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Chicken plays a big part in the diet at our house. I'm constantly clipping appealing chicken recipes to add to my repertoire. Many years ago I found in the July 1993 issue of Gourmet Magazine a recipe for maple- barbecued chicken. You have to make the barbecue sauce for this recipe, which is pretty straight forward. For me, I have all the items in house. The sauce requires Dijon mustard, chicken broth and pure maple syrup. You do have to allow time for the barbecue sauce to reduce for 50 minutes, so planning ahead is necessary.
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I recently came into possession of a new flavor enhancement for cooking. Villa Grimelli Balsamic Glaze White, which is balsamic reduction, that can be used right from the bottle or in my case, mixed with other ingredients. 

I had to work until 6 p.m. the other evening and had some boneless chicken breasts ready for grilling. Fortunately, I now had this balsamic glaze to use, but was a bit hesitant about using it alone. I decided to add some Dijon mustard and fresh thyme to the balsamic glaze. All the measurements were eyeballed, but were spot on. I cooked the chicken on one side and when I turned the breasts over, brushed it with a bit of the mixture. The chicken tasted delicious, you got a bit of sweetness and tang from the balsamic glaze and mustard, but had the aroma of the thyme which helped bring all the flavors together. Balsamic glazes are a great way to change the ordinary to extraordinary
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I had some people over this weekend for a get together. With the weather being so hot, I didn't want either myself or my husband standing over a grill making hot dogs and hamburgers. I thought, too, some people may be tired of the usual summer fare. Instead, I opted for a total do a head menu, all prepared from previous, and recently, made recipes. I made my tri-color pasta fusilli with roasted peppers, tomatoes and mozzarella, buffalo chicken (used ground turkey instead) meatball sliders and slow cooker beef sliders. Also, because it's summer, you have to have corn on the cob. For dessert I made carrot cake and muffin tin donuts. All the recipes can be found on my recipe page. 
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My husband had a pumpkin from last Halloween composting in our small side garden. The result was we had a huge pumpkin plant growing with large leaves, plenty of blossoms, but no sign of pumpkins. My husband picked some blossoms and I decided I would fill them and fry them up for supper one evening.
 
The only and I time that I have had these, the person just dredged the blossoms in a loose batter and deep fried them. However, I had a small amount of ricotta in the refrigerator so I got the idea to fill them. I searched bonappétit.com and found a recipe for ricotta stuffed squash blossoms. I had just enough ricotta left and had fresh chives growing in a container, but decided not to add the mozzarella that the recipe called for.
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Last week I brought my 87 year old aunt down to my home for a few days. I was a bit surprised that she didn't give me an argument about coming down. However, when you have a water view while eating breakfast and someone preparing all your meals, one can easily get use to life like this. 

My aunt last had an extended stay at our home over 25 years ago. Back then, she treated my family to dinner at the Breakers in Spring Lake. Well, it was time to return the favor with my husband and I taking her back there this summer. I purchased a new outfit for her to wear and  our son and daughter-in-law came along. 
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I recently switched jobs and I now find I have a chunk of time where I can actually read my magazines. For many years now, I have been subscribing to Southern Living Magazine. It has articles on home, garden, travel and, of course, food.
 
When catching up on the April 2017 issue, I found a recipe for Sweet-and-Spicy Chicken Drumsticks with Squash. I was hesitant to try the recipe as it called for hot pepper jelly. I had a house guest that may not have enjoyed such spiciness. However, I decided to give it a try.
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My husband had the opportunity during a business trip to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. He brought me home a cookbook from there called Bounty of Biltmore Cookbook. The recipes are a collection from the chefs in the Biltmore Estate's three signature restaurants.

With New Jersey peaches now in season, a recipe for grilled teriyaki pork chops with summer peach salsa recently caught my eye.  
As the day was quite hot when I  decided to prepare this dish, I went to a local butcher, Mr. Prime Old Tyme Butcher in Manasquan, for the pork chops. They were rather pricey at $11.99/lb., but they were fabulous. They more moist and tender after grilling. I wouldn't hesitate purchasing them again.

The produce came from Delicious Orchards. I purchased red flesh plums for the salsa for additional color. I waited a day to prepare the salsa so the fruit had time to ripen a bit more. I prepared it early in the morning, so that by supper time, the salsa had time for the flavors to meld together. 

Although this recipe required some prep time, I don't recall it taking more than an hour to prepare both the pork chop marinade and the salsa. Now's the time to use New Jersey's best fruit and produce and try something different tonight!
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On evenings, when there's nothing to watch on TV, my husband and I will cruise the public broadcasting stations for cooking shows. America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Country and any show with Lidia Bastianich are our favorite. One evening on Cook's Country, one of the chefs was preparing muffin tin donuts. They looked easy and delicious. You didn't fry the donuts, but baked them in the oven. Other than buttermilk, the ingredients are pantry staples. 

On Saturday I gave the recipe a whirl. I had all the ingredients in house and whipped up a batch quickly. Once they were out of the oven, I brushed the donuts melted butter and rolled them in cinnamon and sugar. I gave my husband a warm one to try and he loved it. I'm sure you could probably dust them powdered sugar without brushing on butter, or how about a plain or chocolate glaze? ​
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My daughter and her sister-in-law participate in the Dreyer Farms CSA in Cranford, NJ. Recently when my daughter was down, she brought me the remnants of her CSA box. The box contained some items that I haven't before such as kale, kohlrabi and kabocha squash. As some of the items starting to go beyond their prime, I began researching some recipes to try these item. 
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The first of New Jersey tomatoes have arrived at Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck. I had my husband bring several home this weekend. My husband and I prefer white bread, mine lightly toasted, a smear of Hellmans Mayonnaise on both sides and thinly sliced tomato. Season with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt. What is can be better for lunch? 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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