Mike's GF Chicken Bacon Ranch & Rachael Ray's Roasted Red New Potatoes with Paprika Butter and Parsley

This is one of our new favorite dishes, created by my husband. I usually need to follow a recipe pretty closely, but Mike is a creative cook and can whip up an awesome dish (i.e., Chicken Bacon Ranch) without a recipe to follow. As I had Mike tell me the recipe, I realized it's not the healthiest dish (frying onions in bacon grease?!) but it's delicious! And, our modified version of Rachael Ray's red potato recipe is also pretty good. Mike learned a good lesson in reading cookbooks tonight -- "red-skinned potatoes" does not mean "red potatoes, skinned". We were able to salvage the potato skins before he threw them out and the dish still tasted good. :)

Mike's GF Chicken Bacon Ranch
·4 medium-sized skinless, boneless, organic chicken breasts
·1 packet of Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
·½ lb bacon                                                          
·½ cup cheddar cheese
·½ medium onion, chopped                             
·2 TBS GF all-purpose flour
·2 eggs                                                                 
·EVOO

Cook bacon. Place onions in bacon grease and fry til tender. Take chicken breasts and place on a sturdy cutting board covered in saran wrap. Cover chicken breasts with another layer of saran wrap and pound chicken with metal meat tenderizer. Crack eggs into a shallow dish and lightly beat. In another shallow dish, combine ranch mix and flour. Coat only one side of the chicken breast in the eggs and then coat in ranch/flour mix. Drizzle a few swirls of EVOO in a frying pan and place chicken breast in pan. Put cheese, bacon, and onions into the center of the chicken breast. Place another coated (on one side only) chicken breast on top of the chicken breast in the frying pan, smash the chicken breasts together with a spatula. Brown both sides of the chicken on the stovetop over medium heat. Drizzle a few swirls of EVOO in a glass baking dish and place browned chicken in baking dish. Bake at 350˚ for 10-15 minutes.

Rachael Ray's Roasted Red New Potatoes with Sweet Paprika Butter and Parsley
·3 lbs red-skinned new potatoes
·EVOO
·4 TBS butter
·2 tsp paprika
·¼ cup dried parsley
·Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450˚. Dice potatoes into 1-2 inch sized pieces. If potatoes are small, leave them whole. Place them in a roasting pan and coat with a light drizzle of EVOO. Roast until just tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Melt butter in a small pan with paprika. Transfer potatoes fro the oven to a bowl. Pour melted paprika butter over the potatoes. Sprinkle in parley and season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes with paprika butter to coat evenly. Adjust salt and pepper and serve.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays, This Week's Cravings

Mike's Cider Beef with Smashed Cheddar Potatoes

Mike adapted this recipe from Rachael Ray (it's her mother's recipe - Edna) and made it for dinner tonight. It is a good, hearty meal and we really enjoyed it!

·2 TBS EVOO
·3 TBS butter
·2 lbs beef, shredded (we made a beef roast over the weekend and used some of the shredded beef from the roast)
·Salt and pepper
·1 medium onion, chopped
·Half a bag of baby carrots, chopped (or 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped)
·4 TBS all purpose GF flour
·1 cup Simply Apple juice (or apple cider)
·15 ounces beef stock
·2 lbs potatoes, peeled and chopped
·1/2 cup skim milk
·1/2 cup sour cream
·2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
·3 TBS chopped chives

In a separate pot, boil potatoes in water and a dash of salt until potatoes are soft. Meanwhile, place EVOO and butter into a stew pot over medium-high heat. Let the butter melt and then add beef and cook for 2 minutes. Then add carrots and onion and cook for 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle veggies and meat with GF flour. Stir for 1 minute to assure flour mixes in with veggies and meat. Pour in apple juice and beef stock, stir for 1 minute. Cook until boiling. Once stew pot is boiling, simmer for 5 minutes or until veggies are soft. Remove from heat. Once potatoes are soft, drain potatoes and place potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, sour cream, and cheese and mash potatoes with a potato masher. Once mashed, add salt, pepper, and chives and mix. To serve, spoon the potatoes on a plate and pour stew over the potatoes.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays