Kung Pao Chicken

My love for cooking Asian food at home grows and grows with each recipe. For starters, most of my homemade Asian meals have been low-fat. However their takeout counterparts are often VERY high in fat. When you make it at home you control the oil and other fattening ingredients. You can feel good about saving some money and calories by making some takeout classics in the comfort of your own kitchen. Best of all you can wear mismatched pajamas while you cook it and nobody judges you. Not that I do that or anything... ::wink wink::

This recipe has been on my "to try" list for so long. I had all of the ingredients on hand this week so I decided to finally put it on the menu. I am so glad I did because this was delicious. Truly, truly, delicious. I modified the original recipe a bit to add some veggies, but other than that I kept it exactly the same. John gets kung pao chicken everywhere so I knew this meal would be a hit and it certainly was!

If you are interested in some of my other Asian takeout fake-outs, give these a shot:
Baked egg rolls
Spicy shrimp fried rice
Japanese cucumber salad
Orange chicken
Chinese brown sauce
Sweet and sour chicken

Source: Adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients:

1lb boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil (I used canola and it was fine)
3 tablespoons green onions (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped peppers (red, green, or both)
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

Combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in wok (or large deep-dish skillet) over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from wok.

Add peppers and mushrooms. Heat for about 3-4 minutes.

Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.

Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.

Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice.

Crockpot Baked Ziti

I recently had surgery and knew I'd be off my feet for a few days. Anticipating this I searched for some super easy crockpot meals that I could throw together and allow to cook away. The crockpot is an appliance I wish I used more frequently. For some reason my crockpot has super powers or something and always cooks much faster than it says it should! Because of this I don't feel comfortable leaving it to cook all day while I am at work, which ultimately defeats the purpose. Blech. Anyway, I've digressed...

I was hesitant about cooking pasta in the crockpot. I wasn't sure if it would really cook the pasta through but it did! And it was absolutely delicious. The cheese and sauce really mingled together with the pasta and made it taste perfect. John said he preferred this method to my go to baked ziti recipe. I have to say it was pretty nice to just throw it all in and walk away. Plus it dirtied less dishes which is a bonus. Definitely give this a shot- you won't be disappointed.

I just wanted to add that you need to use a lot sauce. The sauce is what cooks the pasta. I found that 28 ounces was perfect for the proportions I listed below. If you add more pasta or cheese definitely adjust it and add more sauce.

Source: Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:
1/2 box of tube shaped pasta (I used campanelle)
28 ounces of tomato sauce
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
Cooking spray

Directions:
1- Spray the stoneware of your crockpot with cooking spray.
2- Pour in some sauce so that it covers the bottom of the stoneware.
3- Place the uncooked pasta in a colander and run water over the pasta. This will add some moisture to help cook the noodles.
4- Add half the pasta, cheese, and remaining sauce (in that order). Add the remaining pasta, cheese, and sauce.
5- Cook on low for 3-4 hours (mine was perfect in 3 but I do have a speedy crockpot). Stir halfway through to ensure all of the pasta is cooking evenly.

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken

Ohhh baby- let me tell you, this is a chicken dish made for John. John has a little bit of a reputation for his love for bacon. I didn't know him while he was in college but apparently he used to eat bacon by the pound (ew...) and was known for his undying love for this salty meat. I like bacon... it's definitely good. But I certainly can't eat a pound of it! I had bought a package of center cut bacon a few weeks ago and I wanted to finally use it so I whipped this up with what I had on hand. It was excellent. It's also surprisingly low-fat considering it's wrapped in bacon. Center cut bacon has 40% less fat than regular bacon. Plus two slices will wrap the whole breast so a little bit goes a long way.

We both loved this chicken. I would consider grilling it next time to give it another element of flavor. My only issue was that the bacon didn't crisp up enough for my liking. It didn't look cooked enough to me when the chicken was fully cooked. To solve this I just unwrapped it, microwaved the bacon, and rewrapped. I put some thought into it and I think it I had cooked the bacon in a skillet for a couple minutes prior to wrapping it I'd have had more success. My directions result this change. Give it a shot- it was some mighty tasty chicken!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
4 slices of center cut bacon
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper

Directions:
1- Lay the bacon in a skillet and cook over medium heat for approximately 3 minutes, just until it begins to cook and gain some color. Be sure it doesn't begin to curl up, you want it to stay flat. Remove the bacon and set aside.
2- Season each breast with garlic and onion powder. Add some black pepper to each breast.
3- Starting at one end of the breast, wrap the bacon around tightly. Use the other piece of bacon to continue wrapping the breast. Repeat for the second breast.
4- Turn the oven on to broil. Set the chicken under the broiler for 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and allow it to broil another 2 minutes.
5- Remove it from the oven and turn the heat down to 400. Slather both sides in BBQ sauce. Return to the oven- cook until chicken is cooked through.

Root Beer Cake

Root beer is good. And cake is really good. So root beer cake should be really REALLY good, right? Well, that was the way my logic went! My parents came over to celebrate my dad's birthday and I wanted to make a cake. I searched high and low for a recipe but nothing was really screaming "DAD" to me. I then stumbled upon this cake recipe and knew that it was the perfect cake for my dad. He loves root beer so I figured he would truly enjoy this cake.

This cake was very easy to make and came together quickly. However, while it is very tasty, I barely tasted the root beer! I am not sure why but it just didn't stand out as a strong flavor. The chocolate seemed to really overpower the root beer. It still is extremely tasty but I am not sure what you could do to bring out more of the root beer taste.

Following the directions from the original blog, be sure to allow the chocolate mixture to cool before adding in the egg or you will have scrambled egg root beer cake and that's just nasty!

Source: Playing House, originally from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

For the Root Beer Bundt Cake:
2 cups root beer (do not use diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

For the Root Beer Fudge Frosting:
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt (Amy's note: I didn't care for this, would omit it next time)
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the cocoa mixture into the flour mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

4. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minute, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

5. Put all the frosting ingredients into a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth. Use a spatula to spread the frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving.

Blue Cheese Orzo

My favorite side dish is parmesan orzo. I have made it so many times that I don't need to think when I make it. The ingredients just seem to mingle together naturally and without any effort on my part. I have been meaning to try a new orzo recipe so I was excited to try this one. I made it with the buffalo shrimp I posted awhile back and it was the perfect pairing. This orzo was delicious. I loved the creaminess of the cheeses combined with the pasta and spinach. I will tell you that a little bit goes a long way since this stuff is so rich. I probably ate 1/4 cup of this stuff and was fully satisfied. Yum- I can't wait to make this again.

Source: Inspired by All recipes

Ingredients:
2/3 cup of orzo
1 can of fat free chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
2 heaping tablespoons mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons blue cheese
1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and wrung out
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1- Heat the butter in a small skillet. Add the orzo, stir until some pieces are browned.
2- Pour in the chicken broth, cook until most of the liquid absorbs and the pasta is cooked.
3- Add the spinach and cheeses. Stir until well combined. Taste- add seasonings as desired.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

Bread. Oh bread... how I love thee. Bread is my absolute biggest weakness. Especially when it's warm and served with soft herb butter or delicious dipping oils. Even though I really love bread I rarely serve it with dinner. It's just another step and one that I don't really need since I always serve a starch. However I decided that if I bake up a big batch of homemade rolls and freeze them I can have fresh, delicious bread with minimal effort! If you want to freeze them just go through the whole process, including baking them, and then just throw them all in a gallon sized freezer bag. Stick them in the freezer and voila- fresh rolls! Perfect in my book.

This recipe has been reviewed over 1,000 times on All Recipe and has a 5 star rating. Needless to say I had high expectations! These rolls were super easy to make and baked up beautifully, much more beautifully than my picture leads you to believe. They were also delicious! I cannot wait to reheat them with dinner soon- they are just so yummy.

Source: Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package rapid rise active dry yeast

2 tablespoons of butter, melted

Directions:

1- Dissolve yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar in the warm water for about 10 minutes.
2- Warm the milk in a saucepan until it just bubbles, add the 1/3 cup of butter and sugar to the milk. Stir. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool to lukewarm.
3- In a large bowl combine the egg, milk mixture, and yeast mixture. Stir well. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well.
4- Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes.
5- Cover, allow to rest for 1 hour. Punch down and roll into two equal rounds.
6- Using a pizza cutter, cut each round into 8 pieces. Roll the wedges, starting with the wide end. Tuck the pulled dough under each roll, placing the pulled dough side down.
7- Brush the 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the rolls.
8- Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, until golden. Freeze any leftovers for later use.

Sprinkle Cookies

In a previous post I mentioned about my love for the cookies at my local bakery. After those cookies my next favorite are the sprinkle cookies. I just love the way they look! I am very girly in the sense that if it's pretty, colorful, and sparkly I am attracted to it! Not to mention that the finished product is mighty tasty as well. I wanted to bake cookies for my students and decided to make them sprinkle cookies. I came across this recipe and they were perfect for the kids.

Let me just add, if you ever want to feel great about yourself cook for six year olds. But make sure you cook something sweet or you might not get the same reaction. They moan, they groan, they beg for more. They claim you're the best cook in the world. And while I know they are only 6 and haven't experiences many culinary delights I am happy to be categorized as "the best."

Overall I really enjoyed these. SUPER easy to make, bake up quickly, and result in pretty cookies. They are tasty and definitely worth a try!

Source: Parenting.com

2 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1⁄2 cup multicolor sprinkles
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.

4. Place the sprinkles in a small bowl. Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll it between your palms to form a ball. Roll the top half of each ball in the sprinkles. Place the balls, sprinkle side up, on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie. (Cookies may be placed next to each other on parchment-lined baking sheets, frozen, transferred to zipper-lock plastic freezer bags, and stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. Frozen cookies may be placed in the oven directly from the freezer and baked as directed.) Bake the cookies until they are pale golden around the edges but still soft on top, about 10 minutes (a minute or two longer for frozen dough). Let them stand on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove them with a metal spatula to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.