Kung Pao Chicken

I could not be any happier with the way this recipe turned out. The flavor is simply wonderful. It was a very easy recipe to make, but better yet, this recipe exceeds the work you put into it. It taste like you worked much harder than you did. Another thing I like is that most of the prep work can be done the night before, then everything can be thrown together the next day for a good, but quick meal. If you have a recipe you would like to have tried and featured email me at colie@colieskitchen.com

Sevings: 3-4
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/2  tablespoon cornstarch
• 6 teaspoons light sesame oil or vegetable oil
• 9 tablespoons green onions, chopped with tops
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (to your own taste)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger (can use fresh grated if preferred)
• 6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 4 cups cooked sticky rice, hot

1. Combine chicken and cornstarch in small bowl.
2. Toss to coat.
3. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok on medium heat.
4. Add chicken.
5. Cook 5- 7 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and ginger to skillet.
8. Cook 5 minutes.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl.
11. Stir well and add to skillet and return to heat.
12. Stir until chicken is well coated.
13. Stir in nuts and heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
14. Serve over hot sticky rice.

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Lazy mans Beef Barbeque (Crockpot)

This is the lazy mans

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Texas Style Beef ribs (boneless)
• 2 cups Your favorite Barbeque Sauce (I use McDonald's Barbecue Sauce)
• 1 cup of water

Directions:

1. Add water and barbeque sauce to your crockpot and stir together
2. Turn crockpot on low
3. Add boneless ribs and stir all together
4. Cook for 7-9 hours
5. Remove meat from the sauce and slice. The meat should be tender enough to fall off the bone
6. Add enough of the remaining sauce to coat the meat
7. Serve
8. Re-heat over the stove if necessary

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McDonald's Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup kraft original flavor barbecue sauce
• 1/3 cup bullseye original barbecue sauce
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Directions
 

1. Combine the ingredients very well. Microwave on high for about 30 seconds, then stir again.
2. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate until needed.
3. Makes about 6.5 ounces (6 packets) of McDonald's Barbecue Sauce.

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Parmesan Chicken Strips

I really enjoyed this recipe. To my surprise, it has a very nice parmesan cheese flavor. I find that parmesan can be a tricky ingredient. Either it is too mild, and you can’t taste, or it’s so over powering that it takes over the meal. As for this recipe, it’s just right. You can taste the parmesan, but the chicken shines through equally. The only drawback to this recipe is that it can be time consuming, so unless you have a few hours I wouldn’t suggest tackling it. At least for me I take chicken breast and cut it into tenders, which I find to take forever. It’s probably more that I just hate to do it, yet I am too cheap to buy them already cut… go figure? Never the less the recipe is excellent and one I will make again in the future. Thank you Susie for the great recipe. If you have a recipe you would like to have featured please email me at colie@colieskitchen.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 stick of margarine
• 1/2 cup of olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into strips.
2. Combine salt, pepper and flour in a large zip lock bag and shake
3. Beat eggs with 1 tablespoon water on a plate.
4. Combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl.
5. Add chicken pieces to zip bag with flour mixture and shake until the pieces are covered
6. Dip each chicken piece in the egg mixture and then roll the chicken in the bread crumb cheese mixture. Repeat until each piece is coated
7. Heat margarine and olive oil in a large saute pan on medium low heat.
8. Cook until cooked through.
9. Add more butter and oil as needed to the pan.

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@WomansDayTweets Recipe Idea for Leftover Rice

I really love this recipe. I hate having left over rice because it's such a waste, and I always make too much. I normally freeze it and find something else to do with it. Normally I use it to speed up cooking time by just pulling it out of the freezer instead of making more. In the last Woman’s Day magazine I got in the mail, they had an article with this recipe in it. It sounded so good I had to try it. It has a very delicate flavor. The spinach is very mild for all of you spinach haters (yep that includes me) and the parmesan cheese is not as overwhelming as I figured it would be. I am going to find a nice parmesan-mozzarella cheese dip to go with this recipe next time. I think it would add a nice touch.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp oil
• 1 cup thawed frozen cut-leaf spinach
• 1/2 small onion
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup rice (3 cups cooked)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 tsp pepper

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheet with nonstick foil. Heat 2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup thawed frozen cut-leaf spinach, 1/2 small onion, diced, and 1/2 tsp minced garlic; cook 2 minutes until spinach is tender. 
2. Stir into spinach mixture 1 cup cooked rice, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 1 large egg and 1/8 tsp pepper.
3. Drop rounded Tbsps onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until firm. Serve with marinara. Makes about 10.

 

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Allyou Magazine's Honey-Mustard Chicken

Served with Asparagus Casserole, and Steamed brussel sprouts

I found this recipe in All You Magazine and had to give it a try.This is a great recipe, but I will say it is very sweet. If you do not like your food to be sweet, then this recipe is not for you. The chicken comes out very tender, and has a wonderful flavor. I typically do not like Dijon mustard, but in this case it really makes the chicken. The only things I did differently was I used boneless chicken breast verses a whole chicken, and I used regular honey because I could not find whipped honey. I left the cooking time the same to insure the chicken would be really tender. Guess what? It was! The chicken was so tender I had to use a spatula to get it out of the crock-pot because when I tried used a fork the pieces just fell apart. Yummy!  Click here for the original recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes


Cook Time: 4 hours 3 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup whipped honey
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 4-lb. whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

1. Stir together honey and mustard; set aside all but 1/4 cup. Gently loosen chicken skin around breast. Rub 1/4 cup honey mustard evenly under and over skin, pushing it into legs and thighs. Sprinkle chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Fold wings under and tie legs together.
2. Place chicken, breast side up, on a small rack or a ring made from foil inside slow cooker. Add 1/4 inch water. Cover; cook on high until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thigh registers 180ºF, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
3. Preheat broiler to high. Transfer chicken, breast side up, to a foil-lined baking sheet. Combine 1 Tbsp. reserved honey mustard with olive oil. Brush mixture over chicken and broil to brown skin, 2 to 3 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving. Drizzle remaining honey mustard over each portion of sliced meat.

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Asparagus Casserole

When I initially decided to make this recipe, I was not sure if it was something my family would like or not. As for me, it reminded me of green bean casserole one of my favorite holiday staples, and now to add one of my other things asparagus… where do I sign up? This recipe was so super simple to make. I only used the tops of the asparagus because I have plans for the stems. I was given a recipe for asparagus soup (recipe soon to follow). The flavor is amazing! My husband who hates green beans casserole fell in love with this recipe. He went on and on about how much he loved it. This is worth keeping!

Ingredients

• 2 cups asparagus, fresh, cut in 2-inch lengths
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 (2 7/8 ounce) can French fried onion rings

Directions

1. Butter a casserole dish or spray with cooking spray.
2. Reserve 1/2 the can of french fried onions
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together
4. Spread ingredients in a baking dish then top with reserved french fried onions
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
6. Serve hot.

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Runzas (Bierocks)

This meat pocket recipe is delish!! It's a German family recipe, and well worth the work. Now let me tell you about the work. This recipe is a total nightmare and a ton of work. I made the mistake of making them on a Sunday and not firing up my bread machine until 4 pm. Big mistake!! I recommend making the meat a day ahead so that the flavors can mingle. That is so important in this recipe. They are a lot of work, but the end result is so good you won't hesitate to make them again in the future. It's very important to follow the steps in this recipe to the letter this will help you stay organized.

Meat ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 pound of carrots shredded
• 1 bunch of green onions diced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 3 TBS of soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp of accent
• 1/2 tsp of onion powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 pound mozzarella (Reserve until the end)

Directions for the meat:

1. Brown beef, cabbage, green onions, garlic and carrots in a large skillet
2. Drain off any grease and return to the heat
3. Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, then add 1/2 tsp of accent, onion powder, and soy sauce.
4. At this point either set aside to cool down, then refrigerate for another day or set aside allowing the meat to become room temperature for same day use.  

Dough- For the dough you can either use premade dough, frozen or refrigerated. I chose to make my own which is time consuming, but well worth the taste in the end. I used my bread machine for the sake of ease, and time, but you can certainly make it by hand also.

 Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh basil (optional)
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 
  
  1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted

Directions: (Bread machine)

1. In bread machine pan, place the first nine ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer.
2. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
3. When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface
4. Using a rolling pin roll your dough flat.
5. Using a 3 inch in diameter cutter. I used a Gladware container (Only fancy fixin's used here) continue rolling and cutting until you have 18 rounds

How it all comes together:

1. Place a spoonful of the beef mixture onto the center of each dough round and sprinkle  with mozzarella cheese
2. Take a second dough round and top the first one.
3. With a fork go around the outside of the rounds pinching the bread together with the tines of the fork
4. If you are still having problems getting the dough to seal use your fingers to pinch it together
5. Be sure to poke a few holes in the top of your meat pies to insure the steam can escape
6. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay each meat pocket on the pan and cover with a towel
7. Allow the meat pockets to rest and rise for 30-45 minutes
8. Bake on 350 degree for 20 minutes or until they are brown. Check on them frequently to insure they don't get over cooked. You want the pocket to be nice and soft.

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Ramen Noodles and All You Can Do! Who Knew?

I received an email the other day that sparked my interest. A reader asked me what she could make her family for dinner that cost little to nothing, but something she could make go along way. I don’t know about you, but this is something I think about every day. Every meal for me is on a budget, and some weeks run closer than others do. Ramen noodles are always a staple of college students. When all else fails most people can drop .18 cents for a pack of Ramen noodles. I started my journey to help this reader feed her family for very little, and my focus was going to be on Ramen Noodles. So many recipes out there are based around these noodles, even a cookbook whose main ingredient is Ramen Noodles. Who Knew?

• 
  
  College Suvival Guide Part I: 50 Amazing Ramen Noodle Recipes
• 
  
  All Recipes.com -Ramen Noodles
• 
  
  Family Oven Ramen Noodles
• 
  
  Matt Fischer Offical Ramen Page
• 
  
  Ramenlicious
• 
  
  Woman's Day: 9 Unique Ramen Noodle Recipes

A recipe that really caught my attention was from Ramenlicious called Chocolate Ramen Cake

Click here to see the original recipe

Ingredients for 3 cakes:

• 1 package of ramen noodles (crushed)
• 3 small dessert cupcakes
• 1 cup of cherries
• 1 cup of chocolate dessert fondue 
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil (cooking)

How to cook:


The noodles:

1. While the noodles are still in the package, break them in small pieces.
2. Put the vegetable oil in the cooking pan.
3. Turn on the stove and wait for the oil to heat up.
4. Put your noodles in the cooking pan.
5. Since ramen are dehydrated, you have to be careful not to burn them. Always gently shake the cooking pan.
6. Your noodles are ready once they have a nice brownish color.
7. Turn off the stove and put your noodles in a bowl.

The recipe:

1. Put the 3 cakes in a plate.
2. Add the cherries and the fried ramen on top of the cakes.
3. Pour the chocolate fondue on top of everything.
4. Enjoy!

 

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Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal

Someone asked me the other day… “Why are you cooking with so many strawberries?” Well, the truth is, strawberries are the least expensive fruit I can find in the store locally. I can get a pound for .99 cents. You cannot beat that, and we really like strawberries.

We are oatmeal eaters too, so I wanted to find a way to make my very favorite oatmeal, which is strawberries and cream. Normally I buy the microwave version, but not this time. This recipe is soooo good that I will probably end up putting my microwave packets on the back burner or never buying them again.

What really makes this recipe is using half-and-half. The oatmeal turns out so rich and creamy which exactly what I look for in a good oatmeal recipe. You cannot go wrong with this if you like strawberries and oatmeal. You could really use about any hearty fruit in this recipe. Peaches my second favorite oatmeal would be great also.

(Serves four people... so they say! Ha!)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 pint strawberry
• 1 3/4 cups half-and-half
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Prepare strawberries. They should be hulled and thinly sliced.
2. In a medium bowl, combine strawberries and brown sugar and gently stir until all strawberries have sugar on them. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring water and milk and salt to a boil. Immediately add the oats and reduce heat to medium. Stirring occasionally, allow to cook 5 to 6 minutes to desired texture.
4. Add sour cream and stir in well, then add then add in half of the strawberries.
5. Mix gently and divide into four bowls
6. Top bowls with the additional strawberries

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Onion Parmesan Roasted Red Potatoes

I want to thank the Dancing Cook for this recipe. I think I could have made 10lbs of these potatoes and we still wouldn't have had enough. The flavor is shocking to your tongue. Unless you know better you are not expecting theses potatoes to have such a great taste. This was voted a true winner in our house. Next time I think I would cook them even longer than suggested to give them a nice deep brown color and give them even more flavor and maybe a little bit of a crispiness. If you are looking for a great potato side dish this is the one!! If you have a recipe you would like to have featured email me at colie@colieskitchen.com

Ingredients

• 2 lbs small red potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix (Lipton works great!!)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large plastic bag, seal and shake until well coated.
2. Empty bag into a 13x9 dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes
3. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

 

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Tangy Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast

I found a recipe through a recipe website that I found interesting. After reading about 100 reviews and taking everyone's suggestion and complaints into consideration I took the same recipe and tweeks it with all the suggestions and a few of my own. It turned out AMAZING the flavor is tangy, and vey rich. Everyone was raving about this delish bird. The chicken turned out so moist and flavorful. The first thing I heard was wow something in the kitchen smell so tangy! Not only does it taste good, but makes a nice presentation on a plate too. If you have any recipes you would like to have featured email me at colie@colieskitchen.com

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup mayonnaise (Hellmanns seems to work better than Kraft)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon honey dijon mustard

Directions

In a food processer, combine mayonnaise, mustard, cheese, and all the spices. Spin until everything is well blended

 Spread over cleaned dried chicken breast, bottom first, then the tops

Cover with platic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours
Remove plastic wrap and bake on 375 degree for

45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through

 

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