Crockpot Italian Chicken

This is a favorite local recipe for cooking chicken in the crockpot. I thought I'd put it here on the cooking blog years ago, but apparently not. If you've never tried this recipe, it's a simple, delish way to prepare chicken.

Chicken Breasts or Tenders
1 package Italian Seasoning Mix (I use generic brand)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of butter

8 oz. cream cheese

Put chicken in crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients.  Toss.  Cook on high for about 4 hours or low for about six.  Thirty minutes before serving, add 8 ounces of cream cheese.  Serve over rice or pasta.  Rice is our favorite!  Walk an extra mile in the morning!  Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

I searched through several local cookbooks and found four different zucchini bread recipes that were the exact same. I  decided that this must be a good one because I knew the ladies who had shared them to be great cooks and  the fact that it was the same one over and over...had to try it!  I doubled the batch and was glad that I did!  Four loaves and less than one left in 24 hours. It's a hit!

Mix together:

3 eggs
2 cups grated zuchhini
1 cup chopped nuts
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 T. vanilla

Sift together:

1 t. salt
1 t. soda
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cloves
3 cups flour

Add to zucchini mixture. Pour into well-greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350' for one hour. 

Sweet Breakfast Strata

Sweet Strata

(sorry, we ate it before the camera came out!)

1 loaf french bread, torn into bite-size pieces

6 eggs
3 cups milk
2 cups sugar
6 T. butter
1 cup flour
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 pound sausage

Preheat oven to 350'. Cook sausage in frypan.  Drain.  Set aside.   While sausage is cooking, mix all of the ingredients except the bread and raisins in a blender.  Tear the bread into pieces and place in a well-greased 9x13 pan.  Toss in the raisins and sausage.  Pour the egg/milk mixture over the bread mixture, covering entirely.  Toss the bread mix in the egg mixture.  Cover with foil and bake at 350' for 45 -55 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes.  Serve warm with maple syrup.  (You can make this the night before and just toss in the oven when ready to bake but it's not neccessary.)

Grammy Cake

I'd heard about this cake three times from different people in one week.  It is to die for!  Seriously, we had it for breakfast the next morning with ice cream, it was so good!  When I looked up the recipe, it was referred to as a coffee cake.  My mind says dry when I hear the words coffee cake.  But, this cake is FAR from dry!  It's a MUST try!

Here's the recipe and then we are off for the day to continue on the honey-do list.  It's called Grammy Cake and I did not name it. ;)

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, including juice.  DO NOT DRAIN

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup evaporated milk (I accidentally used the whole can and it was perfect.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup of butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix the sugar, clour, salt, soda, eggs and pineapple together and pour into a 9x13" pan.  Sprinkle the top with the brown sugar and chopped nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

While the cake is baking, cook the evaporated milk, sigar, butter and vanilla.  Immediately as the comes out of the oven,  pour the cooked milk mixture over the entire cake.  Keep refrigerated, if there is any left.  (We served it with ice cream.)  ENJOY!!