Disney World Chicken Divan

This recipe comes, via Disney World I would presume, via a yellowed newspaper clipping.

Disney World Chicken Divan

6 boneless chicken breasts or 1 pound tenderloins
¼ cup butter or margarine
12 spears broccoli, cooked
Cream Sauce
2 tablespoons sour cream
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika

Sauté chicken in butter until tender and golden brown on both sides. Place broccoli spears in casserole or baking pan, allowing 2 spears per serving. Arrange chicken breasts over broccoli.

Blend Cream Sauce with sour cream. Ladle evenly over chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season to taste with paprika.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Cream Sauce

½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup flour
4 cups milk
Salt
White pepper

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cholesterol-Free Banana Bread

This recipe come from the May 1991 Good Housekeeping magazine. Okay. I admit it. I’ve been collecting recipes for a long, long time.

Oh, and I rarely ever use walnuts. I live in the Deep South. We use pecans. Why? Because We have a pecan orchard. And they taste good.

Cholesterol-Free Banana Bread

2 ¼ all-purpose flour
2/3 cup honey-crunch wheat germ
½ cup oats, uncooked
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons light corn-oil spread (1 ¼ sticks)
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
1 6-oz. can frozen apple-juice concentrate, thawed
½ cup thawed frozen egg substitute
1/3 cup walnuts, optional
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

About 2 hours before serving or early in day:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. In large bowl, mix flour, wheat germ, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. With pastry blender, cut in corn-oil spread until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in bananas, undiluted apple-juice concentrate, egg substitute, walnuts and vanilla just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into pan.

Bake 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool slightly. Serve warm, or cool completely to serve later.

Makes 18 servings, about 180 calories per slice.

HERSHEY'S Chocolate Cheesecake

I’ve always been a big fan of cheesecakes. How about you? This one is luscious! Trust the folks at HERSHEY’S to come up with it. And don’t forget to check out the recipe for Cheesecake Squares that’s at the bottom.

HERSHEY’S Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake

1 cup salted or unsalted finely crushed pretzels
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 packages ( 8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup HERSHEY’S European Style Cocoa
2 eggs
1 cup dairy sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For crust, in medium bowl combine crushed pretzels and 1 tablespoon sugar; stir in butter. Press mixture on bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake 8 minutes; cool slightly.

In large mixer bowl beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar and cocoa. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream and vanilla; blend well.

Pour into pan. Bake 35 minutes. Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven 20 minutes without opening door. Remove from oven. Cool completely; cover and refrigerate. Garnish as desired.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

Double ingredients above for pretzel crust. Press mixture firmly on bottom of buttered 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Bake as directed.

Prepare cheesecake using recipe above. Bake 35 minutes or until edges are set (edges may crack slightly). Remove from oven. Cool completely

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

This recipe comes from the October 2012 Woman’s Day magazine. It’s the magazine’s 75^th Anniversary Issue and is loaded with recipes. This recipe is an updated version of what we might have cooked had we been cooking in the 1950s.

I’ll just add -- again -- that I always use wax paper instead of parchment paper and I’ve never had an issues with that. I also have used canned pineapple slides, drained, instead of fresh pineapple. It doesn’t quite have the taste of fresh pineapple but it’s something I can keep on hand when I need a dessert quickly.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cut in ¼-inch-thick half-moons
11 maraschino cherries
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 2-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and stir in the brown sugar until blended. Spread over the parchment. Arrange the pineapple slices in a single layer, then place the cherries between each slice and in the center.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat in the remaining 6 tablespoons butter until the mixture looks sandy. Beat in the milk, vanilla and eggs. Beat on medium for 1 minute.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to release from pan. Invert the cake onto a large plate. Remove the pan and parchment and let cool completely.

Makes 12 servings at 224 calories per serving.

Easy Weeknight Bacon Mac 'N Cheese

This recipe -- another great one from Pillsbury -- is especially for those of us who LOVE cheese. And it's easy! Just note that if you check labels, you'll find a whole lots of sodium in this dish.

 

Easy Weeknight Bacon Mac 'N Cheese

 

3 cups uncooked penne pasta (10 oz)

1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ creamy three cheese cooking sauce

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic in water (from 4.5-oz jar) or 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (6 oz)

2 oz American cheese loaf, shredded (1/2 cup) or 4 slices American cheese, diced

1 bag (2.5 oz) cooked real bacon pieces or bits

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, if desired

Garnish, if desired, Progresso® Italian style panko crispy bread crumbs

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

 

Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat cooking sauce, milk and garlic to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until melted. Stir in pasta, bacon and bell pepper. Spoon into casserole.

 

Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Easy Marble Bark

This recipe comes from the folks over at BAKER’S Chocolate. BAKER’S is a must in my pantry. How about yours? It’s easy to whip up something scrumptious so long as you have some chocolate

This recipe gives you the option for nuts or coconut. If you choose the coconut, they suggest toasting it in a baking pan in a 350 degree oven for 7 to 12 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently so it doesn’t burn.

Easy Marble Bark

6 squares BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 package (6 squares) BAKER’S Premium White Chocolate
1 cup toasted chopped nuts OR BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut

Microwave semi-sweet and white chocolates in separate bowls on HIGH 2 minutes or until almost melted, stirring halfway through heating time. Stir until completely melted.

Stir ½ cup of the nuts or coconut into each bowl. Alternately spoon melted chocolate onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet or tray. Swirl chocolates together with knife to marblelize.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces.

Makes about 1 pound.

Variation:

Chocolate Bark: Prepare Marble Bark as directed, omitting white chocolate. Use 12 squares BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate or 3 packages (4 oz. each) BAKER’S GERMAN’S Sweet Chocolate.

Philly Brunch Quiche

I’ve always found that some of the best recipes come from the folks who actually make the products. This recipe is from the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese folks. One of my all time favorite recipes comes from them so I can’t wait to give this one a try as well.

“Philly” Brunch Quiche

1 10-inch baked pie crust
1 8-oz. package Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup milk
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon PARKAY Margarine
1 cup finely chopped ham
¼ cup chopped pimento
¼ cup finely chopped green pepper
Dash of pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine cream cheese and milk in saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Gradually add cream cheese mixture to eggs, mixing until well blended.

Sauté onions in margarine. Add onions and remaining ingredients to cream cheese mixture. Mix well.

Pour into pastry shell. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until set.

Makes 8 servings.