The Jolly Kitchen

This week Felicia from Go Graham Go is helping us stay out of the kitchen by bringing us simple recipes for busy moms!




Chicken Squares
Ingredients:1 tube of crescent rolls
1/2 cube of cream cheese
6-8 chicken tenderloins
1/2 small onion finely chopped
1 can of cream of chicken soup

Directions:
Cook chicken thouroughly. Finely chop cooked chicken. Melt cream cheese for about 15 seconds in microwave for easy mixing. Mix all ingredients together.
Lay crescent rolls out flat, spoon mixture onto the biggest section of crescent roll. Wrap sides around the mixture to form a "square" or pocket. Bake according to crescent roll package. Serve with cream of chicken soup on top for gravy!

If you want, you can also shape the dough into a ring as featured in the picture above. Just lay the crescent rolls out like a star and fold over top. This is a wonderful presentation if you are having dinner guests!

This week The Jolly Kitchen is featuring some delicious recipes courtesy of Felicia from Go Graham Go. Felicia is helping us stay out of the kitchen by bringing us simple recipes for busy moms! When you get a chance, you should stop by her blog. She has some great giveaways going on right now and always has the best product reviews.


Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

1 box of spice cake mix
One can of pumpkin (the regular sized can not the jumbo)
About 1/4 cup of water (use more or less to liking)
3/4 cup chocolate chips (tossed in flour so they don't sink to the bottom)

Mix it all together and bake them for 15 minutes at 350!

First, I must give credit to The Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog! I got this Apple Muffin recipe from their AMAZING blog that you must visit. Seriously, those girls can cook and their blog is beautifully done.

I did subsitute the white flour with white wheat flour (healthier option) and they were delicious! The husband and the toddler gobbled them up. I made them 2 days ago and there are only 3 left-we had 12! I have eaten 2-you do the math-LOL!

Now, for the recipe:
Apple Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup salad oil
1 cup coarsely grated apple
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or sub with white wheat flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
1. Beat egg. Stir in milk oil and apples.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients, just until flour is moistened. The batter should be lumpy.
3. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.
4. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove from pan.

These are really tasty and the whole family loved them! I really made them for the tot to serve with lunch or a snack. You can make a lot and freeze for up to a month. You can use all sorts of veggies instead of zucchini such as yellow squash, broccoli, corn, peas, etc.

8 oz zucchini coarsely grated
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 free range egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp white all purpose flour (I used white wheat flour)
2 tbsp sunflower oil (I used olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Squeeze the zucchini in a dish towel to remove any excess moisture. Mix the zucchini with the parmesan, egg, and flour, then season.
2. Heat half the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 tbsp of the zucchini mixture to the skillet for each fritter to make approximately 6 total. Cook in two batches for 2-3 minutes on each side until set and golden. Drain on paper towels and let cool.

These mini tarts are really wonderful and make a great lunch for the kiddo. I give him 1/2 a tart,some veggies, and fruit and he is happy. I made them in actual mini tart pans, but the recipe called for a muffin tin. I made 6 of them, but I froze 4 of them right away. If you try this recipe, I have to warn that it calls for only 2 tbsp of water to make the crust, but I had to add more than that. I just kept adding in small increments until the dough formed a ball and was not dry. The key with making a pastry dough is to not "work" the dough too much. I used my food processor to make the dough. If you do that, make sure you use the PULSE feature to go slowly. Also, I added a bit of chopped ham to egg mixture.


Mini Tarts
2/3 cup milk
4 free range eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 oz grated cheddar cheese
1 tomato, sliced into 8 circles
freshly ground pepper, salt to taste

Dough:
1 1/3 cups wholewheat plain flour
3 1/2 oz cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
pinch of salt


1. Sift the flour into a bowl, adding any bran left in the sifter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it forms breadcrumbs. Pour in 2 tbsp of iced water and stir with a fork, then your hands, until it forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
2. Grease an 8 cup deep muffin pan. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and use to line the holes, leaving dough slightly on top. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Chill the dough shells 15 minutes.
3. Bake the dough shells 6 minutes then remove from the oven. Whisk the eggs and milk together and season. Sprinkle the cheese into the shells, add the egg mixture and a slice of tomato, and bake 15 minutes until set.
4. Cool slightly before removing with a paring knife.

I made these Spinach Nuggets last week. I got the recipe from a toddler food idea website. OMG, seriously, the hubby and I were praying the toddler would hate them so that we could eat all of them ourselves. No such luck, he fervently popped them in his mouth like he hadn't eaten in weeks. Anyhow, I had posted this recipe on one of my other blogs, but at that point, I had not made them. Here is the recipe again with pictures of the ones I actually made. These would make excellent appetizers. I have already added the recipe to my "party recipes" file.


Spinach Nuggets
1 16-oz package frozen chopped spinach, cooked, drained, and chopped further if needed
1 cup whole wheat seasoned bread crumbs
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs or 5 egg whites

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.
*Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example.
Add a fruit or veggie puree to substitute for the eggs if desired.
Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..at this point, you can cook as they are or lightly coat each nugget with some bread crumbs and place on baking tray.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes.
Serve warm.

I made Fruit Jigglers for my 1 year old today and they were a hit and so easy to make. I know, I know this is a obvious, simple uncreative recipe, but I didn't think of making it until I read of another mom making it. Sometimes, it's the simplest things that are overlooked. Next time, I will use a more colorful juice. I used organic apple juice this time and it felt great knowing the little one was not getting any added sugar and eating healthy. It is much better than Jello because you know exactly what is in it. Honestly, it is just as easy to make as Jello. So, here is the recipe:

Homemade Fruit Jigglers
2 cups fruit juice of your choice (100% Natural Fruit Juice)
3 tsp powdered gelatin
1/4 cup small cubed fruit of your choice

Place 1/4 cup of the juice in a cup; sprinkle gelatin over juice.
Stand cup in a small pan of simmering water, stir until gelatin is dissolved.
Stir gelatin mixture and fruits into remaining juice in a medium bowl or square/rectangular pan.
Refrigerate until firm.
Scoop into a cup or cut into shapes to serve. Let your toddler help with the cutting of the shapes! Break out the cookie cutters and make this a toddler activity!