Asian Chicken (Sauce)

I  found this recipe at http://www.epicportions.com/2009/02/25/buffalo-wild-wings-recipes/ while looking for some Buffalo Wild Wings sauce. This is the Asian Zing recipe. I wouldn't say that it tastes particularly close to the same as the resaurant, but it is really good! Pretty spicey, so if you don't like too much spice cut down on the sriracha sauce.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar (used reg. vinegar)
1/2 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup chili-garlic sauce (sriracha!)
1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder


Directions:
None on the website, so I just mixed all of it together and brought it to a boil on the stove. Add to either chicken wings, or we just used frozen popcorn chicken!
*Another great main dish you can do with this recipe (with the popcorn chicken) is to put it on a flour tortilla with lettuce, cheese and ranch to make a wrap, or put on top of a salad!

Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinagrette

This is so good. I made it for Drew and I last week and it was a hit! Not to mention it's a "skinny recipe" so its super low cal. Here is the link:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/coconut-chicken-salad-with-warm-honey.html

There are so many good recipes on this website. Enjoy!

Puff Pastry Tacos

Ross came up with this idea, and it was a success! Just look at at how flaky and yummy it looks...and it tastes even better.

Ingredients:
1lb ground meat
taco seasoning
salsa
dried onion
puff pastry
Shredded cheese

Directions:
*Cook meat with salt, pepper, and onion. Add other ingredients to taste. Add about 1/4 C of water for consistency.
*Roll out puff pastry and cut into fourths
*Add meat, and shredded cheese to half of the pastry leaving an edge.
*Fold over and press down edges with a fork
*Brush the tops with egg wash
*Bake according to puff pastry directions

Sticky Fingers

SUPER DUPER (is that really a word??) EASY! Trying this is a must!! This tastes really close to the sticky fingers they serve at Wingers. We've eaten it as is just the chicken (fried or baked) with fries or rice, the chicken on salad cut up, and as a wrap with lettuce, ranch and cheese. Ross is so in love with this, he requests it at least once a week. I've actually started to double it just so I can freeze it and have it on hand.

Ingredients:
3/4 C brown sugar
3 Tbl. Frank's Hot Sauce
2 Tbl. water

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a sauce pot and heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour over prepared chicken and voila! We've discovered we like it on popcorn chicken best.

 O yea I got the recipe from Family Favorite Recipes here. Pict. to come, check out here blog to take a look.

Skillet Mac-N-Cheese

I'm in love with creamy macaroni!!! Try it you wont be dissapointed. I got the recipe from Mels Kitchen Cafe, you really need to check out all of her recipes, they all look really yummy. I have a long list of dishes I plan on making, stay tuned!!

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups water, plus extra if needed

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
12 ounces (about 3 cups) elbow macaroni
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks
Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
*Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring often, until the macaroni is tender and the liquid has thickened, 9 to 12 minutes.
*Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, the cornstarch, mustard and hot sauce together in a small bowl, then stir into the skillet. Continue to simmer slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
*Off the heat, stir in the cheddar and Monterey Jack, one handful at a time, adding water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce (I didn’t need any additional water when I made it). Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

**When I made this I ended up adding pretty much double of all of the seasonings after it was done. And I personally wont use Monterey Jack again, it gave it creaminess but no real flavor, so I'll just use cheddar cheese.

Parmesan Chicken

This chicken is YUMMY & its simple to make!

(sorry this picture also has homemade mac n cheese which is pretty good also)

The Goods:

Chicken Tenders or I'll just cut up chicken breasts into strips
1/2 c. butter, very soft, almost melted
1/2 c. sour cream, maybe a bit more
1-1 1/2 tsp garlic
1 roll of ritz crackers
1/2-3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

• In a small bowl combine butter, sour cream and garlic together. Then in a seperate bowl crush the ritz crackers and mix with parmesan cheese.


• Take chicken and dip into sour cream mixture then into cracker mixture. Place on baking sheet so they are not touching.


• Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Sloppy Joes

This recipe has been in my family for, well really I don't know how long...but I know my grandma made it! It is delish! I know there are many who may turn up their nose just hearing the words "sloppy joes" but let me just tell you this recipe will change your mind! Try it....you'll love them...!! :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can chicken gumbo soup
1/2-3/4 C Ketchup
1/2 tsp mustard

Directions:
Cook beef with salt, pepper, dried onion. Add in the gumbo soup, ketchup, and mustard mix altogether. Taste it and add more ketchup or mustard to taste. Put on a yummy bun dish with some chips and enjoy!!

Red Chile Chicken and Rice w/ Black Beans

This was really good! Ross absolutely LOVED it. And it's a one pot dish! I'd say it definitely needs the salsa, and I think sour cream would be divine on it! I even thought that adding the salsa right into the rice and mixing it in would be good. Ooo and putting it in a tortilla, yum. Now I didn't have the chile powder called for so I actually mixed regular chile powder, and Cayenne pepper, and it turned out great! This recipe is actually all over the internet, here is one of the places I found it where I think it originated: Elly Says Opa.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1.25 – 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1-2 Tbsp ancho chili powder, divided
1 medium onion, large dice
1 cup rice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped green onions, or 1/3 cup cilantro
1/2 to 1 cup salsa, such as Roasted Tomato Salsa

Directions:
Cut the chicken breast into 1″ pieces. Heat the oil in a medium-large heavy pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. Season chicken chunks with with salt, pepper and 1 Tbsp of the ancho chili powder. Place the chicken in the hot oil and brown, 5-6 minutes . Remove to a plate, leaving behind as much oil as possible.

Add the onion and rice to the pot. Stir for several minutes, until the rice turns from translucent to opaque. Add the garlic and the remaining ancho chili powder. Cook one minute, and then add the broth and salt to taste. Stir well. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Add cooked chicken along with drained beans. Re-cover and cook 10 minutes longer.

Sprinkle the green onions (or cilantro) and test a kernel of rice. It should have no more than a hint of chalkiness at in the center, in which case you place the cover back on, remove it from the heat and let it stand 5-10 minutes. If it’s not cooked, cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Calzones

I got this recipe from Cassie...and I LOVE them! And they really are pretty easy to make, and they don't take a lot of time.

Ingredients:
Dough:                                            Other:
1 pkg yeast                            2 C pizza sauce
1 C warm water                    2 C mozzarella chz
2 tsp sugar                            desired toppings
~*~*~*~*
1 1/2 tsp salt                       *1 eggs w/ 1/2 tsp of water
2 Tbl oil                                        whisked together
2 2/3 C flour
Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water; add sugar and whisk until foamy. Add all other ingredients; knead dough until mixed. Divide into 4's. Roll out the dough on floured counters. Put on pizza sauce over 1/2 of the dough, leaving and inch on edge. Add toppings over the sauce. Brush egg wash on the 1 inch edge. Flip over the none sauce side and seal with a fork. Poke a few hole on top, brush more egg wash on the top, and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 400 for 15-20 mins. or till golden brown.

Delicious Crepes

We had crepes for dinner last night. We love this recipe! The husband can't wait to get enough of them and he isn't even a big sweet eater. If you want to try something fun for breakfast or have breakfast for dinner this is a fun change and very easy!!!

CREPES

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
*Beat the above ingredients until well mixed. Spray Pam or cooking spray on frying pan and then pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the center. Tilt the pan so that batter covers the entire bottom of the frying pan like the picture below. Cook each crepe on low/med heat (my stove is set to about a 3 or 4 when cooking them). When the crepe starts to look dry on top it is ready to flip sides. (In the pic below the crepe is almost ready to flip you can see the right side is still slightly wet). Then prepare the filling.

Filling:
1/2 pkg of cream cheese softened
3/4 carton of cool whip
1/2 c. powdered sugar
*Combine and spread in the center of a crepe and then roll crepe up. Top with berries! Enjoy

Chicken Pesto Sandwhich

This is one delicious sandwhich/panini! And this is a good way to yummify frozen fries!

Ingredients:
Pesto (from the recipe below)
fire roasted red bell peppers (bought ours in a jar)
grilled chicken
cheese (I like Pepper Jack, or Havarti)
bread (buttered on outside)

Directions:
Spread pesto on both pieces of bread, layer chicken and peppers and cheese. Place on panini maker, or we just put it on the George Foreman (where we also grilled the chicken) until it becomes nice and crisp and golden brown.

The fries:

Take the fries (I prefer regular string fries) and sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese and cook for normal time. When they come out add more of the Parmesan cheese. (Not freshly grated)

Creamy Taco Mac

I go this recipe form the Delish blog. The boys and I really liked it. We'll be making again for Daddy who'll be SURE to love it!


Ingredients:
1.25 lbs ground turkey (used 1 lb. beef)
8 oz dry pasta + 1 cup reserved pasta water
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes (didn't use)
4 Tbsp mild taco seasoning (or more!)
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
salt & pepper
cheddar cheese
Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.

Over medium heat, brown meat until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and diced tomatoes if wanted. Allow to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream cheese and sour cream. Give it a good stir until cheeses are melty and incorporated. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, as desired. Top off with cheddar cheese.

Avocado Chicken Pitas

This recipe is really quick and easy. It's from the Taste of Home website.

Ingredients

• 4 whole pita breads
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 3/4 pound rotisserie chicken, cut into strips
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

• Brush one side of each pita bread with oil. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until browned and crisp.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mash avocado with the lemon juice, salt, garlic powder and hot pepper sauce. Spread over pitas. Layer with chicken, tomato and cheese.
• Bake for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

Cheddar Chicken Casserole

I went over to my friend Kat's house for dinner and this is what she made for us! This is a quick and easy weeknight meal that is pleasing to both kids and adults!!  The original recipe calls for turkey and regular pasta but I switched it to chicken since thats all I had and whole wheat pasta to make it healthier. Enjoy!

4 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. prepared mustard
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups 2% milk
1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1/2 cup slivered almonds optional

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute garlic in butter until tender.  Stir in the flour, salt, mustard, thyme and pepper.  Gradually stir in milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted.  Drain pasta; place in a large bowl.  Toss with turkey, vegetables and cheese sauce.

Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.  Sprinkle with the almonds.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

This recipe came from Taste of Home Simple & Delicious October/November 2010 magazine.

Noodles and Ketchup

Yes you heard, er, saw right! Noodles and ketchup, nothing too fancy, and the only other ingredient is butter. So, yes, it's easy...I like easy, can you tell? I grew up with this, mostly eating it for lunch, and usually with a hot dog. Now most people stick their nose right up when they hear what it's called...but I LOVE it! Although this may not be one that pleases everyone. But I'm sure it'll be one the kiddos will enjoy!
 What you need:
Cooked noodles in amount desired (in whatever shape floats your boat)
Butter (amount depends on amount of noodles, enough to coat the noodles when melted)
Ketchup
What you do:
After the noodles are cooked, drain and leave them in the strainer-DO NOT RINSE-you want them hot. Put the butter in the pot to melt. Now here's where it gets good. Keep the butter cooking until it turns brown in color, this gives it a whole new flavor! When it's the right color add the noodles and stir it up. Then dish it out and add desired amount of ketchup right on top! YUM-O

Asain Wraps

Let me start out by saying that I love, love, LOVE these! And no the picture is not great...sorry, the fact that I didn't get the right lettuce doesn't help. But they are delicious! Try 'em, you'll love 'em too!
 And yes, they are easy! I can't remember where I got this recipe...but I'm pretty sure it was from one of the blogs to the left.

Ingredients:
3/4 lb lean ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp srirachi sauce
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
3 oz mushrooms, diced
butter lettuce leaves, washed & dried

Directions:
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground meat (I used turkey), stirring often and reducing the heat to medium when thoroughly browned. Add diced onions; bell peppers. Stir frequently until softened. Add the garlic, soy sauce, srirachi sauce, ginger, and white pepper. Stir occassionally adding mushrooms. Cook a few more minutes until mushrooms are softened. Remove from heat. Serve hot in lettuce leaves

So while the meat was browning, I mixed the ingredients that go in after the onions and peppers in a bowl, which made things easier. Also, I left out the mushrooms, and used black pepper instead of white.

Oven Roasted Chicken Wings...35 min

These are SERIOUSLY easy AND DELICIOUS!!! I made them last night & I'm thinking of making them again for all the football games tomorrow!! ENJOY!

the goods:
3 lbs chicken drumettes
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter/margerine melted
ranch dressing, for dipping


Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large boil, combine lemon juice, peper, garlic & onion powders and salt. Add thyme, cayenne and melted butter. Stir mixture thoroughly, then toss chicken with spice paste.

Arrange wings in one layer on baking sheet. Cook 20 minutes, then rotate sheet and flip wings. cook until wings are browned and cooked through, 10 minutes (I ended up cooking them again for another 10 minutes just so they were crispy enough). Serve with ranch for dipping.

Parmesan Crusted Chiken Burgers

I was watching Rachel Ray and this was the meal she cooked. It looked delicious, so I went to her website and printed it out. Let me just tell you...it was as good as it looked! Sorry my picture doesn't do it justice. I wasn't home so I had to use the camera on my phone. It was really simple to make as well, the most time consuming part was getting the fresh herbs prepared. Seriously though, a great dish, everyone LOVED it.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for drizzling
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
A generous handful of sweet basil, shredded or torn
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or ground veal
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme for chicken or sage for veal
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 to 4 tablespoons sesame seeds, a handful
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a couple of handfuls
A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
1 ball or bundle of Burata or 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
A couple of generous handfuls of baby arugula
8 slider rolls, such as brioche dinner rolls (softer roll) or ciabatta rolls (super crusty rolls), split

As you can tell, she made sliders...I made burgers, so I just used toasted hamburger buns. Also I just used  parmesan cheese, and it still tasted great. And as you can see from the picture, I didn't use the arugala either.

Directions:
In a small pot with tight fitting lid heat EVOO, a couple of turns of the pot, over medium heat, add garlic and stir 2 minutes then add tomatoes and cover pot, raise heat a bit and cook tomatoes, shaking the pot occasionally, until tomatoes burst, 8-10 minutes. Mash up sauce with wooden spoon and season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Thicken, uncovered for 2-3 minutes, then stir in basil leaves and turn off heat.


Meanwhile, season chicken with thyme, salt and pepper. In a separate dish, combine breadcrumbs with sesame seeds and parm cheese, parsley. Form the patties and coat in breadcrumbs, gently pressing patties into crumbs to make them stick. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, shallow non-stick skillet or on a non-stick griddle plan over medium to medium-high heat. (we cooked ours on the George Forman grill) Cook patties to golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.
Place a spoonful of soft burata or ricotta on bottom bun. Drizzle cheese with a touch of EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Top soft cheese with a few leaves of arugula, then the patties, then some sauce and bun tops.

penne rustica

This is one of my FAVORITE pastas to make! It's very flavorful and just pretty much delicious! This looks like alot of ingredients but its actually pretty easy to put together!

The Goods:

3 T. butter

2 T. minced garlic

1 T. Marsala wine (I use chicken broth)

1/2 tsp. minced thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

2 c. heavy cream

1 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 c. milk

2 tsp. minced rosemary

1/2 c. chicken broth

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. dijon mustard

1 lb. penne pasta

1/2 c. (2 oz.) thick sliced smoked prosciutto (I usually just use bacon)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Topping:

3 T. grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

1-Start cooking noodles, then drain and set aside. Also, start cooking bacon.

2-Prepare sauce by melting 3 T. butter over medium low head. Add garlic and sweat it for about 5 minutes. Be sure the garlic doesn't brown. Add the Marsala wine (or chicken broth) and cook for another 5 min. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce--except chicken, bacon and pasta--and whisk well until smooth. Bring mixture to s simmer and keep it there for 10 minutes or until its think.

3-Cover sauce and remove it from heat.

4-Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill from 5-6 min each side (I usually just cook it on the George Forman) then slice into strips.

5-Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a 3 qt casserole dish layer the cooked noodles, chicken, prosciutto (bacon) and then drizzle the sauce over top. Toss to coat!!

6-For the topping, combine the Parmesan and paprika and sprinkle evenly over top.

7-Bake at 500 for 10-12 minutes until top begins to brown.

Serve with a side salad and french bread and ENJOY!!

bbq chicken pizza

This is EASY and GOOOOD!!

1 pre-made pizza crust

2 chicken breast

1 1/3 cup BBQ (Sweet Baby Ray's is my personal favorite)

6 oz. provolone cheese

6 oz. gouda cheese

1/4 red onion sliced

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Cook chicken then place in ziploc bag with 2/3 cup of BBQ sauce and marinate for 2-3 hours. Sprinkle half of both provolone and gouda cheese on top of crust. Add 2/3 cup of BBQ over cheese. Cover with chicken (cubed) and red onion and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle cilantro on top then ENJOY!