Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays #6

This week theme for Sharing Sundays is CITRUS!  I have a slight obsession with anything Lemon lately and the summer time is the perfect time for recipes featuring any kind of citrus fruit.....lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit etc.  Also again I love how you can use citrus in both sweet and savory recipes.  So let's see your best recipes featuring CITRUS!!

Our Rules:
1.  Please become a follower of our blog.
2.  Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
3.  Please link back to our blog so others can join in the fun.
4.  Leave us a comment about what recipe you are linking up.
5. Have fun!

Now first let's see the featured pasta recipes from last week.

Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta by Comfy Cuisine


Garlic Chicken with Orzo Pasta by Crumbs and Chaos


Zucchini Spinach Lasagna by Cook Lisa Cook


Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs by Cooking with K


Creamy Noodles by The Kitchen Cookie


Shrimp Scampi over Spaghetti Aglio e Olio by
Wendy the Weekend Gourmet


Okay.......now on to all the delicious CITRUS recipes!

Pretzel Chicken

I'm always trying to find new ways to use chicken cutlets and also make it interesting for my kids.  My oldest daughter LOVES this version of breaded chicken cutlets using crush pretzels.

Ingredients:

6 chicken cutlets

3 cups of crushed pretzel pieces

2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

2 tabelspoons vegetable oil

Preparation:

Beat eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside.  Crush preztels in a large ziploc bag using a rolling pin or some other heavy kitchen object (be creative),  Dredge chicken cutlets in beaten egg and then coat in crushed pretzel pieces until cutlet is covered with preztels on both sides.  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet, when hot add the preztel coated cutlets and cook on med/hi heat until brown on both sides.  Transfer cutlets to a greased baking pan and finish cooking in the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes. 

Linked to Melt in your Mouth Monday

Lemon Ice Box Pie

 I found this recipe while browsing around some of my favorite food blogs.  This was posted on Brenda's Canadian Kitchen and it looked so good and sounded so simple that I just had to try it.  I absolutely love any kind of lemon dessert but this now may be one of my new favorites.  It's light and lemony and has just enough tartness to cut the sweetness.  It's the perfect summer dessert.  I used fat free cream cheese instead of regular and you could not tell at all.  I also left out the vanilla because I had just run out but I didn't miss it at all either.

Ingredients:

1 -8 oz  fat free cream cheese at room temperature

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon of lemon zest

1 graham cracker crust

Preparation:

Using a hand mixer beat together the softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth and creamy.  Pour mixture into a prepared graham cracker crust and refrigerate overnight.  Serve with whipped cream.

Linked to This Chick Cooks
Linked to Sweet Treats Thursday

Fig Almond Breakfast Bread

This bread is yummy. It is a nice departure from sweet quick breads. It is still a quick bread but it tastes more like a dense health bread. It isn't very sweet at all. It has a sweet struessel topping and figs inside but those are the only sweet elements in this recipe. This bread would be great for breakfast, brunch or a snack with jam or cream cheese spread on top. It is a must try.

Ingredients:

Bread:
1 C dried figs
1/2 C boiling water
1 T.flour
1 1/2 C white flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
3/4 C applesauce
1/3 C plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/3 C chopped almonds
1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Streussel:

2 1/2 T brown sugar
2 T. flour
1 1/2 T. coarsely chopped almonds
1 T chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:

To prepare streussel, combine the streussel ingredients in a small bowl stirring with a fork until crumbly; set aside.

To prepare bread, combine figs and 1/2 cup of boiling water in a small bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon of flour.

Place egg whites and egg in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add applesauce, yogurt, oil, and almond extract; stir well. Add sugar; stir well.

Combine flours and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drain figs, and coarsely chop. Add figs and applesauce mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle streussel over batter. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays #5

This week theme for Sharing Sundays is PASTA!  There is nothing more versatile than pasta!  You can eat it cold, hot, room temperature and mix pretty much any ingredient in with it.   Pasta is also great when you are cooking for BIG groups of people....it helps stretch a dollar too.  So let's see you favorite pasta recipes!
Our Rules:
1.  Please become a follower of our blog.
2.  Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
3.  Please link back to our blog so others can join in the fun.
4.  Leave us a comment about what recipe you are linking up.
5. Have fun!

Thank you to everyone who linked up to last week's party theme BERRIES!  Here are some of the most popular recipes.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars by Crumbs and Chaos


Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars by The Sweet Swiper


Blue-Raspberry Streusel Muffins by The Kitchen Cookie


Blackberry Cream Cheese Pie by The 4 Little Fergusons


Baked Waffles with Raspberry Cream Cheese by
The Better Baker


Next on to all of those delicious PASTA recipes!! I can't wait!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are a big hit in our family as they taste delicious but also have a lot of healthy ingredients like brown rice syrup, dark chocolate chunks, and whole wheat flour. So enjoy them without the guilt!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1/2 cup oat flour, spooned and leveled

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup brown-rice syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 T water

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup natural almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda , and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, rice syrup, sugar, egg, water, and vanilla until completely blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients; fold in the chocolate and nuts.

Cover and refrigerate for at last one hour or as long as overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2 inces apart. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.

Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Linked to Sweets for Saturday

Red and White Marble Cake with Blueberry Cream

Great looking cake for a patriotic holiday but delicous anytime of the year.

Ingredients:

1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix

1 box of White Cake Mix

6 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups water

1 box of instant vanilla pudding mix (I used the sugar/fat free kind)

1 can of blueberry pie filling

1 cup of light cool whip

Preparation:

Prehat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Mix both cake mixes in separate bowls according to box directions.  Starting with the red velvet cake batter use about 1/4 of the batter to fill  the bottom of the greased bundt pan.  Next use a 1/4 of the white cake mix and pour it carefully on top of the red velvet cake mix being careful not to mix the batters.  Alternate back and forth between the batters until the bundt pan is filled about 2/3 of the way full. (You will probably have left over cake batter). You do not need to mix the batter together to get the marble effect.  When the cake bakes it will marble itself.  Bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.  Let cake cool completely before unmolding.

To make the blueberry cream, mix the blueberry pie filling with the dry pudding mix until combined.  Fold in the cool whip and then place mixture in the refrigerator to set up about an hour. 

Linked to Sweet Treats Thursday 

Vegetable Panini

My kids love paninis and they finally convinced me to buy a Panini press. This is our go to meal when we need something quick and easy. There are so many endless combinations of different fillings to use, this is one my son Aaron made up.

Ingredients:

ciabatta bread

prepared pesto

sun dried tomatoes 3-4

2-3 slices fresh mozzarella

2-3 slices fontina cheese

small handful baby spinach or arugula

a few slices of portabello mushrooms

Preparation:

Split the ciabatta bread and spread both sides with prepared pesto. Layer the rest of the ingredients on the bread and close the sandwich and place on hot panini press until bread is crisp and cheese is melted.

Guest Blogger Mondays - Quick Fish Tacos by Sharon

Welcome back Sharon.....these quick tacos are not only super simple and fast to make but so delicious!


When I think of fast food, I no longer think of McDonalds. I now think of quick ways to put together dinners with items from my pantry or pre-made items from the grocery store.  This is one of those recipes that has become such a hit with my family and friends.  I've included a Mango Salsa recipe just in case you aren't able to find it at your local grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 piece of fried tilapia
1/2 bottle of horseraddish sauce
1 tub of mango salsa
Hard taco shells
Preparation:

Shred and mix the fish with the horseraddish sauce.  Heat in the micromave for a minute.  Stuff tacos.  Top with mango salsa.  You can serve these warm or at room temperature. 

Mango Salsa
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped·        
1 Jalapeño chile, minced (include ribs and seeds for a hotter taste if desired)·        
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)·        
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped·        
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice·        
Salt and pepper to taste
Also good with diced red bell pepper and jicama.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the salsa ends up being a little too hot or acidic for your taste, you can temper it by adding some diced avocado.

Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays #4

This week theme for Sharing Sundays is BERRIES!  The perfect theme for summer time.  I love also how you can use berries in all recipes, sweet, savory, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  Please link up your favorite BERRY recipes.  I hope to get lots of new ideas of how to use; strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and more!!

Our Rules:
1.  Please become a follower of our blog.
2.  Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
3.  Please link back to our blog so others can join in the fun.
4.  Leave us a comment about what recipe you are linking up.
5. Have fun!

Now for the Featured Chocolate recipes from last week!  The following recipes got the most page views this past week!  Thank you to everyone for linking up Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays.  We really love this addition to our weekly blog posts.  It's been so much fun getting to know you all better.

Rolo Brownie Bites with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting by Cook Lisa Cook


Chocolate Cinnamon Cobbler by Lark's Country Heart


Rocky Road Bars by Mostly Food and Crafts


Toasted Marshmallow and Chocolate Malt Layer Cake by Baking Me

Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies by
The Weekend Gourmet


Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes by The Farm Girl


Now your BERRY recipes are next........

Raspberry Buckle

This is a really easy dessert. The recipe calls for rasberries but I think it would be equally good with blueberries or a combination of both. It is also very light and not too sweet. I made it for our Father's Day BBQ but I also think it would be perfect for the Fourth of July with rasberries and blueberries for a perfect red, white, and blue dessert!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 containers(1/2 pint each) rasberries

confectioners sugar for dusting

whipped cream (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter or spray a 2 quart oval or square baking dish. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to combine. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder; with mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture until incorporated.

Spread batter in baking dish. Scatter rasberries on top. bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and top is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes;dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. With a large spoon, scoop out onto serving plates; serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Linked to Sweet Treats Thursday

Linked to Sweets for Saturday

Asian Glazed Chicken

This has to be the easiest, no fuss chicken recipe out there.  It's just two ingredients (well if you don't count the salt and pepper).

Ingredients:

1/1/2 - 2 lbs of chicken pieces on the bone

1 40 oz jar of Dai Day Duck Sauce (it must be Dai Day brand)

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Salt and pepper chicken pieces and place in greased baking dish.  Pour Dai Day Duck Sauce over the chicken to cover.  Bake in oven for an 1 - 1 1/2 hours basting chicken every 20-25 minutes until sauce is dark in color and chicken is caramelized.

Guest Blogger Mondays.....Today all the way from Abu Dhabi.....Egg and Cheese Manakish (Breakfast Pizza) by Michelle

GUEST BLOGGER of the Week

Michele

About Michele: Hi, I'm Michele. I am the lucky mom of a sweet five year old daughter and wife of a wonderfully talented man whose occupation allows us to travel to some amazing places and live abroad.  After a year of living and traveling in Asia we now call Abu Dhabi, UAE, home. You know the city from Sex And The City 2.

The Middle East was never high up on my bucket list places I wanted to live but over this past year I have truly and surprisingly come to love living in this country. The region is full of culture, ancient history and a regional blend of delicious food. I think I am a little biased about the food since the local dishes are similar to Mediterranean cuisine- it is the comfort food of my childhood. 

I grew up in a Greek family with a father who was passionate about food; cooking, eating, exploring cultural cuisine. He always told me if you want to understand the people from around the world start by eating their food.  I find it ironic that I have unintentionally followed in his footsteps.

One of my favorite dishes from this region is za'atar.  Za'atar often refers to any dish that consists of flatbread, like pita, and a mix of herbs like oregano, basil, thyme and savory. Za'atar also refers to just the dried mix of herbs, spices and seeds. The word is used interchangeably which can be really confusing. Za'atars, are common in Greek, Israeli, Turkish and Arabic cuisine.

The local "za'atar" restaurants serve these bread dishes rolled up like a wrap with meat and salad or flat, cut into slices like pizza. When it is served flat it is called manakish or manoosheh. Loosely translated it’s "arabic pizza". Regardless of presentation, the main ingredient is always za'atar, and usually a lot of it!

The  Za'atar recipe I like to make at home is Egg and Cheese Manakish.  It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack  or mezze.  My daughter loves the idea of eating pizza for breakfast so it is always a big hit.  It is super fast an easy. I hope you and your family will enjoy it.

 Egg and Cheese Manakish / Breakast Pizza

Ingredients:

1 large pita or Middle Eastern flatbread
2 eggs
1 Cup of shredded cheese  (An Arabic cheese called haloumi is commonly used but I use mozzarella)
2 teaspoons za'atar - A mix of dried oregano, basil, thyme, savory.  I use a premix like McCormicks "Italian Pinch". I usually skip the seeds.  It is really up to you.
Add salt and pepper to taste 

Optional variations : like traditional pizza you can add all sorts of toppings such as onions, olives, tomatoes, and cooked turkey bacon. They can be added to the egg mixture before baking or added cold after cooking.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small bowl, beat the eggs as if you were making scrambled eggs. Add your za'atar, salt and pepper to taste. Once the eggs are mixed add the cheese and blend until it is well coated with the egg mixture.  On a baking or pizza tray, place your bread smoother side down. Pour the egg mixture directly onto the bread. Using a basting brush or fork spread evenly so that the egg does not puddle in any one area.  Bake for 3-4 minutes at 350 degrees F then finish under the broiler until the top bubbles.
Slice like a pizza pie.

Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays #3

This week theme for Sharing Sundays is CHOCOLATE!  This one I'm excited about.  I love, love, love chocolate and can't wait to see all the creative recipes out there using my favorite ingredient. Please post as many chocolate recipes as you would like.

Our Rules:
1.  Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
2.  Please link back to our blog so others can join in the fun.
3.  Leave us a comment about what recipe you are linking up.
4. Have fun!

Now for the Featured Chicken Recipes from last week!  The following recipes got the most page views this past week!  Thank you to everyone for linking up Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays.  We really love this addition to our weekly blog posts.  It's been so much fun getting to know you all better!

Oriental Chicken Salad by  Cook Lisa Cook

Spicy Ginger Peach Chicken by The Hungry Homebody

Underground Chicken by The Kitchen Cookie

Sesame Chicken by Cooking with K

Now let's see all those yummy, ooey, gooey chocolate recipes!!!

Pineapple Bread Pudding

+

This is a family staple BBQ side dish recipe.  You can serve it warm, room temp. or cold which makes it theperfect side dish for an outside event.  Super easy to make too, just mix everything together in one bowl!

Ingredients:

12 pieces white bread (cut up/no crust)
2 large cans of crushed pineapple
1 cup sugar
2 sticks margarine (melted)
8 eggs
cinnamon (to taste)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 13x9 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large bowl beat eggs, add sugar and mix to combine.  Mix in melted margarine and pineapple.  Fold in cut up bread pieces.  Pour pinapple bread pudding into greased baking dish and sprinkle the top with cinnamon.  Bake for 1 hour.

*If you don't like pineapple you can use mixed frozen berries

Linked to Sweets for Saturday

Bluberry Pie Stuffed Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy 4th of July!!!

I was trying to find a new RED, WHITE and BLUE dessert to make for the 4th of July and I thought this was really a cool idea.  RED velvet cake, BLUEberry pie and WHITE cream cheese frosting YUM!  It was absolutely delicious too.  I will be posting the blueberry pie recipe later this week or if you want you could use a store bought pie.

*Next I'm going to try different flavors of Pie/Cake combinations since it was such a big hit!!

Ingredients:

1 box of red velvet cake mix

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup water

1/3 oil

1 blueberry pie baked and cooled

1 container of cream cheese frosting

Preparation:

Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Grease a large round cake pan very well (a deep pan if you have one).  Pour 1/3 of cake mix in the bottom of the pan.  Then take the baked and cooled blueberry pie and flip it face down into the cake pan (remove pie tin from bottom of pie).  Pour the remaining cake batter ontop of the pie until it's completely covered. 

VERY IMPORTANT!! Place the cake pan on a cookie sheet covered in foil before baking.  Unless you have a very deep cake pan the cake batter will most likely run over the top and pour over onto your oven if you don't have a pan underneath to catch it.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Check cake every 5-10 minutes after 45 minutes of baking.  When a toothpick insterted in the middle of cake comes out clean it's done.

Let the cake cool COMPLETELY before trying to unmold it.  You can run a knife around the outside edge of the cake pan to loosen it before it's cooled.  

Once cooled turn pie stuffed cake out on a flat platter.  Frost generously with cream cheese frosting.  You will need to do an initial crumb coat of frosting and refrigerate until set and then finish with a final layer of cream cheese frosting to make smooth.

*Note - it's easier to slice neatly if the pie stuffed cake is cold from the refrigerator. 

Linked to Sweets for Saturday

Linked to Make it yourself Mondays

Linked to Motivate Me Mondays

Linked to Made it on Monday

Linked to Chef in Training

Linked to Tuesday Time Out

Linked to Totally Tuesdays

Linked to Tuesday To Do

Linked to Tea Party Tuesday

Linked to Two Maids a Baking

Linked to Tasty Tuesdays

Linked to Take a look Tuesdays

Linked to This Chick Cooks

Linked To Cast Party Wednesdays

Linked to What's Cooking Wednesday

Linked to What I Whipped up Wednesday

Linked to Sweet Treats Thursday

Linked to Bizzy B, Bakes

Linked to Everyday Moms Meals

Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays #2

This week theme for Sharing Sundays is CHICKEN!  Who isn't always looking for a new interesting way to make chicken?  I know we always are. We can't wait to get some new chicken recipes in our repetoire!   Please post as many chicken recipes as you would like.

Our Rules:
1.  Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
2.  Please link back to our blog so others can join in the fun.
3.  Leave us a comment about what recipe you are linking up.
4. Have fun!

Now for the Featured Appetizer Recipes from last week!  The following recipes got the most page views this past week!  Thank you to everyone who linked up for our 1st Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays

Deep Fried Ravioli from U Try it

South of the Border Bites by Cooking with Kay

Prociutto Gruyere Pinwheels by 

That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!

Jumbo Burger Cups by

Brenda's Canadian Kitchen

Jalapeno Popper Bombs by

Piece . Love . Cooking

Baked Samosas by Gluten Free A - Z Blog