Chicken Lo Mein

adapted from Ming Tsai

I'm not gonna lie - finding the ingredients for this was NOT fun. Smelling the individual ingredients before it was cooked was not a good idea. BUT, Once I tasted the final product to check for seasoning it was BAM in my mouth!!!! It is SOOOOO good!!!! It was so worth it and I WILL be making this again!

Here are the ingredients:

Marinade:
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
1/2 C oyster sauce (found mine at walmart)
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 C sliced scallions
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chile sauce

mix all that together in a bowl and add 1 pound boneless skinless chicken - thighs are traditional and hold up well in high heat cooking. let it marinate for 1-2 hours.

In a hot wok, add some canola oil and cook the chicken.  When the chicken is cooked, add:
1 C chicken stock
6 cloves sliced garlic
3/4 head cabbage, sliced thin (don't worry, it will cook down)

after the cabbage is cooked, add 8-10 ounces of blanched lo mein noodles. (you can use linguini, but I went and found real lo mein noodles).
toss until the noodles are warm and taste for salt and pepper seasoning. Mine didn't need anything extra.

This was awesome.
Even Dave said so.

Crock-Pot Creamy italian chicken

  I made this dish a couple weeks ago and our whole family LOVED it. It's a little like a stroganoff, but with chicken instead of steak or ground beef. plus, it's a good way to use up the extra egg noodles I have laying around!

Throw into a crockpot:

2 chicken breasts (they can be frozen)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 3/4 C milk
1/2 C cream
1 dry packet italian dressing
1 Tbsp chicken bullion
1 tbsp corn starch

cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4, then shred the chicken. If you just take a fork and stir it around the crockpot, it falls apart really easy! Cook a 12 oz. bag of egg noodles and dump in a huge bowl. Dump the chicken mixture on top of the noodles and stir it all around. YUM. YUM. YUM.

I really couldn't believe how yummy this was. Serve with some rolls and a salad and you're golden!

Deep Dish Pizza!

  I was making homemade pizza for dinner yesterday but the dough I pulled from the freezer didn't thaw in time for dinner, so I was stuck with all my toppings prepped and no idea what to do with all of it!!

I remembered in a novel (I know, right?) that there was a pizza crust recipe that didn't need yeast or need to be rolled out. I found the book and proceeded to create:

Crazy Crust Pizza!
(this fits in a home cook's baking sheet. 11x18? PLEASE do not try a pizza stone because you will want to rip your hair out.)

3 Cups flour
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano
6 eggs (I know - sorry)
2 cups milk

whisk all that together until most of the lumps are gone. Spray your baking sheet LIBERALLY with Pam and sprinkle some cornmeal over that. Dump your gloppy "dough" on top of that and spread it out until it's even.

THEN add your toppings - no sauce or cheese yet, be patient - I used:
1 lb. browned sausage
1 small package pepperoni
1 HUGE red bell pepper
1 tomato
2 carmalized red onions

Put into a 425 oven for 25-30 minutes. It should be a little brown on top.
Then pull it out, add 1- 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce (got mine at walmart for $1), and as much mozzerella cheese as you desire. Back into the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Let it sit for 10-ish minutes for 2 reasons. #1 - you will scorch off your taste buds if you want to eat it right away. #2 - it will set a little and be easier to slice and serve.

This was SO good. I am going to keep this in my arsenal when I don't feel like making regular pizza dough!

CL Testing - Vanilla Balsamic Chicken

  Cooking Light April 2006

In a small saucepan:

1/2 C chicken broth/stock
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp orange zest
1/4 C orange juice
2 tsp vanilla

Bring to a boil and then simmer until reduced to 1/2 C. It will be at least 20 minutes.

2-3 pounds Chicken thighs. Remove the skins and place in a single layer in a 9x13 pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stick in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and baste with HALF the balsamic mixture. back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Pull out and top with the rest of the balsamic. Back in the oven for 15 minutes.

When I pulled my chicken out at this time, my thermometer did not register 180 degrees, so I basted one more time and stuck it back in the oven for another 5 minutes. They were perfect after that.

Verdict: subtly sweet chicken. Very moist and tasty. I liked it a lot but I have other chicken recipes that I like better.

Dave's vote: I liked it. Not my favorite but pretty dang good. (that's a direct quote) (and saying something since he hates chicken on the bone and didn't hate this.)

Cooking Magazine Test Run

 
I have way too many cooking magazines. I am trying to cut down and eliminate the excess. SO, I am FINALLY trying all the recipes I wanted to in each magazine and keeping the good ones and tossing the magazine when i'm done.

Magazine #1 - Cooking Light April 2006
Recipe: Chipotle Orange Chicken Cutlets

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts. Pound them flat in between 2 pieces of saran wrap.

Mix in a plate:
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp. cumin

Pour in a bowl:
1/4 C orange juice concentrate.

Coat the bottom of a hot skillet with veggie oil. salt the chicken and then dip in the bowl of OJ, and dredge in the flour mixture, and throw in the pan until nice and brown. Since brown food tastes good.

After the chicken is cooked, take out of the pan and add to the pan 3/4 C OJ concentrate, 1/2 C water, and 2 chipotle chilies in adobo, diced. Boil and let simmer for a couple of minutes. (You can add some more water to thin it out if you want.)

Add the chicken back to the pan to warm through. Serve over brown rice mixed with 1/3 C. chopped cilantro.

Dave would not stop talking about the sauce. He mentioned it like 12 times or something. And insisted that it was the best thing in the house to take for lunch tomorrow. (over my red beans and rice, even!)

This one is a KEEPER.