Chicken and Rice Casserole

I am not a big fan of Casseroles, but this looked interesting. very easy to make, and I served it with the previous post of Wheat Bread. :) ... *Kid Approved* again! Wow, Carter really enjoyed this. I did not think he was going to take to it like he did. He was shoveling large portions into his mouth and even had seconds! Wow...this is noted for sure.

Recipe:
1 Tbs Butter 1 Medium Onion, peeled and diced
3 Cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14.5 oz) Cans of green beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 oz) can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped (or left whole if you like the large crunch)
1 (4 oz) jar of pimentos (I actually did not have any, so this was exempt)
1 (10.34oz) can of cream of celery
1 cup Mayonnaise (did not have this either! so, added a whole can of cream of chicken - it worked)
1 box of wild rice, cooked
1.5 Cups of Cheese
Pinch of Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the onions. Saute until translucent - about 5 or so mins. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Cook your wild rice, according to package.

4. Cook the chicken! I actually cooked 3 small breasts whole, then shredded and added to bowl. I like shredding better than having cubes awkwardly placed in my dish.

5. Add all remaining ingredients top a bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.

6. Pour into a greased 3 quart casserole dish and bake for 20-25 mins, or until bubbly. Let stand for a few mins, than serve! Yes, it is that easy. :)

Asian Orange Chicken

I am sorry everyone (everyone, being my 2 or 3 devout followers)!! I am still making food, but have been very busy and accidentally forgot to document a few of my creations...and then I was hit hard with a stomach virus last Monday and took the whole week to recover. I mean seriously, that virus wiped me out! The smell of food was revolting, so that was the last thing I wanted to use my ounces of energy toward. Carter got a little sick too, so this past week has just been a yucky one. I had some yummy sounding meals planned for that week too, oh well. I will just have to get my food groove on this week!

One meal I did make that I never posted on here...and that Don enjoyed thoroughly was an Asian Orange Chicken dish. Yum! I served over white rice with snow peas, carrots and chow mein noodles.

Recipe

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

(for another bag)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut

into 1 inch cube pieces

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

	Okay now pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes. Now place the chicken into a resealable plastic bag. When your saucepan has cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. ( I only did about 30mins...the longer the better though!)
	In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (4/5). Place the chicken in the skillet and brown on both sides. Scoop them out into a large bowl (don't worry, they are going back into the pan soon). Wipe out the skillet and add all the sauce. Bring this to a boil over a medium/high heat (6/8) Mix together the cornstarch and 2 Tbs of water - stir into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the chicken pieces. Simmer and cook till chicken is tender and white in the middle. You are done my friend! Good job~ Now go sit down and enjoy your hard work. Yummy Bunny!

Quick and Easy Korean Bolgolgi

The other night I made a Korean dish called "Bolgolgi" (known as the Korean BBQ). I had this for the first time back in 2004 with a good friend of mine, Brian, who is half Korean and eats practically anything in that genre. He had a Bolgolgi recipe and that is where I got this from. It's been a few years since I have made it - but Don requested the dish - mainly because a few week previously we went to a local Korean restaurant called Seoul, and had the Bolgolgi there....and it was AWESOME. My dish did not look real pretty though, sorry. I normally would have gotten a nice high quality meat and thinly sliced into long lengths - (like thin and long jerky)....but the meat I bought was...well, was "on sale". haha... Sorry Don! So not as tender or juicy, and short strips instead of long....still tasty though.

Recipe:

• 1-1/4lb Thinly sliced meat/steak
• 4 Scallions
• 3 Garlic Cloves - crushed and finely chopped
• 1 Tbs Soy Sauce (I added actually about 1/2 Cup!)
  
• 2 tsp Rice wine
• 1 -2 Tbs Sesame Oil
• 2 Tbs Sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper - sprinkled over-

I took a large ziplock bag and added all the ingredients in and mixed around. Then after I thinly sliced all my meat I added that to the bag. Shake, Squish and Mix all around really well - then put in the fridge for 10 or some mins. This helps with marinating.
Now cook up your meat on a skillet or wok and serve with rice and veggies... or kimchi and watermelon. Mmmmmmm :) Enjoy~

Hoisin and Cranberry Chicken (**Good**)

Sounds kinda iffy, eh? Well don't hear... taste! :) It was fantastic! I improvised from the original recipe and made it my own. The chicken was very juicy and tender and the sauce ingredients complimented one another very well. My mother came into town this week and loved it! So did Don...and Carter thought it was "interesting". He was more into the ranch dressing and chips on top of the salad than anything else...

Recipe:
Turn oven on to 450F

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Trim all the fat off.
• Place in a gallon "Ziplock" bag:
• 1 Tbs Chinese Five-spice powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• and 3 Tbs white flour

Shake around the mixture in the bag then add your chicken. Bounce around the room and sing while you shake the bag, coating the chicken. The dancing and signing is very important. Do not skip that step...
Now spray a glass cooking dish and evenly space chicken out and cook for about 15-20 mins uncovered. Cut into your fattest chicken and make sure the meat is white.
(while chicken cooks)
In a Medium saucepan add:
1 can of Cranberries
1 and 1/4 Cup of Chicken Broth
3 Tbs of Hoisin Sauce
1 Tea of Brown Sugar
~1/4 cup of Lemon Juice

Mix well and bring to a boil slowly. (Careful, it foams up! - blow on the mixture if the froth gets too high) Then lower the temperature. Slowly mix in about 1 Tbs of flour to thicken the sauce up a bit. You could even add a tiny bit (1/4 tsp or so) of Corn Starch to help with the thickening. Mine was pretty runny...so no worries.

When the chicken is done take it out of the oven and pour generously the sauce over the top. Flip the chicken with a fork and cover both sides. Mmmmmm. Pour the rest of the sauce in a small bowl for dipping if desired.
Now transfer your delicious chicken to a plate and serve with whatever catches your fancy.
Enjoy~

(I served mine with a small salad and wild rice)

Sesame Chicken and Hot Lava Cake --Valentines Day!

February 14th....the most dreaded or anticipated love day of the year. Of course, I had someone to spend it with again, 5th year in a row might I add :) So what can you do on V-day with a husband in school, a 1 year old that you can't take to a busy late night restaurant and when the piggy bank looks anorexic? Make your own fabulous night of course!
I had text Don earlier that day and asked him to be home by 7:30pm because I made reservations at P.F. Chang's.-- (he was probably thinking I was crazy!!)-- So when he got home a few mins shy of 7:30 I had almost everything done :D He was surprised..and greatly relieved... because the thought of taking Carter to a restaurant during this busy night and at bed time is not a fun idea. So we fed and played with Carter (I had already given him his bath), we read scriptures, sang some songs and off to sleep he went. Don and I changed into some fancy fancy stuff, I took pictures and placed dinner on the table, lit the candles - turned Pandora (.com) on and we feasted to a lovely at home Valentines dinner.

Don and I

Let's EAT!

I made Sesame Chicken over white rice, with Chow Mein and Snow Peas.

Sesame Chicken, Fruit, Sparkle Drink and Candles...mmmm!

My hurried make-shift sign :D

Sesame Chicken Recipe:
You'll need one of these packets from your local grocery. Look in the Asian isle. I found Ingles or Albertsons carries them. I have ordered them from the company before too.
The directions are on the back of the seasoning packet...but this is how I do it:
Take about a pound of chicken and trim then cut into chunks.
Place chunks in a large sealed plastic bag with a 1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce and 1/4 Cup of Corn Starch, plus 2 Tbs of water. Mix around and marinate for 5-10 mins.
Get a large skillet out and pre-heat with Canola oil. Pour out the chicken and mixture and stir till chicken is brown and cooked thoroughly.
After the chicken is cooked pour in a little more oil, then the packet of seasoning along with 1/2 Cup of white sugar, and 1/4 cup of water. Mix all around and turn heat down to about a 3-4. The combination of seasoning and corn starch with will make the mixture nice and thick.
After the mixture is thick you can dish out over a bowl/plate of rice and add either Chow Mein Noodles, more Sesame Seeds or Cashews. :) ENJOY!
The fruit I used were Strawberries, Bananas and Watermelon. YUM!
--------------------------
Now for DESSERT!
(read all before making..warning tip)
I made a quick easy version of the Hot Lava Chocolate Cake.
I bought a cool GIANT cup cake pan at WalMart.
I used a box of Devils food Cake and mixed as directed. Then I filled both sides of my pan to 3/4 full. Popped in the oven and let cool afterward before transferring out of pan. (Make sure you grease your pan with Crisco or Pam Spray and then lightly flour, for the cakes can come right out!..I use Pam Spray Canola).
Take cakes out of pan and onto a cutting board or something similar.
Take a sharp long knife and cut a circle out of the top and carve out the cake "inners".
Save top and scraps. Now fill the cake with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Though, I am pretty sure next time I will use a higher quality chocolate - like a fondue type - Then stuff the scraps into your mouth, or give them to your child (which he then spits out all onto the floor and steps on it and makes a huge mess...wait, did I just say that out loud?) and take the top and plug your chocolate syrup stuffed cake. CAREFUL! I made the mistake of making my cake too full and when I plugged it up it split the sides and pretty much bled to death. Not pretty.

So I decided to do something different with my other piece. I sliced the top straight off, instead of carving it out. This way after I fill the cake with chocolate there will be no added pressure with the top going back on. it will just lay on top of the sliced edges. GENIUS I tell you! :-P
So try and not make my first mistake. Okay, now you filled it in and you placed the top on. Good job. Now wrap in plastic and place in the freezer till whenever you are going to use it.


I made this treat in the morning and froze it for the day. When we sat down for dinner I took it out of the freezer and placed it on the kitchen counter. When we were ready to eat I popped it into the microwave for 1 min 30 secs till nice and warm. I then sprinkled it with powder sugar and drizzled more chocolate over the top. Wish I had some ice cream! You can serve with whip cream and strawberries if you'd like. YUM!... it looks impressive and is very easy to do. Enjoy!

Beef Barley Stroganoff

Sounds good, uh? Well, it is! I grew up with "Stroganoff" where my mother would cube chunks of meat, with a sour cream/cream of mushroom sauce over egg noddles. So, when I saw this recipe I was hesitant, because it didn't sound or resemble the stroganoff mama use to make. It was great though! Certainly a little different, but in a good way.

Recipe:
Box of Barley
2.5 Cups of Vegetable Broth
1.2 tsp dried marjoram
1lb Lean Ground Beef
1.5 cups of Chopped Celery
1.5 Cup minced green Onion
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Half-and-Half
1 package/6oz Mushrooms (optional)

Cook the lean beef, while Barley cooks. Chop up the celery and green onions. After meat is thoroughly cooked add the mushrooms (I don't like mushrooms, so never add) and celery, green onions (I did not have any tonight) plus pepper, marjoram and half/half to the meat. Turn down to about 2-3 heat. After Barley is soft and cooked add a little at a time for desired barley/meat ratio. (about half the sauce pan for me). Stir around and serve hot. ENJOY~

p.s. I also made Italian Cheese bread, that is what you see as well in the picture. However, it did not turn out how I would have desired it. Thus, no recipe or picture for you. Sorry! :-P