Sunday, January 10, 2010

Honey Roasted Butternut Squash

We heart butternut squash in our house!! I made this recipe up one night and we loved it so much that we added it to our Thanksgiving menu this year!!! Hope you enjoy it too!
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
olive oil
2 T butter
1/4-1/2 c. honey
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle olive oil over squash and stir until covered. Season with Salt and Pepper. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cook in preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes until just starting to turn golden on top. Remove from oven. Melt butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add squash and saute for a couple minutes until soft. Add honey (amount to taste) and warm through. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or honey as needed.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Asian Grilled Chicken

This is what we had with the Sesame Noodles from the last post. So moist and delicious!!! My new favorite grilled chicken marinade!

Asian Grilled Chicken
from Ourbestbites.com

1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. grated, fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Wish to combine. Reserve a couple of spoonfuls of the marinade in a small bowl and place the rest, with the chicken, in a ziplock bag to marinade. Marindade for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight for best results. Preheat a grill or indoor grill pan or broiler. Spray with cooking spray and place chicken on to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side until done, depending on thickness. I am not a huge fan of chicken thighs ( I like the light meat of the chicken breast better), but this recipe is different. The thighs are so moist and cook so well with this marinade. You could definitely try it with chicken breasts, but I would go for the thighs first, you won't be sorry!!

Sesame Noodles

I love recipes like this, easy, fast, and oh so yummy!! This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Pioneer Woman website. It is a great go to side dish! Hope you enjoy!

Sesame Noodles:

12 oz thin noodles cooked and drained (I have used spaghetti noodles and angel hair noodles, you could be really authentic and use some from the asian food aisle, too).
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. rice vinegar
3 T. sesame oil
1/2 t. hot chile oil (found in the asian food section of your grocery store).
4 T. canola oil
2 T. hot water
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 c. shredded carrots

Cook and drain noodles. In a large mixing bowl, wisk together all the rest of ingredients except green onions and shredded carrots. Add warm noodles and mix. Add green onions and carrots and mix. Can serve hot or cold! (you can play with adding other veggies to taste: red peppers, snap peas, mushrooms, etc. and could even add some cooked chicken or edamame to make into a complete meal!!!)

Friday, January 8, 2010

COCONUT CHICKEN (OR SHRIMP!) AND ORANGE SWEET AND SOUR DIPPING SAUCE

My husband loves shrimp...I don't. He always wants me to make them. I finally found a recipe that we could both love - him with shrimp, me with chicken. A match made in heaven.

The shrimp:




(recipe adapted from Our Best Bites)
12 chicken tenders (or shrimp
1-2 eggs, wisked together
1/2 c. flour
1 c. sweetened coconut flakes
1 c. panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix coconut, panko, and spices in a shallow dish. Place flour in another shallow dish, and the eggs in another. Dip chicken in flour, then egg, then panko mixture. Coat well. Place the coated chicken tenders on a foil lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until done. (if using shrimp, use peeled, deveined shrimp and wash and pat dry. Then dip and coat the same way as the chicken and bake in oven until pink and curled).
Orange Marmalade dipping sauce:
orange marmalade
soy sauce
rice wine vinegar
ketchup
salt and pepper
mix together to taste and dip away!!!! any sweet and sour sauce would be delicious with this. I intend to try more.

MY FAVORITE HOMEMADE FRESH SALSA

I love salsa. We eat it almost daily as a snack. So when I find a good recipe - it gets used! and used and used and used. This is my favorite recipe. I got it from my BFF Kristi. Her mom made it one night for a party and I instantly fell in love. You will too. ( I usually double the recipe because it doesn't last very long!!!)
1 4oz can chopped olives
1 4oz can diced green chile's
3-4 fresh tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 garlic cloves minced
2 T cider vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
several drops of hot sauce

Stir all ingredients together and let marinade a couple of hours before serving. (we usually can't wait that long...). Will keep in the fridge for several days (if you don't eat it all the first night...).

CINNAMON WHITE CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CORN

This is another gem from "Our Best Bites". (my new favorite blog - I'm telling you - check it out!!) This popcorn is to die for! Great for neighbor gifts packaged in a cute bag with some ribbon...Everyone who I've shared it with asks for the recipe!!!





1 C roughly chopped pecans

1 C brown sugar

3/4 t cinnamon

1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)

1 stick real butter (1/2 C)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

3 squares almond bark (or one bag of white chocolate chips)


Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. And by large bowl, I mean like, twice as big as you think you really need. If you don't believe me, then maybe you will believe the scorching hot caramel goo that's splattered all over your hands while you're stirring in your not-so-big bowl. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. Again, use a bowl larger than you think you need to avoid scorching hot caramel goo accidents. It's really important to incorporate the cinnamon into the brown sugar at this point. For some reason, if you don't it does crazy things. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Return to microwave for 2 more minutes. Remove and stir and then back in the microwave for 2 more minutes. It should be nice and bubbly at this point. DON'T overcook! Remove from microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. It should bubble and foam up. Immediately pour over popcorn and pecans and start stirring! Stir lots! Then dump the popcorn mixture onto a foil lined cookie sheet. At this point it should still be kind of chewy. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. When done give it a final stir and let it cool while you are melting your white chocolate. The popcorn should be crunchy by now....(This is making me SOOOO hungry typing this...). Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the popcorn and let it harden. Break into chunks and try not to eat the whole pan beforing sharing some with friends and family!!!



Hawaiian Haystacks

I was almost embarrassed to post this recipe, because it is sooooo simple and not really something a "chef" would serve to anyone....but since I am not a chef and I DO make this at least twic a month for my family. Here it is. It is very easy, very healthy, and very customizable to all those picky eaters.

white rice, cooked (enough for your family)
about 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
curry powder
salt, pepper, garlic salt
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 soup can full of milk
Start cooking rice while making the chicken and sauce. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Saute chicken in olive oil over medium high heat until done. Add cream of chicken soups and 1 soup can full of milk and stir. Bring to a boil and it will thicken up. Add curry powder to taste. I like the flavor and use about 2 tablespoons. Top with any combination (or all) of the following:
tomatoes, chopped
green onions, chopped
grated colby jack cheese
shredded coconut
pineapple chunks
green peppers, sliced
olives, sliced
crunchy chow mein noodles
(or whatever else sounds good...I have a friend who puts bananas and mango chutney on hers with the other veggies....).

THE SEARCH IS ON!!!!!

Share with us all! If you have any recipes you would like me to post or try, email them to me: amber.lamb@yahoo.com . Thanks for sharing your kitchens with me! Happy cooking!

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