tiny bit of canola oil in the pot I was going to cook the soup in. Threw them into my KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the paddle attachment and shredded the cooked chicken at the #2 setting. Perfectly shredded chicken without having the sit with a couple of forks shredding for forever!

Caramel Popcorn Balls

recipe from Ashlee Marie

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter
1 cup karo syrup
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
14 cups popped popcorn

DIRECTIONS
Bring the butter, syrup, and sugars to a boil, keep bubbling over med heat until it hits the softball stage (240 degrees - using a candy thermometer).
Add the sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla and boil for one minute.
Pour over the popcorn and stir spread the popcorn out and let it start to cool.
Spray your hands with cooking spray and portion it out into 8 sections and ball up.
Continue to check back and ball and turn until they cool enough that they stay in their ball forms

Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream

from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home,
Recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (55% to 70% cocoa)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Combine 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
Chop the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Combine the remaining milk, the cream, evaporated milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add the cocoa, whisking until it is incorporated, and continue to boil for 4 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the chocolate. Add the salt and whisk until the chocolate is melted.
Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon resealable plastic freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until the mixture is chilled through, about 30 minutes.
Pour the ice cream base into the ice cream maker and process until thick and creamy per the machine’s instructions.
Pack the ice cream into a resealable container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface of the ice cream, and seal with an airtight lid. Stash it in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home,
Recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer

INGREDIENTS
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Danger! This is the dry-burn technique. I don't add water to the sugar before putting it on the heat, as some chefs do. Caramelizing sugar dry means it goes faster, but you have to watch it more closely and be ready with your cream. Here is an overview of what you are going to do:

Stand over the pan of sugar with a heatproof spatula ready, but do not touch the sugar until there is a full layer of melted and browning liquid sugar on the bottom with a smaller layer of unmelted white sugar on the top. When the edges of the melted sugar begin to darken, use the spatula to bring them into the center to help melt the unmelted sugar. Continue stirring and pushing the sugar around until it is all melted and evenly amber in color — like an old penny. When little bubbles begin to explode with dark smoke, give the sugar another moment and then remove from the heat. Immediately but slowly pour about 1/4 cup of the cream and corn syrup mixture into the burning-hot sugar. Be careful! It will pop and spit! Stir until it is incorporated, then add a bit more cream and stir, then continue until it is all in.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

Mix the cream with the corn syrup in a measuring cup with a spout.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Heat the sugar in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until it is melted and golden amber in color (see note above). Remove from the heat and, stirring constantly, slowly add a bit of the cream and corn syrup mixture to the caramel: It will fizzle, pop, and spurt. Stir until well combined, then add a little more and stir. Keep adding the cream a little at a time until all of it is incorporated.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the milk. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.

Bring back to a boil over medium-high and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. If any caramel flecks remain, pour the mixture through a sieve.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Pour into frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.

Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.

Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Berry Muffins

adapted from Art Bar Blog

INGREDIENTS

3 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cups milk
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups frozen berry mix
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

turbinado sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a large bowl. Whisk together to be sure the ingredients are combined. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs and melted butter.

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well, and stir until just combined. There will be some lumps but don’t over-mix the batter. Add the frozen berries and white sugar; stir gently to combine.

Using a large cookie scoop, disperse batter into the muffin cups to fill the liners. Top with turbinado sugar, to make a pretty crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, remove muffins from tin and cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Okay guys, I originally used this recipe because it said "dairy free" but it didn't say dairy free because they used dairy free products that they just noted in parentheses on the side. Any recipe can be "dairy free" if you do that. However, I'm extra glad that I tried this recipe. I added more spices, and topped each muffin with turbinado sugar because I thought they were too sticky and moist on the tops, and I was just really craving some crunch! They're great without it, but the added sugar just puts them over the top, so try it. :)

Pecan Pie Bars

adapted from Sugar Apron

INGREDIENTS

Package of pre made pie crust
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/4 cup pecans
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough for a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
Unroll dough, and cut to fit into sheet pan; press over bottom and up sides to form crust.
Whisk together sugar, vanilla and eggs until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Slowly add in the melted butter while whisking vigorously to prevent cooking the eggs. Mix until sugar is completely dissolved, then add corn syrup and whisk until homogenous.

Add pecans.*
Spread filling evenly over crust.
Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until filling is set and golden brown.
Cool for about an hour; cut into bars.

*I left my pecans as halves, because I prefer big chunks of nut, and they cooked well. You can definitely chop them up if that's your jam. It's really a play it by ear kind of thing.

I had a craving for turkey dinner, and so I convinced my family to make a full thanksgiving dinner "in honor of the pioneers that came and stole our homeland." In Utah, on July 24th, we celebrate Brigham Young coming to the Salt Lake Valley, and deciding that Utah was Zion. Of course, my people were already here, which is something I like to remind all of my friends when they get all pioneer on me. So we had thanksgiving in July, and so to shake things up, I decided to make some Pecan Pie Bars. Pecan Pie is one of my favorite pies in the world! so to have it so portable, and easy to make was definitely a plus! This is a recipe that I'll be making for years to come!