Poulet Dijonnaise

This is a fantastic recipe my mom has been making for years and I have always enjoyed it.  I love the richness of the flavour and how easy it is to prepare. It is wonderful because you can make full size portions or appetizer size portions.  This is a great one to make in advance to freeze in whatever portion size you need.  If you are going to freeze them, wrap them individually and freeze them before baking them in the phyllo dough. When you take it out of the freezer, reheat frozen at 425 for 25 minutes.
The recipe below is how to make it in an oven but I have also done this in a crockpot by putting the chicken, dijon, whipping cream, salt and pepper in.  I cooked it on high for about 4 hours and then pulled the chicken breasts apart with forks.

Poulet Dijonnaise

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts1/4 cup Dijon mustardpan juices from cooked chicken2 cups whipping cream salt and white pepper16 sheets of phyllo dough, defrosted1 cup butter1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1. Season chicken breasts. Place in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes (or until just cooked).  
2. Remove meat, cool, skin and cut into small pieces. 
3. Remove excess fat from pan juices, add mustard and deglaze over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. 
4. Gradually stir in light cream, salt and pepper. 
5. Lower heat and cook slowly until the liquid is reduce by one-quarter. 
6. Add chicken to sauce. Set aside and cool.  (I take out the phyllo pastry at this point)

Rectangular Single Servings

Butter one layer of phyllo, top with a second layer. Butter second layer. and sprinkle with a few bread crumbs. Place one-eighth of filling in rectangle about two inches from the narrow end of phyllo closest to you.  Fold two-inch end over the chicken filling. Smooth right and left-end edges down. Then fold left and right sides up to centre of the rectangle of filling. Butter the new unbuttered sides you have exposed. Sprinkle the same with bread crumbs.  Then finish rolling the individual serving up ensuring that the last edge is placed face down on the cooking sheet. Brush with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes.  

Triangles

Butter one sheet of phyllo and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Envision vertical lines at the 1/3 and 2/3 marks of a vertical sheet of phyllo.  Fold left third over the centre third, then fold the right third, over the centre. Place a spoon full of filling into the bottom corner of the new three-layer piece of phyllo.  Fold diagonally, triangle over triangle, as if folding a flag. Place seam side down (Cut off any extra left after the last fold)

Sugar Cookies

Decorating sugar cookies has always been one of the exciting Christmas time activities for me. I remember growing up having so much fun making them every year.  It is a good thing I enjoy making them because my family eats them very quickly.  I remember one year, I made a double batch of sugar cookies and they only lasted a day. Even though we are adults now, my siblings still seem to expect for me to make them some sugar cookies each year. This year I am in charge of bringing dessert for Christmas dinner and as I was telling my sister what I was planning on making, she interrupted me sentence to make sure I was going to be bringing sugar cookies. I really like this recipe, the cookies always turn out so nicely.  I usually make a triple batch and the measurements seem to lend themselves to a triple batch easily. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Sugar Cookies

2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. 
2.  Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. 
3. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla until combined. 
4. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with a mixer and then stir in the rest by hand. 
5. Cover the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes or until it is easy to work with. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough so it is about 1/8 of an inch thick and cut into desired shapes. 
6. Bake at 375 for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and the bottoms are very lightly browned.

Turkey Tetrazzini

We love turkey season in our house because we are able to get several meals out of one bird.  We will often purposely make a bird much larger than we need to feed everyone just so we have lots of leftovers for various leftover turkey recipes.
I think this is one of my favourite recipes to use up the extra meat.  I will sometimes make this a gluten free recipe by using cornstarch instead of flour to thicken the sauce, leave out the bread crumbs and use spaghetti squash in lieu of the noodles.  Regardless of what I use, this casserole gets eaten up quickly without complaints.

Turkey Tetrazzini

1 tbsp butter

1 onion, finely chopped

4 ribs of celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 cup sliced mushrooms

pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup flour

4 cups broth

1 cup parmesan cheese, divided

4 oz cream cheese

8 oz pasta of your choice (cooked)

2 cups diced turkey meat

1/2 bread crumbs

1. Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms until they are tender.
2. Add the flour and stir until the vegetables are coated.  
3. Add the wine and stir until the flour has been absorbed
4. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat.  Frequently stir the mixture while it simmers for five minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and add the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese, stirring until they melt.
7. Add the peas, pasta and turkey.  Make sure you combine the new additions well.
8. Transfer the mixture to a oiled casserole dish.
9. Combine the remaining parmesan cheese and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture.
10. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before serving.