I got a lovely surprise last week –  a beautiful bouquet of daisies from my Sweetheart.  He doesn’t wait until Valentine’s Day to make up for what he should have been doing – he does sweet things like that all year long.  =)  (Yes, I know how blessed I am!)

I’m so thankful that my mom taught me to improvise and use what I have.  When I wanted a centerpiece for my Sunday dinner, I took the daisy arrangement I’d made and added a heart-shaped cookie cutter and then popped in some heart-shaped suckers that I had leftover from my Sunday school class. 

Here was my menu.  My new recipes are marked with an *.

1/4 cup pineapple juice

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Cooking spray
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients. Reserve 1/4 cup marinade; place remaining marinade in a zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Chill 4 hours.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade in bag. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; baste with 2 tablespoons reserved marinade. Cook 6 minutes. Turn chicken over; baste with 2 tablespoons reserved marinade. Cook 6 minutes.

3. Combine rice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cilantro.

*Because I was serving this for Sunday dinner, I opted not to grill the chicken – though I’m sure it would be wonderful!  I put the marinated meat in a baking dish, covered, and baked it at 225 degrees while we were at church. 

I added this salsa to it, because white meat is so dry to me.  This was really good with it.  I think next time I would warm the salsa. 

Pineapple Salsa

Mix:

1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (I used canned)

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup pineapple preserves

1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Baked pie shell

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. To prepare filling, combine 1/2 cup sugar and the next 6 ingredients (through egg yolk) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Place the milk in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until milk reaches 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Gradually add hot milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until smooth.

4. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until mixture cools, stirring occasionally. Spoon filling into crust, and cover surface of filling with plastic wrap. Chill for 3 hours or until set; remove plastic wrap. Spread the whipped topping over filling; add cocoa or chocolate shavings for garnish, if desired.

What was cooking in your kitchen this week?  Are you making anything special for Valentine’s Day? 
Hope it includes chocolate! =)

From my parsonage kitchen,

I love digging in my recipe box! I come across recipes, some clipped from magazines and newspapers over a span of thirty years, some handwritten, that I begged asked great cooks for. My box is as full as ol’ Santa’s belly after a Christmas Eve of cookies.  It’s almost like a little scrapbook of places we’ve lived and friends and family that are far away.  If I ever need inspiration for my weekly menu my box is the best place to start. 


I found this great recipe in my recipe files last week.  It came from a dear friend I met at family camp at The Wilds many years ago.  This is the perfect main dish for Sunday because you cover it then bake it for 2 hours with no stirring or fussing needed.  That’s why it’s called No Peek Chicken!  It’s super fast to put together too, which is great for a busy Sunday morning!


No Peek Chicken


4-6 Chicken breasts, cut in quarters (you can also use a cut-up fryer)
1 small box of wild grain brown rice (original)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 can water


Place chicken pieces in bottom of a glass baking dish.  Mix rice, soup and water.  Pour over breasts, then sprinkle with the spice packet from the box of rice.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.  No peeking!


Alli was home for Thanksgiving and got into a “baking mood” over the weekend.  She had found a wicked brownie recipe online that she wanted to try.  These are  chocolate and peanut butter heaven!  Oh my!  Here’s the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies – adapted from The Food Network




Brownie Layer:


1/2 cup unsalted butter


2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1 cup sugar


2 large eggs


1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1/2 teaspoon salt


3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks




Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Layer:


1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened


1/2 cup packed light brown sugar


2 tablespoons milk


1/2 cup creamy peanut butter


1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon salt


Ganache Layer:


3/4 cup dark chocolate chips


1/4 cup heavy whipping cream


1/4 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts, optional


Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch pan with cooking spray.


Brownies: microwave the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a microwavable bowl at high power until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir until combined, then mix in the vanilla extract. Meanwhile, beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and add in the chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chunks. Spread the brownie mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the brownies are set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean, about 22 to 28 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes.


Peanut butter cookie dough: Add the butter and brown sugar to a large bowl and mix until creamy. Mix in the milk and the peanut butter, then stir in the flour and salt. Spread the peanut butter cookie dough evenly over the cooled brownies.


Ganache: In a small microwavable bowl, microwave the dark chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream, uncovered, on high for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Continue stirring until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Spread the ganache over the peanut butter layer and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Refrigerate until the dough and ganache are set, about 1 hour. Cut into 16 squares and arrange on a serving platter to serve.


Now, if that’s too fattening, here’s a low-fat recipe Alli tried.  I doubt you could find a simpler brownie recipe!  These only have two ingredients!  They’re moist and chocolaty!


Devilish Pumpkin Brownies (you won’t taste the pumpkin!)

1 Box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin (not pie mix)


Mix these two ingredients and place into greased or paper-lined tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 min.  Check center with toothpick.


That’s some of what’s been cooking in my parsonage.  I’ll bet something tasty has been cooking in yours too!  Have you tried a new recipe, or revisited an old one that you hadn’t made in a while?  I’d love to hear about it!


From my parsonage kitchen,