Chicken & Mushroom Biscuits and Gravy

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Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

I found this recipe on Epicurious (after craving a peanut butter brownie for several days) and made some modifications. These are yummy, but have a tall glass of milk nearby. You WILL need it.

Ingredients:

Brownies

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

• 7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Peanut Butter frosting and Ganache

• 1 cup peanut butter
  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving long overhang; Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.

Place 3/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan. Add both chocolates; stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt, then eggs, 1 at a time. Fold in flour. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; cool.

Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter in medium bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar, salt, then milk and vanilla. Spread frosting over brownies.

Stir chocolate and 1/4 cup butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Drop ganache all over frosting; spread to cover. Chill until set, about 1 1/2 hours. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, transfer brownie cake to work surface; cut into squares. Bring to room temperature; serve.

'Sticky Chicken' and Mustard Mashed Yukons

Here is an easy meal that your kids will love! My daughter licks her plate clean whenever we have this and is always asking for it. And not only is it easy to make, it's budget friendly too! You can find chicken legs for around 99 cents a pound at some grocery stores. Paired with the chicken are creamy, textured Yukon golds lightly seasoned with a little mustard. Your kids will never even know its in there, and eat it up! Serve the extra sauce from the chicken over the potatoes.

Sticky chicken
Ingredients:

• 8 chicken legs, skin removed
• 3/4 c. Barbecue sauce(I use sweet baby ray's)
• 1/2 c. Maple Syrup

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 8x8" pan(at least 1" deep) and place the chicken legs on it. In a small bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce and syrup. Pour over the chicken, covering all surfaces of the legs. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. *make sure your chicken is cooked all the way through before serving!

Mustard Mashed Yukon's
Ingredients:

• 5 Large Yukon Gold potatoes, Washed, skin-on
• 2 T. Butter
• Salt and pepper tt.
• 1/4 c. Milk
• 2 T. Dijon Mustard

Slice the potatoes into 1" cubes and place in a large saucepan. Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Let the potatoes simmer until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain the water and place the cooked potatoes back in the saucepan. Add the butter, salt and pepper, milk and mustard. Puree using and electric or immersion blender until seasonings are mixed in.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Chicken Salad!

Now that summer is just around the corner(well, sort of) it's time to whip out the chicken salad! This is my favorite version. Simple and grapey. Just the way a chicken salad should be. If you like nuts in your chicken salad, add some lightly toasted sliced almonds to this. Served on croissant rolls, or just by it's self it will get you ready for picnic season either way =)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs Chicken breasts, cooked and cut into 1/2" cubes. (I usually just throw the raw chicken into a pot of boiling water and let it simmer until the are cooked through. Then run the cooked chicken under cold water to cool down, pat dry, and dice.)
2-3 c. Red Grapes, washed and halved
4 stalks celery, diced
3 green onions, sliced

Dressing:

3/4 c. Mayo
3/4 c. Miracle whip
1/3 c. Lemon Juice
tt. Seasoned Salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, celery, grapes, and green onion. Set aside.
Place the mayo, miracle whip, lemon juice, and salt into a smaller bowl and stir with a whisk until well combined. Pour the dressing over the chicken salad and toss until thoroughly coated. Serve chilled.

Mint Chocolate Cake Pops

So, these were made MONTHS ago, but I thought I'd post them anyway. I made several different kinds, but these were my favorite. I used devils food cake and cream cheese frosting mixed with mint extract and then dipped them in green chocolate melts. Head over to bakerella for the recipe. They are totally worth the time it takes to make them!

Apple Crisp Oatmeal

I love apple crisp as a dessert, and thought it would be amazing as a breakfast dish. So, to get away with it, I added sweetened oatmeal to the bottom of the dish to make it more 'breakfast like'. That way you start with a crispy, crumbly top, soft sweet apples in the middle, and brown sugar oatmeal on the bottom. Top with unsweetened whipped cream(I added vanilla beans to mine) to finish. *This crisp has a LOT of topping! So, if you prefer more apples and less crisp, simply cut the crumble ingredients in half.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Oats, old fashioned
  
• 3 T. Brown sugar
• 2 T. Butter, cut into 6 pieces
  
• 4 small or 3 large Honeycrisp apples(or other variety), peeled, cored, and sliced
• 3 T. Sugar
• 1 c. Oats, old fashioned
• 1/2 c. Flour
• 1/2 t. Nutmeg
• 3/4 t. Cinnamon
• 4 oz. Butter, cubed(cold)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place 1 c. oats in a 8x8 square or round dish. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the oats and top with butter pieces.
Toss the sliced apples with the white sugar. Place the apples on top of the oat, sugar and butter layers, patting down as you go.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 c. oats, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cut the butter to the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Place the crumble on top of the apples, covering the entire surface.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crumble is browned on top.
Serve hot with whipped cream!

Purple Dessert Table

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