jon requested this recipe after we had tried the "orange chip chicken" recipe. there was nothing to it -- really easy to make. one thing wrong with this dish is that i used way too much cheese for the top, creating a thick plastic layer not too appetizing. normally, with cheese i just wing the amount because you can't have too much of that stuff! but, in this case it definitely took away from the rest of the dish.

doritos chicken casserole

2 cups cooked chicken - or more, cut into small cubes
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
medium size bag of doritos, crushed

Grease or spray a 2 quart casserole dish. Cover bottom of casserole with half of the crushed Doritos.

Mix all other ingredients, except cheese, and place on top of Doritos. Put remainder of crushed Doritos on top of this. Add cheese on top.

Bake at 350ºF for 30 to 40 minutes.

i thought this recipe sounded really good. cooking was easy -- the only difficult thing was keeping the breading on the chicken once i had placed in the pan of oil. i've learned since when turning the meat, using tongs, you have to be delicate with it... otherwise the breading just falls off. the chicken came out very moist and with a nice flavor to it. i think using the orange blossom honey really makes the dish.

Orange Chip Chicken
pillsbury kid's bake-off

1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup progresso italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
4 (4 to 5 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 large orange, cut into 6Y¥slices
3 tablespoons orange blossom honey
1 tablespoon butter

In medium bowl, combine egg and milk; mix thoroughly. In shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and potato chips; mix well. Dip chicken in egg mixture; coat with bread crumb mixture.

Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat until hot. Add coated chicken and 4 orange slices to skillet. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, turning chicken occasionally and gently squeezing orange slices several times to extract juice.

Remove orange slices from skillet. Add honey and butter to skillet; reduce heat to low. Turn chicken twice to coat. To serve, garnish with remaining orange slices.

Yield: 4 servings

i had a little difficulty with this recipe. i improvised with ingredients not exact (couldn't find peanut butter cookies, used a reece's cookie dough mix; used non-semisweet chocolate chips; didn't use butterscotch chips at all). first, the marshmallow creme is incredibly messy to work with. i tried to heat it up over the stove first, and had that burnt "smores" effect on the bottom. i tried to just smooth the creme on top of the cookie dough after it was cooked and cooled, but it was very difficult to spread. then, the chocolate chips didn't melt in the microwave -- instead they turned into a very crumbly dust. i added some water and stired, bringing it back to life -- it worked very well actually.

finally, finished product. i cut and tried one for a taste test, and actually wasn't happy with them at all. left them in the fridge overnight, and they taste 100% better, except they are incredibly sweet.

fluffy peanut butter bars
pillsbury kid's bake-off

1 package (18 ounce) pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookies
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup marshmallow creme (from 7 ounce jar)

Heat oven to 350ºF. Cut cookie dough in half crosswise. Cut each section in half lengthwise. With floured fingers, press dough in bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 13 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.

In medium microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butterscotch chips on HIGH for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 minutes until chips are melted, stirring once half way through cooking. Stir until smooth.

Spread marshmallow creme over cooled brownies. Drizzle or spread with melted chips. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set chocolate mixture. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 20 servings

this is one of my absolute favorite salads. i got the recipe from top secret recipes, and it is pretty much dead on. the dressing is what makes the salad. the only adjustments i would make next time is to use more corn flakes for coating the chicken. instead of buying all the various lettuces/cabbages for the recipe, i bought one bag of mixed greens which is much easier.

i've never breaded chicken for frying before, but this was so simple! the most complex part is getting all your ingredients together and crushing up the corn flakes. other than that, it only takes about 10 minutes to make.

applebee's chicken oriental salad

dressing:
3 tablespoons honey
1-1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon gray poupon dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

salad:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 boneless chicken, skinless breast half
2 to 4 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
3 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup napa cabbage
1/2 carrot, julienne or shredded
1 green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Preheat oil to 350ºF in a deep fryer or deep pan over medium heat. Blend all ingredients for dressing together. Place in refrigerator to chill.

Beat egg; add milk and mix well. In separate bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt and pepper.

Cut chicken into 4 to 5 long strips. Dip each piece into egg mixture, then flour mixture, coating each piece completely. Fry each chicken finger for 5 minutes or until coating is brown.

Toss romaine and cabbages with carrots. Sprinkle green onion over lettuce, followed with almonds and chow mein noodles. Cut chicken into small bite-size chunks.

Yield: 1 salad

i'm not impressed with this recipe, entirely. it was okay, but severly boring and lacking in the variety department. it's pretty basic and extremely easy to make. next time i'll try adding in more ingredients like chopped onions and more tomato sauce and/or chopped tomatoes. i added ranch dressing to the side to kick up the flavor. jon tried it with ketchup.

crescent cheeseburger pie
pillsbury kid's bake-off

1 pound lean ground beef
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix (from 1.25 ounce package)
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 can (2-1/4 ounce) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 can (8 ounce) pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 350ºF. In large skillet, cook ground beef, salt, garlic salt and pepper over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in seasoning mix, tomato sauce, water and olives. Reduce heat to medium; cook 6 to 8 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, separate dough into 8 triangles. Place triangles in ungreased 9 inch glass pie pan or 8-1/4 inch round glass baking dish; press over bottom and up sides to form crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Spoon hot beef mixture over mozzarella cheese. Top with Cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges.

Yield: 4 servings

this was featured on the pillsbury kid's bake off, so i figured it couldn't be that difficult! and, it wasn't. the most difficult part was placing the second layer of dough over the top. mine wasn't pressed together enough and fell apart at the various seams. i managed to get it to a semi better state -- but in the end, after it came out of the oven, you couldn't tell where the seams weren't pressed together.

i recommend this dessert for it's simplicity. *i used reduced fat crescent dinner rolls and reduced fat cream cheese. (cut calories where i can -- still tastes good!) i enjoyed it, heated in the microwave with a scoop of icecream.

cream cheese crescent squares
pillsbury kid's bake-off

2 cans (8 ounce) pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 375ºF. Unroll 1 can of dough; place in ungreased 13 x 9 inch pan. Press in bottom to form crust; firmly press perforations to seal.

In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine cream cheese and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Microwave on HIGH for 30 to 45 seconds or until warm. Stir cream cheese mixture until smooth; spread evenly over dough in pan.

Unroll second can of dough on work surface. Press to form 13 x 9 inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. Carefully place over cream cheese mixture.

In small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle with pecans. Pour melted butter evenly over dough. Bake for 20 to 27 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool 10 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve warm or cool. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 12 servings

this is one of my favorite dishes to make. lots of steps, lots of stirring, lots of fun! it looks complex, but once you get the hang of it (and have all your ingredients prepared ahead of time), it is pretty simple.

shrimp and pea risotto
Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef)

approximately 2 pints chicken stock
1 to 2 cups frozen peas
1 pound shrimp, cooked, deveined and peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 head celery, finely chopped
14 ounces arborio rice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 wine glasses dry white vermouth or dry white wine
2-1/2 ounces butter
3-1/2 ounces parmesan, freshly grated
1 handful basil, chopped
1/2 handful mint, chopped
1 lemon, juiced

Heat peas and shrimp in 1 cup of boiling stock. (Use this stock as part of the stock for the risotto.) Heat the reamining stock.

In a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the onion, garlic and celery and slowly fry for about 3 minutes. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice, season with salt and pepper and turn up the heat. The rice will now begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent having absorbed all the flavors from the vegetables.

Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring. (Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.) Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside.

Keep adding ladles of stock, stirring and allowing each ladle of liquid to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite.

Add the shrimp and peas and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan, if using. Stir gently. Place lid on pan and allow to sit for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the fresh herbs and squeeze the lemon juice; stir. Serve immediately, with a drizzle of olive oil over the dish.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings