chicken piccata

I first had chicken piccata almost seven years ago. Since then, it has been one of my favorite dishes both to make and to eat. I get a lot of requests for it! It's really easy. Be sure to try it! I think it will quickly be added to your list of favorite dishes.



Ingredients:
1/4 c milk
1 egg
1/2 c corn flake crumbs (can be found on the baking aisle)
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Approximately 8 tbsp butter
2 tbsp garlic, pressed
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 c green onions, diced

Combine milk and egg in bowl, beat slightly, set aside. In a separate dish, combine corn flake crumbs, salt, pepper, and flour. Pound chicken to 1/4 inch. Dip chicken into egg mixture, followed by the crumb mixture, making sure to coat thoroughly.

Melt 5 tbsp butter in large skillet. Add garlic. Place breaded chicken in pan, coating each side with garlic butter (more butter may be needed). Cook over medium heat, turning occasionally until chicken is cooked through and is golden brown. Remove chicken to serving dish, keep warm, and set aside.

Turn heat to med-low. Add remaining 3 tbsp butter to drippings in pan, and stir until butter is melted. Stir in the lemon juice and green onions. Spoon over chicken and serve. Delicious!

*photo shows the use of capers, which this version of chicken piccata does not call for.

cupcake tier cake

Ah, one of my favorite cakes to make. So cute, so easy!

I made this pink one for a Valentine's party I hosted last weekend {sorry the photo is a little blurry}, and the blue one was for Mother's Day of last year. It's always a hit!




How to:

1. Whip up 1 cake mix of your choice according to the directions on the box
2. Use half the batter for 12 cupcakes, and the other half for an 8" round
3. Bake according to directions and then cool completely in refrigerator
4. Frost with icing of your choice {I use a homemade cream cheese icing, the next Dish Delish post will feature that recipe}
5. Keep frosted cake and cupcakes separated and refrigerated until just before guests arrive
6. Tier cupcakes on top of 8" round as follows:

.one.

....four....
.......seven.......

6. Decorate with accessories of your choice {I usually use party beads and artificial flowers}
7. Voila! Enjoy your super cute, super yummy cake!

gourmet in a hurry- raspberry chipotle cream cheese dip

I throw a lot of parties - it's kind of a hobby I have that makes me happy. I have one such party coming up, and I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite appetizers that is so easy to put together, I hesitate to even call it a recipe.

There are three ingredients:

1. One 8oz block of cream cheese

2. Fischer & Wieser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce {find it at Costco}
this stuff is GREAT because one bottle is good for FOUR parties!

3. Crackers or Pretzels {any type of your choice}

So to put it together, all you do is place the cream cheese on a small serving dish, and then pour about 1/4 of the bottle of sauce on top of the cream cheese. Once that is done, take that serving dish, and place it on a large serving platter. Place pretzels or crackers on the platter surrounding the dish with the raspberry chipotle cream cheese dip. Serve it to your guests!

I have served this appetizer several times at parties, and I always get comments on how "gourmet" it is. If they only knew that putting it together took about two minutes total! Also, the color is beautiful. I love colorful food. Enjoy!

peanut butter bars

What's the one cafeteria food from your grade school days that you actually looked forward to? Probably peanut butter bars, right? Well, straight from the lunch ladies mouth, here's the most popular, most famous, exact lunch lady recipe:

Cookie Layer:
3/4 c margarine
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 c flour
1 2/3 c rolled oats

Peanut Butter Layer:
1 c creamy peanut butter, whipped

Frosting Layer:
1/2 c margarine
2 tbsp cocoa
2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 c milk

Preheat oven to 300. Mix all "Cookie Layer" ingredients except flour and oats. Once mixed, stir in flour and oats. Spread evenly on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 12-15 minutes. DO NOT OVER-BAKE!

Remove from oven. Place dabs of whipped peanut butter on top of hot cookie layer. When melted, spread whipped peanut butter evenly over entire pan.

Cool completely.

Mix all frosting ingredients, frost over the peanut butter layer. Enjoy!

christmas strauda

As a family tradition, we have Christmas Strauda for breakfast every Christmas morning. It is absolutely scrumptious and even the pickiest of eaters will love it. And, it's so easy!

Christmas Strauda:
{prepare the night prior to eating}

16 pieces bread
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups cubed ham
6 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 c milk
*optional ingredients found at bottom of post

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, and salt. Set aside. Break bread into small pieces and place on the bottom of a large baking dish. Alternate between layering ham and cheese over the bread pieces. Pour egg mixture over the layers.

Cover with foil, refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325. Bake for 40 minutes, covered. Uncover, bake another 10 minutes until the top layer is golden brown.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

*For less-picky individuals, consider adding a layer of diced green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, or green onions for added flavor and color.

caramel corn

Caramel Corn is an easy, quick, relatively inexpensive, and yummy treat.

And it's a great idea for neighbor gifts or party favors - just wrap it up in cellophane and tie it with some fun ribbon and you've got a goodie that's tasty and cute as well.


"I can take an armful and make a treat, a popcorn ball that would smell so sweet..."

Caramel Corn:

4 bags popped popcorn

1/2 cup butter
1 cup Karo syrup
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Pop popcorn and remove un-popped kernels. Set aside in extra-large mixing bowl.

Heat all remaining ingredients except vanilla in saucepan and bring to boil. On medium heat, boil until mixture reaches "soft ball" stage, stirring constantly (approx. three minutes). Remove from heat.

Immediately stir in vanilla.

Pour over popcorn stir until evenly coated. Place foil or waxed paper on counter, spread caramel corn on foil and let cool 30 minutes.


SO GOOD.

delectable. delightful. delish.

I used to be a terrible cook. In fact- and this is a true story- one night during my freshman year of college, I decided to try my hand at some homemade chocolate frosting (I had never made frosting from scratch before). The result was that I accidentally put in three cups of cocoa rather than three tablespoons! I'm not kidding. Even the most devoted lover-of-chocolate couldn't down a cocoa overload of that degree!

Now, to ease your minds of any potential concerns you may have after reading about the aforementioned freshman frosting fiasco, I should tell you that I have since improved my abilities- immensely. Freshman year was {luckily} a long time ago! :) And now, although I'm not an expert by any means, I'm known to be rather good in the kitchen. You can rest assured that each recipe posted on the "dish delish" blog will be based upon the premise of meeting the following criteria:

delectable. delightful. delish.

Anyway, I'm rather excited to start up this recipe blog. Again, my personal commitment to you {and to myself} in my new blogging venture is to post only recipes which are worthy of being deemed "delish."

Let the culinary compilation commence.