I’m a creature of habit. Whenever we dine out at a fancy restaurant, I always find myself drawn to one of three dishes: a hearty braised beef, a delicate salmon, or a classic Chicken Piccata. While these restaurants certainly know how to elevate these dishes, I’ve learned that I don’t need a Michelin-star chef to enjoy a delicious plate of Chicken Piccata. In fact, this elegant dish is surprisingly simple to make at home.
Prepare the chicken: Pounding the chicken thin is a very important step in making this chicken dish taste delightful.
Dredge each chicken breast in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Dip in beaten eggs, then coat with breadcrumbs.
Cook the chicken: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Make the sauce: In the same skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, white wine, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened.
Combine and serve: Stir in capers and parsley. Return the chicken to the sauce and cook for a few more minutes until heated through. Serve immediately with pasta or rice.
I love this lemony, caper-topped, and just buttery enough chicken dish! Enjoy your homemade Chicken Piccata!
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. The centers may still appear slightly soft, but they will firm up as the cookies cool.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
*There are plenty of add-ins you can incorporate into chocolate chip cookies to make them even more delicious and unique. Here are some ideas:*
M&M candies: Substitute a portion of the chocolate chips with M&M’s or add them in addition to the full amount of chocolate chips for an extra delicious cookie variation.
Oats: Rolled oats can add a hearty and wholesome texture to your cookies. Substitute a portion of the flour with oats or add them in addition to the flour for an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.
Peanut Butter: For a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, add a scoop of creamy or chunky peanut butter to the dough. This will create a rich and nutty flavor profile that pairs well with chocolate. For an extra PB flavor add in some PB chips as well.
Caramel Bits: Incorporate small caramel bits into the dough for a gooey and indulgent twist. The caramel will melt and create pockets of sweetness throughout the cookies. Add some sea salt to the top of cookies while they are still warm and enjoy the sweet and salty together.
Nuts: Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts can add a delightful crunch and enhance the texture of your cookies. Toasting the nuts before adding them to the dough can intensify their flavor.
Spices: Enhance the flavor of your cookies by adding spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom. These spices can add warmth and complexity to the traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Dried Fruits: Add sweetness and chewiness to your cookies with dried fruits such as raisins, cranberries, cherries, or chopped dates. Soak the dried fruits in warm water or juice before adding them to the dough to prevent them from drying out the cookies.
Coconut: Shredded coconut, either sweetened or unsweetened, can add a tropical twist to your cookies. Mix it into the dough or sprinkle it on top before baking for added texture and flavor.
Remember, you can mix and match these add-ins based on your personal preferences or even create your own unique combinations. Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with flavors to make your chocolate chip cookies even more delicious.
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Just finished baking the last of 4 loaves of Amazing Amish Cinnamon Bread! The house smells delicious and I shared it with the ladies at the library. They said the bread was delightful! I highly recommend this very simple recipe from RedFly Creations!
CINNAMON BREAD
(makes 2 loaves)
Batter:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Cinnamon/sugar mixture:
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar, and eggs. Add milk, flour, and baking soda. Put 1/2 of batter (or a little less) into greased loaf pans (1/4 in each pan). Mix in separate bowl the 2/3 c sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 3/4 of cinnamon mixture on top of the 1/2 batter in each pan. Add remaining batter to pans; sprinkle with last of cinnamon topping. Swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean.
Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing from pan.
If you remember from my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe post, I love raw cookie dough. It is so bad for me to eat it, but it is so delicious! Here is a recipe for Eggless Cookie Dough that is just as tasty with out the risk of salmonella poisoning.
Eggless Cookie Dough
7 Tbsp Brown Sugar
6 Tbsp White Sugar
5 Tbsp Butter, softened
2 tsp Vanilla (1tsp)
3 Tbsp Milk
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup Flour (use almond or coconut flour for a bit of a change to the flavor or the cookie dough)
1/3 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips
1 tbs ground cinnamon
Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter in a bowl and mix. Stir in vanilla and milk. Add flour and salt to the sugar mixture, and stir until combined. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Spread the mixture onto parchment paper and shape into a rectangle as evenly as possible. Put the square of cookie dough into the freezer and freeze for 1-2 hours. Remove from freezer and cut into small squares. Enjoy!
Shrimp Scampi is one of those dishes that is really easy to make, yet taste so delicious that it seems as if it might be tricky. Here is a quick and easy recipe…
Prep time: less than 10 minutes
Cook time:5 minutes
Yield:Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound large (16-20 count) raw shrimp, shelled and de-veined**
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp butter
Salt
1 Tbsp minced garlic (or 3-4 garlic cloves)
1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp lemon juice
**You can use frozen raw shrimp, just defrost them quickly (and safely) by putting the shrimp in a large bowl of salted ice water about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt for every quart of water.
Directions
1 Heat a sauté pan on high heat then decrease to medium high heat. Swirl the butter and olive oil in the pan until the butter is melted. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes.
2 Sauté the garlic for just until it begins to brown at the edges.
3 Add the shrimp, and then the wine. Stir coating the shrimp with the butter, oil, and wine. Keep the shrimp in an even layer in the pan. Increase the heat to high and boil the wine for two to three minutes.
4 Turn the shrimp over to be sure to cook evenly on both sides. Continue to cook on high heat for another minute.
5 Remove the pan from the heat.
6 Sprinkle the shrimp with parsley, lemon juice, and black pepper.
7 Serve over your choice or pasta (my favorite is angel hair!)
Ingredients
❏ 2 pork tenderloin
❏ ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
❏ 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
❏ 2 Tbsps maple syrup
❏ 2 Tbsps olive oil
❏ 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
❏ ½ small onion diced
Directions:
1. Place tenderloin in the slow cooker.
2. Mix all other ingredients and pour over the pork.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours.
4. Serve with brown rice or couscous and a veggie of your choice
Serve the chicken shredded on a roll as a sandwich with some delicious coleslaw, or for an even healthier option skip the bread and serve the chicken over lettuce as a delicious salad topper.
Crock Pot Buffalo Ranch Chicken
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
● 4 chicken breasts
● 1 medium onion, sliced
● ½ teaspoon each: dried parsley, dried dill, dried chives, garlic powder, onion powder
● sea salt and pepper, to taste
● 4 peppers, tops cut off and seeds cleaned out
● ½ cup hot sauce* (I use Frank’s RedHot Hot Sauce)
*This can be spicy for some. Want it mild? Use a little less hot sauce!
Instructions
1. Put chicken, spices, hot sauce in crockpot.
2. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
3. Shred and serve on your choice of sandwich thin, lettuce wrap, stuffed in a pre boiled bell pepper, stuffed in a baked sweet potato or over salad greens.
*Make a ranch sauce to go on sandwiches. ½ cup plain greek yogurt and ½ teaspoon of each: dried parsley, dried dill, dried chives, garlic powder, onion powder. This also cuts the spice!!
Have you ever heard of “dump cake” before? I had never heard of it until I had some for the first time a few years ago for Christmas dinner dessert. And let me tell you, it was delicious and love at first bite! It’s as simple as dumping everything into a baking dish and topping it with a yellow cake mix and butter…lots of butter 🙂
It may not look super pretty once it is on the plate, but it sure is super yummy! It is also absolutely delicious with some vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream or cool whip on top too. I can’t wait to have it again!
Ingredients
1 can (21 Oz.) Cherry Pie Filling
1 can (15 Oz.) Crushed Pineapple
1 box (about 18 Oz.) Yellow Cake Mix
1 stick melted Butter
Dump cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple into 9×13 baking dish. Stir together.
Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the fruit. Pour melted butter over the surface of the cake mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35ish minutes.
Some other varieties you can make…
Substitute the Yellow Cake Mix for a spice cake mix and the pineapples and cherries for some apple pie filling and it will make a delicious apple crisp like dessert.
Substitute the pineapples and cherries for 3 cans of peaches and you have a peach cobbler.
Substitute the Yellow Cake Mix for a spice cake mix and the pineapples and cherries for some pumpkin pie filling, add some walnuts or pecans and you have a yummy pumpkin cobbler.
If there’s one cookie that reminds me of my childhood this has got to be it! I LOVE these no bake pb coco oat meal cookies! Just how I like a recipe to be… so easy and so delicious!
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Butter (1 stick butter)
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups oatmeal (I prefer old fashioned rolled oats, not instant)
Directions
Over medium heat, mix the sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk in a medium/large saucepan. Boil for 1 minute.
Turn off the heat and add the peanut butter and vanilla. Mix quickly until peanut butter melts completely. Then add the oatmeal and mix until well blended.
Using a 2 tbsp scooper (a spoon will also be fine) drop spoonfuls onto tin foil, wax paper or parchment.
It’s going to be tough to resist eating them, but allow the cookies to set and cool completely.
Ever since I was little, every year in the fall my family goes apple picking! I love it. My favorite apples to eat are Macintosh. So crisp and sweet!
One of my favorite things to do with all the other types of apples that we pick is to make apple crisp. If you’re looking for a great apple crisp recipe, here is a delicious one from Hoosier Homemade.
Ingredients
4 cups (4 large or 5 medium apples) sliced apples
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup flour, all-purpose
½ cup oatmeal, quick cooking is best
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup butter or margarine, softened plus additional butter for pan
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 8×8 baking dish
Slice apples and place in buttered pan
Combine dry ingredients for topping, and mix in butter until crumbled
Add to top of apples
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are tender and bubbly
Looking Joli Good 