Chicken and Artichoke hearts

So yummy....

2 chicken breasts
olive oil
2 cups artichoke hearts
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Pound chicken breasts until they are 1.5 their original size, dredge in flour.
In a heated pan coat with olive oil and place each breast in pan. Cook through, turning once.
When cooked remove chicken from pan. Add chicken stock to deglaze pan. When stock is simmering add artichoke hearts and stir to heat through. Add butter to thicken and add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve pour artichoke sauce over chicken breasts.
It's so good!

Jalapeno Cornbread

I made this to go with chili. It's not at all spicy, although it could be made to be spicier. You can really taste the jalapenos though. Also it's really moist, should be refrigerated if not all eaten.

3 cups cornbread mix
2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup creamed canned corn
1/2 cup jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 2 oz jar pimentos

In food processor combine onion, garlic and jalapenos, blend to a mulchy mix.
In a large bowl add corn bread mix, milk, oil, sugar and the corn and mix, add the onion mix and combine. Add remaining things and combine.

Pour into a 12X9X2 greased pan and bake at 350 for 40ish minutes or until an inserted toothpick is clean.

to make spicier chop jalapenos whole, to make less spicy remove seeds and ribs.

Banana and Whopper Icecream

I got Adam an ice cream maker for our anniversary, so let the ice cream making ensue.

2 bananas
1/2 cup Whoppers balls, crushed
1 cup less a tablespoon low fat milk
1 cup less a tablespoon half and half
1 cup less a tablespoon heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

in a food processor blend sugar and banana until it's pasty
add milk and blend
add half and half and blend, make sure the sugar is dissolved
add cream and blend briefly to combine
add Whoppers and stir as to not chop them up any smaller.
From this point follow the directions of the ice cream maker (ours is a 1.5 pint model)
when it's done freeze until desired consistency, and eat.
Yumm.

Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad.

Adam says that this is "good for a cucumber" salad.

1 seedless cucumber thinly sliced
1 green onion sliced
1 carrot thinly sliced *
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a bowl mix the final 6 ingredients and heat in microwave for 1 minute. When warm add the sliced veggies and mix well. Chill for a couple hours and eat.
Yumm.
*optional.

Citrus and Red Wine Fruit salad

I made this up tonight, it's so good.

I used the fruit I had, I'll list what I used, but I think that anything along with citrus would work.

salad
4 cups cubed watermelon
1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1 mango, cubed
2 peaches, sliced
1 cup pineapple, chunked
2 grapefruit, sectioned
2 blood oranges, sectioned
1 orange, sectioned

sauce
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon

I started by making the sauce, mixing the wine, sugar, zest and juice and boiling it.
Then I started on the salad, starting with the mango. After I had cut away what I could from the mango pit, I squeezed it over the red wine sauce, getting the juice from the remaining pulp on the seed. To section the citrus fruits I cut away the skin and white pith, then cut between the sections in the fruit so that it resulted in chunks of fruit with no membranes. Then I squeezed what was left into the sauce after I had removed all of the sections. (there will be some small pieces left and plenty of juice) After I prepared all of the fruit I carefully mixed it, taking care not to crush the watermelon. Then I refrigerated the salad with the sauce in a separate container. To serve drizzle the sauce over a bowl of the salad.
Yum!

Mom's Banana Bread

I had this a lot growing up, it's great.

2 2/3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter*
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 bananas (if I have more I use more)
extras**

1. mix top 4 ingredients together
2. in a separate bowl cream butter and sugar
3. add eggs to creamed sugar and butter, mix
4. add bananas to mixture, mix
5. add dry to wet, in batches.
6. makes 2 loaves, bake at 350 degrees until a tooth pick comes out clean.

* I have also used 1/3 cup oil, or 1/2 cup applesauce, it all works well. The butter gives it a richer taste, but oil is better for you, and applesauce is the best, but results in a drier loaf.
**extras could be chocolate chips, raisins, or nuts. I've also adds citrus zest and it's nice. I add raisins etc. when everything is mixed together. If I'm adding zest I add it to the moist before adding the dry.

Cajun Shrimp

1 cup melted butter
2-3 tablespoons pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons hot sauce
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2-3 pounds shrimp (deveined, shells on or off)

mix first 4 ingredients
spoon some of the sauce into a 9X13 baking dish, enough to cover the bottom
add 1/2 of the shrimp to the baking dish and layer the slices of one lemon over them
cover with some of the sauce
add the rest of the shrimp evenly, top with lemons and cover with sauce.

bake in a 350 degree oven until the shrimps are pink, take care not to overcook.

Serve with a salad and bread.