Tarragon Chicken

I am always trying new chicken recipes. My husband likes chicken a lot plus it is normally an easy meal to make. Now, I do not cook with tarragon a lot but I figured I would try this recipe. I think its funny that I do not like licorice but I like tarragon. This chicken was so good. My husband loved it. I mean loved it. Sometimes it seems hard to impress my husband with my cooking but this meal did it. Of course, he didn't eat any of the green beans I served with the meal but he ate everything else. This recipe really is a keeper.

Tarragon Chicken
4 chicken breast
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp tarragon
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a storage bag, combine the chicken breast, lemon juice, garlic, and tarragon.
Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 
In a large skillet, heat the oil and the butter over medium heat.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken and marinate to the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes. 
Turn the chicken over and cook for 1 minute.
Add the heavy cream  with salt and pepper.
Simmer the chicken and cook until fully cooked.
 
Adapted from 200 Meals for Two cookbook.

One year ago.......................I made Taco Quesadillas.
Two years ago.....................I made Chicken Sandwiches.

Did you already know..........
-Tarragon has a reminiscent of anise or licorice flavor.
-Only the leaves of tarragon are edible.
-Typically, the French tarragon is used in cooking.

Pineapple Syrup

My children's Nana told us how she loves pineapple pancakes. Since I've never had them before I decided to make them for us. I just made some pancakes and added pineapple pieces to the batter. We even topped the pancakes with additional pineapple. I do love fresh pineapple but I figured it was easier for my husband just to pick up a can of pineapple in pineapple juice. I asked my daughter if I should try making a syrup with the leftover pineapple juice. She said yes. My husband was skeptical. Well, the syrup was a hit. I think it would be a great topping over ice cream too.

Pineapple Syrup
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp arrowroot flour
6 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan,  whisk together the pineapple juice, sugar, buttermilk, and arrowroot.
2. Add the butter.
3. Over medium heat, allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes. 
4. Stir occasionally.
5. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris. 

One year ago.....................................I made King Ranch Casserole.
Two years ago..................................I made Pineapple Kolaches.

Did you already...............
-Pineapples do not ripen anymore once they are picked.
-Depending on climate, a pineapple tends to take over 18 months to produce fruit.
-Pineapples may be native to South America but more pineapples are grown in the Philippines and Thailand.

Peanut Butter Pie

My son wasn't feeling the best this weekend so we stayed home. I knew the moment he was feeling better because then he was so hungry. He decided he should have two breakfasts. I asked him if he was a hobbit and he was eating his second breakfast. He told me sure. Well, I wanted to make my husband something nice so I made some peanut butter pie. Of course he liked it but he was surprised it wasn't heavy. My daughter told me it reminded her of a peanut butter cheesecake. It does have cream cheese in it. This pie taste so good.

Peanut Butter Pie
2 cups Nilla wafer cookies, crushed
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
6 oz. light cream cheese, softened
1 cup powder sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
garnish: additional peanut butter and whip cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the crushed Nilla wafers, sugar, and the melted butter.
3. Press the mixture into a pie crust.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
6. In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese, powder sugar, and peanut butter until fluffy. 
7. In a medium bowl, whisk the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
8. Fold the whip cream into the peanut butter mixture. 
9. Pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust.
10. Refrigerate the mixture for four hours.
11. Garnish if desired, heat 1/2 cup peanut butter until liquid. Drizzle the melted peanut butter over top of the peanut butter pie.

Recipe adapted by The Neelys.

One year ago.......................I made Blueberry Pie Filling.

Did you already know..............
-In 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien was born in South Africa.
-J. R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit when he was teaching at Oxford University.
-J.R.R. Tolkien was friends with fellow author C.S. Lewis.

Blueberry Muffins

I can't get enough of blueberry muffins especially when they are in season. Yes, here is another one for you to try.  I guess some people may have this problem with chocolate chip cookies but with me it is blueberry muffins. They taste so good when they are nice and warm. Also, the kids help me bake the muffins which I think is the best part. These muffins have a nice subtle taste. They aren't too sweet but just enough sweetness to counter the berries. Normally, I double the amount of berries but I couldn't today. My daughter told me that she found a worm in one of her berries so I should throw them all out. (I picked the berries myself so I guess I must have brought home a friend with the berries.)I made a deal with her if we cut open three berries and there were no worms then I could use the berries. After cutting open four berries, no worms were found. Any berries that were soft and not perfect were discarded. My daughter was happy and she ate her blueberry muffin. These muffins even taste good the next day.

Blueberry Muffins (Makes 20 muffins)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
6 oz. butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 eggs
2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking poder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, lemon zest, and eggs.
5. With a fork, stir in the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture until just blended.
6. Gently, fold in the blueberries. 
7. Evenly distribute the batter into the paper liners filling them almost full.
8. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe by Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook.

One year ago...............................I made Snickerdoodle Cookies.
Two years ago.............................I made Victoria Sandwich Cake.

Did you already know.................
-Blueberries grow on bushes in clusters.
-Blueberries are native to America.
-To prepare for winter, Native Americans would smoke blueberries to preserve them.

Nutella Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Lately, my husband is complaining that I should not hid vegetables in his food.  He thinks I should disclose any added vegetables to his food so he has a choice. So, I figured I would see his reaction when I asked him to try my chocolate zucchini bread. He hesitated in taking the bread and I had to convince him that he would like it. He did and couldn't believe the bread had a vegetable in it. My sister said that she couldn't see any zucchini in her piece. I said it's because I coated it in cocoa powder. I even used two medium zucchinis for this bread.

Nutella Chocolate Zucchini Bread
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 cups zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup Nutella
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray two bread pans with nonstick baking spray.
3. Dust the bread pans with cocoa powder and tap off any excess cocoa powder.
4. In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, and shredded zucchini.
5. Add the vegetable oil, Nutella, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir to incorporate.
6. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until combined.
7. Fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Evenly distribute the batter between the two pans.
9. Bake the bread for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

One year ago..........................I made Double Roasted Chicken.
Two years ago........................I made Peacharine Cream Cheese Tart.

Did you already know......................
-Zucchini is native to Central America.
-The largest recorded zucchini weighed 65 pounds.
-Zucchini can be eaten cooked or raw.