Sunday Dinner with the Parents: Green Bean Casserole, Chocolate Chess Pie

Every Sunday, we try to go and eat with my parents and we love us some country cooking. Today we had some great smoked and grilled meat that my Dad prepared and a favorite of ours, green bean casserole. Now we don't make the typical recipe that you see with the french fried onions and mushroom soup. Instead, this is made creamy with sour cream and seasonings and the topping is crushed corn flakes. I remember making this recipe for the first time for Thanksgiving dinner the year before my Papa passed away. I always will remember how much he loved this dish in particular that year. The second recipe that I included came from a "Teller Recipe". Now for those of you who aren't from Hartford, Alabama, you might not have ever received these recipes but these have always (since I can remember) been included in our monthly bank statement from the First National Bank of Hartford. There have been some recipe gems from the "Teller Recipes" over the years. Gotta love being from a small country town!!

Yummy ribs and pork loin roast that my Daddy cooked!

Green Bean Casserole

3 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated onion
1 cup sour cream
2 cans green beans
Grated cheddar cheese (enough to cover top of casserole)
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes (we didn't have these tonight, so we substituted ritz crackers which work well)
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Combine butter and flour; cook gently over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in seasonings and sour cream. Fold in cooked beans. Place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Cover with cheese, then with cornflake crumbs mixed with butter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Chess Pie (a "Teller Recipe" from FNB of Hartford Bank Statements)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell (can use store bought or make your own)




Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. Combine sugars, eggs, flour, milk, and vanilla, beating well. Gradually add chocolate mixture, beating constantly. Pour into pastry shell; bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Perfect Simple Chicken and Potatoes Meal

Wow...that is all I can say for this meal. I got a new cookbook today from one of my favorite Food Network personalities Ina Garten. She is all about simple, clean flavors and bringing out the best in ingredients. I actually only got one of these recipes from her cookbook, but I think they all echo her style. I really loved a good meal with chicken and potatoes (as does my husband), and this meal was simply perfect to me. I think the only thing that would have made it better is a good glass of wine! It is simple and elegant with great flavors!!

Quick Balsamic Chicken (from Rachael Ray's Book of 10)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (I used montreal chicken seasoning)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

In a shallow dish, combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and grill seasoning. Coat the chicken breasts in the mixture and set aside to marinate (about 30 minutes would be best, but I only marinated mine about 10 minutes and they still had great flavor). In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook chicken breasts about 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Put chicken aside on a plate and cover with foil and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. Note: The chicken will get dark while cooking but it isn't burning, the balsamic vinegar will caramalize on the outside. It can make a lot of smoke, so turn on the exhaust fan!

Garlic-Rosemary Roasted Baby Potatoes (from Our Best Bites http://www.ourbestbites.com/)

1 1/2 lb baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes (I had regular red potatoes, left the skin on and cut them into big chunks and they worked great, but try these others if you can find them at the store)
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons coarse-grain or dijon mustard
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped, fresh rosemary (I used about a teaspoon and a half of dried rosemary)
4-5 garlic cloves pressed or minced
Coarse ground black pepper
Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until a fork pierces them easily. In another bowl, combine olive oil, mustard, rosemary, garlic and pepper. Drain the potatoes and return them to their pot and pour olive oil mixture over them, tossing to coat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the potatoes out on the pan. Sprinkle the potatoes with kosher salt. Roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until skins are sizzling and browned. You can prepare these ahead of time (about 6 hours) and place them on the baking sheet covered in the mustard mixture and cover with plastic wrap, and wait to roast them right before serving.

Roasted Carrots (from Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook)

12 carrots, peeled (All I had were baby carrots, which are ok, but whole carrots are much sweeter)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley (I had neither of these, but I had fresh green onions and minced them and they were wonderful!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not leave them whole. Slice the carrots diagonally into 1 1/2 inch-thick slices (they will shrink when cooking, so make slices big). Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet in one layer and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Toss the carrots with the minced herb of your choice and then season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Recipe (per request), Zucchini Parmesan, Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

So my friend Kelli inquired about some crock-pot chicken recipes and I told her I would experiment with a few. The first one I have tried is Dijon Crock-Pot Chicken. It was very easy and tasty and the hubby said it was definantly a do-over!!

Dijon Crock-Pot Chicken

4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder for seasoning chicken
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 can 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Wash chicken and pat dry. Lightly sprinkle seasonings on each side of chicken breasts; place in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and spoon over the chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

Side Dish: Zucchini Parmesan

2 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 tomato diced or 1 can diced tomato, drained

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2 cloves garlic, finely diced or grated

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 teaspoon olive oil

 

 
 
 

 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a baking dish, place an even layer of zucchini and then top with 1/2 of the chopped tomato. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and 1/2 of thyme and garlic over this layer; then repeat with another layer of zucchini, tomato, and seasonings. Toss together parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and olive oil and then spread evenly over the top of the dish. Bake approximately 30 minutes or until zucchini is soft.
 
Treat for the Day: CUPCAKES
 
My mom asked me to make her something for her church kids for a back to school treat, and I found a recipe for Cookies and Cream Cupcakes and I thought it would be fun. They are delicious!!
 
Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
 

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
14 coarsely crushed oreos
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: Mini Oreos
 
 
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners. In a large bowl beat together butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Stir in crushed cookies. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Spread or pipe cream cheese frosting over cooled cupcakes. Garnish with mini oreos if desired.
 
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespooons heavy cream
 
Beat together cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer; add in vanilla extract. Beat in powdered sugar and then heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.

Crispy Baked Fish and Sauteed Broccoli, Review: Healthy Ice Cream Treats

Food Finds: Healthier Ice Cream Treats
So my husband and I are trying to eat healthier and I have a super sweet tooth and I read about each of these treats in a magazine and I had to try them myself. Neither one tastes the least bit healthy.

So if you have ever had a Snickers ice cream bar...this tastes almost identical! The hubby was also a fan of these since he likes the Snickers version.

150 calories
9 grams fat
3 grams dietary fiber
WW points: 3

These bars are very good with strawberry frozen yogurt and a strawberry fruit filling inside. the outer coating is vanilla flavored and tastes like the coating on yogurt covered raisins.

150 calories
8 grams fat
3 grams dietary fiber
3 WW points





Tonight we have some quick healthy recipes for weeknight cooking. The fish has a wonderful flavor and is super crispy without having to fry it. Make sure when baking the fish to put it on a wire rack arranged over a sheet pan or broiler pan so that the bottom will not get soggy and it can crisp on all sides. The broccoli is a super simple vegetable side dish that can be a change from boring steamed broccoli with cheese (I'm not a huge fan of that personally...)




Crispy Baked Fish

2 egg whites beaten
2 T butter melted or 2 T olive oil (I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2-1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Grated peel of one lemon
Four 6 oz fish fillets (halibut, cod, flounder, tilapia) --> I used tilapia
Salt/Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put egg whites in a shallow bowl or plate. Mix together bread crumbs and all seasonings and then drizzle with either butter or olive oil and toss well with a fork. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides and then dip into the egg white, then into the breadcrumb mixture. Then place on a greased broiler pan or wire rack and place in the oven. Cook until fish golden brown, crispy, and flakes easily with a fork (~10-15 minutes).

Sauteed Broccoli
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Grated peel of 1 lemon and juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 bunch of broccoli, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces (or one bag pre-cut broccoli)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes until fragrant and garlic begins to brown. Stir in broccoli and cook until broccoli is bright green (approx 3 minutes). Add chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, and pepper and continue to cook uncovered until broccoli is tender (3-5 minutes, depending on how done you like your broccoli).