Delicious Chicken/Cranberry Braid

Ohhh...This is sooo good!!! My daughter
gave me this wonderful recipe for a
CHICKEN/CRANBERRY BRAID....

I changed the original recipe from Turkey
to Chicken.. Ham would work, too. The
flavors are sooo incredible...the Swiss Cheese
melting into the Chicken...the Cranberries
bursting with flavor & sweetness, along with
the crispness of Celery, crunch of Walnuts,
& the little bite that comes with the Dijon
mustard....Quite a WOW combination...

I don't even like celery but in this.....I love it....
I've made this 2 times in the last week..
It was that good!!!

This recipe comes from the"Season's Best
Recipe Collection" 2000 from Pampered
Chef...



Below: is the "Pampered Chef....Stone."
They have some great recipes & ideas...I never
knew what a "Stone" was to cook on until I was
invited to a Pampered Chef Party many yrs. ago.

Some of the things "a stone" does is to cook Pizza,
Cookies, & this Braid thoroughly.... You don't
have to worry about the middle being cooked
all the way through as well as the edges....It
just does it.....
Recipe
2 pkgs. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 c. cooked chicken (chopped)
1/2 c. celery (sliced)
3 Tbsp. parsley (fresh or dried)
1 c. Swiss cheese (shredded)
1/4 c. chopped walnuts ( I used 3/4 c.)

1 egg (for gloss from egg wash on top of braid)
Bake @ 350F. for 25 min. (ovens may vary)

In a bowl mix all ingredients together...set aside

Unroll the pkgs of crescent rolls..Place triangle
pieces on stone layered (a little on top of each other)
as shown below....Put straight side down the middle
& pinch/push together to make stick...

Above: shows how to place the unwrapped crescent
triangles...& push them together so they stick...

Next Below: Mix the ingredients together


Now Below: Scoop the mixture onto the
dough (down the middle) A large Cookie
Scoop works great...

Next Below: Take one triangle at a time and

fold over (one side then the other) It looks

mummy like..Ha! It'll look great after you put on

the egg wash...

Above: Beat the egg with a fork or whisk and

use a pastry brush to brush back & forth over the

entire braid for a beautiful gloss & flakey crust.

And out of the oven it comes..Beautiful...

Doesn't it look delicious???? It tastes

as good as it looks...It would Great for

a Super Bowl party...It's great for Turkey

leftovers...Chicken... Ham...

Let me know how you like it......Yummmm...

Easy/Favorite "Chicken Tetricini" Recipe

As promised a few days ago (I made this for a new
mom & dad in our church) I told you I would give
you this great recipe for "Chicken Tetricini."
So here it is....

I got this a number of years ago from my wonderful
friend, Ingrid. I have a number of her recipes and all
I have tried have been fantastic. Needless to say she
is a great cook....and doesn't she have a beautiful name...

Anyway I thought you should have a chance to try this
easy & great tasting main dish. It's truly one that
I make at least once a month. We eat a lot of boneless,
skinless, chicken and this is a delicious recipe to use it in.

Recipe

1/4 c. margarine (I used 1 cube= 1/2 c.)
1/4 c. flour (maybe add more as needed to thicken)
1/2 tsp.salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. Chicken broth (I used 1 14oz. can=2c.) = extra sauce
1 c. Whipping cream (also increased this to 2 cups)
3/4 c. Real Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pkg. Spaghetti (16oz.) I increased this to 24oz.
2 cans chicken or 2 (cubed) chicken breasts

Boil water. Add spaghetti. In another bowl, (I used a
sauce pot) melt margarine over low heat Add flour to
make a paste. Mix in salt & pepper, & chicken
broth. Add whipping cream. Stir.

Add chopped chicken. When spaghetti is ready, drain
& put in serving bowl. Add sauce & stir until combined.
Sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top & stir.

****optional: add some fresh (finely chopped)
parsley or dried parsley flakes.

*******GIVEAWAY ALERT........COMING SOON
Keep checking back... Can't wait to give something
away!!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is absolutely the best Sweet & Sour
Chicken I've had in a long time..... My family
was raving about it as well when we had it for dinner
last night. This is on my Top 15 of All Time -
Favorites...I hope you'll give it a try and see if
it'll be one of yours....

This recipe is from The Kitchen Cafe.....The only
thing is that I had a little trouble when I dipped
the chicken pieces into the cornstarch, then into
the egg mixture, then into the frying pan.....I
managed to make somewhat of a mess.....especially
with the cornstarch/egg mixture.

That being said.......it was worth it....The smell
coming from the oven reminded me of Panda
Express... It was heavenly......I know Rachel Ray
is always saying she wishes her TV audience
watching could have smellavision....I wish
you could have that too.

Note:(I think the best tasting chicken is @ Vons...
when I try others I'm disappointed with the flavor.
It's a 4 lb. bag in the Meat section of the market and
it's called "Young Boneless/Skinless ice glazed
chicken" (and it's frozen) I was able to make this meal,
as well as dinner for another night (Malibu Chicken
w/mustard sauce.....It's my take of Sizzler's Malibu
Chicken which I will post another day in the near
future) The chicken breasts were huge and there
were a lot of them. I think it was a good value....

RECIPE
For the chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
Salt & Pepper
1 c. cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. canola oil (I didn't use that much I used a few
shakes from my oil decanter......I cannot
think of what its called..Does anyone
know the name of this kind of oil bottle???

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season
with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and
then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not
cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking
dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and
pour over chicken.

Sauce:
3/4 c. sugar
4 Tbsp. ketchup
1/2 c. vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt

Bake for 1 hour at 325F. Turn chicken every
15 min. If you like extra sauce, make another batch
of sauce and bring to boil on stove top. Stir constantly
and let cook over medium heat until thickened
and reduced...(about 6-8 min)

(The sauce is so great you probably will want
that extra batch)

BBQ Chicken (Fast/Easy)

I love.....this BBQ Chicken....and so does everybody
else who has tried it.....I'm told......it's really juicy &
delicious..... I really like to BBQ (when it's not hard
& it ends up tasting really good!) I tried a few different
ways of BBQ-ing chicken & this (for me) is the fastest
& easiest way to get Great Results.....

1) I get the chicken (a bag about 4lbs.)
@ Vons on sale price for about $8-$9.99 for
10-12 boneless/skinless breast pieces) The
number of the chicken breasts in the bag can
vary, but the taste is the BEST. Sometimes it
will be $5-$6..then I really stock up. The
flavor is the best tasting out of all the different
chicken breasts & tenders that I've tried.

2) TIP....I fry it on the stove first before I BBQ....
I do 1/2 of the bag at a time....Put a little canola
oil in a HOT frying pan...(you'll use less oil that
way) spread it all around, then I sprinkle garlic
powder.....lite salt.... and pepper on both sides
of the chicken pieces.

TIP..(seer on both sides to keep the juices in....)
Let cook on med. heat til 3/4 done..

3) Put on plate and ....TIP....brush each piece
with a brush or two of oil (on each side) so the juices will
stay inside the chicken...(that was a Bobby Flay's TIP....)

4) Pre-Heat BBQ grill to around 350F-375F....(you
may want to do this before you start cooking the chicken
on the stove so it'll be ready to go when you are)

5) When the grill is ready....put chicken on.....
let cook for a minute or two (with cover of grill
down...to get that smokey flavor) and then flip
chicken over and cook on other side......then start
brushing a coat of BBQ sauce (I used Kraft Honey
BBQ sauce) on one side, grill for a few min. (always
shut the lid in between... to keep the smokey
flavor in the chicken) then the other.....

6) Then repeat (I did it 3 or 4 times) just for a min.
or 2 each time...til they have finished cooking.......
and look done......and enjoy!!!