Chicken and rice

White Sauce:
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. flour
1 ½ cups milk
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 small chicken bullion cubes

1 can cream of chicken soup
4 Tbs. cream cheese, softened

Melt butter and flour together in large saucepan. Add milk, salt, pepper, and bullion cubes. Simmer, stirring often until thickened. Add soup and cream cheese to white sauce. Stir until smooth (may need to add a little more milk). Add boiled, shredded chicken, OR put frozen chicken in crock-pot and cover with sauce. Cook on high about 5 hours. Serve over rice.

Tarragon Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I use tenderloins b/c they cook faster.)

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon

½ cup heavy cream

Fresh lemon juice, to taste

In a large pan, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken, season with salt and pepper and sauté gently, turning until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add tarragon and cream to pan. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping any browned bits from pan bottom and blending well. Cook, stirring, until bubbling and thickened slightly, 2-3 minutes, season with lemon juice. Return chicken to pan and turn each piece several times in sauce until well coated and hot.

I serve with wild rice and a vegetable.

Pumpkin Bread

recipe from my friend Mary Rindlesbach (this is the best recipe I have found yet, and its NOT low calorie, but it is so moist and delicious!)

4 eggs

3 c sugar

cream together

add 1/2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t salt

2 t baking soda

1 t cloves

1 t nutmeg

1 t cinnamon

3 1/2 c flour

1 c water

1 c vegetable oil

1 can pumpkin

1 c chopped pecans (optional)

mix all ingredients together

pour into loaf pan

bake at 350 degrees for one hour 10 mins (2 large loaf pans)

(experiment with time for mini loaves)

Lemon Blossoms

This is the recipe Chelsea posted for the Lemon Blossoms at Brave Girls Camp, otherwise known as little bites of heaven. I am going to go out and buy mini muffin pans specifically for these.

18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.