French-Fried Onion Baked Chicken

This recipe is awesome! So yummy and easy.

For a lower calorie version, omit butter and lightly sprinkle with vegetable oil or spray with pure vegetable oil cooking spray.

Substitute broiler chicken for whatever kind of chicken you would like. I usually cut up chicken breast into chicken fingers, for dipping purposes.

French-Fried Onion Baked Chicken

1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions, lightly crushed
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup unseasoned dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
dash pepper
Optional seasonings – crushed red pepper, garlic powder
1 broiler fryer chicken (3 to 4 lbs) cut up
¼ cup butter

In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk. In another shallow bowl combine onions, Parmesan, dried bread crumbs, and all other seasonings.

Dip chicken in egg mixture and then roll in onion mixture.

Place on a greased cookie sheet. Drizzle with butter. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes or until juices run clear. Flip chicken pieces halfway through baking time.

Cinnamon Cookies

I don’t like molasses. It’s weird, it smells funny. It’s something Ma used on Little House on the Prairie. So I had my doubts about this cookie. I didn’t even eat any of the cookie dough, which was definitely a first.

But a just a few minutes in the oven and my house started to fill with warm cinnamon-y buttery goodness smell. Then they came out of the oven and my mouth was suddenly filled with burning hot cinnamon-y buttery goodness.

Me and molasses, we’re okay now.

Cinnamon Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Cream together butter and sugar.
Mix in egg and molasses, blending well.
Mix flour, baking soda and cinnamon; add to creamed mixture, mixing well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Homemade (FromaCakeMix) Cake

This recipe is easy and simple like a cake mix, mostly because it is a cake mix. But it has a dense texture so it tastes like you made it from scratch!

If you’re making a chocolate cake use cocoa powder instead of flour for step one.

Finish with a light dusting of confectioners sugar.




Homemade (FromaCakeMix) Cake

4 eggs
1 (3 ounce) package instant (any flavor) pudding mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 (18.25 ounce) package (any flavor) cake mix
1 cup water


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan.
2. Beat eggs until thick. Add pudding mix, cake mix, water, and oil; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 50 minutes.
3. Let cool for approximately 1 hour. Carefully invert cake onto serving platter. Finish with a light dusting of confectioners sugar.

Chocolate Dipped Everything!!!

The shortening creates a smooth consistency perfect for dipping and drizzling. Try white or dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

1 cup of milk chocolate chips

1 teaspoon shortening

strawberries

In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips and shortening, stirring constantly until smooth. Rinse strawberries and dry completely. Dip into chocolate. Place on waxed paper to harden.

Fun Ideas

*Completely enrobe frozen raspberries. As they thaw inside there chocolate cocoon they will get all juicy and taste like a gourmet gusher!

*Roll or sprinkle berries with crushed candy or nuts.

*Spear bananas with a popsicle stick and dip in chocolate. Freeze completely. It will taste like a banana popsicle.

*Spear a marshmallow with a lollipop stick and dip. Roll in crushed peppermint candy. Let harden. Use as hot chocolate stir!

Cinnabons

Mmmm these are so good!!!

That cinnamon roll shop in the food court at the mall doesn't have anything on these soft gooey buns!

Cinnabons

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

3.Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Lion House Dinner Rolls

So I’ve been searching for the perfect dinner roll recipe. And all of the ones I’ve tested have been good. But they just were not the one.
I was channel surfing and stopped on Good Things Utah and they had a guest from the Lion House baking rolls. I’ve seen this recipe a few times before but always tossed it aside because it’s made with milk powder. The idea of milk in powder form just gives me the hibbie jeebies. Where does it come from? I picture people harvesting the dry milky crusties that you find around the rim and lid when your milk almost expired.

Anyways turns out rolls made with real milk are so so and rolls made with fake powder milk are really good. Who knew?

Add your flour gradually and keep dough as soft as you can handle. A soft dough will produce a lighter roll.





Lion House Dinner Rolls


2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine
1 egg
5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour, or bread flour



1. In large bowl or electric mixer, combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves.

2. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed.

2. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour).

3. Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. (This helps prevent dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.

4. You can really shape your rolls anyway you want to. Roll them into a ball and throw them into a greased pan or muffin tin or follow this next step for authentic shaped Lion house rolls


Scrape dough out onto floured board. Turn dough over so it is floured on both sides; gently flatten to about 1 inch thick. With rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle about 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick. Brush with melted butter. With pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut dough in half to make two strips about 4 inches wide. Make cuts through strips of dough every 2 inches, making about 18 pieces of dough.Starting with short end, roll up one piece of dough, with butter on the inside. Place roll on parchment-lined pan with other short end down on the paper. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Be sure all rolls face the same direction on baking pan.

5. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light to medium golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Serve with Honey Butter. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls.

Spinach Red Pepper Cheese Dip

The first time I made it I used 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese and it was amazing! How could anything ever taste any better???

By adding more calories of course! So the second time a made it I used regular Philly. And WOW it was actually better!

Once you taste this dip you will want to just screw the potluck/shower/party/whatever and sit home in sweat pants and drink the cheese dip through a straw. yes. it’s that good.

Spinach Red Pepper Cheese Dip

1 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup thawed frozen chopped spinach
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add diced red pepper and chopped spinach. Turn down the heat down to medium and simmer until the pepper is very soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the spinach and red pepper in a colander, pressing out as much liquid as possible.

2. Combine the cream cheese and milk in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until hot and softened. Stir in the cooked spinach and red peppers, Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and ground black pepper. Continue to stir until well combined and heated through.

3. Spoon hot dip into a mini crockpot or serving dish.