Orange Sesame Chicken

Batter-
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch cubes)
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce-
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup honey
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
½ cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil (I just used olive oil)
the juice of ½ orange
1 teaspoon orange zest
sprinkle of garlic powder
sesame seeds


Heat oil in a deep fryer to 325 degrees. In large bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.  Dip chicken pieces  into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown).  In a bowl whisk together ketchup, honey, sugar, water, vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, orange juice, orange zest, and sesame seeds. Pour into a wok and cook until the sauce is thickened and bubbly. Mix in a bowl with the fried chicken pieces.  Serve over rice.


(From http://blogchef.net/how-to-cook-chinese-food/)

Busy Day Casserole

1/2 lb. ground beef
3 c. macaroni, cooked according to package
1 32 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz shredded pizza cheese blend
Parmesan cheese, grated
Pepperoni, diced
Black olives, chopped

Brown and drain ground beef.  Combine ground beef, cooked macaroni, and spaghetti sauce.  Place in casserole dish and top with cheeses, pepperoni, and black olives.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

(From Worldwide Ward Cookbook)

Carne Asada

• 3 pounds flank steak
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
•  
• Lay the flank steak in a large glass baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, 4 cloves of garlic, juice of two limes, and olive oil. Season with salt, black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, cumin and paprika. Whisk until well blended (we used the blender and it really helped it mix together well), then pour over the steak in the dish. Turn over once to coat both sides. Cover with plastic wrap, and marinate for 1 to 8 hours.  Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the marinated flank steak into cubes or strips. Cook, stirring constantly, until the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid has evaporated.  Serve with taco toppings in taco shells or as burritos.

*Dustin actually grilled our meat before we cut it into strips (instead of frying it in a skillet) and it was really yummy that way.

(From allrecipes.com)

Coconut Cream Pie

3/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
7 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs
3 c. milk, scalded
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 c. coconut (add more if desired)
1/2 c. heavy cream, whipped (or substitute Cool Whip)
1 deep dish crust, baked

In medium bowl combine sugar, salt, flour, and eggs.  Slowly add sugar mixture to scalded milk, stirring constantly over low heat until it begins to boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, continue to stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until thickened.  Remove from heat, add vanilla.  Cool to room temperature, fold in coconut; pour the filling into shell.  Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional coconut.  Chill.  Serves 6.

(From Grandma L.)

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1  t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese, diced or grated
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package.  Usually it's 400 degrees.  If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8".  You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to.  Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.  (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after).  You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.  Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese. 

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping. 


(From ourbestbites.com...a great kid food!)

Puffed French Toast

2 eggs
2 ½ Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
12 slices Texas style toast, cut in half diagonally

In a large skillet or frying pan, heat about 1/4" of vegetable oil (not olive oil) over medium heat. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, flour, and baking powder. Test oil heat by flicking some water into the frying pan. If it pops, reduce the heat. If hardly anything happens, turn up the heat. If it sizzles, it's just right.

Working quickly, take each 1/2 slice of bread and soak it both sides in the milk/egg/flour mixture. If you leave it in too long, it will get soggy, but you want to make sure enough of the egg mixture has soaked into the bread. Gently shake to remove excess batter and place in hot oil. Cook until puffed, golden brown, and a nice, crispy crust has formed on each side (probably 3-5 minutes per side; you really need to babysit them and make sure they're cooking correctly) and then remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. While cooking remaining french toast, keep cooked pieces warm in an oven set to the lowest temperature it will go.

When ready to serve, roll each piece in cinnamon sugar (3/4 c. sugar and 4 tsp. cinnamon).  Serve with syrup, if desired.


(Talk about a sinful recipe!  The cookbook suggests serving it on a special occasion.  When we decided to try it I asked Dustin what the special occasion was and he declared it was a "Saturday that we get to stay home so we're celebrating".  Fair enough.  From ourbestbites.com.)

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1 (15oz.) can black beans, drained
1/2 cup sour cream, plus more for garnishing
1 (10oz) can enchilada sauce (use hot for really spicy enchiladas!)
8 flour tortillas
1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded, plus more for garnish
Chopped tomato, lettuce, and black olives for garnish

Heat oven to 375. Cook chicken in a large skillet, then add spices and beans, cooking on medium for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in half cup sour cream.  To assemble each enchilada, spread 1 Tbsp. Sauce on tortilla, place a third cup bean mixture in center of tortilla and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. Cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in greased 13X9 inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes or until heated through. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. To serve, garnish with desired toppings. 

Meatless version: use an additional can of black beans, omit chicken.
Make ahead version: Prepare as directed, cover and freeze. Bake at 375 for 60-70 minutes. Again, sprinkle cheese on at end, uncover, and bake a few more minutes.


(From Vicki's friend Robin B.)