Roasted Chicken, Potatoes, and Carrots

1-2 Fryer Chickens ( realize in this picture I used chicken leg quarters, same steps apply)
3-5 lb potatoes, cut into cubes (I use Golden Yukon but can use Russet, Red, or other)
1-2 lbs carrots
1-2 sticks butter (softened)
1-2 packages dried onion soup mix/dry ranch mix/garlic dressing mix
salt and pepper to taste
garlic and onion powder to taste

Clean chicken, removing innards and rinsing clean.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place potatoes and carrots in bottom of roasting pan.  Sprinkle with half soup/ranch mix.  Top with chicken.  Mix softened butter and either additional soup mix/ranch mix/or garlic dressing mix.  Spread over chicken and under skin.  Roast 2-3 hours at 350 degrees.  (If you choose smaller portion on one ingredient choose smaller portion on other)

Chicken Fried Rice

1 lb chicken, slice into thin short strips

(2 T soy sauce, 6 T oil, 3 beaten eggs, ½ t sugar)
1 bunch green onions, slice into ½ in pieces & separate green & white pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 T finely chopped fresh ginger
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
(4 cups cooked white rice)
4 to 6 egg rolls

Mix 1 T soy sauce into chicken. Heat 2 T oil in large skillet on med/hi temp; cook chicken for 8 min. or until chicken no longer pink.  Remove chicken to bowl. Add 1 T oil to skillet and cook white onion pieces, bell pepper, ginger and peas for 5 min. Push vegs to one side, add 1 T oil, stir in beaten eggs til they start to set then stir in vegs. Add veg/egg mix to bowl w/ chicken.  Stir in 1 T soy sauce and ½ t sugar. Heat 2 T oil & add cooked rice. Stir in chicken and mix in green onions.  Bake egg rolls by pkg directions.

Paula Deen Madness

So my DVR was getting a bit full and I decided to see what could be deleted.  I had 44 episodes of Paula Deen that I decided to scale down...  Here is a list of all of the recipes that I want to try (some I have tried) from these episodes:

Spicy pecan fried chicken with pecan glaze

Smothered pork chops

BLT wraps

Mexican Crab dip

Baked Spaghetti

Oven Fried Chicken

Creamy Artichoke Spinach Dip

Bacon Pimento Mac and Cheese

Grandma's Never Fail Pound Cake

Vidalia Onion Pie

Ooey Gooey Butter Layer Cake

Cheesy Squash Casserole

I have made this one and it was AWESOME!!!

Coming next week!

I decided to put my efforts to work from this point on.....  Every Tuesday the ads come out and I plan my meals for the following week based on those ads and deals.  I then shop over the weekend and use those products to make my dinners for the following week.  I seriously spend a great deal of effort on this so I might as well share, so next week look for my new posts on the meal planning based on our local ads, these will include HyVee, Dillon's, and Rays.  Anywhere else I should include?

Betty Corcker BBQ Pork Chops

I am trying this later in the week.  Pretty excited about it, haven't had pork chops in a while.  We will see......

1 1/2 cups barbecue-flavored potato chips (1 1/4 oz)

1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
6 pork boneless loin chops, 1/2 inch thick (about 1 1/2 lb)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup barbecue sauce

Place potato chips in 1-gallon resealable plastic food-storage bag; crush with rolling pin. Add Bisquick mix to chips; mix well.  In small shallow dish, mix egg and 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Dip pork chops into egg mixture, then shake in bag to coat with Bisquick mixture.  In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Cook pork chops in oil 15 to 18 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and pork is no longer pink in center. Serve with 3/4 cup barbecue sauce. To Freeze and Bake: Coat pork chops as directed, but do not cook. Wrap each pork chop in heavy-duty foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Place in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight until thawed. Cook as directed.

Cheesy Shrimp Dip

This is Paula's recipe.  We are on a first name basis as I watch her everyday.  Actually tape her everyday and appreciate her take on butter and cream.  This looked so yummy I added this to our Xmas eve appetizer list.

1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoon butter
1 bunch green onion
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo (I used miracle whip)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the pepper in the butter until tender.  Add remaining ingredients until shrimp almost cooked.  Spread in small baking dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until shrimp cooked and dip bubbly.  Serve with baked pita chips (recipe follows)

1 package pita bread (split in half and cut into wedges)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Drizzle pita wedges with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Chicken Rustica

So, this was one that Alex told me I needed to put in my blog, and since he is picky eater I took his word for it.  It liked it a lot, and Dan even liked the sweet potato portion.  It was VERY easy too, even though it sounds kind of lengthy, the steps are pretty easy.

4-6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used about 6 small)
8-10 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (if you use russet probably use 3-4, and I left the skin on these)
2 onions sliced
olive oil
3-4 tbs. bacon bits (use real, not the hard ones)
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 - 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 chicken leg quarters with skin on
1 stick butter, softened and cut into pieces (2 for each piece of chicken)
3-4 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Toss potatoes and onion with olive oil (enough to coat).  Place in roasting pan.  Sprinkle with bacon bits, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour chicken broth and heavy cream and mix.  Place one piece of softened butter under leg skins, and another smear on top of skin.  Place chicken over potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan and salt and pepper.  Cover with foil or lid and bake in oven for 1 hour.  Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken juices are no longer pink.  You may need to drain juices every 30 minutes.  Do not drain completely.  Enjoy!!!