Kung Pao Chicken with Panda Express Sauce

Last week I was at walmart finishing up my large shopping list for my son's pre-deployment cookout and spotted Panda Express Sauces in the Asian aisle.  I have never eaten at Panda Express, but everyone that has, has raved about it.  Well I picked up a couple different sauces.

I decided to make the Kung Pao Chicken.  Well the link on the bottle does not work, so I just had to wing it.

1 pkg of boneless skinless chicken cut into bite size cubes
Cornstarch
Eggs
Pepper and Onion frozen veggie mix, thawed

I made a little breading station and heated my wok to medium high and added peanut oil.

In batches, I dipped the chicken in the egg then dredged in the cornstarch.  Cook in the wok until golden brown and no longer pink in the middle.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate.  Continue until all the chicken is cooked.

Add the veggies to the wok to heat up, add the chicken to reheat.  Add as much sauce as you like and until all the chicken and veggies are coated.  Toss for about 30 seconds until the sauce is hot.

Serve with fried rice or white rice.

The sauce was FANTASTIC!!!!  It was hot and spicy but not over powering.  I am looking forward to trying some of the other sauces and maybe even try eating at Panda Express.

Bzz Campaign - Cafe Escapes

I recently was chosen by Bzz Agent to try Cafe Escapes.  The bad thing was that my Keurig had died.  It was only three years old and we only used it a handful of months each year.  I had pleaded with customer service but they explained for $79.00 they would send me a new one.  Everyone that I knew with the same model also died but they got brand new ones for free.  I am not thrilled with their service.

So I asked a few neighbors if they had any Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons and sure enough I found a stack in my mailbox.

I bought the Keurig Mini for $79.00 and if it breaks I will not be purchasing another.

So back to the Cafe Escapes campaign.  The campaign had Chai Latte, Milk and Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa, Café Mocha and the two newest Café Escapes^® flavors: Café Vanilla and Café Caramel.

Miss V tried the Cafe Mocha first and really enjoyed it.  It was chocolatey with just a hint of coffee.  We both tried the Cafe Vanilla which we both really loved!  It was creamy, sweet and just right for our tastes.

I tried both Cafe Caramel and well I just didn't like the flavor.  It was a little burnt tasting.

We have also tried out the Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and hot Cocoa and we love them!  I did use a coupon and bought another box of the Cafe Mocha.  I really need to get another box of the Cafe Vanilla.

I would highly suggest that if you have a Keurig, try out all the flavors from Cafe Escapes!

My favorite:

Miss V's favorite with mini marshmallows

White Bean and Bacon Soup

It was a bit cooler than normal here in SW Florida.  I knew that I had to make a soup that I spotted on Pinterest.  The original recipe can be found at Table for Two.  It was such a warm and filling soup.  It was seriously yummy!

3 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
5 strips of bacon, cut in small pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 sprig of rosemary
4 cups of chicken stock
1 tbs tomato paste

In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel to drain.

Add the onion, carrots to the bacon drippings and saute.  Add garlic and continue to cook for a minute.

Pour in the chicken stock, add the rosemary and tomato paste and mix will.  Add the beans.

Gently simmer the soup for about 45 minutes.  Remove the sprig of rosemary.

Ladle some of the soup into a blender and process until smooth.  You may do this with all of the soup, but I did want some texture.

Serve with the reserved bacon.

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken

So I spotted this on Pinterest and I have to say my version looks pretty gross.  It was very tasty though.  The  original recipe can be found at BHG.

2 medium onions cut into wedges
3 large carrots sliced
1 red pepper cut into bite size strips
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 tbs creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp lime zest
2 tbs lime juice
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs tapioca
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
3 tsp red curry paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas

In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, place onions, carrot, and sweet pepper. Top with chicken. In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, tapioca, ginger, curry paste, and garlic until smooth. Pour over all in cooker.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Stir in coconut milk and peas. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Serve chicken mixture with fried rice or over hot white rice.

I also served this with frozen veggie mix.

Chicken Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper and Avocado

This sandwich looked to good NOT to pin!  You can find the original recipe at Kayotic Kitchens.

Crusty rolls
(leftover) cold chicken, I just roasted up a couple boneless skinless chicken breast with salt and pepper
1/2 a small red onion, sliced thin
1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper, I used one from a jar cut into slices
1 medium avocado, sliced
2 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs yellow mustard
Iceberg lettuce, I think Romaine or Spinach would have been good too
pepper

In a small bowl combine mustard and mayo and a bit of pepper.

On the bottom half of the roll place in order

Lettuce
Chicken
Roasted Red Pepper
Onion
Avocado

Spread a bit of the mayo/mustard on the top half of the roll.

Assemble sandwich and enjoy!

I served these on Focaccia Rolls and had chips on the side.

Thin Mint Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddy

Disclaimer:  No Thin Mints were harmed in making this new snack ;o)

I saw this on Pinterest a couple days ago and we all know how awesome Thin Mints are.  Anyway you can find the original recipe at Shugary Sweets.

14 oz bag of Wilton Dark Cocoa Mint Candy Melts
1/2 a bag of Milk Chocolate Chips
10 Cups of Rice Chex
1 bag of Mint M&M's
2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

2 Gallon Ziploc bag, don't try this in a 1 gallon bag.  It just doesn't work well.

Place the Powdered Sugar into the Ziploc bag.

In microwave, melt chocolates together for one minute, stir and continue melting in 30 second intervals until smooth, it usually takes about two minutes.

Gently mix in the Chex cereal.  When cereal is coated, place the mix into the ziploc bag and seal.  Gently shake until cereal is coated with the sugar.  Pour in the M&M's and gently shake again.

Pour out onto a large piece of wax paper and allow to set up.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy
Sharing here

Melt in Your Mouth Monday #111

Chicken with Sausage, Peppers, & Onions

Here is another wonderful recipe I found on Pinterest.  It is from Sugar & Spice by Celeste.  I did have to make a few modifications since I don't have a large enough skillet for this recipe.  I started it on the stove top and then then put it in a baking dish for the oven part.

1 tbs light olive oil

8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (I only had boneless, skinless chicken)

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 medium onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick 

1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips

3–5 pickled hot cherry peppers , stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp granulated sugar

1/3 cup white wine vinegar plus 2 additional tbs

3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth plus 1 tbs

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves

1 tbs minced fresh parsley leaves 

Heat oven to 375

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage and break apart.  Cook until no longer pink and remove to a paper lined plate.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Add chicken to the skillet and brown on both sides until golden brown.  Transfer to a plate. Wipe out skillet and return it to the stove top.

Add a bit more olive oil and cook onion for about two minutes.  Add the red pepper and cherry peppers.  Cook until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, 1/3 cup vinegar, and 3/4 cup broth.  Bring mixture to boil, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Place the onion and peppers in a baking dish, mine is a bit smaller than a 13x9 pan.  Then place the sausage and chicken.

Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through.

Combine the 1 tbs stock, cornstarch, thyme.

Remove baking dish from the oven.  Remove the pan juices and put into a small sauce pan and heat on high until bubbling.  Add the cornstarch mixture and allow to thicken.

Adjust seasoning of the sauce, you can add a bit more vinegar.  Spoon the sauce around the chicken and serve immediately.

I served this with baked potatoes.  This came out really good and I loved the hot peppers with it.

Copyright Infringement Part 2

So a couple weeks ago, I went to check to see if Google had removed all the entries that I had reported as copied from my blog.

Well none were removed and to add insult to injury...more entries were copied!  I was livid!!!

So I reported the blog again and added this in the comment box:

This is my blog including photos. I have reported before about XXXXXXXX blog copying my blog word for word. The person also has copied word for word other blogs. I received confirmations that google was supposed to remove the content. The content is still there and now the other blog has copied more and more of my entries. If you look at his profile under My Blogs he has other blogs that he has copied word for word and is pretending to be someone else. I work hard at my blog and do not appreciate someone copying my work. You can see by the photos which entries are mine, they are watermarked with ©Life of a
Foodie and Her Family http://punkaroonie.blogspot.com/

So I got this back shortly afterwards:

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to us.

We've reviewed your notice, but it is unclear to us what the specific copyrighted work or works are that you are asserting have been infringed. Could you please provide more detail by identifying the work or a representative list of works? It would be helpful if you could provide us with a link to the original source of the copyrighted work, as well as copyright registration numbers if you have them.

Once we understand better what your contentions are, we'll be able to further investigate the issue and take the appropriate actions.

Regards,

The Google Team 

Ugh....I needed to step back from my computer and blog because I don' t think I could have been nice at that point.  Of course there is no way to contact them by phone so I could "explain" it better.  After calming down for a couple days I went back to report the links again and when I went to the other blog I was pleasantly surprised to see this.

Yeah!  I almost feel vindicated.  

Spinach and Chicken Cannelloni

This is another recipe that Miss V picked out of her YCA (Young Chefs Academy Binder).  This recipe does call for you to make Tomato Basil Sauce, Creamy Alfredo Sauce and Fresh Pasta.  Well I subbed jarred sauces and dried lasagna noodles.  It says 6 but the filling makes alot, so you could probably make a couple more noodles.

1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 pounds part skim ricotta cheese
1 pre cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 cup Romano Cheese, shredded
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (divided)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs Italian parsley chopped
1 tsp fresh basil chopped
1 1/2 cups Tomato Basil Sauce
1 cup creamy Alfredo Sauce
1 recipe fresh pasta shaped into lasagna noodles, cooked and cut in half (or  6 dried noodles)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine spinach, ricotta, chicken, Romano Cheese, Mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and basil.

Pour 1 1/2 cups Tomato Basil Sauce evenly in a 13x9 baking dish.  Evenly spoon about 1/3 cup chicken spinach mixture filling in the center of each lasagna noodle half.  Fold ends over the filling overlapping the ends a small amount to form a filled tube.  Place seam side down in prepared baking dish.  Repeat making 12.

Top each with a dollop of Alfredo sauce.  Evenly sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.  Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until bubbly.  Makes 6 servings.

Roast Beef and Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Oh Yum, here is a recipe I found on Pinterest.  It comes from Grilled Cheese Social.


Potato Bread
Deli Roast Beef (good stuff)
Extra Sharp Yellow Cheddar Cheese
Roasted Red Peppers
Butter

I figure pictures are easier to describe than text.

 

I cooked them on a griddle about about 320ish.  That way the bread didn't cook to fast.  The inside of the sandwich cooked and the cheese got nice and gooey that way.

I served them with sweet potato fries and salad (not shown on the plate yet)

Shells and Cheese with Bacon

This is one of the recipes Miss V picked out from her YCA (Young Chefs Academy binder).  She was busy doing homework so I made it.

1/2 pound small dried pasta shells (used medium size)
1/4 pound thick cut bacon, cut into lardons
1/4 medium onion, medium diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoons fresh dijon mustard
dash cayenne, or to taste
pinch nutmeg
2 cups grated extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated gruyere cheese (subbed Swiss)
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon (skipped)
1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs (used Panko)
2 tablespoons melted butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook shells until al dente and drain.

Preheat oven to 375°F. and butter a 3- to 4-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.

Heat a heavy large saucepot over medium heat. Add bacon and saute until golden brown. Add onions to pan and cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk gradually and bring to a boil. Simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add mustard, cayenne, and nutmeg and whisk in 3 cups cheddar and 2 cups gruyere. When cheese is melted season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl stir together shells, herbs and sauce and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer to prepared dish. In a medium bowl stir together bread crumbs, melted butter and remaining 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup gruyere; season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle cheese breadcrumb mixture evenly over pasta. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Turn oven on broil during last 3 minutes of cooking, if desired, to achieve a deep golden brown color on breadcrumbs. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and serve.

Makes 4, 1 cup servings. Recipe courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito

I served this with a tossed salad.  It was really good, but very rich.

Pretzel Honey Mustard Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest and looked really interesting.  You can find the original recipe at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

4 cups hard pretzels, coarsely crushed

1/2 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1/3 cup honey 

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Set a wire rack (like an oven-safe cookie rack) over a large rimmed baking sheet.

In a food processor pulse the pretzels until coarsely ground (small crumbs with some small pretzel pieces) then add them to a large, shallow bowl. Rinse out of the food processor.

Add the oil, mustard, honey, water and vinegar to the food processor and pulse until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the flavor to suit your own tastes by adding more mustard or honey.

Pour half of the dressing into a large shallow bowl and add the chicken breasts. Turn to coat them evenly then dredge them in the pretzel crumbs, you may have to press them onto the chicken so they stick.  I think I to many large pieces still.  They burnt a bit in the oven.

Set them on the wire rack and bake 25 - 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Let the chicken rest for  5 minutes before serving with the remaining honey mustard dressing. 

This came out really good, but like I said above, I did have a few large pieces of pretzel that burnt.  I just picked those off. It was good, but the Honey Mustard sauce...OMG it was fantastic.  After dinner I actually dipped pretzels into it for a snack.  

Homemade Crunch Wrap Supremes

I pinned this recipe recently and added it to our menu plan this week.  You can find the original recipe at Mary Quite Contrary Bakes.

I can't believe it, but somehow forgot sour cream and didn't know what taco cheese was but used Mexican blend shredded cheese.

8 burrito size flour tortillas

4 corn tortillas

1 lb ground beef

 taco seasoning

1 jar of taco cheese (used Mexican blend shredded cheese)

1 container of sour cream

3-4 tomatoes, chopped

1 bag/head of iceberg lettuce, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Use one corn tortilla to cut a circle of the same size out of 4 of the flour tortillas. Put the 4 cut out flour tortillas aside. Place the 4 corn tortillas on a baking sheet (spread out) and bake until crispy about 7 or 8 minutes.  Set aside when done.

Cook the ground beef with taco seasoning and set aside.

Heat a large skillet or better yet a griddle until very warm.

Microwave one of the large flour tortillas for about 15 seconds until warm and flexible.

Place some of the ground beef on the tortilla.

Add cheese and sour cream.

Place on a crispy corn tortilla

Add lettuce and tomato

Place the smaller cut tortilla on top and gently press down.

Fold the edges of the bottom tortilla up and around the crispy one.

Spray the pan with cooking spray and place tortilla seam side down and cook until browned, flip over and cook until brown and crispy.

Repeat with remaining ingredients.  These were fantastic!!!  Miss V loved them also and we didn't really miss the sour cream to much.