Honey Chicken

I found this recipe for Honey Sesame Chicken on Pinterest.  It tastes just like PF Chang/Pei Wei Honey Chicken.  I served it with fried rice.  My hubby went nuts.

Ingredients:

12 oz. chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

1 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1 Tbsp. cooking wine

1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Sauce:

1 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce

2 Tbsp. ketchup ( I used a little more)

1-2 Tbsp honey ( I used a little more)

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce

2 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Marinate chicken in soy sauce, wine, sesame oil and sugar for about an hour.  Mix flour and cornstarch and place in a large zip-lock bag.  Drain chicken and add to flour mixture.  Shake gently to coat.  Fry in 350* oil  until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

To make sauce, mix chili sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce and soy sauce and water in a  medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer until sauce begins to thicken.  Toss with chicken pieces and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  

Yields 4 servings

Ham & Cheese Sliders

I made these for dinner a while back and we devoured almost the entire pan.  Link here for Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Ingredients:

24 good white dinner rolls ( King's Hawiian are good too)

24 pieces good honey ham

24 pieces Swiss cheese

1/3 cup mayo

1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy Seed Sauce:

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds (or sesame seeds in my case)

1 1/2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp. minced onion

1/2 tsp.  Worchestershire sauce

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo and miracle whip and spread on both sides of each roll.  Layer one slice of ham and one slice of cheese inside each roll.  Place them tightly in a baking dish.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients.  Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches.  You don't have to use all of the sauce, just be sure to cover the tops.  Let sit 10 minutes or until the butter slightly sets.  Cover with foil and bake 350* for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Uncover and cook for an additional 2 minutes until tops are slightly browned and crispy.  Serve warm.

Note:  Sandwiches can be assembled up to a day ahead of time and stored in the fridge.  Add sauce 10 minutes before ready to bake.

These are also great for a crowd.  My mom served them for lunch a few weekends later when the whole family was around.    On my batch, I didn't have any poppy seeds to I substituted sesame seeds.  We really enjoyed the end result.  

Mediterranean Salad with Penne, Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

This is my go to lunch.  A box of pasta and I am good for the week!  Mediterranean Salad with Penne, Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes from Everyday Food #49, Page 101. This is also great to take to a picnic or pot-luck or to put grilled chicken on for dinner.  I usually double the dressing.

Ingredients:

coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup penne pasta
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed), thinly sliced lengthwise
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustart
1 head Romaine lettuce torn into bite size pieces
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, (water-packed), drained and quartered
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1.  In a large pan of salted water, cook pasta until 1 minute short of al dente, add sun-dried tomatoes and cook until tender and pasta is al dente, 1 minute more.  Drain pasta and tomatoes, rinse under cold water, drain again.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2.  Make dressing.  In a large bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard and 1 Tbsp. water.  Season with salt and pepper.

3.  Add pasta and tomatoes, romaine, beans, artichoke hearts and feta.  Toss until combined and serve immediately.

Hoisin Glazed Salmon

Great dinner from last week.  Hoisin Glazed Salmon from Cooking Light (maybe?)  Tasty and really easy.  Marinates for 8 minutes in the hoisin glaze and then bakes for about 10.  

An attempt at pretzel rolls...

I've said before, I'm not the best baker, but I am determined.   We've been seeing this whole "Pretzel Roll" phenomenon blossoming recently.  B came home from a meeting out of town this summer raving about a burger on a pretzel roll and I couldn't fathom it.  Then I see a sign at the restaurant at the corner saying that they now have pretzel rolls.  Hmmm.  We ordered take out a month or so ago and I got a corned beef sandwich on a pretzel roll.  BELIEVER!  Why had I waited so long?  Then came the discovery of this recipe on Pinterest.  

Mine were NOT as pretty as hers, but they tasted good.  We ate those bottom two right out of the oven.  I will warn you, I used A LOT more flour since my dough was REALLY sticky.  And they are best used right when made.  I may try to half the recipe next time it's just the two of us.  The was one of two trays.  There were a lot of rolls.   They still taste good the next day, but lose a little "something."

We made BBQ chicken and it was a great sandwich.  

Most definitely worth a try.

Almost Famous Rosemary Bread

Who likes Macaroni Grill?  Raise your hand!  Ok, so you love their bread too, right?  You know you do.  Hubby's favorite "reading material" is cookbooks and cooking magazines.  If I don't scan a mag as soon as it comes in the mail, it could be weeks before I get to.  But I always know right away when he finds something he wants.  Starting on Thursday (the new Food Network came Wednesday) the Almost Famous Rosemary Bread from Romano's Macaroni Grill was a hot topic around here.  I was going to make it Saturday, but we went out for tacos, yum!  Well Sunday rolls around, and I was barely awake when he started asking when I was going to make the bread.  Dude, can I eat breakfast first?

OMG,  Yep, it's that good.  Make it soon, you won't regret it!

Lunch for the week...

My new fav...  Orzo Salad!  I was at Vince & Joe's a few weeks ago and this salad looked divine...  Well, once I got it home and took a couple of bites I found that there are green peppers in it.  Thankfully I found out before I ate one and my afternoon was spared.  I have a slight allergy/aversion to bell peppers and a few other kinds.  It's not fatal or anything, but it makes for an uncomfortable few hours.  Brian ended up eating the rest of it, but I did figure out what was in it and was able to replicate it perfectly!  Here's what to do...

I have been making a big batch up early in the week and we have had it for our lunches, my dad was even able to have some for his lunch a few times last week and gave it the seal of approval...  Perfect to take to a BBQ (friends and family, you know what I will be bringing this summer) picnics and potlucks.  We are totally diggin' this salad right now!  I am quite proud of myself that I managed this on the first try!  Not really, it's lemon vinaigrette for heaven sake! 

Salt-Free Taco Seasoning

Here is the recipe I use for everything involving taco seasoning...  hope you like it as much as we do....

Breakfast!

I made these Lemon-Raspberry Muffins this weekend and they were great!  I'm definately making these again (this week!)

Menu Plan Monday

So I pre-posted last week, and things got a little squirrely.   Here is this week: 

Monday - WW Taco Soup (with out the meat) & Black Bean and Corn Tostadas - Meatless Monday Issue #2 - WWP for Soup = 1, 1 Tostada = 5

Tuesday - Lobster with Dill Sauce - WWP = 2, green salad, veggie and possibly pasta or rice?

Wednesday - Chinese Chicken with Garlic Sauced Noodles - WWP = 8

Thursday - Turkey Burgers or Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs

Dinner update

Here are some pics and links for you!

Thai Style Steak Salad

Parmesan Crusted Walleye

Ginger-Teriyake Strip Steaks with Cucumber Salad, p. 75

Everything was wonderful!

Menu Plan Monday

I have recently started planning menu's a week in advance...

1) to cut back on the grocery bill and mindless fridge searching 10 minutes before dinner...

2) to use staples from the pantry before buying more items that will sit there...

3) because I like to plan and I like to make lists....  (ok, so maybe that should be #1)

While perusing the blogsphere this past week I came across a post for Menu Plan Mondays with a link and the cool pic you see up there and website and of course I was intrigued.... AHHHHH, blog heaven!  (I just heaved a HUGE sigh of contentment)  There are downloads and ideas and articles....  it's fun (if you know me, you understand...  it's the little things in life...)

SOOO, here is my first submission for Menu Plan Monday...  and due to our weekend routine, I will usually be posting only Monday-Thursday meals

Monday - WW Taco Soup & Black Bean and Corn Tostadas - Meatless Monday Issue #2 - WWP for Soup = 1, 1 Tostada = 5

Tuesday - Ginger Teriyaki Strip Steak - WWP = 4 probably with brown rice and broccoli

Wednesday - Lobster with Dill Sauce - WWP = 2, green salad, veggie and possible pasta or rice?

Thursday - Chinese Chicken with Garlic Sauced Noodles - WWP = 8

If things go according to plan, I will be posting pics and comments for these later in the week!

Meatless Monday, Issue #1...

I feel that having a meat-free meal on occasion has great benefit...  Brian looked at me funny when I told him  to expect this once a week, but oh well, he's not doing the cooking...  So here is Issue #1 of Meatless Mondays...

Farro, Avocado, Cucumber & Cherry Tomato Salad from Cooking Light

I could have eaten the WHOLE bowl - delish!  I had never had Farro before, but it has a nice nutty, sweet, chewy texture.  Oh, I don't love Cilantro, so I substituted Parsley which I was chopping for the soup anyhow.

Bean and Pasta Soup from Issue #7, November 2003 Everyday Food Magazine

Yummy!

On a different note, my parents dog, Mac, has been sick for the past week and just came home from a stay at the Vet's office right before Easter.  I was sitting on the couch working on a vest for my dad with yarn from Ireland that smells like a sheep, and these are a few pics of the poor pooch having a snooze with me...

Have a great week!

Flavors of Fall

Dinner last night was pretty basic, burgers, but when Brian found the recipe for Nutty Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad in the October Cooking Light magazine, we had to try it, and it was delicious, with the toasty breadcrumbs, the chopped walnuts and the Brussels Sprouts that were a little browned... Yummmm! I love that color green. This recipe would be great for a fall get-together, even Thanksgiving.

So I mentioned a while ago that Jodi had some great fall cookies that needed a little healthful revamping... I have posted both the Before and After versions on Recipes From The Blueberry Boutique.  Try the re-vamped version if you are looking for some healthy alternatives for baking. I used half white flour and half wheat flour in the recipes, also Agave Nectar instead of sugar (you use a lot less sugar and it's much lower on the glycemic index too!) Thanks for the recipes Jodi, I had a lot of fun testing them!

Bri did as directed and got me a bucky this year!  It's all cleaned, vacuum sealed and waiting in my freezer for winter!

I am making a venison stew in the crockpot for dinner tonight, I will let you know how it turns out! Also, if you have any receipes that need re-vamping, send them on! Here is a little cuteness for you too, they were being nice to each other yesterday, unlike today where Ruger keeps walking on Jag and claiming the warm pillow...he's living up to his nickname today...shit head!

Have a great day!

It's been a while....

So, I know it's been a while and you all are probably tired of waiting for me to blog. I'm not going to apologize, but I will say that I have missed it here, and I "hope" to be back in blogging mode soon... I won't say that I haven't been busy, because I have, I just don't have a lot to say/show for it...


So on that happy note - the new issue of Everyday Food was in my mailbox today and luckily, I already had plans to make fresh tomato soup, but no idea exactly how and I discovered this recipe...

Now the page is complete with tomato spatterings. The recipe on the opposite page doesn't look too bad either! Maybe that in a couple of weeks??? It was good, but when i went looking for a link to it, I found some other ones that looked better, so maybe next time. We made BLT's too. I have a lot more pics to post, but I need to sort through some things and try to get a better blogging schedule started. I will try to blog at least once a week from here on out!

Have a great night, and I WILL see you again soon! If anyone is still here, and you want to see any recipes in particular, just send me a comment and I will get to it. And Jodi - I am working on the cookies, I need to try the pumpkin cookies one more time, but I think I have them right! I will be emailing you shortly!