General Tso's Chicken

WOW WOW WOW!!! Jake and I are huge fans of chinese food and General Tso's Chicken is Jake's favorite Chinese dish. The verdict? We both LOVED this chicken! There is nothing that I like more when it comes to food than well seasoned chicken and this was phenomenal. Forget paying $30+ for an overpriced Chinese restaurant dish. This recipe was BETTER than any General Tso's Chicken I have gotten anywhere and it was SO easy to make with ingredients I already had on hand! (Okay, so the green onions aren't USUALLY something I just keep stored in my refrigerator, but they were there this time!) Try it! You won't be disappointed!

GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN

1 Lb. chicken breasts (cut into 1" pieces)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. "lite" soy sauce
1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 c. white distilled vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp. water
4 green onions, sliced

Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil over medium heat (in a wok or a skillet) until golden brown and crispy. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne over the chicken and keep warm on low heat. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger) and heat gently. When sauce is smooth and sugar has dissolved, SLOWLY add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until sauce has thickened to desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok (or skillet) and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onion and hot red pepper flakes (optional, but we LOVED the extra kick). Remove from heat and serve.

*NOTE: I cut some of the chicken into small strips for variety and they cooked beautifully. I also didn't have "lite" soy sauce so I used regular soy sauce at just under 1/4 cup. I don't like dealing with fresh ingredients either so I just sprinkled about 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp. of minced garlic in the sauce and used 1/2 tsp. ground ginger.

The Easiest Taco Salad

Okay, let's be real here. How many newleyweds (or oldyweds) with kids have money in abudance AND a lot of time on their hands? I will be amazed if anyone says they do! After a long day of looking after a newborns needs, cleaning house, working out, and teaching piano lessons, I don't have a lot of energy or motivation to put together long recipes with lengthy ingredient lists and obscure ingredients! SO! For all of you in the same boat with me: this is one of our favorite go-to recipes for those nights when we're hungry and want something RIGHT NOW! (Without resorting to fast food.) It takes, at most, 10 minutes to get ready from start to finish and is SO versatile that you can add just about whatever you want to it. The ingredients below are the BAREST OF BARE BASICS to give you a wonderfully tasting recipe at very little cost.

TACO SALAD

1 lb. ground beef

1 packet favorite taco seasoning

1 package iceburg lettuce (with the carrots and cabbage included)
2-4 Tbsp. favorite Ranch dressing

Brown ground beef; drain. Mix in water and contents of taco seasoning packet according to directions on the back of the package. Toss with lettuce and ranch dressing. Serve.

*No. I'm not kidding. That is seriously all there is to it. I like to add some variety now and again with shredded cheddar cheese, tomato, crushed tortilla chips, salsa, corn, etc., etc., etc. Whatever you want to add - throw it in! But what is listed above is really all you NEED! Enjoy! :-)

Sticky Fingers like Wingers!

Yummy! Who doesn't like Wingers Original Sauce? I found this recipe on the internet (can't remember where) and we really enjoy it. I like to double my sauce so that we have some to dip the finished chicken in to. This is really great served with a baked potato! Picture courtesy of this site: FAVORITE FAMILY RECIPES

STICKY FINGERS LIKE WINGERS

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. hot sauce (more or less as desired)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
12 - 16 oz. box frozen breaded chicken tenders

In a saucepan over low heat, combine all ingredients, except chicken. Warm sauce, stirring occasionally, while you cook the chicken. Prepare chicken as directed on package in the oven. Toss chicken in sauce and remove with a slotted spoon to a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 - 7 minutes, or until sauce thickens and becomes sticky.

*Make sure that you use chicken with a crunchy exterior. If you use chicken like chicken nuggets, the breading will just soak up the sauce. It is good to use chicken nugget type chicken if you want to have the sticky fingers on top of a salad.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup

Despite what the title may lead you to believe, this soup does not have chicken wings in it - rather it has chicken with the flavor of buffalo wings. We LOVED it. Like, seriously! My husband is not a big soup fan and we ate this up! Below is my modified recipe. The original recipe only calls for a very small amount of hot sauce but you could hardly taste it and so we really turned up the heat!

BUFFALO CHICKEN WING SOUP

6 cups milk

3 cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (10 3/4 oz. cans)

3 cups (about 1 lb.) shredded or cubed cooked chicken

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

2 cups frozen corn (optional) - I added it for more substance

Hot pepper sauce to taste (we used at least 3-4 Tbsp!)

Combine milk and soups in slow cooker until smooth. Stir in chicken. Cover and cook on Low 3-4 hours. Fiftenn minutes before serving stir in sour cream and hot sauce (and corn if you decided to use it.) Cover and contine cooking just until bubbly.

Makes 8 servings. AT LEAST! If you are cooking for just a few people you will want to cut this recipe down because it makes a full crockpot of soup.

*This is REALLY fantastic with some crumbled tortilla chips and cheese on the top!
*Our favorite hot sauce is the Louisiana hot sauce. It has a slight tang to it instead of being just heat.

Skillet Enchiladas

It's been a million years! So it seems... Our place has been under construction and so I haven't had real access to a kitchen while we have been staying with my grandparents. I was so excited to get back home and make dinner again! This was a new recipe I tried and we LOVED it! I got this recipe from Real Mom Kitchen - love that site! For a link to the recipe go here.

SKILLET ENCHILADAS
From Real Mom Kitchen

1/2 to 1 pound ground beef (I use the 1 lb)

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies

Vegetable oil (I use canola)

8 - 10 corn tortillas

2-1/2 to 3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese, divided

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the soup, enchilada sauce, milk and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat 1/4 in. of oil. Dip each tortilla in hot oil for 3 seconds on each side or just until limp; drain on paper towels. When meat mixture has simmered for 20 minutes, top each tortilla with 1/4 cup cheese. Roll up and place over beef mixture, spooning some of mixture over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and cook until heated through and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Yield: 8- 10 enchiladas.

*I use flour tortillas (cut in ½ instead of corn tortillas), ¼ tsp. of cayenne pepper instead of the chopped green chilies, and onion powder instead of chopped onion. :-)

Sweet & Tangy Chicken

I'll be honest - I wasn't sure if the men I was cooking for were going to like this recipe. But it was SOOO easy and required so few ingredients and such a small amount of my time that I HAD to try it... just to make sure. Plus, I was looking for something easy and healthy to cook. Well, it turned out to be a hit! There wasn't any left of it and there were only 3 of us eating it. It isn't my all time favorite recipe, but it's good and worth keeping around because of the simplicity. I got this recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Tangy-Chicken/Detail.aspx.

SWEET AND TANGY CHICKEN

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular, 25% Less Sodium or Healthy Request®)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
Hot cooked regular long-grain white rice

DIRECTIONS
Heat butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned. Add soup, water, sugar and vinegar. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 5 minutes or until done. Serve with rice.

*NOTE: I served it over fettucine noodles and it was really good. I also added a little bit of salt, onion, and garlic to my mix.

Fallen, and Ham Fried Rice

I have fallen off the face of the earth. Lol - not really. I had a baby girl and have not made ANYTHING that is not already listed on this blog. I will try to get around to being creative again sometime... until then, try this one out!

HAM FRIED RICE

2 C. Water
1 C. Long Grain Rice
¼ tsp. Salt

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a medium saucepan with a RIGHT-FITTING lid. Stir in rice, and salt. Reduce heat until mixture just simmers; with a fork, stir once. Cover pan and simmer WITHOUT STIRRING OR LIFTING THE LID, ABOUT 20 MIN.

2 slices thick Bacon (3-4 slices regular bacon)
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
½ Carrot, grated
1/8 Head of Cabbage, shredded
½ C. Chopped Ham
1 egg
1 Green Onion, chopped
½ C. Frozen peas

1. Cut bacon into small pieces. Cook in a large frying pan until browned and completely cooked. DO NOT DRAIN FAT!
2. Add to frying pan ham, grated carrot, shredded cabbage, sliced green onion. Heat ingredients until the cabbage wilts.
3. Scramble the egg and cook with vegetables.
4. Add cooked rice and peas to mixture and stir fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add soy sauce and garlic powder to mixture.

*1 ½ tsp of garlic powder makes it very strong. You can definitely taste the garlic. If you are not such a big fan of garlic, use less. (I like to use 1 tsp.)
*Vegetable fans - I love cabbage so I use ¼ a head of cabbage and it doesn’t make much difference.