Orange-Berry Bread

I made up this recipe... it's the first one I've ever actually made up.  Pretty excited about it!

Zest & Juice of one navel orange

1 Tbl. powdered sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. raw cane sugar (or white sugar)

2 eggs

1/4 c. plain yogurt

1/3 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 2/3 c. whole-wheat flour (or use part white)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. frozen berries (I used a mixture of blackberries, marionberries, and blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1 tsp orange zest and 1 Tbl. orange juice with powdered sugar and set aside (this is your Orange glaze).  In a bowl, whisk together the remaining zest and juice, butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt, buttermlik, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and make a well in the center.  Pour the milk mixture into the well and mix until equally wet.  Fold in berries.  Pour batter into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Once you pull it out, make numerous holes with the toothpick and quickly pour the orange glaze evenly over the top, letting it drip down in the holes.  Let cool in pan, then enjoy!

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Parmigiano and Herb Chicken Tenders

I have to give credit to Cory for this yummy recipe!! Every once in a while I get a strange and dire craving for chicken strips with ranch.. well, now I have a recipe so I can make them myself - and healthier!  

Just a head's up, I followed this recipe pretty closely, but am giving you my improvised recipe I would use next time.  The original recipe called for double the coating ingredients and to season the chicken before coating.  We had a lot left over, even when we used twice as much chicken, and I found it was slightly on the salty side.  So, the following is my version; if you want the original, just comment and I'll email it to you.  Thanks, Cory!!

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders (about 10 pieces)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat; that worked fine)

1 large egg, beaten with 1/8 cup water

Breading:

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (we used grated; that worked okay)

3 sprigs/stems fresh thyme leaves, stripped and chopped, 1 to  1 - 1/2 Tbs (or 1 to 1 -  1/2 tsp. dried)

3 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped, 1 1/2 Tbs. (or 1 - 1/2 tsp. dried)

1 handful chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (oops, I forgot this!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a nonstick cookie sheet in oven with a tin foil liner.

Heat 1/4-inch oil in a large nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium to medium high heat.

Place flour in a shallow dish.  Beat eggs with water in second dish alongside the flour.  In a third dish, combine breading ingredients.  Coat chicken in flour, then egg, then breading.  If you want to make clean up really easy, you can use gloves and disposable pie tins.  We found that using tongs worked great for coating.

Cook chicken until deeply golden on each side, about 3 - 4 minutes.    Cook chicken 5 or 6 tenders at a time in a single layer, adding additional oil if necessary.  If the chicken begins to brown too quickly, lower heat slightly.  Transfer to cookie sheet in preheated oven and finish off for another 5 minutes cooking time. Serve hot or cold with green salad or complete as a Parmigiano.  (OR, do what we did and have it with ranch dressing accompanied by a spinach salad and homemade oven fries!)

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Spinach and Feta Pita Bake

This was delicious... obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be posting it.  But, anyways, I made my own pita bread (using the same recipe as I did for our Thai Chicken Pita wraps), and then just chopped up all the veggies and spread on top!  We also made a change by adding about 1/2 cup cooked and chopped chicken to the recipe.  Chicken was seasoned with fresh parsley and rosemary from our herb garden.

Ingredients:

4-6 pitas (I used 4 large ones)

1 (6 oz.) tub sun-dried tomato pesto (I used 1/2 a tub of regular pesto, and next time, I will make my own)

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped

4 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese

2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbs. olive oil (a little less would do fine)

ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Spread pesto on one side of each pita, and place them on a baking sheet (pesto side up).  Top with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, cheeses, and chicken.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper.  Back for 12 minutes at 350 degrees or until pitas are crisp.  Cut into quarters and serve.

One more thing... I think this would make an excellent appetizer for a party.  My plan is to use mini pitas or crackers with the toppings, kind of like bruschetta.  Yum yum!  

**Also, we discovered that this does not make good leftovers.  We suggest chopping up enough veggies for what you will eat in one sitting, then use the left over pitas and bake for your next meal with fresh-cut toppings.  The oil just kind of soaked the pitas and microwaving made everything soggy.

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