Orange Chicken

This is another thing that I make that doesn't technically have a recipe. So there won't be any quantities on it. I just sort of make enough to fit the amount of chicken I have.

Orange Chicken


Ingredients

Flour (I usually start with about a cup)
Salt
Black Pepper
Ginger Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Paprika
Chili Powder
4-5 egg whites
Chicken (as much as you want to make- I'd say about a 1 1/2 or 2 lbs for a cup of flour)- cut into bite sized pieces
Vegetable Oil
Orange/Ginger Sauce (you could make this yourself, but I always just buy the Iron Chef brand sauce at the store. It's very good and much easier that way.)
Green Onions- chopped- for a garnish
Cilantro- finely chopped- garnish
Almonds- very finely chopped- garnish (you can substitute other kinds of nuts for this if you want, or omit it all together)

Directions

1- Combine dry ingredients together in a shallow dish (I use a pie plate). This will make the breading for the chicken.
2- Put the egg whites in another dish. It's ok if there's a little bit of yolk. Just try to avoid it if you
can. It makes the texture weird if you include too much yolk.
3- Heat enough oil for deep frying in a large pot or deep pan.
4- Batter the chicken. Put it first into the egg wash and then into the flour mixture. Use the wet hand dry hand method.
5- When chicken is battered, put it into the hot oil. Let fry until it's crispy and light brown. Put it into a large bowl when done.
Repeat steps 4 & 5 until all the chicken is fried.
6- Pour the orange sauce over chicken and mix well, until all pieces are completely covered.
7- Garnish with green onions, cilantro and almonds.

Serve with rice. This amount will feed 4-5.

I'm Sick and Home and All Alone Pudding

When I'm sick, tapioca pudding is one of the only things that sounds good to me. I try to come up with creative ways to eat it, since it's all I'm eating and I'm home all alone and sick anyway. Here's my favorite recipe:

Tapioca Pudding (Courtesty of Minute Tapioca)
Makes 6 (1/2 cup) servings.

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. Minute brand tapioca

2-3/4 cups milk

1 egg, well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Mix sugar, tapioca, milk, and egg in edium saucepan; let stand 5 minutes.

2. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred. Pudding will be thin, it thickens as it cools). Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour yourself a bowl of the hot pudding and let it cool for about 10 minutes; eat. Doesn't it taste good?

4. Put the rest of the pudding in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placing it on the surface of the pudding while cooling. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Then you should be ready for another bowl, right? This time, stir in 1/4 tsp. almond extract into your bowl (about 1/2 cup serving) and add 1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries. Yum!

Sugar Free Apple Crisp

Sugar Free Apple Crisp
6 or 7 large apples peeled and sliced
2 cups of water
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup Splenda
Simmer until the apples are tender (don’’t overcook)
Thicken the juice with 3 Tbsp of corn starch dissolved in ½ cup water.
Place in baking dish
Topping:
1 cube melted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
½ cup Splenda
1 tsp salt
Mix and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

This is receipe that Becky submitted. It's from Bobby Clasby

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

My husband thinks I'm insane. Tonight I'm tempted to agree with him.

2-3 Hours
4 Grocery Stores
1 "Easy" Food Network Recipe
2 People

The enchiladas FINALLY are in the oven!

Chicken Enchilada with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa
recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows
Yellow Rice, recipe follows
Guacamole, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa: On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas: Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Serve hot with Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice, the remaining tomatillo salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole, if desired (and if you have time after all that :))

Spicy Black Beans:
2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, soak beans overnight covered in water by 2 inches. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1-inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season with salt and pepper.

Yellow Rice:
2 cups long-grain rice
4 cups water
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf

Put all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice has absorbed the water, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and bay leaf, fluff with a fork, and serve.

Sometimes I think I'm a star in the kitchen and then this brings me back to reality. I love Tomatillo salsa so I had to try this. Just a note, it is hard to find good tomatillos (Best were at Wild Oats for twice the price of Albertsons).

Some tips after making these: I think the sour cream is supposed to be added to the chicken mixture but was accidentally omitted from the instructions. I only used 1 larger jalapeno so I didn't have to seed it (just blended it all). The Tomatillo Chile Salsa was surprisingly easy to make and I'm sure I'll make it again. The Enchiladas were really good too, but too much effort for a weeknight dinner. I also think its a good idea to double the Salsa recipe.

Sweet and Sour/Teriyaki Sauce

I tend to be something of an experimental cook. Which means that often times I'll take a recipe and modify it to something I think will be better. It's not always a very exact process. This is one of my favorite things to make. It started out as just my mother's sweet and sour sauce recipe, but has been changed so many times that it's barely the same.

My Sweet and Sour/Teriyaki Sauce.

About a 1" piece of fresh ginger- grated or minced.
1 large clove garlic- minced
1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce (I don't usually measure this- just put it about this much)
Juice from one can (about 8 oz size) chunk pineapple.
1/2 teaspoon Oyster sauce. (this can be omitted if you want- but I like it)
1/2 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar.
pinch of black pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. In a sauce pan on medium to medium low heat saute ginger and garlic in oil until tender. About 2-3 minutes.
2. Add in soy sauce, pineapple juice, oyster sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and black pepper. Whisk these ingredients in until fully combined. For a sweeter sauce decrease the amount of soy sauce and add in more pineapple juice. Leave on medium to medium low heat until it boils. Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
3. When it reaches boiling turn down heat to low. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes. It should reduce by about 50%. Sort of a syrupy consistency. If you want it to be thicker, or to cut down on the cooking time, use a corn starch slurry to thicken.

And that's about it. You can modify this recipe many different ways:

Put the pineapple in with the sauce instead of just draining the juice. This gives you chunks of sweet pineapple.
I like to add about 1/2 teaspoon of sambal olek chili paste to give it a little bit of a kick. Also works with a little Tapatio.
A couple teaspoons of lime juice makes for an interesting addition. It gives it more of a Southeast Asian flavor.
Cinnamon. Just a little bit. Quite tasty.

So there you go. It's a versatile recipe.

Raspberry-Nut Dreams

I discovered this recipe in one of my cookbooks. It is a compilation of the top 100 recipes from the 42nd Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. There are a lot of really good recipes in there, but this one caught my eye. They are really good for dinner (paired with some nice fresh fruit or scrambled eggs) and the leftovers are perfect for a quick breakfast (just take them out of the fridge and microwave for about 20 seconds). I know that my pictures make them look a little "oozy." I kind of went overboard on the raspberries. I recommend you stick to the 1 cup! They still taste great, just a little extra cleanup and a little less pretty.

Raspberry-Nut Dreams

1/2 cup salted roasted macadamia nuts OR sliced almonds (we use the almonds because Corey doesn't like macadamia nuts as much)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (I use a litte extra) frozen raspberries, thawed, drained and liquid reserved
1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/3 cup flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 16 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray. In food processor, process macadamia nuts with on-and-off motions until coarsely chopped. Add brown sugar; process until combined. Place in small bowl; set aside.
2. In same food processor, process cream cheese, 2 tablespoons nut mixture and 1 to 2 tablespoons reserved raspberry liquid until smooth.
3. Separate dough into 8 biscuits; separate each into 2 layers, making a total of 16 rounds. Lightly press each round in bottom and up side of muffin cup. Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon cream cheese mixture into each dough-lined cup. Top each evenly with raspberries, 1 tablespoon remaining nut mixture and 1 teaspoon coconut.
4. Bake 14 to 22 minutes or until coconut is lightly browned. Cool in pan 5 minutes before serving.

Sloppy Joe's

I think nearly everyone grew up on Sloppy Joe's. We weren't any different. The only weird thing I've noticed is that all Sloppy Joe's taste completely different. I love my mom's recipe because well....it's what I grew up on. I love Mom's Sloppy Joe's, when I try others I am always sorely disappointed.

Mom's Sloppy Joe's

1 lb. hamburger
1 onion
1 T. mustard
1 Cup ketchup
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T. Vinegar
1/4 tsp cloves

Brown and drain meat and onion. Combine other ingredients. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes (may need to add more ketchup).

I always make extra because they are also great for leftovers with no complaints from the boys. We used to eat them with potato chips, but I can't bring myself to do that anymore with all the fat in the meat anyway...oh wait we aren't supposed to talk about fat on this blog. I served it with fresh asparagus cooked in a good quality olive oil and sprinkled with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy!