Mushroom Cream Sauce over Chicken

I'm really beginning to see an improvement in my cooking. I used to be very intimidated to stray too far from a recipe fearing I would do something to really mess up a meal. But, last night I made up my own mushroom cream sauce without following a recipe at all! It turned out fabulous.

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup chicken stock (or more depending how thick you want the sauce)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

generous pinch of crushed black pepper

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons of flour

1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add mushroom slices and sautee until tender (about 3-5 minutes). Sprinkle with pepper and onion and cook another minute. Add flour and stir well. Pour in chicken stock, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add cheese and half and half. Continue to stir the mixture for a few more minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Taste and add additional pepper if needed. Serve warm over cooked chicken breasts or other protein. This will make approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sauce (depending on how much stock you add).

Southern Cornbread

This recipe is straight from the back of the White Lily cornmeal mix bag. I don't use any other recipe when it comes to cornbread as this one turns out perfectly every time! One tip, always use a well seasoned cast iron skillet for this. It's great with chili or for cornbread dressing.

Ingredients:

•	Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
•	2 cups White Lily® Self-Rising Cornmeal Mix
•	1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
•	1/4 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
OR	1/4 cup melted Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
•	1 large egg, lightly beaten




Instructions:

1.	HEAT oven to 425°F. Coat 8- or 10-inch ovenproof skillet or 8x8-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. Place in oven to heat.
2.	BLEND together cornmeal mix, milk, oil, egg and sugar just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Carefully remove skillet from oven. Pour batter into heated skillet.
3.	BAKE 25 to 30 minutes for 8-inch skillet, 20 to 25 minutes for 10-inch skillet or 25 to 30 minutes for 8x8-inch pan.
4.	REMOVE from oven, cut into wedges or squares and serve immediately.

Halibut Steaks

This picture is borrowed as I was too lazy to get up to grab my camera during last night's dinner. I made Orca Bay Halibut Steaks from Earthfare using a little bit of canola oil, sea salt, crushed black pepper and a 1/2 teaspoon of diced garlic on top of each steak. Cook at 375 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes and serve. Turn over once during cooking. It's that easy. Served with a huge salad and a roll leftover from our Thanksgiving feast!

photo via Orca Bay

Chicken Stir Fry

Very easy chicken stir fry and was much healthier than take out.

1 package of chicken tenders or breasts, cut into bite size chunks

2 crowns of broccoli

1 cup shredded carrots

1 small package of mushrooms

1 small zucchini

canola oil (2 tablespoons)

powdered ginger

onion powder

garlic powder

crushed red pepper flakes

soy sauce

Get the chicken cooking in a wok over high heat. The smaller the pieces the faster the chicken will cook. Meanwhile, chop up all your veggies. Once the chicken is done and in veggies. Season with as much ginger, onion and garlic powder as you wish. I didn't measure but I'm estimating I used about 1/2 tablespoon of each. Add in 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of the crushed red pepper flakes - depending on how hot you want the dish to be. Finish with a few tablespoons of soy sauce, I used low sodium.