Katy's Simply Great Chicken

I only have two words to say about this chicken recipe and that is - make it!!! I found this a few weeks back on Katy's blog, Food for a Hungry Soul. I knew when I saw this that I just had to make it. It's so simple and delicious. All it requires are 1 packet of Good Season's Italian salad dressing mix and brown sugar. Can it get any simpler, no. Can it get any tastier than this, no. Please check out Katy's blog if you haven't already. You will not be disappointed. Her recipes are all terrific and I love reading some of her stories behind them.

This weekend we are going to a Ham & Oyster Dinner that our church has been having for probably at least 60 years! I never had oysters until I had them at church and these are terrific. And get this - all the food is prepared in the church's kitchen. It's like having one terrific home cooked meal. And the desserts are all baked and donated by church members. You know that I save room for that. The church has this twice a year and I literally count the weeks until Ham & Oyster time rolls around again! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Simply Great Chicken

About 3 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (I used legs and thighs and simply removed the skin)
1 (.7 ounce) packet of dried Italian dressing mix (I used Good Seasons)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (I used light brown)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 9 x 13 inch pan or cover with foil (I used foil and sprayed it with Pam).

Mix together in large bowl dried Italian dressing mix with brown sugar. Coat chicken pieces with this mixture. You may have to really pat this down on the chicken like I did. Don't be afraid to have a thick coating of this on the chicken. It will melt and carmalize somewhat and is so good. Any extra coating that is left just sprinkle on top of chicken.

Bake for 50 to 60 mintes. Pour any juices over chicken. I served rice with this dish.

Praline-Apple Bread

I first saw this bread over at Cookies with Boys. I saw how delicious it looked and knew that with all the apples I had on hand from our mountain trip last month I would be making this. It really is a delicious bread. I brought this to work with me and several of my coworkers wanted the recipe right away.

It's back to school around these parts tomorrow. Thank goodness! My son will have been home from school since last Wednesday! Between our mountain hike and 2 days off this week due to teacher conferences and election day, he has certainly had an extended vacation! We've also both gotten our H1N1 vaccines. I work in a local hospital so I certainly felt I needed one. Normally, I don't even get a flu shot but this virus has me very nervous. My son is also asthmatic so we definitely wanted to make sure he had his. Poor guy, he was a nervous wreck this morning on the way to his doctors to get the shot. He was glad when it was over...and so was I!

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 (8 oz container) sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended.

Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excesive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1 qt heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).

Peaks of Otter

I'm back and I survived (actually did quite well) on the mountain hike with my oldest and youngest son. Peaks of Otter consists of a group of 3 mountain peaks on the Blue Ridge Parkway, outside of Bedford, Virginia. They are Sharp Top, (the one we climbed and the most strenuous) with an elevation of a little over 3800 ft, Flat Top and Harkening Hill. There is also a very nice lodge with a large lake around it. The colors this time of year are beautiful along the parkway. Here is a picture of Sharp Top, the lodge and lake. I'll be back in the next day or so with a recipe. Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

Spooky Oreo Bundt Cake

This is my post for Halloween. I saw this cake about a year ago on Cookie Madness and have been wanting to bake this ever since! The oreo cookies look so cute in this cake. I just love the way it looks and it is delicious too! If you love pound cakes, this if for you.

I probably won't have any more posts before Halloween. I am leaving tomorrow to hike the Blue Ridge Mountains with my youngest son and oldest son. It's about a mile and a half to the top of the mountain we are hiking and I have a feeling it will kick my butt! It's been a very long time since I have done a hike like this so we'll see exactly what kind of shape I am in! I'll let you all know! I'll try and get some nice pictures to post also. Have a great Halloween....my youngest is going as Michael Meyers....very scary mask! He walked around the house with it on and kept staring at me and I told him to take it off. It was making me nervous!

18 whole Oreo cookies (Halloween colors)
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cool, room temp
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
3 whole eggs, large, cool, room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup sour cream, cool, room temp

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. If you are using a black Bundt pan, preheat to 325 degrees F. Spray a Bundt pan with flour-added cooking spray.
Break the cookies into quarters and set aside.
Sift together flour, salt and soda. Reserve.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in extracts and sour cream.
Add flour mixture and stir just until it is well mixed - it should be fairly thick.
Spoon about 1 1/2 cups batter into the bottom of prepared pan. Form a shallow trench in the center of batter.
Fold Oreos into remaining batter and finish filling pan, spreading the batter up the sides a bit to prevent a dome shape.
Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes and remove from pan. Dust with powdered sugar and cocoa powder (I only used the powdered sugar).

Toffee Brownies

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I went to an Oktoberfest this past Saturday night and had a blast. I went with family and we stood from opening till closing. Needless to say it was a late night. My youngest son has discovered the chicken dance and the electric slide and loves it! He's definitely not as shy as I thought he was! The food however was lacking.....the bratwurst was okay but the potato pancakes and sauerkraut were barely edible. Desserts were another matter. There was a bakeshop there from Ohio who brought along fresh breads, pastries and German cakes. OMG...the black forest cake was to die for! Now THIS was the real thing. A huge assortment of German cakes and pastries and one was better than the next one. Thank God I wore off some of the calories dancing!

These brownies however would require hours of dancing to burn away any calories. I don't know how fattening they are but let's start off by saying they are another Deen family recipe, this one from Paula. I am going to tell my husband that this just has to stop. He wanted these brownies so badly and was telling me how she had put whipped cream on top of them and then for a vegetable so they would be healthy she added a mint leaf. When I saw this recipe I told him no way was whipped cream coming into the picture. Enough is enough!!! They are really, really good.....but a bit over the top since they contain 3 large chocolate bars in the middle!!!! I'd make them again but only for something special. They are too good and I could never have them around here long since I would just keep digging in and picking at them every time I'd pass them. They are also super easy to make since they are made from a brownie mix. If you don't like mixes and prefer home made brownies, I'm sure you could make your brownies the way you normally would and just add the layer of chocolate bars in the middle just like with a mix.......Be careful. They are addicting!

1 (17.6 ounce) package brownie mix with walnuts (I used a plain family size mix)
Vegetable oil cooking spray
3 (6 ounce) candy bars with almonds and toffee chips (recommended: Symphony brand)

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.
Line a 9x13 inch cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil cooking spray.
Spoon in half of the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Place the candy bars side by side on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter.
Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil. This makes it easy to cut the brownies into squares.

Deen Brothers's BBQ Chicken

My son has recuperated from being sick earlier this week. Seems it was just a virus that aggravated his asthma. Now we're all sitting tight and hoping we don't get the H1N1 virus. I work in a local hospital and we have seen a number of cases this week. We also ran out of the vaccine that were given to the employees and I was one that had not received it yet. Oh well.....let's keep our fingers crossed.

This recipe was another husband requested one. Most of the recipes that involve Paula Deen are! This was very good. Since we're not grilling anymore this time of year I just baked these in the oven and they were very tasty. And very simple. Give them a try if you are looking for a new BBQ recipe!

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown which was fine)
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (I did not use this)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (3 1/2 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I used legs and thighs)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or prepare a grill (brush the grill grate lightly with oil).
In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except the chicken. Reserve 1/3 cup of the BBQ sauce; set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining sauce in the bowl, turning to coat.
Arrange the coated chicken in a roasting pan or on the grill. Cook (covered, if grilling) for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through, basting with the reserved 1/3cup sauce after 20 minutes.

American Idol

For all you out there who watch American Idol here is a picture of me with Jason Castro! Oh is he ever cute! He made a brief appearance here last night at Potomac Mills Mall and sang a few songs. He was there to promote his new cd which is coming out sometime in November. As you can see he stood for a while after performing to signs autographs and take pictures. There was a lady standing next to him that looked a little like him and I asked if they were related. It was his mom - how sweet is that? She and his brother evidently travel with him. Anyhow, just thought I would share this with you all and I'll be posting a recipe again tomorrow!!!