Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! My Mom and my sisters came over this morning to watch a movie with me. I answered the door with my leprechaun hat on and I said "oh, me lucky day. Go in and get a pot-o-gold." I had mini pots with two Andes mints inside for everybody. I also made some Irish soda bread.

Prep Time:

15 min

Total Time:

1 hr 15 min

Makes

16 servings, 1 wedge each

Ingredients:

3-1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar, divided

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter

1-1/3 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup currants or raisins

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix flour, 1/3 cup of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and raisins; mix just until moistened. 

PLACE dough on floured surface; knead 10 times. Shape into round loaf, 2-1/2 inches thick. Place on greased baking sheet. Cut deep 1/2-inch "X" in top of dough. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar. 

BAKE 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into 16 wedges to serve.

Gina's Tips

I sprinkled brown sugar on top of the loaf before baking it rather than regular granulated sugar. I think the next time I bake it I will add some honey and brown sugar to the recipe to sweeten it. Maybe I'll substitute the raisins with pecans or chocolate chips. It was really good with butter on it.

Star Guacamole

My Mom made guacamole often and it was super easy. It's great for kids who don't like spicy or chunkc of tomatoes in it.

Ingredients:

1 whole avocado
1 Tbsp sour cream
Garlic salt to taste

Directions:

SLICE avocado in half, scoop out of shell and place in bowl.
STIR in sour cream and mix in garlic salt to taste. Serve.

Chicken & Pinto Tostadas

Prep Time:
20 min

Total Time:

8 hours 20 min

Makes:

12 servings (2 tostadas each)

My sister April fed this to me and my family a long time ago and I got hooked on it. I cook it at least once a month. It is a Betty Crocker meal for the crock pot. It is ridiculously easy and my kids always ask for seconds. Whenever Joran sees what I have made he says "Yay…tostadas!" If you know Joran, this does not happen often. It must be good if he is excited about eating it. I adapted the recipe because I like to double it.

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

1 cup thick n' chunky salsa
½ cup water
2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix (1.25 oz package)
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained
Lettuce
Sour cream
Guacamole

Directions:

PLACE chicken in slow cooker.

MIX salsa, water, and taco seasoning in small bowl; pour over chicken.

COVER and cook on Low setting for 8 to 10 hours.

REMOVE chicken from cooker and place in bowl or on cutting board. Using 2 forks, pull into shreds. Return chicken to cooker.

STIR in beans. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 15 to 20 minutes.

SERVE chicken mixture over tostada shells. Top with lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole.

Gina's Tips

I place as much chicken as fits on the bottom of my crock pot. If you halve the recipe, the amount of taco seasoning mix remains the same. I did not double that part. I use my Mom's simple and tasty guacamole recipe. I will post it soon with a picture. It is one whole avocado, about a Tbsp of sour cream, and garlic salt to taste.

Delectable Dish & Tastiest Treat—2009

I have decided that every year I will choose the recipes I liked the best for both a main dish and a dessert during that entire year. It is the Academy Awards for food. Which food gets the Oscar? Decisions, decisions. This year I had no trouble at all deciding.

The winner of the 2009 Delectable Dish is…Steak Diane with Sautéed Potatoes and Peas. It was hands down the most delicious recipe I have made this past year. If you don't try it you are missing out.

The winner of the 2009 Tastiest Treat is…Molten Chocolate Cakes. These winners are both mouthwatering.

Here are the recipe links:

http://go-bite-me.blogspot.com/2009/12/steak-diane-with-sauteed-potatoes-and.html

http://go-bite-me.blogspot.com/2009/07/molten-chocolate-cakes.html

I want to know what your favorite recipes on this blog have been this past year. What have you been eating people?

Food Quote of the Day

"Maybe if you ate more comfort food, you wouldn't have to go around shooting people."
— Hurley from "Lost" Season Five's episode "Because You Left"

Tuscan Chicken Simmer

I had this for lunch, what did you have? I found all of the ingredients in my fridge and pantry so I decided to cook since I'm feeling better. I made enough for dinner tonight too. We had a green-leaf salad and buttery flaky crescent rolls on the side. For dessert—chocolate truffles.

Prep Time:

5 min

Total Time:

25 min

Makes:

4 servings

Ingredients:

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup pesto

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes

1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian Five Cheese Blend

Fettucine or Penne Pasta

Directions:

HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until done (165ºF). Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm.

COOK pasta as directed on package.

ADD cream cheese, water, pesto and tomatoes to skillet. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

RETURN chicken to skillet. Cook and stir 1 min. or until chicken is coated and heated through. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve over pasta.

Gina's Tips

I used 6 chicken breast cutlets. Since I am a huge fan of cream cheese I used the entire 8 ounces for this recipe and I added another 1/8 cup of water and pesto to the sauce. I used the Classico traditional basil pesto. You could probably substitute the pesto with sun-dried tomatoes. That might be yummy too depending on your cravings.

Off Of My Feet & Away From My Kitchen

I haven't cooked for a while now because over a week ago I had a miscarriage. I have been off of my feet and away from my kitchen for too long. A lot of our family and good friends helped our family by cleaning our home and bringing us meals. We've had so much food that my kids give me "gross" looks because they don't want to eat it anymore. I feel the same way. If I have to take another bite of leftover food I'm going to hurl. Even my husband is having a hard time eating so many leftovers. Don't get me wrong, we really appreciated it. It was just a lot to finish off. It made us feel like that kid in that commercial that said something like "...you eat the same thing, the same thing, the same thing...your tongue gets bored."

I'm back on my feet again and checking to see what ingredients I have on hand so I can cook again. I am also finished with school so I can actually have time to do the things that I want to do...like EAT!!!