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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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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Chili ( For Hot Dogs)

If I didn't make changes to the man food we eat in this house to make it more waistline friendly by altering recipes and finding healthy recipes online I would probably weigh a metric tonne.

These coney dogs are the perfect example of this. You think of a coney dog and a caloric nightmare probably comes to mind. Not this time my friends. Making your own chili rather than buying the canned stuff saves you a lot of salt, sugar and fat, especially when you use extra lean ground beef (or even ground turkey or chicken if you'd like! ) and pair your chili with all natural hot dogs. 

I'm not saying that you should eat this for dinner every night, but it's a great weeknight meal that will leave everyone happy.

Recipe adapted from: Simply Scratch 

My rating for this recipe: A solid 5 out of 5.

Will I make this again? Yes, I have made it a couple of times and will make it several more.

What I changed about the original recipe: I measured out my celery salt and cayenne and used less ground beef.

What I will change next time: Not a thing.

Ingredient List:

- 1 medium onion, cut to small dice

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 lb extra lean ground beef

- 2 tsp celery salt

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1 tsp kosher salt

- 1/2 TBSP chili powder

- 1/2 tsp cumin

- 14 oz tomato sauce

First you want to take your onion (already diced) and sweat it in a saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil, over medium high heat. 

Once the onions have softened add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in the ground beef, break into very small pieces and cook until completely browned. Once the beef is cooked drain any fat from the pain, add in the spices and the tomato sauce. It will look pretty saucy!

 Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes. What you will get will be a thickened chili with a deeper colour. 

Your chili is done now and is ready to be slapped between a bun with a freshly cooked hot dog and topped with any additional toppings you desire such as onions, shredded cheese, mustard and, if you're my three year old, ginger ale. 

You're welcome, men of the world.

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