Cream Drop Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups chilled heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add cream, then stir just until a dough forms.
3. Drop heaping 1/4 cups of batter about 1 inch apart on an ungreased large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are pale golden and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Chicken with Cranberry Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken tenderloins
• Flour
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons country-style Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup Craisins
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions, green part only

Directions:

Lightly toss chicken pieces with flour; shake off excess. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and oil in a large skillet. Add half of the chicken; cook about 2 minutes, turning once until chicken is golden brown on each side and cooked through. Add more butter and oil if needed. Remove to a platter; keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Add wine, chicken broth and mustard to skillet, scraping up browned bits. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir into skillet. Add dried cranberries. Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in green onions; cook 1 more minute. Pour sauce over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Ocean Spray

Notes: I like to serve this Cream Drop Biscuits.

Barbecue Chicken Cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken
  
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  
• 1 (12 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1/3 (or more) cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the cups of a muffin pan.
2. In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, saute' onion in the olive oil til tender, about five minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned. Drain excess fat. Stir in barbecue sauce and dried onion. Simmer for a few minutes over low heat.
3. Flatten each biscuit, and press into cups of the prepared muffin pan. Make sure the dough comes to the top of the pan. Spoon a portion of the meat mixture into each dough cup.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 3 more minutes.

Notes: I have cut the biscuits in half and doubled the meat mixture to make twice as much. Obviously the cups are thinner, but we didn't notice it. Also, I have used a pre-made pizza dough (Publix makes one fresh in the bakery) in place of the biscuit dough and it's very good!

Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/4 of a red onion, diced (Or 1 teaspoon onion powder)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dijon or brown mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a few dashes of hot sauce
• freshly ground pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons Barbecue of the Americas, if desired

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Reduce the heat to low and add the tomato paste and cumin; mix in with the onion and garlic.

Add the tomato sauce and all remaining ingredients. Stir until combined and heated through. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or other seasonings as you see fit. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Add more water, a tablespoon or two at a time, if you prefer a thinner sauce.

Note: I did not have molasses when I made this the first time. I used a little honey in its place. I also added the Barbecue of the Americas seasoning from Penzey's spices to give it a little more "kick". I loved this sauce and wanted to eat it with a spoon. It's a little bit sweet, a little bit tangy and with the hot sauce you can make it as spicy as you want!

Mexican Lasagna

I had a couple of requests for this recipe, so here it is!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
Salt
8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack
2 scallions, finely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.


Thanks to the Foxes and the Smith's for making this for our family after Zachary was born!