Pepsi Chicken!

I made this the other day for the first time in years. Its easy and tasty and apparently there are other ways to make it but this is how my friend taught me!

Recipe courtesy Melissa Christensen:

1/2 cup bbq sauce
1 1/2 cans pepsi
1/2 cup ketchup

Put BBQ sauce, pepsi and ketchup in pan and boil. Add chicken and simmer for 45 minutes. Take lid off for additional 10 minutes. Serve over rice.
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When I made it, I thawed three boneless/skinless chicken breasts and cut them into chunks. About the size that would take 3 bites to eat, if that makes sense. Also, we were surprisingly low on ketchup so there was actually more BBQ than ketchup.
I made brown rice again, and here's our dinner that night:

Cinnamon Rolls!

Ohh yes. They are *that* good!!!


My husband makes these. And yes, oh yes, they are so good the former neighbor who got to enjoy such a wonderful treat about collapsed at the mere mention of such a goody.


Below I have the instructions he typed up for said neighbor. Here's the box he indicates for the mix. En. Joy!

"Good Eats" Cinnamon Rolls (Burt’s Version)

Dough:

Make a double batch of Honeyville Farms brand Scone dough

4 tblsp of Malted Barley flour to the mix.

Filling:

8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

3/4‐ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:

2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup

3 tablespoons milk
5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

Directions:

Mix out a double batch of the scone dough adding 4 tbsp of malted barley flour to the mix. Following the instructions, get the dough to the rising stage. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter, grease, or spray oil onto a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12 rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4 inch‐ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2‐inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4 inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2 inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for at least another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven and rolls are ready, pull off the plastic wrap, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixed together on the tops of the rolls if desired, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

"Healthier" dinner

It was an afterthought to post this. But again, in the spirit of eating better, I opted for some healthier dinner ideas.

I thawed two large chicken breasts and cut them into strips. I find they cooker quicker in smaller pieces and then don't dry out as much. I ground black pepper into the pan and stuck the strips right in the pan. Then I sprinkled seasoning salt over the chicken but not much. Just turned them til they were done! They were tasty too, we all liked it.

We have a ton of white rice, but a- the boys in this house don't care for rice and b- white rice is not that healthy. So I bought a small bag of brown rice, intending to just mix it half and half. My friend told me you can't mix rice, they cook differently. Rats. She was right, of course. The packages said a significant time difference, and at my house, it took about 12 mins to cook the white rice and about 55 to cook the brown rice. WOW. Then I mixed them in a bowl with a smidge of black pepper so that everyone got a little brown rice on their plates. 
*Brown rice is much more flavorful, and its better for you but it will go rancid if you keep it on a shelf too long.

Then I just heated some frozen mixed vegetables and there was dinner! The boys put butter on their rice but I thought it was tasty plain.

Peanut Butter Cups!

These. are SO good.

I got this recipe from a friend around the time I got married and for a few years there I made them all the time. It has been years since I made them, until this week. They are sooo good! These are bite-size squares shared with friends and taken to an event. I made a double batch so my family could have some too. You want them too, don't you? Well okay... :)

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies:
1/2 package of graham crackers, smashed. (the little plastic wrapped package in the box, not half the box!)
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter, melted
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
Mix these well, and press into 8x8 pan, or muffin cups.

Melt 1/2 tbsp shortening and 1/2 package of chocolate chips in small sauce pan, on low heat. Pour over peanut butter filling and spread evenly.

Refrigerate until firm and cut into bars. Note that these are rich so small bars, or squares, are a good idea.
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ETA: Today I was out of graham crackers and didn't want to take a sick kiddo to the store with me. After searching online and discussing with a friend, I chose to crush up pretzel sticks instead! Here's my adjusted recipe.

1 cup crushed pretzels
3/4 cup margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup pb (crunchy is what I had this time)
1 1/3 cup choc chips
2 light tbsp shortening

Feeling Inept.

Two of my parents staple meals have outsmarted me in the same week.

The first was waffles. My dad makes waffles every Christmas, and for birthdays and oh, any time. But usually for dinner. On Wednesday I used the recipe from Alton Brown in his awesome Good Eats books. Okay, that flop wasn't my fault, it was that our waffle iron only worked on the bottom "plate". It took me two sets to realize that I had to flip the waffle to cook it. The bottoms were crispy and wonderful and the tops looked like soggy bread, even when I turned them. SAD! They tasted good, now we just need a new waffle iron.

Then tonight I made tacos. My mother loves Mexican food and we had it as often as she felt possible. Too frequent for my tastes then. Now, obviously, I love Mexican too and have to space it out for my picky child, lol! Anyway, my mom would brown ground beef with salt and pepper. Then she woudl fry corn tortillas, and most of them were soft tacos, lightly fried for just a couple minutes, I don't know, maybe even less. She would stack the soft taco shells on one side of the same pan holding the browned meat. And we always had shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and sometimes avacado to put on our own tacos.

I found out...I cannot fry soft tacos. I fry them shut, or they break or they are grossly greasy. I forgot lettuce until I was literally ready to serve. drat.

Next week we'll be back to my staple meals! I can cook those! :)

Networking

A friend of mine has been posting a week's worth of dinner recipes on facebook and just turned the page  into a blog. She is a great cook so check it out HERE!

We have tried her Thai Peanut Chicken & Rice, and these, her Quick Apple Dumplings from week 1.

Liz's Quick Apple Dumplings
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and quartered
1 8 count pack crescent rolls
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup very finely chopped pecans

Grease 8 inch pan. Wrap each apple quarter in crescent roll. Combine remaining ingredients in small pan (except pecans and vanilla) and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over dumplings. Sprinkle pecans and bake at 350* for 30 mins until apples are tender when poked.
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I highly recommend her food!