Stuffed Mushrooms

1 lb large mushrooms, cleaned, remove stems
1 cube butter with garlic powder
8 oz cream cheese
3 chopped green onions
1 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Melt 1 cube of butter and add garlic powder. Mix cream cheese, onions, Parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese. Stuff mixture into mushroom stem hole. Dip all mushrooms into garlic butter. Bake at 300 for 10-15 minutes. Then broil until brown. (I didn't think I needed the whole cube of butter. Next time I'm going to start with a half a cube and add more if that isn't enough. I had too much left over and hated to waste it. ) Enjoy! They are super yummy.

Caramel Apple Salad

This recipe is from our friends in Chicago, Kathy and Jerry. They took us to our first apple orchard, years ago in Michigan. Fresh picked apples are so yummy!

1- 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
4 c. miniature marshmallows
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar
1- 8oz. cool whip (room temp.)
2-3 apples, diced
1 c. salted peanuts

Drain pineapple, save juice. Mix pineapple and marshmallows. In medium saucepan combine:

cornstarch
sugar
egg
vinegar
pineapple juice

Cook until slightly thickened over medium heat; cool and combine with cool whip. FOLD in the marshmallows and pineapple mixture.

Add apples and peanuts. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Lemon Rice Pilaf

3 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed and minced
2 carrots, pared and shredded
1 1/3 cups uncooked long-grain rice
3 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Melt butter in sauce pan with tight fitting lid.
Add garlic and carrots; cook, stirring frequently until carrots begin to color, about 5 minutes.
Add rice; stir.
Add broth, zest and salt.
Bring to a boil and simmer covered, about 20 minutes.
Fluff rice.

Crispy Chicken Costolleta

Ryan loves the Crispy Chicken Costolleta from the Cheesecake Factory, so I found this copycat recipe that is pretty similar.

Crispy Chicken

4 chicken breasts, cut horizontally, and pounded to about 1/4 inch thick, or use chicken cutlets.
Lemon zest of 2 lemons
1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)
2 eggs, whisked with 2 T water
3 Tablespoons flour
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Zest two lemons. Bake zest for about 5 minutes until dry. On one paper plate combine flour, pepper and salt. On another paper plate combine eggs and water, whisk until combined. On another paper plate combine dry lemon zest, bread crumbs and cheese. Place pounded chicken in the flour, coating well, followed by the egg mixture and the bread crumbs. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Place chicken in pan and cook on each side about 5 minutes until middle is no longer pink. You will need to work in batches, adding more oil and butter as needed. Keep chicken warm in oven at 250 degrees.

Lemon Sauce

2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup plus 1 T fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup chicken stock
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Over medium heat in a fairly large saucepan heat canola oil. Add minced garlic and saute about 3 minutes. Add whipping cream and boil until reduced by one-third. Add Dijon, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

Serve chicken with lemon sauce.

Fruit Dip/Topping

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• a handful of Strawberries smashed or pureed (2-3 TBSP)
  
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup whipped topping

Blend together the cream cheese, strawberries, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and whipped topping.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Thanks to Martha Stewart for the recipe below. I have discovered sweet potatoes recently and really like them. The only thing I changed below is to use skim milk instead of half-and-half. Also, I used unsalted butter. This recipe is easy and delicious!

Ingredients

Makes 3 cups

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Set a steamer basket in a large saucepan. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Place sweet potatoes in steamer basket and cover; steam until tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain, and return to saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring half-and-half, butter, and brown sugar to a simmer, stirring to combine; remove from heat. Add to drained sweet potatoes, and mash just until smooth; season with salt and pepper.