Orange Chicken

Panda Express is one our favorite places to go for a family culinary treat. The only thing we ever order is Orange Chicken. This recipe is not a Panda clone,it is a bit more sweet and a touch spicier, but has no mystery ingredients.

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

Sauce
3 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons orange zest
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

oil for frying

1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Pour water, orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar and soy sauce into a sauce pan heat on medium-high.
Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, onion and red pepper flakes.
Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and cool about 15 minutes.
Put cut up chicken in a gallon size resealable plastic bag, add a 1 - 2 cups cooled sauce. Reserve remaining sauce.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours, overnight recommended.
Mix the flour, salt and pepper together, put in a large bowl.
Lift chicken out of sauce with a slotted spoon and add to flour mix, coat thoroughly.
Discard the marinade.
Fry chicken until golden
Place fried chicken into a baking dish and bake at 325 about 20 minutes until really crispy and thoroughly cooked (optional step)
Mix cornstarch and water together
Add cornstarch mixture to remaining sauce and heat until thick and bubbly.
Add chicken and simmer on low, for about 5 minutes.

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Tips and Hints

• Easy tip for coating chicken: Put the flour in either a zip-lock bag or bowl with a tight fitting lid. Put the chicken in the container and shake.


• If you like more mild food cut the amount of red pepper flakes used.

Chunky Bean Dip

Several years ago I went through a healthy eating kick. I diligently searched and made only "healthy" low-fat foods. As you can tell by my recipes I am over that phase. There are only a few hold-overs from those days and they are so yummy my kids don't realize they are one of those "good for you" foods. This is one of the best and it disappears almost instantly.

Chunky Bean Dip

Ingredients:
Beans
4 cups dry pinto beans
1 whole potato
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can (8 ounce) tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoon salt

Dip
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Cholula or other red pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy or Southwest Chipolte seasoning
1/4 cup fresh chili (hot) peppers, chopped
1/4 cup fresh onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon Hot Shot (equal parts black and cayenne pepper, you can mix your own)
Directions:

Sort and rinse beans at least twice.
Cover with a lot of water and soak overnight.
Pour off the water and rinse well.
Place beans in a large pot and cover with water
Scrub potato clean and add, whole, to the beans and water
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 1 1/2 hours until beans are tender.
Add the remaining ingredients for the beans and simmer another 35-45 minutes to blend flavors.
Remove potato and discard.

Place 2 cups of beans in a flat bottomed bowl and mash with a potato masher.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
You can serve immediately or wait a while for flavors to blend.

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Tips and Hints

• Pouring off the rinse water and cooking with the potato are both methods to decrease flatulence. The potato absorbs the gas.



• You will have extra beans use them for something else or freeze them.



• If you like mild food use fewer peppers, or peppers of a more mild nature such as Anaheim, also remove the seeds and membranes, since that is where a lot of the heat is contained.



• If you love it hot, hot, hot use spicier peppers like jalapenos and serranos if you are really adventurous try a habanero.



• Another way to turn up the heat is to leave the seeds in.



• I use two or three different types of peppers per batch.



• I never make just a single batch of this, it goes too quickly. I use up all the cooked beans



• You can use canned beans, but the flavor will not be as rich.


• If you like your dip smoother, you can process the completed dip in a food processor or blender.

Chicken Spaghetti

This is kind of the "signature dish" of a friend and former neighbor. The name and look are not super appetizing, but the flavor is wonderful! It is quick and easy. It makes quite a bit so is great for a crowd.

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stick butter

2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans whole tomatoes
1/2 pound Velveeta, diced

Directions:

Saute onion, bell pepper and mushrooms in butter until tender
Add tomatoes with juice, stir in and use spoon to break them up.
Add mushroom soup and mix in well
Add Velveeta and cook on medium heat until melted
Serve over favorite hot pasta

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Tips and Hints

• This is a really versatile recipe. If you feel like lots of veggies you can throw in more of whichever. If it is a chicken craving day use more chicken and less veggies. Leave out veggies you don't like. Experiment! Enjoy!


• I haven't tried it, but this would likely be good over rice.


• Add a green salad and hot french bread for an easy meal

Bread Bowls

One of my favorite things is a thick hearty soup in a bread bowl, but they tend to be expensive and hard to find so I decided to learn to make my own.

Bread Bowls

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups flour
1 Tablespoon cornmeal

Directions:
Put water in a mixing bowl, sprinkle in yeast and mix well.
Add honey and mix in.
Allow to sit several minutes until the yeast is foamy
Add onion flakes and olive oil
Mix salt into the flour
Gradually add flour to yeast mixture, mixing well.
When the yeast is fully incorporated knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic
Cover and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.
Punch down and allow to rise again until doubled.
Sprinkle cornmeal onto a baking sheet.
Separate into six equal balls. Shape until smooth and round.
Place dough balls on the baking sheet and allow to double in size again.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool then cut off the top similar to the way you would when carving a jack-o-lantern.
Remove some of the bread from the center leaving a full crust about 3/4 inches thick.
Fill with your favorite thick soup and serve with the excess bread.

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Tips and Hints

• The bowls do not work well with a thin brothy soup, as they tend to get too soggy too quickly.


• The first time I made these bowls my honey was a thick clumpy block so I used brown sugar and it turned out great.


• The purpose of the dehydrated onion is to give the bread a depth of flavor, you can omit it if you want to, you could also add dehydrated garlic or other seasonings.


• You can add a Tablespoon or two of your favorite small whole grain such as millet, amaranth, quinoa etc.

Fried Dill Pickles

The first time I ever heard about Deep Fried Dill Pickles was when I was in high school and living with the South's. David had been building domes in Athens, Georgia and discovered this Southern specialty. He managed to get a hold of a recipe and we sold them at the big Menan, Idaho 4th of July celebration. They were a huge hit, but I pretty much forgot about them.

Several years later I was reading A Time to Kill by John Grisham. The main character Jake, takes his Yankee paralegal to a quaint little bar-b-que joint and orders a batch of these. She is dubious and makes some crack about Southerners frying everything. as I read I remembered how delicious they were.

A few months ago I walked into a local bar-b-que place, Lon's Cookin Shack, that has the best pulled pork in the world. Lon's is also famous for their deep fried cauliflower. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the deep fried dill pickles had been added to the menu and ordered them, they were as great as I remembered them.

I found a recipe for deep fried broccoli, didn't care for it with broccoli or cauliflower but with dill pickles it is so yummy and my family chows down faster than I can cook them.

Fried Dill Pickles

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 cup club soda
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
dill pickle slices
Directions:
In a mixing bowl beat the egg well.
Whisk in the club soda
Stir in the flour, cornstarch and seasonings to taste.
Stir until smooth
Drain the pickles from the pickle brine and add to the batter.
Remove pickles, a few at a time from the batter and allow to drip off a bit.
Add to 350 degree oil and fry about 3 minutes.
Serve hot. Yum!

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Tips and Hints

• Try adding the pickles to the oil one or two at a time so they don't clump together.


• I recommend the crinkled hamburger dill chips because they seem to hold the batter better.


• Great served with bar-b-que such as Pepsi Chicken Sandwiches or pulled pork.


• Seltzer water can be used in place of the club soda.

Pepsi Chicken Sandwiches

When I was in high school I lived with my cousins, the South family. Nanette is the same age as I and we were/are cousins, sisters and best friends. She is an amazing woman and also has a great cooking blog, A Cooking Legacy. In search of an easy meal I decided to try her Pepsi Chicken recipe. I was a bit hesitant since I am not a huge Pepsi fan and detest ketchup, but I trusted her that it was good and tried it. I tweaked it a bit to make sandwiches. We were not disappointed, it is delicious.

Pepsi Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:
5 chicken breasts
1 small bottle ketchup (14 ounces)
14 ounces Pepsi
garlic salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.
Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.
Mix ketchup and Pepsi together, until well blended and ketchup looks dark and smooth.
Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.
Remove from oven, take chicken out of sauce allow to cool a few minutes until you can handle it.
Shred the chicken and replace into the baking dish. Stir chicken back into sauce.
It seems like the sauce is way too plentiful and runny, but the chicken will absorb it.
Return to oven and cook about 15 more minutes so the shredded chicken can soak up the sauce and the flavor.
Serve hot in your favorite bun or just eat it alone.

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Tips and Hints

• This also works great in a crock pot.   Throw everything in and set to low for about 5-6 hours, remove chicken breasts, shred and place back in the crock pot another 1-2 hours. 
• Tip to shred chicken quickly and easily.   Put the cooked breasts in a Kitchen Aid (or other stand mixer), using the paddle attachment turn on lowest speed until shredded about 1 -2 minutes 
• I poured some of the Pepsi into the ketchup bottle to help rinse it out
• This recipe works just great with caffeine free Pepsi too
• 
  

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

When I was little one of my favorite books was Old Black Witch by Wende Devlin. In the story a boy named Nicky and his mother want to make a sort of bed and breakfast in an old farmhouse. When they arrive and start trying to remodel they are dismayed to find an old witch living in the house. Somehow it transpires that the witch makes killer blueberry pancakes. She is installed as the resident chef and the business is a huge success.

I guess this is part of the reason I have always been on a subconscious search for the perfect amazing blueberry pancake. My friend, Bob steered me to this and it is wonderful. Old Black Witch would be impressed.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
whipped cream (optional)
Directions:
In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients, set aside
Beat eggs until fluffy, add buttermilk and beat well, mix in melted butter.
Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture, mix to a lumpy batter
Add the blueberries and carefully fold into the batter
Do Not Overmix
Pour batter onto a heated griddle and cook until golden brown on each side
Serve warm with whipped cream and/or your favorite syrup

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Tips and Hints

• Overmixing will result in heavy pancakes rather than fluffy pancakes


• I used a large spoon to put the batter on the griddle


• You can leave the blueberries out if you like plain buttermilk pancakes


• On the Fourth of July I made these into Red, White and Blueberry pancakes by adding a half cup of raspberries. They were delicious.

General Tso's Chicken

We love Chinese food at our house. General Tso's chicken with its slightly sweet, slightly spicy, slightly tangy sauce is a favorite. This version, though a bit of work is fantastic!

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks

Cornstarch Batter
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce*
1 cup cornstarch
water (as needed)

Sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
5-7 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce*
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup cooking sherry or white cooking wine
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
2 Tablespoons red pepper flakes

4 green onions, chopped

Oil for frying

Directions:

Mix sauce ingredient together, cover and set inside fridge until ready to use.
Beat the egg well, add the soy sauce and cornstarch, mix well. If it too solid add a tablespoon of water at a time until the batter is thick and half-way between a solid and a liquid. (If you ever made cornstarch oobleck as a child this is the consistancy you need). This mixture seems strange, but trust me it will work.
Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Add some of the chicken to the batter and stir the pieces into the batter.
Using a fork lift ONE piece at a time out of the batter and allow the excess to drip off.
Place chicken into the hot oil one piece at a time and allow to cook until crispy.
Remove from oil and drain on paper towel, continue until all the chicken is cooked.
In a separate skillet or large wok heat a small amount of oil and add the green onion, fry a minute or two.
Mix the sauce ingredients until smooth add to the hot pan and cook until thick, stirring constantly.
Sauce should be the consistancy you would get if you ordered this in a restauant, if it gets too thick add a bit of water.
Add chicken to sauce and stir until all chicken is coated and the sauce is thick and bubbly.
Serve over hot rice.

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Tips and Hints

• Be sure the chicken in coooked through when cooking in the oil.


• If you like this less spicy add fewer pepper flakes, more spicy add a bit more.


• I used a deep fryer (similar to a fry daddy) to cook the chicken with excellent results


• As the sauce cools it tends to gel and is not as good rewarmed. Not to worry though, as tasty as this is, you probably won't have leftovers.

• *LaChoy is a gluten free soy sauce.  You can find other gluten free soys if you look.  Tamari is also a great substitute to make this gluten free. 

Best Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love cream of broccoli soup with cheese. I searched for recipes and didn't find one I liked so I asked my friend Andrea for her recipe. She invited the whole family to dinner for my birthday and we cooked it together. Delish!

Best Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
3 onions
6 Tablespoons butter
salt
3 cloves garlic

3 potatoes, peeled and shredded or finely chopped
thyme
12 cups chicken broth
48 ounces broccoli
1 1/2 cups cream or half and half
1 pound each sharp cheddar, medium or mild cheddar and fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
black pepper

Directions:
Make mirapoix. With this soup you'll have double onion instead of equal portions of each of the veggies. You'll also use the butter rather than olive oil for a richer and creamier flavor.
Add garlic just before de-glazing
De-glaze with about a cup of chicken broth, add rest of broth and potatoes along with a pinch of thyme.
Simmer until potatoes are soft.
Put veggies and some of the broth in a blender or food processor.
Process until very smooth. You'll probably have to do this in multiple batches.
Pour back in pot and add broccoli lightly simmer until broccoli is tender.
Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes, until slightly cooled
Add cheese and stir well until melted
Add cream and mix well
If the soup is to thin you may thicken it with cornstarch or heat just to steaming, no simmer or boil, and allow to reduce.

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Tips and Hints

• Do not allow soup to get too hot or boil after adding the dairy products or it will curdle.


• Feel free to adjust the amount of cheese based on personal preference. If you love cheese add more, if you want the soup more "cream of" use less cheese.


• You may add or substitute other favorite cheeses.


• Never use that fake, dried Parmesan in a green can, it will not work properly or give good flavor.


• This soup is excellent served in a bread bowl.

Perfect Pizza Crust

My family loves pizza. After all who doesn't? It gets pricey to go out for a good pizza and it is not worth buying a cheapo pizza. I got an old crust recipe I've had for years and tweaked it to make it savory and full of flavor. We like it better than any take-out place.

Perfect Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 cup hot water (110-115 degrees)

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dehydrated garlic flakes
1 Tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes

1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Put the water in a large bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid) and sprinkle in the yeast.
Mix well so yeast dissolves.
Add the honey and mix well.
Allow the mixture to sit until the yeast foams up quite a bit.
Add oil, onion, garlic and herbs, mix well and allow to sit a few minutes until the seasonings begin to reconstitute.
Mix salt into flour, add to yeast mixture while mixing.
Mix or hand knead until all the flour is well mixed in and the dough forms a nice ball, about three minutes.
Divide dough into two balls, cover and allow to rise until at least double in size.
Roll dough into circles and place on pizza sheets.
Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork.
Allow the crust to rise again for about 20-25 minutes.

Top with sauce and favorite ingredients

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and crisp on the bottom.

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Tips and Hints

• You can use whole wheat or freshly ground flour



• I prefer sea salt in this recipe



• For the sauce I use regular tomato sauce with a bit of Italian Seasoning and onion flake added



• For pepperoni pizza layer sauce, cheese then pepperoni on the top



• For other pizza's put the cheese on top to hold down the toppings

Black Forest Cobbler

This is a twist on the easy cobbler recipe. Substituting devils food cake for the white gives it a totally different feel and taste.

Black Forest Cobbler

Ingredients:
2 cans cherry pie filling
1 box devil's food or other chocolate cake mix
1 cube butter, melted

vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions:
Dump the cherries into a 9x13 baking dish
sprinkle the cake mix over the cherries
Drizzle with butter

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the crust is crispy

Serve immediately topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

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Tips and Hints

• Vanilla Bean or French Vanilla ice cream recommended.


• Try a can of crushed pineapple as the first layer and cherries as the top fruit layer

Savory Multi-Grain Bread

I love bread, always have, always will. I took a basic recipe and pumped it up to make this savory bread that my family raved about. The crust was crispy, the bread was moist and the flavor was rich and savory. Whole wheat, honey and a variety of other grains make this as healthy as it is delicious.

I baked it on my well used Pampered Chef baking stone and took the picture as soon as I pulled it out of the oven, so sorry it is a bit less than attractive presentation, but as they say at Pampered Chef "the worse it looks, the better it cooks." Forgive the ugly background and enjoy the delicious bread.

Savory Multi-Grain Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup hot water (110-115 degrees)
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dehydrated garlic flakes
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground preferred)
1 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tablespoon each (as desired)
millet
buckwheat flour
amaranth
red quinoa
white quinoa
flax seed
teff
Kamut flour
sunflower seeds

Directions:

Add hot water and yeast to a large bowl. (I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with dough hook)
Mix well to dissolve, add honey and let sit a few minutes until the mixture begins to foam.
Add olive oil, onion and garlic, let mixture sit a few more minutes.

If you are grinding the flour this is a good time to do it.
Mix salt into the flour. Add flour into yeast mixture and mix for several minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball.

Add the other grains and continue to mix until very well kneaded.
Cover and let rise until about double in size, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Separate dough into three equal portions and roll each into a rope.
Braid the rope and place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes, or until golden.

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Tips and Hints

• Most of these grains can be found at health food stores, you can also check online


• You don't have to use all of the grains, even three or four can make it special


• Unless otherwise specified use the grains whole, they are small and mix right in


• You can add the whole buckwheat and/or Kumut to the wheat when grinding


• If the dough is too sticky add just a touch of all purpose flour in the final mixing process to make it easy to work with


• You can make this into loaves, rolls, or any other shape.

Easiest Cobbler Ever

I had this several years ago at a work pot luck. It was delicious and we all begged for the recipe. The gal that brought it told us it was called "dump cake" and that it was super simple to make. My kids love it, but with three boys there is no way I can call it by the original name so hence the switch to the more appetizing sounding "cobbler" title

Easiest Cobbler Ever

Ingredients:

1 large can crushed pineapple
1 can cherry pie filling
1 box cake mix (white, yellow, vanilla etc)
1 cube butter, melted

Directions:

Dump the pineapple into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan
Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly over the top of the pineapple
Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the fruit
Drizzle the butter over the cake mix

Bake at 350 about 45 minutes or until the cake mix forms a crispy, golden crust

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Tips and Hints

• You can use other pie fillings in place of the cherry such as berry, apple, peach, or other favorite.



• Make a Black Forest version by using a Devil's Food or other chocolate cake mix.
  


• Choose the least expensive cake mix
  
  

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love Chicken Tortilla Soup on a cool day, but a great version is hard to find and tends to be pricey at a restaurant. Once again I searched online, found a version that seemed good and tweaked it to make this savory and a bit spicy version.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

6 corn tortillas
olive oil
salt
favorite seasonings (optional)

3-4 carrots, diced
3-4 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed


28 ounces beef broth (2 cans, or water and bullion)
28 ounces chicken broth (2 cans or water and bullion)

1 4-ounce can green chilies
2 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups diced, cooked chicken breast
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup cheddar-jack cheese, grated
1 avocado, diced (optional)
1 lime (optional)
sour cream (optional)
other toppings as desired

Directions:

Warm the tortillas slightly (about 30 seconds in the microwave) to soften them. Slice tortilla into thin strips. Toss with a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and other seasonings. (I use Cholula Chili Lime and/or Mrs. Dash spicy). Place on a baking sheet and place in a 250 degree oven until crispy, about 40 minutes.

Mix together the celery, carrot and onion. Put in a large pot with the olive oil and salt to make mirapoix. When the veggies are caramelized add the garlic and saute one or two more minutes.

Deglaze the mirapoix with some of the beef and/or chicken broth.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese, tortilla strips, avocado and lime.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Serve hot, In each individual bowl stir in a squeeze of lime and top with a sprinkle of cheese, a few pieces of avocado, sour cream, and some tortilla strips.

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Tips and Hints

• I like to use diced tomatoes with chilies.
• To add some extra spiciness add a can of El Pato hot tomato sauce to the soup.
• You can also add cayenne pepper to spice it up. 
• To make it less spicy use mild green chilies
• Feel free to improvise, if you love corn add two cans, if you don't like it leave it out. Same goes for any other ingredient.
• Adding the lime to the whole pot and heating it tends to produce bitterness so make sure you just add it to the individual bowls.  

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

My Mother served a mission in Taiwan and has a very good friend, Mazie, from that country. As a child I enjoyed some of Mazie's authentic Chinese food. This Beef and Broccoli stir fried and served over wet chow mein noodles was one of my favorites.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 - 2 pounds beef (roast or other nice, but not too expensive cut)
1 pound broccoli florets
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons oil (approx)
1 handful Chinese style chow mein noodles (about 1/2 pound)

Sauce for Noodles: (optional)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Directions:
slice beef into thin strips cutting across the "grain" of the meat
sprinkle with cornstarch and pour soy sauce over it.
Mix well until the sauce and cornstarch form a paste that coats the meat.
Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. The cornstarch paste helps tenderize the meat so soaking longer is good. I usually marinate overnight.
In a large pot heat water to boiling and add noodles, cooking to desired consistency
Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan. Non stick works well. Stir the meat with the cornstarch and soy sauce paste well and add to the heated oil.
Cook, stirring frequently until mostly cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
Add broccoli to pan and stir-fry adding water as needed until almost tender. Add meat back into the pan and continue to cook until both are done.

Serve over hot chow mein noodles.
If you want to make a sauce for the noodles mix the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat until slightly thickened. Stir into noodles before topping with the beef and broccoli

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Tips and Hints

• Cutting the beef across the grain makes it more tender.

• If you can't find chow mein noodles you may substitute spaghetti noodles or rice.

Chicken and Dumplings

We've all heard of this traditional dish. On a cool rainy day I was looking for some good old fashioned comfort food I did some searching, combining and tweaking and came up with a this thick, creamy chicken soup with fluffy dumplings. Our family loves this scrumptious version of this wonderful comfort food.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
Chicken Soup:

2 pounds chicken breast

3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
salt

8 cups water
chicken bouillon powder or cubes
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

Dumplings

3 cups flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups milk


Directions:

Dice the chicken into chunks and sauté in a large pot using a small amount of olive oil and desired seasonings (I use salt and a touch of pepper) until no longer pink. Lift from pot and set aside.

Combine the celery, carrots and onion in the pot with more olive oil and salt to make mirapoix. Combine the water and correct amount of bouillon to make 8 cups of chicken broth. Deglaze the pan with a bit of the broth.

Add the cream of chicken soup and mix well, slowly add the remaining broth, stirring carefully to incorporate into the cream soup. Add the cooked chicken and bring to a slow simmer.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough, may be a bit sticky.

Drop by spoonfuls into simmering stew and cover. Simmer 15-20 minutes without lifting lid.

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Tips and Hints

• The soup will start out a bit thin but the dumplings should thicken it up nicely.

• Smaller dumplings will cook through easier and be less doughy. If they are a bit doughy just let them cook a bit longer.

• You can omit the dumplings and add homemade noodles instead to make a creamy chicken noodle soup.

• You can use a whole chicken and boil it in 4 quarts of water. Then remove the chicken from the pot and take the meat off the bones. The water used to cook the chicken will replace the water and bouillon broth.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

The first time I ever heard of this soup was in an e-mail from Sweet Tomatoes. Since I love baked potatoes and I love soup I was very excited and made the 35 mile trip to try it with eager anticipation. I was so disappointed! Their soup had so little flavor. I still wanted to try a good loaded baked potato soup so I looked online, found a recipe and tweaked it a bit.
Sheer Loaded Baked Potato Bliss!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
12 oz thick sliced Applewood smoked bacon
13-15 med/lg. potatoes, baked

3-4 stalks celery finely diced
2-3 large carrots, peeled, finely diced
1 large onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
4-8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup thinly sliced ham or Canadian Bacon (or mini cubed ham)

6 cups (or 3 cans) chicken broth
2 cups (or 1 can) vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ - 1 cup milk, warmed
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (optional)

1 pint half and half
1 small carton sour cream
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish
½ cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup thinly sliced green onion (green part)

Directions:
Cut bacon into chunks, cook in large stock pot until crisp.
Remove the bacon, set aside.  Also remove grease, and discard, reserving about 2-3 Tablespoons
Chop carrots, celery and onion. Use to make mirapoix, in the bacon grease.
While the mirapoix is cooking mash 10 of the potatoes adding warm milk, salt and pepper. You can saute the two cloves of garlic in the butter and add them to the potatoes if you would like. I dice the potatoes with the peel on and toss it all in a stand mixer to mash them.
Peel the remaining potatoes and cut them into bite size chunks, set aside.
This is a slight change from the usual mirapoix step. Before de-glazing the pan add the diced peppers, garlic and ham and saute about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Scoop out most of the veggie and ham mixture. Add a small amount of the broth to de-glaze the pan. Once the pan is de-glazed add the rest of the cooked veggies and ham back to the pot along with the rest of the broth and half & half.
Stir the mashed potatoes into the soup mixing until well combined. Add potato chunks. Heat about 10 minutes.

Add sour cream, cheese and most of the bacon, stir well, heat until sour cream dissolves and cheese is melted.
Stir in half and half
Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until ready to serve.
Spoon into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle each of bacon, cheese and green onion.

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Tips and Hints

• If you are timid about spicy food still use the jalapeno, but be sure it is seeded with the membrane removed. The dairy products really diminish the heat so you shouldn't need to omit it. To turn up the heat toss in a few more and leave in the seeds, I use about 3 jalapenos
• Try pre-baking the potatoes and pre-cooking the bacon to save time when making the soup.


• Served with some hot crusty bread this soup is hearty enough to make a perfect meal.

Kung Pao Chicken

Our family loves Chinese food and spicy food so Kung Pao is a favorite. James made it a few times before leaving for a mission to Guatemala. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to the recipe he used so when we got in the mood for it I had to search online. I found a couple that looked promising so I combined, adapted and added a touch or two of my own and came up with a version my family really enjoyed!

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Marinade:

1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons soy sauce*
4 Tablespoon white cooking wine
2 Tablespoon rice vinegar

4-5 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon olive oil


Sauce:

4 Tablespoons soy sauce*
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons white cooking wine
1 Tablespoon hot chili paste
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 green onions chopped

1/2 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
dried red pepper pods

Directions:
Mix the ingredients for the marinade and add the chicken, mix well to cover thoroughly cover and refrigerate about 30 minutes.
While chicken is marinating mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
Lift from marinade with a slotted spoon, place in a medium size bowl and sprinkle with the cornstarch stirring until a thin paste covers the chicken.
Heat the oil in a wok** or sturdy pot, add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pot. The cornstarch mixture may stick to the pot in some places, scrape off excess and discard, some will incorporate into sauce.
Add sauce ingredients to hot pot and heat to a slow simmer. Add chicken back into the sauce mixture and mix well to coat. Add peanuts and red pepper pods to taste.
Serve over hot oriental noodles or rice.

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Tips and Hints

• I am not a big fan of sesame oil, if you like it you could replace the olive oil and use only sesame.

• Be careful with the red pepper pods. Some tend to be very hot and a few can go a long way.

• You can get the small pods at an asian specialty store and they can be a bit pricey. I've seen some that are a bit larger in most grocery stores in the Mexican section for a much better price.

• *LaChoy is a gluten free soy sauce.  There are others out there as well, just make sure you keep looking.

** For best results use a real wok.  Trust me, it makes a huge difference

Mirapoix

I have a wonderful friend named Andrea. When Martha Stewart grows up she wants to be Andrea. The things Andrea can do could fill a huge book. She is the most amazing chef, she can taste a dish and figure out how to replicate it. Last year at Girls' Camp she used one of the cabins to create a kitchen complete with a refrigerator she made herself that required no electricity.

Andrea taught me how to create the perfect base to any soup. It begins with mirapoix (mir-a-pwah) Since learning this technique my homemade soups have greatly improved in depth and richness of flavor.

Let me pass on the Magic of Andrea

Mirapoix

Ingredients:
Equal parts diced:

onion
carrots
celery

olive oil

salt

liquid (according to soup you intend to make)


Directions:

The proportions are not listed because it is not an exact science. I usually use one large onion and enough carrots and celery to balance it out.


In a large soup pot slightly heat a tablespoon or so of the oil. Add the veggies and sprinkle with a bit of salt, this draws out the natural sugars in the veggies. Saute on medium heat, but don't scorch the oil, until the veggies start to caramelize and turn the bottom of the pan starts turning dark, you'll want a fairly large patch of the dark caramelization. Don't let it burn.

pan with carmelized mirapoix

Pour a small amount of the the liquid into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping at the dark patches until they loosen and are incorporated into the liquid and vegetables. The bottom of the pan should mostly "clean up" This is called de-glazing

pan that has been deglazed

Now you are ready to proceed with making your soup. Just follow your recipe from here.

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Tips and Hints

• I usually dice the veggies very fine, but they can be a little bigger if you like


• They tend to shrivel as they cook so if want a soup with a lot of chunky vegetables I would recommend adding extra chopped veggies after you have de-glazed the pan.


• You can use butter or some other fat source in place of the olive oil, just be aware of the scorching temperature of your fat.


• Sometimes I need to use up my veggies so I use more than normal, if there are too many to easily de-glaze the pan I'll scoop most of them out before de-glazing the pan, then add them back in after the pan is clean.


• Some soup recipes will call for the mirapoix ingredients and direct you to cook 10 minutes or so. I would recommend following the mirapoix directions and cooking until caramelized, as this makes the flavor so much more full.


• If your recipe calls for the three vegetables you can use those amounts as your guide.


• Mirapoix can be the basis for just about any soup you could think of (French Onion is about the only exception - for this just use lots of onion and saute it until it caramelizes)


• Even if your family does not like these veggies use them anyway, just dice them extra fine! Trust me. My husband claims to hate celery, but he loves the soups I make using celery in a mirapoix base.


• Alternate spelling: mirepoix