Skillet Chicken Italiano

3 chicken breasts, cubed
1 can mushrooms, drained
1/2 c. Italian dressing
2 T. butter
1/2 c. minced onion
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
shredded cheddar cheese to taste


Place chicken and mushrooms in dressing and allow to marinade 20 minutes. In a large skillet melt butter. Add onions and saute until tender. Add chicken mixture, cook until no longer pink. Add zucchini, cook until desired tenderness. Add tomatoes. Heat through. Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese, allow to melt. Serve hot with french bread.


This is actually a staple recipe, but we love it, so I thought I'd share! I grew up on it. It's really fast, really easy. Everyone we feed it to loves it (except my weird brother-in-law who doesn't like squash. What gives?). You can easily scale it down or make it bigger for different sized families. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. oil
1/2 t. vanilla
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. sour milk or buttermilk
2 c. grated zucchini
2 1/2 c. flour
4 T. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. brown sugar


Cream shortening, oil, vanilla, sugar, and eggs. Alternate adding dry ingredients with milk. Add zucchini last. Mix together. Pour into greased and floured 9x13" pan. Combine chocolate chips and brown sugar and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.


Notes:
I tasted this almost a year ago at a church dessert thing. I loved it then and have wanted to try it for a long time. Now that zucchini is in season and it piling up on my counter, I thought it was the perfect time. My kids were getting tired of eating it on the side with dinner. The problem is, my oven has been broken for months! So...... (anyone living in a hot climate is going to LOVE this tip) I did it in the CROCK-POT! This was not originally a crock-pot recipe, but I thought, "what the heck?" I looked up a few slow cooker bread recipes for some tips and voila! It came out delicious! Moist, dense, a little chewy, oh so chocolaty, no funny aftertaste like some zucchini breads have. Mmmmmm... On another note I was out of oil and substituted an equal amount of unsweetened apple sauce, and being a chocolate lover, I used the 4 T. of cocoa direction loosely. Definitely 5 stars!


Slow cooker directions: grease your crock-pot well, turn on to high heat. Pour in batter, top with chocolate chips. Cover with lid (some recipes suggested skewing the lid to allow steam to escape. In our dry climate I figure we can use all the moisture we can get) cook for 2 hours (some recipes I looked at suggested low heat for 6 hours). Take lid off and allow to cool most of the way (until you can handle the crock pot) in the crock. Slide knife around the edge of cake to loosen, dump onto cooling rack. Enjoy!!!

Fruit Salsa

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and diced
8 oz. raspberries
1 lb. strawberries
2 T white sugar
1 T brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
cinnamon sugar


1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, sugars, and preserves. cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.


2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


3. coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.


4. Bake in the preheated oven 8-10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit and spice mixture.


I love, love, love this recipe. I took it to the ladies I visit teach, and to a game night with some friends. It got rave reviews. Definitely a 5 star recipe. I threw in some blackberries as well because I found some for a decent price. I only spray the tortillas the first time. I pretend it cuts calories that way : ) You can make it with frozen berries, but the presentation isn't as nice. Try it, you'll like it!

Good Intentions

I had every intention of doing this week's challenge. I'm posting a picture of my beautiful pineapple sitting amongst all the other stuff on the counter as proof. Somehow the week got away from me without cooking much of anything. We did cut it up and eat it this afternoon. It was delicious! I did look at the recipes posted for the week. They look yummy! Can't wait to try some of them.

Chef Spotlight: Sal-my-gal

When I asked our avid poster & commenter "Sal-my-gal" to be this week's spotlight she said, "Oooo! I'm honored! Let's see if I can find anything interesting about little ole' me..."

Disclaimer: Sallie claims that she usually doesn't dress this way, but that this was for an 80s dance where she won best costume. Sure...

Name:
Sallie. My grandpa use to call me "Sal-my-gal", hence the screen name. (That's cool!)

Where are you from?
You could say Utah, since I've lived here for the past 11years with my hottie husband. Before that I was an Army Brat, so I guess you could say I hail from planet Earth. (There seem to be a lot of us in the group who have moved around quite a bit.)

Why did you join "What's In {Your} Oven?"
For fun! Adding more cyber-buddies to my social life is an added benefit. Plus, I was hoping to expand my culinary expertise, and pick up a few recipes along the way. A girl can always use more recipes.

Who do you cook for?
Who don't I cook for? At least it seems that way sometimes. I cook for me. Oh-- and the other people that live here; husband, 5 daughters ages 8 mos. to 9 years. Once a month my extended family shows up for the weekend and I feed them too. That can be 15-30 people depending on who shows up. I say I cook for me because, much to the dismay of my husband, I only cook things I like. Who wants to spend hours in the kitchen for something you don't care to put in your mouth? Sounds like a waste of time and calories to me. (Holla!)

What kind of food do you like?
Hmmmm...If I could I'd live on cookies, brownies, ice-cream and fruit. Hence the expanded waist line I'm currently sporting. (Heh, heh, heh. Me, too!) In terms of real food I love everything off the grill. I grill in rain, sleet, snow, or shine. Kind of like the mail man. On the rare occasion that I get asked on a date I like to go out for Mexican, Italian, Indian... anything I don't have to cook myself is almost always twice as delicious.

What do you hope to get out of participating in "What's in {Your} Oven"?
I'm totally prepping for Food Network's Iron Chef. Do they have an online version for suburban moms? Oh-- I guess we started it : )

Thanks for being our spotlight, Sallie. It was fun to get to know a little more about you. You have a fun personality and we look forward to seeing more posts from you!

Mexican Pork Salad

Mexican Pork Salad
by: Janet Eyring

I got this off KSL News recipe section at a suggestion from a friend. I don't have a picture because I skipped off to pack night before it all got set on the table. I didn't think half empty bowls would be too appealing.

Sweet Pork
1 (3-5 lb.) sirloin or boneless pork loin roast
1 cup salsa
1 cup packed brown sugar

Method:
Place ingredients in a greased 3 ½ - 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Shred pork with a fork or potato masher before serving. Use meat in salads, burritos, or tacos.

Cilantro-Lime Rice
1 cup uncooked converted white rice
1 teaspoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated lime peel (zest)
1 can (15 ounces) chicken broth
¼ cup water
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Method:
In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice. Serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
1 cup sour cream
1 envelope Ranch Salad Dressing
½ envelope Fiesta Ranch Salad Dressing
6 tomatillos, husked and cut in half
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice from 2 freshly squeezed limes
¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. And blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Notes: This got mixed reviews. I loved it. I'd give it 4 stars (because the best thing I've ever eaten is dinner at Flemming's, chocolate lave cake included). I'd definitely serve it to guests. It'd be great for a ladies luncheon. I ate the leftovers every day for lunch. My husband only gives it 3 stars, because the pork isn't his favorite. I imagine you could use this recipe with chicken or beef and it would still be fabulous. The dressing had a strong flavor. I don't think it'd be good on a non-Mexican type salad. Some of my kids liked it. Others didn't. It was a little tart. Maybe I didn't pick good tomatillos (Here's where I admit that I kind of cheated a little. Last week I saw what this week's challenge was and since I had already bought tomatillos to try this recipe I thought I'd count it anyway, even though I made this last Thursday. If I'd waited I'd have read the great "how to choose a tomatillo" tips before hand). I suggest getting small ones. My food processor doesn't blend things very smoothly, so it was a bit chunky. That could have been part of the problem. The rice recipe was good. It doesn't go as far as the meat and dressing. We didn't have any leftovers after the first night.

Serving suggestions: black beans, tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole (or diced avocado), tomato, salsa, shredded cheese, etc.

Fettuccine with Chicken and Asparagus

I ended up making the same recipe as Lyndsie. How, out of all the chicken recipes in the world did I manage that?

3/4 lb. fettuccine, cooked
1 1/2 c. asparagus, cut into 2 in. pieces
1 1/2 lbs. cooked chicken breasts, cut into slices
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. yellow onion, diced
zest of 1 lemon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 c. nonfat milk
1/4 c. white wine
1/2 c. Alfredo sauce
1/2 c. Dijon mustard

Combine the fettuccine, asparagus, chicken, mushrooms, onion, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine milk, wine, Alfredo, and mustard in another bowl, mixing until smooth. Add the chicken and pasta mixture to a Ziploc freezer bag. Pour the Alfredo mixture into the Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes: Due to Sunday laziness I broke into my freezer dinner I made Friday for a frozen dinner exchange a little early. I served it with a salad and bread sticks (yummers!). I don't have a picture. My family got to it before my camera did, due to a nursing baby. The recipe didn't specify how to cook the chicken, so I grilled it. I'm pretty sure just about everything tastes better off the grill. I used cooking wine, and only half the mustard. It was very easy to put together. It was nice to have something with so little prep after church. It got mixed reviews at the dinner table. My husband gave it "3 to 3.5 maybe 3.75" stars. I'm not sure I'd rate it so high. My 9 year-old gave it 3.5, my 5 year-old a 0. My kids wouldn't eat the asparagus. After I tasted it I understood why. It was mushy. I didn't like it either. Might of had something to do with being frozen before cooking. My husband suggested substituting broccoli (peas might be okay as well). The sauce was really peppery. That turned some of my kids off. One of them kept commenting on how strong the lemon was. I thought the lemon was fine. It could have used more mushrooms as well. My husband said it's worth throwing into the rotation. I'm not so sure. That makes me sad that I made eleven of them!