SKILLET CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

From "Cooks Illustrated The Best 30-Minute Recipe"

INGREDIENTS
5 oz white mushrooms, sliced
1small onion, minced
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2  cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of dry egg noodles
½  cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups of left over chicken
1 tbsp parsley, minced
10 Ritz crackers, coarsely crushed

DIRECTIONS
1. Saute mushrooms, onion and salt. Add broth, cream and noodles. Cook until noodles are cooked and sauce has thickened. Add peas, chicken and parsley; season and sprinkle crumbs on top. bake at 475F for 8 minutes.

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
15 Oz. Marinara Sauce
 Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ cup Heavy Cream
 Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
Salt and pepper to taste
 Fresh Basil, Chopped
3/4 pound Fettuccine
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
Heat  marinara over medium heat.
Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

Perfect Prime Rib

Standing Beef Rib Roast

3 bone rib roast

Wrap roast in cheesecloth, or paper towels for a week in the refrigerator .

When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Rub the roast all over with olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper, garlic powder, and kosher salt.

Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven until the center of the roast reads 120°F for medium-rare. This takes about 3 hours, but time will vary depending on the size of the roast. Use a meat thermometer and cook to 5 degrees below your desired degree of doneness.

Remove roast from oven and tent with foil to rest for upto one hour. Turn the oven temp up to 500°F.

Once the oven reaches 500°F, remove the foil and put the roast back in the oven. Cook until the outside is nicely browned and crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer roast to a cutting board and rest the roast at least 15 minutes before serving.

Rare: 120-125°F – Bright red interior 

Medium Rare: 130-135°F – Pink on the outer crust with a deeper red center

Medium: 135-140°F – Mauve/light pink colored interior

Well-done: 145°F+ – Brown, no pink

USDA Prime” – top 8% of all US beef (a bit harder to find), heavy marbling that is evenly distributed.

“USDA Choice” – moderate marbling and is a high-quality option that is available in most supermarkets.

“Select” – value-priced, less marbling, potentially less tender and juicy.

Buy the large end cut

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Recipe: Charcoal-Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Lemon-Garlic Sauce

Charcoal-Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Spicy Lemon-Garlic Sauce
From "The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook" 

1 1/2 pounds extra large (21-25 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil for brushing shrimp
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Vegetable oil for brushing grate
For the sauce:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter cut in 4 pieces
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed, about 1 tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Lemon wedges, for serving

Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread the shrimp onto three skewers, alternating directions of heads and tails. Brush both sides of the shrimp with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle one side of each skewer with the sugar.

Light a large chimney starter filled with charcoal (about 6 quarts) and allow to burn until the coals are covered with a layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Open the bottom vent on the grill. Build a modified two-level fire by arranging the coals over half of the grill. Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill, and heat the grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Use a grill brush to scrape the cooking grate clean. Dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding the wad with tongs, oil the cooking grate.

For the sauce: Combine butter, lemon juice, garlic, pepper flakes and salt in a 10-inch disposable aluminum pan. Cook over the grill, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts, about 1 1/2 minutes; remove from heat.

Place the shrimp skewers, sugared sides down, on the hot side of the grate and use tongs to push the shrimp together on the skewers if they have separated. Grill the shrimp, uncovered, until lightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip and grill until the second side is pink and slightly translucent, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Using a potholder or oven mitt, carefully lift each skewer from the grill and use tongs to slide the shrimp off the skewers into the pan with the sauce. Toss the shrimp and sauce to combine and transfer to the hot side of the grill; cook, stirring, until the shrimp are opaque and fully cooked, about 30 seconds. Remove from the grill, add parsley, and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately with the lemon wedges. 

Roasted Sticky Chicken

3 pounds whole chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion – quartered

Combine all spices together in a small bowl. Rub mixture into chicken WELL, inside & out, patting into the skin & try to make it evenly distributed. Put in a large bag & refrigerate overnight. If you don't have time for this step it will still be delicious!
Just before roasting, stuff the cavity w/ onions. If the onion will fit into the cavity whole, I do it this way as we love baked onions.
Roast uncovered @ 250* (YES, THAT'S 250*) X 5 hours (YES, THAT'S 5 HOURS). Baste often w/ pan juices until they caramelize in the pan. Chicken will turn golden brown.

NOTES : These freeze GREAT & I recommend you make several of them at one time since your oven is on for so long! This chicken is to die for & falls off the bone!!!

For Heating: You can bring these straight from the freezer if you want! I've done this for years in my own home & here's how I do it. From the freezer: Put in the microwave on a plate covered w/ papertowels & heat on high X 5-7 minutes. Then, place in a 350* oven X 15-20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Or, you can thaw in the refrigerator overnight, wrap in foil and heat in a low oven for 20-30 minutes.

Amish White Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast . Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. 2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth . Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half.  Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans . Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. 4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Note: use a dish just big enough for chicken

Ingredients

8 tsp Dijon mustard or Dijon honey mustard

8 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 chicken thighs

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix Dijon mustard, maple syrup and rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.

3. Place chicken thighs in oven proof dish salt and pepper chicken. I always spray my dish with cooking spray to help in cleaning later or line with foil saves you a lot of clean up.

4. Pour mustard, maple, vinegar mix over the the thighs. Turning the thighs over so they are fully coated.

5. Put in oven and bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 155 degrees. I find that a meat thermometer is essential in cooking because it allows me to check to see if done without cutting into the meat and losing its precious juices.

6. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

7. Plate the chicken , making sure to spoon some sauce over the top. Sprinkle with sliced green onions, or rosemary or other fresh herbs of your choice.