Recipes at Long Last!

It's really long overdue seeing as I was tagged by not one, but two wonderful ladies. And while on that topic there is something to be said for each of them...Jenni, has been a faithful friend and a faithful help when it comes to doing stuff in the kitchen and in many of these things has made these recipes possible. I've asked her the same question 3 times in the span of making the same dish, "just to be sure" and she has always been willing to teach me new things and make suggestions about how to do things faster. It has really been a blessing! Bethany, on the other hand is one of the coolest "New Yorkers" I know and has been one of my favorite blogs to read. From city life to law school I always feel educated and more cultured after a read through.

Now I tag Bexter, Suz, Allie, Tessa, and Jess Marc.

On with the recipes!

Chicken with Lime Sauce (Cooking Light) This is a favorite in our house and I usually serve it with fresh green beans and cous cous. Also, because we both like a little extra sauce on the side I usually double the amount for the lime sauce.

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
Cooking spray
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add chicken broth, sugar, 2 tablespoons juice, and mustard to pan; cook over medium heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan; simmer 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 2 tablespoons sauce)

The Lady's Mac N Cheese (This is one of Seth's favorite and because it is a southern style Paula Deen recipe it is loaded with fat and all kinds of bad stuff but it is oh so good and great for a crowd! To make it a little more low-fat I often will use reduced fat cheddar, fat free sour cream and skim milk)

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
2 cups grated Cheddar
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the cheddar. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese if desired.

Monkey Bread (another favorite in our house and a great dessert for a crowd. You can serve with Vanilla Bean ice cream.)

3 Packages of Buttermilk Biscuit Tubes

1 cup sugar (divided)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Take 3 packages of buttermilk biscuit tubes (10 per roll) and cut each roll into 4 pieces. Drop roll pieces into 1 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Drop sugar coated pieces into a well buttered bundt pan (don't squish roll pieces when placing them in the bundt pan).

Put 1/2 cup of the left over sugar/cinnamon mix and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1 cup of butter(2 sticks) into a small sauce pan. Bring this mixture just to a boil, take off heat right away. Carefully drizze over the roll pieces.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool slightly in an upright position, then tip pan oer onto a plate to remove monkey bread.

Corn Salad

6 ears of fresh corn boiled and then cut off the cob
2 large ripe tomatoes
2 avocados pitted and diced
4 tbs fresh lime juice (or if necessary you can use the kind from the grocery store)
2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Mix together ingredients and keep cool in the fridge until serving. I often will serve this as a side when we have tacos for dinner. The freshness of the corn really makes this dish so as we are now moving out of that season it might be good to save until later!