Sunday, August 14, 2011

Roasted Greek Chicken & Potatoes


This dish is wonderful enough to serve double duty as an easy weeknight dinner or as a special holiday dinner.

The chicken stays juicy, while the potatoes roast up crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.


Roasted Greek Chicken & Potatoes

I didn't measure any specific amounts for this recipe.
It can be made in small or large amounts, depending
on the number of people you are feeding.

thawed chicken pieces - I baked 8 leg & thigh pieces
red potatoes, cubed small - I used 8 medium potatoes
olive oil
lemon juice
Greek seasoning
minced garlic
oregano
lemon pepper seasoning (no salt added)

Use a roasting pan big enough to hold both the chicken and the potatoes.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces. Lay the chicken flat in one side of the pan, skin side up.

Cube potatoes (I left the skins on) and lay opposite of the chicken in the other side of the roasting pan.

Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and potatoes and then sprinkle both with lemon juice.

Sprinkle approx. 2 tbsp. greek seasoning and lemon pepper on top of the chicken and potatoes.

Sprinkle approx. 1 tbsp. oregano and minced garlic over top of both.

Stir the potatoes, making sure they're coated with the oil, lemon and herbs.

Preheat oven to 450*

Bake chicken and potatoes for 20 minutes.

Lower oven to 375*

Continue baking for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs longer, checking after 1 hour to see if the juice in the chicken are clear.

Once chicken is done roasting, remove it to a plate and keep warm.

Spread the potatoes out in a single layer in the pan. Stick the pan under the broiler for 3 -5 minutes or until the potatoes have browned a little bit.

Serve immediately.

Leftover chicken is delicious as chicken salad or on a sandwich. Leftover potatoes are great fried the next day.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Poor Man's Cookies


This cookie recipe has been handed down generation to generation in my family. I can remember my grandmother baking these cookies for all of our family reunions, for Christmas dinner, for Easter dinner and any other time that she was asked to bring a dessert to an event.

With just a handful of basic pantry ingredients, I imagine that the recipes comes from the Depression Era. Baking them takes me back to my younger years and the memories make me smile.


Poor Man's Cookies

1 c. golden raisins
1 1/2 c. water
1 stick of butter
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
3/4 c. walnuts, finely crushed - I used
glazed pecans because that's what I had
on hand

Add raisins and water to a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stick of butter and stir until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool.

Mix together flour, sugar, salt. Stir in crushed nuts.

In a separate bowl, lightly whip the egg and vanilla, using a fork. Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Add the raisins and all of the liquid in the pot. Stir until completely mixed together. Set aside and allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.

Spray a small baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the cookie batter into the baking sheet. Spread the batter out evenly.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Start checking the cookies after 18 minutes. Mine were done in exactly 20 minutes.

Cool the cookies in the pan. Glaze while still warm to the touch.

Glaze Recipe

2 c. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 tbsp. butter, very soft or melted

Beat all ingredients together until smooth.

Linking up to:


Gooseberry Patch Round 'Em Up & Take 'Em To Go!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Try Dannon Activia Selects - Get Your Coupon!

I'll admit it, I love trying new products and when the opportunity to try Dannon Activia Selects came along, I just couldn't wait to try them! My kids and I love yogurt! We like to make easy desserts by layering the yogurt with granola or the cereal bits that's left at the bottom of the bag.

There's 2 kinds of Dannon Activia Select to choose from:

French Style with bits of fruit on the bottom
OR

Greek Thick & Creamy with fruit


Now I'm passing this opportunity on to you!

GET YOUR COUPON by clicking on this link: Visit the Activia Selects Facebook page to get your FREE coupon now!
 
Hurry! The offer is only valid until 8/15/11

This sponsorship is brought to you by Activia Selects who we have partnered with for this promotion. FREE coupon offer good 8/3 /11 - 8/15/11, up to 1 million coupons, on any Activia Selects Single Serve, up to $3.00. One coupon per household. Offer valid in the U.S only. VOID IN LA, NJ, CA. Coupon valid until 8/15/11. Residents of LA, NJ, CA will be given a '$1 off 3 Activia Selects' coupon.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

July '11 Cookie Carnival Round Up!


Are you suffering in a heat wave in your area? Thank you for sticking it out to bake with us this month! 

It's time again for our Cookie Carnival Round Up!

We baked two completely different cookies this month. One was filled with blueberries and oats and the other with coffee and chocolate! How's that for shaking things up a bit. (Maybe literally "shaking things up a bit" if you used extra espresso in the chocolate espresso cookies! hahaha!)

Wild Blue Energy Chews
Double-Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Once again, our Cookie Carnival bakers have done a superb job! 

Just take a look.....

First up, we have our Wild Blue Energy Chew bakers:

Julie @ A Little Bit of Everything said " I chose The Wild Blueberry Chews because they seemed to be the healthier option, can you say that about cookies?"


Tessa @ The Cookin' Chemist said "We've recently found that we really enjoy dried blueberries, and the combination of them with the almonds and wheat germ really do give these a "healthier" vibe."



Next we have our Double Chocolate Espresso Cookie bakers:

Vivian@ Let's Try These said "You see, if I don't give the cookies away then I end up eating them... this is not good! Nope, its always best if I can give the goodies away!"  :)


Christine@Whimsical Bakery said "Any cookie recipe that starts with melting chocolate & butter together is going to be fudgyyyyy and so gooey & rich!"


Katrina@Baking and Boys said "Even though I left the espresso out of these Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies, turns out they are a great base for a nice brownie-like chocolate cookie with all kinds of acceptable mix-ins!"


Juliana @ Horneando Algo made fabulous trifles with her cookies. Check out her blog to see the pictures of those trifles. Grab a napkin, you'll be drooling!



Julie@Someone's in the Kitchen kept adding different ingredients each time she made another batch. Check out her blog. All of her ideas sound delicious!


Now I have a confession to make....  I made the Wild Blue Energy Chews but they turned out to be the most awful gray-colored, hard-as-a-rock "cookie" that I have ever seen. I tried subbing my own oatmeal raisin recipe for the mix and it just went wrong from there, I guess. Anyway, I was so appalled by the way they turned out, I threw them away without even thinking of taking a picture of them. It's for the better. No one would want to look at my blog again after seeing such a disaster. So...moving on..... Everyone is entitled to a fail now and then, right?

I hope that you are enjoying the Cookie Carnival like I am! Everyone is invited to join us. You don't even have to be a blogger. **What you need to know in order to bake along with us!**

I'd hoped to reveal a few changes to the Cookie Carnival last month but it looks like it will be a bit longer before anything changes. Stay Tuned to see what happens!

Happy Baking!
Tami

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Menu Plan for 7/31 - 8/6

Here's our menu for this coming week:

Sunday - spaghetti

Monday - Mexican stuffed pepper casserole w/ cornbread

Tuesday - pizza buns w/ salad

Wednesday - grilled ham & turkey sandwiches w/ basil rice pilaf

Thursday - Greek roasted chicken w/ potatoes & carrots

Friday - margarita pork chops w/ fried noodles

Saturday - fish sandwiches


With school right around the corner, now's the time to start thinking about lunch box fillers.

Here's a few ideas that work well:

pizza roll-ups
trail mix brownies
fruit, meat & cheese kabobs
chili cheese dog tortilla sticks


Linking up with:

Menu Plan Monday
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