Orange Chicken

4 raw chicken breasts-cut up
1 egg
1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water

Dip chicken pieces into egg and then into cornstarch. Cook battered chicken in oil until done. Drain onto a paper towel and discard oil. In a large bowl combine sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder; mix well. Pour sauce mixture into pan with cooked, battered chicken and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Combine rice and water in a medium pan; bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve sauce over rice.

Hong Kong-Style Beef with Udon Noodles

This is a new favorite recipe of ours. All the ingredients can be found in Wegmans oriental market section, but I'm made it with regular oyster and soy sauce too.

1 lb Beef Sirloin Strips for Stir Fry
3 Tbsp water
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 pkgs Myojo Instant Japanese-Style Udon Noodles
2 Tbsp Oriental Mascot Vegetarian Oyster Flavored Sauce
1 Tbsp Pearl River Bridge Mushroom flavored Superior Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 8 oz pkg Bean Sprouts
1 bunch green onions, trimmed, cut in thin strips 2-2 1/2 inches long (about 1 cup)
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled, sliced thin
1/2 large onion, peeled, 1/4-inch slices (about 1 cup)

Place beef in small bowl. Add water, 1 Tbsp at a time, working in with hands until water is absorbed into beef. Sprinkle cornstarch over beef and work in with hands to coat all pieces. Loosen noodles by hand; set aside. Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in small bowl; set aside. Blanch sprouts and green onion in large pot of boiling salted water 5 seconds; drain and set aside. Drizzle oil around sides of stir-fry pan; tilt pan to distribute evenly. Heat oil in pan on HIGH until oil faintly smokes. (If oil smokes too much, pan is too hot.) Add beef, ginger, and onion slices. Stir fry 3-4 min. Add noodles; stir fry about 1 min. Add sauce; stir fry 30 seconds, until heated through. Add sprouts and green onions to pan. Stir fry briefly to heat through and blend. Serve.
(Wegmans Magazine, Winter 2008)

Chicken Cardamom Masala with Cashews

If you like Indian food, this is really good and fairly easy to make:

2 tablespoons garam masala
6 to 10 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 piece (1 inch) cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons red chile flakes
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1 4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, or 4 chicken thighs, halved
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Vegetable oil, for frying
4 onions, chopped
3 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 to 6 tablespoons cashews
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup
3 medium carrots, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 cup heavy cream or yogurt (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Place garam masala, cardamom, cinnamon stick, chile flakes, ginger, and salt in a mortar and lightly crush with a pestle. Place chicken, yogurt, and spice mixture in a large bowl, turning chicken to coat. Let marinate, covered and refrigerated overnight.

Using a rubber spatula, wipe excess marinade from chicken; reserve marinade. Pat chicken with paper towels to dry; sprinkle with turmeric.

Heat about 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch-oven over high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until skin is nicely browned, about 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Reduce heat and add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to pot, along with reserved marinade, cashews, and tomato paste. Cover and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add carrots and cauliflower, cover, and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes more.

Stir in cream or yogurt, if using, and cook 2 minutes more. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

Some notes:
Serve over white rice.
It's pretty spicy, so if you want mild, cut down on the red chile flakes.
I leave the cardamom pods whole, then pick them out before serving, they are pretty strong.
I usually just use 2 chicken breasts, instead of a whole chicken.
I found garam masala at the spice store a couple buildings behind Lori's Natural Foods. If you need any of these spices just to try it, I have plenty.
This is from "Where Flavor was Born" by Andreas Viestad.

Crockpot Fajitas

I got this recipe from Veronica Haymore. I think she said she got it from Tiffany Johnson. It is super easy and so very, very good.

2 lb. chuck roast
1/2 cup brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning*
juice of two limes**

Combine everything in a crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours. Shred meat and serve with taco fixings. You can adjust the quantity of seasoning if you have a bigger/smaller roast.

*Dinosaur Barbecue makes a Cajun seasoning that is really great. You can buy it at Wegman's
**I keep a bottle of lime juice in the fridge and just use that. Some would turn up there nose at that, but it is just easier. I use about 1/3 of a cup.

Feta Chicken Salad

3 cups diced cooked chicken
2 large stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
6 tablespoons sour cream
1 (4 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

In a serving bowl, mix together the chicken, celery, pepper, and red onion. In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, feta cheese, and dill. Pour over the chicken mixture, and stir to blend. Taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving (it tastes even better the second day).

Found this on allrecipes.com

Easy Parmesan Cheese Chicken

1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing mix
6 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix cheese, dressing, and garlic.
Moisten chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in shallow baking dish.
Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Pioneer Woman Lasagna..my kids FAVORITE

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. hot (spicy) breakfast sausage
2 cloves minced garlic
2 (14.5) cans whole tomatoes
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 T. dried parsley
2 T. dried basil
1 tsp. salt

brown beef, sausage,and garlic until brown. Drain off fat. Add tomatoes, paste, parsley, basil, and salt. Simmer for 45minutes.

Cook lasagna noodles in 1 tsp. salt and 1 T. olive oil. Lay flat on foil and set aside.

3 C. cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
2 T. dried parsley
1 tsp. salt

mix all the above well.

1lb. mozzarella cheese

put (3-4) lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Put half the cheese mixture on top of the noodles, add half mozzarella cheese, and half of meat mixture. Repeat. Top with a generous layer of Parmesan cheese.You can either freeze at this point or Put in oven for 20-30 minutes at 350.

Zucchini Soup

8 Zucchini and yellow squash
green onions
dill (to taste)
sour cream (about 1 cup)
cream cheese (8oz.)
6 chicken bullion cubes
3 C. Water

cook zucchini, dill and onions until tender. Add chicken broth (water and bullion), cream cheese, and sour cream. Blend in blender. Add back to pot and eat hot. This is actually a cold soup, but I don't like cold soup so we always eat it hot. It is also a recipe that I usually do by taste, but this is what we start with.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

This recipe came from my mom's ward cookbook. It's easy and yummy too.

6 C. water
½ C. chopped onion
2 peeled, diced carrots
1-2 stocks broccoli
1 stick butter
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/3 C. Flour
2 ½ C. milk
¾ C. grated cheddar cheese

Vegetable Mixture: In 6 cups of water, boil onion, carrots, and broccoli until soft. Set aside.

White Sauce: Melt 1 cube butter in large pan. Add ½ C. of water from vegetable mixture (if there is not any water remaining in the vegetable mixture add what is left plus chicken broth to equal ½ cup)Add 3-4 bouillon cubes. Whisk in 1/3 C flour; stir in 2 ½ C milk; bring to a boil and simmer until creamy.

Add grated cheddar cheese and vegetable mixture. (I strain out any remaining liquid in the vegetables).

I love that you don't have to puree it. Makes it easier for me to make and I like the chunkiness.

Aunt Marty's Jello Salad

A recipe from my in-laws. And though I've asked, I still do not know who Aunt Marty is. But I love this stuff! I was not sure what label to put on this...any suggestions are welcome. I will edit them if I need to.

2 3oz. pkgs. lemon jello
8 oz. cream cheese
20 oz. crushed pineapple
1 pt. heavy whipping cream
1 small jar marachino cherries

Strain the pineapple, reserving the juice. Make jello according to directions, substituting 1 cup of the required cold water with a mixture of pineapple juice and 2 Tbsp cherry juice (mixture should make 1 cup total). The cherry juice is mostly for color. Allow to soft set in the refrigerator(about 2 hours).

Mix softened cream cheese into the jello.

Whip the heavy cream. Fold in the whipped cream and crushed pineapple into the mixutre. Allow to set for at least an hour. Garnish with cherry halves.

Carmelitas

This is the Sarah S. recipe, of course (read entire recipe for all ingredients needed).

2 Cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 ½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ cup soft butter


Mix above ingredients together. Reserve ½ of the mixture. Press remaining ½ into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°. While crust is cooking, combine the following:

12 oz. Mrs. Richarson's Butterscotch Carmel topping (or similar topping)
3 Tbsp. flour

Pour over hot crust. Sprinkle 1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips over the caramel layer. (you may also add ½ cup chopped nuts).

Top with remaining crust mixture by crumbling over the top of the caramel. Bake for 18-22 minutes at 350. Allow to cool 1-2 hours before serving.

Honey Wheat Bread

This recipe came from the packet that June Seibach handed out in Relief Society on ways to use your wheat. It is the best homemade wheat bread I've ever had.

1/2 cup water
2 packets yeast
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup wheat germ**
2 tablespoons wheat gluten*
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups bread flour

In a large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. In a microwave safe 4-cup measuring cup, melt butter. Add milk, honey, brown sugar and salt to melted butter and mix well (this is a good way to do it because you only use one measuring cup and the honey won't stick). Add milk mixture to yeast and stir. Add wheat germ, gluten and 3 cups wheat flour to yeast mixture and mix well. Add 2 cups of bread flour. Continue adding bread flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Remove dough from bowl and knead for 5 minutes using bread flour. Cover dough mound with a damp towel and allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and divide in two. Roll each half into a flat rectangle and roll up, pinching ends, to make a French loaf. You can slit the top with a knife to make it pretty. Allow loaves to rise for an hour and then bake on greased cookie sheets at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

The original recipe called for bread pans but my loaves were often doughy in the middle. The French loaves are a little thinner and allow better baking.

*Wheat gluten can be found next to the flour in the baking isle. You can add it to any bread recipe (1 tsp. per cup of flour) and it substantially improves the texture of the bread.

**Wheat germ can usually be found in the health food section.

Turtle Brownies

I found a recipe similar to this one when I was blog surfing. Unfortunately, I can't remember the actual blog I printed it from. Sorry.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup butter
1 bag chocolate chips
1 jar caramel sauce
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter in the microwave and add butter and milk to cake mix. Mix well and add chopped nuts. Pour 1/2 of batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. It will be pretty think and hard to spread. I spray some Pam onto a piece of plastic wrap, lay it over the batter and use it as a mess-free way to spread the batter flat. Bake the first layer at 375 for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and pour caramel over baked portion and spread evenly (again, this will be hard unless you heat the caramel first or use the plastic wrap). Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel and cover chips with remaining batter (use your plastic wrap again). Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely before serving. These are very gooey and serve better the next day, after they've had time to set up.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Again, found a basic recipe on allrecipes.com but modified it in so many ways that I'm taking ownership.

1 lb. cubed beef stew meat
2 cans condensed golden mushroom soup (different than cream of mushroom)
1 onion, chopped
1 packet beef onion soup mix (Lipton makes this)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
12 ounces sour cream
*1/3 cup chopped green pepper (optional)
1-2 large bags egg noodles

In the crockpot combine the first 9 ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 6 hours. Right before you're ready to serve add sour cream. You can either mix in the noodles or serve them with the sauce on top.

I grew up with green pepper in my stroganoff. The problem is that if you put it in with the other ingredients, it adds a strong flavor to the sauce. I sautee the green peppers with some olive oil until they're soft and then add them with the sour cream.

Mexican Spaghetti

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. (13-16 oz) spaghetti
1 can Rotel chilis and tomatoes
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese (cut into chunks)
2 Tablespoons chicken base

Boil chicken and shred. Set aside. In a large pot, bring 6-7 cups of water to a boil. Add chicken base and spaghetti. Cook until tender. Do not drain. Add Rotel, Velveeta, and chicken. Stir until cheese is melted. You can drain excess liquid if it's too runny.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This recipe is a great next-day meal after having Rotisserie Chicken because you can use the meat and stock that were leftover. I found a basic recipe for this on allrecipes.com but have severely modified it, so I'm calling this one mine.

6-8 cups chicken stock
2 -3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 package long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half and half or heavy cream (pick your poison)
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour olive oil into a large soup pot and add all vegetables. Sautee over medium-high heat for several minutes, until onions become translucent. Add stock and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil and add rice (save the seasoning packet for now). Cover and allow rice to cook for as long as the package says. While it is cooking, put butter into a small sauce pan over medium heat and allow it to melt. Add flour and seasoning packet to make a roux. Add your heavy cream and let it heat until it begins to thicken. Add cream mixture to soup and combine well. Let the soup cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Rotisserie Style Chicken

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It is presented here in pretty much it's original format. I had somehow managed to prepare meals for nine years without cooking an entire chicken. I don't know how I did it. This recipe is to die for. The leftover meat, bones, skin, etc. can be boiled and used to make a base for soups that is far better than anything you'll find canned at the store.

4 teaspoons kosher salt (regular will work too)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/ teaspoon garlic powder
2 onions, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 large roasting chicken (5-8 lbs.)

Remove that package of yuckiness from inside the chicken (you can save this to boil later to make broth, or just toss it). Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with a towel. Mix all spices together and rub them all over the chicken, inside and out. Place onion and garlic pieces in the body cavity. If you have time, wrap the chicken in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 4-24 hours, this really improves the flavor of the meat. When you're ready, place the chicken on a roasting rack (for me, this consists of my cooling rack placed in a pan). Bake uncovered at 250 degrees for 5 hours. When done the skin will be brown and crispy but the meat will be moist and delicious. Again, if you have time, let the meat "rest" after you take it out of the oven by covering it loosely with foil for 15-20 minutes. This helps the meat to absorb juices that would run out if you cut it immediately.

This recipe requires you to get really friendly with a complete chicken that looks like something that was once alive and is now dead. I was a little afraid to do this at first and I still crinkle my nose as I handle the raw chicken, but I promise it's worth it.

Note: As soon as we are done eating, I put everything (carcass, extra meat, pan juices, onions and garlic from cavity and "packet of yuckiness") into a large stock pot and cover it with water. I let it simmer for several hours while I clean up, put the boy to bed, whatever. Before bed, I put a strainer over a gallon-size pitcher and pour the contents of the pot in. Once I've squeezed all of the stock out I pick out all the meat I can find and put it right into the pitcher with the stock. Cover the pitcher with a lid and put it in the fridge. Throw everything else away. When you're ready to use the stock, skim the fat off the top and discard it. The stock will have a "jelly-like" consistency, this is normal, it will liquefy as it heats. Use the stock the same way you would a can of chicken broth. You may need to add salt and you can usually water it down a bit as it is a bit more concentrated than what you find at the store.

Let's Get Started

I've spoken to several of you about wanting to start a food blog as a way to share recipes. Well, here it is. We are all constantly feeding each other and saying how good things are and that we need this or that recipe. So, this is a way to have constant access to our friend's best recipes. When you post a recipe please use the "labels for this post" option at the bottom of the text box. That way we can categorize recipes into sides, breads, main dishes, dessert, etc.

This is also a place to post tips and ideas to improve cooking. So, if you post a tip about making better bread, label it "bread" and "tips". If you have pictures to post with recipes, we love that too! Especially if it is hard to explain processes, pictures are worth a thousand words.

Please feel free to invite others to post here. I'm pretty sure that anyone who is an author can invite others to be authors. If not, let me know and I can add people.

In the spirit of giving credit where due, please site where you got the recipe. A link to a site, a name, anything. Recipes aren't intellectual property, so they aren't protected by copyright, but it's always nice to credit the original author.

I'm looking forward to lots of tasty recipes!