Dessert: Magic Peanut Butter Middles

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/magic-peanut-butter-middles/

FOR THE COOKIES:
* 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
* ½ cups Cocoa Powder
* ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
* ½ cups White Sugar
* ½ cups Packed Brown Sugar
* ½ cups Butter
* ¼ cups Peanut Butter
* 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
* 1 whole Egg

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:
* ¾ cups Powdered Sugar
* ¾ cups Peanut Butter


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and 1/4 cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Slowly mix in the flour mixture. Set aside.

For the peanut butter filling, combine confectioners’ sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Beat together well. Roll filling into 30 small balls. Try to keep the balls all the same size—around 1 inch.

For each cookie, use 1 tablespoon of chocolate dough and roll into a ball. It helps to flour your hands first. Squish the ball of chocolate dough flat and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Wrap the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter ball to completely cover. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass into white sugar and use the cup to lightly flatten the cookie balls. Bake for 7-9 minutes.

Entree: Chicken and Basil Dumplings

http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/01/chicken-and-basil-dumplings.html

Soup:
* 2 tsp olive oil
* 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
* 3-4 carrots, diced
* 3 stalks of celery, diced
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 8 cups of chicken broth (I used homemade)
* 2 cups of roasted chicken, shredded
* 1 tsp dried basil
* Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
* 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

Dumplings:
* 1 1/4 cups of flour
* 1/2 tsp dried basil
* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 2 tbsp butter, softened
* 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Remaining Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup of cornstarch
* 1/4 cup of chicken broth
* 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the carrots, celery and minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, dried basil, bouillon granules, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on medium low for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Combine the flour with basil, garlic powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. But in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Add the chicken to the soup then taste to re-season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, if needed; bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Combine the cornstarch with the chicken broth and mix thoroughly to make a slurry. Add slurry to the soup, simmer for 3 minutes.

Drop dumpling dough, 1-2 tsp per dumpling, (I used two spoons to drop them into the soup) into the chicken soup. Cover and cook for 7 minutes (DO NOT LET THE BROTH BOIL). Add the chopped parsley to the soup and serve. Enjoy.

Entree: Red Curry Coconut Noodles

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/red-curry-coconut-noodles/


Ingredients

* 6 whole Chicken - Boneless, Skinless Breasts (cubed)
* 2 cans Coconut Milk
* 2 teaspoons Red Curry Paste
* 1 Tablespoon Ginger (fresh, Grated)
* 1 Tablespoon Cilantro (fresh, Chopped)
* ¼ cups Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
* 500 milliliters Chicken Or Vegetable Broth
* 1 package Rice Noodles
* 1 whole Onion (julienne)
* 2 whole Red Peppers (julienne)
* 1 cup Broccoli Slaw
* 1 Tablespoon Salt To Taste


Preparation Instructions

Start with a large pot over medium-high heat. Scoop the cream off the top of the coconut milk, and put into the pot. The cream will be used as the “fat” instead of oil or butter. Along with the cream, add the curry paste and ginger. Let this simmer for 1 minute.

Then add the chicken. Cook the chicken through.
Then add the rest of what is in the coconut milk cans, sweet Thai chili sauce, cilantro, and chicken broth. Bring this to a simmer.

Then add your julienned veggies and rice noodles. Simmer this. You will see the broth slowly thicken as the rice noodles absorb it. It should only take about 5 minutes for the rice noodles to be cooked through.

Pull the pot off the heat, and let sit for about 5 minutes. It will thicken during this time. Then, it’s done. Slurp these noodles out of big noodle bowls! Garnish it with a bit more cilantro.

* I have also added peanut butter to this recipe, and a bit of honey if you want a less savoury/spicy version.

Entree: Cajun Chicken Pasta

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/cajun-chicken-pasta/

Ingredients

* 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
* 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
* 1 pound Fettuccine
* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Butter
* 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
* 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
* ½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
* 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
* 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
* ½ cups White Wine
* 1 cup Heavy Cream
* Cayenne Pepper To Taste
* Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
* Salt To Taste
* Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.

Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.

Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!