National Doughnut Day Free Doughnut at Krispy Kreme

Fiesta Enchilada Bake

Made this recipe tonight. It was in the Publix flyer from Sunday's paper; so easy, had all the ingredients on hand and everyone loved it.  

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/fiesta-enchilada-bake/b56e7d1d-601a-4994-9962-379ba3891989


 Fiesta Enchilada Bake

Ingredients

1 1/4

lb lean ground turkey

1

box (8.8 oz) Old El Paso® taco dinner kit

2/3

cup water

2

cans (10 oz each) Old El Paso® enchilada sauce

1/2

cup sliced green onions (8 medium)

2

cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

3

cups shredded lettuce

1/2

cup sour cream 

 

 

 

Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 325°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 2-quart saucepan, cook ground turkey over medium-high heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain. Stir in seasoning mix from dinner kit and water. Cook as directed on box.
• 2 Pour 1 can of the enchilada sauce into baking dish. Break taco shells from kit in half; layer half of the shells over sauce, overlapping if necessary. Top with turkey, onions and 1 cup of the cheese. Layer remaining shells over cheese. Pour remaining can of enchilada sauce over shells, coating well.
• 3 Cover dish with foil. Bake about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil; sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over top. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Top individual servings with lettuce, sour cream and taco sauce from kit.

General Tso's Chicken

We made this recipe tonight and it was so yummy and flavorful!  We used chicken thigh meat instead of breasts; we find it doesn't dry out as much as white meat and we added steamed broccoli when we added the chicken into the sauce. It did not turn out too spicy at all just very sweet with a  little taste of spice.

http://passionatepennypincher.com/2013/08/general-tsos-chicken/

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons green onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 red chili peppers, cut finely
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tbsp chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari sauce
• 4 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Heat 4 cups oil in deep fryer or sauce pan.
2. Beat egg and add chicken cubes in bowl. Sprinkle with salt, 1 tsp sugar, and pepper, then mix. Add in 1 cup corn starch a little at a time until the chicken is coated on all sides.
3. In batches, drop chicken into hot oil, cooking until golden brown and beginning to float (about 2-3 minutes.) Remove chicken and allow it to cool on paper plates while cooking the next batch.
4. Cook until all chicken is cooked, and let it drain on paper plates.
5. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in wok or large skillet over high heat.
6. Stir in green onion, garlic, and red chili peppers.
7. Cook and stir until onion is translucent and garlic and chili peppers cook through.
8. Add 1/2 cup sugar, ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce and peanut oil.
9. Bring ingredients to broil and cook for 3 minutes.
10. Dissolve 2 tsp of corn starch into water and stir into boiling sauce.
11. Return to a boil and continue to cook until sauce thickens, about 1 more minute.
12. Add cooked chicken to boiling sauce and reduce heat to low.
13. Cook for a few minutes to reheat chicken and so that the chicken begins to absorb some of the sauce.
14. Serve over rice or noodles.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps or Thai Tacos

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and we loved it. My boys renamed it Thai tacos and said we should have it more often than regular tacos.

I have included the recipe and the link back to it and some changes I made to suit our family.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into large dice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 5 dashes hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®)
• 1 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 5 dashes hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®)
• 6 large leaves of iceberg lettuce
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Cook and stir ground chicken in a large skillet until the meat is crumbly and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease. Stir red bell pepper into chicken; cook and stir until pepper is slightly softened, about 5 more minutes.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, 5 dashes hot pepper sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl; pour over chicken mixture. Cook and stir chicken mixture with sauce over low heat until flavors have blended, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Mash peanut butter with hot water in a small bowl until smooth; stir 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 5 dashes hot pepper sauce into the mixture. Set dipping sauce aside.
4. Form lettuce leaves into cup shapes and fill with chicken mixture. Top lettuce wraps with shredded carrots, sprinkle with green onion and cilantro, and a spoonful of peanut dipping sauce.
5. I made a few changes; I used smooth peanut butter not crunchy and not as much as the recipe called for and diluted it out more to make it real smooth. Also, I used Siracha for the hot sauce and lots more cilantro for topping. (but our family really likes cilantro) I also added some minced garlic when I added the grated ginger. Also, the recipe calls for 6 large lettuce leaves but I found a head of iceberg gives you many more lettuce "wraps" than 6 and the filling goes a long way. I served the wraps with Jasmine rice and edamame.

   
   

   
   

   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-lettuce-wraps/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=chicken%20lettuce%20wraps&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=Home%20Page

New recipes for using lots of veggies

We have been receiving a weekly produce delivery and have been trying out new recipes to use all the fruits and vegetables. 
Here are two new recipes that we used last week; that were wonderful.  The Braised Mustard Greens were awesome even my boys were saying, "I love mustard greens!" (mustard greens can be bitter if not cooked correctly and this recipe does not have any bitter taste just wonderful flavor). The soup is a wonderfully rich winter soup that uses so many vegetables.

Hoppin' John Soup With Rice

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 1 1/2 cups rice
• 1 quart plus 3 cups chicken stock, divided
• 1 package (4 links) andouille sausage, casings removed and diced
• 5 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1 pound frozen black-eyed peas
• 1 28-ounce can stewed tomatoes

Preparation

Place a medium-size saucepot over high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Add rice and stir to coat in the oil. Add 3 cups of the chicken stock and bring up to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium, place a tight-fitting lid on the pot and cook the rice until tender, about 18 minutes. 

Once the rice is cooking, place a large soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO. Add the andouille and cook until brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the celery, green bell pepper, onion, bay leaf, sweet potato and hot sauce to taste. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until onions start to get tender. Add black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes and remaining quart of chicken stock. Turn the heat up to high and bring up to a bubble. Once bubbling, lower heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.

To serve, place a large scoop of rice in a soup bowl and add enough Hoppin' John to almost cover the rice. Give it a stir to combine. By cooking the rice separately, you never run the risk of the rice getting mushy on you and it will be waiting for you whenever you are ready to eat!

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/hoppin-john-soup-with-rice/

Braised Mustard Greens

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 3 bunches mustard greens, trimmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Coarse salt
• 2 cups chicken broth

Directions

In a large skillet over medium high heat brown bacon and render its fat. Add chopped greens to the pan in batches and turn until they wilt, then add more greens. When all of the greens are in the pan, add vinegar and cook a minute. Season greens with sugar and salt. Add chicken broth to the pan and cover. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer greens 15 to 20 minutes then serve.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/braised-mustard-greens-recipe/index.html

Our new favorite thing-Red Tractor Produce

For 2 Saturdays now, my sons have looked anxiously out our front door windows for....  PRODUCE!

We started getting a weekly produce delivery from a local company  called Red Tractor Produce and it has been great for our family to try new fruits and veggies and new recipes. They send out a weekly email with the items available that week with a short survey for you to decide which fruits and vegetables you would like included in your box. They have a $20 or a $30 box that they put together according to your preferences. So far, we have been impressed with the quality of all the items we have received. 

Here are some pictures of the boxes we have received so far and the link to their website. 

Here is the link to their website; which answers lots of questions about their service. http://www.theredtractorproduce.com/

If you decide to sign up for their service, I would love to refer you for a referral credit. Please send me a comment if you want more information or would like to have me refer you.   Thanks.