Sweet n Sour Chicken-- Di

Brown up them tenders!
Pour the sauce over them tenders!
Eat them sticky, sweet n sour tenders!!

By the way, I tag Beth, Cami, and Maggie! Tell us your favorite chicken recipe!!
Here is my favorite chicken recipe to add to the collection. I got this recipe from my friend Karen and sort of made it my own. Enjoy!

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks (I just use a bag of the frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenders--thawed of course.)
one egg
a lot of cornstarch
Enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan.

Preheat the oven to 325. Heat the oil in the pan on medium high heat, then what you do is you crack the egg into a shallow bowl and beat it. Add a little salt and pepper to it. Dredge (meaning to gently dump) the chicken in the egg and then coat the chicken with corn starch. Throw the chicken into the frying pan. Brown both sides of the chicken. Put the chicken in a baking dish.

Then mix:
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c vinegar
4 T ketchup or catsup, whatever you prefer.
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
Whisk it together then pour it over the chicken.
Cook it for 45 min. stirring to coat the chicken with the sauce every 15 minutes. I'll be honest, your house will smell like vinegar for the first half hour, but then, like magic, it will turn into a sweet, pleasant aroma that will have the neighbors beating down your door. Don't let them in because you will not want to share!!

Tag, Di's IT!!!

Since Emily tagged me, I have to share my favorite recipe that my mom made. Well, the thing is, my mom rarely uses a recipe for dinner. She's like the Swedish Chef on Sesame Street. "A little of this, a little of that, and ner ner ner ner..." It's a masterpiece!! Therefore, I don't have any dinner recipes from her, but I have a lot of dessert ones. She has given me her recipe for her pumpkin cake, which I think is the most divine thing in all the world. Here goes:
1 1/2 c pumpkin
1 c oil
4 eggs
2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 t soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon

Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Pour into greased and floured 9x13" pan. Bake 25 min. Cool and then freeze it! You must freeze it in order to maintain moistness. Spread cream cheese frosting on top.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 c margarine (make sure it's 100% pure margarine without water!)
3-4 oz cream cheese softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
Mix with mixer until fluffy.

French Chicken

Okay...I have a confession.  I could eat a whole carton of cool whip.  I absolutely loved whipped cream (about as much as this guy!).  I think it is one of the most fabulous inventions in all the world.  Cool whip is definitely my condiment of choice.  How excited do you think I was to find out that you could make a delicious chicken dinner with cool whip!?  Oh, SO thrilled!  Our friends had us over for Sunday dinner and this is what she made us.  She served it with Herb Roasted potatoes and a little salad.  It was heavenly.  I made it again the other day and it is seriously so easy and if you get the sugar free cool whip and reduced soup it's pretty healthy (yay for weight watchers and trying to lose stubborn baby weight)!

Happy Cooking!

French Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 pint cool whip

salt

pepper

paprika

Place chicken in a baking dish.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Mix soup and cool whip and pour over chicken.  Cover with foil and cook for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.  Serve over rice or egg noodles or with roasted potatoes.

-Starving in Seattle 

(Emily)

Also...I have just discovered that our delicious blog is not just bringing joy and full stomachs to the few of us who post.  I have heard rantings and ravings about Di's Curry and Beth's Pork from friends in California, Florida, and Washington DC!  People are trying these recipes and loving them people!  Therefore...I am going to tag a few people to get few more posts going.  The rules are this: If you are tagged, you MUST post a new recipe in a timely manner (we'll be watching) and then you must tag someone else to post a new recipe of your choice.  Everyone should still be posting whatever recipes they want as well.

So here we go...I TAG JERICA, DI, and LAURA GOODRICH.  I would like you to post your favorite dish that your mom made when you were growing up!

Beth's Brownies

Okay, I hope you all feel loved because I am now giving to you my ultimate brownie recipe! This is the first recipe I ever came up with and my mom still makes it better than me! She reminded me the other day that the secret to these awesome brownies is that you MUST mix it by hand-NO MIXERS!!! I made these the other night for my Young Women and they wolfed down the whole pan! Apparently I've still got it! Here it is.........are you ready to be the most popular woman on the block?!?!?!?!??

Melt 2 squares butter or margarine with 1/2 cup cocoa and a tablespoon of oil. Let cool

Mix in 2 cups of sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Is your arm tired yet?

1 1/3 cup flour

Stir until the flour is all incorporated. The batter should be very thick by now!

Pour into a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

My mom only cooks them for 20 minutes and then lets them sit for a day. She then swirls melted white chocolate on top. Like I said, she still makes these better than I do.

Boston Creme Pie

I made this for my mom's birthday because it is her favorite! It's not really a pie, more like a cake. I totally cheated and made it the very, very easy way!

Take a regular yellow cake mix, bake it in 2 rounds, follow the instructions on the box. Let them cool and then cut them both in half. Now you have 4 layers of cake! Mix up a package (the small package) of french vanilla instant pudding and spread that between the layers of cake. Then pour some ganauche over the top! Ganauche is made with equal parts heavy cream and chocolate. I used 8 oz. Hershey's special dark chocolate and 8 oz. heavy cream. You heat the cream until it is very hot, don't let it boil-maybe just until it has little bubbles on the sides. Then pour it over the chopped up chocolate and just stir to melt the chocolate in. I let it sit a little to thicken up and then just pour over the cake!

It would also be so yummy if you used some of the thicken ganauche between one of the layers-I think I might have done that!

Make it your own!

Beth

Rice Sausage Casserole

I got this recipe idea from my mom's sister and have played with it over the years.  This is my favorite version of it to date!  Enjoy!

Rice Sausage Casserole - Emily Bohman

1 medium onion - very finely diced

1 c celery - very finely diced

1 medium green pepper - diced

1 sm jar pimentos

1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix

2 1/2 c minute rice

1 lb Jimmy Dean regular ground pork sausage

(I like regular but HOT is good if you like a little kick in your head)

Bring 4 cups water to a rolling boil and add Lipton soup mix.  Stir in rice, remove from heat, and let sit.  Brown sausage on stove.  Add diced vegetables and pimentos and let simmer until the vegetables reduce down and it starts smelling fabulous!  (I accidentally left the onions and celery in my food chopper thingy a little too long.  They were almost liquified!  I put them in anyway and actually liked the way it all cooked up!  So dice to your own discretion!).  Mix sausage mixture and rice together in a casserole dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until heated through (about 20 minutes).  If you use regular rice, make some extra soup to add while it's baking in the oven so it doesn't dry out.

Happy cooking!

-Starving in Seattle (Emily)

We tried your curry, Di...

And this is what we did afterwards! It was really good!
love mags and adge

Chicken Curry-- Di

This is what you will do after you eat this meal.

Things you will need to buy:

4 pices of chicken, boneless, skinless, dead

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped in perfect little pieces

4 potatoes, peeled and diced haphazardly because you spent too much time on the carrots

1 onion, cut quickly so you don't cry

Curry powder

one box of Golden Curry mix (found in the Asian foods section of every grocery store)

Cooked Rice

Things you can buy if you have enough money:

2 stalks of celery

some fresh mushrooms

1/2 a red and/or green bell pepper

In a big pot, place potatoes in 2 1/2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a skillet, add the chicken, season with pepper and curry powder, and let it brown on both sides for 2-3 minutes (it won't be done), remove the chicken and cut into chunks. Add a little more oil to the skillet and saute the onions and carrots (and celery, bell peppers, and mushrooms) until soft. Add all the vegetables and the chicken to the pot of simmering potatoes. Bring to a simmer for 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Break up the Golden Curry mix into the pot and stir until it has dissolved. Cook another five minutes until it thickens. Let stand for five minutes. Serve over rice. Try not to die from pure pleasure.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce (Beth)

1 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic salt
pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in saucepan on medium low heat and stir until smooth. You will probably have to add more milk. It gets very thick!!!!
You can serve this with chicken, ham, shrimp, mushrooms, broccoli, green onions, tomatoes, bacon, shredded parmesan cheese, red and green peppers, spinich, whatever sounds good.
Jaclyn and I made this yesterday for my mom's birthday and it was awesome! We called it our "Alfredo Bar!" We had all the topping in a lazy susan and everyone just picked what they wanted.
This sauce is also good as a dipping sauce for bread.

Oh My Chicken

Oh My Chicken - Doug Goodrich
1 whole chicken (or several chicken breasts)
1 can of broccoli cheese soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of chicken broth
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Vegetables (include but are most certainly not limited to... carrots, potatoes, squash, onions etc..)

Directions...
Brown the chicken on your stove top on medium heat and flip the chicken every two minutes while applying a healthy dose of the seasonings mentioned above.
While the chicken is browning, mix the soup mixture together into a large bowl.
Have all of your vegetables previously chopped.
When the chicken is nearly browned on the stove, dump the onions in with it. Let the onions brown for a minute or two. Get a baking pan and put the vegetables and chicken in first. Then smother it with all of the soup mixture. Let it bake at 375 degrees. Trust yourself for how long, until it's not pink and the vegetables are tender I guess. This dish goes quite nicely with warm soft rolls.

I made this at one of the family reunions in a dutch oven. It's good.

Di's Taco Soup

Hi, I just made up a yummy taco soup inspired by my friend Karen's recipe. The V8 juice adds more nutrients and more flavor. Add more juice for a thinner soup.

1 lb lean ground beef seasoned with pepper and browned
1 onion chopped and sauteed with the beef
1 can corn drained
1 can black beans drained
1 can kidney beans drained
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans of V8 juice (approx. 2 cups)
1 packet of Taco Seasoning
Cilantro

Simmer all the ingredients together. Serve with corn chips.
Optional toppings: cheese, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, olives, etc.

Indian Rice

Another recipe from my neighbor Fatma. You will eat the best rice you've ever had.

Ingredients:

2 c. Basmati rice
3 c. boiling water
1/4 c. oil
a chopped onion
minced garlic clove
3 cubes chicken boullion
garam masala (a combination of coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, anistar, etc.) I would assume you could find it in any foreign food store. I don't know where to find it in Utah, so if anyone knows, please share! I want to know for when I move back! If you can't find it, then just some ground coriander and a little cinnamon works fine.

Preheat the oven to 350. Saute the onion in the oil, add the garlic and the rice. Fry for a minute then add the masala and the boullion and the boiling water. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes until soft.

Enjoy!!
--Di

Indian Bread

This is a recipe for Indian flat bread that is SO DANG GOOD! My neighbor Fatma taught me how to make it, and she doesn't have a recipe, so I'm guessing on the measurements. You can't really mess it up as long as you pay attention to the texture.

Ingredients

5-6 c flour
1/2 t. salt
2 t. yeast dissolved in 1/4 c warm water until it fizzes
1 can coconut milk (look in the Asian foods section of the store)
sesame seeds (optional)
melted butter or ghee

Mix the yeast mixture, flour, salt, and coconut milk along with one can full of warm water together in a big bowl. Using your hands, break up all the lumps. The mixture should be a little bit thicker than pancake batter, add more water if you need to. Let it rise covered for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven at 300, and preheat non-stick skillet on the stove and pour in the batter. With wet hands push the dough out to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. The batter will get a little brown around the edges and puff up as it cooks. Brush it with melted butter or ghee. Put it in the oven for about five minutes until the top looks hard. Slide it out of the pan onto a paper towel and cover with aluminum foil. The foil will make the bread soft. Repeat until the dough is gone.

Sausage Potato Stew

This is a recipe that Logan gave me to try and it was FABULOUS! We halved it and used summer sausage instead. Enjoy!
Sausage Potato Stew – Logan Bohman
8-10 med red potatoes
2 large onions
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper (optional)
2 lbs. smoked Polish sausage
1/3 c olive oil
1 Tbsp dried basil
½ Tbsp pepper
1 c cream
3 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp water

Clean potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. Boil potatoes in water until almost done. Drain off water. Add onions, peppers, sausage, oil, basil, and pepper. Cook in large pan until vegetables are tender but still slightly crisp. Combine cream, cornstarch, and water and pour over potatoes and vegetables. Cook until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. It is very thick; add more cream or milk to make more of a soup if desired.

-Starving AND Sleepless in Seattle
(Emily)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

4-5 lb. pork roast
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon dry red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cumin
1-2 teaspoons salt

Mix brown sugar, red pepper flakes, cumin and salt together. Rub all over roast. Brown roast and place in crockpot. Bake on low from 6 pm to 9 am.
In the morning add to pot:
1 can Coke (not diet!)
1 cup chicken broth
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped onion
Continue to cook on low from 9 am to 5 pm. One hour before serving shred pork and add:
1 cup brown sugar
Mix together well and serve with:
rice, beans, shredded lettuce, cheese, and Chili Verde Sauce
This can be served as a salad (which I like to crumble tortilla chips on) or wrapped in tortillas.

Chili Verde Sauce

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
8 oz. jar Verde salsa (green salsa)
2 chopped garlic cloves
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1/8-1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Add juice of 1/2 lime and mix again. Make ahead and chill before serving.

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and it takes a lot of time to cook, but it is so good and it makes a TON!!!! I got this recipe from our stake president's wife. I gave it to Di and she said her hubbie Matt made an awesome chili with the left over meat. Last time I made this I made Lime Cilantro Rice and garlic Black beans to go with it. It was really good. I cooked the rice with chicken stock and a little lime juice and then just stirred in some cilantro at the end. The beans I just heated up with a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic.
I hope you all enjoy!!!!

Crockpot Chicken

4 Chicken breasts
1 pkg Taco seasoning
1 cup salsa

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Put in chicken. Sprinkle with Taco seasoning and top with salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Place about 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a tad of water. Stir well and pour into pot. Then stir in 1/4 cup sour cream.

(This is Beth, by the way! And this website is awesome!!! Thanks Nanners and Em!)
I like to simplify, so I made this a little differently First of all 4 chicken breasts makes a lot!!! I just use 2 for my family and we always have leftovers! I don't take the chicken out of the pot when it's done, I just shred it in the pot. Then I serve it over tortillas with cheese, of course!, and some sour cream. It's really good and very easy!

I got this recipe from justcrockpotrecipes.com which is a great website. I also like kraftfoods.com and epicurious.com
Would anyone be interested in my Cafe Rio pork recipe that feeds a small army?

I hope all you Goodrich gals had a wonderful Singles Awareness Day! Love you all!

Help!

We're having the missionaries over on Sunday, and one of them is a diabetic. Anyone have any good recipes that would cater to his needs?

Banana Cookies

I made these cookies for my first new mommy's get together today. I found the recipe somewhere on the blogosphere between 2 and 5 AM when Sophie didn't feel like sleeping. So Sophie and I had cookies and milk for breakfast (well...I had cookies and she had milk). The word 'banana' in the title makes it count as breakfast, right? They were quite healthy tasting...until I piled on the frosting. Enjoy!

Banana Cookies
3/4 c. butter
1 egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 mashed bananas
3/4 c. Brown sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Soda
2 c. flour

Frosting
6 TBL. Brown sugar
4 TBL. Evaporated milk
4 TBL. Butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Powdered Sugar

Combine the wet ingredients in a mixer then combine dry ingredients in a second bowl and add to wet mixture. After all ingredients are mixed, drop heaping spoonfuls of dough on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. For the frosting, add ingredients to a small pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and wisk in 1 tsp of vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make a good frosting.

Happy Baking!

-Starving in Seattle
(Emily)

Mango Salsa Pork

Mango Salsa Pork

1 pork tenderloin

1 jar of Costco Mango Salsa

I started with a 4 pound peppered/marinated pork tenderloin roast from Costco. I like the peppered meat contrasted with the sweet salsa. You could go smaller or larger depending on how many you are cooking for. I've gotten a smaller one at Albertsons.

I added about 1/4 in. amount of water at the bottom of the crock pot, added the meat, then turned it on high for about an hour and a half.

The pork goes from pink to white as it cooks. After the first hour and a half, empty a little water...maybe about a 1/2 cup, then add about 3 cups of mango salsa (from costco) on top of the meat. Keep on high and let cook for about three more hours. (If you want to you could take a full day and cook it on low). I added more salsa before I served it.

Last time I made this it came out kind of watery ( I think it was from the marinade). But it still tasted great. So you might want to experiment on how to keep it less watery.

serve over rice or with mashed potatoes!

-Maggie (Jordan's recipe)

Elephant Pancake

In honor of National Pancake Day, Logan and I went out for free pancakes at IHOP last night - see how desperate we are for new food ideas!!! It got me thinking about pancake day in England. Shrove Tuesday is pancake day. Traditionally in Britain they eat pancakes, often served with sugar and lemon, on the last day before Lent. This is the craziest pancake recipe I heard while I was over there. This isn't something I would normally post, but it's fun and it's something to get us started!

Elephant Pancakes

Put a huge pancake on a large plate. Spread cherry pie filling on top. Put another pancake on top of the first and place canned pineapple chunks on that. Pour maple syrup over the pineapple. Put another pancake on top and place banana slices over it. Pour maple syrup over the bananas. Place a final pancake on top and microwave the whole lot for a couple of minutes. Pour hot chocolate fudge sauce over it all, sprinkle on some coconut. Serve with ice cream or cream and enjoy!

Now, if you have time to make all that and eat all that, you probably have enough time on your hands to make one of these fabulous and very fashionable evening gowns entirely out of balloons!
Happy cooking everyone!

-Starving in Seattle
(Emily)