General Tsao's Chicken

My husband has been making this dish for several years now. I refuse to make it because it's less-than-healthy AND time consuming (and besides, he'll cook it, so why should I?! :)  However, I will admit this is an excellent recipe and definitely a keeper! For variety, you can even make the fried chicken pieces using this recipe and then use a different sauce.

Original recipe, here.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable oil for fying
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 pinch pepper (the recipe calls for white pepper, but we've never had any, so we just use black)
• 1 cup cornstarch

• 2 Tb vegetable oil
• 3 Tb chopped green onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6 dried, whole red chilies
• 1 strip orange zest
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3 Tb chicken broth
• 1 Tb rice vinegar
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 2 Tb sesame oil
• 2 Tb peanut oil

• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 c water

Directions:

1. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a large saucepan on high heat. 
2. Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 tsp sugar, and pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.
3. In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turn golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, re-fry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Heat 2 Tb vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chilies, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chilies brighten. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a biol and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Dissolve 2 tsp of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

Turtle Bread

A few months ago I was making one of my favourite vegetarian dishes, ratatouille, and wanted to add a bit more to our meal. I thought bread would add a nice touch, but was short on time. Thanks to my favourite recipe website, allrecipes.com, I was able to find this quick, easy, and tasty recipe that also happens to be kid friendly. Although I will admit that the first time I made it, my son refused to eat it and was appalled that we were eating the turtle's body parts. Also, the original recipe suggests putting raisins for eyes. I tried this the first time I made it, but they fell off. My son got really upset because he thought they were chocolate and he wanted to eat them. Needless to say, now I make it without eyes! Still, I would recommend this to anyone! Quick, easy, and fun! Although it doesn't have to be shaped like a turtle... :)

Prep Time: 40 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Ready In: 1 hour 30 min
Original post, here

Ingredients:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
• 1 Tb white sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 F - but I always just guesstimate)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tb butter
• 1 egg
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the cooled milk, butter, egg, 2 cups flour, and salt; beat well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Divide dough into seven pieces. One round 2 inches in diameter, five rounds 1 inch in diameter and the remainder in one large round. 
5. Place the large round on a lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Shape four of the 1 inch rounds into 'feet' and one into a 'tail' for the turtle. Shape the two inch round into a 'head' for the turtle Attach each piece by flattening the end which attaches to the body, wetting it slightly with water and pinching it under the turtle's 'body'. 
6. Cover the turtle with as damp cloth and let rise for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 
7. With a sharp knife, make crisscross cuts in the turtle's body to make the 'shell'. Finally, make a cut for the turtle's mouth. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Rhubarb Bread

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy trying new recipes and re-making old favourites! (Pardon my British spelling. I have no idea how to spell anymore!)

Jeff is definitely the baker in our house, so this is actually a recipe he found and has been making quite regularly. This bread is absolutely moist and delicious. Plus, as it uses rhubarb, I can easily rationalize that it's ok to eat half of a loaf in one sitting. I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

Original recipe, here.

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ready In: 1 hour 20 min 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk (whenever I cook with "buttermilk," I use 1 Tb lemon juice mixed with just under 1 cup of regular milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb (we've always used fresh, but you can use frozen as well)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

 TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tb cold butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and oil. Add egg, mix well. Beat in buttermilk and vanilla. Add salt. Separately mix baking soda with a little bit of a water to make a paste. Then add baking soda paste, plus 1/2 cup of flour into batter and beat well at a high speed. Next, add remaining flour and mix well. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 8in x 4in x 2 in loaf pans.
3. For topping, combine sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.
4. Bake for 60 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing pans to wire racks.

 

Creamy Artichoke Pasta in Saffron Sauce

This is really, REALLY good pasta. I apologize that the picture in no way does it justice.  When I was in Germany at the end of last year, my sister (who is a brilliant cook) made this for me and I had to pinch the recipe off of her.  I made it on my own (with a few modifications) when I returned home and it was still delicious!  Even my 2 year old loves it, which is really saying something!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pasta (my sister used linguine, I used spaghetti since that is what I had)
• 2 Tb extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 big pinch Saffron (I would say this is an essential ingredient - it's fairly pricey, but you don't need a lot and it's definitely worth it)
• salt & black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup white wine (I don't have white wine hanging around my house, so I substituted 1/4 c of white wine vinegar and it worked nicely)
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock (I used chicken stock instead since that is what I had available)
• 1/3 cup cream
• 14 oz jar of artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup parsley, fresh (I didn't have fresh parsley, so I just substituted some other dry Italian seasonings)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Boil Pasta
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a large skillet and add garlic, saffron, onion, slat, and pepper.  Cook until tender.  Add wine (or wine vinegar) and cook 3 minutes, until most has evaporated.  Add vegetable stock and cream.  Bring to a simmer for approximately 4 minutes.
3. Add artichokes and heat through.
4. Add parsley and pasta and turn off heat.  Add cheese and salt and pepper to taste. 

Tuna Pie

I'll admit that when I first heard of this and saw it being made, I was not interested AT ALL.  I'm not a huge fan of tuna fish and I'm somewhat hesitant about some "pies," (though they are very common here in the UK) but once I tasted it, I was sold!  I saw it being made on Thursday of last week as part of a women's activity at my church.  I made it for dinner the following Saturday.  I'll definitely make this again.  It's easy and tastes BRILLIANT!  The woman who made it is actually from Brazil, so I'm not even sure if this can be considered British, but in any case, it is worth tryinig out!

Ingredients:

(Pastry)

• 4 eggs 
• 1 c olive oil
• 1 c milk
• 2 c flour
• 1 tsp salt OR 1 cube (U.S. size - I broke my UK size in half) chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 Tb baking powder

(Filling)

• 2 cans tuna, drained
• Mixed vegetables (I used drained, canned corn since that is what I had)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1 cup cheese
• 2 chives, chopped
• Salsa (she didn't make it with this and I didn't have any either, but it was listed as an option)
• Whatever you have on hand... (She even said you could use chicken,turkey, or minced (ground) meat instead of tuna)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
2. In a blender (or in a bowl, with a hand mixer), blend the eggs, oil, milk, flour, and salt (or chicken stock cube) until the mixture is smooth.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling.
4. Grease and flour a baking dish (I just used a rectangular, glass casserole dish).
5. Add the baking powder to the mixture in #2  and blend for a few minutes.
6. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking dish.
7. Add the filling.
8. Spread the remaining batter over the filling (First pour some around the edges and then go back and forth over the middle until it is entirely covered).
9. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes (I think it took me closer to 45) or until golden brown.

Enjoy!  Yum!

Creamy Italian Chicken

No picture, but this is one of my favorites that I have made many, many times. I loved it so much that I made sure to pack some dressing packets to bring across the pond to England when we moved here. This isn't as "made from scratch" as some of my recipes, but it is really easy and a family favorite! This recipe is supposed to be made in a crock pot, but since I don't have one over here, I made it on the stove top and it worked fine. I just boiled the chicken first and shredded it and then simmered it with a little bit of water and the mix, along with the other ingredients for an hour.

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breast (I usually do less, but then it probably doesn't serve as many people)
• 1 envelope Italian dressing mix
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom soup works too)
• 1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, sliced (I've never made it with mushrooms)
• pasta or rice to serve it over

Directions:

1. Put chicken in crock pot (even if frozen). Combine seasonings and water, pour over chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours.
3. Mix the soup, cream cheese, and mushrooms together and pour over the chicken.
4. Cook for one hour longer.
5. Boil the pasta or rice according to package instructions.
6. Serve chicken over pasta or rice.

Serves: 8

Chicken & Leek Mash Topped Pie

Not the best picture in the world, but YUM-MY! Trust me! This is my first attempt at making something "British" since we moved here. I found it on a can of condensed cream of chicken soup over here and improvised it based on what I had on hand. In fact, there were no leeks in my version, just a few leftover spring onions and cooking onions. Also, I added carrots to the mashed potato (or mash as they call it here) topping since I didn't have enough potatoes left and had some carrots on hand. I probably didn't make enough of the topping (but, like I said, I was just doing what was on hand), so it didn't brown up as much as it could have. Jeff really liked it and told me to keep the improvised recipe for sure!

Ingredients: (Note: the original recipe has some of the ingredients in weights, since that is how they measure here. I've tried to adjust it to be easier)

• 3 cups potatoes, peeled & cubed
• 1 - 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 3 large chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 leeks, sliced (I didn't have leeks, so I used some spring onions and chopped cooking onions)
• 1 can condensed Cream of Chicken soup
• 4 Tbsp milk
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 - 2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Boil the potatoes and carrots in water until soft.
3. Stir fry the chicken in oil until almost cooked. Add leeks (or onions) and continue cooking until the leeks are just soft.
4. Stir in the soup & milk, mix well and pour into ovenproof baking dish.
5. Mash the potatoes and carrots with the butter and cheese.
6. Roughly spread over the chicken and cook for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves: 4