Chicken and Chips on a stick

So this is def. not the healthiest recipe out there. But, if you have kids it will be one of the quickest eaten meals! Experiment with different chips - BBQ, Sour Cream & Onion, Doritos, any kind will do!

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into cubes

1 egg

2 tbsp. milk

2 cups crushed potato chips

lollipop sticks available at craft stores or party stores (Our Wal-Mart had some in the craft/cake decorating aisle)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet.

2. Crush potato chips on a plate. In a bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Dip a chicken cube in the milk and roll in the chips. Spread on baking sheet.

3. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and skewer on a lollipop stick.

4. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces - honey mustard, ranch or ketchup.

Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake

Josh had so much fun helping me make this cake! I think that mashing the bananas was his favorite! Go to www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipes/sweet-spot-dessert-recipes/Caramelized-Banana-Loaf-Cake for step by step picture directions!

Ingredients:

3-4 large bananas

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp unsalted butter cut in 1 piece

1 large egg plus 1 large egg white

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Grease a loaf pan. Cut the ends off of 3 bananas to fit crosswise in the pans. Peel and cut longwise in half.

2. In a skillet bring 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tbsp water to a boil. When the water has evaporated and the mixture starts turning brown remove from heat and stir in butter. Add the bananas cut side down in mixture and heat on low heat for 1 minute. Transfer bananas cut side down to bottom of loaf pan and drizzle with remaining caramel.

3. In a medium bowl, mash up banana to make 1 cup. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Beat in the egg, egg white and vanilla.

4. In a large bowl whisk the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the banana mixture and oil. Whisk until blended. Pour over bananas. Bake until toothpick comes out clean about 55 minutes. LET COOL FOR 10-15 MINUTES!!! Invert on a plate and let cool completely.

Yummy!

St. Patrick's Rainbow Cupcakes

Me + Cupcakes = L.O.V.E

No. Scratch that.

True love.

I saw these babies on familyfun.go.com and just knew that I had to make them! Hello - the insides are rainbow!!!

They are easy - a little time consuming but totally worth it. I am sending them to school with Josh tomorrow for his class. They will be so surprised when they unwrap them and take a bite! :)

Want the how to? Well you need a box of white cake mix, the ingredients to make it, white frosting, food coloring, and 6 plastic baggies. *I know that the rainbow has 6 colors, but really indigo? For real?

Mix the cake as directed (I used 2 boxes of cake mix and 2 tubs of icing. The first batch of cupcakes came out HUGE and the second more normal. Sorry half of the class. But I did get about 30 cupcakes from using both)

Then I used my big old spoon to pour about 5 BIG spoonfuls into each baggie. (It was about 3/4 full I'd say. There about. No need to be exact)

This was def. just a mommy job. It wasn't bad but man. I can't imagine having a helper for dumping batter into a sandwhich bag. :) BUT the next part is cool! Perfect for kids! You need to dye each batter a different color. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple (Violet. Whatever.) Put a few drops in. Seal the bag. Seal the bag. Seal the bag. LoL. Make sure you get the air out, and mash it together in your hands to mix. In the end you will have all of your color baggies.

Pick a color to start with. The first batch I did the traditional Roy B Giv color scheme. But the second time around I started with purple and ended with red. (well as red as I could get). I would suggest ending with a lighter color, yellow would be perfect because it stays that pretty color. Not that it really matters - your putting icing on the top anyways! :) So snip a small corner - small - seriously small - corner and pour a little bit of each color in.

Then layer each color on top. See the picture below. Those were my HUGE cupcakes! You don't need to put that much of each color!!! :) Unless. You like massive cakes and then by all means. Fill away!

Cook. Let them cool. And frost! I frosted ours green with green sprinkles. And I'm running to buy some chocolate coins to put on top of each one! Ordinary cupcakes they are going to think. But ohhh no. Inside is rainbow-y goodness.

Dinner tonight

Does your family like burgers? Mine does. And this is one of our favorite recipes. I love the fact that it is on english muffins and not buns! The first time I read it I was like uhhh cranberries and mustard? NO thanks. But we tried it. OMG it is SO yummy. Just have faith and try it! :)

Here is the original recipe from Rachel Ray:

Apple Cheddar Turkey Burger
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground turkey breast
4 scallions, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 apple, such as granny smith, cut into 12 slices
8 slices extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
4 sandwich-size english muffins, split and toasted
8 leaves red- or green-leaf lettuce

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, parsley, grill seasoning and poultry seasoning. Form into 4 patties, pressing your thumb into the center of each to prevent it from bulging.
In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook for 6 minutes on each side for medium. Top each with 3 apple slices and 2 cheese slices, tent the pan with foil and cook until the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce and mustard; slather on the muffin tops. Pile 2 lettuce leaves on each muffin bottom, top with the patties and set the muffin tops into place.

My notes:

The recipe calls for 2 pounds of turkey! We use just 1 pound and the burgers are still good size - 2 pounds and they are MASSIVE! And with everything on the burger you don't want it that big (it would never fit in your mouth!)

These burgers also are great the next day! So have one for lunch!

And if you want a meatloaf recipe here it is! Instead of ketchup just put the sauce on top (after you cook it). I would still add the apples though! :) Gives it a good crunch!

And my son doesn't know that there are cranberries on his burger! It's just our secret!

Look at this

So I am just cruising through all of my favorite crafty links and one of them I just HAD to share with you all. If you haven't checked out http://www.bakerella.com/ yet....DO IT NOW!!! No joke.

A-MAZ-ING.

Yes. I am well aware of the fact that Valentine's Day is over. But I just found these. Check them out. She printed those from her computer using an edible ink/paper. Vintage valentines turned into icing to be eaten. How crazy. Here is the link. Even if you are like me and know that you will not be going through all that just for a cookie - you have to look! http://www.bakerella.com/valentines-day/

Grilled Orange Seasome Chicken with veggies

Soo I lied. Sorry. No special project today. I got started on it and realized that it seriously is impossible without photos. So it is on the back burner for the time being. BUT I did come across the recipe today at http://www.marthastewart.com/ It looks so yummy!

I'm posting it so that I remember where to find it! And yes family, I promise I WILL make this one! :) It doesn't list any nutritional information on the recipe, but it sounds healthy. Plus, it was under the healthy recipes in whole living (and Martha wouldn't lie - would she?!) All in my sneaky plan to try to get everyone in the Smith home to eat a little healthier! I just ordered Jessica Seinfeld's book on Amazon today.

I can't wait to sneak in the veggies! Andy if you are ready this... I was just kidding. :) Order yourself a copy. Or try the Sneaky Chef. (next on my list!)

Grilled Orange Sesame Chicken

Ingredients
Serves 6
3 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
2 pounds (2 bunches) asparagus, trimmed
6 small (1 3/4 to 2 pound) zucchini, cut on the diagonal 1/4-inch thick
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Cut 1 orange into wedges (peel intact); set aside. Of the remaining 2 oranges, remove zest of 1 and juice of both; place zest and juice in a glass bowl. Add lemon juice, vinegar, pepper, and mustard; whisk. Slowly whisk in sesame oil; set aside.
Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap; pound with a meat tenderizer to 1/2 inch thick. Place chicken in a glass bowl; pour half reserved vinaigrette over chicken. Coat thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap, and chill 1 to 2 hours.
Heat a grill or grill pan until very hot. Coat asparagus and zucchini with olive oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Grill vegetables and reserved orange wedges until tender. Remove chicken from marinade; season with remaining teaspoon salt; discard marinade. Grill until browned on both sides and cooked through. Arrange chicken and vegetables on platter; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with remaining reserved vinaigrette.