Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

1 t. garlic salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2-3 T cornstarch *

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. vinegar

1/2 c. chicken broth

3-4 T. ketchup

1 T soy sauce

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

* I used minute tapioca instead. 

Recipe:

1. In a slow cooker, mix together all ingredients except the cornstarch and chicken. Stir until you have a smooth consistency.

2. Add chicken to slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before removing chicken and sauce from pot, remove chicken, shred, add tapioca and stir a few times, and replace chicken.

4. Serve over rice or in a tortilla with traditional toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, etc. *

* I actually ate mine over quinoa.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

So, even though this recipe isn't what the source has it down as, I thought it was pretty good. I wanted something easy, like a crock pot, and I think I got it. Daniel really liked. I'd make this one again.

Source: adapted from (I really wanted to make this, but use a crock pot) Get Off Your Butt and Bake, Sweet and Sour Chicken

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 lb. salted butter, room temp

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 T. vanilla

4 c. all-purpose flour

For filling:

1 14-oz. bag caramel candies, unwrapped

1/3 c. milk or cream

1/2 t. vanilla

1 T. coarse salt

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using mixer of medium speed, beat together until creamy.

2. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

3. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remainder of the dough in the fridge to chill.

4. Bake about 20 minutes until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.

5. While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

6. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

7. Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle the salt on the caramel layer.

8. Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.

9. Return the pan to the oven and bake about 25-30 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden.

10. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Rating: 4 of 5
I'm not even going to talk about how much butter is in this recipe. Skipping over that completely. Just make sure you share this one with friends because no one should eat that much butter by themselves. Ever. Ok, so I thought these were good. I didn't put as much shortbread as she calls for on top. Maybe half of what she called for. The caramel was good, but I probably would have done another half bag. You can taste the caramel, but I would have liked more. These were good and I recommend them for sure!

Source: Cookies and Cups, Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Bell Pepper Chicken

Ingredients: they're all approximate as I was just throwing things in as I went along

2 chicken breasts, thawed

1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 t. chicken bouillon

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 shakes of hot sauce

up to 1/4 c. sour cream

1/2 to 1 c. water

1/2 each red, orange, yellow, and green bell peppers, sliced

rice

Recipe: 

1. Mix soup, sour cream, garlic, water, bouillon, hot sauce and garlic together. Add chicken and bring to a boil.

2. Boil for a 5-10 minutes. Simmer chicken until cooked through. The mixture should be somewhat runny, so add more water if needed.

3. With 5-10 minutes left, add pepper slices to chicken mixture until tender.

4. Serve over hot rice.

Rating: 4 of 5

So, for a throw-in dinner, this turned out really well. It reminded me a little bit of jambalaya. It has great flavor, but very little heat. It's great over rice, but I think it'd be good over quinoa, too. I'd definitely make this one again.

Source: my own

Creamy Chipotle Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2-3 lb. pot roast

10 oz. can of diced tomato with green chilies

8 oz. can Ro Tel enchilada sauce

7 oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 t. cumin

1/4 t. oregano

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 -1 c. heavy cream

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 c. cream cheese, somewhere between softened and melted

6 large tortillas

shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese

sour cream

cilantro, chopped

Recipe:

1. In a medium bowl, mix diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, cumin, oregano, and garlic.

2. Place roast in crock pot and cover with tomato-chipotle mixture. Cook on high for 4ish hours.

3. Remove roast from crock pot and shred meat.

4. Using a fine strainer, pour juices from crock pot into a medium bowl. Reserve juices. Remove chipotle peppers from strainer. 

5. Replace tomatoes and green chilies (in strainer) in the crockpot. Pour about 2-4 cups of reserved juices into crockpot. Pour in heavy cream and stir together. Replace meat. Add black beans and corn. Continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes. (The key thing here is to have enough juice/sauce to coat the meat. It's not going to cook that long so it shouldn't dry out.)

6. Mix tomato sauce and cream cheese together in a small bowl.

7. Grease 9x12 baking dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

8. Lay out a tortilla and scoop meat mixture on to 1/2 of the torilla. Place a handful of shredded cheese on top and then roll the torilla. Place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat until dish is full. (I actually ended up with extra meat so there would be enough to almost make 2 full baking dishes of enchiladas.)

9. Cover enchiliadas with tomato/cream cheese mixture. Top with cheese.

10. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheeses are melted.

11. Serve and top with sour cream and cilantro.

Rating: 4 of 5

This was one of those meals that I used whatever I had on hand. It actually turned out really well. I didn't measure anything so the measurements are all my best guess. The chipotle peppers add a pretty good kick, so I used the cream and cream cheese as a way to tone it down a bit. If looking to cut out some of that then you could just remove the chipotle peppers from the adobo sauce before the initial cook time. I really enjoyed this dish and would make it again!

Source: my own

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:

12 3-inch wonton skins, sliced into 1/4" strips *

1/4 c. canola or corn oil for frying

4 c. chopped romaine lettuce

1 chicken breasts, shredded **

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted lightly

1 T. sesame seeds

2 c. cooked fusilli pasta noodles, cooled

* I cut mine into 1-inch strips and then broke it into pieces as I topped the salad.
**I doubled the chicken.

Dressing: 

1 1/2 T vegetable or grapeseed oil

6 T. seasoned rice vinegar

1 t. sesame oil (add more to taste if you prefer a strong sesame taste) *

1 1/2 t. sugar

2 t. light soy sauce

2 T. sesame seeds

1/2 t. fresh ground pepper

1/8 t. salt

*I probably did about 1 1/2-2 t. 

Recipe:

1. Heat canola or corn oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil starts to shimmer, fry wonton skins batches of 5-7 strips for 30 seconds each side or until lightly browned, working quickly so they don't burn. Remove oil and drain on paper towels until cooled.

2. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, chicken breast, green onion, almonds and pasta.

3. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk well until sugar dissolves. Dress lettuce mixture with 2-3 tablespoons of sesame dressing and top with sesame seeds and wonton strips and serve.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I loved this salad. Even LaDon, who doesn't like Chinese food a lot, really liked it. The dressing is light and not too overbearing. I loved the evrey aspect of this salad. The pasta surprised me, but it went great with the shredded chicken and almond slices. I'll definitely be making this again.

Source: Foodie Crush, Chinese Chicken Salad

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 whole egg

1 t. lemon zest

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. baking powder

1/8 t. baking soda

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. powdered sugar

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light color baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray (or use parchment paper) and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice. Scrape sides and mix again.

4. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly.

5. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate.

6. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

7. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny).

8. Remove from oven and cool cooking on pan for about 3 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack. *

*I actually add an extra step of sprinkling the cookies with a bit more powdered sugar when they had come out of the oven.....yes, in addition to the sugar you already roll it in.

Rating: 4.75 of 5

These are light and refreshing. The lemon is sooooo delicious. To quote my friend: "Joy and laughter and baby tears and goodness and happiness. These cookies are the bomb." And that is all we have to say about them.

Source: LDSliving.com, Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Watermelon Sorbet

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. sugar

1 1/4 c. water

6-7 cups fresh seedless watermelon chunks

3 T. fresh lime juice (approximately 3 1/2 medium-sized limes)

Recipe:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil.

2. Reduce heat and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved (do NOT stir). Place in a bowl to completely cool.

3. Put the watermelon chunks and the lime into a blender or food processor. Pulse about 20 times to chop the melon and then process until the watermelon is completely pureed.

4. Press the watermelon through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds and any extra pulp.

5. Combine with the cooled sugar syrup. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

6. Pour the watermelon mixture into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker.

7. Mix until the sorbet has thickened, approximately 25-35 minutes. The sorbet will have soft serve texture. You can enjoy right away or put the sorbet into an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm for about 2 hours.

Rating: 1 of 5

In theory, this would have tasted great! But, for whatever reason, the mixture would just not set up! So, I ended up having sugary watermelon tasting juice stuff. So disappointed. Gonna have to figure out what went wrong, because it would have been sooooo tasty. Especially since the recent lactose intolerance thing has really been causing problems with dessert. I just hated the fact that I lost so much of a really, really good watermelon this week :(

Source: A Sweet Pea Chef, Watermelon Sorbet

Colorful Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn Salad

Ingredients:

1 c. quinoa, thoroughly washed in a fine sieve

1 3/4 c. water

15-oz. can black beans, thoroughly rinsed

1 c. frozen corn *

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped**

1 Jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 red onion, finely chopped ***

1/4 c. cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1/3 c. olive oil

1/4 c. balsamic  vinegar****

salt and pepper

*used a can instead

** I used what I had on hand and that meant cutting out the red pepper and jalapeno and replacing it with just a green bell pepper.

*** I didn't have a red onion on hand so I just used my normal onion substitute of dried chopped onion.

**** I don't really like the balsamic taste, so I substituted it with lime juice. Much better.

Recipe:

1. Combine the quinoa and water in a rice cooker and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively combine the quinoa and water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer (not removing the lid!), until all of the water has been absorbed. *

2. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, black beans, corn, red bell pepper, jalapeno, onion, and cilantro. Mix well.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and balsamic and pour over the quinoa; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

*I don't have a rice cooker. I followed the instructions on the packaging.

Rating: 4 of 5

Did I like it? Yes. Would I make it again? Yes. Did LaDon like the quinoa? Surprisingly, yes! I really don't think I would have liked this with the balsamic, so I'm glad I switched it out for the lime juice. Cilantro and lime go better together anyway. Even Ally liked it and that girl never eats new food.

Source: Girl Cooks World, Colorful Quinoa Black Bean and Corn Salad

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. seasoned salt

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. onion powder

1 T. coarse ground black pepper

Milk mixture: ** I halved this part**

2 eggs

4 c. buttermilk

1 c. barbecue sauce

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. steak sauce

3 lbs. chicken, cut into pieces

2 c. oil, for frying

Recipe:

1. In a large shallow dish, mix together flour, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.

2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then whisk in buttermilk, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and steak sauce.

3. Dredge chicken in milk mixture, then in seasoned flour, alternating in each at least twice.* Heat oil in a large, deep-sided skillet to 375 degrees F.

4. Cook chicken in hot oil until golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes each side.

5. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels. Place in 200 degree preheated oven to keep warm while remaining chicken is cooked.

*Forgot to do that at least twice!

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I love fried chicken, but the one thing that I don't like about fried chicken is that it usually is bone meat. But, with this recipe I just used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it was great! You can actually taste the Worcestershire and steak sauce just a little tiny bit. We liked this recipe and the kids ate it as well. Not that I'd make this one a ton since it is fried, but it was worth it!

Source: Allrecipes.com, A Southern Fried Chicken

Easy No Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar

2 T. butter or shortening

2 T. cocoa

1/2 c. milk

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. vanilla

3/4 c. peanut butter

2 c. quick uncooked oatmeal *

*I actually thought mine needed 2 1/2, so that's what I did.

Recipe:

1. Mix sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk. Bring to a boil.

2. Remove cocoa mixture from head and add salt, vanilla, and peanut butter.

3. Mix well until peanut butter is dissolved. Add in oatmeal and mix.

4. Drop from spoon onto wax or foil paper. Let cool before eating.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I'm a sucker for no bakes. They're "gorilla poop" in my mind and they remind me of my cousin Becca. Not sure why....maybe she introduced me to them? Or maybe it's because we would laugh too hard over a silly cookie name.....or maybe because we ate a lot at a time. I dunno. So delicious. A good balance of chocolate and peanut butter. 

Source: Six Sisters' Stuff, Easy No Bake Cookies