Chicken Pesto with Green Beans and Tomatoes

I saw a recipe like this on one of those videos on facebook.  It looked yummy.  But I didn't save it and couldn't remember who posted it, so I just made this up as I went.  It turned out delicious! 

Chicken Pesto with Green Beans and Tomatoes
1 lb. chicken tenders
Salt and pepper
1/2-1 cup basil pesto
1 large package frozen green beans
1 lb. package grape tomatoes, cut in half
Cooked pasta

Salt and pepper the tenders (or I like to use Montreal steak seasoning)  Mix with your hands.  Put some olive oil in a large skillet and add the seasoned tenders.  Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes until browned and juicy.  Add the green beans and about 1/2 cup of water.  Cover and cook until green beans are done.  Take off the cover and let steam off until almost dry.  Add the tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of pesto.  Turn off heat and mix together.  Serve over cooked pasta (we like penne) that has some pesto (amount to taste) in it.  So easy, so quick, and so delicious! 

Monkey Bread

We love this monkey bread and have it every Christmas morning. We're also having it for General Conference morning. We're starting a new tradition where we go to the store and we all pick something to enjoy during Conference together. My choice was to get frozen bread loaves and make this. We'll pull out the other choices (fresh squeezed OJ, fruit snacks, & ready-made cookie dough) for the next sessions. Gotta go eat my monkey bread.

Ingredients:

2. 1 lb loaves frozen white bread dough

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 TBSP margarine or butter

1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

Bundt Pan (12 cup size)

Directions:

1. Thaw bread dough in fridge for 12 hours.

2. Combine 1 cup sugar, brown sugar, milk, butter, and 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Remove sugar syrup from heat; let cool 10 minutes.

3. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl; stir well. Cut each loaf of dough into 24 equal portions. Roll each portion in sugar mixture; layer balls of dough in a 12 cup Bundt pan.

4. Pour Half of sugar syrup over dough; cover and rise in warm place for 30-35 minutes. Bake at 350 for about us 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately loosen around edges and invert onto serving plate. Remove pan and drizzle remaining syrup on top. Serve while warm and enjoy!

Chicken Pesto Gnocchi

Gnocchi with Chicken, Pesto, and Fresh Mozzarella

 The pictures really don't look that great, but believe me, this is delicious.  And, oh, so, simple!
The prepared pesto, gnocchi, and fresh mozzarella can be purchased at Costco and you'll have enough to make this twice (four times for the fresh mozzarella.)  I even got the chicken at Costco- but you can get all of those things at a regular grocery store as well. 

Chicken Pesto Gnocchi
About 1 Tablespoon oil
1  boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up or 1 package chicken tenders, cut up
About 1/4 cup chicken broth
8 oz. (or so) pesto
1 pkg. potato gnocchi (about 12 ounces)
1/2 roll (about 4 ounces) fresh mozzarella

Salt and pepper the chicken.  Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the chicken until done.  Add the chicken broth and cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and add the pesto sauce.
In a large saucepan, heat water to boiling.  Add the gnocchi and cook until they float to the top.  It doesn't take very long- about three minutes.  While the gnocchi are cooking, cut up the fresh mozzarella into chunks. 
When the gnocchi are done, pour the water through a strainer, or, using a slotted spoon take out the gnocchi and put them in the skillet.  After adding all of the gnocchi, stir together, then add the Mozzarella chunks.  Stir in, then let sit for a couple of minutes to let the cheese melt. 

Cool as a Cucumber Sandwiches

When it's hot outside, these cool cucumber sandwiches hit the spot!

Cucumber Lemon Cream Cheese Sandwiches
Bread for 4 sandwiches
8 oz. Cream Cheese
Lemon rind, about 1 teaspoons
Pinch of sugar
Salt and Pepper
Fresh lemon juice, about 2 Tablespoons
Chives, fresh or dried (or you could use a little bit of green onion)
Cucumber, sliced thin
Ham (optional)
Soft butter

Mix together the softened cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon rind, sugar, salt, pepper, and onion or chives.
Spread butter on bread, then the cream cheese mixture.  Top with cucumber and ham.  For fancy sandwiches, trim off the crusts and cut into squares. 

Raspberry Cream Pie

We planted raspberry starts 2 or 3 years ago and this year we are getting our first really good crop. So, I looked online to find a yummy raspberry dessert. This pie is what I decided to try. It was definitely delicious, though I would have liked it better in a graham cracker or Oreo crust.

What do you like to do with fresh raspberries?

Homemade Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns

Want to make your own buns for your 4th of July barbecue?  These are easy and delicious.  And you can make them any size you want.  I made them little for tiny hot dogs.  You could do the same for hamburger sliders.  This recipe makes 8 regular- sized hamburger buns.  It made about 60 baby hot dog buns.  The rule of thumb is to form the dough into about the size of the hot dog or hamburger you are putting on it.  It will rise and be just the right size.

Homemade Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns

1/4 cup warm tap water
1 Tablespoon yeast

3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 large egg plus another egg separated
3 1/2 cups (or so) flour

Mix the water and yeast together in a cup and let work while you prepare the milk mixture.  In a microwave-proof measuring cup, mix the milk, butter, sugar and salt.  Microwave until warm and the butter is mostly melted.  Put the flour in a large bowl and add the milk mixture.  Put in 1 egg.  Separate another egg, saving the egg white in cup for later.  Put the yolk in the mixture.  Add the yeast mixture and mix well.  Knead for a few minutes until you have a smooth, elastic, soft dough.  Cover and let rise until double in bulk.  Punch down and knead for a minute.  Form the buns into desired size and place on a sprayed baking sheet (or use a silicone baking sheet or oven paper)  Brush the buns with the egg white mixed with a little bit of water.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  If you prefer, you can brush them with melted butter. 
Let rise until puffy and about double.  Bake at 375 until golden brown.  The big hamburger buns will take about 15 minutes, the baby ones, only about 7 or 8 minutes. 

These little hot dogs were the hit of the party. 

4th of July Popcorn

Want a fun treat for the Fourth of July?  This is so easy and delicious. It is sweet, salty, and buttery and crunchy.   And you probably have all the ingredients!

4th of July Popcorn
3 bags microwave popcorn, buttered variety
1 cup sugar x3
2 Tablespoons butter x3
1/4 cup water x3
Red and blue food coloring

First pop the corn according to the package directions.  Lay out waxed paper on your countertop or in large cookie sheets.  In a large kettle, combine 1 cup of sugar, 2 Tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of water.  Bring to a boil and boil for about 3  1/2 -4 minutes (If it starts to brown, take off heat immediately.)    Take off of the stove.  Mix in 1 bag of the popped corn.  Stir and stir until all the popcorn is coated.  Lay the candied corn out on the waxed paper.  Cool completely while you wash the pan.  Put the candied corn in a very large bowl, leaving the waxed paper for the next batch.  Then do the 2nd batch.  This time add a few drops of red food coloring after you take the cooked mixture off the stove.  Be sure to add enough that it makes red and not pink.  Then repeat with the third batch, this time adding blue food coloring.  Be sure to add enough color so the colors are vibrant!    Mix the three colors together in the large bowl, then store in an airtight container.