Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

 Even if you don't like asparagus, you will love this recipe!  It's so easy and so good.  Sometimes I even wrap a few spears with bacon (or put slices of bacon on top) and that makes it extra special yummy!  If you use the young, thin spears, you will need to reduce the baking time but the time is correct for the normal sized spears.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed

Cooking spray

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

·       Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

·       Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.

·       Season with salt and pepper.

·       Bake asparagus about 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender.

·       Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

·       Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.

·       Pour over the baked asparagus and serve.

Dijon Parmesan Oven Fried Chicken

Adapted slightly from Laughing Spatula
Serves 6 to 8

Wow is this ever a keeper recipe?  It's definitely one for the rotation.  I have made this with boneless, skinless thighs as well as bone-in skin on thighs (increase cooking time if using bone-in), and boneless chicken breasts.  Every time I made this it was deliciously yummy!  It's easy and tasty and makes good left-overs, if you're lucky enough to have any!  I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and green garden peas with mushrooms.  Love at first bite!

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

4 Tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 ½ cup Panko crumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

·       Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

·       Line a sheet pan with foil (or SilPat liner) for easy clean-up

·       Spray with non-stick spray

·       Rinse and pat dry chicken thighs and set aside

·       Mix together melted butter and Dijon in a medium bowl

·       Combine Panko, Parmesan, salt and pepper on a plate or platter.

·       Add chicken thighs to butter/Dijon mixture and gently toss to be sure that each piece of chicken is coated.

·       Press each chicken thigh into Panko crumb mixture and place on prepared pan

·       Spray top of coated chicken thighs with additional non-stick spray

·       Bake for 30 minutes until coating is crispy and brown and chicken is cooked through.

Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast

(adapted from Allrecipes)

Serves: about 10

It's Mother's Day and I have been itching to try this recipe!  You make it the night before, refrigerate overnight, and bake for about an hour the following morning!  I made my sauce while the casserole was baking, but you could just as easily make it the night before too.  Being a strawberry lover, I used more strawberries than the original recipe I found on Allrecipes required.  I also substituted Pepperidge Farm strawberry bread for the white bread, but I'm sure it would be just as tasty with a good white bread.  And last, but not least, to make it more healthy, I used Eggbeaters and low fat cream cheese.  The result?  Excellent!  You can make this with blueberries or peaches..... which I will be trying when fresh local fruits are available.   (the recipe is easily halved if you don't want to serve 10).

 With Sauce and Below Before Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

12 slices home-style white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes, divided in half

 (I used the seasonal Pepperidge Farm strawberry bread)

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 cups half-and-half

12 large eggs(or substitute 3 cups Eggbeaters)

1/3 cup maple syrup

Sauce:

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 Tablespoon butter

Note: (I doubled the sauce to have more to serve on individual servings or over ice cream or cake! 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

·       Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

·       Arrange half of the bread cubes in the dish.  Evenly place cream cheese cubes over the bread cube layer.  Sprinkle 2 cups strawberries on top of the cream cheese layer. Layer the reaming bread cubes over the strawberry layer.

·       Beat the eggs and whisk together the half-and-half and eggs until fully blended.  Add maple syrup and whisk until smooth.

·       Pour this mixture evenly over the bread mixture, pressing down to make sure that all bread pieces are coated.

·       Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

·       When you’re ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

·       Bake the covered casserole in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. 

·       Uncover and continue baking for about 30 minutes more, until French toast is puffed and lightly browned.

For the Sauce:

·       In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water.  Bring to a boil.

·       Stirring constantly, cook for 3 to 4 minutes and mix in the remaining 2 cups of strawberries.

·       Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until the strawberries are softened.

·       Add butter and stir until butter is melted.

·       Pour over the baked French toast.
Serve and Smile!

Rosemary Olive Oil Slow Cooker Bread

 (slightly adapted from Host the Toast)

I was ecstatic when I discovered that you can bake bread in a slow cooker!  You know how I love my slow cookers don't you?  This recipe is a knock-off of the yummy rosemary bread that you are served at Romano's Macaroni Grill!  I was amazed at how easy this is to make and  how yummy it is to eat!  Served warm with a dipping sauce or butter, and you'll be transported to Italy (or the Macaroni Grill)!   Perhaps best of all is that your house smells like a bakery!   I am now envisioning several variations of this, using the same base but different herbs and perhaps cheese or olives.  Oh my!

INGREDIENTS:

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 packet dry active yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1 ¼ cups warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ cup fresh rosemary, chopped and divided (or 4 Tablespoons dried rosemary)

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

DIRECTIONS:

·       In a large bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 10 to 12 minutes.  The mixture will become bubbly.

·       Stir in half of the salt (1/2 teaspoon), half of the rosemary (2 Tablespoons), the 3 Tablespoons of olive oil, and all of the flour.  Mix until fully combined, working it with your hands.

·       Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in.  Cover it with a kitchen towel and leave the dough in a warm, draft-free place.  Let it sit and rise for one hour.  (I pre-heated my oven to 200 degrees F, turned it off and placed the dough (covered with dish towel) there for an hour and it rose beautifully)

·       After rising for an hour, remove the dough from the bowl and, on a floured surface, gently roll it into a ball.

·       Let it sit and rise for another 20 minutes.

·       Set the slow cooker to high and line it with parchment paper, leaving at least 2 inches hanging out of each side of the crock pot (you may need two pieces of parchment). 

·       Place the dough in the slow cooker and sprinkle it with the remaining salt and rosemary.

·       Drape a kitchen towel over the top of the slow cooker and then place the lid on.  This should capture any moisture that would condense on the lid and prevent it from dripping back onto the bread.

·       Cook the bread for 2 hours and remove it from slow cooker.

·       Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

·       *If you want a more browned crust, place it on a baking sheet and put it under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes.