Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

I made this blackberry lemonade and it was delicious I added more sugar just till it was as sweet as I wanted it to be.  I have found that I don't like lemonade recipes where the fruit has been cooked it is just not the same

Blackberry Lemonade

Ingredients

• 7 lemons (1 1/2 cups lemon juice)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 + 5 cups water
• 1 pint blackberries

Instructions

1. Juice the lemons. Remove seeds, strain pulp if desired.
2. Heat sugar and 2 cups water to boiling and stir to dissolve all of the sugar. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Puree ~1 cup blackberries and strain seeds..
4. Mix lemon juice, sugar water, remaining water and blackberry puree and refrigerate until chilled.
5. Serve over ice. 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes 

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Yield 4 servings

The potatoes are so silky smooth in this delicious soup.  Our whole family likes it.

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk, or more, as needed
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Heat stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Discard bacon fat.
• Add butter and melt over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and green onions.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.  I like a nice and thick like a chowder.
• Serve immediately, garnish with green onion, cheese, bacon and sour cream if desired.

Adapted from damn delicious

Award Winning Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken Chili

 Award Winning Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken Chili

I made this for my ward Halloween Chili Cook Off and this was the winning chili.  I made this recipe up myself but my inspiration was from this recipe for Creamy Chicken Taquitos - Our Best Bites. 

1 ½ - 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 tbsp oil

½ cup green salsa (I used Herdez brand)

1 onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili Powder

2 cups water

2 tsp bouillon powder

2 cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

2 limes

½ cup fresh cilantro loosely packed, divided in half

4 oz cream cheese softened

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Salt and Pepper chicken breasts brown both sides in a skillet with oil on med high heat.  Place chicken breasts in crock pot.  Cook onions in same skillet till translucent.  Add Cumin and Chili powder and garlic sauté until fragrant about 1 min.  Add garlic and onion mixture to crock pot.  Pour one cup of water in skillet and scrape the bottom of the pan to get anything stuck including spices to the skillet up.  Pour water from the skillet into the crock pot.  Add remaining water should be enough to cover the chicken breasts.  Add the chicken bouillon (or you could use chicken stock instead of water).  Add cannellini and black beans.  Add juice of one lime and ½ of the cilantro.  Cook on high for four hours.  Remove chicken.  Add some hot broth to the softened cream cheese and whisk until smooth and completely melted.  Pour cream cheese mixture into crock pot and stir until fully incorporated.  Shred chicken with 2 forks put back into crock pot.   Add juice of last lime and stir.  Top with pepper jack cheese and remaining cilantro.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk

Jamie Oliver said "A slightly odd but really fantastic combination that must be tried"

He was right the family liked it.

Ingredients

1 3ish pound chicken(there wasn't one that small at my grocery store mine was just under 5lbs) Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stick butter
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 good handful fresh sage, leaves picked
zest from 2 lemons(make sure to avoid the pith some reviewers said they were not careful and it turned out bitter)
6 garlic cloves, skin left on
1 pint milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over with salt and pepper, and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the butter left in the pot(save the butter use it in the mashed potatoes or cook some veggies in it). This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on.

Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. (I covered with a lid for 1/2 the cooking time, reviewers said it would be moister) Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce, which is absolutely fantastic.

To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. I knew my family wouldn't like the bits of zest or sage so I strained it all through a fine mesh sieve. I ate mine with couscous but everyone else wanted mashed potatoes.

I hope you all love it.  Find some great pictures and a good review here 

Best Chicken Recipe of all Time -www.thekitchn.com

 

 

 

Orange Julius

In this order put into blender:

    1/3 cup frozen OJ concentrate ( 1/4 of 12 oz can)

    1/2 cup milk

    1/2 cup water

    1/4 cup sugar

    1/2 tsp vanilla

    1 cup ice cubes

Blend til smooth - 30 - 60 seconds.

makes about 3 servings. This can be doubled

Strawberries Dessert - my favorite Easter Dessert

The night before, mix together:
    4 cups sliced strawberries
    10 oz mini marshmallows
Before serving stir strawberry marshmallow mixture and stir in:
    4 bananas, sliced
    1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
    3/4 cup cream, whipped

Marilyns Rolls

3 TBSP yeast (I use instant rise)
3 cups lukewarm water
1 cup sugar
6 beaten eggs
2 tsp salt
2 cups butter, melted, and cooled to slightly warm
9-10 cups flour
Put water in bowl of mixer, sprinkle on yeast. Stir in sugar. Stir in beaten eggs.
Add salt, butter, and 1/2 of flour, mix well. Add rest of flour up to a total of 9 cups, mixing with dough hook. While continuing to mix, add up to 1 more cup flour if needed. Mix for 2 minutes.
Dough will be somewhat soft and a little sticky. Put dough in greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in warm place to rise, til double. Could take an hour to an hour and a half. Punch down, and form into rolls, small loaves, or braid for challah ( makes 2 challah loaves).
Cover with white dish towel put in warm place and let rise til double.
Pre heat oven to 400 degrees
Bake rolls 8-12 minutes til golden.
Brush challah gently with beaten egg, and bake for 20 -30 minutes til deep golden.