Using It Up Challenge March 1-4 //Becky Acre Homestead

 

Baked Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli


Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried pasta
  • 1⁄2 cup butter
  • 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour 
  • 1 1⁄2 cups half and half
  • 2 1⁄2 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups monterey jack cheese
  • 1⁄3 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 cups chicken, (optional)
  • 1 pound broccoli, frozen (optional)

Directions

Pre-Heat Oven to 400 degrees

  1. Cook pasta
  2. Put butter and flour in a dutch oven and cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes to cook the raw flour taste out.
  3. Add milk, half and half, salt, pepper, mustard, and cook until white sauce thickens.
  4. Once thickened room sauce from the heat and add cheese, save some cheese for topping the casserole.
  5. Mix in chicken and broccoli
  6. Put into a buttered 9 by 13-inch casserole pan
  7. Cover with breadcrumbs and cheese
  8. Bake for 30-45 min or until golden brown and bubbly

The BEST Lemon Chicken AKA Smashed Chicken

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast 
  • 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
  • 1⁄4 cup olive oil 
  • 1⁄4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon oregano
  • zest from one lemon
  • pinch of red pepper flakes, optional but highly recommended

Directions

Pre-heat oven on Broil

  1. Flatten each chicken breast to 1/4 inch and put it into a zip lock bag
  2. Add all of the marinade ingredients into the bag
  3. Marinate chicken for 30 min
  4. Place oven rack on the top tear
  5. Broil chicken on each side for 3-4 min or until chicken is fully cooked through

Honey Garlic Chicken Breast

ngredients

  • 500g / 1 lb chicken breast , boneless and skinless (2 pieces)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup flour (Note 1)
  • 3 1/2 tbsp (50g) unsalted butter (or 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil)
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white or other clear vinegar)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 2)
  • 1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup)

Instructions

  • Cut the breasts in half horizontally to create 4 steaks in total. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
  • Place flour in a shallow dish. Coat chicken in flour and shake off excess.
  • Melt most of the butter in a large skillet over high heat – hold back about 1 tsp for later.
  • Place chicken in skillet and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until golden. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute.
  • Turn heat down slightly to medium high.
  • Make a bit of room in the pan and add garlic and top with remaining dab of butter. Stir garlic briefly once butter melts.
  • Add vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Stir / shake pan to combine. Bring sauce to simmer, then simmer for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
  • Turn chicken to coat in sauce. If the sauce gets too thick, add a touch of water and stir.
  • Remove from stove immediately. Place chicken on plates and drizzle over remaining sauce.

Recipe Notes:

1. Gluten free – use cornflour / cornstarch instead. It won’t brown quite as evenly but once covered in sauce, you won’t know the difference.
2. Soy Sauce – Light or all purpose soy sauce is suitable for this recipe. I don’t recommend using Dark Soy Sauce (flavour will dominate, bottle label will say if it is Dark Soy Sauce).
3. Other proteins: This sauce is ideal to use for any protein that is suitable for searing in a pan. Use chops, steaks, cutlets! Follow the recipe as written, including dusting the protein with flour. Just adjust the cook time – the trick is to add the garlic and other sauce ingredients before it is fully cooked through, so the meat finishes cooking as the sauce reduces down into a syrupy consistency.
Tofu – Use FIRM tofu. Cut “steaks” about 0.75cm / 1/4″ thick. Pat dry, spray or rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, THEN lightly coat with flour. Coat base of skillet with oil over medium high heat, then cook tofu 1 min each side until crispy, then remove onto paper towels. Then make the sauce in a small saucepan or skillet using just 2 tbsp (30g) butter (instead of 3.5 tbsp), following recipe from Step 5. Serve with crispy tofu!
Prawns/shrimp – use large prawns (thaw, drain well and pat dry if using frozen). Lightly coat prawns with flour per recipe and sear for 1 minute on the first side, then just 30 seconds on the other side before proceeding with Step 5.
Fish – cook per recipe for chicken breast. This sauce is very, very good with fish! This is a good sauce for economical fish because it’s a strong flavoured sauce. For expensive fish, I think it’s better to let the flavour of the fish come through and serve with an elegant sauce like this Lemon Butter Sauce.
4. Nutrition per serving, assuming you scrape every drop of Sauce from the pan, and why wouldn’t you? 🙂

Taco Seasoning

Prep Time:10 mins
Yield:3cups

Ingredients

 

Directions

  • Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, store in an air tight container

HomeMade Seasoned Salt

Ingredients

Directions

  • Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, store in an air tight container.

Notes

3 tablespoons of this taco season mix are equal to 1 store-bought packet

I buy all my spices in bulk; you can get them at the links below:

Ingredients

Directions

  • Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, store in an air tight container.

Notes

3 tablespoons of this taco season mix are equal to 1 store-bought packet

I buy all my spices in bulk; you can get them at the links below:

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Sally's Baking Recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (240ml) milk
  • 1 cup (85g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
  • 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup (170g) honey
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (140g) fresh or frozen blueberries (see note if using frozen)

Instructions

  1. Combine milk and oats. Set aside for 20 minutes so the oats puff up and soak up some moisture. This is crucial to the recipe! (I usually melt the butter now so it has a few minutes to cool.) Don’t do this the night before as that’s too long for soaking. If you find the oats haven’t soaked up any moisture after 20 minutes, give it a stir and wait 10 more minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use cupcake liners.
  3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, honey, egg, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir a few times, then add the soaked oats (milk included, do not drain) and blueberries. Fold everything together gently just until combined.
  4. Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Top with oats and a light sprinkle of coconut sugar, if desired. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 22-23 minutes, give or take. (For mini muffins, bake 11-13 minutes at 350°F (177°C).) Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
  5. Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days, then transfer to the fridge for up to 1 week.

Fluffy Applesauce Waffle Recipe

INGREDIENTS
  

INSTRUCTIONS
 

  • Preheat the waffle iron. Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Make a well (hole) in the center and drop in the milk, melted butter, applesauce, and egg yolks. Mix together until well combined and set aside.
  • Meanwhile use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites until fluffy and forming stiff peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter – do not overmix. Follow manufacturers instructions with your waffle iron to make the batter into waffles. Enjoy!

Restaurant-Level Stuffed French Toast


Ingredients

For the Cream Cheese Filling

  • 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the French Toast

  • One 1 lb. loaf of good-quality brioche bread
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoon real maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt (a tiny pinch – less than 1/8 tsp)

For Topping

  • fresh strawberries, quartered
  • real maple syrup
  • butter, if desired
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Make the Cream Cheese Filling: Cream together the cream cheese filling ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Set aside.
  • Make the Whipped Cream and Slice your Berries: In a clean, dry bowl, add the whipped cream ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form when you lift the mixer (not while it's running) straight out of the bowl. Cover and pop in the fridge while you make the french toast. Slice your strawberries, too.
  • Make the French Toast: Whisk all the french toast batter ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Spread half the slices of bread with the cream cheese filling. Use the other half of the bread slices to make sandwiches with the cream cheese slices.
    Turn your electric griddle to 275 degrees or heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Give it a very light spray with nonstick spray (this makes cleanup an absolute BREEZE). Dunk one french toast sandwich in the batter at a time, making sure to get both sides coated. Place on the heated surface (I do about 4-5 at a time) and cook until golden brown. Flip, and repeat until all the sandwiches are cooked.
  • Serve + Store: Slice french toast pieces into triangle slices, and top with the fresh whipped cream, sliced strawberries, and maple syrup. Store leftovers in containers in the fridge for a few days and gently reheat french toast as needed.
  • Cleaning Tip: Add a dot of dish soap to a damp paper towel and sort of scrunch the paper towel to rub it in. Wipe the cooled cooktop with this, and then repeat with a clean damp paper towel with no soap. Check in the warming drawers too, to make sure you don't leave any crumbs of food in them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 618kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 318mg | Sodium: 290mg | Potassium: 331mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 2007IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 215mg | Iron: 1mg




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