Cashew Chicken

Now this is no Cafe Fresco cashew chicken, but it is pretty darn close!  I can only aspire to make food as good as theirs!!  I would not have thought such a fancy tasting dish was so simple to make!  The recipe uses Hoisin sauce, which can be found in the Asian section in your local grocery store.  For this recipe you will need the following:

     2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
     8 cloves of garlic, minced (4 tsp of pre-minced garlic)
     1 cup of cashews
     4 tbsp of Hoisin sauce
     8 green onions, sliced
     2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
     2 tbsp of corn starch
     3/4 cup of chicken stock
     2 tbsp of olive oil
     Salt and pepper
     The rice of your choice

     Cook the rice according to the package directions.  Preheat a large skillet or wok over low heat.  Add olive oil, garlic, and cashews to skillet.  Saute over low heat until the garlic becomes golden, but don't let the garlic brown!
     Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken.  Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until the chicken is no longer pink.  Add corn starch to a small bowl with the stock and mix well.  Add the  corn starch mixture to the chicken.  Then add Hoisin sauce and vinegar.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until sauce has thickened.  Just before serving, add the green onions and serve over rice!!!

   

Marinated Flank Steak

I thought long and hard about putting this secret family recipe on my blog and allowing the world access to my favorite meal lol.....but then I thought, the world should definitely have the ability to have the best steak marinade ever!!  This recipe came from my mom who got it from my mama and who knows where she got it from.  I like to think mama created it herself.  For many of you, if you have had dinner at my mom's, you have probably had this steak at one point in time.  While I have made this for myself many a time, it never quiet tastes like it did when my mama made or when my mom makes it now.  I am pretty sure that is because it is missing a key ingredient.....love!  For this amazing recipe you will need the following:

     1 flank steak
     2 tsp of meat tenderizer
     2 tbsp of instant minced onion
     1 tsp of marjoram
     2 tsp of thyme
     1 crush bay leaf
     1 cup of red wine vinegar
     1/2 of cooking oil (or olive oil)
     3 tbsp of lemon juice
     1/4 cup of coarse pepper or 2 tbsp of regular pepper

Cut slits in the steak, across the grain.  Sprinkle both sides of steak with the meat tenderizer.

 

Mix together all other ingredients and pour over the steak.  Let it marinate for 12-24 hours or more in the refrigerator, turning occasionally.  The longer it sits the stronger the flavor. 

Pour off the mixture, setting some aside for au jus. 

Grill the steak about 10 minutes a side, or longer, depending on how you like your steak.

Breakfast Nachos

I would have never thought up a recipe like this, but I am glad I found it on Pinterest because it is not only yummy but healthy too!  I love finding recipes that are both good and healthy - it shows that eating good can taste good too!  I made some adaptations to make it more healthy.  This recipe says to use a cast iron pan, but like me, many of you may not have one; therefore, you can just make yours in a casserole dish like I did.  It makes a serving for two, and those would be two big servings, so if you want to make it for more you would need to double the recipe.  For me, I had leftovers, so I put them in a glass dish that could be re-heated in the oven to enjoy them another morning!  For this recipe you will need the following:

     5 eggs
     salt & pepper
     1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
     1 1/2 cup of multigrain tortilla chips (or baked tortilla chips)
     3/4 cup of Ro Tel (or salsa)
     1/4 cup of chopped onion
     2 tsp of cilantro
     additional nacho toppings of your liking: sour cream, avocados, beans, etc.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium low heat.  While pan is heating, crack eggs into a small bowl and whisk together with salt & pepper.  You can add a small amount of milk if you like a softer egg.  Spray the skillet with cooking spray and then scramble the eggs, stirring consistently until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  Remove from the heat.  Preheat the oven to broil.  Spread tortilla chips on the bottom of the casserole dish in an even layer.  Top with the scrambled eggs, Ro Tel, onion, cilantro, and then the cheese.  Place under the broiler until cheese is completely melted.  Remove from the oven and top with additional toppings, if you want.  Then eat just like you would nachos!

    

Penne Beef Bake

This healthy pasta dish is packed full of great flavor.  This recipe, courteous of Taste of Homes Healthy Cooking, makes a large amount, so I froze the leftovers in portion sizes 1 1/3 cup).  That way when you are in need of a quick meal, you can just pop it the microwave.  One severing is 395 calories, but if you were looking to make it even healthier you could use ground turkey instead of ground beef.  For this recipe you will need the following:

     1 (12 oz) whole wheat penne pasta

     1 pound of lean ground beef (90% lean)

     2 medium zucchini, finely chopped
     1 large green pepper, finely chopped
     1 small onion, chopped
     1 jar (24 oz) meatless spaghetti sauce
     1 1/2 cups of reduced-fat Alfredo sauce
     1 cup of low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
     1/4 tsp of garlic powder




     Cook the penne according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the beef, zucchini, pepper, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the spaghetti sauce, Alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and garlic powder.  Drain the penne; stir into meat mixture.
     Transfer to a 13x9 glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cover and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and then bake uncovered for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted. 

    

White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins that I found on Pinterest are to die for!!  While searching on Pinterest I also found a great tip for making muffins and cupcakes that I used with these and it made a huge difference from other muffins that I have made.  Most muffins or cupcakes, say to back them at 350 degrees for about 22 minutes, but instead fill the cups 3/4 full and then bake them at 325 degrees for a couple minutes longer, around 25 minutes.  It made these muffins more fluffy and light!  Try it the next time you make your favorite muffins.  In addition, I did make a couple of changes to the recipe.  For this recipe you will need the following:
     1 2/3 cup of white flour
     1 cup of sugar
     1 tsp of ground cinnamon
     1/2 tsp of ginger
     1/2 tsp of ground cloves
     1 tsp of nutmeg
     1 tsp of baking soda
     1/4 tsp of baking powder
     1/4 tsp of salt
     2 eggs
     1 cup of pumpkin
     1 tsp of vanilla
     4 oz of unsalted butter, melted
     6 oz (half a bag) of white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, mix together eggs, vanilla, pumpkin, and butter.  Add in the white chocolate chips.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the dry are moistened.  Do not over mix.  Scoop batter into greased or paper cup lined muffin cups.  Bake for 25-27 minutes or until puffed and springy to the touch.  Makes about a dozen!

Zucchini Tots

While I am not a big fan of Tatar tots, I could eat these tots every day!  Despite how this picture looks, yes these are round like Tatar tots.  I have never made Tatar tots, but these tots are so easy to make!  They require a mini muffin pan which is my new favorite baking tool.  It makes things like these, muffins, and many other food items bite size.  The first time I made these I did not have a mini muffin pan and I did use a regular muffin pan, but they were not as crispy, you have to cook them longer, and you certainly cannot pop them in your mouth in one bite!  I found this recipe on a great cooking website skinnytaste.com and they are only 108 calories only for 4 tots!  For this recipe you will need the following:
     1 cup of grated zucchini
     1 large egg
     1/4 cup of onion, chopped
     1/4 cup of low fat cheddar cheese
     1/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
     salt and pepper to taste

 



Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray the mini muffin pan with cooking spray. 

Combine all the ingredients in and bowl, mixing them with your hands.

Add salt and pepper.

 

Fill each muffin cup to the top, pushing down on the filling with the back of a spoon,

 so it is nice and compact, that way they will not fall apart. 

Bake 16-18 minutes until they are golden brown!



Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

With the start of the fall weather, comes the start of the pumpkin inspired dishes.  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, and these delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bars.  This recipe comes from a baking blog I found through Pinterest - bakeat 350.blogspot.com.  Like most pumpkin inspired recipes, this only uses a portion of a can of the pumpkin, which means that you will be left with extra pumpkin.  Thankfully, pumpkin is very easy to freeze.  I just save it in 1 cup portions in freezer bags and then I have pumpkin all year long.  For this recipe you will need the following:
     2 cups all purpose flour
     1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
     3/4 tsp ginger
     1/2 tsp nutmeg
     1/8 tsp gloves
     1 tsp baking soda
     3/4 tsp coarse salt
     1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
     1 1/4 cup sugar
     1 egg
     2 tsp vanilla
     1 cup pumpkin puree
     1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips



Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom and sides of 13x9 baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the sides.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.  Cream together the butter and sugar using a mixer on medium-high until smooth. 

 

Beat in the egg and vanilla.

 



 

Beat in the pumpkin puree.  Don't worry if it looks curdled,

it is suppose to look like that!

 



 

Fold into the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.

 

Stir in the chocolate chips.

 



 

Using a spatula, spread the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely in the pan. 

Lift the bars from the pan, peel from the foil, and cut into squares.