Russian Teacakes

This recipe is from the Betty Crocker cookbook I grew up with. Old family favorite. We always make these for CHRISTmas.
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Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients needed:
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 1/4 cup flour
Powdered sugar

1. Mix butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together.
2. Add nuts and flour.
3. Roll mixture into 1" balls.
4. Place balls about 1" apart on untreated baking sheet.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes.
6. Upon removal from oven, roll in powdered sugar. Once cooled, roll in powdered sugar a second time.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

So this is a recipe I got from the internet, but again, tweaked to my liking. The recipe I found said it was better than Olive Garden's alfredo sauce, and with my subtle changes, I concur. I am picky about most food, but I don't eat just any alfredo sauce. This was superb! My very first attempt and it was a big hit with the Peaslee clan.
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Ingredients Needed:
1 pound cubed chicken breast
1 stick of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic (can be fresh or from a jar)
2 cups heavy cream
5 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese

16 ounces fettuccine noodles
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, combine 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Heat to medium temperature, add chicken breast cubes and cook thoroughly. Season to taste. Remove chicken from pan, set aside.
2. In a large sauce pan, boil water for noodles.
3. In the pan you just removed the chicken from, add remaining butter and garlic.
4. Stir in cream until its simmering.
5. Add Parmesan cheese, stirring frequently. Cook about 8-10 minutes until sauce thickens and becomes smooth.
6. Add dash of salt and noodles to boiling water, let cook 5-7 minutes or until desired consistency. Drain and set aside.
7. Once sauce has thickened, add mozzarella. Do not leave unattended, needs constant stirring at this point. Cook until sauce is simmering.
8. Add cooked chicken cubes to sauce, cook for a minute, still stirring.
9. Remove sauce from heat, serve over pasta.

ENJOY!

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Variations: May substitute any meat you like for the chicken OR can leave out to make vegan. May also add cooked broccoli or other favorite vegetable. I don't care for parsley really, but was an option in the original recipe.

Homemade Bread Crumbs

So, I was going to make my Swedish meatball recipe today and realized I had no bread crumbs. I am 12 miles from the nearest grocery store, and the roads aren't all cleaned up, so I improvised. One can make their own bread crumbs, we used to do it all the time at the restaurant. So, I thought I'd provide you with these very easy directions to make them.
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Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Ingredients needed:
4-5 pieces of bread, any kind without seeds will work

1. Break bread pieces into small pieces and place on a sheet pan.
2. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until dried out & crunchy.
3. Remove from oven, let set for a minute.
4. Place bread pieces in blender or food processor and let them go until desired consistency. If you want coarse crumbs, stop sooner, but mostly the fine crumbs are what is wanted, so just process until they are fine.

Should make about a cup of crumbs. So just toast as much as you need or they can be stored in an air-tight container for future use.
This is also a good way to use up end pieces of bread or bread that is getting old.

Leftover Turkey Shepherd Pie

I am sure that many of you can relate when it comes to eating your leftovers. How many times can you eat the same thing? Well, this recipe isn't new by any means, but I recreated it and tweaked it to my own liking.
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Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients Needed:
4 cups cubed or shredded turkey
2 sticks of butter
2 small white onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
4 cups chicken or turkey broth
6 tbsp flour
2 cans of mixed vegetables
1 can peas
8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel and cube potatoes. Place in large sauce pan, add water until covered. Add salt. Set on stove to boil.
2. In large sauce pan, melt 1 stick butter, add onion and garlic. Cook until translucent.
3. Using a whisk, add flour gradually to butter, onions and garlic. Let cook for about 30 seconds.
4. Using a whisk, stir in chicken broth slowly. May use more or less broth or flour to thicken to a gravy-like texture. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
5. Open canned veggies, drain in colander.
6. Cut turkey into cubes or shred. Add to gravy and once warm, remove pan from heat.
7. In a 9x13 cake pan, pour in gravy mixture and add drained vegetables. Stir to mix together.
8. Potatoes should be soft enough now, remove from heat, drain and return to pan. Add 1/2 stick of butter. With electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add milk, beat until creamy. May need more milk than stated. Salt and pepper to taste.
9. Place mashed potatoes on top of meat gravy and vegetable mixture. May just spread evenly or make peaks or other design as desired.
10. Place in oven, heat until warmed through and the edges and peaks of the potatoes start to brown. Timing will vary, but approximately 30-45 minutes.

Enjoy!
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Variations:
May substitute leftover roast beef or steak. May also use 2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey if you want to make this and don't have leftovers to use up.

Roasted Tomato Soup

This recipe is something Laurie was making for one of our freezer soups for after baby comes and I did not think I would like it at all. Turns out, it is SUPER delish! Laurie said she would never buy canned tomato soup again and I agree! It is based off of a recipe from Food Network, but tweaked a little bit to our tastes.
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Ingredients Needed:
8 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 red peppers, quartered and seeded
1 onion
8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons thyme
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
6 oz tomato paste
8 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup chopped basil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a sheet pan, toss tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, thyme and salt and pepper.
3. Arrange tomatoes and pepper skin side up on sheet pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until slightly charred.
4. In a soup pot, bring remaining olive oil to a medium heat, add tomato paste and mix well.
5. Add the roasted vegetables and vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool for awhile.
7. Either with immersion hand blender or by pouring into a stand blender, blend the soup in batches until smooth.
8. Pour soup back in pan after blending, heat until hot.
9. Serve with the chopped basil as a garnish.

Reminder when blending hot liquids to allow for expansion and let it be vented a little. If using a stand blender, fill only half way at a time.

Enjoy!

Happy Labor Day!

Easy One-Skillet Chicken Parmesan

This is a recipe off of a rice box that my family enjoys, hope you will too.
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Ingredients Needed:
1 tbsp canola oil
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves(1 pound)
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 jar spagetti sauce OR half of my spagetti sauce recipe
1 cup water
2 cups Minute rice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1. Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and peppers, cover. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through, stirring peppers occasionally. Remove chicken from pan once cooked, cover to keep warm.
2. Add spagetti sauce and water to skillet, bring to a boil.
3. Stir in rice, top with chicken. Sprinkle with cheeses, cover, reduce heat, cook five minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!