This is my first entry for this cooking blog and I am dedicating this entry to my dear sweet friend, Kat Miller. She inspired me to write this blog so I would stop posting so many recipes to Facebook.
In order to prepare and cook good food, you must have some basic items. Here is the short list:
1) A good clear glass 8 cup mixing bowl. I have 3 and sometimes use them all with one recipe.
2) A good mixer. Now I do have a KitchenAid stand mixer but prefer a good hand held mixer. I
have a handheld KitchenAid mixer that is wonderful.
3) A good stone 9x13 casserole baker. A must for good baking.
4) A good bundt pan. Williams and Sonoma has a great one. It is pricey but worth it. Your
cakes will jump out of it.
5) A good whisk, a good spatula and good measuring cups and spoons.
6) A one cup glass measuring cup.
These few items seem simple enough but are of extreme importance to a good recipe outcome.
Since I think it is always best to start at the beginning, the first recipe I will share will be a simple appetizer.
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER **** If you will always keep cream cheese and a can of biscuits or crescent rolls in the refrigerator, you have the beginnings of an endless list of recipes.
Chicken Puffs
1 eight ounce package cream cheese softened to room temperature
1 ten count package refrigerator biscuits
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp poultry seasoning
dash of garlic powder to taste (never use garlic salt)
salt and pepper to taste
Now, the first thing you need to do is get that cream cheese on the counter to soften. Yes, in this age of microwaves, that seems to be the way to go. Not true for me. I like to soften cream cheese and butter on the counter at room temp. until they are soft.
Next, broil chicken in the oven. I usually brush on some olive oil and seasoning salt and watch it very carefully then turn it over once during the cooking. This will take about 30 minutes or less, depending on how your oven operates.
When the chicken is done, cool it and then chop it.. You can do this with a knife or a chopper. Place it and the softened cream cheese into one of those 8 cup mixing bowls. Add the poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
In the meantime, separate the biscuits into 20 rounds by splitting the layers in half to form two thin biscuits. Flatten the 20 rounds using your finger tips to about double their size. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of chicken mixture in the center of each biscuit the pull up the edges to seal and make a ball. At this point, I place them in freezer for later use but you can go ahead and bake them. Place them seam side down on a cookie sheet or, better yet, a stone baking sheet. Bake at 350 until golden brown. Then, if you like, brush a little melted butter on them. Serve and enjoy.
Join me next time for what to do with those leftovers. There's a soup for that......
Please leave a comment. Let me know how it turned out or if you have questions. Also, do you have a request???? I'll try to address it here.
Yummers.....
