General Tso's Chicken

A delicious Asian treat, General Tso's chicken is sweet, spicy and crunchy, and it will leave you coming back for seconds and maybe even thirds.

                                   General Tso's Chicken

Recipe adapted from: Food.com

Recipe Rating: 4 out of 5. This was a very good recipe but it wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be so next time I will be adding more of the dried chilies.


Ingredient List:

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups green onions, sliced
8 small dried chilies, seeds removed

Cornstarch slurry
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cornstarch

Sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
14 1/2 ounces low sodium chicken broth


Directions:

1.) Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix.

2.) Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove chicken one piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. Add chicken to the hot oil and fry until crispy. Do not crowd the pan with chicken, work in batches if you need to.

3.) Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven.

4.) In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees.

5.) Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.

6.) Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. .

7.) Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly.

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Cheesy Vegetable Chowder (A.K.A The Best Soup You'll Ever Eat)

I know that it is only August and fall isn't here yet, but it's already soup weather here! The past few weeks have been chilly and windy so I broke out this delicious recipe. I don't usually make the same thing more than once every couple of months and last winter I made it once a week! That's how good it is! Plus as a bonus it uses up ingredients that I almost always have on hand. Taste wise it's like a souped-up (absolutely no pun intended) broccoli and cheddar soup. Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from: Lulu the Baker

My Rating: 5 stars! Thumbs up! Encore, encore!

Changes? I add more celery than the recipe calls for because I love celery. No other changes will be made when I make this in the future.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Ingredient List:

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped 

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions: 

Melt the butter in a large pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and cook over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.  Add in the chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are cooked.  Mix flour with water to make a slurry, add slurry to pot, and simmer until soup is thickened.  Add in the milk and the broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Add in the shredded cheese and serve.

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Steak and Caramelized Onion Taquitos

It's cheat day y'all! This means that I have been on my very best behaviour for a whole week and I can indulge in something that is less than healthy. Fair enough, right?

Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering where I have been (and why I haven't been blogging), I started a new job! I got a job at a beautiful local B&B, I don't have a job title I just work my butt off and do whatever needs to be done around the joint, whether it is paperwork, cooking, cleaning, or even organizing. There are about 60 stairs I go up and down a couple of dozen times each working day and by the end of the summer I am going to be a goddess. Who even needs to do Brazilian Butt Lift?!

ANYWAYS, here I am now and I have made a treat: Steak and Caramelized Onion Taquitos.

Recipe Adapted from: Life's Ambrosia

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Changes I made: I used flour tortillas because I couldn't find any corn tortillas (which made me very sad). I also used a leftover steak I had on hand so I didn't use any spices from the original recipe.

Things I will change next time: I think I will add some chopped cilantro and maybe a chipotle pepper.

Will I make this again? Absolutely


Ingredient List:
- 1 grilled steak
- 1 red onion
- 2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese
- 8 flour or corn tortillas
- Canola Oil



This recipe is really easy and can be summed up in 5 steps: Slice, Cook, Fill, Fry and Enjoy!

Step 1: Slice

Take your grilled steak and your onion (I used a red onion) and slice them thinly

Step 2: Cook                                                                                                                                            

Add the butter to a frying pan and allow it to melt over medium heat. Add onions and cook until them they are soft and fragrant. Next add in the steak and quickly reheat it.         

                                                     

Step 3: Fill                                                                                                                                                  

Lay out your tortillas on a (clean) counter and top with some of the cheese and the onion and beef mixture. Then fold one side of the tortilla over, fold the adjacent side over, and secure with a toothpick so you don't  have taquito guts flying about when you are frying these bad boys.                                                                 

Step 4: Fry                                                                                                                                                  

Fill a wide frying pan with just enough oil to cover the bottom completely. Heat over medium heat until hot. Place the taquitos in the oil and fry for about 30 seconds on each side, until golden brown.

Step 5: Enjoy                                                                                                                                               

You have created something wonderful, enjoy it alongside a nice big salad and some kind of dipping sauce such as salsa, sour cream or guacamole.                                                                                                    

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