Sweet and Sour Chicken

This chicken is amazing! 3/4 of my family loves it, which is saying a lot :).  I did change one thing though; the original recipe calls for apple cider vinegar and I changed it to white vinegar because the taste is the same, but the apple cider vinegar makes my house stink for the rest of the night!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

from melskitchencafe.com

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients - pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Pasta e Fagioli

I love me some Olive Garden, but I'm not willing to drive 30 minutes and spend the $50 for our family to eat there very often, so besides the Zuppa Tuscana, this is our other copycat soup that we love from there. Enjoy!

 

Pasta e Fagioli (from Olive Garden)

From Farm Girl in the Suburbs

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart of tomatoes (or 2 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes)

1 15-oz. can red kidney beans (w/ liquid)

1 15-oz. can Great Northern Beans (w/ liquid)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

1 T. white vinegar

1 ½ t. salt

1 t. oregano

1 t. basil

½ t. pepper

½ t. thyme

½ lb. Ditali pasta

1.  Brown the ground beef in a large stock pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat.

2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often.

4. At 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente.  Drain the pasta and add to the pot of soup.

5. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

Fish scares me to death when it comes to cooking it at home. I've never even bought it, so fortunately a friend gave me some tilapia, which I've then had to figure out how to cook. Here is the only way I've done it so far, but it's really good.

 

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

From All Recipes

The original recipe makes eight and I have scaled this to make two.

 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter, softened

2-1/4 teaspoons mayonnaise

1-1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 pound tilapia fillets

 

1.	Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2.	In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3.	Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef

I love getting this at Pei Wei, but since there aren't any around, I break down every few months and make this. It's a little bit of work, but SO good!

 

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe:

(Recipe adapted from Food.com)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
¾ cup dark brown sugar
vegetable oil , for frying (about 1 cup)
1 lb flank steak
¼ cup cornstarch
2 large green onions, chopped

Directions:

Sauce:
Heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.  Don't get the oil too hot.
Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.
Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

Beef:
Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.  Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.  Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.  As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté until brown. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.  After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels.  Dab excess oil off meat with a paper towel and add to medium saucepan with the sauce in it.  Put the pan back on the oven over medium/low heat.  Add chopped green onions and let sauce simmer until warm. Serve over rice.

From Six Sisters' Stuff

Lasagna Soup

This recipe could have and should have gone terribly wrong since I had to substitute ground beef for italian sausage, beef broth for chicken stock, etc.  It was still really good, so I'm looking forward to using the right ingredients next time.  And I will say that it tastes just like lasagna and the cheesy yum is what puts it over the top.

Lasagna Soup

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

Most things I put in the crock pot I just throw in frozen and not worry about it.  This recipe, however, you do need to use thawed chicken otherwise you'll have frozen egg that the bread crumbs won't stick to...I speak from experience :).  It was still really good, so it's going to be even better next time!


Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I cut mine into strips, to make them into more reasonable serving sizes for the kids)
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 egg, beaten
4-6 slices mozzarella cheese
1 jar (28-ounces) favorite marinara sauce

Directions: Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the bottom of the crockpot stoneware.
In a medium bowl, beat egg.  In second medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs, spices, and grated Parmesan cheese all together.

Dip chicken in beaten egg and then toss into bread crumb mixture to coat completely on both sides.  Place chicken breasts on bottom of crockpot.  Place a layer of mozzarella slices on top of breaded chicken breasts.  Cover cheese layered chicken with entire jar of sauce.

Place lid of crockpot securely on and turn heat to LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.  Serve over cooked pasta of your choice. 

Baked Potato Soup

Original recipe found here.

BAKED POTATO SOUP
(Mindi Original)

½ white onion; finely diced
1 clove garlic; minced
2 T. butter
32 oz. chicken stock
¾ - 1 oz. fresh chives; diced
4 large russet potato’s; baked (or 8 small, fist size potatoes)
salt & pepper
1 C. sour cream
Cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon & sour cream

1. In a large stock pot, melt the butter. Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the stock and chives and bring to a simmer.
3. Roughly dice or chop the baked potato’s leaving the skins on.
4. Add the potato’s to the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. The potatoes should fall apart leaving some chucks, but also thickening the soup.
5. Season generously with salt & pepper to taste.
6. Add the sour cream and continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
7. Serve topped with cheese, bacon and sour cream as desired.

Zuppa Tuscana

Andy's favorite soup!

Zuppa Tuscana

1 lb ground sausage (regular or spicy)
3 large red potatoes, sliced in half and then sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bunch kale, chopped
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (*see note)

Brown sausage in large soup pot. Remove sausage and set aside. To the pot add chicken broth, potatoes, onion, and garlic and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cream and sausage to the pot and warm through. (Do not boil) Add kale several minutes before serving. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Delicious!!
* If using spicy sausage, you may want to omit the red pepper flakes…unless you like eating fire!

Rumbi Island Mango Chicken and Rice

Awesome recipe, found here!

Rumbi Island Easy Mango Chicken and Rice
submitted by Melanie
4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups mango salsa
Cumin to taste
Lemon Pepper to taste
Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add spices. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.
Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.
Serve over coconut jasmine rice for that Rumbi Island Grill taste. Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.
*You could use regular salsa for a Mexican taste and serve over regular rice or tortilla chips.

Chicken and Dumplings

Original recipe here. 

The recipe doesn't have vegetables in it, but I boiled up some carrots, celery and peas and put them in when the dish went into the oven.

Chicken and Dumplings

3 c. cooked chicken, cut into large pieces

½ c. butter

1/3 c. flour

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 c. chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup (98% fat free variety works great)

Dumplings:

2 c. flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp celery seed

¼ c. oil

1 c. milk

Blend butter, flour, salt and pepper in saucepan. Add chicken broth and cook until thick. Stir in cream of chicken soup and add cooked chicken. Put in a 9×13 pan. To prepare dumplings, mix all ingredients together and stir until moistened. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto chicken and gravy. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes.

Teriyaki Burgers

Original recipe found here.

Serves 5

Ingredients

1 pound hamburger

1 egg

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper

bacon

pineapple slices

swiss cheese

In large bowl combine hamburger, egg, bread crumbs, teriyaki, onion powder and salt and pepper. Shape into hamburger patties. Cook on grill for 6-8 minutes per side. While that is cooking, fry up your bacon. Also, feel free to grill up your pineapple. Top with swiss cheese and enjoy.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

LOVE this recipe.  It originally comes from here.

Serves 4

4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 cup frozen corn
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed (OR 2/3 cup dry beans soaked overnight and cooked on LOW for 6-8 hours in a separate slow cooker)
1 package taco seasoning (I used the whole package, but next time I'll probably only use about 3/4 of it)
1/2 cup sour cream
cornstarch and water
grated cheddar cheese
tortillas

Throw the frozen chicken in the slow cooker.  Cover it with the broth, salsa, corn, beans, and taco seasoning.  Cook on HIGH for 4 hours.  Remove the chicken and either shred it or cut it up into bite size pieces.  Take the lid off and stir in the sour cream.  It will still be a little runny so take 1 T cornstarch mixed with 1 T water and stir it in.  Add the chicken back in.  Leave the lid off and let it thicken up for about a half hour.  Spoon it over tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.  You can also eat it like a thick soup with corn chips.

Review:
I really loved the use of the chicken thighs versus the breasts in this recipe.  I also used the cornstarch to thicken it and that worked great.  I would use this revised recipe over the original...although they are both good.  My husband said he didn't think he would love it but he actually ate so much that there was no leftovers.  4 1/2 stars  easy, yummy, no thawing the chicken is a bonus.

Baked Lemon Pasta

Alright gals, let's kick this blog off in style! This recipe has quickly become one of our favorites. It's super easy and you could even add chicken to make it more filling. I got this recipe off of http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and the picture comes from her website as well. Click here if you want step-by-step instructions and a picture for each step as well, she really outdoes herself :).

Baked Lemon Pasta

1 pound thin spaghetti
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
Plenty of grated Parmesan cheese (I bought shaved parmesan and it's really good)
Flat leaf parsley, chopped (you can also used dried)
Extra lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT.When butter is melted, add minced garlic.Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary.Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top.Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley.Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.