Roasted Greek Chicken & Potatoes

This dish is wonderful enough to serve double duty as an easy weeknight dinner or as a special holiday dinner.

The chicken stays juicy, while the potatoes roast up crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Roasted Greek Chicken & Potatoes

I didn't measure any specific amounts for this recipe.
It can be made in small or large amounts, depending
on the number of people you are feeding.

thawed chicken pieces - I baked 8 leg & thigh pieces
red potatoes, cubed small - I used 8 medium potatoes
olive oil
lemon juice
Greek seasoning
minced garlic
oregano
lemon pepper seasoning (no salt added)

Use a roasting pan big enough to hold both the chicken and the potatoes.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces. Lay the chicken flat in one side of the pan, skin side up.

Cube potatoes (I left the skins on) and lay opposite of the chicken in the other side of the roasting pan.

Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and potatoes and then sprinkle both with lemon juice.

Sprinkle approx. 2 tbsp. greek seasoning and lemon pepper on top of the chicken and potatoes.

Sprinkle approx. 1 tbsp. oregano and minced garlic over top of both.

Stir the potatoes, making sure they're coated with the oil, lemon and herbs.

Preheat oven to 450*

Bake chicken and potatoes for 20 minutes.

Lower oven to 375*

Continue baking for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs longer, checking after 1 hour to see if the juice in the chicken are clear.

Once chicken is done roasting, remove it to a plate and keep warm.

Spread the potatoes out in a single layer in the pan. Stick the pan under the broiler for 3 -5 minutes or until the potatoes have browned a little bit.

Serve immediately.

Leftover chicken is delicious as chicken salad or on a sandwich. Leftover potatoes are great fried the next day.

Busy Beehive Cupcake Cones

One of my kids' favorite desserts are cupcakes baked inside of ice cream cones. They are a fun grab-n-go treat. I like them because they are easy to make and they are not messy!

These busy beehive cones remind me of spring and the beautiful, sunny weather that we are experiencing now. Not too hot, not too cold. Let's get out and enjoy it while we can!

Busy Beehive Cupcake Cones

1 boxed yellow cake mix + ingredients listed
on the package
16- 18 ice cream cones
1 can of vanilla icing
1 can of chocolate icing
yellow food coloring
yellow M&Ms for decorating
milk chocolate melts

Preheat oven to 350*

Prepare cake mix according to package directions.

To make the cones easier to handle, I used my 12 cupcake, cupcake pan and stood one cone in each cup. Fill each cone 3/4 full - do not be tempted to fill them any fuller. The batter will run over the tops of the cones and down the sides. (Geez...wonder how I know this?!?)

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the cakes are light brown and a skewer stuck down into the middle of the cone comes out clean. Cool completely. Repeat the process until all of the cake batter has been used. Depending on the type of cake mix, I usually end up with 16 -18 cones.

Spread yellow M&Ms out on a piece of waxed paper. You will need 2-3 M&M "bees" for each cone. Melt 1/4 c. of chocolate candy melts in the microwave. Spoon the melted chocolate into a plastic baggie. Barely snip the tip off one corner of the baggie-just enough for a fine line of chocolate to flow through the hole. Draw the stripes and eyes on each M&M, creating the bees. Let dry before moving.

Tint the vanilla frosting bright yellow. Tip: I use paste food coloring. I've found that using the liquid food coloring with canned frosting tends to thin the frosting out too much, making it hard to use. Frost each cupcake with the yellow icing.

Using a small paring knife, cut out the beehive entrance in each cone. Frost the hole with yellow icing.

Spoon the chocolate frosting into a plastic baggie. Snip the tip of the baggie. Trace the entrance hole of the hive with chocolate frosting. Draw the swirls around the hive with the chocolate frosting.

Carefully remove the bees from the waxed paper and using the chocolate frosting as "glue", stick the bees on the cones.

Enjoy! The cupcakes are best when eaten the same day.


My spring bug cupcakes would pair up perfectly with these busy beehive cupcakes for a fun party theme!


Linking up to:
Cupcake Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
Muffin Monday (includes cupcakes!)
Momtrends Friday Food

Hummingbird Cupcakes in the Buff

The hummingbird cake seems to have deep roots in the south. There are many speculations as to where it originated. Some say it was a recipe submitted to Southern Living Magazine by a southern lady. While others say it originated in Jamaica...bananas and pineapple are from the area so these ingredients were use often in cakes. The cake is said to be named after Jamaica's national bird. N o matter where this cake originated, I'm glad that the recipe made it to our neck of the woods.

I had never heard of hummingbird cake before moving to the Charlotte area. It's very popular all around here. Since cupcakes go over way better than cake at our house, I decided to give them a whirl. Think banana bread filled with fruit and nuts. MMM! Bananas keep the cupcakes moist and delicious. The pineapple takes on a glazed, sugar-coated taste and the coconut and pecans give a nice little crunch. The sugars from the bananas and pineapple form a slightly sticky crust around the edges of each cupcake.

Traditional hummingbird cake is usually frosted with cream cheese frosting. My cupcakes were so sweet and moist and delicious that I decided to leave them plain. Why add more sugar if it's really not needed? My family agreed.

Take a look at those bananas peeking through. Don't you just want to stick your finger right into it?

I've done a lot of research on recipes for hummingbird cake. Most of the ingredients are the same - the only change, depending on which recipe you use, is choosing to use either oil or butter.

Hummingbird Cupcakes in the Buff

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp cloves
2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
3 lg. eggs
2 c. ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 large bananas)
8 oz. crushed pineapple
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. sweetened coconut

Preheat over to 350*  Line cupcake pan with liners or use silicone holders.

Wisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.

Stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined.

Stir the fruit mixture into the flour mixture.

I used a large ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners. Fill 2/3 full. Do not be tempted to fill to the rim. The cupcakes won't bake higher, they will just spill out onto the pan. (I proved it.)

Bake for 22-25 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

I'm linking up to:

House of Hempworths
Life As Mom 
I'm Lovin' It
Sweet Tooth Friday 
Muffin Monday

Cherry Delight Breakfast Cake

This cherry cake is great for breakfast or dessert. It will make a nice surprise breakfast for Mom on Mother's Day. Don't forget a cup of coffee or tea to go along with it.

Ingredients for Cake:
 
3 C. flour
1/4 C Sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 C. milk
1/2 C water
1/2 C butter
2 eggs
1- 21 oz can Cherry Pie Filling

Ingredients for Cake Glaze:
 
1/2 C confectioner's sugar
2-4 tsp milk


To Make Cake:

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, sugar & yeast and mix well. Heat 1/2 cup milk, water and butter until very warm and then add to flour mixture, along with eggs. Beat at low speed with hand mixer until all ingredients are wet; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in an additional 1 to 1 1/2 cup flour until a stiff batter forms. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise about 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Grease a 13 x 9 pan. Stir batter; Pour 3/4 batter into pan and top with cherry filling. Spoon remaining batter by tablespoons over batter. Cover again and let rise until light, approximately 20 - 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover dough mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.


Meanwhile make glaze:

Mix sugar and 2 tsp milk. Continue adding a little milk until a thick glaze consistency is created.

Drizzle over cake while it's still warm.


For different variations of this cake: try blueberry, apple or mixed berry pie filling in place of the cherry pie filling in this recipe.

Hanukkah Coin Cookies

These chocolate cookies will add a festive touch to your Hanukkah table. This recipe is easy enough for even the smallest helpers to get in on the fun. Their hard work will
really pay off!

What You Need:

1 box chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/3-cup oil
1 can chocolate frosting
1 can vanilla frosting
Yellow paste food coloring
Yellow sugar sprinkles

What You Do:

Heat oven to 350*F.

Beat together cake mix, eggs & oil. Roll cookie dough into 2 in. balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and then slightly flatten. Leave room for the cookies to spread out while baking. Bake for 7-8 minutes - do not over bake, as they will harden slightly while cooling. Cool completely before icing.

While the cookies are cooling, tint the vanilla frosting dark yellow. Fill a small plastic Baggie with 1/3 of the frosting, creating a frosting bag. Barely snip one corner of the Baggie. Use this frosting to draw pictures on the chocolate frosted cookies.

Frost half of the cookies with the leftover yellow icing. Top with yellow sugar sprinkles. Frost the remaining cookies with chocolate frosting and decorate with the Star of David, a Menorah, "2007" etc., using the yellow frosting in the frosting bag.

To Freeze: Lay cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Freeze. Once the cookies are frozen, they can be layered in a container in-between sheets of wax paper. Make sure to thaw in a single layer to avoid the cookies sticking together.

Cinnamon Sugared Nuts

These sweet and spicy nuts would make a perfect hostess gift if you are invited to a Passover Seder.

But not just for Passover, they would make a great gift for anyone!

What You Need

2 lbs Raw Assorted Mixed Nuts
1 1/2 C. Sugar
3-4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 C. Water
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the nuts out on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes to lightly
toast them. Allow to cool. Do not turn off the oven.

In a saucepan, mix sugar, cinnamon, & water. Stir over medium heat to dissolve sugar -takes about 5
minutes. Quickly stir the nuts into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, making sure to coat all of the nuts evenly
with the syrup.

Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the nuts out onto the sheet in a thin layer. Bake 15
minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure that the nuts are baking evenly. Watch the nuts carefully
to make sure that they do not burn. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once the nuts have cooled they
will become crunchy. Store in a tightly sealed container.

Maple Leaf Shortbread Cookies

I love shortbread cookies. This maple-flavored cookie melts in your mouth and is so good. I used 3 different sizes of mini maple leaf cookie cutters to cut out the cookies, and then stacked them big -to - little once I frosted them. The vibrant colors are so pretty and festive for Thanksgiving!

Maple Leaf Shortbread Cookies

What You Need
2 1/2 C. flour
1 C. butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 C. sugar
1 TBSP maple flavoring
powdered sugar icing - recipe below
red, yellow, green, brown & orange paste food coloring
colored sugars and sprinkles
maple leaf cookie cutters

What You Do
Using an electric mixer beat together butter, sugar and maple flavoring until mix is thoroughly blended. Stir in flour and continue mixing until everything is combined. I used my hands at the end to make sure everything was combined.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350*

Sprinkle sugar lightly over the area where you are going to roll out the cookies. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with sugar, too. Using a gentle hand, roll the dough out to about 1/2 in. thick. Using the leaf-shaped cookie cutters cut out cookies then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Keep a close eye on them to make sure to not over bake. Remove immediately to cooling racks. Cool completely before icing the cookies.

What you need for icing:
1 C. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp maple flavoring
Milk

Mix together the powdered sugar and maple flavoring. Stir in 1 tsp. of milk at a time until a thick but spreadable icing is achieved.

Divide the icing into small bowls and use the food coloring to tint each bowl a different color.

Ice the cookies and top with colored sugars or sprinkles, if desired.

Birthday Cake!

Happy Birthday to you.....
Happy Birthday to you....
Happy Birthday dear Andy...
Happy Birthday to you!


Now let's eat cake!!


The design of this cake was all planned out by Andy. He decided that he wanted me to bake a white cake with white icing in a bundt pan and then fill in the middle with ice cream.

I tossed this idea around for almost a week before I decided "what the heck", I would make it just the way he wanted it. I decided to color it orange and green like a pumpkin since it was so close to Halloween. Both kids got a kick out of that.

This recipe for the cake turned out very light and fluffy with a great taste. Simply a good birthday cake recipe!

I changed the number of servings from 12 to 15 on allrecipes.com to make sure that I had a full bundt pan. That amount was perfect.

Simple White Cake - 15 servings
(My changes in bold)

1-1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, room temp.
2-1/2 eggs - I used 2
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour - I used 1 3/4 C. only
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
orange paste food coloring - I added it for color

My instructions on baking:
Preheat oven to 350*

Lightly grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Mix until well combined. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl stir together flour and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Add milk and mix until creamy. Stir in orange food coloring.

Spoon cake mixture into the bundt pan.


Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a knife stuck into the center of the cake, comes out clean.

Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, and then invert onto a plate. Cool completely before icing.

We are a buttercream icing family. Thankfully, it's one of the easiest recipes to whip up with very few ingredients.

I knew that I was going to color the icing so I wasn't worried about it being off white from using all butter and brown vanilla. If you want a bright white icing, replace some or all of the butter with shortening and the brown vanilla with clear vanilla.

Easy Buttercream Frosting

4 C. powdered sugar
1 C. butter - room temp.
1 tsp vanilla
2TBSP milk
paste food coloring of your choice

Cream all ingredients together, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl frequently. As a rule of thumb, mix this icing for at least 5 minutes to make sure that it is light and fluffy. Stir in food coloring until thoroughly mixed.

Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

To finish our birthday cake....

Frost cake and fill the middle of the cake with scoops of chocolate ice cream.


Refrigerate any leftover cake.

Kids Bake! Watermelon Poke Cupcakes

Watermelon recipes remind me of the sweet tastes of summer. Whether it's for a picnic, birthday or just a family barbecue, these watermelon poke cupcakes are easy for kids to make and look fabulous on your cookout table!


What You Need

1 box white cake mix
1 C. boiling water
1 small box of watermelon Jell-O -- or any red Jell-O
1 - 8oz container of Cool Whip, thawed
red & green liquid food coloring
mini chocolate chips

Getting Ready

Cover table with a plastic table cloth, or even an old shower curtain.

Gather supplies and have everything ready at the work table and within reach.

Make sure that children use pot holders and have some handy wipes or a sink nearby to
wash hands.

Now you are ready to start making watermelon poke cupcakes...


What You Do

Mix cupcakes and bake as directed on box, using cupcake liners. Cool cupcakes.

Stir boiling water into powdered Jell-O until dissolved. Pierce tops of cupcakes several times
with a meat fork or straw. Spoon Jell-O over cupcakes, making sure that the liquid is going
down into the holes. Refrigerate 30 min. Remove from pans.

Tint Cool Whip with red and green food coloring. Using plastic baggies to hold the whipped
topping, pipe a green circle around the outside rim of each cupcake. Fill in the middle with
pink whipped topping. Add mini chocolate chips to represent watermelon seeds.

Store in refrigerator. These cupcakes taste best if eaten the same day as they are made.

Linking up to:

Cupcake Tuesdays @ Hoosier Homemade


Gooseberry Patch Kids Recipe Round Up

ABCs & 123s - Cookies for Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation week is May 3-9 this year.

Looking for something fun and tasty to give to your favorite teacher? Bake a batch of these cinnamon sugar cookies to say "Thank You" for all of their hard work.


What You Need

1/2 cup shortening (part butter or margarine)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sour cream


What You Do

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix shortening, sugar, egg, & vanilla thoroughly. Blend dry ingredients. Add to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream. Divide dough; roll out on a well-floured board. Cut with cookie cutters (metal cookie cutters w/ open tops are the easiest) You can make these as thick as you want... the thicker, the chewier.

Place cookies on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 6-7 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. Remove to cooling racks to cool completely before icing.


Choose The Right Icing:
If you are planning on eating the cookies immediately and not storing them, you can frost them with confectioner's sugar icing. This quick and easy icing will harden slightly once it's on the cookies but will not harden enough to stack the cookies without ruining the designs on your cookies.


Confectioner's Sugar Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSP water
1/4 tsp. of flavored extract such as vanilla (optional). Make sure to use clear extract because any color will tint the icing.

If you are planning on packing the cookies in containers, I would recommend using this Royal Icing recipe. It takes a bit more work in the beginning but the end results are quite worth it when the cookies keep their "freshly made" appearance. This icing will harden to allow stacking in containers without ruining any of the cookie's designs.

Royal Icing:

1 1/2 TBSP meringue powder
2 cups sifted icing sugar
3 tablespoons cold water

Mix on low with a hand mixer for 10 minutes.


Decorating Cookies:
Divide icing into 3 bowls. Tint one bowl of icing green, one bowl red and one bowl blue. Decorate cookies and give ample time to air dry.

Freezing Cookies:
Line a baking sheet with wax paper, then lay cookies in a single layer onto the paper. Freeze. Once frozen, the cookies can be stacked on top of each other. To thaw, place cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet or plate-do not thaw cookies while they are stacked together or the icing will stick to the other cookies.

Cheesecake Filled Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These plump strawberries filled with cheesecake, dipped in chocolate and then drizzled are perfect for birthdays, parties, celebrations, and holidays.



What You Need:
Whole Strawberries
Philadelphia Ready-To-Eat Cheesecake filling
Good Quality Dipping Chocolate

What You Do:
Carefully wash strawberries and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the stems from the berries.

Using a small paring knife, core the center of each berry being careful to leave the bottom in tact.Fill a plastic baggie with the cheesecake filling. Fill each berry with cheesecake continuing on top of berry with a pretty design.

Line a small baking sheet with wax paper.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt dipping chocolate at 30-second intervals until chocolate is smooth and creamy. Dip each strawberry into chocolate, covering 3/4 of the berry. Lay on baking sheet. Fill a second plastic baggie with chocolate and drizzle over the berries in a pretty design. Chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Store in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator.