Orange Chicken and Ham Fried Rice

Monday, July 6, 2009

Orange Chicken and Ham Fried Rice

This is one of those meals I try to make too much of just so I can have leftovers the next day...It's that good. I got it from a cook book I bought for a cooking class at BYU called "A Family Affair" or something...one of the teachers wrote it, but she's gone, so I don't think they sell it anymore. Anyway, it's really good. And pretty easy - again a meal that you can usually make with things on hand, so no rushing to the store. I love that!

4 chicken breast halves
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp water
1/4 cup cornstarch (once I used flour and it was just as good)
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed in 2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350*. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Dip chicken pieces in egg wash made of beaten egg and water, then coat with cornstarch. Heat butter in frying pan and brown chicken in butter until golden brown. Place in baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients except cornstarch mix in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch slurry as needed to make a thin sauce. Pour over chicken pieces and bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Serve with ham fried rice or regular rice.Yeild: 4 servings

Ham Fried Rice
It's really easy for me to make this while the chicken bakes. Once the chicken starts baking, the rice starts cooking - they both take 20 minutes. It's perfect.

2 cups hot cooked rice
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp finely chopped celery (I once didn't have this and it was still good)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped ham
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over medium high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and ham. Stir fry until veggies are limp. Add rice and stir until mixture begins to brown. Push rice mixture to the side of the pan and add beaten egg, stirring until almost set, then combining with other ingredients. Stir in soy sauce and season to taste.Yeild: 4 servings

Honey Lime Chicken

This recipe is delicious and healthy and quick, and chances are most people have these items around the kitchen so no special runs to the store (which I love)! I got it on another recipe blog called Internecipes. They have a lot of great recipes! Check it out {here}

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half (I cut them in smaller peices)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons honey

juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, add the chicken and cook about three minutes on one side, or until it is nicely browned. Turn chicken over and add garlic to the pan, lower heat to medium low. Combine honey, lime juice, soy sauce, salt, ginger, and cayenne and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl, stir, then scrape into the pan with chicken. Simmer for five minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Remove chicken to plates and allow sauce to cook a little more to thicken slightly, stirring with a spoon to loosen bits of of chicken and brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with brown rice and a vegetable side. Sometimes I make double the sauce just because I want more. It's so good!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Blueberry Muffins

I love to whip these muffins up. I've added my modifications for making them healthier and I seriously do not think you can tell that they are "healthy," just yummy!!

3/4 Cup milk
1/4 Cup vegetable oil (I use applesauce)
1 large egg
2 Cups all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat)
1/2 Cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh, canned or frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. firm butter or stick margarine (butter is better!)

Mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly.

Beat milk, oil, egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in blueberries.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with streusel topping.

Bake 20-25 min. in 400 oven.

Sako Salad

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded or chopped
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/4 Cup chopped almonds
2 green onions, sliced
1 Cup sauteed chicken pieces, optional

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 Cup salad oil (I use olive oil)
3 Tbsp. vinegar (I like rice vinegar)
1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper

Right before serving break up 1 package dry Top Ramen noodles and stir in well with dressing.

This recipe came to my family from a friend, Sako Holiday, so we named the salad after her.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Chicken Marsala

This is our "special dinner". Brent made it for me on Valentine's Day, I made it for him on Father's Day...you get the idea.

We love the Marsala sauce at Carrabba's and have been trying to find a recipe that comes close. I was flipping channels and saw Giada cooking this on "Everyday Italian" and grabbed a pen because it looked close. It's not nearly as good as Carrabba's, but we still really like it.

1 1/2 lb. cut chicken breasts

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 lb cremini mushrooms (the brown ones)

1 cup dry marsala wine

8 oz mascarpone cheese (I find this by the hummas and fancy cheeses)
2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5 tbsp butter

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp dijon mustard

12 oz fettucini (I didn't serve it over pasta this time)

salt and pepper

Cook fettucini, drain, and toss with 3 tbsp of butter and salt and pepper. Set aside. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken and brown 4 minutes per side, searing the chicken and locking in moisture. Transfer to a plate and cool slightly. I put the plate in the microwave (turned off) so it will keep warm while I do the rest. Melt 2 tbsp butter in the same pan over medium high heat. Add onion and saute 2 min. Slice mushrooms and add them to the onions along with the garlic. Saute 12 minutes. Add wine and simmer 4 minutes, or until it no longer smells like alcohol. Stir in mascarpone and mustard. Cut chicken into 1/3" thick slices and return it to the skillet. Simmer over medium low heat until cooked through and the sauce thickens - about 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve over fettucini or just by itself.

CHICKEN ENCILLADAS

What you'll need:
1 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (i usually don't measure, i just throw on what looks good)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 (10 oz.) can red enchilada sauce (Old El Paso is my favorite brand)
1 pkg. flour tortillas
1 can olives (these are optional, i usually don't use them, but this time i had them so i threw them on)
sour cream (also optional)

1. Brown the beef and drain the grease. Then add the chopped onion to the meat. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine soups and enchilada sauce.
3. Pour enough sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish to create a thin layer- this will help the enchiladas to not stick to the pan.
4. Spoon 2 to 3 tbs. of meat into each flour tortilla. Also put some cheese into each tortilla. Roll up.
5. Place seam side down into pan.
6. Pour remaining sauce on top of rolled tortillas.
7. Sprinkle with cheese and olives.
8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 min.
9. Serve with sour cream. Enjoy!
(I usually get about 8-10 enchiladas out of this recipe)

ps- just had to say that everyone so far has posted great recipes, i am excited to try them!

Posted by Michele at 9:54 AM 0 comments

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
5 Skinless boneless chicken breasts chopped cooked
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Approx 24 flour tortilla (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.

Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam-side up in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Pour the remaining picante sauce mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top with the tomato and onion.

Tip: Stir 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed into the chicken mixture before filling the tortillas.

**When I double this recipe I do not double the Cream of chicken soup. We have also made this with 1lb ground hamburger meat instead of chicken and sauteed mushrooms (no other changes) and it was just as awesome!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Mexican Enchiladas

I got this recipe from one of Brent's hispanic converts, Pedro and Candy Lopez, when we went and visited his mission. It's really good, and really easy!

Ingredients (just ball park estimates):

10 corn tortillas

2 cups enchilada sauce (canned or homemade)

1 pkg queso fresca cheese (find it by the sour cream and cream cheese)

lettuce

quacamole

2 tomatoes

sour cream (you could use the mexican version of this if you want to be really authentic - it's more runny)

2 chicken breasts (I'm sure it would be good with shredded pork, too)
cilantro

Boil the chicken breasts until they are no longer pink. While that's going, heat a skillet and spray it with cooking spray. Dip the tortillas in some of the enchilada sauce and sort of fry/toast them in the skillet on both sides so the sauce sticks to the tortillas. Crumble the cheese, shred the lettuce, dice the tomatoes. When the chicken is done, shred it. To serve, place a little chicken, a little warmed up enchilada sauce, a little cilantro, and a little cheese inside each tortilla. Roll them up. Top with more enchilada sauce, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and cilantro. Eat up!

Easy Southwest Salad

Ok, so I make this salad every once in a while and it is so easy and so good. My husband kept saying, "oh this is so good" that made me happy since it was a cinch. I got this recipe from a book "Taste of Home: The New Potluck" its a good one. Here it is.

1 can of beans ( the recipe says Pinto, and thats what is in the picture above but we have used black beans and they are soooo good)
1 bunch green onions with tops sliced (I have never used these because I never had them but I am sure they are great in it)
1 large tomato seeded and chopped
1 avocado chopped
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (whatever you like)
1 medium head of lettuce (or a bag, so make it even easier)
4 cups of corn chips ( FRITOS!! YAY!)

So pretty much you just layer it how you want it. If you plan on refrigerating it for a while add the corn chips last, just before serving. The recipe calls for catalina dressing but we always use a tomato based or fresh salsa as the dressing. It feels so much more fresh that way, some people we have had it with like sour cream or a little ranch mixed in. Sometimes we don't put in the tomato or avocado if we don't have it and that is still delicious especially with the salsa. ENJOY! We sure do! http://whatsinyourspicerack.blogspot.com