An Easter Funny.

Happy Easter!

Keeping Cilantro Fresh

I can't tell you how much I adore cilantro. I especially like when they have the 4/1.00 sales at my local grocery--I buy it every time only to look for it a few days later and find that the leaves have turned to icky black slime, which means I have to pick through it all and salvage what I can. Not fun for a busy mom.

I have been told over the years that there is a way to preserve it for up to two weeks in your fridge, only for some reason I never tried it.

I should stop here and let you know that I so enjoy cilantro....so much so that I've tried to grow it practically every year for the past 10 or so years with no luck. Enter: the winter garden. Because we had so much rain over the winter, the weeds grew like crazy. Guess what I found under all the weeds? Cilantro bunches! Yeah!

So back to the instructions on how to preserve it for two weeks. I got these instructions from the Simply Recipes artcile "How to Store Parsley, Cilantro and Other Fresh Herbs". I'm copy/pasting the instructions here for your convenience.

METHOD

1 Snip off the bottom of the stems.

2 Make sure the leaves are completely dry. Better to hold off rinsing them until you're about to use them.

3 Fill a jar or a water glass partially with water and place the stem ends of the herbs into the water in the jar.

4 If you are storing the herbs in the refrigerator, cover loosely with a plastic bag. Cilantro loves cool temperatures and should be stored in the refrigerator. Parsley can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. According to Harold McGee, basil is ideally stored at room temperature and not in the refrigerator, because it is susceptible to damage from cold.

5 Change the water after several days if the water starts to discolor.

Fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, and other fresh herbs can last up to 2 weeks or longer when stored this way.

Enjoy and blessings on ya!

Homemade Decadence

Pictured here: Buckeyes

I decided that I would make a special Valentine's Day treat for Sky and Danny today. They have differing tastes, so I made two types of candy: Chocolate Truffles and Buckeyes. They are wonderful, but very rich. Danny says the Buckeyes tastes just like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

And now, for your creating/tasting/indulging pleasure, the recipes.

Easy Delicious Homemade Truffles
(not pictured - recipe courtesy of Associated Content)

Ingredients:
-1-8 oz package of Cream Cheese
-2 Cups milk chocolate chips
-2 cups confectioners sugar
-1/2 package almond bark, chocolate flavored (I melted more semi-sweet chocolate and added some powdered sugar to achieve the sweetness I wanted)


Optional:
-1 tsp. of extract( vanilla,mint,raspberry,orange,(this will determine
the overall flavor of the inside of your truffles - I didn't add any, as my kids are pretty vanilla in their tastes---ha ha--I made a pun!)

Instructions:
Beat cream cheese in medium bowl. Gradually add confectioners (cup by cup
sprinkling it in and beating) sugar until well blended. Melt chocolate chips
in microwave(30 seconds stir, 15 seconds stir, 15 seconds.....etc. till blended) and add to mixture. Beat in extract and until no streaks remain. refrigerate 1 hour.

Shape into on inch balls and freeze for 10-20 minutes. Melt chocolate bark in microwave. Take truffles and dip them then put onto cookiesheet covered with wax paper. Put in freezer for 20 minutes. Now bring to room temperature and enjoy!

Yields: 20 to 40


Buckeyes (recipe courtesy of the book, "The Twelve Blessings of Christmas" by T.J. Mills)

1 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)
1/2 package almond bark, chocolate flavor

Mix above ingredients together. Roll into 3/4 or 1 inch balls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Melt 1/2 package of almond bark (chocolate). Dip balls into chocolate one at a time. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until hard (about an hour).

*I froze both of these and they are absolutely wonderful. Enjoy!

Home Ec Chicken

Sky and I learned this recipe from her latest home ec class, which is why we call it "home ec chicken". We added the true title, so you don't have to call it that. :)

This chicken comes out absolutely perfect--crunchy and chewy--pure heaven! We fell in love with it and will be using this recipe for years to come!

We'll try to remember to add a pic next time we make it!

Enjoy!

Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken pieces: legs or thighs
3/4 Cup All-Purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
Dash of pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Cooking Oil Spray


Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil, then spray with cooking oil spray.
2. Mix the flour with all the herbs and seasonings in a medium sized bowl. Blend well. Set aside.
3. Rinse the chicken pieces. Place them in a separate bowl or pan.
4. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, thoroughly coating each piece. Discard any leftover flour mixture.
5. Place the chicken pieces in the prepared 9” x 13” pan so that they do not touch each other.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and brush the chicken with melted butter or margarine. You may turn the pieces over with tongs if you wish, but it is not essential.
7. Return the pan to the oven and bake 15 minutes more, or until done. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of a piece of chicken. It must reach 170 degrees to be thoroughly cooked.

Variations:
• Replace half of the flour with cornmeal for an extra crunchy crust.
• Try other combinations of herbs. Rosemary, tarragon, garlic or lemon pepper can be used alone or in combination with the herbs above.
• For a spicy twist, add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients.

Recipe Courtesy of Future Christian Homemakers. (http://www.futurechristianhomemakers.com/)

Buttery Soft Crescent Rolls

Buttery Soft Crescent Rolls (Breadmaker)

(courtesy of www.recipezaar.com, #236658)

2 hours prep, 16 rolls

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Place ingredients into bread maker in order recommended by manufacturer: water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast. Reserve additional butter (1/4 cup) for later.
2. Select dough/knead cycle and start. This cycle should mix dough and allow it to rise for 1 hour.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with additional butter.
4. Cut into 16 pie shaped wedges. Roll wedges starting with wide end into crescent shapes.
5. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and allow to rise for an additional hour.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees F o until golden brown.
   

The Christening.

Some people christen their new boats by smashing a bottle of champagne on it, we christened our new oven by baking a cake in it. Actually, Sky did. I haven't baked a thing in it, but I can tell that it's gonna be good when I do!

 Yummm!

Dutch Oven Recipes?

The other day when I was posting about the new additions to our family, I forgot to mention this baby. It's an Emerilwear Cast Iron 6-quart Dutch Oven, and I got it for my birthday. From time to time I have tried recipes that have called for a dutch oven, but I've always just substituted my regular soup pots for it....and always felt like I was violating some sort of "recipe law" in doing so.

The last time I did this, it was when Sky and I made Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon. It turned out good, but I'm convinced it would have been better in a dutch oven, so we'll likely try it again. But what about after that? What else can we make in it?

Please share your favorite dutch oven recipes with us. Who knows? Maybe we'll feature one on our blog, and if we do, guess what? You get a prize. :)

Happy Thursday!