Greek Chicken Cakes with Dill Sauce

Sorry there is no photo to go along with this recipe. It seems lately we'll be in the middle of eating something and I yell, "Wait!' and go and grab the camera, but missed out on this one completely. I got this recipe from a magazine called All You which is fantastic for new food ideas and coupons. This was a special Weight Watchers recipe so I thought why not give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tbs. and 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp. parsley, dried or fresh
• 1 egg and 1 egg white
• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1. Combine yogurt, 2 tsp. olive oil, dill, lemon juice, cumin, and garlic. Mix well. (This is be your dipping sauce as well as the wet part of your chicken cakes.)

2. Combine 1/4 cup of the sauce you just made, 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, parsley, egg and egg whites. Then add chicken pieces and mix to coat. (I like to get a rotisserie chicken and use it for many different meals instead of cooking breasts all the time.)

3. Make 8 patties about palm sized and coat them in the remaining breadcrumbs. (You can use panko bread crumbs for extra crunch.)

4. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook 4-5 mins on each side until golden brown. Serve with dipping sauce.

REALITY: I would put this recipe in the category of "SO-SO" which is exactly what Tim said while he was eating it. The dipping sauce had good flavor but the cakes themselves weren't anything too special. It is a very filling dish though, but makes you feel like you are eating something healthy and the texture is comparable to crab cakes. I would make it again if we had some leftover chicken to use up.

Bread Machine Pretzels

Okay so I know these look totally bizarre, but the were so yummy it didn't matter what they looked like. I got a great deal on a bread machine before the holidays and have been testing recipes from it's instruction manual and it included these ugly babies. I am sure you can follow the recipe without the machine and just let it rise for the allotted time, first rise 20 mins then a punch down, second rise 50 mins. They turned out chewy and salty and went really well with yellow mustard to dip.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups bread flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 7/8cup water
• 2 Tbsp. coarse Kosher salt
• 1 egg slightly beaten

1. Put ingredients into bread machine according to manufacture directions. Select "dough" setting. Press "Start".

2. When cycle ends, preheat oven to 450 degrees.

3. Divide dough into 12 pieces. Roll each into 8inch rope. Form pretzel shape, or leave in stick form. Place on greased cookie sheet.

4. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt.

5. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden brown.

REALITY: I would RECOMMEND giving this recipe a try, I may even try it again without the bread machine to see if I can get the dough to rise better. I have been experimenting with my yeast using and have found a few tricks to make the dough more smooth.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Caramel Apple Pudding Treat

This recipe came to me completely by accident in the jello aisle of the grocery store. I spied a coupon book on top of a couple of boxes of jello that someone had left there and in it was this recipe among others for the holiday using other Kraft products. The following recipe is for a full 13 x 9 inch pan size. I halved it and used an 8 x 8 inch pan for the three of us and still didn't finish it all. This would be a great pot luck dessert however by the second day the apples may brown, I soaked them in lemon water first, and the peanuts get a little bit "soggy" from the caramel sauce so wait to put the toppings on until right before you leave.

Ingredients:

• 60 vanilla wafers
• 1/3 melted butter
• 1 8oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 1/4 milk divided
• 1 tub Cool Whip
• 3 pkgs (3.4oz) vanilla instant pudding
• 1/2 cup caramel topping
• 1 granny smith and 1 red delicious apple, chopped
• 1/4 peanuts, chopped

1. Crush wafers inside plastic bag. Mix with melted butter in bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan and press to form crust.

2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and 1/4 cup milk with mixer. Stir in 1 cup Cool Whip and spread on crust.

3. Beat pudding with remaining milk for 2 mins until thickened. Stir in 1/4 cup Cool Whip and spoon over cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining Cool Whip and refrigerate 5 hours or overnight.

4. Top with chopped apples, peanuts, and drizzle with caramel topping.

REALITY: I would highly RECOMMEND this recipe if you are a caramel apple fan. The crunchy apples go so well with the creamy pudding and it was so hard to not eat the cream cheese filling by itself. I think it will be a crowd pleaser and of course the peanuts can be left out if you are worried about food allergies.