Jalapeno and cheddar chicken

Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken
 Ingredients:
 4 tsp Olive oil, divided
 3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
 1/2 tsp Black pepper
 3/4 tsp Chili powder
 3/4 tsp Cumin
 1/2 CUP Onion,
finely diced 3 medium Jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed,
finely diced 2 Cloves garlic, minced
 1/2 CUP Chicken broth 4oz.
Cream cheese
 1 1/2 CUP Shredded cheddar cheese

  Directions:
 Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
 Season chicken breasts with the salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin
 Add to pan and sear for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
 Remove chicken breasts from the skillet to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. (They will finish cooking later.)
 Reduce heat to medium and add remaining two teaspoons olive oil to pan.
 Add diced onion and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until softened.
 Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds.
 Add chicken broth and cream cheese and stir until melted.
 Stir in shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted and mixture is simmering.
 Return the chicken breasts to the skillet, along with any accumulated juices, and turn to coat in the cheese sauce.
 Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 7-9 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. (It will depend on how thick your chicken breasts are.)
 Serve chicken breasts with extra sauce spooned over the top.

Easy Overnight Breakfast Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 lb. roll breakfast sausage, browned and drained
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 8 green onions, green parts diced
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cooked sausage, diced peppers, green onions and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.
3. Lay a tortilla flat on a cutting board. Scoop about ⅓ cup of the sausage mixture close to the edge of the tortilla. Roll up tightly and place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas until the enchiladas are all snug in the dish.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, flour and salt. Pour the egg mixture over the tortillas. Cover the dish with foil and chill overnight.
5. In the morning, preheat your oven to 350*F.
6. Remove the foil from the dish and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the tops of the enchiladas. Cover the dish with foil again.
7. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 10-15 minutes more, until the cheese is melted, the eggs are set, and the enchiladas just begin to toast up a little bit on top.
8. ENJOY!

I made these for the SEM Library staff and for the boys at home.  Not one complaint from the 11 people. Success!

RUDY’S SLOW COOKER CREAMED CORN

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds frozen corn kernels

1 cup heavy cream

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon sugar

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Whisk together heavy cream, cream cheese and butter in slow cooker until mostly smooth.

Stir in corn, Parmesan cheese and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally, or until mixture is smooth and creamy and corn is tender-crisp.

I have never heard of Rudy's Restaurant, but if I ever come across one, I will absolutely stop and order the creamed corn.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1-1/2 cups canola oil
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. 

In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. 

Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Makes 2 loaves.

Pumpkin Bread with Glaze

Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
3 c. white sugar
2/3 c. water

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended.

3 ½ c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp.  ground ginger

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.

Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Glaze:

Combine 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons apple cider and 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.  

Glaze should be thick but pourable. Add more sugar or cider if needed.  

Pour over the cake while still warm.  Reserve some to pour over each slice when served.

I made this for the library staff on Halloween.
I think it was a hit!

10 Minute Stroganoff

What You'll Need:

·         1 1/2 pounds ground beef

·         1 (8-ounce) package presliced fresh mushrooms

·         1 large onion, thinly sliced

·         16 ounces carton sour cream

·         1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

·         Garlic salt and black pepper to taste (optional)

What To Do:

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, set aside.

Add mushrooms and onion to skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until tender.

Add ground beef, sour cream, and soup; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. If desired, stir in garlic salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over hot cooked egg noodles.

The Real Scoop
by Andrew

Definitely needed salt and pepper, but this was good.  We should have this again soon, but without the mushrooms.  

Trisha Yearwood's Chocolate Orange Cake

Ingredients
Cake:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, plus 2 tablespoons finely grated zest
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons orange juice

Directions
Special equipment: a Bundt pan

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the softened butter and 1 tablespoon of the cocoa to make a thick paste. Use this paste to paint the inside of the Bundt pan. Set aside.

In an electric mixer, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup cocoa and mix until blended. Add the orange juice, mayonnaise, vinegar and vanilla and mix until just combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in the orange zest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the chocolate glaze: Mix the confectioners' sugar and cocoa together. Whisk in the orange juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a good consistency to drizzle. Drizzle the glaze over the cake.

You can substitute 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise.

I took this to work for National Library Worker's Day 2015.  I think the staff liked it, but it's not one of my favorites.  I thought it needed more orange flavor and while I can't put my finger on it, it was missing something.  It was moist and thick, but missing.....something.