Spicy Asian Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 2 ounces medium rice noodles
• 1/2 cup broccoli flowerets
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper strips
• 1/2 cup fresh snow peas
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 3 tablespoons bottled Thai-style peanut sauce
• 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons lightly salted dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain well. Set aside.
2. In nonstick large skillet or wok coated with cooking spray stir-fry broccoli and bell pepper over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in snow peas. Stir-fry for 1 minute more. Remove vegetables from skillet. Set aside.
3. Add oil to same skillet. Add chicken. Stir-fry over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium. Return vegetables to wok. Stir in carrot, peanut sauce, soy sauce and ground red pepper (if desired). Add noodles. Toss until combined and heated through. Transfer to serving plate. Sprinkle with peanuts.

From Specialk.com

Double Chocolate M & M Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into eight pieces
3/4 cup M&M’s
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, place the chopped chocolate and the butter. Microwave for one minute at 50% power. Stir. Microwave again for one minute at 50% power and stir well. If the chocolate is not fully melted, continue microwaving in 30 second intervals at 50% power until the chocolate and butter are well combined (don't overheat the chocolate or it can seize and turn hard and unusable). Let the mixture cool slightly, about 2-3 minutes until it is at room temperature or just slightly warm (but not hot).

In a large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), combine the chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined. Gradually mix in flour mixture on low speed. Fold in M&M’s with a wooden spoon (don't use a mixer as the M&M's will break into pieces and not stay whole).

Line baking sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or lightly grease them with cooking spray. Drop dough onto baking sheets by tablespoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. If desired, place five or six M&M's on top of the cookie dough balls (even perched slightly on the rounded sides). Bake the cookies until they have slightly flattened and there are a few cracks on the surface, about 13-14 minutes.

The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies sit for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. These cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container for about 2 days. I freeze them between sheets of wax paper in a large tupperware container and they defrost beautifully at room temperature or for a few seconds in the microwave.

Recipe Source: from melskitchencafe.com

Saw these cookies while I was in Portland - made them tonight - They were fantastic - and I loved this new food site.

Fortune Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons water

Preparation:

1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.

3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.

4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
Note: if you want to dye the fortune cookies, add the food coloring at this point, stirring it into the batter. For example, I used 1/2 teaspoon green food coloring to make green fortune cookies.

5. Place level tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.

6. Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes).

7. Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies.

I made these cookies (thanks for the recipe KATIE!!) for seminary. They turned out fantastic. Fun idea.

Tangy Lime Enchiladas

6 TBS honey
5 TBS fresh lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2-3 skinless boneless chicken breasts - cooked and shredded
8-10 flour tortillas
1 lb of a Mexican blend cheese (monterey jack, colby and cheddar) shredded
1 large can of green enchilada sauce

Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together with the shredded chicken. Allow to it set for at least 1/2 hour or you could do it hours before and just cover and refrigerate.

Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce into bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Place chicken and cheese into the middle of a tortilla and spoon about 1 TBS of enchilada sauce over it and roll it up. Place seam down in the pan. Reserve about 1-2 cups of the cheese to sprinkle on top of the enchiladas. Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Kent wasn't wild about these - but I thought they were fantastic. Kent said he just wasn't expecting such a tangy tasty for enchiladas. TRY THEM!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
• Pam
  

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

I got this recipe from the Food Network - George Duran. They are so wonderful. I made them last fall and just am getting around to posting the recipe.

Chicken Chili

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped leeks or onion
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 pound ground turkey sausage
3 cups roughly chopped rotisserie chicken
2 (16-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
2/3 cup barley
2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno
6 cups homemade chicken broth or canned
reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 to 8 cups chopped kale (optional)
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
Chopped green onions
Sour cream

Instructions 1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add cumin, cumin seed and turkey sausage. Cook until sausage is browned. Add chopped chicken, barley, beans, jalapeño, broth and kale, if desired.. Bring to a boil and simmer about 20 minutes or until barley is cooked. Serve topped with cheese and green onions. Serves 10.

These last two recipes are a good way to use a rotisserie chicken.

Basic Cream Pie

4 Cups milk
2 Cups half and half
2 TBS butter
1 1/4 Cups sugar, divided
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 baked 9 - inch pie shells
Whip cream for garnish

Reserve up to 1 cup milk to mix with the cornstarch later in the recipe. Place remaining milk in top pan of a double boiler: (I cooked the whole thing in a pan and just watched it.) add half and half, butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Heat over medium high heat until butter is melted and milk is scalded. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks well; add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt and whisk every well. Slowly add egg mixture to hot milk mixture, stirring constantly for about half a minute; allow mixture to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stir frequently. (This gives eggs time to cook and start thickening. Undercooking at this point can slow the finishing process by as much as half an hour.)

Mix reserved milk and cornstarch in a small bowl and slowly add to hot mixture, stirring constantly to avoid formation of lumps. Continue to stir for at least 2 minutes, then stir every 5 minutes for 15 to 20 minutes. When pudding is thick, stir in vanilla. Remove double boiler from stove. Pour half of the filling into each pie shell, rounding tops of pies. Cool on wire racks then chill in refrigerator 2 to 3 hours. Top with whipped cream when ready to serve.

I use this recipe mostly for banana cream pie and then I slice 2 bananas and put them in the bottom of the baked shell.