Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken - Dinner in less than 30...

Finally a nice light dinner after all the holiday binging! I didn't get a picture of this one because it was so delicious it didn't last long enough (and the Detroit Red Wings were playing so no time for lollygagging.) Serve with couscous or rice pilaf and some steamed fresh green beans (touch of butter and a dash of garlic salt) and there's a nice quick dinner for you. Oooooh and don't forget a fresh baguette to sop up whatever juices are left on the plate.

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Sprinkle chicken with thyme, salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, add onions and cook until soft.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook until browned, about 6 minutes on each side.
4. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.
5. Add raspberry preserves and balsamic vinegar to the onion mixture and stir until preserves are melted.
6. Spoon sauce over chicken.


This recipe is from Cookinglight.com so it's mostly healthy!

Santa Hat Pretzels

I saw a pic of these on Pinterest so I thought I'd try to make them. Super cute, fairly easy and people go nuts for them! Plan on making a practice batch before you bag them up as gifts or serve them to guests.  The chocolate takes some getting used to!

Supplies to make a ton:
1 large bag of mini pretzel twists, traditional shape
2 bags of meltable white chocolate
1 jar of red sprinkles
1 bag of mini marshmallows
Wax paper

Getting Ready...
1. Lay out wax paper sheets and arrange individual pretzels out in rows. Turn them sideways.
2. Cut marshmallows in half so that they are thinner than usual. Place in bowl nearby.
3. Fill bowl with sprinkles.

4. Melt white chocolate in the microwave, about 1-2 minutes, stopping halfway to stir. Stir until smooth. Very smooth.
5. Working in batches of about 6 at a time, spoon chocolate over half of the pretzel. Cover in sprinkles and attach a marshmallow half. You can only do a few at a time or else your chocolate will harden and nothing will stick to it.

6. Allow Santa Hats to cool completely before peeling off wax paper, about 10 minutes.

Sweet Corn Muffins with Mixed Berries

At Thanksgiving I made a traditional cheese cake with a cranberry-orange topping. Fast forward a month later and I still have half a bag of frozen cranberries left.  I thought, mmmmm...muffins....Then I saw a leftover bag of corn meal and I thought, mmmmm.....corn bread....So I tossed them all together and came up with some delicious treats.

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup low-fat sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoon fat-free milk (I used almond milk)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup frozen cranberries and/or blueberries, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a muffin tin with cute seasonal cupcake papers (or regular ones, whatever.)

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk together sour cream (or yogurt), butter, milk and egg.
3. Make a little well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the liquid, whisking constantly until moist and just combined.  The batter will be stiff so bring your elbow grease!
4. Fold in berries.
5. Use a spoon to drop batter into cups. Don't worry, it will spread out and rise a little when they bake.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm from the oven with a dollop of Cool Whip or for breakfast with a cup of tea!