Gingery Peanut Noodles with Chicken

I saw this recipe on the Today show and decided to try it out. :)

1c water
1/2c peanut butter
3T soy sauce
3T rice vinegar
1T brown sugar
1tsp fresh ginger
8oz cooked spaghetti
1 1/2c shredded rotisserie chicken
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2english cucumber, cut into strips
2 scallions (green onions)
Chopped peanuts

In a blender, blend together water, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger. Toss together with spaghetti, chicken, bell pepper, cucumber, and green onions. Top with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.

Sadly, the picture for this one didn't turn out. :( Grrr!

But it still tasted GREAT!

"Chick-Fil-A" Clone Chicken Nuggets

These are amazing, when you prepare them well. When I first found the recipe it called for 4 times the amount of salt I believe should have been in it. I've fixed it since then though!

3c peanut oil (or vegetable or canola if you don't have peanut)
1egg
1c heavy cream
1c flour
2 1/2tsp powdered sugar
1/2tsp pepper
1/2-1T salt
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut up

Mix egg and cream--add chicken and chill at least 1 hour. Mix flour, sugar, pepper and salt. Heat oil in a deep fryer or a skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in the flour mix, then the cream, then the flour again. Place in oil and cook until golden brown.

Very unhealthy for you, but oh so delicious!

^^HERE'S AN ADDED PICTURE! (I made them again.) :]

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

These...are my....ALL TIME FAVORITE cookies, EVER!

12oz miniature semisweet chocolate chips
2T. milk
3/4c butter, softened
1/4c creamy peanut butter
1 1/2c sugar
1/2tsp salt
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
2eggs
1/2c milk
1tsp vanilla
1/2c unsweetened cocoa powder
3c. flour

Filling:
1c butter
1c creamy peanut butter
1c marshmallow creme
2c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a microwave safe bowl, combine 1c chocolate chips and 2T milk. Microwave 50% power 1-2minutes or unti melted; stir once. Set aside. In bowl beat butter and peanut butter with electric mixer until combined. Add sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt; beat to combine. Add eggs, 1/2c milk, vanilla and melted chocolate; beat until combined. Add cocoa and flour; beat until combined. Stir in remaining chips. Drop by rounded spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 6-9 minutes or until tops are set. Cool on sheets 1 minutes then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
In a bowl beat filling ingredients until combined. Too thin? Add powdered sugar. Too thick? Add a T. of milk at a time.
Spread a generous spoonful of filling on the bottom of one cookie and sandwich another on top!

So rich, so dreamy. <3

Turkey Burgers

12oz ground turkey
3T. bread crumbs
3T. buttermilk (*1 cup of buttermilk= 1T. lemon juice plus how much milk it'd take to make a full cup. Mix it and let it set for at least 5 minutes*)
4 1/2tsp green onions, minced
4 1/2tsp parsley, chopped (1tsp dried)
1/2tsp Dijon mustard
2 dashes worcestershire sauce
black pepper to taste

Preheat grill or broiler. Combine ingredients and form into patties. Grill/broil 7-10 minutes on each side. Serve on a bun with the toppings of your choice! *You can't go wrong with honey mustard!

Whole Wheat Waffles

This is a really simple, really filling recipe for whole wheat waffles. I put butter and syrup on top, but you can use whatever you like of course! Whipped cream, fresh fruit, chocolate chips...

2 eggs
2c whole wheat flour
1 3/4c vege oil
1T sugar
4tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt

Heat waffle iron. (Spray before pouring batter.) Beat eggs with whisk until fluffy then beat in the rest of the ingredients. Pour about 3/4c of the batter into the center of the waffle iron. Close lid and bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops.

Viola! and so delicious. :)

Shepherd's Pie Casserole

I was skeptical about this casserole at first since it called for cream of mushroom soup because I hate mushrooms. Fortunately, my husband and I really liked it! (Especially when you stir it all up before you eat it.)

1-2lb ground beef/turkey (turkey's better for you!)
2 cans green beans, drained
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (Next time I'm going to try white gravy and see how that turns out.)
2-4c mashed potatoes
2c shredded cheese

Brown meat; drain. Put it in the bottow of a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Layer green beans, soup, potatoes, then cheese in that order. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and soup is bubbly around the edges.

The most amazing steak I've ever made!!!

I could not believe how this steak turned out. My husband and I were in awe of it. It was so incredibly delicious I wish we could have it EVERY NIGHT. It was a little expensive to buy the meat, but it was SO WORTH IT!

Chili-Rubbed Bone-In Steaks (with avocado--optional)

1T packed brown sugar
2tsp chili powder
1tsp coarse kosher salt
2 bone-in beef strip (top loin) steaks (you could probably use any kind of bone-in steak. The bone is to keep the moisture in so they don't get dry.)
nonstick cooking spray

Optional avocado:
1c chopped onion
1T olive oil
1tsp garlic powder or 4cloves garlic, minced
2 med avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and chopped
1tsp cilantro
1T red wine vinegar
1jalapeno pepper, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet cook onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until tender, about 5 mintues. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, chili powder and salt. Rub evenly over steaks. Coat a cast-iron skillet or any oven proof skillet with nonstick spray. Heat skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add steaks. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. (Mine turned a little black so keep an eye on them you could do anywhere from 3-5 minutes on each side. If it does turn a little black, that's ok because it's the rub not the meat that's burning. It makes it taste gooooood.) Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until desired doneness.

Stir avocado, cilantro, red win vinegar, jalapeno with onion and garlic. Serve with steaks.

I loved the avocados on top of the steak when they mixed with the warm spices....mmmmm. My husband didn't really care for them.

I promise you though, that this steak is FINGER-LICKING GOOD. Literally.

Tomato-Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese!

Now THIS soup is good for you. :) Just keep an eye on that sodium content!

Soup:
2T olive or vege oil
2med carrots, finely chopped (or a couple handfuls of baby carrots finely chopped)
1sm onion, finely chopped (1/2c)
1clove garlic, finely chopped (1/4tsp garlic powder)
2 (14oz ea) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14oz) can tomato puree
8oz can tomato sauce
2tsp basil
1tsp sugar
dash of pepper

In 3qt saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook carrots, onion and garlic in oil about 10mintues, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato purree. Cook uncovered about 10 mintues, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook uncovered about 10 mintues, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Grilled cheese:
8 slices bread
4 sliced cheddar cheese
butter

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Heat unbuttered side of bread in skillet on med or almost med heat. Flip over one piece of bread and add a slice of cheese, adding the other piece of bread on top (buttered sides should not touch the cheese). Heat until the bread is a little browned then flip and do the same on the other side. Repeat this to make 4 grilled cheese sandwiches!

So good :)

Texas Chili Cheese Fries

Mmmmm omg these were so good.
WARNING: DO NOT CONSUME UNLESS YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE. Haha.
There is absolutely nothing healthy about this recipe.

The other day I looked through my fridge at the leftovers I have and found some leftover chili I wanted to use. My husband decided he wanted some fries so I decided to try and make chili cheese ones! I don't have a deep fryer, so I fried some on the stovetop. I also baked some in the oven.

yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into strips
vegetable oil
chili
shredded cheddar cheese
jalapeno peppers (from a jar)
sour cream

To Fry:
Fill a skillet with enough vegetable oil to cover your potatoes. Heat on medium heat. When nice and hot, carefully add potato strips so as not to splash any hot oil. Fry until they turn golden (they'll shrink a little). Take them out with some tongs or a slotted spoon and place on a plate with paper towels to soak up the grease.
Cover a cookie sheet with foil. Layer fries, then chili, jalapenos, then cheese. Put in the oven at 425 degrees for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.

To bake:
Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place potato strips on it and bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
Put chili, jalapenos, and cheese on top. Put them back in the oven for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Sorry the photos aren't very good quality. :\

Aloha Chicken with Pineapple Dip and Crunchy Baked Mozzarella Sticks

This dinner was so good! I loved the chicken and the mozzarella sticks. Since I didn't have marinara sauce to dip them in, I used the pineapple sauce from the chicken. Mmmm!

Aloha Chicken with Pineapple Dip

8oz can crushed pineapple in juice
9tsp honey
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk pineapple with its juice and honey in a bowl until combined. Season chicken cubes with salt and pepper and place in a plastic bag covered with 1/2 of the pineapple sauce. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Place chicken on baking pan lined with foil and broil on middle rack for 6-8 minutes per side, or until cooked through. For dipping sauce: While chicken is broiling, put the remaining sauce in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 1 min or until thickened. Makes 3 servings.


Crunchy Baked Mozzarella Sticks

1 egg
2tsp water
1c panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2tsp italian seasoning
pepper
mozzarella string cheese (or cut strips off a mozzarella block)
2T flour

In a small bowl, beat egg and water. Place panko, italian seasoning, and pepper in a separate bowl. Coat cheese sticks in flour, then dip in egg mixture and the panko mixture. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake, uncovered at 450 degrees for 5 minutes until warm, then run under the broiler quickly to brown. Cool before serving.

I served these dishes with sweet peas. Mmmm so good!