. . .the Day After

Food hangovers, tight pants, piles of leftovers, and tons of trash.  Sound like your house?  Need an easy vintage breakfast idea without buying one single thing?  Mom's Fried Cakes.  A cross between a funnel cake, beignet and a donut.  Scrumptious.  Might as well forget starting that diet just yet.  If you have children in the house, as we do, you'll need to feed them SOMEthing, so why not these easy little treats?!

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 egg whites
1 cup flour
veggie oil for frying
powdered sugar for coating

WHAT TO DO:
Separate eggs and place yolks in medium size bowl.
Beat yolks with sugar using a wire whisk
until the sugar is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients
with the milk and mix well.
Add to egg/sugar mixture and whisk together.
In a small bowl, using a hand held mixer,
beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites into other mixture to combine.

Pour veggie oil in a heavy skillet or frying pan
until it comes about 1/3 of the way up the sides.
Heat oil on medium heat and drop batter by
tablespoonfuls to fry.
Rotating cakes to brown on each side.

These cook pretty fast, so have a cooling rack
or plate lined with paper towels ready to go
before you start as well as the powdered sugar.
As soon as they have drained, place them
on a serving plate and sprinkle heavily with
powdered sugar (we use a sifter) while they are still hot.

After the plate is filed up with these little fried cakes,
it will be like the best powdered donuts
you've ever tasted!
Quite similar to a beignet and delicious all day long!

These would be great for a yummy sweet breakfast
or for afternoon coffee or tea time.
You could probably cover these with a
cinnamon sugar mixture in lieu of powdered sugar
but am unsure if it would coat as well.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

ENJOY!!!

Dump, Stir and Bake

It's officially feeling like fall around here.  The trees showing off their rich beautiful colors and the smell of neighborhood fireplaces in action. Cool temps are not my favorite but, the beauty of the countryside makes it tolerable.

This week's Free Recipe Friday just screams fall.  Pumpkin Bread has been a staple in our family since I was a child.  Mom used to make hers in clean empty coffee cans.  Round bread!  It was the coolest.  My mom was very nifty and was great at using what she had.  There was never a year that went by that we didn't have this around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Please feel free to make round bread, square bread, big muffins, little muffins, using whatever you have.  This recipe cannot be any easier.  Just gather the ingredients, dump them in a bowl, whisk them together, pour them in a sprayed baking dish of some sort and bake away.  There's none of this keeping dry ingredients separate, etc etc.  Just gather, dump, stir, bake.  And YUMMY!  Enjoy it now or enjoy it later.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 can prepared pumpkin
1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 2 loaf pans, several mini loaf pans,
small or large muffin tins, etc. with non stick spray.
In a medium size bowl, combine all ingredients.
Mix together using a whisk until
well combined. Divide batter among baking dishes
until all batter has been evenly dispersed.

Bake for appx 20 minutes.
Small muffins require a little less time,
loaf pans require a little more.

Adjust accordingly.

Remove from the oven when bread
does not jiggle in the middle or
a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Try not to over bake.

Once removed from the oven,
let rest in the pan for 3-4 minutes.
Remove bread from pans and set to cool on a paper towel.
I wrap mine while still quite warm
in a large storage baggie - this keeps them nice and moist.
These store well in the freezer,
so make ahead and have them ready for
early morning Thanksgiving Day Parade watching
or as you open gifts on Christmas morning!

We devour our pumpkin bread by toasting a slice or two,
top with a little butter, and spread with a little cream cheese.
Mmm.

ENJOY!

Fungus and Cow Flesh

This crisp night air reminds me of many different foods, but today I will focus on pot pies.  The lovely, the delicious, pot pie.  In my high school years pot pies were those little frozen things in the cute little pie tins.  Fresh out of the oven they'd be lava hot for about an hour before you could safely eat one.  Fall reminds me of these because of Friday nights. Friday's were a bit crazy.  Dad always coached, and us kids were always involved in various Friday night activities.  My mom was an amazing cook but in those days she turned Friday nights into frozen meal nights.  A frozen dinner, a pot pie, etc.  We loved it.  She was smart like that because we were all going in a million different directions and she got to have the 'night off.'  She made it easy on herself and as teenagers we LOVED processed food!  It was a win for everybody.

These days, you couldn't MAKE me eat a Tyson's frozen pot pie.  Marie Callender's, MAYBE.  But I'm here to tell you there is something much better out there and still pretty dog gone easy.  This week's Free Recipe Friday star of the show is Beef and Mushroom Pie.  You'll die it's so good.  It may indeed become your new modern day comfort food.  Our family is split down the middle on our love of mushrooms, so if you do not like mushrooms I feel your pain.  You can easily omit them if you'd like.  This recipe made six large servings using 6 oz ramekins, you could make one large pot pie if you'd like, but I don't like to share my crust.  Cut the puff pastry crust into whatever shape will cover your dish and you've got a winner of a meal! Deeelish.

WHAT YOU NEED:
a 3 or 3 1/2 lb chuck roast, cut into chunks
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
about 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms, sliced (opt)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp paprika (smoked if possible)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary (we used fresh)
1 tsp dried oregano (we omitted this)
2 bay leaves
2 cups good beef broth
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons milk
salt/pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and kept cold until ready to use
 (found on the frozen aisle)
1 egg

WHAT TO DO:

Spray a medium size heavy pot with non stick spray
and place on medium heat.  Brown the beef on all sides and set aside.
In the same pot, saute onions, carrots and celery
until soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and garlic and fry for about 5 minutes more
then add paprika and other herbs.
Pour in the beef broth and place the cooked beef back into the pot.
Stir to combine everything and reduce heat.
Cover the pot and simmer gently for 1-1 1/2 hours.
(For an easy dinner, do this step ahead of time
or simmer the meat in a crock pot or in the oven).

In a small bowl combine the flour and milk with a fork
until all lumps are gone, set aside.
When the meat is really tender and about to fall apart,
turn the heat back up and pour in the flour mixture.
Allow the sauce the simmer and thicken,
stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350.
Divide the beef and mushroom mixture evenly
among your dishes and remove the bay leaves
when you find them ;)
Cut the puff pastry into big enough pieces to cover each dish.

For a perfect fit, you can place an empty dish on top of the puff pastry
as a pattern and cut with a sharp knife.
Place each puff pastry on top of the filled dishes.
Our large mouth dishes required 2 sheets of puff pastry.
Cut 2 slits in the top of the puff pastry to allow
that good ol' steam to escape.
(We covered the scraps with cinnamon and sugar
and baked them right up for little snackies!)

Quickly brush the top of each puff pastry
with the beaten egg to give them
a golden shine and lay all dishes on a baking sheet
to protect your oven,

they will most certainly spill over a bit.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let them rest a bit

 before serving - your taste buds will thank you.

Serve these with a side salad or your favorite veggies,

they are such a comfort food.
It's like the comforts of roast and gravy
along with pot pie rolled into one.

Enjoy making this pot pie your new family favorite!

Eat Your Broccoli!

Don't know what you're hungry for?  Want something easy but, still looks swanky?  How about crepes???  Sweet or savory, crepes can be your best friend.  They are easy to whip up ahead of time and fill with anything from chicken (fresh, grilled, leftover, or a rotisserie) and veggies, to nutella and strawberries, or strawberries and cream.  How's that for some Friday fun?!  The batter can be easily whisked together or thrown in a food processor, and you'll be spitting out crepes left and right.  Stack them in between wax paper and store them in a large ziploc bag and you will be ready for a quick supper or dessert any day of the week.

These tried and true chicken and broccoli crepes are treasures from The Tuttle House, a little tea room my parents owned years ago.  Crepes were a daily special and you could go the savory chicken route or finish off your meal with a couple of strawberry crepes for dessert.  Either way, you can't go wrong.  

Back in those tea room days, we actually made a crepe batter using Bisquick.  Easy peazy but, now we use a more authentic recipe.  Thinner crepe equals more traditional.  Our pastor traveled to Paris a few years ago and he came back raving about how large the crepes were.  Spread with nutella and filled with strawberries.  So large they would fold them in half and then in half again to eat them.  Doesn't that sound scrumptious???  Give it a go one day when you feel like making see through pancakes, which is what they remind me of, and you can day dream that you are in Paris!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

butter, for coating the the pan

WHAT TO DO:

In a food processor (or with a whisk),
combine all ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds.
Place crepe batter in the fridge for 1 hour.

This will allow the bubbles to subside so the crepes
will be less likely to tear during cooking.
The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan on medium low heat.
  Add butter (or non-stick spray) to coat.

Pour 1 ounce of batter (appx an 1/8 of a cup) into the center of the  pan
and swirl to spread evenly.
Cook for 30 seconds and flip. 

Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to a cooling rack.
Sometimes that first crepe is just not pretty,
don't feel bad - just toss it and keep on goin'!
Now, lay them flat to cool and continue until all batter is gone.
Layer them in between wax paper and store in a large ziploc bag.

Fill them with your favorite things!

WHAT YOU NEED FOR - CHICKEN CREPES
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons Worchestershire
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups shredded cheddar
1 16oz container sour cream
appx. 3 cups shredded chicken
1 pkg frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
salt/pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO:
In a saucepan on medium heat,
melt the butter until it just starts to sizzle.

Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two.
Add in Worchestershire and chicken broth.
Stir to combine.
When mixture starts to thicken (stir often)
add in shredded cheddar and stir until melted.
Remove from heat and add sour cream.
Keep on super low heat, as you do not want to curdle the sour cream.

In the meantime, have your chicken handy and warm.
Cook the broccoli either in the microwave or on the stove top
to warm up and to remove excess water, season.

When everything is ready to go, fill and roll up each crepe

with a few spoonfuls of broccoli and chicken.

Drizzle some yummy cheesy sauce down the middle
and roll up.  To serve, spoon a little sauce on top.

 

(for a family of 5, we most certainly double the sauce recipe)

Serve with a side salad and you've just knocked one out of the park.
These are so light and yummy, it's like a french enchilada!

ENJOY!!!

Grab a Torch!

Fall is so close we can almost taste it.  We long for it around here but, it just seems to tease us over and over until Halloween or even later.  Now that we are actually in the month of October, we do like to pretend it's fall and decorate as such.  We imagine the leaves are falling off the trees due to the season, instead of stress from the heat and lack of rain. Even though it was still a whopping 85+ degrees yesterday, we made our first pot of chili but, we did crank the a/c down a bit and pretended it was cool outside.  The chili was great just the same :)

This week's Free Recipe Friday is a little something to get you going, to inspire you, to make your mouth water for those yummy fall recipes - and after all, it's glorified Creme Brulee for cryin' out loud.  I mean, come on!!!

Grab a torch and read along, you'll actually need it. 
Creme Brulee is NOT as froofy as you thought it was -
and we even brought a little redneck into it, so can you. 
You could make it tonight! :)

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

   6 - 6 oz ramekins
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. good quality vanilla
Pinch of salt
6 Tbs. pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (more for the topping)
1 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar

YIELD: 6 servings

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 300.  Fill a kettle with water and heat to boiling.
In the meantime, pour cream into a small saucepan and whisk in the cinnamon,
allspice, ginger and nutmeg. Set over medium-low heat and warm the mixture
until bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam begins to rise
from the surface, about 3 minutes. Watch carefully. 
Remove from the heat and let sit to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, salt,
pumpkin puree, and both sugars until smooth and blended.
Slowly pour in the cream mixture, stirring until blended.
Divide the mixture among the ramekins and place in a large baking pan(s). 
Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake
until the custards are just set around the edges, about 30 minutes. 
Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let them cool to room temperature. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. 
Just before serving, remove the little jewels from the refrigerator
and discard the saran wrap.   

Set each on a sturdy, fire resistant surface and sprinkle 1-2 tbsp.

granulated sugar evenly over the surface of each custard.
Shake from side to side to spread sugar out evenly. 
Using a kitchen torch according to the manufacturer's instructions,
move the flame continuously in small circles over the surface
until the sugar melts and lightly browns evenly,
OR, place dishes on a baking sheet and place on
the closest rack to your broiler and watch carefully
until they have reached an even golden color.  Be patient. 
Just when you think nothing is happening,
the sugar will begin to melt and things start happening very fast. 
Remember, it is melted sugar - the equivalent to molten lava. 
Handle with care. The melted sugar on top will remain wet looking,
however it quickly cools and hardens ever so wonderfully. 
Serve immediately!

To see the full article click HERE
for the online issue of
The Wedded Bliss.

ENJOY!

Easy Peazy Japanezy

Are you obsessed with those little fried, origami looking, cream cheese filled, chunks of heaven called Crab Rangoon??? Three for a dollar at Panda Express.  Yes, I will take twelve please.  Of course, they are on every Chinese buffet table I've ever been to.  We've made them several times at home and let me just say, you really have to love the ones you are cooking for, because they take some time.  As fast as our family eats them, well, let's just say it's gotta be love.  

We have, thanks to the wonderful and magical Pinterest, found this week's Free Recipe Friday - Crab Rangoon DIP.  It is really a no brainer.  You take the filling of a crab rangoon, put it in a baking dish and bake.  But seriously, why oh why haven't we thought of this sooner!!!??!?  You then slice the lovely wonton/egg roll wrappers and fry them up into whatever size you like.  Voila.  It takes a bit of time to fry those things up because you really only need to fry six or eight at a time.  They are very thin but, the good news is they cook very, very quickly and it's easy peazy.  The filling gets baked and after it's removed from the oven, needs to rest for several minutes to come out of that lava hot stage.  In the mean time, fry up the wonton chips while the mixture bakes or even the day before.  My family seriously thinks these wonton chips should be sold on every chip aisle - big bags, snack size bags - you get the idea.  They are so light and crispy and the flavor is so great with all kinds of dips (even hot sauce) but, until manufacturers get on this, we will have to keep fryin' up our own!

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
1 6 oz. can crab meat, drained
5 green onions, diced (optional)
1 tsp honey (optional)
1 tsp soy sauce (we used a bit more)

1 tsp worchestershire (we used a bit more)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

You can tell by all of the 'optional' items above
this is a foolproof recipe, really.
Just keep tasting and tweaking it to your liking.

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 400.
Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl
and mix until well blended and smooth.

Spray a 9x9 baking dish or a pie plate
with non stick spray.  Pour mixture in baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven when the edges are a bit golden
and the center is bubbly.
Cool a bit before diving in for the welfare of your mouth.

Fry up your sliced wontons in a large pot with 2-3 inches of veggie oil.
Gently drop a few wonton wrappers in and watch closely
toss and turn a bit and they will be done.

Drain on a wire rack and/or paper towels.
To serve, pour them up in a large basket and get ready for love.
If you won't eat them immediately,
let them completely cool and store in large freezer size baggies.

 

Ours got a little toastier than I would have liked,

but they tasted just fine! Mmm.

 

 This is how our family attacks this stuff.  Sooo good.

Serve it up with some homemade Chinese food
or make it just for snacking - either way
you'll have them begging for more!

Fortune cookie anyone???

ENJOY!!!!

Friday Night Munch Time

Friday night madness has begun along with Monday night football, college football, Sunday games. . .oh where does it end???  If you want to whip up one of the easiest snacks around (other than dipping carrots in ranch dip - or are we the only fam that does that?!), you'll need to jot this Free Recipe Friday down!  Three ingredients.  That's all you'll need for this yummalicious snack food with a little bit of kick but, mild enough to eat the leftovers for breakfast (or are we the only fam that does THAT?!)  The pics aren't the greatest but, please give these a try.

WHAT YOU NEED:

6 whole eggs (we use large)

1/2 - 1 cup sliced pickled jalapenos (the ones in the jar)

2 cups grated cheddar (we use sharp)

salt and pepper

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350.

Grab a 9x9 or 8x8 baking dish, either is fine.

Spray it with non stick spray and set aside.

Dice enough pickled jalapenos to cover the bottom of your dish.

You can make that layer thicker than mine and all will be well.

Cover the peppers with your shredded cheddar.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and a pinch or two of salt/pepper.

Pour over cheese and using a fork,
wiggle the eggs around making sure they get thru that layer of cheese.
This recipe is very, VERY forgiving. 
You can easily add an extra egg or two if you want to stretch it. 
Don't you just love forgiving recipes???
Now, bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool just a bit before serving

(although they are great warm or cold)
and cut into small squares.

For something so delicious, it could not be more simple.

These are super great for game time snacks, parties and get-togethers

or just late night munchies!  Quick and easy and just as good the next day.

Whether you'll be enjoying concession stand goodness

or snack time at home,

ENJOY!

Chipotle Greatness

We've had a laugh or two in our house lately on the different ways we hear chipotle being pronounced.  Chi-poht-ley, chi-pohl-tay.  You'd think were all English majors or something ~ which could not be further from the truth.  We also get a kick from seeing misspelled words on signs and such.  We are truly pathetic, but it sure makes for some fun times here in East Texas.  However you pronounce chipotle, I'm pretty positive it will become a part of your daily conversation once you try this yummalicious condiment called chipotle mayo, the co-star of today's Free Recipe Friday.  It's great on a sandwich, a burger, eggs, hashbrowns, burritos, tacos, chips and anything else you wanna try.  So, get ready.

Our star of the show today though is a Mexican Breakfast Torta. This sandwich was an incredible find at the blog, Use Real Butter.  Jen is a great blogger with scrumptious recipes and photos.  Check it out HERE.  Not only will you find it to be the most amazing breakfast sandwich EVER, but the spicy chipotle mayo used will take you to far away lands and you'll want to forever keep a bottle of it handy in your fridge. We made the chipotle mayo strictly because the sandwich called for it, and after doing so, I made two more batches in one weeks time.  It is now a staple in our fridge.

WHAT YOU NEED:

(for the sandwich)
4 tortas (we used bolillo's)
1 cup refried beans, warmed
1/2 cup or more cojito cheese, crumbled/grated
(we used cheddar jack)
1 avocado, sliced
(we drizzled ours with a bit of lime juice)
12 oz pkg of sliced bacon, cooked
chipotle mayonnaise
4 eggs, fried, scrambled or your fav

(the chipotle mayo)

2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup mayo
salt to taste
fresh lime juice to taste


(yummy photo by Jennifer Yu at Use Real Butter)

In a small food processor or Ninja (my fav)
combine chipotle peppers, garlic, salt and lime juice.
Pulse until smooth.
Add in mayo and mix until well incorporated.
Check for seasonings and store in a squeeze bottle
or jar and keep in the fridge.

Slice the torta or bolillo in half.
Toast or warm the bread.
Spread the warmed refried beans on half of each sandwich.
Sprinkle cheese on top of beans.
Divide avocado slices among each sandwich
and fan out.
Place a few slices of bacon on next and
drizzle with chipotle mayo.
Top with a fried egg cooked to your liking
or your other fav kind of egg and
cover with the other half of the bread slice.
Serve warm and maybe with a bit more chipotle mayo :)




(photos by Jennifer Yu at Use Real Butter)

A big thanks to Use Real Butter for introducing me
to my new breakfast fav!!!

Here's what ours looked like using bolillo's
(sort of like a smaller version of a baguette
whereas a torta is more similar to flatbread -
use whichever is easily available for you - either will be GREAT)
I could SO eat one of these almost everyday.

ENJOY!

Some RuRu in the Kitchen

Okay, so, if you're like me, meal planning week after week just gets monotonous sometimes doesn't it?  Back in the day, going through some old cookbooks would be the monotony melter.  A few years ago, the modern version of that would be watching a good dose of the Food Network for inspiration. Nowadays, Pinterest is our rescuer. But, even with that, time and energy is always an issue.  Here's where children come into play.  You know, those lovely little darlin's that you birthed, bathed and chopped up every morsel of food for?  Time to pay up suckas. When there are THREE children you see, that live at home, are all quite handy in the kitchen, it's time to bequeath that honor.  So, new household rule...each child cooks one night a week.  Yippeeeee.

First up, the baaaaaby.  Baby Rudy.  A whopping 14 years old now and ever so capable of using an oven or stove top.  This isn't her first rodeo though, she's whipped up quite a few things in the past couple of years.  But, this was most certainly her first full meal deal.

I must admit, I did offer a bit of aid to her in the kitchen...I mean, how is a mama gonna sit there and let her baby cut up raw, slippery, chicken all by herself (*eyes fluttering)???  Ol' mom also made a side of fried rice to go along with her creation - you can check that out HERE. That's just because I was craving it and had to have it with her Orange Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry.  Is that enough excuses for helping out the baaaaby?

WHAT SHE NEEDED:
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 cup orange juice

4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
(we sub'd Stir Fry Sauce that had oyster sauce as an ingredient)
2 teaspoons orange zest (we omitted this)
4 large cloves garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger

FOR THE STIR-FRY:
3-4 lbs raw boneless chicken
6 or more cups - fresh veggies of your choice:
we used an assortment of baby carrots, broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms

salt/pepper
6 tablespoons cornstarch
olive oil

WHAT TO DO:
On a little aside, the FIRST thing she actually did was make dessert,
the day before!!! That's what I'm talking about!
Hey, we KNOW where our priorities are.
Mini cheesecakes made in muffin pans WITH
a salted caramel sauce on top.  Uh, yummm.

Now, I could stop now and you would never even miss the entree, right???
But, we must continue.

Okay - when it became meal time,
Rudy made the orange sauce for the stir fry.
She got out our little ninja machine
and threw in all of the sauce ingredients and voila.
You could use a food processor or blender as well.
Set sauce aside.

Next, she began removing the fatty little parts of the chicken
(we are picky that way) and sliced them into bite size hunks.

While that was happening, me, the mom, preheated the oven to 350 and
roasted some veggies in little piles all on one large baking sheet.
I drizzled the fresh veggies with a little olive oil and
continually checked for done-ness as each veggie
 required different cooking times.
Remove the ones that are slightly wilted but still crunchy
and keep cooking any others...the carrots for instance take a bit longer.
Salt and pepper the veggies please and set them aside.

In the meantime, toss the cornstarch and some more salt/pepper
on the raw chicken.  Toss to coat each chicken piece.

Finally, place a large heavy saute pan
on medium-medium/high heat.
(a wok would be ideal - but we no have)
Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in the hot pan and
stir fry the chicken until cooked through.

Add in cooked, roasted veggies (or raw if you'd rather
not cook ahead) and stir to combine. 
Slowly add in the orange sauce to your liking.
I believe we used all that we had prepared. 
Of course we did.  We love sauce.

Now it's about time to call the troops to the table.
If you have some fried rice or just any rice -
and some soy sauce, even better...that would be most delicious indeed.

This recipe fed a family of five (most all adults)
with enough leftover for my hubby to take in his lunch the next day or two.
It could easily be dropped to half if you need less.

Rudy did such an awesome job.
As a mom it makes me so proud
because I know that with each cooking experience
she will become more confident and familiar with the kitchen,
how long things take to cook, slicing, dicing
and using seasonings for heavens sake.
It's a win for everyone.

Now, I must go whip them all because they are acting crazy.
Does it ever end?

ENJOY!

A Big Beachy Breakfast

This week is vacation week. Ahhhh.  The week we've been counting down to for approximately 180 days since we booked it.  It isn't just any vacation though, it's a big one.  As in lots of people.  In one house.  All together.

Every other year or so my hubs' side of the family tries to get away somewhere all together.  Some years it's been camping, some years it's been the beach, some years it's been a trip to Tennessee.  They are always wonderful, always full of laughs and a great way to keep all of our children connected. 

Believe it or not, the tricky part of keeping getting six to eight families together is planning the meals so that it doesn't fall on one person (usually MiMi).  Everybody wants a vacation, but unfortunately, we still have to eat.  With families as large as ours is, it's not as easy on the pocketbook to go out to eat for every stinking meal...though that would be the ideal vacation.  The answer for us is that we usually come up with a plan so that each family takes on one dinner.  That means, one family plans, buys, prepares and cleans up for one dinner to feed everyone.  Lunch and breakfast, we all sort of chip in towards and do our own thing. 

For this year's vacation we've done something similar, although we've added in the lunch and breakfast for the day you choose to feed everyone.  ONE DAY.  That's it.  So, out of seven days of vacation, you only have to work ONE.  The rest of your meals are provided for you.  Definitely one perk to vacationing with a group.  Weeks before our longed for vacation, we planned and sampled several easy recipes that would feed a crowd, be easy to prepare, and were kid AND adult "taste friendly."  Sometimes this can be tricky.

When traveling to a beach town as we have, where there are thousands of house/condo rentals, you've not lived until you've grocery shopped here.  Unless you've experienced preparing for a hurricane or other natural disaster, shopping for groceries will be an experience.  

In touristy towns, most rentals go from Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday.  Well, guess what everyone does as soon as they check in to their casa???  Grocery shop.  It's usually a bit chaotic to say the least.  The first time we experienced it, the local Wal-mart looked like something out of a disaster movie.  Many of the shelves were completely empty!  Milk?  Gone.  Bread?  Maybe in the next county!  It was insane.  The following years we brought the basics with us and shopped a few days AFTER the crowds did.  Our second resolve was to avoid Wal-mart...at all costs.  (Which is a rule we still abide by even when at home!)  With all of that being said, sometimes all of the planning in the world just doesn't work out if the store near your rental doesn't carry the items required for your planned meal.  SO, you have to be flexible and always have a back up meal plan.  

Even though there were endless breakfast options for feeding a crowd, we did not want to stand over a griddle and cook one hundred pancakes and a million pounds of bacon for three hours.  What kind of vacation is that?!  So for our meal, we opted for a grab and go breakfast on our day to cook.  Simple. Easy. And DELICIOUS.  Good warm or cold.  If you wake up early or sleep late.  Eat it on the balcony or on the beach.  Give these Honey Ham Sliders a try sometime, the masses will thank you.  (If not, I bet there just might be some milk and cereal around.)

 WHAT YOU NEED:

-- Canned Grands Biscuits, as many as your family will eat
(your fav, although the flaky ones work well)
-- Thinly sliced Ham, one slice per slider (we used Black Forest)
-- Swiss cheese, one slice per slider (we used shredded Mozzarella)
-- Honey Mustard (we made our own)
-- Honey (a few tablespoons)
-- Butter (a few tablespoons)

WHAT TO DO:
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Remove biscuits from the package and split in half.
This is the part that is easier if they are the flaky variety,
but most will still separate fairly easily.
Spread the insides of each half with honey mustard.
Tear each cheese slice in half and lay one half on each bottom half
of the biscuits and top with a slice of ham.  Cover each ham slice
with more cheese and cover with the top half of each biscuit.
You got all that?!
Brush the tops with melted butter and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Brush with a bit more butter and immediately drizzle
honey on top of each biscuit. 
Serve. 
My husband likes his with a fried egg as well.
Spoiled.
Mix it up and add bacon or do some with turkey
or just whatever you like.
You'll be glad you did.

Time to head to the beach for the last time!

ENJOY!

Memorable Muffins

Yum to the tum!
These are so easy and such an impressive
throw together snack/dessert.
With basic pantry ingredients
(except for the mini chocolate chips)

you could make them anytime.
The best part?!? No icing required!
They are so very moist and do not need
one single thing more!
The recipe makes about 30 cupcakes
and would be fantabulous amongst
your Memorial Day Weekend spread.

Now back to the mini chocolate chip thing.
I've noticed they are kind of hard to find...
what's up with that?!?!
How will this world continue to revolve
if they take away mini chocolate chips!????

WHAT YOU NEED:
For the muffin/cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups water

2/3 cups vegetable oil

2 Tbsp white vinegar

2 tsp vanilla extract

 

For the filling: 

 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat the oven to 350.
Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Set aside.

For the filling:
In a medium size bowl, combine
softened cream cheese, sugar, egg and salt.
Mix until smooth creamy.
Stir in chocolate chips (mini work best).
Set aside.

For the muffin/cupcakes:

In a separate bowl,

stir together the dry ingredients and
add in water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
Mix together using a whisk or hand mixer
for about 3 minutes.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling
in the center of each.
Bake 20-25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest
about 5 minutes before removing
from muffin pan.
If needed, refill pan with more liners
and repeat process for another batch.
Let muffins cool until room temperature
and place in an air-tight container
or place in ziploc bags.
Refrigerate any leftovers.

Yield: about 30 cupcakes

These are so chocolatey and yummy
and they aren't covered in all of that
ooey gooey icing either, making them
twice as healthy....right?!?

ENJOY!

...Now, let's give a BIG Memorial Day salute
to all of those that have served and continue
to serve to protect our freedom!

Our deepest thanks!