This recipe originated from Todd Wilbur's version of Chili's Southwestern Egg rolls that he had made over to make them more healthy. See my Ode to Todd Wilbur for more information about him. I have adjusted it both so I can make enough to freeze and so that it is easier and has less waste. (His calls for 2 Tbsp of red pepper, etc...)
Here is my recipe:
3 large chicken breasts (Between 1-2 lbs chicken, you can use more, I just like to save money and minimize meat)
1 large red bell pepper
1 full bunch minced green onion (about 1 cup)
2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach thawed and drained, or 10 oz of frozen spinach (it looks like a LOT, but it cooks down)
3 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp cumin
1tbsp chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 dashes of cayenne pepper
¾ pound pepper jack
You can cook the chicken any way you like, but it is best grilled. He advises oiling them, then add salt and pepper and grill. But I have boiled it, and I've browned it on a frying pan too.
After your chicken is cooked you can put it all together. First cook your onion and peppers in a little oil in your pot for a few minutes (till soft) Then add everything else but the cheese and cook while mixing it all together. (I have a pampered chef chopping tool that is PERFECT for this. I think it's called a "mix and chop" but it has an asterisk shaped bottom, and you can chop your spinach and chicken up while mixing it all together with it. I LOVE it. When it is all heated through, and the liquid is gone, you can add your cheese. Then it is ready to fill the burritos.
Todd gives a great way to heat the tortillas. You barely dampen a towel (I like to use a flour sack towel) and lay it on a microwave safe plate. He advises five at a time, but I put 10. So you lay your tortillas on the plate and wrap the towel around them and microwave for about a minute till they are soft and pliable. This keeps them from getting dry and tough. But warming them prevents them from tearing when you fold them. I usually use a cookie scoop to portion out my filling. You don't need very much. My cookie scoop is one ounce, and when I use a regular taco sized tortilla I use two scoops scraped flat on the side of the bowl. For larger ones I usually use three. I scoop it on and then spread it in a long thin line about 2 inches from the edge of the line. Then I fold down my ends, and roll my tortillas into a long round burrito. I took some photos of this, but they are on my storage hard drive which is unavailable to me at the moment. I'll post them when I get it back ;).
There are several options to cook them. You can deep fry them, or fry them on a pan with oil, or for his low fat version, TW advises covering them with cooking spray and baking them. I did this at first, but I didn't like putting all those chemicals on our food, so then I would baste them with oil, but I like them just as well without the extra oil so I cook them like frozen burritos, (350 degrees for about 25-30 min) or even better I use my panini pan (Thanks to my mother in law who bought it for me, I LOVE it). I grill them till they are brown on all sides (be careful to use a low enough heat that they heat in the middle by the time they are brown) I've also used a plug in griddle pan too. I don't even use oil and they get nice looking grill marks on them.
You can dip in ranch, or make his avocado ranch listed here, or the cilantro ranch I've seen posted online (google it) I've had it and liked it, but I don't know which one so I don't want to post it. We just use low fat sour cream most of the time. (Once I mixed sour cream with a little bbq sauce and I liked that too)
I am really particular about my kitchen gadgets...(yes pampered chef lady I said it again! GADGETS! Boring back story: I got scolded at a pampered chef party for using that term instead of tools. It was embarrassing, and I was a little irritated that they feel the need to specify that they are tools to somehow give them more legitimacy. So now it is my personal vendetta to keep using whatever term I want! Yes, I am vindictive like that!) But my favorite cookie scoops are the ones with a solid plastic handle and a thumb lever instead of the metal handle that you squeeze together to release your batter. I like to use cold cookie batter, and I broke two pampered chef ones before I went on a quest to find one like my mom's. I got mine from a local restaurant supply here in Utah call Orson Gigi. This is a link for their scoops Mine is the purple one (#40,.89 oz). Last time I was there, they were a couple bucks cheaper in store.
In case you wondered what panini pan I have, this is it. I use it almost every day. It replaces my regular plug in griddle, because the plates are flat on one side and have the grill lines on the other.
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The Best Homemade Chicken Nuggets
America's test Kitchen you've done it again!!! I have been trying to cut down on our yucky pressed mystery meat consumption, so I was so happy to be watching cooks country when this recipe was being shown. These are truly the best! The breading stays on, the coating is crisp and delicious, even after freezing and reheating. These are AWESOME! I usually multiply the batch and freeze the extras, both so that I can make good use of my frying oil since I don't save it, and to have more for future meals. I think it's easier to cook less often in bulk than to have to cook over and over. But I must say that this one it is a tiring endeavor. I don't do it that often since it takes hours of work. But it feels good to feed them something that at least has ingredients I recognize, though I wouldn't claim they are healthy every day fare. The flavor is worth the extra effort too.
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts (4 breasts appx)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 cup flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons onion powder
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspooon (at least) tony chacherie's...I know, I add it to everything!
3 large egg whites
4 cups peanut or vegetable oil
They said to use crushed panko crumbs. I thought they were crushed enough, and the crunch it created made me think of mimi's chicken fingers which is always a good thing! So I just measure them as is... I bought kikkoman panko bread crumbs from winco, and they were only just over a dollar a box. I share this because they were considerably more at a couple of other grocery stores. You might want to have extra breading ingredients, or don't get too carried away breading them. Usually the recipe amt is enough, but one time, when I made a MONSTER sized batch, I used WAY too much. I had extra crumbs, so I mixed up extra breading mix, and still ran out. Some of my nuggets ended up less breaded, but they were still good.
They have a method for cutting the chicken in uniform sized pieces, look up the recipe for better instructions. Mine weren't very uniform, but I tried! You cut the breast into thirds the long way. Then the thickest top portion of the breast is cut in 1/2 inch slices. The rest I just tried to cut about that same size... Maybe someday I'll actually take photos, but I wouldn't count on that in the near future :). After you cut them, you have to brine them. Whisk water, 1 tbsp salt, and worcestershire in a bowl large enough to hold your chicken. Dump in the chicken pieces and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. They say not to do it any longer than that, but I have left it a little longer while I'm cooking earlier batches. Next time I'll dump off the brine after the 30 min, so the chicken isn't so hard to pat dry.
Now you are ready to bread them! Whisk your egg whites till a little foamy in one bowl, just to break them up. Then mix all of the dry ingredients in a large shallow pan. I use an 11 by 15 deep baking dish. Pat your chicken dry with paper towels, dip them in your egg whites and then coat them well with your bread crumbs pressing the crumbs into the nuggets. They say to press gently, but I actually press hard on the chicken, both to press in the crumbs, and to flatten them a little. That might be how I used too many crumbs. Then place them on a plate for ten minutes. You're not done there!!! Keep your bread crumbs for a second layer. Meanwhile, heat your oil to 350. After ten minutes dip them again, pressing the crumbs gently onto your nuggets again. And they are ready to fry. They say to fry 1/2 the batch at a time, for 3 minutes till golden brown, turning half way. Then place it on a wire cooling rack, placed on a rimmed cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven while you cook the other half of the nuggets. If you want to freeze them for later. Wait till they are cool, and place them in a ziplock bag. They say you can freeze them up to a month. But ours don't last that long ;). To reheat, bake at 350 for about 15 minutes till heated through.
So when I make a lot, this is how my assembly line works. I dip 20 nuggets at a time. First in the egg wash and then the first bread crumb dip. Then I set my timer for 10 minutes. I use two plates, one for the first dip and one for after the second one, so I can easily keep track. After things get going, it works pretty good, but I am busy the whole time. While I wait for 10 minutes for one batch, I am frying the one before. I fry the nuggets 10 at a time for about 4 minutes. After ten minutes pass, I quickly did the second dip in time to put them in the oil after the batch before was done. Then in open moments I had to dip the next set of 20 for the first time. I don't know if this is a good explanation, but once you start doing it, you can kind of see how it works. I had my whole table set up starting with a spot on the far right with a plate covered in paper towels for the raw chicken. You can keep your chicken in the fridge and just pull out 20 at a time to place on the paper towels. Then I threw away the towels and put new ones for each batch. To the left of that plate was my egg whites and to the left of that was my bread mixture. I placed the plate for after the first dip above my pan, and the nuggets ready for frying to the left of the pan. Then next in line was my plug in fry daddy pan and next to that was my cooling rack. I left them on the cooling rack just long enough to cook the next batch and then moved them into the oven into a big pan I kept in there. The frying part actually went pretty fast, but I had to MAKE SURE that I had no usual interruptions from my children :). They were strictly confined to the basement with daddy ;). A lot of the time is in cutting up the chicken and brining, and then setting it all up. And then the frying part was very tiring because I was running here and there the whole time multitasking and I had to wash my hands a million times every time I would handle different batches of chicken. I hope I didn't make it sound so complicated that you won't want to try it. I promise it is worth it! And if you don't want the big song and dance, just make a small batch. :) Or get together with friends so each person can handle one station. That's what I should have done! I can't wait till my kids are older hehehehe. Please feel free to ask questions if some of this doesn't make sense.
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts (4 breasts appx)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 cup flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons onion powder
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspooon (at least) tony chacherie's...I know, I add it to everything!
3 large egg whites
4 cups peanut or vegetable oil
They said to use crushed panko crumbs. I thought they were crushed enough, and the crunch it created made me think of mimi's chicken fingers which is always a good thing! So I just measure them as is... I bought kikkoman panko bread crumbs from winco, and they were only just over a dollar a box. I share this because they were considerably more at a couple of other grocery stores. You might want to have extra breading ingredients, or don't get too carried away breading them. Usually the recipe amt is enough, but one time, when I made a MONSTER sized batch, I used WAY too much. I had extra crumbs, so I mixed up extra breading mix, and still ran out. Some of my nuggets ended up less breaded, but they were still good.
They have a method for cutting the chicken in uniform sized pieces, look up the recipe for better instructions. Mine weren't very uniform, but I tried! You cut the breast into thirds the long way. Then the thickest top portion of the breast is cut in 1/2 inch slices. The rest I just tried to cut about that same size... Maybe someday I'll actually take photos, but I wouldn't count on that in the near future :). After you cut them, you have to brine them. Whisk water, 1 tbsp salt, and worcestershire in a bowl large enough to hold your chicken. Dump in the chicken pieces and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. They say not to do it any longer than that, but I have left it a little longer while I'm cooking earlier batches. Next time I'll dump off the brine after the 30 min, so the chicken isn't so hard to pat dry.
Now you are ready to bread them! Whisk your egg whites till a little foamy in one bowl, just to break them up. Then mix all of the dry ingredients in a large shallow pan. I use an 11 by 15 deep baking dish. Pat your chicken dry with paper towels, dip them in your egg whites and then coat them well with your bread crumbs pressing the crumbs into the nuggets. They say to press gently, but I actually press hard on the chicken, both to press in the crumbs, and to flatten them a little. That might be how I used too many crumbs. Then place them on a plate for ten minutes. You're not done there!!! Keep your bread crumbs for a second layer. Meanwhile, heat your oil to 350. After ten minutes dip them again, pressing the crumbs gently onto your nuggets again. And they are ready to fry. They say to fry 1/2 the batch at a time, for 3 minutes till golden brown, turning half way. Then place it on a wire cooling rack, placed on a rimmed cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven while you cook the other half of the nuggets. If you want to freeze them for later. Wait till they are cool, and place them in a ziplock bag. They say you can freeze them up to a month. But ours don't last that long ;). To reheat, bake at 350 for about 15 minutes till heated through.
So when I make a lot, this is how my assembly line works. I dip 20 nuggets at a time. First in the egg wash and then the first bread crumb dip. Then I set my timer for 10 minutes. I use two plates, one for the first dip and one for after the second one, so I can easily keep track. After things get going, it works pretty good, but I am busy the whole time. While I wait for 10 minutes for one batch, I am frying the one before. I fry the nuggets 10 at a time for about 4 minutes. After ten minutes pass, I quickly did the second dip in time to put them in the oil after the batch before was done. Then in open moments I had to dip the next set of 20 for the first time. I don't know if this is a good explanation, but once you start doing it, you can kind of see how it works. I had my whole table set up starting with a spot on the far right with a plate covered in paper towels for the raw chicken. You can keep your chicken in the fridge and just pull out 20 at a time to place on the paper towels. Then I threw away the towels and put new ones for each batch. To the left of that plate was my egg whites and to the left of that was my bread mixture. I placed the plate for after the first dip above my pan, and the nuggets ready for frying to the left of the pan. Then next in line was my plug in fry daddy pan and next to that was my cooling rack. I left them on the cooling rack just long enough to cook the next batch and then moved them into the oven into a big pan I kept in there. The frying part actually went pretty fast, but I had to MAKE SURE that I had no usual interruptions from my children :). They were strictly confined to the basement with daddy ;). A lot of the time is in cutting up the chicken and brining, and then setting it all up. And then the frying part was very tiring because I was running here and there the whole time multitasking and I had to wash my hands a million times every time I would handle different batches of chicken. I hope I didn't make it sound so complicated that you won't want to try it. I promise it is worth it! And if you don't want the big song and dance, just make a small batch. :) Or get together with friends so each person can handle one station. That's what I should have done! I can't wait till my kids are older hehehehe. Please feel free to ask questions if some of this doesn't make sense.
Easy Chicken Tacos
The source for this recipe is my FAVORITE cooking experts, America's test kitchen. I LOVE their shows, I love their explanations of why they added a certain amount of an ingredient, and all the different ways they tried it. I love the scientific theory behind cooking they share. I love their food and equipment reviews. They are the best! They really do have the best, most well developed recipes in my opinion. I've never tried any I haven't liked. This particular recipe was on Cook's Country, and I wouldn't have considered it had it not been from america's test kitchen. It sounded like a weird combination. But I am SO glad I saw that episode! They are now our favorite tacos and Jay chooses this every time its his turn for a favorite meal. On Saturdays, our family takes turns picking a splurgy meal. I make whatever they want, pizza, chicken nuggets, ramen noodles, whatever). Every six weeks, when it is Jay's turn, we have this.
INGREDIENTS
2-3 tbsp butter
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1/2cup orange juice (or 2 tbsp orange juice concentrate)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Salt (to taste)
Flour tortillas (we use the raw ones usually)
INSTRUCTIONS
The first thing I do is chop up my chilies. I pull them out one by one, and scrape all of the ribs and seeds out. Then I chop them up as small as I can, and measure them, making sure I add some of the adobo sauce as well. While you are chopping, you can start melting the butter in the pan. Then add the chilies and garlic and let them cook for just a minute. Then I add the chicken and everything but the salt and cilantro and let it all cook together. I usually make Jay and the kids pull off the cilantro leaves while I am cooking it, and we add it in whenever they finish. I add the salt at the end. I don't know why, that is how they did it, so I copied. This recipe is done when all of the liquid is cooked out. I don't like to pour off any flavor, and usually, by the time the water cooks out the chicken is falling apart and perfect. A couple of times when it has excess water, I have poured some of it into a little sauce pan and let that reduce while I'm reducing the sauce in the chicken. If you don't multiply the recipe, you shouldn't have as much problem with too much liquid anyway. I have tripled or quadrupled the recipe for a crowd, or just when Jay wants to eat leftovers for days! Part of my problem with excess water is also because I always forget to thaw my chicken and it always goes into the pan partially or completely frozen. When the chicken is cooked, I use a star chopper from pampered chef to chop it up. This is one of my favorite things they sell by the way! It is a black stirring instrument. If you look at it from the bottom, it looks like an asterisk. I use it to chop up spaghetti or ramen for my kids, or hamburger meat, and for these and my southwestern egg rolls it does a great job of both chopping it up and mixing it together. ( I think it is actually called mix and chop...)
Just an fyi, this is not the exact recipe they have. We've added extra chipotle chilies over time, we add all of the cilantro at once during the cooking time... If you want their original recipe, just google cooks country easy chicken tacos. Tons of people have posted it on blogs. (In fact, any ATK recipes you want, this is the best way to get them off season. They let you have their current season of recipes, but make you pay for a membership to see all of their recipes. Any time I can't access one, I just google it and have always been able to find them.) Of course I do try to support them financially when I can! I watch their show, and buy some of their books :).
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Teriyaki Chicken
I'm not a big fan of brown meat...but I couldn't resist the 50 cent a pound leg quarters at Winco, so I set out to find a way that I would like them. I remembered when I was a kid that my mom made teriyaki chicken legs that I liked, so I called her and here is what I ended up doing...
I had about 5 lbs of them. I brined them in salt water for about 5 hours and then rubbed garlic powder on them under the skin. I wanted them to have a grilled taste so I put them out on the grill solely to brown the outside. I am not so good at grilling and they kept flaming up. So it didn't take long for them to look grilled. Then I crammed them into a pan and poured the sauce over them and baked them for 1 hour at 350 degrees. They ended up tasting amazing!! Very tender, and delicious.
The sauce was simply 1 1/2 cups of soy sauce and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar. You are supposed to baste them but I used so much sauce and they were so crammed in that it pretty much covered them. I only basted it once. I was really glad I had grilled them, because for me it was a necessary flavor. Hope you enjoy!
I had about 5 lbs of them. I brined them in salt water for about 5 hours and then rubbed garlic powder on them under the skin. I wanted them to have a grilled taste so I put them out on the grill solely to brown the outside. I am not so good at grilling and they kept flaming up. So it didn't take long for them to look grilled. Then I crammed them into a pan and poured the sauce over them and baked them for 1 hour at 350 degrees. They ended up tasting amazing!! Very tender, and delicious.
The sauce was simply 1 1/2 cups of soy sauce and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar. You are supposed to baste them but I used so much sauce and they were so crammed in that it pretty much covered them. I only basted it once. I was really glad I had grilled them, because for me it was a necessary flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Friday, February 26, 2010
New Orleans Jambalaya
Another southern favorite! This makes a LOT. (Claims to make 15 servings. I would say so! 15 restaurant sized servings!)
Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
4 Tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp ground black pepper
16 chicken breasts
3/4 lbs bacon cut in small pieces
8 onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
6 Tbsp flour
3 lbs sausage (italian, chorizo, andouille if you can find it, whatever you like)
3 lbs cooked ham cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tbsp dried thyme
4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 cups chicken stock
6 cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 green pepper, chopped
6 cups uncooked white rice
10 lbs medium shrimp- peeled and deveined
Here is the recipe and my commentary will be at the bottom.
Chicken marinade: In a large shallow dish or bowl, mix all marinade ingredients and place the chicken in the marinade. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours.
Saute bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat till brown. Add the onion and garlic. Continue to cook 5 minutes. Mix in flour and sausage and continue to cook five minutes more, stirring frequently. Add the ham, thyme cayenne, chicken stock, tomatoes with juice, and green peppers and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and refridgerate.
Two hours before serving, discard marinade and bake chicken breasts at 500 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the flesh feels firm when pressed. Cool and cut into bite size pieces. Reduce oven's temperature to 250 degrees. Place covered jambalaya pot on large baking tray filled with hot water. Make until warm, about 2 hours. Just before serving, boil 5 qts of water. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes until they are firm to the touch. Drain well, toss shrimp and chicken with jambalaya mixture and serve.
Now if you know me AT ALL, you know I did not put any shrimp in it when I made it. But since most people will say it's not Jambalaya without it, I reluctantly included it in the recipe. I also used less meat than it called for, because I am cheap. Also, I left out the whole cooling step. I just cooked the chicken while cooking all of the rest of the jambalaya, stirred it in after the rice had its 25 minutes and served it. The reason I left the recipe as it was originally written is because it is probably best that way. I'm sure it developes the best flavor and texture if you wait and do it the way that it directs, as well as adding all the meat, shrimp, etc.. But it was still really good even using my easy method. Love that cajun flavor!!
Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
4 Tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp ground black pepper
16 chicken breasts
3/4 lbs bacon cut in small pieces
8 onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
6 Tbsp flour
3 lbs sausage (italian, chorizo, andouille if you can find it, whatever you like)
3 lbs cooked ham cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tbsp dried thyme
4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 cups chicken stock
6 cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 green pepper, chopped
6 cups uncooked white rice
10 lbs medium shrimp- peeled and deveined
Here is the recipe and my commentary will be at the bottom.
Chicken marinade: In a large shallow dish or bowl, mix all marinade ingredients and place the chicken in the marinade. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours.
Saute bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat till brown. Add the onion and garlic. Continue to cook 5 minutes. Mix in flour and sausage and continue to cook five minutes more, stirring frequently. Add the ham, thyme cayenne, chicken stock, tomatoes with juice, and green peppers and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and refridgerate.
Two hours before serving, discard marinade and bake chicken breasts at 500 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the flesh feels firm when pressed. Cool and cut into bite size pieces. Reduce oven's temperature to 250 degrees. Place covered jambalaya pot on large baking tray filled with hot water. Make until warm, about 2 hours. Just before serving, boil 5 qts of water. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes until they are firm to the touch. Drain well, toss shrimp and chicken with jambalaya mixture and serve.
Now if you know me AT ALL, you know I did not put any shrimp in it when I made it. But since most people will say it's not Jambalaya without it, I reluctantly included it in the recipe. I also used less meat than it called for, because I am cheap. Also, I left out the whole cooling step. I just cooked the chicken while cooking all of the rest of the jambalaya, stirred it in after the rice had its 25 minutes and served it. The reason I left the recipe as it was originally written is because it is probably best that way. I'm sure it developes the best flavor and texture if you wait and do it the way that it directs, as well as adding all the meat, shrimp, etc.. But it was still really good even using my easy method. Love that cajun flavor!!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
General Tso’s Chicken
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
5 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon+2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian(dark) sesame oil
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
3 scallions chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 celery stalks chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1. Combine the chicken 2 tablespoons of the sherry, 1 tbsp of the cornstarch, and the oyster sauce in a medium bowl; set aside to marinate for five minutes.
2. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of the sherry, the water, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and the remaining 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a small bowl, set aside.
3. Heat a nonstick wok or large deep skillet over medium high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Swirl in the oil, and then add the chicken mixture. Stir fry until lightly brown 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, scallions, and crushed red pepper; stir fry until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add the celery and bell pepper; stir fry until crisp tender, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the sherry mixture and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens, and the chicken is just cooked through 1-2 minutes.
Just an fyi: I used grape juice as a substitute for the sherry and left out the water and oyster sauce to compensate for the liquid in the grape juice. SO YUMMY :)
Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 207 cal, 6 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 63 mg chol, 413 mg sod, 13 g carb, 1 g fiber, 24 g protein, 34 mg calc Points 4
5 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon+2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian(dark) sesame oil
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
3 scallions chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 celery stalks chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1. Combine the chicken 2 tablespoons of the sherry, 1 tbsp of the cornstarch, and the oyster sauce in a medium bowl; set aside to marinate for five minutes.
2. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of the sherry, the water, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and the remaining 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a small bowl, set aside.
3. Heat a nonstick wok or large deep skillet over medium high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Swirl in the oil, and then add the chicken mixture. Stir fry until lightly brown 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, scallions, and crushed red pepper; stir fry until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add the celery and bell pepper; stir fry until crisp tender, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the sherry mixture and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens, and the chicken is just cooked through 1-2 minutes.
Just an fyi: I used grape juice as a substitute for the sherry and left out the water and oyster sauce to compensate for the liquid in the grape juice. SO YUMMY :)
Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 207 cal, 6 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 63 mg chol, 413 mg sod, 13 g carb, 1 g fiber, 24 g protein, 34 mg calc Points 4
“homemade” hamburger pizza
I loaf Rhodes bread dough
About ½ can hunts garlic and herb spaghetti sauce
½ -1 lb hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese (or however much you like)
Cook hamburger and onion. Roll out bread dough to fit in a rectangle cookie sheet. Spread Sauce then hamburger on the dough. Cover with cheese and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes till cheese is just a little brown on top.
Our other most popular homemade pizza is Chicken bbq:
Chicken BBQ Pizza
1 lb bread dough
1lb or more shredded mozzarella
1-2 chicken breasts
Bulls Eye Bbq sauce
(optional other toppings: onions, cilantro, pineapple, or bacon)
About ½ can hunts garlic and herb spaghetti sauce
½ -1 lb hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese (or however much you like)
Cook hamburger and onion. Roll out bread dough to fit in a rectangle cookie sheet. Spread Sauce then hamburger on the dough. Cover with cheese and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes till cheese is just a little brown on top.
Our other most popular homemade pizza is Chicken bbq:
Chicken BBQ Pizza
1 lb bread dough
1lb or more shredded mozzarella
1-2 chicken breasts
Bulls Eye Bbq sauce
(optional other toppings: onions, cilantro, pineapple, or bacon)
Chicken Broccoli Roll ups
1-2 lbs chicken breasts
1 lb cooked broccoli chopped up
1 8 oz. Pkg cream cheese
1 small can cream of chicken soup
¼ cup chopped onions, or onion powder to taste
3-4 cans crescent rolls
How much chicken and broccoli to use it based on taste. I like to use a lot of broccoli to attempt to make them a little more healthy, and 2-3 chicken breasts. :) If you want them more saucy, use lower amts of chicken and broccoli. Cook chicken and broccoli and chop into small pieces. Mix in soup and cream cheese (this mixes best when the chicken and broccoli are still warm). Spoon onto crescent rolls (or any other kind of roll). Pinch the two bottom corners of the triangle together over the filling and fold the top corner over the top. Or leave two crescents together making a rectangle and just fold it in half and seal the edges. Bake according to the package directions for whatever rolls you use.
Just an FYI, the recipe also calls for a square of butter. I never add it, but hey, if you feel that it needs it, go ahead... :)
1 lb cooked broccoli chopped up
1 8 oz. Pkg cream cheese
1 small can cream of chicken soup
¼ cup chopped onions, or onion powder to taste
3-4 cans crescent rolls
How much chicken and broccoli to use it based on taste. I like to use a lot of broccoli to attempt to make them a little more healthy, and 2-3 chicken breasts. :) If you want them more saucy, use lower amts of chicken and broccoli. Cook chicken and broccoli and chop into small pieces. Mix in soup and cream cheese (this mixes best when the chicken and broccoli are still warm). Spoon onto crescent rolls (or any other kind of roll). Pinch the two bottom corners of the triangle together over the filling and fold the top corner over the top. Or leave two crescents together making a rectangle and just fold it in half and seal the edges. Bake according to the package directions for whatever rolls you use.
Just an FYI, the recipe also calls for a square of butter. I never add it, but hey, if you feel that it needs it, go ahead... :)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Grandma Brown's Barbecued Spare Ribs
This is not your typical sweet barbecue sauce. When I was a kid, this was the only bbq sauce I even liked! It has a very different, but AMAZING flavor.
1st I will list her original recipe, then I will write how I make them for my convenience :)
2 lbs boneless country style pork ribs
1 onion, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup worcestershire
2 cups water (1 cup if using crock pot method)
1 tbsp salt (I use half or less than this much salt)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 shake of hot sauce (frank's etc.)
Slice onion and lemon over ribs. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 450. Make sauce with rest of ingredients. Pour over and bake at 350 one hour, basting often.
My method...
I love the crock pot for meat so I changed this recipe slightly. I also have used chicken breasts interchangeably with the pork and they are AMAZING and I assume lower fat. First, I brown the meat, onions and lemons on the stove. (The meat doesn't need to be fully cooked, just brown on the outside, I usually use med-med high heat) I Place the meat in a skillet with just a little oil and then pour the onions and lemon slices over the top, squeezing as much lemon juice as I can over the meat. I brown the meat and then if necessary, I brown the onions after. (it's usually not since they fall all over and get brown with the meat. And I usually have to fill the skillet more than once with meat.) While the meat is cooking, I dump the sauce ingredients in the crock pot with ONE IMPORTANT CHANGE: Make sure you cut the water to one cup. Double the sauce recipe if necessary to cover your meat. If you do not cut the water, they will not be flavorful enough when cooked. Turn on the pot to start heating while you mix the ingredients together. Then when the meat is cooked, place in crock pot. One more important tip. Pull most of the lemon slices out after browning and discard them. One or two are okay, but you will be sorry if you leave more than that. The sauce gets way too lemony. After discarding the lemons, dump the rest of that yummy carmelized onion into the crock pot. Put the lid on and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for double that. We usually serve them with funeral potatoes or mashed potatoes.
1st I will list her original recipe, then I will write how I make them for my convenience :)
2 lbs boneless country style pork ribs
1 onion, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup worcestershire
2 cups water (1 cup if using crock pot method)
1 tbsp salt (I use half or less than this much salt)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 shake of hot sauce (frank's etc.)
Slice onion and lemon over ribs. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 450. Make sauce with rest of ingredients. Pour over and bake at 350 one hour, basting often.
My method...
I love the crock pot for meat so I changed this recipe slightly. I also have used chicken breasts interchangeably with the pork and they are AMAZING and I assume lower fat. First, I brown the meat, onions and lemons on the stove. (The meat doesn't need to be fully cooked, just brown on the outside, I usually use med-med high heat) I Place the meat in a skillet with just a little oil and then pour the onions and lemon slices over the top, squeezing as much lemon juice as I can over the meat. I brown the meat and then if necessary, I brown the onions after. (it's usually not since they fall all over and get brown with the meat. And I usually have to fill the skillet more than once with meat.) While the meat is cooking, I dump the sauce ingredients in the crock pot with ONE IMPORTANT CHANGE: Make sure you cut the water to one cup. Double the sauce recipe if necessary to cover your meat. If you do not cut the water, they will not be flavorful enough when cooked. Turn on the pot to start heating while you mix the ingredients together. Then when the meat is cooked, place in crock pot. One more important tip. Pull most of the lemon slices out after browning and discard them. One or two are okay, but you will be sorry if you leave more than that. The sauce gets way too lemony. After discarding the lemons, dump the rest of that yummy carmelized onion into the crock pot. Put the lid on and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for double that. We usually serve them with funeral potatoes or mashed potatoes.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Enchilada Soup
Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 lbs of chicken breast fillets
½ cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina (it’s corn flour)
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce (I usually just dump the whole 10 oz can in)
16 oz velveeta
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
Garnish: Shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, pico de gallo
Brown chicken in oil in a large pot and set aside. Add onions and garlic to the pot and saute till onions begin to be translucent. Add chicken broth. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Add masa mixture to the pot. Add all remaining ingredients to the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer soulp for 30-40 minutes or until thick. (Make sure it's not simmering too hot and stir occasionally as well to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom. The simmering time is very important for the texture of the soup.) I usually just provide chips sour cream and salsa and let people assemble their own soup to their liking. The recipe for the pico is below, but I often just buy the fresh salsa from the produce department instead.
Pico de Gallo
2 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup diced Spanish onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-ribbed
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh cilantro
Pinch of Salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 lbs of chicken breast fillets
½ cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina (it’s corn flour)
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce (I usually just dump the whole 10 oz can in)
16 oz velveeta
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
Garnish: Shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, pico de gallo
Brown chicken in oil in a large pot and set aside. Add onions and garlic to the pot and saute till onions begin to be translucent. Add chicken broth. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Add masa mixture to the pot. Add all remaining ingredients to the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer soulp for 30-40 minutes or until thick. (Make sure it's not simmering too hot and stir occasionally as well to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom. The simmering time is very important for the texture of the soup.) I usually just provide chips sour cream and salsa and let people assemble their own soup to their liking. The recipe for the pico is below, but I often just buy the fresh salsa from the produce department instead.
Pico de Gallo
2 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup diced Spanish onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-ribbed
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh cilantro
Pinch of Salt
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