just for you, becky...

At the request of my friend Becky, here are some recipes… two of which I made for our Girlie Green Party on Monday. The next to last recipe I made for lunch on Tuesday, when my friend Hila came over. The last one is just good (if you like the chicken pillows, you will like the casserole also). All yummy… and making me a little hungry.

[ chicken marinade ]

For 1 pound of chicken breasts or chicken tenders:

½ cup Italian dressing (drain spices and discard)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons honey

This is the original recipe – but I never follow it. I just throw everything in a bowl and go to town (I usually use quite a bit of honey and I don’t drain the spices out of the Italian dressing... have you ever tried to do that?). That’s what is so great about it – you don’t have to use these exact measurements. Any of these ingredients by themselves make a good marinade, so if you have more of one thing than another, it’s still fine. It will taste slightly different, but never bad. It is best if you can marinate your chicken overnight or for a big chunk of the day; however, I am usually never able to do this – it’s still tasty after only an hour or so. You can use this to grill chicken or bake it or cook it in a pan on the stove.

This chicken is good with just about everything, but it is great on salads – I usually throw in tomatoes, dried cranberries, almond slices, grated carrot, red grapes and shredded parmesan cheese – the flavor combination is heavenly. Crunchy, tart and sweet… good stuff.

[ mint brownies ]

2 cups butter, melted
3/4 cup cocoa
2 1/4 cup sugar
6 eggs, beaten

Combine above ingredients and mix well. Add the following to this mixture:

2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Bake this brownie layer in a Texas sheet cake pan or two 9x13” pans for this amount. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes (add 8-10 minutes if you use two 9x13” pans). Cool completely.

Mint frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
5 tablespoons milk
6 drops of food coloring
2 teaspoons mint or peppermint extract

Mix well. Spread frosting on chilled brownie layer and then chill again. Melt a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and spread on frosting for top layer. Chill.

[ chicken pillows ]

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, diced or shredded (or two cans of chicken if you’re pinched for time)

8 oz. cream cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
6-8 crescent rolls (Pillsbury is best)
Stuffing mix, slightly ground up (Pepperidge Farm is best for this recipe)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk

Combine chicken, cream cheese and seasonings (I usually boil my chicken and then chop with my food chopper). Add a spoonful of mixture to center of crescent roll. Wrap up dough and pinch the edges. Dip in melted butter and then roll in stuffing mix (I usually put my stuffing mix in a Ziploc bag and go over it with a rolling pin or glass). Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes (I bake on my Pampered Chef baking stone). Serve with mushroom sauce (combine soup and milk in saucepan and simmer over low heat until smooth and creamy).

[ chicken noodle casserole ]

4 chicken breasts, boiled and cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
Margarine
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small jar of pimentos
2 cans (8 oz. total) sliced mushroom pieces
Stuffing mix, slightly ground up (Pepperidge Farm is best for this recipe)
Egg noodles, cooked

Boil chicken first and allow to cool. Cut into pieces and set aside. Cook noodles (1/3-1/2 of a small bag is usually enough ). Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sauté onion and green pepper in margarine. Make a white sauce of 3 tablespoons of margarine, flour and milk. Combine sauce with onion and green pepper mixture and bring to a boil. Add cream of chicken soup, pimentos, mushrooms (I usually cut these up into smaller pieces) and chicken. Combine this with cooked noodles. Place in a casserole and sprinkle with stuffing mix (I usually put my stuffing mix in a Ziploc bag and go over it with a rolling pin or glass). Dot with margarine. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly brown on top.