Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Hummas

4 garlic cloves

2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas(I use liquid from the chickpeas, and probably more than 2 T. I just add until it is the consistency that I want)

8 dashes hot sauce

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature. This is great with warmed pita bread, carrots, and sugar snap peas.

Oreo Bon Bons

1 package oreo cookies
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
Almond Bark

Crush up oreos to crumbs.(I grind them in the blender in small batches.) Mix crumbs thoroughly with cream cheese(I think mixing with my hands works the best). Roll into balls(they don't need to be very big because the coating makes them even bigger). Melt almond bark according to package directions. I use vanilla flavored, and I find it easiest to melt it in the microwave. Dip cookie balls in the almond bark. Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. You can then drizzle them with chocolate bark, or just melted chocolate chips or bakers chocolate. Refrigerate to help the coating set. I think these are best chilled. They freeze well and will last a while.

*These are a family favorite and a hit with everyone who tries them. They make great neighbor gifts. So good!!

Marie Sharon's Mango Chicken

1 T vegetable oil

4 boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise to 1/2 inch

½ t salt

¼ t pepper

1 - 10 oz. bottle mango chutney

1 t mustard

1 T corn starch

½ cup mango orange juice, frozen

1 - 8 oz. package frozen green beans, heated as directed

Almonds, sliced

1 fresh mango peeled and sliced

Heat oil in large frying pan. Season chicken and sauté until cooked thoroughly. Remove from pan. Add chutney and mustard to skillet, then stir corn starch into juice and add to mustard/chutney. Simmer two minutes. Add chicken and beans. Top with almonds and mango. Serve with white rice. (Marie doubled the recipe to serve 8 people, but was short on chutney, so she added ¼ cup mango peach salsa.)

Contributed by JoLyn Day

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese with Zucchini in Italian Tomato Sauce

This is one our family favorites! It is my 2 year olds absolute favorite dish! Last time we ate this he had three helpings of the zucchini!

For the Macaroni:

1 2/3 cups (about 7 oz.) dry small elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (12 fl. oz.)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 2-quart casserole dish.

Combine cornstarch, salt, mustard and pepper in medium saucepan. Stir in evaporated milk, water, and butter. Cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1½ cups cheese until melted. Add macaroni; mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and light brown.

For the Zucchini:

2 Medium zucchini, sliced

about 16 oz. tomato sauce

1/2 T. dry Italian salad dressing mix(I use Good Seasons)

Stir the Italian seasoning into the tomato sauce. Use more or less depending on how spicy you want it. Gently boil the zucchini and the sauce mixture in a sauce pan over med-low heat until zucchini is tender.

*This recipe is really easy to just eyeball how much sauce you need, depending on how much zucchini you have. Be careful with how much seasoning mix you use. It can get spicy really easily.

You can also just buy this in the canned veggies aisle in the grocery store, but we like this way better.

Contributed by Danielle Lauridsen

Crockpot Southwestern Chicken

1 small bag frozen corn

1 can black beans

2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 16-oz jar medium salsa, such as Pace medium picante sauce**

shredded cheddar cheese

flour tortillas or tortilla chips

sour cream

chopped cilantro

diced avocado

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of lightly greased crockpot. Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks. Serve wrapped in tortillas, or as a dip with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.

**It is very important that you use MEDIUM salsa in this. Mild simply isn't flavorful enough.

*I got this recipe from a good friend when we were in Missouri. It is awesome! And it is super easy!

Contributed by Danielle Lauridsen

Crockpot Creamy Chicken

Ingredients:
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup water

1 envelope italian dressing mix

Cook on low in the crockpot for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and put back in pot.

Add:

1 family size can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. cream cheese

Sliced fresh mushrooms, optional

Turn crockpot on high and let cream cheese melt. Stir to blend thoroughly. Serve over rice.

Contributed by JoLyn Day

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Carmel Ice Cream Topping (Smuckers makes a Sugar-Free)
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1/2 cup Pecan pieces
1 cup cold milk
2 pkg (3.4 oz. ea.) Vanilla instant pudding (Jello makes a Sugar-Free)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 8 0z. tub Cool Whip ( Really is low-cal and low sugar content)

Pour 1/4 c. carmel topping into crust & sprinkle 1/2 c pecans on top.

Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spread into crust. Refrigerate at least

1 hour. Just before serving, top with remaining Cool Whip, drizzle a little

more carmel and a few more pecan pieces on top.

Really good!!!!!

Contributed by Jill Perkins

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches and Homemade French Fries

French Dip
-3 lb boneless chuck roast
-About 1/2 can beef broth(enough to cover the bottom of the crockpot, and more to add if needed)
-Thyme
-Oregano
-Garlic Powder
-Salt and Pepper
-Parsley
-Ciabatta rolls
-1 cube butter, room temp
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-Parmesan cheese-Sliced provalone cheese
-Horseradish(optional)
-Au Jus mix, made according to package directions

Place roast in crockpot, cover bottom with beef broth. Season roast generously with thyme, oragano, garlic powder, s & p, and parsley. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. When done, shred and keep warm. Slice rolls. Combine minced garlic with softened butter, spread on rolls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Broil rolls until golden and bubbling slightly.(Watch it closely so as not to burn). Top toasted rolls with shredded beef, a slice of provalone and horsradish(if you want). Serve with Au Jus and fries.

French Fries
-Red potatoes, as many as you want to make. (I usually use about 4 or 5, depending on size and how many people i'm feeding)
-Olive oil
-Seasoned Salt

Pre-heat oven to 400. Wash potatoes and trim of any bad parts. Cut up into french fry shape/size. Toss in a bowl with olive oil and seasoned salt. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Spray foil with cooking spray(this is very important! They will stick if you don't). Spread out fries in a single layer, bake for about 20-30 minutes. Turn fries part way through.

Contributed by Danielle Lauridsen

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

This was really good, pretty basic but yummy. I splurged and served it in sour dough bread bowls and it was delish, despite the fact that the chill that was in our air has left us and we had warm soup on a warm day...oh well. Mr. I don't like broccoli or cheese or soup or anything creamy went back for seconds so that should tell you something. In case you couldn't tell, I copied the recipe and inserted my notes in this lovely shade of red.
Serves/Makes: 4 Difficulty Level: 3 (whatever, it's easy!) Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned *
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar

learn to julienne here --> http://www.ehow.com/how_13876_julienne-vegetables.html


Directions:Saute onion in butter. Set aside. (Yeah, I didn't set aside the onion, I just started it in the 3 TB butter and sauteed for a couple minutes then made my roux from there, no need to dirty anything else) Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux...DUH!). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree.(Yeah, unfortunately, my blender exploded a lovely basil cream on me the other day and had to be retired. Laugh it up. Anyway, the point is that I didn't puree my soup and it turned out great. I did, however, chop my veggies small to begin with though) Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

Contributed by Julie Edwards

Crockpot Calling

Slow and steady wins the race....especially when you have 2 o'clock church!!!

This is a call for your best crock pot AKA (pronounced a kuh) slow cooker recipes! We are starving, not to mention grumpy when we get home from church around 5:30pm and when we don't have LOs in the fridge, it's simply not a good idea to keep anyone waiting while I cook something up. Please, enlighten me!!!

Help requested by Julie Edwards

Cookie Tips

• When baking cookies on a jelly roll pan, turn the pan upside down and cook the cookies on the bottom. The cookies come out perfect!
  
• Here's another cookie tip: Make cookies on a day when you know one or more people will be visiting your home, that way, you only end up eating a dozen of them yourself and you can give the rest away! - Julie Edwards

Best Cake From a Box

From Julie Edwards:

1 Cake Mix
1 Small box pudding
3 Eggs
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Water
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients together and add:
1 Cup Sour Cream

It's very thick but very moist and good.
Bake according to directions on box.

Combinations tried by others:

Strawberry Banana!
Strawberry Cake mix
Banana Cream Pudding
-Kristy Hatt

Chocolate Cheesecake
Chocolate Cake mix
Cheesecake Pudding

Pumpkin
So I am really into this pudding/cake combo thing. I tried a really
good one the other day. My kids do NOT like cake. All they do is lick
the frosting off. They all inhaled this one and wanted more. I
actually preferred it sans frosting:) It was Pumpkin Spice pudding (
seasonal by Jello) with a Butter Yellow cake mix. SOOOOOO good!!! I
will definitely be making this one again!

If you try any other combinations, we can add it to this list.

Secret Ingredient Cookies

Cream together:
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
2 cups butter
Add and mix well:
4 eggs
Mix dry ingredients and add to above mixture.
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
Add and mix well:
5 cups oats
Stir in:
1 12 oz bag milk chocolate chips
1 bag Heath toffee bits

Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.

Contributed by JoLyn Day

Sticky Orange Coconut Pinwheels

I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart years ago. I use my favorite roll recipe and follow the Pinwheels recipe from Granny Foster at http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipes.php?recipe_id=56. This is one of our family favorites!

Dinner Rolls

1 ½ cups hot water

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup sugar

2 T. butter

1 T. rapid-rise yeast

3-3 ½ cups flour

1 egg

Mix hot water, salt, sugar, shortening, yeast, and half the flour. Mix well. Add egg and mix. Add remaining flour and mix. Knead in mixer 6-7 minutes. Let rest 10-15 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll each half of dough in a 12" circle about ½ inch thick. Brush each with 1 T. melted butter. Cut each circle into 12 pie shaped wedges. Roll up wedges into crescents, starting at wide end. Raise 15-30 minutes. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Sticky Orange Coconut Pinwheels

1 - Dinner roll recipe

1 cup flaked coconut

¾ cup sugar

1 T. grated orange zest

2 T. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter 2 round 9" dishes. Combine ¾ cup coconut, sugar and orange zest in small bowl and set aside. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half of dough in a 12" circle to about ¼ - ½ inch thickness. Brush each with 1 t. melted butter. Sprinkle coconut mixture over the circles. Cut each circle into 12 pie shaped wedges. Roll up the wedges, starting at the wide end. Arrange the rolled wedges in pinwheel fashion in the dishes. Cover and let rise 15-30 minutes, until double in size. Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch in the center. Drizzle the top of the pinwheels with glaze immediately.

Glaze

½ cup sugar

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup orange juice

¼ cup butter

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Contributed by: JoLyn Day

So, you're only here for the food...

Welcome to I'm Only Here for the Food: A blog dedicated to food.

We cook A LOT! A lot of people cook from scratch, some of us take a recipe and do our own adjusting, and sometimes we just find an awesome recipe that we want to share. This blog is to make the sharing part of cooking easier!

WHAT IT'S FOR:

When you find a recipe you want to share, create a fun dish, learn a good tip that will make life easier (ex. a concoction that makes your sink not stink, etc), or even if you make an awesome dish and you just want to show off your mad cooking skills, you can post it to this blog. Then everyone who sees this blog will also have access to your culinary brilliance!

HOW YOU DO IT:
When you want to share anything, email your post exactly as you want it to be read to :

onlyhereforthefood@gmail.com

It will be posted on the blog the same day.

Things to include:
Title of dish
Recipe
Instructions (Don't forget cook time and temperature!)
Photo (Totally optional, but if you remember to take a picture of the dish, it will be posted with your recipe!) Just attach it to the email!
A link if you found the recipe online

If it's a kitchen tip, just share the tip.


Ok everyone, blogging starts today!

If you try a recipe off the blog, make sure you comment and let everyone know how it went!

Happy cooking!