Anyone up for chinese?

Man I wish I'd taken pictures of this one...

Kind of a made up but based on a recipe form of sweet and sour chicken. It's delicous!!! I got the idea from my cousin-in-law Melissa's food blog. She linked her recipe to allrecipes.com Sweet and Sour Chicken.

Now for the newly improved healthier version from the Bell Kitchen...

Even though it sounded amazing in the original recipe I really didn't want the calorie content. SO I came up with a yummy alternernative of breading and deep frying the chicken-

Light(er) Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sauce
In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar, reserved pineapple juice from an 8 oz can of pinapple chunks, and 2 drops orange food coloring (or 1 red and 1 yellow). Heat to boiling. Turn off heat. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; slowly stir into saucepan. Continue stirring until mixture thickens.

The Rest..
Chicken Breast as desired - one 1/2 breast fed both of us one meal - Cut into bite size peices, season with salt, pepper, and whatever; and saute in a small amount of oil until browned on all sides and no longer pink.

Veggies as desired - I used a variety of sweet peppers, red onion, fresh garlic and carrots. Add to chicken after chicken is almost ready and saute for 1 to 2 minutes until veggies are a little tender. Also add Pinapple chunks from the 8 oz can.

Rice - I just used white long grain and let it cook for 20 minutes while preparing the rest

Serve rice with chicken/veggie mixture on top, then pour sauce over all as desired. I think you could also mix the sauce and chicken mixture together beforehand as well, but I felt it was healthier and more controlled to just pour what I wanted on top, then mix.

This tasted just as good and better as in the restraunt, and I didn't even miss the breading!! I love that you can change this around easily for number of people and veggies or meat you feel like that night. I'm sure the sauce would save for a little while in the fridge for leftovers too.

Anybody got a good egg roll or spring roll recipe to go along with this dinner??

Mom's Mac & Cheese

If you haven't had home-made mac and cheese then this is something you really need to try!!!
My mom gave me this basic recipe. I don't measure anything anymore-I just eyeball it. You can change it up many different ways by adding seasonings or veggies or meat or change the cheese or type of pasta. I always love making "the basic" though myself. It's also easy to memorize because of all the "2"s.

2 cups (dry) Macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, Preheat oven to 350. Grease a casserole dish. Use one with a lid or have some tin foil ready. Make a rue by melting the butter (medium heat) in a large pan (with sides) and add the flour and mix together. Let cook a minute or two until the flour taste has a chance to cook out. Add the milk and reduce heat some. Stir frequently. After mixture is thickened add most of the cheese and stir until melted. Season to taste. When macaroni is ready strain out the water and add pasta to cheese mixture. Mix together well and pour into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Top with lid or foil and put in the oven. Let bake for about 20-25 minutes, then remove lid. Bake another 10 minutes or so or until cheese on top is melted/browned. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Like I said-I don't measure anything. I think I use more cheese and usually a little more flour and butter. I also don't always bake the whole time since my husband is usually getting inpatient at that point and he usually won't wait for it to cool either.

This can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Baking time needs to be adjusted in that case. (maybe 45 minutes to an hour?). Also makes great leftovers. Heats up nicely in the microwave.

Hope you enjoy! Please share if you have any great variations!

What a bunch of slackers!

Come on everyone, where are the recipes? I know you all have some amazing ones that need to be shared. I just keep waiting...... Okay so I'm not doing to great either, so here I go, here are a couple that we really love at our house, hope you guys will enjoy them too :)

Taco Soup
1 lb. hamburger
1 small onion, chopped fine
Brown the hamburger and onion, till burger is no longer pink, drain.

In a large pot or crockpot add the following:
1 can each of ; corn, chili, chili beans, kidney beans, green chilies, tomato sauce, lg. can pureed tomatoes (add juice from everything also)
1 packet taco seasoning
Add the hamburger and onion.
Simmer on low heat till heated through, or cook on low in crockpot.

Garnish with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, olives and sour cream


Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (about 1/2 lb)
• 1 cup shredded cheese, divided (4 oz)
• 1 cup picante sauce
• 3 ounces cream cheese, diced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 cups bottled green taco sauce
• 8 6-inch flour tortillas

Directions

1. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and saute onions until soft.
2. Meanwhile, mix chicken,
3. 1/2 cup cheese, picante sauce and cream cheese.
4. Add to onions and cook over low heat until cheese begins to melt.
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup filling on each tortilla ands roll up.
6. Place enchiladas (seam side down) in a 9x13 baking dish.
7. Drizzle with taco sauce and remaining cheese
8. Cover and bake at 350F 15 minutes.

I usually use white corn tortillas, instead of flour, heat a pan on the stove and then heat the tortillas on both sides so they're pliable. I use either green or red enchilada sauce rather than taco sauce (not sure what the difference is). Very easy to make and soooo yummy.