Baked Chicken Breasts

Jessica cooked chicken for dinner last week.

First the boneless, skinless chicken breasts get a mayonnaise sauce topping.

Next they are coated with an Italian bread crumb/Parmesan cheese coating.

And here's the beautifully browned chicken breasts fresh from the oven. Jessica even checked the temperature to ensure that the chicken was cooked to at least 165 degrees F and it actually checked in at 167 degrees F and yes, the juices ran clear. The chicken was moist and tender with a mild flavor enhanced by the Parmesan cheese.

Turtle Town Puzzle

We recently completed this 500 piece puzzle with a lot of help from Sarah and some help from other family members.

Princess Academy with Full Cast Audio

Once Upon a Time I read Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I loved it. Now I just had the opportunity to listen to the full cast audio presentation and I found myself enjoying the book even more than when I read it. The different actors presented a great rendition of this wonderful book with protocol, romance, suspense, singing, politics, commerce and much more including communication through Linder (a type of stone). So... if you haven't read the book I would now suggest listening to the book. Available now at libraries and bookstores around the world.

Join Miri and the other girls from Mount Eskel as they attend Princess school to develop and refine their skills in order to be in good standing to meet the Prince. What rewards will they receive if they are the chosen bride? What things will they give up if they leave their mountain home? How does going to the academy teach them about themselves and others of the kingdom?

Blueberry Pound Cake and Sauce

Blueberry Pound Cake
(thank you to Aug/Sept 2003 Taste of Home magazine and Nancy Zimmerman for submitting the recipe)

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
6 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries*
*(if using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to the batter)
Confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) (opt.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together the sugar and butter, then beat in the extracts and then the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the baking soda and flour alternately with the sour cream. Lastly, fold in the blueberries. Divide into two greased and waxed paper-lined 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pans. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out to finish cooling on racks. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar if desired.


Blueberry Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cranberry juice concentrate
6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Combine sugar and cornstarch and concentrate, mixing until smooth. Add blueberries and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir and cook for a few minutes or until thickened. Serve warm or cold.

Blueberry Pound Cake

Blueberry Pound Cake-reminds me of something you'd find at a favorite friends home. Jessica made the pound cake and sauce for her cooking at home assignment last week.

Blueberry sauce to go with the pound cake.

Dark blue and purple delight.

The cake was soft and moist with a slightly crispy crust and the blueberries were evenly distributed through the cake. The sauce was thick and loaded with blueberries that were plump and not mushy.

Divine Dumplings

Dumplings in chicken soup-an example of great winter comfort food:

The five ingredients needed: flour, milk, oil, baking powder and salt.

The sticky biscuit dough.

Spooning the dumplings onto the boiling soup.

Mmmmm, puffy, fluffy dumplings that almost triple in size as they cook.

DUMPLINGS

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP vegetable oil
scant 1/2 cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, oil and milk in a medium bowl. Add more milk (up to 2 TBSP) if needed to make a slightly sticky biscuit-type dough like for drop biscuits. Drop spoonfuls of dough into the pot of boiling chicken soup, spacing evenly. Cover and cook for 15 minutes with no peeking. Dumplings should plump up and rise to the top. Use a fork to gently pry up the top of a dumpling-it should not be doughy underneath. Cook uncovered a few more minutes if needed. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 dumplings depending on size.