Anne's Chicken with Peach and Green Chili Salsa

Marinate 8- 10 Chicken Breasts for several hours or overnight in the following marinade:

IT Cumin

IT Chili Powder

1 1/4 c. Orange Juice

1/4 C Olive Oil

2t salt

Peach and Green Chili Salsa

1c. Honey

1c. Chicken Broth

2 green chilies roasted pitted and chopped, or 1 small can diced green chilies

2 peaches peeled pitted and diced. I have also used canned peaches for this but don't put them in the marinade to cook for the whole time.

1t. minced garlic

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove chicken from the marinade and grill. Serve with the Salsa and Exotic Rice and grilled zucchini and summer squash.

Allison's Beef Brisket

On a brisket that has the fat trimmed sprinkle generous amounts of:

Salt

Garlic Powder

Pepper

Cover and Bake at 325-350 for 3-5 hours

I seal mine in heavy duty aluminum foil but I'm sure a covered roasting pan would work well too. If your brisket is smaller check it sooner and cook it at the reduced temperature. If your brisket is larger cook it longer. Cooking longer and slower is a good rule with briskets.

Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Then slice it and return it to the pan. Cover with the following glaze and return it to the oven at 300 for 20-30 mins.

Glaze:

I jar Apple Jelly

1/3c Cider Vinegar

3T Dijon Mustard

1 1/2 t. salt

3/4 t. pepper

3/4 curry powder

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook on medium heat until the jelly is melted and all the ingredients are combined. Remove from heat and pour over brisket.

Pasta Salad ala Allison

Okay since I am on a roll here is my Pasta Salad Recipe:

Cook some pasta, rotini, penne, whatever! Don't cook it too much, you definitely want it al dente for pasta salad.

Then in any amount you choose marinate the following chopped vegetables in Mrs. Leeds dressing, I use a ziploc bag, but for those of you who are more ecologically responsible than I am you can use any certified "green"container you wish:

Carrots

Broccoli

Red Pepper

Black Olives

Cherry Tomatoes

Marinate the veggies for a while, or at least a couple of hours. Discard the marinade. If you use the marinade as the dressing it is to watery and you will have an anemic tasting salad.

In a large bowl add the chopped marinated veggies and the pasta a toss with Mrs Leeds Dressing.

Then add:

1c fresh basil chopped (About!)

A small bag of spinach juilliened- Sometimes I add more because I have more and because spinach is very healthy you know.

Crumble 1/2c-1c feta cheese

Toss the salad again, and serve.

If you want to make it a main dish you can add chicken. I marinate the chicken in Mrs. Leeds Dressing and then barbecue it, cool it and cut it up for the salad.

Sugar Cookies

Yes it is true Allison Warner is finally posting on the blog! Don't faint. Here is my famous sugar cookie recipe that I got from Robynn Wood.

1c butter

1c shortening

6 eggs

1T vanilla

7c flour

2t soda

1T cream of tartar

1t nutmeg

1/2 t salt

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar till fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Mix together flour, soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg, salt. Add to creamed ingredients and mix well but don't beat it to death. The dough will be soft. I split the dough in half and spread it about an inch thick on some aluminum foil and chill it until it is firm. Roll the cookies out about 1/2 in. thick and cut out with a cookie cutter. These cookies spread so I use a 2 in. cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 12-13 min. Don't let the cookies brown at the edges, Robynn says the cookies sizzle at the end and that' how you know they're done.

Frosting

1 80z package cream cheese

1 cube of butter

1t vanilla

Beat in enough powdered sugar to make it all stick together. (Someday I'll figure out this amount exactly, but you know me....for now I just taste it until I get the little sugar zing in the back of my mouth. You can add any color food coloring you want to make them festive. To frost the cookie I put the frosting in a pastry bag with the plastic coupler in it and pipe the frosting onto the cookie in a swirl. I start in the middle and circle to the out side but you could start at the outside and swirl to the middle. Don't skimp on the frosting!

I think these cookies are better the second day (they get softer) so I always make them a day ahead and put them in the fridge. They stay good for a long time, at least a week or more. Also the dough freezes well so make some ahead and pull it out when ever you need it . Sometimes I cut the cookies out and them freeze them and bake them later.

"That Dang Good Rice Dish"

This is exciting my first entry. Rodger and I have been trying to eat more "whole foods" to stave off the disastrous effects of aging and I ran across this recipe on Becca's blog. Her mother in law is a really health food nut and I usually am scared away by those kinds of things but I tried this and it is delicious. I even tried it out on some teenagers and 2 out of 3 loved it. The third one doesn't really count because it is Emily and she shies away from anything that resembles salad so. . . .

That Dang Good Rice Dish

with peppers, asparagus, almonds, green onions, and avocado
(perfect for spring and summer when a lot of this stuff is in season and even local)

2 small boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild Grain Rice (I have never used this, I have used wild rice from Costco, and short brown organic brown rice. Both ways works)
2-3 chicken breasts cooked and chopped up
4 green onions chopped up (use the whole thing)
3 peppers (red, yellow, orange) (I've of course used any combo of these, Reams seems to always have them on sale. They add color and a good crunch)
1 bundle of asparagus steamed (not to much though) and cut up
1 cup almonds chopped
2 avocados

the dressing
1 Tbl Garlic
1 Tbl Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp sugar, salt, and pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup season rice vinegar
juice from one lemon
(make a little extra dressing, perhaps 1 1/2 times it because there is so much salad. or just be generous when measuring. you'll be happy you did) {note from Jeanne I put all this stuff in my blender and just let it mix up. It was delicious even a few days later we are enjoying it. The great colors fade a little but the flavor increases with age.}

mix dressing in with the salad and put avocados on top at the end.

The Ultimate Sloppy Joes

I came across this recipe on the Food Network web-site and thought I would give it a try. Jake loves sloppy joes and I do not, but since it came from Tyler Florence it had to be good right? Well it was delicious! The secret is the coleslaw on top of the sloppy joe mixture. The recipe does not call for buttered toasted buns, but we do anyway and I personally like it better that way. Happy tasting!

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 lg onion

1/12 lbs lean ground turkey

1 1/2 cups ketchup (add more if you like more sauce, less if you don't)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1T brown sugar

2T tomato paste

1T red wine vinegar

12 rolls ( i like to use the fresh one's found in the bakery section)

Home made coleslaw, recipe follows

Directions

Set a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add 3-count of olive oil. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add ground turkey, season well with salt and pepper and brown well all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon-about 7-10 minutes. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar and season it once more before serving on rolls.

Coleslaw

4oz fresh creamy goat cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 t honey

3T extra-virgin olive oil

2t apple cider vinegar

1/2 lemon, juiced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bag of coleslaw mix (about 4 cups)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

2T chopped parsley leaves

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and season with salt and plently of freshly ground black pepper. Stir well with a whisk until fully combined and creamy. (if you do not like goat cheese, you may omitt) Fold coleslaw mix into the cheese dressing along with the dried cranberries, walnuts, and chopped fresh parsley. Place coleslaw mixture ontop of your meat and then top it off the the bun. ENJOY!

Allison's Sugar Cookies

1C butter
1C shortening
2C sugar
6 eggs
1T vanilla
7C flour
2t baking soda
1T cream of tarter
1t nutmeg
1/2 t salt

Cream butter, shortening, and sugar; add eggs one at a time then add vanilla, mix together flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, nutmeg, and salt. Bake @ 350 degrees for 12-13min.(cookies sizzle at end.) Make your favorite cream cheese frosting and enjoy!