Posts

Posted on

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE BISCOTTI

AUTHOR: LORD BYRON’S KITCHEN

Christmas Fruitcake Biscotti is the best of both worlds! There’s that crunchiness we all love about biscotti, with the chewiness of all of that mixed candied fruit!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups mixed candied fruit

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Using a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs and beat to incorporate.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt; beat to incorporate.
  • Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the mixed candied fruit.
  • Turn dough out onto prepared baking sheet and form into a log. (Dust your hands with flour; dough is a bit sticky!) Form log into a rectangle shape that is roughly 5″ wide and 14″ long.
  • Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and place baking sheet on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate around the baking sheet. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to 300°F.
  • Use a fine serrated knife to slice the loaf into 3/4″ slices.
  • Place the slices standing up, meaning that both cut sides are exposed, on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the biscotti from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Package biscotti for gift-giving or pile into a food-safe container. Leave at room temperature, or freeze until needed for up to 3 months.

NOTES

For the mixed candied fruit, I used the Tutti Fruitti mix from Paradise Fruits.  You can find the exact product here: https://www.paradisefruitco.com/store/paradise-tutti-fruiti-mix/

NUTRITION

Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg

Posted on

Yellow Squash Casserole

Ingredients

4 cups sliced yellow squash

½ cup chopped onion

35 buttery round crackers, crushed

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 eggs, beaten

¾ cup milk

¼ cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Directions

  • Step 1
    • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  • Step 2
    • Place squash and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in a small amount of water. Cover, and cook until squash is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well, and place in a large bowl.
  • Step 3
    • In a medium bowl, mix together cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the cooked squash and onions. In a small bowl, mix together eggs and milk, then add to squash mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Spread into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cracker mixture, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
  • Step 4
    • Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Posted on

Honey Lemon Beehive Cake

 Ingredients

  •  cake:
  •  2 3/ 4 cups flour
  •  1 1/ 2 teaspoons baking powder
  •  1/ 2 teaspoon salt
  •  1 cup butter, softened
  •  1 1/ 4 cups sugar
  •  1/ 3 cup honey
  •  4 eggs
  •  1/ 2 teaspoon vanilla
  •  3/ 4 cup milk
  •  2 tablespoons lemon juice
  •  buttercream frosting:
  •  11/2 cups powdered sugar
  •  1/3 cup butter, softened
  •  1-2 tbsp milk
  •  1/4 tsp vanilla
  •  honey icing:
  •  11/2 cups powdered sugar
  •  1 tbsp honey
  •  1-3 tbsp milk

Directions

CAKE:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour Beehive pan or use baking spray; set aside. In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and honey, scraping bowl often. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, alternating with milk, mixing just until blended. Blend in lemon juice. Divide batter evenly amongst two halves of pan. Bake at 300°F for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert onto cooling rack and cool completely.

BUTTERCREAM:

In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, 1 Tbsp milk and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, adding additional milk if necessary. To make honey icing: In medium bowl, combine all honey icing ingredients; blend well, adding milk until icing has the consistency of very thick cream.

TO ASSEMBLE CAKE:

Stand one-half of cake upright; using a serrated knife, level off the flat side of cake by trimming off rounded dome; repeat with other half of cake so that 2 halves fit snugly together. Spread buttercream frosting over cut side of cake; gently press cake halves together to secure. Place cake on serving plate. Spoon honey icing over cake, covering side seams. Decorate with honeybees. Makes 12 servings.

Posted on

Thai Basil Chicken

  • 1.25 lbs. chicken
  • 3 bell peppers
  • 1 medium onion
  • 4 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2/3 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup basil
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp garlic (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp sugar?
  • Thai chiles (optional)
Posted on

Pesto

  • 1/2 cup italian parsley
  • 2 cups basil leaves (packed)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 2/3 cup EVOO
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • black pepper
Posted on

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Prep: 15 min.

Total: 1 hr. 15 min.

Serves: 4

Bake: 50 min.

Stand: 10 min.

Cost per recipe: $8.95

This one-dish wonder features moist, tender chicken breasts covered with melted Cheddar cheese, sitting on a bed of creamy rice and vegetables – it just doesn’t get any better!

What You’ll Need

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup or (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup or (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, corn, peas)
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese  (about 2 ounces)

How to Make It

  • Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in an 11 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish.
  • Top the rice mixture with the chicken. Cover the baking dish.
  • Bake for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes. Stir the rice before serving.

Serves

  • Serving Suggestion: Serve with a Caesar salad. For dessert serve frozen Italian-style water ice or gelati.
  • Alfredo: Substitute broccoli florets for the vegetables and substitute 1/4 cup grated Parmesan for the Cheddar cheese. Add 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese with the soup. Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
  • Lower Fat: Use Campbell’s® 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup instead of regular soup and use low fat cheese instead of regular cheese.
  • Mexican: In place of the onion powder and black pepper use 1 teaspoon chili powder. Substitute Mexican cheese blend for the Cheddar.
  • Italian: In place of the onion powder and black pepper use 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed. Substitute 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan for the Cheddar.
  • Ingredient Note: We develop our recipes using a 4-to 5-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast half per serving. However, there are a range of sizes available in-store, from the butcher counter to the meat case and the freezer section. Use whichever you prefer- just follow the recipe as written above for the best result. If you’re using larger chicken breasts they may require a little longer cooking time.
Posted on

Ham and Macaroni au Gratin

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook 5 oz elbow macaroni according to package directions until al dente. Drain and return to pan; set aside. While pasta cooks, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup fi nely chopped onion; cook 2 minutes. Stir in 1 Tbsp flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in 1 cup milk; cook 1 minute or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce, 2 cups diced cooked ham and 1 cup thawed frozen peas into pasta. Scrape into a greased 1-quart baking dish. Bake 10 minutes or until bubbly.Serves 4.