Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Click here or on the link below for the recipe from RecipeTinEats.com:

http://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-cordon-bleu-easy-fancy/

We served this as the main dish at our Belize Mission Zone Conference luncheon.  It was delicious!  I got this recipe from Sis. Flake and these are the changes she made to the recipe:  I followed the "short cut" recipe exactly except I cut the mustard down from 1 1/2 T. to 1 T. dijon mustard.  To make the sauce, I cut the mustard to 1 T.

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray or grease one 9x13 inch pan.

Reserve 1 cup cake mix. In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry cake mix with 1 egg and 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix well, and then pat into prepared pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over crust.

In a small bowl, combine reserved 1 cup cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons softened butter. Crumble over pumpkin filling. Sprinkle nuts evenly over the top, if desired.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com and can be found by clicking here

We served this for dessert at our Mission Christmas Zone Conference lunch while serving in Belize.  

Layered Christmas Jell-o

2 (3 oz.) packages raspberry Jell-o

1 (3 oz.) package pineapple Jell-o

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2 (3 oz.) packages lime Jell-o

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple

1.     Dissolve raspberry  Jell-o in 2 cups boiling water.   Add 1 3/4 cup cold water and stir.  Pour into a 9 x 13 lightly sprayed cake pan and chill until firm, about 1 ½-2 hours.

2.     Dissolve pineapple Jell-o in 1 cup boiling water.  Beat in the cream cheese until smooth.  Drain pineapple well, reserving juice and add enough water, if needed to equal ¾ cup liquid.  Stir crushed pineapple and reserved juice into pineapple Jell-o/cream cheese mixture.  Gently pour over the firm raspberry Jell-o (I pour it over a large spoon to soften the fall of the liquid onto the firm Jell-o so it doesn’t dig a hole in the Jell-o.  Chill until firm.

3.     Dissolve lime Jell-o in 2 cups boiling water.  Add 1 ¾ cups cold water and stir.  Pour carefully over the firm pineapple layer using the same method with a spoon.  Refrigerate until firm.  At least 3-4 hours or overnight.

I got this recipe from Sister  Jolynne Flake to make for our mission zone conference Christmas dinner.  

Bell Peppers

I had picked up this tip from somewhere in my past.  Ever since I learned it, I always count the bumps on a bell  pepper whenever  I buy one.  I was happy to see this on my Facebook feed the other day.   I took a screen shot of it and now this fact is history on this blog.   

Frosted Banana Bars Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch salt
• FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Pour into greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bars test done. Cool. For frosting, cream butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat well. Spread over bars.Yield: 3 dozen. 

Nutritional Facts

1 each: 202 calories, 8g fat (5g saturated fat), 38mg cholesterol, 100mg sodium, 32g carbohydrate (25g sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein.  Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1-1/2 fat.

© 2017 RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC

I got this recipe from the Taste of Home webpage found here.  Since bananas are plentiful and inexpensive here in Belize I was on the lookout for a good banana bar recipe.  I needed a bar recipe because I don't have a loaf pan yet, just cookie sheets.  I was happy to find this recipe on my google search.  (the first one I clicked onto.)  

Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots

2 pounds carrots, diagonally cut 
5 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, minced 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 fresh ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F. 
2. Grease baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside
3. Cut up the carrots and set aside
4. Melt the butter over medium-heat in a large nonstick skillet or pan
5. Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring very frequently. DO NOT burn the garlic.
6. Toss the carrots with the garlic butter either in the pan or pour the butter over them in a mixing bowl. 
     Toss until well combined.
7. Transfer carrots to previously prepared baking sheet.
8. Arrange in one layer and bake for 22-30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
9. Remove from oven and transfer to a serving plate.
10. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
11. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

12. Serve

I am happy to get his recipe as we are serving our mission because I can find all the ingredients in the stores here in Belize.  Thanks Sis. Adams for sharing your recipe with me.  

Baked Banana Oatmeal

 

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ - ½ cup honey (or sugar)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

 I have added these ingredients to enhance the flavor:

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 cup raisins

a dash of salt 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Grease a cake pan or cast iron skillet.
3. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
4. Pour batter into baking pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Serve with milk if desired.

I got this recipe from a new friend I met in Belize.  Since we moved to Belize to serve a mission for our church, I have had a hard time finding all the ingredients for my favorite recipes. 

In this recipe, I used milk instead of yogurt because yogurt is so expensive here.  I also used 1/3 brown sugar because that is the sugar I had on hand.  I cooked it for 20 minutes in a 10 x 10 pyrex pan.  I have also use quick oaks.  i  

I have made this recipe twice already and I love it!  The second time I made it, I added these ingredients to make it even more delicious:  

1 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 cup raisins
a dash of salt 

My friend said she added some chia seeds for a protein boost.  So you can pretty much add anything you want and it will turn out.  

Cookies from a Cake Mix

I saw this post about making cookies from cake mixes on Facebook  from buzzfeed.com and am glad to put it on my blog.    Because I'm living in a Belize right now and don't have as many resources available to do homemade cooking, I welcome these recipes.

Here is just one sample:

Chocolate chip cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup chocolate chips
½ cup oil
2 eggs

PREPARATION
1. Combine cake mix, chocolate chips, oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl.
2. Using an ice cream scoop or your hand, form golf ball-sized balls of cookie dough and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake at 350°F/180°C for 10-12 minutes.
4. Enjoy!

You can see all of the cookies make from cake mixes by clicking here.

After I made the above recipe, I made it again with this change:  I added 1/2 apple sauce instead of 1/2 a cup of oil because with the oil it was a little too oily. I also made it with chocolate cake mix.  The cookies are very soft, but that's ok because I like soft cookies.   

Cashew Chicken Rotini Salad

Cashew Chicken Rotini Salad ~ Loaded with Cashews, Grapes, Chicken, Pasta and Dried Cranberries! Perfect Pasta Salad Recipe for the Summer!

Ingredients
1 (16 oz) pkg rotini
4 c. cubed chicken
1 c. seedless green grapes, halved
1 c. seedless red grapes, halved
1 (5 oz) pkg dried cranberries
1 c. ranch salad dressing
3/4 c. mayonnaise
2 c. salted cashews

Instructions
Cook the pasta according to packaged directions. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water.
In a large bowl combine chicken, grapes and cranberries. Add pasta.
In a small bowl, whisk ranch dressing and mayonnaise. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Just before serving stir in cashews.

by Julie Evink


I found this recipe on my Facebook page.  It is from Julie's website found here.  I don't always have cashews on hand, so if that is the case I would substitute roasted or sugared almonds for the cashews.

Bug Spray

We'll be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ for the next two years in Belize.  We heard that there a lots of bugs there and to bring some homemade bug spray along with Deep Insect Repellent.   I found this recipe for homemade bug spray here on DrAxe.com

Here is another recipe that I got from wellnessmama.com site:

Homemade Bug Spray Ingredients

Essential oils: choose from Citronella, Clove, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Tea Tree, Cajeput, Eucalyptus, Cedar, Catnip, Lavender, Mint

Natural Witch Hazel

Distilled or boiled Water

Vegetable glycerin (optional)

Homemade Bug Spray Instructions

Fill spray bottle (I used 8 ounce) 1/2 full with distilled or boiled water

Add witch hazel to fill almost to the top

Add 1/2 tsp vegetable glycerin if using

Add 30-50 drops of essential oils to desired scent. The more oils you use, the stronger the spray will be. My personal favorite mix is: Rosemary, Clove, Cajeput, Lavender, Cinnamon and Eucalyptus. It works great and smells good too!

Click here to watch a video that shows how to use a diffuser to repel bugs. 

Click here for the recipe for the above bug-repelling mason jars 

Berry Meringue

Ingredients

4 large egg whites (1/2 cup) or 1/2 cup refrigerated pasteurized egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup plus about 2 tablespoons sugar

4 cups blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries (or some of each)

1 cup whipping cream

How to Make It

Preheat oven to 225°.


In a large bowl, with a mixer (preferably fitted with wire-whisk attachment) on high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl occasionally, until stiff, shiny peaks form (see tip 2 below).


Line two 12- by 15-inch baking sheets with cooking parchment or coat sheets with cooking-oil spray or butter. Mound meringue in eight equal portions (a scant 1/2 cup for each) on sheets, spacing at least 3 inches apart. Shape each into a 4-inch round (follow tip 3 below).


Bake in preheated oven until meringues sound hollow when tapped and feel firm to the touch, about 1 1/2 hours (1 1/4 hours in convection heat); switch sheet positions halfway through baking. Turn heat off and leave meringues in closed oven until completely cool, 2 to 2 1/2 hours longer. Remove from sheets.


Shortly before serving, rinse and drain berries; pat dry with a towel. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat whipping cream just until soft peaks form. Turn mixer to low and beat in sugar to taste (about 2 tablespoons).


Set meringues on dessert plates. Top with whipped cream and berries.


Tips for the perfect meringue


A wire-whisk attachment introduces air evenly into whites and creates small bubbles, which are both stronger and more flexible. Make sure the bowl and beaters are clean; any fat can interfere with the formation of the foam.


Beating the whites with an acid, like cream of tartar or vinegar, helps coagulate the egg-white protein. You want stiff, shiny peaks. The mixture should feel smooth when you rub it between your fingers.


Shape meringue mixture into bowl-shaped rounds with a small, thin spatula. The edges should be a little higher than the centers.

We had some friends from our college days over for dinner last night and they brought this fun dessert.  The recipe came from this site.  Enjoy!