Betty Crocker� Kitchen Journals

Asian Chicken Roll-Ups for Dinner in 15 Minutes or Less!

AndiatBettyCrocker — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:53:00 GMT

In just 15 minutes, you can make these garden-fresh Asian Chicken Roll-Ups for lunch or dinner. They are so easy to make, that even a two-year old can make them.

First, mix together peanut butter, teriyaki baste and glaze, brown sugar, water and oil. Spread this on a flour tortilla.

Then sprinkle with cooked chicken, lettuce, shredded carrots and cilantro.

Roll them up and they are ready to eat!

Take it Outside

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:19:00 GMT

Here in Minnesota we seem to have skipped spring and headed straight into summer. Temps were in the 90s yesterday and weather forecasters are predicting more of the same today.

I officially kicked off the season with an impromptu al fresco dinner with my friend Lisa. She suggested we grill so I rolled my charcoal grill out of the garage, dusted it off and rummaged around my recipe collection until I found one in which I had all the ingredients on hand (not a simple task, mind you).

Lisa volunteered to do the grilling which was fine by me. She rounded up the charcoal while I got the chicken ready. The recipe was quite simple; just a rub made of garlic, dried herbs, bouillon and pepper, along with some olive oil and white wine. Because there were just two of us, I halved the recipe and made three chicken breasts instead of six (though I didn't decrease the garlic because I believe you can never have too much garlic). I popped the chicken in the fridge ran a few errands while it marinated.

Lisa prepped the grill and when the coals were ready, put the chicken on. I was nervous about how long to grill the chicken but Lisa seemed to know what she was doing. Once the breasts were nicely browned we cut one open to make sure it wasn’t pink in the center.

We added a simple salad (with Julie's dressing, of course) and a glass of refreshing Pinot Grigio and—ta da!—summer dining at its finest.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Fresh Herbs

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
3/4 teaspoon chicken flavor instant bouillon
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 (about 1 3/4 pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup dry white wine

Combine garlic, rosemary, thyme, bouillon and pepper in small bowl.

Arrange chicken in 13 x 9-inch baking pan; rub with herb mixture. Drizzle with oil. Pour wine into bottom of pan; cover. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat grill or broiler.

Grill or broil chicken for about 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in center.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:07:00 GMT

I’ve been hearing and reading a lot about Victory gardens these days. Times are tough and it makes a lot of sense to grow your own vegetables, fruits and herbs. According to Wickipedia:

“Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. Making victory gardens became a part of daily life on the home front.”

The reasons people are growing Victory gardens may have changed slightly, but the sense of empowerment remains the same. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I love to garden, but growing produce has never been my strong suit so I tend to stick with flowers. I do okay with herbs, but blossom-end rot tends to get my tomatoes and critters take off with my bell peppers as soon they ripen.

This year I’m thinking of giving it another try. I plan to start small with some tomatoes and a few herbs. Homegrown tomatoes taste drastically different from those in the grocery store and I know I’ll save a bundle if I grow my own rosemary, chives and basil.

How about you? Are you planning to grow any fruits and veggies this year? Have you grown your own produce before? And, lastly, is there a variety of tomato you recommend that is impervious to bottom-end rot?

Easter with an Edge

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:24:00 GMT

While I enjoyed spending Easter in the company of my family, I am a little disappointed that I missed out on Luke, AC, Amy and The Captain’s holiday meal. Amy added an edge to Easter dessert by creating a Zombie Easter Bunny cake. Basically she took a recipe similar to this one and decorated it with her own quirky touches. Definitely makes for interesting dinner conversation.

P.S. No animals were harmed in the making of this cake.

Easter Recap

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Everyone survived Easter. I had enough food. My Breakfast Strudels and bacon were done cooking at the same time and I think everyone left full and relatively happy. I celebrated after the event by taking a two-hour nap.

I made a double batch of the Breakfast Strudel; two braids with ham and two without. Here’s a shot of what the interior of the strudel looks like before it gets wrapped in the puff pastry.

Here’s a shot of the braids wrapped. I baked them on parchment paper and put a “H” to mark the braid with ham in it. I refrigerated the four braids overnight and baked them Easter morning (orange juice is mixed in with the eggs; the Vitamin C helps them keep their color).

This photo is why I make this recipe year after year. Not only does it taste delicious, but it’s mighty impressive to look at.

Of course there was lots of bacon to go 'round.

A shot of the kids’ table. They had been playing a game in which all the zoo animals get loose—thus the masks.

Jeepers Peepers

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:55:00 GMT

When it comes to filling Easter baskets, I think it’s safe to assume the vast majority of people buy their jellybeans, chocolate bunnies, Peeps and whatnot from the store.

Not Kristen. No, our assistant food editor makes her own Peeps. (One of the MANY reasons she’s in the Betty Crocker Kitchens and I’m not.)

To make the little marshmallow chicks, she used this recipe from allrecipes. She ran into a bit of a problem in that the marshmallow mixture sets up fast so she had to act quickly to form them into chicks. I think her results are actually cuter than the packaged variety. Definitely more personality.

Don't miss these great Peeps contests:

National Geographic

Pioneer Press

Washington Post

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:31:00 GMT

As you may have heard Easter is coming up. I am hosting my whole family which includes eight adults and five kids. I’m freaking out a bit about it. I don’t have a big house and there’s very little of interest for anyone under the age of 12.

“What? No toys? But Aunt Heidi, how can you not have any toys? Do you at least have a Wii?” Sooooooooo disappointing.
I will have some Easter treats but that only holds their attention for so long.

I do have a new family member who may provide some entertainment. Meet Otto.

I adopted him a little over a week ago from a rescue group. He’s been keeping me busy. He’s not a replacement for Mia. No way. No how. But he does give and accept love just as readily and that’s a good thing.

My menu is similar to year’s past. I’m making Breakfast Strudel and bacon (of course!). My mom is bringing homemade caramel rolls and Heidi’s Wrong Potatoes (though she’ll probably make them right, with cubed potatoes instead of hash browns). Here's the recipe:

Heidi’s Wrong Potatoes

1 (30-oz) package of shredded hash browns
1 (16-oz) container sour cream
1 (10.7-oz) can cream of celery soup
1 (10.7-oz) can cream of potato soup

1. Combine all ingredients except paprika. Pour in 9x13-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle paprika on top. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Cut up chunks of butter and place on top.

2. Bake at 350°F for about an hour.

Because fruit is so expensive, I’ve asked my two sisters to work together to create a fruit salad. And my Dad and Helen are bringing the makings of mimosas.

Sounds simple enough, eh?

Well, I’ve still got a house to clean, groceries to buy and two tables to set. Plus, I’ve got a hyperactive puppy who I have a feeling will not happy to have my attention anywhere but solely on him. You think I can teach him how to use a Swiffer?

Not Your Mother's Betty Crocker

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:46:00 GMT

I’ll never forget the day a friend of mine came to visit me for the first time at General Mills. She was asking me all sorts of questions about Betty Crocker and I said, “You know she wasn’t a real person, right?”

It was as if I had just broken the news that there was no Santa Claus. She was crushed. She truly believed there was a real live (at least at one time) Betty Crocker.

My friend has since recovered from the trauma, but for those of you who would like to attach a living-breathing visual to Betty Crocker, there’s a cool new online cooking club you can join (I know Andi has already mentioned the club, but I wanted to add my two cents). Two women host the cooking classes for the club—Lori Eaton and Katrina Szish—and while they don’t pretend to be Betty Crocker, they’ve got all kinds of cooking and baking know-how to share. There are 30-minute online classes, how-to videos, audience interaction and live chats. Thoroughly modern Betty!

The club is called The Mixer. The first show runs tonight at 6 pm CST. Just visit bettycrocker.com/the mixer and sign up. Best of all—it’s totally free.

Save Room for Dessert

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:27:00 GMT

There's a pizza place called Pizza Luce right by my house and I go there a lot. A lot as in probably once a week. I eat there with neighbors and my family and it's great because if we can't agree on a pizza, we can order an individual slice instead of a whole pie.

I had dinner a couple of Mondays ago with my sister, Carrie, and her family. Three of us at the table were able to agree on one of the restaurant’s specialty pizzas called Pizza Athena. It has a bianca sauce which is made with garlic and butter, and the toppings include artichoke hearts, red onion, kalamata olives and feta cheese. It's incredibly delicious and a nice break from the pepperoni or green olive pizza I usually order.

The best part of the night was dessert. With Carrie’s permission, I ordered a brownie sundae for us all to split. I thought Greta’s eyes were going to pop out of her little head when it arrived at our table. The dessert was yummy but really, the fun was in watching my nieces dig into it.

Here's Betty Crocker's take: Supreme Brownie Dessert. For best results, serve the brownies when they're still warm. Yum!

Soup for the Soul

Heidi at Betty Crocker — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:35:00 GMT

I ate dinner with my sister, Carrie, and her family a couple of nights ago. She made Tortellini and Tomato Soup with Rosemary. It was dee-lish. I am ordinarily not a soup person (quite honestly, I typically see soup as a vehicle in which to dip bread or crackers), but this was filling and extremely flavorful. Carrie made it with cheese-filled tortellini AND ravioli. Since pasta is one of my favorite things to eat, I liked the variety.

It's a great soup for this time of year when the weather can't seem to decide to be winter or spring.

Tortellini and Tomato Soup with Rosemary
Makes: 4 to 5 Servings (about 9 cups)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
12 ounces fresh meat- or cheese-filled tortellini or 9 ounces fresh ravioli
3 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

TOPPING: prepared pesto or freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes or until softened. Add tomato, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth and rosemary, and bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Add pasta, stirring to blend, and simmer 5 to 6 minutes more.

2. Add spinach, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring often, 3 minutes or until spinach is wilted and pasta is just tender. Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle with chese or stir in a spoonful of pesto.