Friday Foodie

I have a couple of recipes for today.  I'm almost through with my Christmas baking, I made some of our favorites and added a newbie - Peppermint Fudge!  But first, some "real" food:

Baked Mushroom Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 lb.)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
3 T. butter, divided
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Flatten each chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness.  Place flour in a resealable plastic bag; add chicken, a  few pieces at a time.  Seal and shake to coat.
2.  In a large skillet, brown chicken on both sides in 2 tablespoons butter.  Transfer to greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
3.  In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in remaining butter until tender.  Add broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, cook for 5 minutes.  Spoon over chicken.
4.  Bake uncovered at 375 for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake additional 5 minutes.

I have made this a few times and it tastes great but tended to be a little dry.  This time I doubled the chicken broth to one cup and that really made a difference.  It also kept the leftovers from drying out too much.  This made 6 servings for us. 

Peppermint Fudge

24 ounces (about 4 cups) white chocolate chips
1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed peppermint candies

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment or waxed paper, allowing the paper to hang over the sides. (I wasn't pay attention and use a 9x13 inch pan)
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the white chocolate chips, the condensed milk, and the salt.
3. Melt the mixture according to the white chocolate package directions, then stir in the vanilla extract and 1 cup of the peppermint candies.
4. Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly.
5. Sprinkle on the remaining peppermint candy.
6. Chill the fudge in the refrigerator until it's firm and set, about 2 hours

Use the overhanging flaps of paper to lift the fudge from the pan, then slice it into 1 inch squares. Yields about 64 candies. Tip: crush the peppermint before you start melting the chocolate, it needs to be ready to add in before the fudge sets.

What is it about Christmas and peppermint? My mother-in-law sent this recipe and it's a winner! She told me in email this morning, "The last piece of it here ended up in a cup of hot cocoa!" That gave me a great idea, since it was a cold 38 degrees here this morning. The first piece of it here ended up in a cup of hot cocoa!

I also made Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies, Sugar cookies, Scotcheroos, and White Chocolate Chex Mix. Gingerbread cookies are the last on my list and I'm getting ready to roll those out now! Recipes for all of these can be found here.