Fruity Jello Salad

Do you love easy recipes that can be made with different flavors of ingredients again and it seems like a brand new recipe? Well this is one of those recipes! Customize it to your liking and you'll have a yummy treat.

Ingredients:
One 3 ounce package of jello (any flavor)
One carton of cottage cheese
One tub of cool whip
Fruit (I highly recommend one can of crushed pineapple and then any other fresh/canned fruit that you like... The possibilities and combination are endless!)

Combine all ingredients in a big bowl and stir until the jello is incorporated all the way.

That's it! I told you it was easy...




(For this batch I used strawberry banana jello, crushed pineapple, one sliced banana, and one can of sliced peaches cut into chunks.)

Parmesan Dijon Chicken

I made this today and it was absolutely delish. It's from that Best of Betty Cookbook I put up a couple weeks ago. Basically it's a healthier, more grown-up version of chicken nuggets. The mustard taste was pretty mild, so I think kids would go for it too.Ingredients:
2 lbs. chicken breast cut into strips
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 T. Dijon mustard
3/4 c. bread crumbs (I didn't have any so I used mashed Ritz Crackers.)
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Combine melted butter and mustard in bowl. Coat chicken in mixture. Put bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and coated chicken into a large ziploc bag. Shake until chicken is covered. Put in shallow baking dish and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I don't have a picture yet, but just imagine Chinese Take-Out Sweet and Sour Chicken, and that's what it looks like!

Chicken:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
*1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Cut chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch then in egg. Fry chicken chunks in hot oil until browned but not cooked through. Place browned chicken in a single layer in a 9x13 baking dish. Mix together sauce ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake for about 45 minutes at 325 degrees turning chicken every 15 minutes. If you'd like extra sauce, mix together another batch of sauce ingredients while chicken is cooking and cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced, about 6-8 minutes.

*I've never used that amount of oil, I always use way more oil than that. Guess I better try it like that to see which way is better.

Russian Chicken

We went out of town with friends this weekend for New Years, and my friend Shana made this yummy chicken for dinner one night. It was seriously SO good! I just had to take a picture of the recipe so that I could make it myself.  Random sidenote: we also watched the movie Salt that night (about a Russian spy) that fit quite nicely.  Great theme night for sure.

Use one chicken breast per person (we used 4 and there seemed to be a lot of sauce).  Cooking time can be adjusted... We only cooked it for 45 minutes.  Just watch it and take it out when its done. Also it was really good with white rice because the sauce flavors the rice really well.  

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Oh yeah. Warm. Gooey. Chocolately. Yum!

Ingredients:
6-8 very ripe bananas
4 eggs
2 c. sugar (I never add more then 1 c. and I've never been able to tell the difference)
3/4 c. oil
4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
1 bag chocolate chips

Mash bananas into a large bowl. Add eggs, sugar, and oil then mix well. Mix in flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the bag of chocolate chips. Pour batter into 2 greased bread pans. Cook at 325 for 50-60 minutes. Enjoy!

Best of Betty 2010

Go here to download a copy of the Best of Betty Crocker 2010 Cookbook. Haven't tried any yet, but they look delicious.

Happy New Years Everyone!