Crème Brulee

1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
1. With an electric mixer, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a saucepan until it's very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Next add the vanilla and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

2. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

3. To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar caramelizes evenly. I put mine under the broiler of my oven because I do not have a blowtorch. If you decide to use the broiler watch them VERY closely because the sugar caramelizes MUCH faster than you think it will. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Green Chile Enchiladas

1 28-ounce can green chile enchilada sauce (can be found at Hispanic markets, or, if you're lucky, your regular supermarket)
3 large chicken breasts, about 1.5 pounds
1 T. chicken base (or 3 cubes of bouillon)
8 ounces shredded cheese (mozzarella, monterey jack, or pepper jack)
1 c. chopped olives
1 c. sour cream (can use non-fat)
10 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil chicken in water and chicken base until cooked. Cool and shred.

While chicken is cooking, heat 1/2 of the can of enchilada sauce in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tortillas in warm sauce one at a time, turning once to cover both sides with sauce. Don't leave them in the sauce too long or they become soft. Remove from sauce and place on a plate. Cover them with foil to keep them warm.

Mix the shredded chicken, sour cream, and olives together.

Fill tortillas with 1/10 of the chicken mix and about 2 T. of cheese. Roll and place in a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake for 45 minutes, or until completely heated.

4th of July Dessert

½ gallon vanilla ice cream
½ gallon chocolate
6 heath bars, or heath toffee bits (1 bag)
1 pkg mothers macaroon cookies
1 bottle chocolate fudge sauce (smuckers)

1. Crush the cookies and heath bars into chunks. Let the ice cream sit on the counter to soften (really soft).
2. Sprinkle the bottom of a 9 inch spring form or 9x13 in pan with a 1/3 of the cookies, then layer all of the chocolate ice cream on top of the cookies.
3. Next sprinkle a 1/3 more of the cookies and ½ of the heath bars on top of the chocolate ice cream. Next pour ½ bottle of the chocolate sauce on the heath bars.
4. For the next layers add the vanilla ice cream, then the rest of the cookies, and then the rest of the heath bars.
5. For the last layer drizzle the rest of the chocolate sauce on top.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 recipe Marinade (recipe below)
2 medium onions (cut into 1/2 –inch thick slices (about 4 cups)
2 medium red peppers, cut into bit-sized strips (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp butter, softened
4 sandwich rolls, split (ciabatta)
4 thin slices provolone cheese

Marinade: (combine the following)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp greek or italian seasoning (dried)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

1. Between two pieces of plastic, wrap, pound chicken to ½ inch thickness. Place in Ziploc bag. Add marinade; seal bag. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
2. Drain chicken; discard marinade. In a large skillet cook onions and sweet peppers, covered, in hot oil over medium-low heat 13-15 minutes or until tender; stir occasionally. Uncover; add 2 cloves garlic; cook and stir over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes more or until onions are golden. Stir in vinegar and ¼ tsp each salt and black pepper. Cook until vinegar evaporates. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. Grill chicken on rack of uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 8-11 minutes or until no longer pink; turn once. Combine butter and 1 clove garlic. Spread on cut sides of rolls. Grill rolls, cut sides down, 1-2 minutes until golden. Place cheese on bottom halves of rolls. Top with chicken and vegetables. Add tops.

Makes 4 sandwiches

Chicken Sate

I got this recipe from Familyfun.com.

"This delicious chicken tastes better the longer it marinades. Consider letting it sit overnight for the best flavor.

Chicken and Marinade
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. OJ
1 T. honey
1 T. oil
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 t. sesame oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes

Sate Sauce
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/4 cup. OJ
1 T. soy sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 T. sugar
1/4 c. smooth peanut butter

1. For the chicken and the marinade: Whisk all the ingredients except the chicken together in a medium bowl.
2. Add the chicken cubes, turn to coat, and marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours (The sauce can be make ahead of time too and chilled for the same amount of time.)
3. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Thread the chicken on to skewers, if you're using them, or just put the pieces on a foil-lined pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, for the sate sauce: Whisk together everything except for the PB in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Over low heat, whisk in the PB (it will be messy at first) until smooth. Whisking constantly, heat the sauce until it has thickened, about 10 minutes.
6. Serve the sauce as a dip for the chicken. Serves 4."

e-notes: We just made this last nite and our whole family loved it - it is really tasty! The boys loved the dipping part - especially dipping it into PB sauce. How fun is that? I made up my marinade and sauce at about 9am that same day. Of course, for the sate sauce I didn't add the PB until I started cooking it over low heat.

I place mine on foil-lined pan. It probably took 15-20 minutes to cook. I didn't discard the marinade and so the chicken was "wet" looking. I think I'd discard the marinade next time.

I didn't "constantly" whisk my sate sauce for 10 minutes. It turned out good. It wasn't especially thick, but I think it was just fine.

We actually found some "fondue skewers" and let the kids even use them - scary. It was really tasty, different, and fun.

Cake Ice Cream

This really isn't a recipe, but just mixing together some stuff to make some yummy ice cream. I had made cupcakes one day (for our family's Cupcake Day, of course) and then decided to crumble the extra/un-eaten cupcakes a couple days later and put it in the freezer. Then we bought some cheap, fat-free, and sugar-free ice cream. I let it sit out until softened and then I mixed in the crumbled cupcake. Then I put the ice cream in a container and back in the freezer. It was oh-so-good. You can buy the totally cheap ice cream - and fat-free and even sugar-free (I usually hate the sugar-free stuff) - because you are adding the yummy cupcakes (I even did my cupcakes 3 parts applesauce and 2 parts oil - moister and less-fat). It's a very delicious treat.