Coffee Cake Muffins

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

GLAZE:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.  In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, beat the egg, milk, and oil.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Spoon 1 T. batter into lined muffin cups.  Top each with 1 teaspoon of nut mixture and about 2 more T. of batter.  Sprinkle with the remaining nut mixture.

Bake at 400 for 22-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.  Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over muffins.  Makes 12.
(From Quick Cooking magazine)

Herb Dipping Oil

A date night at home favorite!

1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients. Serve with fresh-baked crusty bread for dipping.

Boneless Buffalo Chicken

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 t. chili powder
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
4 t. soy sauce
2 t. hot pepper sauce
1 t. cider vinegar
1/8 t. ginger
1/8 t. cumin
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Cut chicken into 1/2 inch strips.  Combine all ingredients except chicken and mix well.  Add chicken and toss to coat well.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to marinate.  Heat large skillet until hot.  With slotted spoon, remove chicken from marinade.  Cook and stir for 4 minutes.  Add the rest of the marinade and cook for 6-7 minutes more or until sauce thickens and chicken is no longer pink.  Stir frequently.

Options:  
Serve with ranch dressing. 
Use chili sauce instead of  ketchup, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.

(From a Piggly Wiggly grocery store flyer)

Creamy Chicken and Biscuits

1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 t. butter
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 biscuits (see bread section for recipe)

Sauté onion in butter until tender.  Combine onion, soup, chicken, sour cream, and milk in medium bowl and mix well.  Pour into greased 11x7 baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese.  Arrange biscuits in single layer over top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake another 20 minutes until biscuits are golden brown and sauce is bubbly.

(Adapted from Grandma’s Kitchen Recipes)

Baking Mix

Don't buy Bisquick... make your own! Great for all sorts of recipes like Impossibly Easy Pies. Whenever I have Bisquick listed as an ingredient in a recipe it is always this instead.

8 cups all-purpose flour (or 4 cups each all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour)
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups dry nonfat milk
2 cups shortening

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a large mixer. Or use a pastry blender to cut in shortening if you don't have a mixer. I store this in the freezer for up to 6 months. Yield: about 12 cups. You can cut the recipe in half if you think you won't use it up within a few months.

For Biscuits:
Mix 2 cups of Baking Mix with 1/2 cup water. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. (I never use this mix to make biscuits, I make my own.)

For Muffins:
Mix 2 cups of Baking Mix with 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 beaten egg and 2/3 cup milk. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

For Pancakes:
Mix 2 cups of baking mix with 1 beaten egg and 1-1/3 cup milk.

For Waffles:
Mix 2 cups of Baking Mix with 1 beaten egg, 2 Tablespoons oil, and 1-1/3 cup milk.

Vietnamese Fried Rice

3 cups cooked rice

Heat 4 T. oil

Add:

1/2 pound cooked meat (any kind beef, pork, chicken)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

1 t. sugar

1 T. soy sauce

Fry until hot. 

Add rice and heat 5 minutes. 

Add 1 cup veggies and stir well.

Just before serving add 2 beaten eggs. Over medium heat stir until eggs are cooked.

Serve.

From More with Less Cookbook pg. 130

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

4 T. oil

1/2 cup flour

1 T. garlic powder

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

2 pounds beef cubes

2 small onions, quartered

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

6 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 t. celery salt

4 cups beef broth

2 T. worchestershire sauce

Dash or two of Tabasco sauce

Heat oil over medium high heat. In a ziploc bag mix flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add meat a little at a time and shake to coat. In small batches, brown beef cubes in oil about 1 minute per side. Set beef aside. Add onions to pan and brown. Drain any fat from pan, if needed. Add meat and onions back to pot along with the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. 

For a thicker broth, about 30 minutes before stew is done, combine 2 T. flour and 2 T. cold water, then slowly stir into stew.

Suggestion: Serve with thick sliced homemade bread and root beer. :)

Adapted from Angel's Old Fashioned Beef Stew from AllRecipes

Crispy Chicken

1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies, crushed
2 T. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
1/4 cup butter, melted
4  boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine cereal, flour, and spices.  Dip chicken in melted butter then cereal.  Place in greased pan. Drizzle with remaining butter.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Sesame Chicken

  Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions (sliced)

Marinade-

1 teaspoon chicken base
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sesame oil
ground white pepper (to taste)
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry wine (or any fruity flavored wine)

Batter-
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce-
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
a sprinkle of ground black pepper

 
Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Cut chicken breasts into 1” chunks and in a glass bowl combine all of the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken and coat evenly. Cover and marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in separate bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.
Step 3: Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and dip them into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 4: In your wok combine the sauce ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.
Step 5: In the wok or in a serving dish coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Desset Pizza

Crumb Topping

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup firm butter or 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted margarine or 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make your favorite crust recipe. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll and place dough on pizza stone or in pan. Brush with vegetable oil and prick with fork. Pre-bake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven. Mix crumb topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Spoon over crust. Put the rest in a zip-type bag in the freezer to save for another pizza. Return pizza to the oven and continue to bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is light golden brown. Remove and drizzle with Vanilla Glaze.
Optional: Spread your favorite canned fruit pie filling onto crust and top with crumb topping before baking.