Raspberry Lemon Loaf

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup soured milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour milk, lemon juice, oil and lemon peel. Add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the raspberries. Transfer to an 8-in. x 4-in. x 3-in. loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield:
12 servings.

Flank Steak with Orange Sauce

Ingredients:
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce or soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
1 beef flank steak (1 pound)
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and refrigerate 1/2 cup for serving. Add oil and ginger to the remaining orange sauce; pour into a large resealable bag. Add the flank steak; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour - overnight.
Drain and discard the marinade. Place steak on broiler pan. Broil 4-in. from the heat for 7-8 min. on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, warm reserved orange sauce until heated through. Thinly slice steak across the grain; serve with sauce.

Chicken Breasts with Herb Basting Sauce

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
¼ teaspoon ground sage
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°. In a bowl, prepare the basting sauce by combining olive oil, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Turn chicken breasts in sauce to coat thoroughly. Place skin side up in a shallow baking dish. Cover. Roast, basting occasionally with pan drippings, for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove to warm platter, spoon pan juices over, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Yield:
4 servings.

Southwestern Chicken Soup

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans chicken broth
1 can corn or black beans
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped or 1 teaspoon onion powder
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 can chopped green chilies
1 ½ teaspoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
In a large skillet, saute the chicken in oil until lightly browned. Transfer to a 5-quart slow cooker with a slotted spoon. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Stir before serving.
I made this in my large soup pot without a problem. Just browned the chicken in the pot, added the rest of the ingredients, brought it to a boil, reduced heat to a simmer, covered and let it simmer for about 1 ½ hours.

Pork Chops with Cumin Rice

This is another not-safe-for-my-family recipe. But quite tasty.

2 pork chops (3/4 inch thick)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In an ovenproof skillet, brown chops in oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm. Dissolve bouillon in water; pour into skillet and stir to loosen browned bits. Stir in the rice, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire sauce and cumin. Place chops over rice. Cover and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until meat juices run clear and rice is tender. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon-Sugar Butter Cookies

Okay, these are absolutely not safe for my family but my mom requested the recipe recently and, since they are so wonderfully delicious, I decided to post the recipe here.

3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened (no substitutes!)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 F. Combine the first two ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, blend sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Scrape sides of bowl, then add eggs and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in cinnamon-sugar topping. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool, flat surface.
Yield: 3 dozen

Blondies

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 whole sheets cinnamon graham crackers, ground
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
3 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8 inch square pan with foil; coat with cooking spray. Combine flour, cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; set aside. At medium-high speed, beat sugar and oil until combined. Beat in egg whites and vanilla. At low speed, beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. Pour into pan. Bake 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool uncut blondies completely on wire rack; cut into squares.