Greek Chicken

I really love Greek food. I swear I was living in Greece in another life. Never have been in this life but hope to one day. This recipe has a few steps but it is so worth it. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:

6 chicken breasts with skin and bones
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup Kalamata olives-pitted
1 small jar capers-drained
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup basil leaves-chopped
5 garlic cloves-minced
10 canned artichoke hearts-drained
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Brown chicken on both sides in olive oil. Remove from skillet and place in a large casserole dish and pour tomatoes with juice on top of chicken breasts. I placed my Kalamata olives over the chicken equally but you could just sprinkle them about. I also placed my artichoke hearts and capers on each chicken breast. I salted and peppered the heck out of mine but salt and pepper to your taste. Now place crumbled feta, basil, and garlic evenly over the entire dish and bake covered at 350' for 45 minutes. I serve ours with some really great homemade pita bread and a nice salad.

Rocky Road Cookies

Okay I know I have had one mean sweet tooth this week but these cookies are worth all the extra calories and cavities! Don't bake these cookies too long or they will become dry and not too tasty, I like them chewy. I kept taking them out of the oven because I was afraid I would over bake them. One pan did over bake but they are still good dipped in hot coffee. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 sup cocoa
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 sticks softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag 12 oz. white chocolate chips
1 cup roasted almonds cut in half

Cream butter and sugar together, once it is light and fluffy add your eggs, and vanilla, beat in. Now add your cocoa, flour, salt, and baking soda, mix just until incorporated well. If you over mix cookie dough the cookies will be tough. Now is the time to add your chips and almonds, I stir mine in by hand. Drop by the tablespoon on a parchment lined cookie sheets and bake at 350' for 9-11 minutes. Like I said keep an eye on them.

Red Potato and Green Bean Salad

This is a recipe that my father loves, he loves anything with vinegar in it. Sean on the other hand does not like vinegar, he calls it kryptonite. I like this recipe alone or with some broiled fish. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:
1/2 pound green beans-cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 pounds small red potatoes-unpeeled and halved
3 T Paul Newman's Light Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
5 T Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
4 T Italian parsley

Blanch green beans in boiling water for 4 minutes and then place in ice water. Drain and place in large bowl. Boil potatoes for 12 minutes or until fork tender, drain water and place into bowl with green beans. Mix in a small bowl, Paul Newman's Light Honey Mustard Salad Dressing, oil and Dijon, once mixed pour over potatoes and green beans and add parsley with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold. To me it tastes better the next day.

Sufferin' Succotash

Okay, I'm ready for summer, well maybe not 100 degree summer days, but some nice warm days. Today on Beaty’s Creek it is mighty cool, so I decided to bring summer back to Beaty’s Creek with this succotash recipe. This is a really good recipe to use your garden favorites in. Fresh is always best but right now frozen is a close second. Well this is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek today.

Needed:
¼ cup olive oil
1 small purple onion-diced
1 red bell pepper-diced
3 garlic cloves-minced
1 bag frozen corn
2 small zucchini-diced
2 small yellow squash-diced
1 bag frozen baby lima beans
4 T Italian Parsley-chopped
2 T Marjoram
Salt and Pepper to taste


Heat oil in a large skillet add the following, onion, bell pepper, and garlic, sauté until peppers are crisp tender, about 3 minutes add corn, zucchini, yellow squash, and lima beans, sauté them until just tender, about 5 minutes. Now add marjoram and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes a great side dish!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is a no brainer recipe but it is one of my favorites. I admit it, I cannot have this cake in the house or I will eat it all! Bad Stacey.... Make this and you are sure to be a happy baker. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:
1 white cake mix
3 eggs
2 cans sliced pineapples
20 maraschino cherries
2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup oil

Melt butter and brown sugar in a 9x13 pan. Meanwhile mix cake mix with 3 eggs,juice from both cans pineapple juice, and 1/3 cup oil. In your brown sugar mixture place pineapple slices 3 across until pan is filled, place a cherry in the middle of each pineapple and in between pineapples. Pour cake mix over brown sugar, pineapple mixture. Bake at 350' for 35 minutes or until cake is golden brown, cake will be firm to the touch and a cake tester will come out clean when done cooking. Let cake cool completely and flip over onto serving platter.

Homemade Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Cream Icing

What is better than a homemade cake of any sorts?? This cake was made with Acemom in mind, I wish you lived closer I would bring you a piece or two. This cake is moist and tastes like the best bakery chocolate cake you have ever eaten. This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek today.

Needed:
2 sticks butter-softened
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 ¼ t baking soda
1 t salt
¼ t baking powder
1 ½ cups water


Heat oven to 350’. Spray two 9-inch round baking pans with non-stick spray. In your Kitchen Aid combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then beat on high until light and fluffy. Now add your flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and baking powder and beat until mixed. Pour batter evenly into pans and bake for 30 minutes. Make sure cake does not over bake or it will be dry. Cool completely and then ice with the chocolate butter cream icing that I have listed below.



Chocolate Butter Cream Icing

Needed:
2 sticks of butter-softened
5 cups powder sugar
1-cup cocoa
1-cup milk
1 t vanilla

In your Kitchen Aid beat butter, add powder sugar and cocoa alternately with the milk until icing is a spread friendly consistency, and now blend in vanilla.

Salsa Roast

This recipe is super easy and super good. To me it seems when something is easy to make it is not always easy to eat. My MIL made this for dinner one night before Sean and I were married and I loved it. I make it a few times a year and each time there are no leftovers. Our family is growing so we have to find a pretty big roast to cook. The size of the roast is entirely up to you; the gravy the roast cooks in makes a lot so you won’t run short no matter how big your roast is. This is What’s Cookin tonight on Beaty’s Creek..

Needed:
1 beef roast-size depends on your family size
2 cans golden mushroom soup
1 large jar of Paul Newman's Medium Chunky Salsa

Place all of the ingredients in your crock-pot and cook on high all day. I start ours at 8am and we eat around 4:30. We eat ours with sour cream and chive scalloped potatoes and sweet cornbread muffins.