Country French Apple Crescent Casserole

1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 (8 oz.) can quick crescent dinner rolls
1 apple, cored, peeled and sliced into 8 pieces
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 tbsp. almond extract
1 egg
1/2 c. sliced almond

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Separate rolls into 8 triangles. Sprinkle mixture over each, pressing mixture in and flattening each slightly. Place apple slice on wide end of each triangle; tuck edges around apple slice.

Roll up, starting at wide end. Seal all seams. Place tip side down in ungreased 9 inch round baking dish, placing long side of 7 crescents around outside edge of dish and 1 in center. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

In small bowl, using wire whisk, combine remaining sugar, whipping cream, almond extract and egg until well blended. Spoon sauce mixture evenly over partially baked rolls. Sprinkle with almonds and cinnamon. Bake an additional 13-18 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cover pan with foil during last 5 minutes of baking time if necessary to prevent excessive browning. Serve warm.

8 servings.

Corn & Grits Casserole

4 cups (1 qt) whole milk

1 cup quick-cooking grits

1 can (15-1/4 oz) corn niblets, drained

1-1/4 cups (5 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

6 scallions, chopped

1 large egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

Heat over to 375 degrees. Lightly coat shallow 2 qt baking dish with nonstick spray. Bring milk to a gentle boil in a 3 qt saucepan; slowly whisk in grits. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, 5 to 7 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in corn, 1 cup cheese, the scallions, egg, salt, thyme, and pepper. Pour into prepared dish. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 15 minutes more until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

Prep: 15 min/ Total 45 min

Planning tip: can be baked up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate covered. Bring to room temperature before reheating in microwave or in oven.

Cranberry Brie Crisps

1 box frozen puff pastry thawed (one box of 2 sheets or 24 individual cuts)
7 or 8 oz Brie cheese trimmed and cut into 24 pieces
1 can whole cranberry sauce
slivered or sliced almonds

*you will need a mini cupcake tray for these

cut puff pastry into 24 square (ish) pieces and gently press into mini-muffin tin. Place one piece of Brie cheese into each pastry. Place approximately 1 T of cranberry sauce over each piece of cheese (I use a small cookie-dough scooper) Sprinkle almonds over the top and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 – until pastries are golden.

Yields 24 pastries

Eggs Benedict Squares

4 whole English muffins, split in half

2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided

3 cups cooked and chopped broccoli or asparagus

1 cup chopped ham

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

8 eggs

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 recipe Hollandaise Sauce click here

Place muffin halves in a greased 9x13 -inch baking dish. Sprinkle halves with 1 cup cheddar cheese, the cooked broccoli or asparagus, chopped ham, and red pepper. Beat eggs in a medium bowl; stir in milk, dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven. Top with remaining cheese. Bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with Hollandaise Sauce.

Makes 8 servings

Hollandaise Sauce

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup butter divided

1 or 2 drops Tabasco sauce (optional)

In a saucepan, stir egg yolks and lemon juice vigorously until well mixed. Add 1/4 cup butter. Place saucepan over low heat and stir mixture constantly with a wire whisk until butter is melted. Stir in remaining butter. Stir vigorously until butter is melted and sauce is thickened. Stir in Tabasco sauce, if desired. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Chicken strips

4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/2 Tb salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 Tb water
2 slices of bread, toasted in toaster and food processed to make crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken breast into strip-size pieces (about an inch wide). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Combine flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper in a shallow bowl. Combine egg and water in another shallow bowl. Combine bread and cheese in a third bowl. Dip chicken into flour mixture (shake off excess flour), then in egg mixture, then in bread crumb mixture. Repeat with all chicken.

Cook at 475 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 Tbl ketchup
1 Tbl soy sauce
Dash of salt (can be omitted)
Corn starch

For sauce:
Combine sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, salt, and ketchup in small sauce pan. In a separate bowl, combine 1 Tbl corn starch to 1/4 to 1/2 cup water. Add to sauce pan and stir constantly until the sauce thickens. Pour over chicken.

For chicken:
Dip chicken breast in beaten egg, then cover in corn starch. Fry until golden brown (does not need to be cooked through). Add sauce and cook at 350 for 1 hour.

Swiss Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts

6 slices swiss cheese (or more)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup white cooking wine (or use 1 part white vinegar, 2 parts apple juice)

1 cup stuffing mix

1/4 cup melted butter

Place chicken breasts in baking dish and cover each with cheese. Mix soup with wine (juice mix) and pour over chicken. Cover with stuffing then drizzle butter over the top.

Bake 40-45 min at 350 degrees

Pepper-Lime Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel

1/3 cup lime juice

3 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil, crushed

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Place chicken breast halves in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, stir together lime peel, lime juice, oil, thyme, pepper, salt, and garlic. Pour over chicken; seal bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes (if you have time a couple hours is better).

2. Preheat broiler. Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Place chicken on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat about 6 minutes or until light brown.

3. Turn chicken and brush lightly with reserved marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Broil for 6-8 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink. If desired, serve with salsa and lime wedges.

Festive Chicken Crescent Wreath

2 tubes (10 oz each) ready-to-bake crescent rolls

2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup diced fresh broccoli

1 diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced green onions

1 can (10 oz) white chicken, drained

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll crescent rolls and arrange on a 15-inch-round pizza pan, with wide edges of dough triangles about 2 inches in from outside edge of pan and pointed edges hanging off the pan. Wide edges of dough triangles should overlap about 2 inches. Mix remaining ingredients and spoon onto top of wide edges of dough circle, all the way around the circle. Bring pointed edges of dough up and fold over the chicken mixture and tuck into inside of the circle. Some filling will be showing between each section of dough. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 6 - 8 servings