Dilly Beloved from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry

Baked chicken breast with maple, mustard, lemon and dill.

Marinade:
¼ c. pure maple syrup
3 tbs. grainy Dijon mustard
2 tbs. minced fresh dill
2 tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp. minced garlic
¼ tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange chicken breasts in a glass or ceramic baking dish that’s just large enough to hold the chicken breast in a single layer. Pour marinade over chicken. Turn pieces to coat both sides with marinade. Cover with plastic warp and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and transfer casserole dish to middle oven rack. Bake, uncovered, for about 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

Spoon sauce from bottom of pan over chicken and serve immediately.

Notes: I didn't have dill for this recipe, so I didn't use it. I forgot I had a fresh lemon and used bottled stuff. It took a little longer than 35 minutes to cook and was pretty good. It was very lemony and the kids didn't like it at all. So I'm not sure I'll use this one again unless I leave out the lemon or don't use as much. And quite honestly it didn't look all that appealing but at least it's healthy for you.

Aunt Teen's Creamy Chocolate Fudge

I found this recipe a couple of years ago and have found it to be the best fudge recipe I've come across. It is sooo good!

Aunt Teen's Creamy Chocolate Fudge
From Allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 10 MinutesCook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 30 MinutesYields: 48 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow
creme
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
1. Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Pretty in pink - strawberry flavoured cupbakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting- great for Mother's Day, birthdays and more.

1 pkg. light spreadable cream cheese
1 pkg. strawberry flavoured jelly powder
3 eggs
1/3 cup. oil
1 pkg. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe French Vanilla Cake Mix
1 c. water
24 large Rynolds Baking Cups

Strawberry Frosting:
1 tub Duhcan Hines Creamy Home-STyle Cream Cheese Frosting
3 tbs. strawberry jam

Beat in large bowl with electric mixer, cream cheese and jelly powder, until smooth. Beat in eggs and oil. Add cake mix and water, beat on loiw speed until combined. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Spoon batter 1/4 ful inot pan lined with baking cups.

Bake in 350°F oven about 18 minutes, unti ltester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely on rack. Stir together cream cheese frosting and jam. Spread about a table spoon on each cupcake. Makes 24 frosted cupcakes.

Per cupcake: 238 Cal.

Notes:

I made a cake and in a 9 inch springform pan, it took about 40-45 minutes to cook and I used cream cheese frosting.

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2c. soft margarine
2 tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
powdered sugar

Cream margarine and cream cheese. Add vanilla and milk. Blend in powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Mushroom Turnovers

I got this recipe from Appetizers by Company's Coming. i made these on my busy weekend a couple of weeks ago for my cousin's baby shower and my ladies night. They are faboo! A little time consuming too! I used canned mushrooms and always have tons of filling left over so the pastry can probably get pretty thin to use all the filling.










Mushroom Turnovers

Cream Cheese Pastry:
8 oz. (250g) cream cheese
½ c. butter or margarine
1½ c. flour

Have cheese and butter at room temperature. Put into bowl and beat together well. Mix in flour. Shape into ball. Chill at least 1 hour.

Filling:
3 tbs. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 tbs. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ c. sour cream
1 egg, beaten

Combine butter, onion and mushrooms in frying pan. Sauté about 10 minutes until tender.
Add flour, salt and pepper and thyme. Stir together. Add sour cream. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool thoroughly.
Roll pastry fairly thin. Cut into 3-inch rounds. Place 1 tsp. filling in center of each circle. Dampen outer half edge with beaten egg. Fold over and press edges together with fork or fingers to seal. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Cut tiny slits in top of each.
Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake in 450°F oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 3 or 4 dozen.

Note: To use canned sliced mushrooms rather than fresh, drain and chop 2-10oz. cans and add to onion. Just as delicious and always on hand.
To freeze ahead: Do not brush with egg. Freeze on try. Transfer frozen turnovers to carton or plastic bag. Before serving arrange on greased baking sheet. Brush with egg. Prick holes in tops. Bake in 350°F oven for about 20 minutes until brown. If already cooked heat in 325°F oven for 15-20 minutes until hot.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Chocolate Cheesecake #3 from Flora's Hideout
Servings: 1Categories: Cheesecakes / Chocolate / Desserts

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Graham cracker crumbs, finely crushed
1 tablespoon Sugar
2 tablespoons Butter, melted
1 package Chocolate pudding mix, not instant
3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
1 Unsweetened baking chocolate square
24 ounces Cream cheese
3 Eggs, separate out yolks
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sour cream

Directions:
Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press on bottom and sides of a greased 10 inch springform pan. Combine pudding mix, sugar and milk in saucepan. Add chocolate. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat. Cover surface with waxed paper and set aside.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in yolks, vanilla, salt, and pudding mixture. Fold in egg whites. (Odd. Says nothing about beating the egg whites first. Hm. Well, I would.) Pour over crust in pan. Bake on lowest rack at 425F for about 35 minutes or until center is set lightly when touched. Cool 4 hours. Spread top with sour cream.

Notes: With every new recipe comes trial and error. As did with this recipe. I was very tired and had been cooking all weekend when I made this, so I made a couple of mistakes. I used the wrong oven temp and ended up cooking it for longer and the top get darker than it should have, just short of burning it. I also misread or didn't read and I add the sour cream right into the recipe without puting it on top. With that said, it was awesome. It wasn't as rich as it probably should have been but I'm going to try this recipe again sometime and read more carefully. It was nice anc creamy and I loved the texture. The latch on my 10-inch springform pan broke too, so I'm bummed.

Salmon Spread

Obtained from Allrecipes.
Salmon Spread II
Prep Time: 20 MinutesCook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 30 MinutesYields: 24 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound salmon fillets
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
2 finely chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 drops hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1.
In a medium saucepan of simmering water, poach the salmon filets 10 minutes, or until flaky and tender.
2.
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, salt, hot pepper sauce, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.
3.
Flake salmon into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Notes: I did not use smoked salmon, I used some home canned salmon I recieved this fall and I did not add the hot sauce. I don't buy it normally and I wasn't going to for just one recipe.
It was really very tasty. I made this for the baby shower for my cousin.

Award Wining Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

(I made with 1 c. of smarties and 1c. of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Prep Time: 15 MinutesCook Time: 12 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 40 MinutesYields: 72 servings
From: All Recipes
INGREDIENTS:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant
vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate
chips
2 cups chopped walnuts
(optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.