Caramel Popcorn

I got this recipe from my friends cooking blog (thanks, Leslie!)- we tried it this week and it was so good- not only that, but it really does stay soft for days and days afterward!

Grandma Elsie's Famous Caramel Corn

4 to 6 batches of popped corn / remove the un-popped kernals and
hulls. Set aside.

In a heavy metal pan combine;
1 cup KARO syrup
1 box or 2 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
Stir together and bring to a rolling boil. Be careful not to scorch.
Reduce heat but maintain boil for 2 1/2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add:
1 cube butter or margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon real vanilla
Mix well and pour and toss over popped corn.
Best served while still warm. Grab a napkin and begin to eat!

Southwestern Chicken Eggrolls

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
5 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 quart oil for deep frying


DIRECTIONS
Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.
Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.
Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.
Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours.
In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry frozen, stuffed tortillas 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

We reallly liked this- we didn't have a red pepper or any spinach or jalepenos and we were too lazy to hit the store for it. Also, we didn't freeze them first and then fry them- we just fried them, but it turned out well- next time I want to try it with the spinach and jalepenos...

Chicken Tiki Masala

Marinade:
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 teaspon garam masala
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
3 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 tomato, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro



In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove chicken and discard marinade. Cook chicken in a saute pan or stir fry.

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve over rice.

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-
1/2 c honey
1/4 c sugar
salt (to taste)
1/4 c ketchup
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
a sprinkle of ground black pepper
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.

The BEST Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls (supposedly it is the Cinnabun Recipie)

Roll dough:
1 pkg yeast
1 c warm milk
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c melted margerine
1 t salt
2 eggs
4 c flour

Make as bread dough; knead and place in an oiled bowl and let rise until double. Then roll out in a large rectagle shape (about 1/4 in thick and 21 in by 16 in)

Filling:
1/2 c melted margerine or butter
1 C brown sugar
2 1/2 T cinnamon

spread the melted margerine over the rolled out dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the melted butter. (tip: leave the top 1/2 in bare so that it will stick to the dough when you roll it up.)

Roll it up and using string or floss or whatever you want to, cut into 1-2 inch thick rolls. Place in bake ware and let rise. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until light brown.

Icing (this is the best part):
1 stick softened butter or marg
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c cream cheese
1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
Beat until fluffy.

Garlic Chicken Fried Chicken

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin
• 1 cup oil for frying, or as needed

1. In a shallow dish, mix together the garlic powder, pepper, salt, paprika, bread crumbs and flour. In a separate dish, whisk together the milk and egg.
2. Heat the oil in an electric skillet set to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dip the chicken into the egg and milk, then dredge in the dry ingredients until evenly coated.
3. Fry chicken in the hot oil for about 5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Remove from the oil with a slotted spatula, and serve.

Enchilada Casserole III

I don't know why it's "III". Just is. I use Allrecipes.com a lot. Do you all know that site? You can search by ingredients or dish and then save recipes to your online recipe box to use in the future. It's great! Here's one I tried from there this weekend and it was really good. Super easy, super quick for a hearty meal. You could even add corn into the meat mixture to get a veggie in there and I think it would be even more delicious!

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 (1.5 ounce) package dry enchilada sauce mix
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix the dry enchilada sauce according to package directions, replacing tomato sauce with the tomato paste and water
3. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with garlic salt and onion powder; drain fat. Mix refried beans and 1/2 cup of the prepared enchilada sauce with the meat.
4. Dip enough corn tortillas to cover the bottom of a 3 quart casserole dish in the remaining enchilada sauce. Arrange tortillas in the dish. Spoon in half of the meat mixture, covering the tortillas. Spread half of the Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses over the meat. Cover with another layer tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce. Spoon in remaining meat mixture and top with a final layer of tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce. Pour any remaining sauce over the layers and top with remaining cheese.
5. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Fajita Quesadilla's

leftover fajita filling

large tortilla's

cheese (whatever you've got that works for mexican food- cheddar, jack, colby, whatever)

bacon cooked and torn into small peices.

Heat two large skillets over medium low. spread a thin layer of cheese on each skillet. In the heavier one, evenly spread leftover fajita filling and bacon. Let both cook until cheese is melted. Then remove from heat and do the best you can to put the two tortilla's together to make the quesadillas- I'm not going to lie to you, it isn't super easy- but I am sure you can do it! Enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken Fajitas

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 T olive oil

1 ea medium green, sweet red, and yellow pepper, julienned (cut into thin strips)

1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges

2 T fajita seasoning mix

1/4 c water

2 T honey (3 for sweeter sauce)

1 T dried parsley flakes

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 c unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained

four tortillas

In a large non-stick skillet, cook chicken in oil for 4-5 minutes. Add peppers and onion; cook and stir 4-5 minutes longer. In a bowl, combine the seasoning mix and water; stir in the honey, parsley, garlic powder and salt. Stir into skillet.

Add pineapple. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and vegetables are tender. Eat with tortillas. Yield- 8 fajitas.

Ranch Chicken

One of our FAVORITE recipes...

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or tenderloins (we use the latter that come frozen in a bag)
• Ranch dressing
• Breadcrumbs (we use the Italian seasoned ones)
• Pam spray, olive oil or spray butter

Directions

1. Defrost (if necessary), wash and trim off skin/fat of chicken pieces
2. Prep by putting ranch in a ziploc bag and pouring the breadcrumbs on a plate.
3. Pat dry the chicken pieces and then depending on their size put 2-3 pieces of chicken in the ranch bag. Zip closed and coat the chicken in ranch.
4. With a fork remove chicken from bag one at a time and place in breadcrumbs. Press and coat each piece.
5. Spray pan with Pam/butter and turn to Medium heat. Lay chicken in pan and flip as you see the sides starting to cook or after about 5 minutes.
   
6. Each side should be golden brown. Be sure to spray pan again between flips and as you see fit.
7. Cut into chicken to make sure it is cooked through.
   

-We like to pair this chicken with angel hair pasta or a simple rice dish. Yum, yum so good!!

Pork Loin Roast

Another super simple recipe. Alex was even the one who made this and it turned out awesome!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds boneless pork loin roast (whatever is on sale!)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large, resealable plastic bag, mix rosemary, garlic salt, thyme, and pepper. Place pork roast in the bag, seal, and toss until thoroughly coated with the garlic salt mixture. Transfer to a medium baking dish.
3. Cook pork roast 1 hour in the preheated oven, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

- Alex just coated the roast by hand as the pork loin we bought on sale was too big for a Ziploc bag. It didn't seem to change anything and worked just as well. For bigger portions of meat just use the same proportions.

Classic Lasagna

I made this last night for friends. They LOVED it! I got ratings of "13 out of 10". So simple, so good.

Ingredients:

• 9-12 lasagna noodles (Depending on size of pan)
  
• 2 pounds ground beef (Or vary with 1lb some other kind of meat; sausage, turkey, etc)
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 4 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce (sounds like a lot but trust me! I actually just used 2 jars of Prego and it was fine.)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
3. Cook the ground beef over medium heat; drain. Stir in the garlic salt, oregano, thyme, basil, and tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper; simmer 10-30 minutes (depending on your time constraints).
4. Meanwhile, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
5. Ladle enough of the meat sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom in a thin layer. Form a layer atop the sauce with 3 of the lasagna noodles. Spread about 1/4 of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese mixture and then ladle about 1/3 of the meat sauce over the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering twice more, topping with the remaining 1/4 pound of mozzarella cheese. Add a thin coating of additional Parmesan to make a crusty top.
6. Bake in preheated oven 90 minutes. Allow to sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

-I ended up cooking it for only 60 minutes as the oven I was using was really great or something. It was so perfect! With big servings it yielded 12 large pieces.

Portobello Chicken

Portobello Chicken
Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

2-3 boneless skinless chicken
-breast halves
1/4 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 sm shallot; chopped (or 1/3 onion)
2 tb olive oil
2 portobello mushrooms; sliced
1 tb chopped parsley
1/4 ts pepper
4 sl mozzarella cheese(or grated)

Instructions

Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Press
mixture onto both sides of chicken. In small skillet, place olive
oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and saut until soft. Add
mushrooms, parsley and pepper; cook about 5 minutes, turning
mushrooms once. Spray oven-proof casserole with nonstick cooking
spray and arrange chicken in a single layer. Top each piece with
mushroom mixture. Place a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each.
Bake at 425F for 20 minutes.
So good!!!