Just Like Outback Makes...

We don't often go to Outback for supper, but when we do my favorite thing to order is their Alice Springs Chicken. It is so tasty. Last week, when my parents were in town they took the bro and I there for supper...and to my surprise they had made my favorite into a Quesadilla! I tried it and it was delicious!!!!

I often thought that it would be so nice to be able to make this at home. I searched and I found this recipe and thought that I would give it a try. I will post it as it is and then I will tell you what I did differently. You know me, I NEVER seem to follow a recipe directly...

ALICE CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
5 oz. Worcestershire Sauce
8 Slices of Bacon
2 Tbsp. Butter
8 oz. Fresh Mushrooms; sliced
1 (8 oz.) Monterey Jack Cheese; shredded
1 (16 oz.) Honey Mustard Dressing

Place Chicken in a glass dish or bowl; poke with fork several times; then pour Worcestershire Sauce in and turn to coat. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. Place Bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, set aside. Heat Butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add Mushrooms and saute for about 10 minutes, or until soft; set aside. Preheat Oven to broil. Remove chicken from marinade (discard any remaining liquid), and broil for about 5 minutes; each side. When chicken is almost finished, top each breast with 2 slices of bacon, then cheese. Continue to broil until cheese has melted, then remove from oven. Serve with Mushrooms and Honey Mustard for topping.

**NOTE** I followed the directions until it was time to broil. Instead we fired up the trusty grill and grilled that delicious chicken! When it was cooked through and brought into the house, I topped it with the bacon and the cheese and popped the plate in the microwave until the cheese melted. Then I followed the directions again until the end!

Here's what we had for supper:

It was so tasty, and if we closed our eyes we could imagine that we were actually at Outback! Only we didn't have to pay Restaurant prices for supper! BONUS!!!!

So Happy For Rhubarb!

I am so thrilled that Rhubarb season runs from April to September here in Michigan! I LOVE Rhubarb and really haven't done much with it in past years. I will be changing that this season around!!!!

Today with the help of a young man from our church we cleaned up our yard and cut out the thick, hard roots from around the tree in the middle of the yard. This the area that I plant flowers and last year they didn't do so well, so I killed everything in the flower bed and will start over this year! I went to a local Nursery and was able to get some great deals on a few flowers...I ended up with a flat of VERY colorful Pansies and a few other flowers. I will post pictures of them all soon! I decided to let my new flowers just sit on the porch for the time being, that way if we do get frost yet I am able to take them into the house. I'm itching to plant them though.

So, after all the yard work and errands were ran today, I spent the rest of the day baking and cooking! I made some very yummy bread today and I want to share the recipe with you! I was even nice and brought the second loaf over to my brother and sister-in-laws house for them to enjoy! ;-)

RHUBARB BREAD

INGREDIENTS:
1 C. Milk
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
2/3 C. Oil
1 Egg
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 1/2 C. Chopped Rhubarb
1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts
TOPPING:
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. Butter; melted
***NOTE*** I also added about 1 1/2 tsp. of Cinnamon to the batter to give it a little more taste.

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease 2 9x5 loaf pans. In a small bowl stir together Milk, Lemon Juice, and Vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar, Oil and Egg. Combine the Flour, Salt and Baking Soda, stir into Sugar mixture alternately with the Milk Mixture just until combined. Fold in the Rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 C. Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes OR until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

This smelled absolutely AMAZING while it was baking! The loaves are very moist and the bread has a great texture. I hope that you'll give it a try!

Supper Was Delicious!

And the best part was that it was super easy to make as well! My parents came over for supper tonight after my Dad's conference in downtown GR wrapped up at 1600 hours. They are now back in the car and making the 3 hour drive back to their home as they both have to work tomorrow. I thought that it would be nice if I made supper for them so they didn't have to stop along the way.

All throughout supper my Mom kept commenting on how delicious this dish was. I told her that the best part was that even someone who doesn't like to cook all the time (wink, wink...HER) could make this and it only takes about 20 minutes!

I apologize for not posting any pictures but I was trying to get this all done at a decent time for them!

2-STEP INSIDE-OUT CHICKEN POT PIE

INGREDIENTS:
1 Lb. Bonless, Skinless Chicken Breasts; cut up (I baked the chicken at 350 for 1 hour and then cut up and put in the fridge until ready to use)
2 Cans (10.75 oz. each) Reduced Sodium Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (16 oz) Pkg. Frozen Mixed Vegetables
1 Roll (8 count) Pillsbury Grands Biscuits; baked and halved

Cook Chicken in skillet until browned (SEE ABOVE NOTE); stirring often. Add Soup and Vegetables. Cover and simmer until done. Serve over biscuits.

See, I told you that this was super easy!!!! I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we did!

Oh and in case you were wondering how the pie turned out...here's a picture to make you drool! ;-)

A Promised Post!

I was so very excited yesterday to find a VERY small stash of Rhubarb at the local grocery store, and I just HAD to pick up a few stalks to make some yummy pie! I will also be making a few other things as soon as I am able to find a bunch more of this yummy, tart goodness!!!!

I decided to bake a pie last night, and the great thing is that my parents will be coming over for supper tonight and I will share some of this with them as well!

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB CRUMB PIE

The ever so wonderful cast:

INGREDIENTS:
1 Egg
1 C. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla
3/4 Lb. Fresh Rhubarb; cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Pint Fresh Strawberries; halved
1 (9-inch) Pie Shell; unbaked
TOPPING:
3/4 C. Flour
1/2 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Quick-Cooking Oats or Rolled Oats
1/2 C. Cold Butter

In a large mixing bowl, beat Egg. Add the Sugar, Flour and Vanilla; mix well. Gently fold in Rhubarb and Strawberries. Pour into pastry shell. For topping, combine Flour, Brown Sugar, and Oats in a small bowl; cut in Butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Before the oven:

It was so hard to let this cool before cutting into it! I HAD to try a piece last night, and it was still slightly warm and OH SO GOOD!!!!!! I can't wait to make another one of these!!!!!

Reminiscent Of My Das Essenhaus Working Days!

I was over visiting with the retired Pastor & his wife who were involved in a head-on collision with a drunk driver at the beginning of March (they attend my church, & I've been helping them out since they came home from the hospital at the end of March), and Pastor G. made mention that he misses the Chocolate Cream Pie from Das Essenhaus since they haven't been able to go because of the extent of their injuries. I told them that once upon a time I used to work there...WAY back when I was in High School, and that I have many of their 'famous' pie recipes! So, this got me thinking, I should really make them a pie and surprise them with it...I knew that it would make their day. I didn't use the exact recipe from the Essenhuas, but one that I think is much better, believe it or not! There's really not much to the imagination of what's in the Cream Pie from there....:-)

Yesterday I set out on this adventure and made the pie and let it set in my fridge, and then after we went with my parents (who are in town for a conference for my Dad) for supper I went and brought this yumminess to them! I wish that I could've taken a picture of their faces when I walked in with it. They were GLOWING and SO SO happy, and of course surprised! It's nice to spoil others once in a while!

I thought that I would share the recipe with all of you as well!

CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

The wonderful cast:

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 C. Sugar
1/3 C. Flour
2 C. Milk
2 (1 oz. each) Squares Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
3 Egg Yolks
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 (9-inch) Pie Shell; baked

Combine Sugar, Flour, Milk & Chopped Chocolate in 2 Quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Mix a little of the hot mixture into the Egg Yolks (this is called tempering), beating rapidly to avoid cooking the yolks. Stir the warm yolk mixture into the remainder of the chocolate mixture, and cook for an additional 90 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in Butter and Vanilla. Pour filling into pie shell, and chill to set. Top with Whipped Topping and Grated Chocolate; if desired.

The finished product:

I can't wait to hear how this tasted! Their Home Health Aide gave me a hard time about bringing it over when she is about to leave and won't be back for several days! Sorry D.!!!! This really was an easy recipe to make and I hope that you will give it a try!

COMING SOON: A recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie that you won't want to miss! I'm SO EXCITED that I recently found some Rhubarb at the grocery store. I have a few Rhubarb related recipes that I will be sharing with all of you!!!!

Easter Dinner!

I hope that you all had a very Blessed Easter. Last week on Wednesday, J. and I left to go to our parents home so that I could help my Mom with a garage sale. J. and our Dad had a good time doing things together, and Mom and I had a very nice garage sale. Especially considering that it was her first (and she says ONLY) garage sale in their "new" home! We left to come home on Saturday. We stopped in Birch Run at the outlet mall and found some pretty good deals! We were even able to find a Birthday present for our adorable niece who will be 5 in May! Doesn't get much better than that!!! :-)

When we got home on Saturday I had to run to the local Meijer to get a ham and a few other items for Sunday dinner. Boy was that ever a MISTAKE!!!! I don't think that I have ever seen that parking lot that full! It was a mad house. Luckily enough, I could just jet in and get exactly what I needed and get out without having to fight the crowds too much!

It was just the bro and I here for Easter, but we still had a nice day anyway. We heard 2 wonderful sermons at our church, and I sang Sunday night with our church choir. It was a very nice day around here as well! When we were growing up, there were times that we would travel to Illinois and spend Easter with my Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle and cousins on my Mom's side. We haven't done that in quite a while, so I thought it would be nice to cook a Ham here this year. I made Ham, Sunday Potatoes and Deviled Eggs.

I cooked the Ham in the crock-pot. I put it in Sunday morning before we left for church; set to High. I used toothpicks and cut a Fresh Pineapple into rings and stuck them on it as well. When we came home from church I used a little bit of the Pineapple Juice and some Brown Sugar to make a glaze. I poured that over the top of everything the last hour of cooking. Our dinner turned out great, if I do say so myself!!

Here's the Ham:

We didn't need a very big one for the 2 of us!

Here is the whole meal all together:

We brought the leftover goodness to our friend N.'s house on Sunday night and our friends that were there were able to enjoy the rest of it!

We had a wonderful Easter here, and I hope that you did as well!

A Vegetable Of Sorts...

A GREAT Sunday dinner, nor a Holiday dinner is complete in our house without these Potatoes! I haven't made them in a while, and with Sunday having been Easter I told the bro that I would make them. He was thrilled!!!

Now,  I will say this....it probably is not the greatest of ideas to try and prep your Easter/Sunday dinner on Saturday night, especially when it's late and you have just gotten home from being gone for 4 days and are very tired! Yes, I ran into a little bit of a problem while doing this....Normally I am a great multi-tasker and have no problem doing 10 things at once, but apparently on Saturday night this was not one of those times. I peeled the potatoes, put them in the pot, filled it with water and set it to boil....then left it to go and do some other things. About 40 minutes or so later, I could smell this rancid smell from my kitchen (and mind you, the bro was sitting on the couch playing a game on his phone the whole time, a whole 3 feet away from this pot on the stove. And didn't say word ONE about it!!!), needless to say it was my potatoes. The water had boiled out and potatoes were burnt crispy to the bottom of the pan!!!! I couldn't help but laugh!!! The good thing was that I still had enough potatoes left that I could peel them and start over again. Even though I DESPISE peeling potatoes! QUIT LAUGHING AT ME!!!! hehehe

SUNDAY POTATOES

The cast:

INGREDIENTS:
8-10 Medium Potatoes; cooked and mashed
8 oz. Cream Cheese; softened
1 C. Sour Cream
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/4 C. Onion; diced
3 C. Sheredded Cheddar Cheese

Mix the Cream Cheese into potatoes. Stir in the Sour Cream, Onion, Garlic Salt, and about 2 C. Shredded Cheese. Place into 2 Quart Casseorle dish. Dot with Butter, Sprinkl with Paprika and cover with remaining 1 C. Shredded Cheese. Bake at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours. You can make this the night before and place, covered in the fridge overnight and then bake at 275 for about 4 hours.

Before the oven: