Carolina Strawberry Muffins!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." in the strawberry world, anyway. It's that time of year again where everyone buys 4 or 5 gallons of fresh, ripe strawberries and not enough recipes to use them in. Soon enough, everyone will be up to their eyeballs in frozen strawberries, jams, tarts, muffins, and SO much more. So, what do you do when your strawberries are past their prime? Use them any way you can. I think this recipe is a good recipe for muffins to take for breakfast, as they aren't too sweet, but still lend the sweet strawberry flavor that we all know and love. 


Carolina Strawberry Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins

1½ c. strawberries, chopped
½ c. granulated sugar, divided
¼ c. butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1¾ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
⅛ c. skim milk

In a small bowl, combine the half of the sugar with the strawberries and set aside for one hour. This will give the strawberries time to macerate and create syrupy goodness!

After one hour, separate the liquid from the strawberries and reserve for later use. 

Preheat oven to 425F and line a muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, cream together the softened butter and remaining sugar until light, fluffy, and well combined. 

Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined.

 Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a separate bowl.

 Add half of the flour mixture, combine well. Next, add the strawberry juice and combine. Add the remainder of the flour, combine well, then add the milk. The mixture should be a bit thick, but still easy to stir. 

Fold in the strawberries gently.

 Spoon into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack. 

Twice Baked Potatoes!

     That's right. Twice Baked Potatoes. One of the easiest side dishes and strangest, in my opinion. I mean, seriously, who thinks of this stuff? Cook a potato, gut it, make it mashed potatoes flavored with whatever you want, put it BACK into the potato skin, cook it some more. It is definitely delicious, but a mystery. Twice baked potatoes are something that's very easy to put together, tastes great, and require little effort. How much easier could it get?! It also tastes great during the summer alongside a perfectly cooked steak!

There are MANY variations of this recipe, and it can be changed to fit anyone's taste, but this is a simple, basic recipe that is still a crowd pleaser!

Twice Baked Potato
Yields: 4 servings

2 medium russet potatoes
2 1/2 tbsp. butter, unsalted
1 tbsp. dried minced onion
1/4 c. sour cream

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 168.6

• Total Fat: 9.1 g
• Cholesterol: 25.3 mg
• Sodium: 15.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 20.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
• Protein: 2.8 g

Honey Glazed Chicken!

     Okay. Unfortunately, I would call this...mediocre. The ONLY reason I'm posting it is for the sauce. The flavors don't permeate the chicken very well. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it's true. When I made this, I was hoping to create something that had a thick and delicious glaze on it, but it seemed to just sit in the sauce. 
     It needed help. Here's what I recommend: Make the sauce, it's fabulous on it's own. Once it's simmering, make yourself a slurry (2 tsp. of cornstarch and 2 tsp. of water in a small bowl). Add the slurry to the liquid-y sauce and bring it to a boil. It will thicken a bit and THEN, ONLY THEN, should it be put on the chicken. Don't waste your time basting it, for this recipe it does no good.
     By all means, I'm not saying this isn't tasty, but I don't think I did it justice by trying to cook the chicken in the sauce. But, hey, that's one of the reasons I have a passion for cooking- experimentation and creativity. (Not to mention, you and everyone else gets to enjoy the food!) 

Honey Glazed Chicken Breast
Yields: 2 servings

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
¼ c. honey
3 tbsp. dark brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
½ c. flour
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. ground clove
½  tsp. allspice
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp.  extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F. In a small saucepan, combine honey, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat (small bubbles form at the outer edge of the pan). 

Once simmering, remove from heat and set aside. In a plastic bag, combine the flour, thyme, pepper, clove, and allspice. 

Coat the chicken in the mixture. 

In a small baking dish, combine the butter and oil. 

Add the chicken pieces; be sure to coat the floured chicken well with the butter and oil. 

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the honey mixture over the chicken. 

Put the chicken back in the oven for 10-15 additional minutes, basting occasionally. 

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 547.7

• Total Fat: 15.0 g
• Cholesterol: 145.5 mg
• Sodium: 801.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 59.4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
• Protein: 48.5 g

Chicken Divan, or should I say, DIVINE!

     Chicken Divan is a classic creamy dish that will please even the pickiest of eaters. It is so rich, creamy, and comforting, they'll be asking for more! This dish originally uses a mornay or hollandaise sauce, which we all know are packed with calories and fat. Chicken Divan originated in New York in a diner in the 1950's named Divan Parisienne. Once they created this masterpiece, they simply named the dish after the restaurant  Instead of using egg yolks or heavy cream, I actually used skim milk. I'm not sure why people think you can't achieve the creaminess of these dishes without using heavy cream and other super fattening ingredients.

Chicken Divan

Yields: 4 servings

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (see note)

½ tsp. salt

3 tbsp. oil

2 tbsp. butter

5 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 c. chicken stock, sodium free

1 c. skim milk

½ tsp. ground thyme

½ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

1½ c. broccoli florets

1 c. shredded cheese (see note)

¼  c. mayonnaise

2 tsp. prepared mustard

Preheat oven to 375F. Coat an 8"x8" baking dish with cooking spray. Place the chicken breast in a medium skillet. Add enough water to cover (or almost cover) the chicken. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until the chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature of 165F). This should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then slice into bite-size pieces. 

Heat oil and butter in the same skillet, allowing it to melt. Once melted, stir in the flour and whisk, to cook the raw taste out of the flour. 

Once the roux has darkened just a bit (light golden) slowly whisk in the chicken broth, milk, and spices. Continue stirring until the liquid is brought to a simmer. At this point, the liquids should begin to seem a bit thicker. 

The sauce should be able to coat the back of a spoon without coming together when divided.

 Once simmering, add the broccoli and return to a simmer (1 to 2 minutes). 

Remove from the heat and stir in ¾  of the cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard. In the prepared baking dish, spread half of the broccoli mixture over the bottom. 

Next, add the chicken in an even layer.

 Top with the remaining broccoli mixture.

 Sprinkle over the remaining ¼ c. cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly; let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving!

I allowed it to cook for 17 minutes and then turned the broiler on to get nice brown cheese on top, about 3 minutes...SO delicious! I also prepared some egg noodles that were sprinkled with garlic powder and served this over them. 

NOTES*

This recipe is a great idea to use up any leftover chicken that you have in your refrigerator, but if you want to begin by cooking the chicken, this recipe explains how.

For the cheese, I used a blend of four Italian cheeses; but you may use any cheese that you prefer!

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 375.3

• Total Fat: 30.2 g
• Cholesterol: 28.1 mg
• Sodium: 597.3 mg
• Total Carbs: 17.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.3 g
• Protein: 11.3 g

Got Leftovers?

As the subject states, this is an excellent use for leftovers! Not only is it delicious, it's quick and easy! I know you all know what I'm talking about when I mention the rotisserie chickens you can buy in the deli section at the supermarket! I personally don't purchase them because I only like white meat (and crispy skin!) but I don't think the purchase is worth it for the amount that I actually enjoy. This recipe can utilize any section of meat that you prefer (boneless of course) and turkey would taste great with this, too! This is a good recipe to keep in your arsenal of Thanksgiving leftover recipes!  

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Yields: 3 servings

14 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed and cooked

1 c. prepared stuffing

1 tbsp. butter, unsalted

½ c. onion, finely chopped

1 c. cream of mushroom, undiluted

1 c. water

1 c. rice, uncooked

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small skillet, melt the butter and saute the onions until soft. 

Remove and set aside. In an 8"x 8" baking dish, spread the chicken evenly on the bottom. 

In a separate bowl, combine the mushroom, onion, water, and rice.

 

Pour over the chicken and spread the stuffing evenly over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.

That's it! It's that simple! You could also add some leftover veggies from the night before as well. As I've said before, a casserole is a great place to use up all kinds of leftovers! Enjoy!

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 3
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 246.8

• Total Fat: 3.9 g
• Cholesterol: 79.2 mg
• Sodium: 900.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 23.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
• Protein: 29.8 g