Awesome General Tso's Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal, 2 to 3 as a main entree 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced into 1-inch cubes 1 1/2 cups cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 peanut or vegetable oil for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying 8 dried whole red chilis, or substitute 1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds, for garnish Scallions, green parts thinly sliced, for garnish Marinade: 1 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry 2 egg whites Sauce: 1/4 cup chicken stock, or substitute water 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce 1 teaspoon chili paste 1 teaspoons sesame oil 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1. Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites. Coat the chicken to the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes. 2. Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, sugar, and the 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside. 3. In a large bowl or deep plate, toss the 1 1/2 cups cornstarch with the salt and pepper. Coat the marinated chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess before frying. 4. Heat the 3 cups of peanut or vegetable oil in your wok until it registers 350°F on an instant-read oil thermometer. Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the first batch of chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. 5. Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Wipe the wok with a paper towel to remove any brown bits, but don’t wash. 6. Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the dried chilis and garlic to the wok and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes. 7. Return the chicken to the wok and stir well to coat with sauce. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Garnish with white sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with white rice and vegetables. You have got to try this!!!

Inspiration from the Produce Aisle!

Although I enjoy cooking, too often the planning, shopping and preparing, not to mention the cleaning, becomes a chore and is not so enjoyable. Lately, I have felt very uninspired and uncreative, and I've felt like our meals have shown that. This week began not much differently, except that it was so hot on Tuesday when I went shopping that I just went right to the produce area and loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies. Thus, my week was born and we have had a week of salads and sandwiches.

The best part, it has been one of those weeks that I have done well thinking ahead and prepping extra to make the following days a little easier. Yeah. 

Tuesday - Grilled steak, peppers and onions sandwiches with salad
I shopped, came home and prepped fruits and veggies for the week and marinated steak and chicken breast. 

Wednesday - Make Your Own Tacos
I cooked some bacon and grilled some chicken breast first thing in the morning.

Make you own tacos: sliced grilled Chicken breast, avocado, tomato, Corn & Chili Salsa (trader joe's), black beans, sour cream and salad

Thursday: Sandwiches
BLTs (Bacon that I cooked Wed) &/or chicken and apple salad (reserved some chicken breast from Wed), black bean salad (beans, avocado, tomato and corn & chili salsa - all leftover from make your own tacos), roasted baby potatoes

I'm not sure what we are having tomorrow, but I boiled the baby potatoes (white, red and purple - so pretty) and then roasted half for Thursday's dinner. The other half I chopped and put a little olive oil and vinegar on and am planning to turn into a potato salad to accompany something, probably grilled.

4th of July Party

To celebrate my 14-year-old son's birthday he wants a "Hot Dog Extravaganza"! So we'll borrow the menu from our "Franks N Stein" Halloween Party! Of course we'll have the ketchup, mustard, hot dog relish, Saurkraut, bacon and cheese.

One of my old time favorites: Spicy Onions (sautee sliced onions cut in half, once they are soft, add in tabascco, ketchup, salt and pepper, I don't measure just shake and taste. Should be well coated but not to saucy, simmer until desired tenderness and sauce consistancy. Sometimes, I also add a bit of cooking wine to them:)

The Chicago Dog (which we experienced last summer when visiting my brother) http://www.hotdogchicagostyle.com/chicagodog.php

mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato slices, pickle spear, Sport Peppers (imported from Chicago), and a dash of Celery Salt on a poppy seed bun (we could not get these in NY)

Thai Dog: Thai peanut sauce, diced cucumbers and chopped scallions.

Chili Dog: mustard, homemade chili, chopped onions and nacho cheese.

Of Course we have to have my homemade Baked Beans (my neighbor Kathy's recipe):

1/2 pound Bacon, browned and crumbled

1 medium onion, chopped and browned in 1T bacon fat

In crockpot, combine 2 large cans of B&M Baked Beans, 1 can Kidney beans, 1 can Butter Beans. Add bacon and onion. Then stir in 1/2 C ketchup, 1/4 C molasses and 1 t dry mustard (Coleman's). Original recipe also called for 1/2 pound of browned ground beef or turkey, I have never felt it needed it. Cook until heated through.

We'll wash it down with Beer and Root Beer! And finish it off with Carvel Ice Cream cake:) HAPPY 4th of JULY to all!!

snacks

After school the girls often have popcorn for a snack. Erin now has braces so that is out. I want a quick,easy, simi health but filling snack to have on hand. We all love trail mix. I was thinking of having a container and making seasonal snack mix. I might do 2 containers and keep one peanut free for when we have peanut allergy friends over. Here is a link to one fun one, Seasonal snack mix. I'd love to collect a whole bunch to keep it interesting. I like one I posted here a while ago.

Southwest snack mix, maybe without the popcorn.

Quick Spring Dinner Ideas

With Baseball, Art Shows, concerts, etc... in full swing I try to plan ahead and use the crock pot for meals that whenever someone gets home to eat there is dinner ready! For tonight I decided to try Shephard's Pie, as I had leftover Lamb from Easter. All I needed to do was make Mashed Potatoes and mix frozen veggies and gravy with the lamb. I will post later to let you know how it turned out! Thursday I will be doing

Beer Brisket (from Prevention Slow Cooker)

2 large onions

3-4 Lbs Beef Brisket, fat trimmed

1 bottle of beer

1/2 c chili sauce

2 tsp dried steak seasoning

Place onion in slow cooker, top with beef. Mix chili sauce, beer and steak seasoning. Pour over beef. Cook on low 10-12 hours. Thinly slice across grain. Use slotted spoon to remove onions and place on top of meat. Drizzle some cooking liquid over meat and serve on rolls!

“Food is the most primitive form of comfort.” ― Sheilah Graham
My family has a difficult weekend ahead of us. We lost our dad a year ago Sunday. On top of that, it’s my sister’s birthday, and Easter. Lots of emotional stuff going on for us. So, ... when Said Birthday Sister asked for the recipe for the peanut-butter-chocolate birthday cake I had made her last year while we were all together with my dad (dodging the woman cooking up a Caribbean storm in the kitchen), I wanted to oblige. The problem was, I think I made it up as a I went along, and I don’t think I wrote it down (if I did, I sure can’t put my hands on it now). Here’s an attempt at re-creating it. (I hope my sisters will weigh in if they recall things differently.)
Maureen’s peanut-butter-and-chocolate semi-homemade birthday cake

cake
1 box double chocolate cake mix
½ c peanut butter

ganache
1 c chocolate chips
¼ c peanut butter

frosting
1 can chocolate fudge frosting
¼ c peanut butter

Prepare and bake cake in two or three layers according to package directions, adding peanut butter while mixing.
While the cake is baking, prepare ganache. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a double boiler over slowly simmering water. (I use a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan so I can keep an eye on how high the water is boiling. The water should never touch the bottom of the bowl (top pan) itself.)
Combine frosting and peanut butter and whip with an electric mixer until fluffy.
When cake has cooled, cover each layer top and sides with ganache, then assemble layers into cake with frosting.
 If you like, you can drizzle some additional melted peanut butter for decoration (and additional deliciousness). Happy Birthday, Maureen. Happy Easter, all.

Quickest cookies ever

OK, so a batch of chocolate chip cookies doesn’t really take a long time, but sometimes you just don’t feel like getting out all of those ingredients (or in my case, putting them all away when you’re done), or maybe you’re out of something, or maybe you have a small helper and all that measuring can make a real mess. Whatever your reason for not baking your go-to batch of cookies, here’s a recipe that is super-easy and super-delicious and super-flexible, and definitely worth trying.

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5-ingredient cake mix cookies

1 box cake mix
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 c mix-in (or combination of mix-ins)

Combine all five ingredients in a bowl until well-mixed. The batter will be very stiff. Drop by spoonful (whatever size you prefer) on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, remove to cooling rack, and continue cooling.

The number of combinations you can come up with is endless. Here are some suggestions.

cake mix flavor	+	mix-ins	=	voilá
chocolate fudge	+	Andes mint chips	=	chocolate-mint cookies
yellow or chocolate	+	butterscotch chips, Heath bits, and walnuts	=	Heath bar cookies
chocolate	+	peanut butter chips	=	chocolate-peanut butter cookies
carrot cake	+	raisins and coconut	=	carrot cake cookies
white or chocolate	+	M&Ms	=	M&M cookies
chocolate	+	chocolate chips	=	double chocolate cookies
spice	+	chopped dates and chopped walnuts	=	hermits (substitute molasses for vanilla)
butter	+	chopped pecans	=	butter pecan cookies
chocolate	+	white chocolate chips	=	reverse chocolate chip cookies
“funfetti”	+	sprinkles or mini M&Ms or both	=	Child's Delight
chocolate	+	mini-marshmallow, mini chocolate chips, and chopped nuts	=	Rocky Road cookies
chocolate	+	Raisinettes and peanuts	=	Chunky cookies
yellow or spice	+	mini-marshmallows and mini chocolate chips	=	S’more cookies