Recipes For My Friends!

I've had a couple of request over the last couple of months for recipes, so I am going to share three of my favorite recipes for entertaining!

Chicken Peanut Kabobs

1.Soak about20 6-inch bamboo or wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes.

You Will Need

10 slices thick sliced bacon

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Sauce

(If you are in a huge time crunch, just use the pre-made spicy Thai peanut sauce from your grocery store,otherwise:

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup apple juice or water

1/4 tsp. (for you spicy food sissy's) or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes.

2.Cut bacon into three inch slices, or cut each bacon slice into three pieces. Cook in a large skillet until partially cooked, but not crisp.

3. Cut chicken breast halves into 1/2 strips, then cut each strip into three pieces. Alternately thread 3 chicken pieces and 2 cooked bacon pieces onto each skewer: place in boiler pan.

4. Brush about half of reserved sauce evenly over kabobs. Broil kabobs 6 inches from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Brush remaining sauce over kabobs: turn them over and broils for an additional 3 to 4 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Serve with reserved sauce.

This recipe will make about twenty kabobs, but I like to double it because people LOVE these! You can make a meal out of it, by putting the kabobs over rice and drizzling with remaining sauce. YUMS!

Jen's Dirty Martini Dip

What you'll need:

1 block of cream cheese.

13 green olives with pimentos (makes it oh so very festive)

1/3 cup olive juice (form the olive jar)

1. In a medium sized bowl combine the cream cheese and olive juice until smooth.

2. Dice olives and add to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well and then serve!

I like to serve this with celery (my favorite), pita chips or baguette slices!

Nutcracker Braid

What You'll Need:

1/3 chopped pecans or hazelnuts (I use both though)

1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries (I like to use the orange flavored ones).

1/4 cup raisins

1/8 tbs cinnamon

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed.

1/3 c apricot preserves.

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs milk

1/4 cup

chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray large cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup pecans/ hazelnuts, the dates, raisins, sugar and combines; mix well.

2. Unfold puff pastry; place on sprayed cookie sheet. With rolling pin, roll to form 14 x 10 inch rectangle. Spread preserves in 4 inch wide lengthwise down the center of the pastry. Sprinkle fruit and nut mixture over preserves.

3. With pizza slicer, scissors, or knife, make cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of pastry to within 1/2 inch of filling. Fold strips at an angle across filling mixture, overlapping ends and alternating from side to side.

4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; place on serving tray/plate. Cool for 15 minutes.

5. In a small bowl, blend powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled braid. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans.