Juicy, Garlic Roasted Chicken

Garlic Roasted Chicken can be a complete meal all done at the same time. Simply add some quartered potatoes, whole carrots and onions into the roasting pan along with the chicken. In 90 minutes to 2 hours, you will have a wonderful, delicious meal to serve. 

Ingredients

1 (3 to 4  lb.) whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 c. room temperature butter or margarine, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place chicken in a roasting pan.  Sprinkle the outside and the inside cavity of the chicken with salt, and pepper.

Mix the butter or margarine, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme and parsley together.  Rub this mixture over the top of the chicken, lifting the skin to rub the butter mixture over the breast, thighs and legs as well.  Also rub some of the butter mixture on the inside cavity of the chicken.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until chicken is done and meat is tender. Stick a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, and it should read 165° to 175°.   If the skin is browning too much, cover with a lid or a sheet of foil. 

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before carving.

Deep Chocolate Upside-Down Cake

This vintage cake recipe is easy to make and best of all, it is already frosted and ready to serve.  Deep chocolate taste from an easy to prepare cake mix, baked with a brown sugar, coconut and nut topping. 

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/4 c. water
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped nuts
1 1/2 c. sweetened flaked coconut
1 pkg. deep chocolate cake mix or German chocolate cake mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in 13 x 9 x 2-inch cake pan.

Pour in the water.  Sprinkle brown sugar evenly into the pan.

Mix in nuts and sweetened flaked coconut. Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.

In a mixing bowl, prepare cake mix according to directions. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour cake batter over mixture in the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake test done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let stand for 5 minutes so the topping starts to set. Invert the cake pan onto a large platter, or use a cookie sheet if you don't have a platter that large. 

Serve with whipped cream.

 4 Ingredient Salmon Casserole

When times were tough and we didn't have much money, getting salmon in a can was a treat. Sometimes my mother would make a Salmon Loaf and other times she would make a Salmon Casserole. Both were easy to make, and delicious. You can add a can of cream of mushroom soup with a two-thirds can of milk over the top. Or serve it with cheese over the top as well. 

Ingredients

1 lb. can salmon, drained and flaked
3 onions, sliced into thin rings
2 Tbs. butter
2 lbs. potatoes, sliced thin
salt and pepper to taste
parsley leaves (Optional)
buttered bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a large casserole dish.

Drain and flake the salmon. 

Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add onions and fry until golden brown and caramelized.

Arrange in layers the fried onions, potatoes, and salmon in a buttered casserole dish. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle some chopped parsley and buttered bread crumbs over the top of the salmon. 

Bake for 30 minutes, or until browned.

Congo Bars

Delicious moist bars with nuts and chocolate chips.  They are so good and so easy to make. Congo Bars are perfect for mid-day snacking or to take along on a picnic, or as a dessert.

Ingredients

2/3 c. butter or margarine, softened or room temperature
2 1/4 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 3/4 c. flour
1 c. nuts, chopped
12 oz. chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease and flour the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch cake pan.

Cream butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

Mix in baking powder, salt and flour until combined.

Stir in nuts, and chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Do not over bake.

Chicken Squares with Mushroom Sauce

If you have leftover chicken and rice, this is a great way to use them up.  If you are short on time, you can skip making the sauce and use a can of cream of mushroom soup. 

Ingredients

3 c. diced cooked chicken
1 c. cooked rice
2 c. soft bread crumbs
1/3 c. celery, diced
1/4 c. pimentos, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 to 2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 c. chicken broth

Sauce

6 Tbs. butter
1 can mushrooms, sliced and drained
6 Tbs. flour
2 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 c. light cream
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan. 

Combine chicken, rice, breadcrumbs, celery, and pimento.  Add beaten eggs, salt, poultry seasoning and broth.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.

Bake for 55 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, it is time to make the sauce. 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan on low heat.  Add mushrooms and sauté for about 3 minutes.

Blend in flour. Stirring or whisking constantly, cook one to 2 minutes to remove the flour taste. 

Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly to remove the lumps of flour. Add the chicken bouillon cube, stirring until dissolved. 

Add the light cream and cook and stir until the mixture has thickened and is smooth.

Mix in the parsley and salt. Pour the mushroom sauce over the chicken as you serve the dish for supper.

Diamond Shape Cheese Monkey Bread

Cheese Monkey Bread

Diamond Shape Cheese Monkey Bread is a different twist to the usual round dough balls of monkey bread. Don't let the different shape fool you, though. It is every bit as good and loaded with cheesy flavor.

Ingredients

1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
1 c. milk
1c. butter, divided
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
3 to 4 c. flour
3/4 shredded Sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Grease a 10-inch ring mold, or use two, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm water and sugar.  Stir to combine.  Allow to sit for 8 to 10 minutes for the yeast to bloom.

In a small saucepan, heat milk, 1/2 cup butter, and salt over low heat to scald.  Do not allow the mixture to boil or your milk will curdle.  Set aside to cool until it is at least 110° or lower, otherwise you kill the yeast.

Add to the yeast mixture along with eggs, and 1 cup flour. Beat well with a wooden spoon.  

Add the rest of the flour and the shredded cheese.  Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, until it is smooth and elastic. This can take 8 to 10 minutes.  The dough should be soft and just slightly sticky.

Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and turn the dough over to grease the top. (I use the same bowl that the dough was made in.) Cover the top of the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm location until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Melt the other 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Set aside while you prepare the dough.

Divide dough in half. Roll each portion out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 3-inch diamond shapes.

Dip each bread diamond into the melted butter. Place the buttered dough diamond into the ring mold, overlapping the diamond points.  Continue layering the dough diamonds until you have about 3 layers of dough, and the pan three-quarters full.  Do not fill the pan any more than that, or the layers of dough will push out the top layer into your oven.  

Place in a warm location and let rise until doubled in size. 

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Invert the ring pan over a plate to serve. Can serve with more melted butter, garlic butter or Parmesan cheese.

Ground Beef Chili Bake

This is an old recipe that my mother made and her mother made it as well.  Like now, meat was expensive and they had to make satisfying meals with cheaper cuts of meat much of the time.  This meal is still one of our favorite recipes to make and serve for my family!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1 sweet bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 (4 oz.) cans green chilies
1 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 drops or more of hot pepper sauce (Optional)
green or red chili taco sauce (Optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large cast iron skillet, brown ground beef, sweet pepper, onion and garlic together. Break up the ground beef into little pieces and cook until it is no longer pink.  Drain off grease. Season hamburger with salt and pepper to taste

Spread one can of green chilies over the bottom of a 10 x 6-inch loaf pan.  Sprinkle half the cheese over the top of the green chilies. 

Add the ground beef mixture over the top of the cheese.  

Spread the remaining can of green chilies over the top of the meat. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese over the top of the green chilies. 

In a bowl, combine milk, flour, salt, eggs and hot pepper sauce. Beat with a whisk until the batter is smooth. Pour over the chili cheese meat mixture. 

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted 1/2-inch deep in the center comes out clean.  The top should be lightly browned. 

Cool for 5 minutes before serving.  If you have some red or green chili taco sauce, serve it with that if desired.