Sunday, May 9, 2010

Copycat Cheesecake Factory's Avocado Egg Rolls Recipe

34 min 30 min prep

SERVES 2 -4 , 3 eggrolls


dipping sauce
3-4 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon tamarind pulp
1/2 cup honey
1 pinch powdered saffron
1/2 cup chopped cashews
2/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves
2 green onions
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup olive oil

egg rolls
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, & diced
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 pinch salt
3 egg roll wraps
1 egg, beaten

Stir together vinegars, tamarind, honey, and saffron in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute.
Stir until tamarind is dissolved.
In a blender, Puree tamarind mixture, cashews, 2/3 cup cilantro, garlic, onions, sugar, pepper, and cumin.
Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in oil.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Gently stir together avocado, tomatoes, onion, 1/2 teaspoon cilantro, and salt.
Distribute filling evenly onto center of each egg roll wrapper.
Position a wrapper so that a corner is pointing toward you; fold the bottom corner up, 1/4 of the way over the filling.
Brush remaining corners and edges of the wrapper with egg, roll up from side to side, fold top corner over all and press to seal.
Repeat with remaining wrappers.
Continue by deep-frying the egg rolls in 375 degree oil for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.
Drain on brown paper bags.
Slice egg rolls diagonally across middle and serve with prepared dipping sauce!
ENJOY!

Monday, April 26, 2010

BBQ Sauce

2 C ketchup
1/4 C molasses
3 tsp Worcestersire sauce
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp tobasco sauce
3/8 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (cut back for less heat)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp course black pepper

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients
Dry Rub:
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Directions
Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.

Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.

To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of ciabatta rolls, and top with the spicy slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.

Fo Slaw- Guy Fieri

Fo Slaw:


3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 head cabbage, cored, tough leaves removed and shredded

2 small carrots, shredded

Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add the cabbage and the carrots and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for1 hour.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Buttermilk pancakes with butter syrup- from JaLee

Pancakes
2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
Mix above ingredients with wire wisk

Add-
2 eggs-beaten
3 c buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter

Mix until slightly lumpy. Use butter on your griddle.

Syrup
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 stick butter
1 c sugar

cook on low heat, gradually increasing until it comes to a full boil. Reduce heat and add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Stir continually until foam goes down. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Veggie Spaghetti

Serves at least 4

•1 (24 oz.) pkg. American Beauty pasta
•Bar S (16 oz.) bacon
•Fresh boneless skinless chicken breast
•PictSweet (16 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli
•Fresh Crimini Mushrooms (8 oz)
•Fresh bunch of Green Onions
•Fresh French Bread


Just add 1 stick butter, fresh chopped basil and lemon wedges
Boil pasta until al dente; drain. While pasta is cooking, slice up bacon and chicken breast; sauté until done in large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Microwave broccoli, covered, until completely thawed; drain. Add broccoli, sliced mushrooms and green onion to pan and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Slice stick of butter into pan and continue to stir until melted. Mix in cooked pasta and chopped basil. Serve with lemon wedges and warm French bread.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Sticky Sweet Chicken Finger Salad

Sauce:
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/8 cup water
2 or more T. Frank's Original Hot Sauce (must be Frank's, no two hot sauces are created equally and it's found by the BBQ sauces at most supermarkets. I've never found it by the Tabasco!)
1 T. light corn syrup
Whisk together in small saucepan and boil for about a minute. It should look like a glossy sauce and no longer sugary. I use 2 T. Frank's for my kids and usually add 1 more T. for my husband and I. Sometimes we double the sauce.

Chicken:
I use the kind shown, found at Costco. Tyson has one, but it's pricey! It's important to use breaded chicken, but not the kind that's peppered! I've tried it and it's gross. I've also tried to bread the chicken myself and it doesn't taste right either. Anyway, I bake them on a cookie sheet and cook them a little longer than the pkg. says so that they're just a little crispy, but not overdone. You can fry them in oil, but that's way more work and too many more calories! When they're done, pour the sauce over!

Ranch:
I use the Hidden Valley Ranch Original, but mix it with buttermilk instead of milk and of course mayo! It's the closest thing to restaraunt ranch I can find. If I don't have buttermilk, I use milk and it's great, but it takes 2nd place in my opinion!

Basic Salad:
Lettuce ,tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper, purple or green onions

Assemble:
Put your salad on your plate. Put chicken with sauce on top. Pour on the Ranch and wa-la!

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

1/3 cup frozen corn kernals, thawed (I tripled this)
2 tsp. oil
1/3 cup minced red onion (doubled this)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/3 cup black beans (tripled this)
2 tsp. lime juice
salt
2 plain flour tortillas, eight inch
2/3 cup pepper jack, or cheddar, or Monterey jack, or a combination
1 Tbs. minced pickled jalapenos

Heat corn in skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until kernels begin to brown and pop, 3-5 minutes;transfer corn to medium bowl. Heat 2 tsp. oil in empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering, add red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in beans and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Return corn to skillet and toss to combine. Gently press mixture with spatula to lightly crush black beans. Transfer mixture to now-empty bowl, stir in lime juice, and season to taste with salt.

Assemble quesadillas by spreading half the corn and bean mixture, half the cheese, and half the jalapenos over half of tortilla. Fold in half and repeat with second tortilla. And cook it up!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Chicken Chow Mein

1 cube butter
1 onion- chopped
2-3 c celery- chopped
3/4 c water
1 can cream of celery soup
1-2 c chicken - cooked and cubed

Melt butter in skillet. Saute onion and celery for 2-3 minutes. Add water, cover and steam until tender. Add chicken and soup and heat through. May be thinned with more water or milk to desired consistency. Serve over rice or chow mein noodles. Can also add cashews and water chestnuts for more flavor.

GTU's Fried Rice

1-2 chicken breasts cut into pieces
soy sauce
3 scrambled eggs
2 carrots- grated
1/2 onion- chopped
3/4 c frozen peas
1/2 c butter
1-2 garlic cloves
ground ginger to taste
2 c whit rice (not instant)- cooked

Marinate chicken in soy sauce. Cook in large frying pan. Add carrots and onions and saute. Add frozen peas, cover and cook until soft. Add cooked rice and scrambled eggs to mixture. Melt butter, add garlic and ginger. Stir and add to mixture. Add soy sauce to taste.

BBQ Ham

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 c celery- chopped
1 onion- diced
3/4 c water
1 can tomato soup
1 c ketchup
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp worchestersire sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt and pepper
whole ham - sliced

Combine all ingredients except ham in a sauce pan and simmer until warm. Layer sliced ham and sauce in crock pot and cook on low all day. Serve on rolls.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Hot Chocolate pudding from scratch

1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 c milk, hot
1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, cocoa, flour, and salt. Whisk in warm milk until smooth. Cook over med. heat for 5 min or until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Makes 4 servings.

Sassy Potato Corn Chowder

4 slices bacon chopped
3 c cubed peeled potatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 pkg frozen corn, thawed, drained
1/2 c each chopped onion and sliced celery
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 c miracle whip
2 c milk

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and return to pan.
Stir in potatoes, broth, corn, onion and celery. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Mix flour and dressing. Stir in milk. Add to potato mixture. Continue cooking 3-5 minutes until thoroughly heated.

Clam chowder from Grandma Carol

Combine:
3 cans juice from clams
potatoes- cubed
carrots
onions
enough water to cover vegetables
Bring to a boil and cook until vegetables are tender

Make a roux:
1 cube butter
1/2 c flour

Add:
2 qts half and half or 1/2 gal whole milk

Add liquid to vegetables then add the clams

Cheesy chicken and vegetable soup

grated carrots
sliced celery
chopped onion
1/2 cube butter
1/4 c flour
1 can evaporated milk
8 c chicken broth
wild rice- cooked
chicken breasts- cooked and shredded

melt butter and add flour to create a roux. Add evaporated milk and broth. Add vegetables and cook until crisp/tender. Add chicken and wild rice. Heat through and serve.

Bean Soup

2 cans minestrone soup
2 cans water
1 large can pork & beans
1 lb browned hamburger
1-8 oz can of tomato sauce

Heat all in a large sauce pan. Serve topped with grated cheese.

Crockpot Hamburger Stew

2 lb browned hamburger
2 stalks chopped celery
6 potatoes peeled and diced
6 carrots sliced
1 onion chopped
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 pkg Lipton onion soup
2 c water
2 bay leaves

Rinse hamburger and combine all ingredients into a large crock pot. Cook on low all day.

Fast Family Fajitas from Pampered Chef

1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
4 boneless chicken breast halve
2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 c water
1/2 c salsa
flour tortillas, warmed

Cut bell peppers and chicken into strips. Add 1 tsp of oil to frying pan and stir fry chicken for 3-4 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Remove and set aside. Add remaining oil and peppers and garlic. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken, onion soup mix, water and salsa to pepper mixture. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Serve on warm tortillas with desired toppings.

Maple-Soy glazed Salmon

2 c soy sauce
1/4 c sweet soy sauce
1/2 c maple syrup
1 Tbsp ginger
4 Tbsp garlic
1/2 lb salmon fillets

Pour over salmon fillets and let stand for 20 min. Grill on flesh side for 3 min.

Cayenne Chicken with Avocado Salsa from Melissa

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper
4 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion- diced
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 avocado cut into chunks

Rub chicken lightly with pepper mixture. Fry in the oil.

Combine onion and lime juice and set aside. Right before serving fold in avocado chunks and put on top of cooked chicken.

Spicy Chicken

3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
2- 10 oz green chile enchilada sauce
1 pint whipping cream

Combine in a crockpot or sauce pan. Simmer for at least 1 hour. Right before serving thicken with cornstarch. Serve over cooked rice. Top with grated cheese, onions, olives, green peppers, etc.

Poppeyseed Chicken

Mix in a 9x13 baking dish:
3/4 pint sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water
1 1/2 c rice

Mix together then put on top of chicken:
1 pkg ritz crackers- crushed
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp butter, melted.

Bake at 375 for 45-60 min.

Fish Sticks

Mix in a large flat container:
1 c dry bread crumbs
1/4 c parmesean cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder, black pepper, paprika
1/4 tsp salt

In another flat container:
1/2 c flour

In another container:
2 large eggs beaten

3-4 tilapia fish fillets cut into strips about 3in by 1 in

coat with flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Place on oiled baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

Chicken crock pot pie

4-5 cups diced potatoes- raw
3-4 cups baby carrots- diced
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp dry onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 pkg Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits
1 cup shredded cheese

Fill crock pot 2/3 full of veggies, layering potatoes and carrots. Place chicken on to p of veggies sprinkle with garlic, pepper and dry onion. Spread cream of chicken soup on top. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken stir in peas, replace lid and heat 20 minutes.

Bake biscuits according to package instructions. Break in half and spoon chicken mix on top. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and serve.

Chicken and Rice

1 1/2 c rice- uncle ben's converted
1 can chicken gumbo soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 pkg dry lipton onion soup
2 cans water

Mix all above ingredients in 9X13 cake pan. Place chicken breasts on top of rice mixture. Salt, pepper, and sprinkle the other 1/2 of onion soup on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

Alfredo Sauce

1 cube butter
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 tsp garlic
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c grated fresh parmesean cheese

melt butter in large pan then add garlic. Add softened cream cheese and stir until smooth. Add whipping cream and let thicken. Add parmesean cheese and let it melt.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

8 chicken breasts
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c vinegar
4 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of garlic salt
1/2 c chicken broth
Cornstarch/egg

Cut chicken into strips. Dip in egg then cornstarch. Brown each side in a pan of hot oil. Put in a casserole dish. Mix all other ingredients on the stove on low heat. Pour over fried chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Sekoya's Super Sunday Doughnuts

This recipe came from one of Sekoya's coloring books and was our Sunday afternoon activity. They turned out better than I had thought they would!

2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 c milk
1 egg, beaten
1 quart oil for frying

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375 degrees

In a large bowl sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk and egg until smooth. Knead lightly, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter or use two round biscuit cutters of different sizes.

Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, a few at a time. Do not overcrowd pan or oil might overflow. Fry, turning once, for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.