Eggs Regal
With Spring on it's way There will soon be an abundance of baby chicks and eggs! Eggs Regal is one of my favorite breakfasts and I love to prepare it for Easter especially! See the recipe below for Easy Peel Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs.
Ingredients
3 Tbls Butter
2 Tbls flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
6 pieces cooked bacon crumbled
In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, salt and pepper until thickened and smooth. Now add cheese (please feel free to add more, in our home less is more does not work with cheese) and stir until melted. Stir in chopped eggs and bacon and serve over toast or biscuits!
Easy Peel Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard boiled eggs can be tricky at sometimes. Over cooked yolks or shells stuck to the egg are a couple of problems that I tend to have. The shells are the primary problem with fresh eggs. So much so, that I have chicken owner friends who actually go to the store and by their eggs there knowing that they are much older and will peel easier!
This did not seem like an option for me. If I were to do that I would be completely defeating the purpose of my ladies out back and their healthy gifts to me everyday! I asked plenty of people what their tricks were and I go a few responses. Some said to add baking soda to the water. Maybe I did something wrong but that was a fail for me. And others just said to save eggs to age if you wanted to hard boil them. This doesn't seem possible around here. They go fast!
Then I stumbled upon the saving grace! Thank you Chicken Chick! The secret is steam and ice water! For 15 minutes steam your eggs in a steamer basket instead of submerging them in boiling water.
(Yes I know there are only 4 in there but that's all I needed for my next recipe and I have 2 broody hens right now. Waste not want not!)
After the 15 minutes are up transfer the eggs into a bowl of ice water for another 15 minutes.
Next crack and roll your eggs and viola!! Easy peel fresh eggs!
Chicken, Bacon & Artichokes in White Wine Cream Sauce over Linguine
The recipe for the wine sauce was found at www.cooks.com. However I may have added a little extra here and there.
Wine Cream Sauce
2 tbsp. shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, minced
1 tbsp. Wondra or plain flour
1/4 cup white Chianti or Chablis (or other white wine)
1 cup heavy cream
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of paprika
Heat a few tablespoons of the butter in a skillet and saute the shallots,
garlic and parsley until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour
over all lightly.
Whisk in the wine, stirring constantly. Simmer until wine has reduced
and is nearly all absorbed (5-10 minutes).
Pour in the cream and simmer over low heat until sauce is thick and
creamy, about 6-8 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in remaining butter.
Serve garnished with a sprinkling of parsley and paprika for extra color
After my sauce was finished, I made the chicken, bacon and veggies (I say this because, on top of the marinated artichokes I add anything green that I may have in the veggie drawer. In this case fresh green beans.)
In a skillet cook 1/2 lb bacon, chopped until almost done. Drain grease and add 2 chicken breasts diced. When the chicken is no longer pink and has some browning add the marinated artichokes, drained and any other fresh veggie that you would like (spinach is awesome too!). Stir in and cover for a few minutes, until veggies are cooked. Serve this mixture and sauce over linguine and fall in love!
Marble Square Brownies
Now, these are a bit more time consuming but are definitely worth the work! This is another recipe that my family has had as long as I can remember. No part of this recipe is from a box, it is a role up your sleeves, made from scratch treat!
Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine3/4 cup water
1 1/2 (1 oz) pieces of unsweetened chocolate squares
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 (6 oz) pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
Combine margerine, water and chocolate in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in combined flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs and sour cream and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured jellyroll pan.
Combine cream cheese and sugar and mix until well blended. Blend in the egg. Spoon over the chocolate batter in dollops and cut through the batter with a butter knife several times to create the marble effect. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 375˚F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Perfect sweet tooth fix! Enjoy!
Salami Squares
This snack has been a go-to in my family for as long as I can remember! It's so quick and easy and great for game day!
Ingredients
1 Pkg crescent rolls3/4 lb shredded mozzarella
1/2 lb hard salami, chopped fine
3 Tbsp parmesan
3 eggs, well beaten
pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 325˚F. Spread crescent rolls into a 9x13 pan. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the crescent rolls evenly. Bake for 40 minutes and cut into squares and enjoy!
P.S. These are by no means a healthy snack and they can be addictive! Eat at your own risk! Ha!
Please allow me to introduce you to the...
Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies!!
I have used these as a form of payment for years with my dad! (OK maybe more of a bribe, but they work!)
Ingredients
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp double strength vanilla extract
1 3.4 oz pkg french vanilla pudding mix
2 large eggs, preferably from the ladies out back!
1 12 oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 375˚F
In a large bowl, combine butter, sugars and pudding mix and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla and gradually add flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Use a cookie scoop and drop on a non-greased cookie sheet. I prefer stone, they just seems to turn out fluffier!
Bake for 8-10 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
This recipe makes approximately 36 cookies.
* You could substitute the pudding mix and chips with chocolate fudge pudding and white chocolate chips.
** To prepare these for another day you could freeze the dough balls on the cookie sheet and transfer to a freezer bag. The cook temp and time are the same! This is great for after school or work snacks!
Chicken and Bicuits
One of my all time favorite winter comfort foods is Chicken and Biscuits, and today was the perfect day! The only way to make it around here starts with roasting a whole chicken, so it's a bit of a process but it is definately worth it! So here we go!
Ingredients
1 whole roaster chicken
1 lemon
1 medium onion
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp thyme
salt
pepper
6 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp flour
2 cups chicken stock (approximately)
salt
pepper
Start by roasting a whole chicken, in this case a whole rooster! If you have a recipe for roast chicken that you prefer skip these few steps. If not, here's how I do it and I think the flavors really work well in the end.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Quarter your lemon and onion and insert into the cavity of the chicken. Create a paste with the oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Loosen the skin of the bird and rub the paste under the skin. Place the chicken in a covered roasting pan. I prefer a stoneware deep covered baker. Bake covered for 70 minutes.
Remove the chicken and reserve the juices from the bottom of the pan. Take the meat off the bones and shred it. At this point I set the bones and skin aside to make a stock to freeze for my next batch or for chicken soup!
In a medium sauce pan melt butter and add flour, salt and pepper to make a roux. Add those juices saved from your roasting pan and then add chicken stock until you reach the desired thickness of gravy, whisking constantly. Add your shredded chicken and serve over mashed potatoes and biscuits!
BEST chicken and gravy ever!
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