Roast Chicken

quite possibly the easiest but most delicious bird on this blog.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
• ¾ cups butter, softened (make sure it's soft)
•  3 whole lemons
•  4 sprigs rosemary
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees {convection bake}. If you’re using a standard oven, you can do 425.)

2. Zest two of the lemons. Strip the leaves off of one of the rosemary sprigs and chop it up finely.

3. In a bowl, combine softened butter, lemon zest, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and lay the patted-dry chicken on the foil, breast side up.

5. Use your fingers to smear the butter mixture all over the chicken, under the skin, and inside the cavity. (It's very important that you get into every nook and cranny.  Make sure you get butter under the skin.)  

6. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice of one lemon all over the chicken. Place the six lemon halves (if they’ll fit!) and the three remaining rosemary leaves into the cavity of the bird.

7. Place the chicken into the oven and roast it for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until done. Skin should be deep golden brown and juices should be sizzling.  Let bird rest about ten minutes before carving and digging in so that juices can render.

*www.pioneerwomancooks.com

Easy Dinner: Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (breasts will work too)
• 6 ounce jar of your favorite pesto
• 1 package Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk pesto, ranch mix, and chicken broth.  
2. Place chicken into crock pot, then pour wet mixture over chicken. 
3. Coat and flip chicken gently to combine ingredients. 
4. Close with lid and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

*www.picky-palate.com

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

a perfectly minty addition to the holidays!

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2. 1 1/2 cups sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 1 tsp peppermint extract
6. 2 cups all purpose flour
7. 2/3 cup cocoa powder
8. 3/4 tsp baking soda
9. 1/4 tsp salt
10. 1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks
11. 1/2 cup candy cane pieces *Another option: I used Andes Peppermint Baking Chips instead of candy cane pieces.  These are in baking aisle during holidays. (I only needed about 1/4 cup.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat butter and sugar, then add eggs, vanilla and peppermint and beat until light and fluffy.
3. In a large bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chunks.
6. Use cookie scoop (I used medium-sized scoop) to drop cookies onto ungreased baking sheet.  (This made about 3 dozen cookies.)
7. Press candy cane pieces/chips on top.
8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. (I baked for 10.)
9. Cool slightly then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

*www.apumpkinandaprincess.com

Mini M&M Cookies

super yummy!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup M&M'S MINIS®
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and sea salt together. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.

4. Stir in the M&M'S MINIS® and mini chocolate chips. Form cookie dough into teaspoon balls and place on prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.

5. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

*www.twopeasandtheirpod.com

Chipotle Chicken Chili

not sure this can be topped.  not kidding.  not smart to not trust me.  not cool.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole onion,diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 bottle (12 oz. bottle) good beer OR you can use low-sodium chicken broth (I used beer, and the chili's flavor is fantastic with it.)
• 1 can (14-14.5 oz. can) diced tomatoes (I used petite fire-roasted. Yum.)
• 2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
• 1 can (14-14.5 oz. can) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14-14.5 oz. can) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14-14.5 oz. can) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• ¼ cup masa harina (*see below for my explanation....)
• 1 lime, juiced
• sour cream, for serving
•  shredded cheese, for serving
• cilantro, for serving
• lime wedges, for serving

Okay, so masa harina is a corn flour.  Bob's Red Mill brand makes masa, but I couldn't find it, so I purchased MASECA instant corn flour in the baking aisle at Dominick's.  Pioneer Woman says you can substitute for all-purpose flour, but I strongly suggest you do not steer in that direction.  The corn flour (masa harina) has a "tortilla taste" that makes the chili's flavor so fantastic.  Trust me.  Don't stop searching 'til you find it.  You'll be sad if you don't use it in this chili.

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat then add the onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until onions soften. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned. Add 3/4 of the beer/broth (9 oz.), reserving the rest, then cook for a couple of minutes to reduce.

Add the tomatoes, chipotles, beans, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Stir to combine, then cover the pot and SIMMER for 1 hour.

Combine the masa harina with the rest of the beer/broth (3 oz.) and stir to make a paste. Add this into the chili, along with the lime juice. Stir and cook for 10 more minutes or until thick.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and another squeeze of lime!

*www.pioneerwomancooks.com

Pumpkin Bread with Streusel

I'm warning you...

Consider yourself warned.

Thank you, but I'm going to kill you, Mrs. Murphy-Siebert!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat, half all-purpose.) 

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping: optional (I only used about half of the streusel.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour an 8x 5-inch loaf pan.  

Beat sugar with oil until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Continue beating until light and fluffy.  

Mix in pumpkin on low speed.  Add in dry ingredients on low speed and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.  

For streusel topping mix, combine with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly.  Spread topping over entire loaf.  Bake 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan and finish cooling.

*www.thecharmofhome.blogspot.com