Chicken Parmigiana

This comes from another clipping. I’m guessing that it’s an official Progresso recipe, because the company’s name is everywhere. LOL However, I’m a big fan of recipes developed by companies trying to sell their products. They tend to be really good. Hope you enjoy this one!

Chicken Parmigiana

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Progresso Italian-Style Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Progresso Olive Oil
1 jar (15 ½ oz.) Progresso Meat Flavor Spaghetti Sauce
½ cup Progresso Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drip chicken into egg and then into bread crumbs, coating thoroughly. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil. Cook chicken in oil until done and well browned on both sides. Pour spaghetti sauce into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Place chicken on sauce and top with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Makes 4 servings.

Enchilada Casserole

This recipe won the 1989 Picante Sauce “Pick Up The Pace” Recipe Contest. Or, at least, that’s what the old newspaper clipping says. The winner was Alison Boyd of San Antonio, Texas. The Grand Prize was worth $3,000 so it must be good!

Enchilada Casserole

1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ½ cups picante sauce
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt
12 corn tortillas
1 cup dairy sour cream
¾ cup (3 oz.) shredded Monterey jack cheese
¾ cup (3 oz.) shredded cheddar or additional Monterey jack cheese
Shredded lettuce (optional)
½ cup sliced rip olives

Brown meat with onion and garlic; drain. Add picante sauce, spinach, tomato sauce, tomatoes, bell pepper, lime juice and salt. Simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Arrange 6 tortillas on bottom and up sides of lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish, overlapping as necessary. Top with half the meat mixture. Arrange remaining tortillas over, overlapping as necessary. Spread sour cream evenly over tortillas. Top with remaining meat mixture.*

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove from ove; sprinkle with cheeses. Let stand 10 minutes; cut into squares to serve. Garnish with lettuce, if desired, and olives. Serve with additional picante sauce.

Makes 8 servings.

* NOTE: At this point, casserole may be refrigerated up to 6 hours. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.

Microwave oven directions: Prepare casserole as recipe directs in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish or shallow 3-quart casserole. Cook uncovered at HIGH 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly, rotating dish once after 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheeses; cover with wax paper and let stand 10 minutes. Serve as recipe directs.

Potluck Chocolate Cake

This is from a yellowed newspaper clipping. I’ve changed it up slightly. I renamed it Potluck Chocolate Cake because it’s perfect for taking away from home. You bake and serve it from the same pan and that makes it so very easy.

Feel free to decorate it after the chocolate glaze sets. You can use strawberries or another fruit. You could also use candies. Or just leave it plain. You really can never go wrong with chocolate.

Potluck Chocolate Cake

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ cup boiling water
1/3 cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
Cocoa Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1-inch jelly roll pan. In small bowl, combine cocoa and water; stir until smooth. Set aside.

In small mixer bowl, beat shortening, sugar, vanilla and egg until fluffy. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with buttermilk to shortening mixture. Stir in cocoa mixture.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Spread Cocoa Glaze over top.

Makes about 20 servings.

Cocoa Glaze

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons water
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla

In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add cocoa and water, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens; do not boil. Remove from heat; gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating with wire whisk until smooth.

Tasty Oven Fries

This recipe comes from an old newspaper clipping. I love baked fries. You get all the taste of French fries without all that grease.

Tasty Oven Fries

4 large russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
Salt, optional
Catsup, optional

Dip each potato wedge into egg whites and place on nonstick baking sheet. Season to taste with salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, turning after 5 minutes, or until browned. Serve with catsup.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Chocolate-Pecan Brownies

This recipe comes from the Great American Home Baking folks. I suppose I got it in the mail. I don’t really remember. But we’re always looking for quick recipes when we need to take something somewhere. This is perfect.

The baking tips section tells us to cool the chocolate mixture completely before combining it with the other ingredients. Also, test for doneness 2 to 3 minutes before suggested baking time.

I also recommend putting wax paper in the pan, greasing it on top and bottom, as well as sides of the pan. This helps insure that the brownies are easy to remove from the pan.

Chocolate-Pecan Brownies

¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons water
1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter, and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; remove immediately from heat.

Stir in 1 cup of chocolate morsels and vanilla extract until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Cool completely.

Stir in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour mixture until smooth.

Stir remaining chocolate morsels and nuts into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into squares.

Makes 16 brownies.

Baked Bananas

I grew up watching my two grandmothers cook. Neither was big on measuring anything. Most of their recipes were from their memories. That worked great for them but wasn’t real helpful when I tried to cook.

So I started reading cookbooks. And I learned a few basics. Like always pack your brown sugar into the measuring cup. And lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup, then use a flat edge to level it off.

 

This recipe comes from another yellowed clipping. Better get used to it. I found a large brown paperbag full of old recipes just waiting to be shared.

Baked Bananas

1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
1 cup water
Dash salt
1 lemon, zest and juice
6 bananas, just underripe, not speckled or green

In small saucepan, bring sugar, butter, water, salt and lemon juice to boil. Cook briefly until syrupy. Add lemon zest.

Peel bananas and cut half, lengthwise. Place cut side down in lightly buttered glass baking dish. Do not overlap. Pour on syrup.

Bake at 300 degrees 10 minutes. Baste and cook another 10 minutes. Baste and cook another 10 minutes. Serve with syrup.

Makes 12 servings, approximately 132 calories per serving.

Pumpkin-Orange Spice Cake

This is from another old newspaper clipping. I’d substitute pecans -- which all falling off the trees right now -- for the walnuts.

Pumpkin-Orange Spice Cake

¾ cup butter
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Zest of 1 orange
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 cup raisins, optional
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup chocolate chips, coarsely chopped

Combine butter, flour and sugar in bowl and, with hands, rub to crumbs. Add baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and orange zest. Gently mix.

Mix pumpkin, egg and buttermilk together. Add to dry ingredients with raisins and walnuts. Gently stir with fork to incorporate liquid. Do not over mix.

Pour into greased 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan and gently spread. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

Makes 24 large servings, about 108 calories per serving.