Saturday, December 12, 2009
Chocolate Scotcheroos
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Pork with orange sauce
I tried this last week, and Michael says it's his new favorite.
2 c cooked long grain rice
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 c orange juice
1 tsp soy sauce
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup lightly salted cashews
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 c cubed cooked pork
1/2 c chow mein noodles
1 green onion, sliced
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, sugar, ginger, and orange peel. Stir in orange juice and soy sauce until smooth; set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the celery, carrots, and cashews in oil until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Add pork, heat through. Serve with rice, top with noodles and onion.
This comes from Taste of home magazine (April & May 09). I didn't add the chow mein noodles to mine because I've never been a big fan. I guess they crunched some numbers and this meal comes out to about $1.54 per serving (serves 4 by the way).
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Marshmallow Fondant
Marshmallow Fondant
1 16 oz bag mini marshmallows
2 and 1/2 tbs water
1 (2 lb) bag powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
Microwave marshmallows and water for 1 minute. Stir well. Stir in extracts. Add powdered sugar (about 3/4 of bag) and mix/knead in till smooth and pliable, adding more powdered sugar as needed to form a smooth consistency. Knead 1-2 minutes, and rub with a light coating of crisco, then store in an air free plastic ziploc bag till ready to use.
To roll out, coat surface of counter with a combination of crisco/powdered sugar to prevent sticking. For large cake rounds, slide a cardboard cake circle under the fondant, and then slide the fondant off the circle and over the cake. Roll out about 1/8 to1/4 inch thick to help prevent tearing.
Hey Matti,
To make this easy, I just microwave the marshmallow and water and then dump them in my mixer bowl with the kneading hook on. I then add the extracts. Slowly I add in the sugar and let the machine do all the kneading. It is super easy. If you want the fondant all one color I'd even add the color gel while it is kneading to save some work. This is a great fondant for covering cakes because it tastes pretty good especially compared with the package stuff. If you want to make shape that will stand-up this is not the best. It is pretty flexible and will need support while it dries. Call me with any question,
Aunt Tammy
EL Pollo Loco Chicken
1 cup White wine vinegar
1 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup White wine
1 tbls. Oregano
1 teas. Thyme
3 tbls. Salt
10 Garlic cloves; minced
1 1/2 teas. Tabasco sauce
Mix all ingredients and marinate two whole chicken which have been cut in
half. Marinate several hours in refrigerator. Grill chickens slowly until
done.
My comments:
To make this taste like real El Pollo Loco chicken I have to doctor the recipe slightly. This recipe is a GREAT jumping off point. It works great as is. Again, I have served this at many functions with people begging for the recipe. It also helps that Jason is great on the grill. Don't over cook these.
I usually add citrus to the recipe because I think that is what I like best about El Pollo Loco's chicken. I will add the juice of a lemon, lime, and a clementine(you can use an orange, just have these a lot cause kids love them). Along with most of the rind grated fine. I use my microplane and attack the skin(avoid the bitter white pulp), then slice and juice the fruit. I just use what ever citrus I have on hand and it works.
Usually don't have white wine around and will either leave it out of replace with chicken broth or white grape juice, if I have it.
Dried herbs work great.
I use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I am really particular about the type I use. I search for natural meat that has not been injected with the 10-15% of water and salt that many stores carry. I think it does not allow the chicken to absorb marinades well and I also think when they process the chicken so much it makes it really rubbery. I know it is much harder to find minimally processed chicken, but it makes a HUGE difference to me. Ok, I'll let it go.
Cider Roasted Pork Loin
Cider-Roasted Pork Loin
From Cooking Light
Fresh herbs and sweet cider syrup combine in this savory main dish. Overnight brining tenderizes the roast. If the cider reduction becomes too thick to brush on the pork, warm it in a saucepan over low heat.
3 cups water
3 cups apple cider
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 (2-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
2 cups apple cider
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat; cool. Pour brine into a 2-gallon zip-top plastic bag. Add pork; seal. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until cider has thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Set aside.
Remove pork from bag; discard brine. Place pork on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray. Combine rosemary, sage, and black pepper; sprinkle evenly over pork. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until thermometer registers 155°, basting twice with cider reduction during final 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven; baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces pork)
NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 200(30% from fat); FAT 6.6g(sat 2.2g,mono 3g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 24.4g; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 419mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.2g Kathryn Conrad Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2004
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Barbecued Chinese Lettuce Wraps
2 cups, fresh shiitake mushrooms ( I used button mushrooms, didn’t see these other at the store now I don't even bother looking, regular mushrooms work great in this recipe)
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil (I use olive usually)
Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated
1 orange, zested
1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 scallions, chopped
3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market
Romaine Lettuce
Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces.
Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the romaine leaves along side. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings.
Here are a few of my tips that make this a staple at my place. First I cut all ingredients as small as I can. This allows me to get more veggies into my kids without them recognizing them. Also, I hate mushrooms, but cut very small, they add a wonderful flavor. Also I cut up all my veggies first. While I am chopping, which is a little time consuming, I put the meat in the freezer. By the time I get to the meat, it is slightly frozen and cuts tons better. This adds the benefit of throwing the cutting board in the dishwasher after all the cutting is done and no worries about meat contamination. I put romaine leaves even though the original recipe had iceberg. I think my kids like calling them tacos. I know it is crazy, but I get a lot less complaints. I usually by the romaine at Costco and this uses quite a bit.
No picture now. Will work on it!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Gluten-free Banana Bread
1 stick butter
3-4 bananas, mashed
2 C GF mix + 2 t xanthan gum
1 C sugar
1 C finely chopped pecans
2 eggs
2 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
1 small pkg instant vanilla jello pudding
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and bananas. In a separate bowl mix GF mix, xanthan gum, baking powder and pudding. Add dry mix to wet and mix. Stir in pecans. Bake at 325 for 40-45 min or until baked through.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Lime Rickys
This is my husband's favorite drink. We served it at our wedding reception and it is great for summer BBQ's!
grape soda
lemon lime soda
fresh limes
Pour grape soda into an individual glass, fill about 1/3 of the glass' height. Then add twice as much lemon lime soda or about 2/3 of the glass' height.
Cut fresh lime into wedges, about 4-6 wedges per lime, squeeze juice from one wedge into drink and drop in.
Orange Julius
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5-6 ice cubes
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until frothy.
Corn Chowder
Cook: 8 min
Yield: 4 1/2 cups
2 (11 oz) cans Mexican-style corn, drained
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 1/3 cups milk
1 Tbl butter
1/2 teaspoon pepper (I use even less)
4 slices bacon (optional)
2 green onions, sliced (optional)
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, place bacon on a microwave-safe rack in a baking dish. Cover with paper towels. Microwave at HIGH 4 minutes or until crisp. Drain bacon, and crumble. Sprinkle bacon and green onions over soup.
Cowboy Bake
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wendy's Raspberries and Cream Pie
This was all the rage in my last ward. It's so easy to make and super yummy. I'm made three today and am giving away two. Hopefully I'll start a new rage in this ward.
Be prepared to make two of these. The topping makes enough for two but I'm giving the filling proportions for just one. Depending on how many berries you add you can use the larger pie tin or the standard smaller ones. The picture here is of the smaller size pie.
1 or 2 store bought graham cracker crusts or homemade crusts in 9 inch pie plate.
Filling:
1 pkg. cream cheese softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 8 ounce container cool whip
Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in cool whip. Pour into graham cracker crust.
1 box Danish Dessert Raspberry flavor
1-2 bags frozen raspberries or 4 cups fresh raspberries
Make Danish Dessert according to package directions. If using frozen berries use only 1 1/2 cups water. Mix in berries and pour over pie or pies. Chill 3-4 hours.
Jumbalaya
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed (sometimes I leave this out)
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup smoked beef sausage, sliced (I use a whole package, about 1 lb.)
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (brown rice is good too but takes a lot longer to cook)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
if you want it spicy add 1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 can chicken broth
8 ounces cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I buy frozen and thaw for the meal)
1/2 cup frozen peas or peas and carrots mix
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chopped vegetables into casserole dish. Add garlic, diced tomatoes, sausage, rice and seasonings; stir. Pour broth over mixture. Cover and bake 55-60 min. or until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed. Remove casserole dish from oven and add shrimp and peas; cover. Let stand 10 min. Enjoy!
Mom's Chop Suey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/4 cup coarsly chopped onion
1 1/2 cup hot water
2 bouillon cubes
1 cup celery, cut lenghtwise into thin stips, then into 1 inch lengths
1 can bean sprouts, drained and rinsed (the sprouts get a tinny, canned taste)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoons soy sauce
Canned chow-mein noodles
rice
Can do early in day and refrigerate, or right before dinner.
Heat oil in large skillet, cook meat about 10 min. (sprinkle with salt and pepper). Add onion and cook 5 min or until crisp tender. Add hot water and bouillon cubes and simmer, covered 15 to 20 minutes or until meat is fork tender. Refrigerate if doing this step early in the day.
About 20 minutes before dinner:
To meat mixture add celery; bring to boil, covered. Cook 5 min. Add bean sprouts, mix lightly. Combine cornstarch, sugar, warm water, and soy sauce and stir into hot mixture. Cook 1 - 2 min. or until slightly thickened.
Serve on hot rice. Add chow-mein noodles on top.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Smoky Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
This is a Bobby Flay recipe, that you can find here. It looked so easy (only 3 ingredients) that I had to try it.
This calls for a chipotle pepper. I have quite a few recipes that call for only 1 chipotle pepper, but each can has something like 8-10 peppers. So I found that it's easy to open a can (pictured), and then put leftover individual peppers into ziploc bags and freeze them.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon chipotle pepper puree
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick
This calls for "chipotle pepper puree." I just ran a mincer over my chipotle pepper on a cutting board and it disintegrated perfectly and I just scraped it right into some cream. The cream was really powerful enough to erase any of my fears about how hot this might be - it really just ended up having a smoky flavor that I liked. But, obviously, this was really, really filling. Which I kind of like because it's the perfect side dish - you'll only want a bit.
I used yellow sweet potatoes instead of the orange, just because that's all they had at the store. The yellow ones have sort of a lighter, more flowery flavor, but I'd also like to try this recipe with the orange ones. I sliced my sweet potatoes with a mandolin, which was blissfully easy, and I made sure to stop when I had about two inches of potato left and just thew away the nub at the end. It's not worth it getting any closer to the mandolin.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk together cream and chipotle puree until smooth.
In a 9 by 9-inch casserole dish, arrange the potatoes in even layers. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the cream mixture and add a new layer of sweet potatoes and cream. Continue layering, and season every 3rd (or so) layer with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, cream, and salt and pepper to form 10(ish) layers.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes, remove cover and continue baking for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cream has been absorbed and the potatoes are cooked through and the top is browned.
When I did this the cream didn't get absorbed all the way but it didn't really matter. It was delicious. It makes about 6 servings.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Red Chicken Noodle Soup
2 Cans Chicken Broth + 2 Cans water
1/2 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded (I bag and freeze the other half for another meal)
3 Carrots, chopped
1/4 C Onion, diced
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 Can Tomatoe Sauce
1 C Brown Rice Spiral Noodles
1 C Frozen Peas
Simmer broth, water, chicken, carrots, onion, celery and tomatoe sauce for 15 min or until crisp tender. Add noodles and cook 10-15 more min. Add frozen peas.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Pear & Spinach Bistro Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 pound ready-to-eat spinach
2-3 large Bartlett pears sliced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
3-4 bacon slices, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/2 cup pine nuts or other nut, toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or craisins)
1/4 cup fresh mushrooms (optional)
Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar (we just used regular rice vinegar)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1. Combine spinach, pears, avocado, bacon, pine nuts, dried cranberries, and mushrooms in a salad bowl.
2.To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended.
3. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Makes 4 servings.
Lime Chicken with Rice Soup
Ingredients:
2 cans vegetable or chicken broth
1 rib celery, sliced into ½ inch pieces
2 carrots, sliced ½ inch thick
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup long-grain rice
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried lemon thyme
1. Combine the broth, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf, and chicken in the crockery pot. Cover and cook on Low just until the chicken is almost cooked through, 4 to 5 hours on Low.
2. Stir in the rice, cover and cook on Low until the rice is tender, 1 ½ to 3 hours.
3. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the lime juice and peel, black pepper, and thyme. Cover and cook for 5 minutes
Makes 4 servings
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Carribean Black Beans with Mango Salsa
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup uncooked Basmati rice
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound chorizo sausage (kielbasa in pic)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (not in pic)
3 cups canned black beans, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (not in pic)
Salsa:
2 small mangoes
1 cup chopped red onion
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1. Place broth in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; stir in rice. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; cook, turning occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes until browned and no longer pink in center. Remove from skillet and let cool. Cut into 1/2 inch slices; set aside. Drain fat from skillet.
3. Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet; heat on medium-high, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add bell pepper; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in beans, sausage, rice and cilantro. Spoon sausage mixture into casserole dish, cover and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Chop mangoes to measure 3 cups. Combine with remaining ingredients in large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
6. Spoon sausage mixture onto plates. Serve with mango salsa.
Makes 4 servings
Garden Linguini
I used a green bell pepper instead of red and onion powder because the kids don't like onions right now. It's a fun vegetarian meal to try!
Ingredients:
8 ounces linguini or rotini pasta
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup sliced onions
2 cups snow peas, cut into halves
2 cups diced zucchini
½ red pepper, cut into strips (optional)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Cook linguini as directed on package; drain. Set aside. Heat oil and butter in saucepan; sauté mushrooms, onions, snow peas, zucchini and bell pepper, if desired, until crisp-tender. Remove saucepan from heat. Add seasonings to vegetable mixture. Toss with linguini. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Gladys Wolf's Chicken Casserole
I had to start with my favorite dish.
Ingredients:
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2 c mayo (I've substituted this with 1 can of cream of chicken, which worked just fine and was pretty flavorful)
1 small diced onion
2 cups diced celery
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts (optional)
1-2 cups cooked rice
1 cube margarine
1 bag Mrs. Cubbison's dressing/stuffing mix
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I start with cooking the chicken and the rice, and then chopping up the chicken and vegetables.
Cook the onions and celery together, until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat. Add the mayo, the cream of mushroom soup, the rice, (water chestnuts), and chicken and mix together. Put the mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Melt the margarine and mix with the bag of dressing until wet. Spread the dressing on top of the casserole and bake for about 30 minutes.
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