Chicken Couscous

Chicken Couscous

1 1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 T. olive oil
1 5.7-oz. box couscous
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. golden raisins
1 t. salt
1 3/4 c. water

Mix spices in a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken and shake to coat. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and add chicken. Sauté until cooked through, ~8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

In skillet, sauté bell pepper and scallions until softened. Stir in raisins, orange juice, salt, and water. Bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous.

Remove from heat, cover, and let stand until liquid is absorbed, ~5 minutes. Add the chicken; mix thoroughly with a fork. Serves 4.

Peanutty Noodles

Peanutty Noodles

Peanutty Noodles (from Cooking Light)

2 carrots, peeled
1 T. vegetable oil, divided
2 t. grated peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. fat-free chicken broth
1/2 c. natural-style peanut butter
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T. rice or white wine vinegar
1 t. chili garlic sauce
1/4 t. salt
2 c. red bell pepper strips
1 pounds snow peas, trimmed
8 c. hot cooked linguine (about 1 lb.)
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Shave the carrots lengthwise into thin strips using a vegetable peeler; set aside.

Heat 1 t. oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and next 5 ingredients (broth through salt); stir until well-blended. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and keep warm.

Heat 2 t. oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and snow peas; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Combine carrot, peanut butter mixture, bell pepper mixture, and linguine in a large bowl; toss well. Sprinkle with cilantro if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature (I even like it cold).

Yield: 10 1-cup servings.

296 calories
8.8g fat
11.7g protein
3.4g fiber

Apricot Chicken

Apricot Chicken

from Better Homes & Gardens

**This is one of those recipes that I make when I don't want to go shopping, I usually have the ingredients on hand.

6 chicken breasts
21 oz. canned apricot pie filling (I usually just use apricot jam)
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground nutmeg (fresh ground is heavenly)
1/2 c. pecan halves
hot cooked rice

Arrange chicken breasts in a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Combine apricot jam, lemon juice, 1/2 t. salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in pecans. Pour apricot mixture over chicken pieces. Cover and bake in a 375 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Arrange chicken on rice; spoon apricot mixture atop. Serves 6.

Chicken Tacos

chicken breasts (4?)
a jar of salsa
a can (or two) of black beans, drained
a can (or two) of corn, drained (you could also use frozen corn)

in crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Take chicken breasts out and shred. Add chicken back to pot and stir. Serve with hot tortillas, cheese, sour cream, etc.

Thai Soup

Crockpot Thai Coconut Chicken

Another recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. Delicious! And Thai doesn't get any easier than this.

1 13.5-oz can coconut milk
1 T brown sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T Thai red or green chili paste, or more to taste (I used red, and went with 1.5 T)
1 t fish sauce
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1/2 large eggplant
1 sweet potato
chicken thighs (I used 7 frozen boneless, skinless)
1-inch knob of ginger, peeled and grated.

Combine the sauce ingredients: coconut milk, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili paste, and fish sauce in the bottom of your crockpot stoneware. Taste. If you think you need more chili paste, add some, carefully. It's hot stuff!

Add the chicken pieces to the sauce, flipping them over a few times so they get nice and saucy.

Wash and cut the vegetables, and add to the crock.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. This is done when the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables have reached desired tenderness.

Serve over white rice.

Love this Salsa

Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. corn kernels (fresh or canned shoepeg is great)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
2 t. grated lime zest
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 t. salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and serve at once with tortilla chips.

(6 points for 1 1/2 c. of salad)

Best Bread Recipe Ever

I found this on my friends blog and made two loaves tonight gone fast.

**Note: if you are making this in a KitchenAid, halve the recipe and make 2 loaves of bread.**

10 1/2 c. white bread flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. salt
3 rounded tablespoons saf-instant yeast
3 T. liquid lecithin (I didn't have lecithin, so I used 1/3 c. oil)
4 c. hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin (or oil) and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add a little more water. Dough should be very sticky. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves, place in pans and cover with a dish towel. Let rise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 4 loaves.

For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe only with whole wheat flour; replace one cup of the hot water with applesauce, and add 1 additional tablespoon lecithin. Mix for ten minutes.

Overnight Rolls

I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. Found it on a friends blog and a few other favorites.

Overnight Rolls

1 c. scalded milk
1/4 lb. butter
1 T. dry yeast, dissolved in 1/4 c. warm water
1 T. sugar, dissolved with yeast
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
4 c. flour (approximate)

Beat all thoroughly in mixer. (Or, do it by hand! I think that was the secret to my best batch ever -- light as air.)

Let dough rise, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.


The next day, divide the dough in 2 portions. Roll each portion into a circle and cut into 16 pie-shaped pieces. Brush with melted butter. Roll each piece up, from the large edge to the small edge, and place on a buttered baking sheet.


Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 4-5 hours. (The rising time is not critical with these -- they can probably rise up to 6 hours.) Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.


Makes 32 rolls. (this recipe doubles well)

Grandma's French Bread

2 T. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. very hot water
1 T. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. shortening
6 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water.

In a large bowl, combine hot water, salt, sugar, and shortening and stir. Add 2 c. flour and stir well. Add proofed yeast and stir. Add 4 c. flour and stir well. It should form sort of a "shaggy" dough:


Set the timer for 10 minutes and then stir down the dough. (I took this to mean sort of punching down the dough with your spoon.) Repeat 4 more times (5 times total).

Grandma recommends putting out 5 objects and taking one away after each stir-down, so you don't forget how many times you've done it. I used magnets. Of course, you have to take one away each time or this strategy is useless!

After the 5th time, turn the dough out on a well-floured board and cut in 2 equal portions.

Roll each half into an elongated rectangle. Place both halves, side by side, on a large cookie sheet covered in cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slash each loaf 3 times with a sharp knife and brush on an egg/water glaze, if desired. (You may also sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or salt crystals on top of loaves at this point.)

Bake 30-35 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Grandma's Bran Muffins

4 c. Bran Buds
2 c. All Bran
2 c. chopped dates
2 c. boiling water
1 c. butter or margarine
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 T (scant) baking soda
1 quart buttermilk
5 c. flour

Combine cereals and dates in a very large bowl and pour boiling water over. Let cool.

Cream together butter, sugar, and eggs and add to cereal mixture.

Combine buttermilk and baking soda and add alternately with flour.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

*This mixture may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks -- bake as needed.

Raspberry coffee cake

Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe

Photo by: Taste of Home

100% would make again

One of my mother's friends used to bring this over at the holidays, and it never lasted long. With the tangy raspberry filling, tender cake and crunchy topping, it has become a favorite at our house. -Amy Mitchell, Sabetha, Kansas

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Rate Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe

• 12-16 Servings
• Prep: 25 min. + cooling Bake: 40 min.

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 cups unsweetened raspberries
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 
  BATTER:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cold butter, cubed
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 
  GLAZE:
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a large saucepan, cook raspberries and water over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. combine sugar and cornstarch; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in eggs, sour cream and vanilla (batter will be stiff).
• Spread half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Spread raspberry filling over batter; spoon remaining batter over filling. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over top.
• Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm cake. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 462 calories, 20 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 75 mg cholesterol, 265 mg sodium, 65 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein.

Scarf Makeover

So I had this old scarf laying around and my girls needed something cute to cover their cold little ears in the mornings soo.... First I measured my girls heads and cut the scarf down to size. Then I folded it over 3 times and hot glued it together. Last a cut a strip lengthwise and rolled it into a cute flower. Then I hot glued it on. Gotta love that hot glue!! Anyway I love the way it turned out. I will try to post pictures on my cute models soon.