Sweet Thai Chicken

If you love sweet tangy chicken you will enjoy this dish. If you want sauce to go over the rice as well I suggest doubling the sauce. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• canola or olive oil, for cooking
• 1 lb. chicken breast or thighs, cut into bit-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• pinch red pepper flakes
• steamed rice for serving

Directions

• In small saucepan, combine the brown sugar with 1/3 cup water and bring to a simmer. Cook, swirling the pan often, until the mixture bubbles and thickens to the consistency of runny syrup, about 5 minutes
• Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a large, heavy skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces, stirring often, until browned on all sides
• Stir in fish sauce, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes into the brown sugar mixture, and pour it over the chicken
• Continue to cook, stirring, until the chicken has cooked through and it is sticky and glazed.
• Serve immediately, with steamed rice

Serves 4-6 (in our house it serves 2)

Grilled Fish Soft Tacos

This is a great fast meal for the summer. If you are not a fish lover you can add any kind of meat to the taco that you would like.


Ingredients

• 4 small plum tomatoes or vine tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large jalapeno pepper or 2 small serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• A small handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• Salt
• 1 lime
• 2 ears corn on cob
• 4 pieces of halibut or any white fish, 6 ounce each
• Vegetable oil, for drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning or any fish seasoning you have
• 2 cups of shredded cheese of your liking
• 12 6-inch soft corn or flour tortillas

Yields: Serves 4

Preparation

Heat grill pan over medium-high heat or heat outdoor grill. Heat oven to 300˚F.
Combine tomatoes, jalapeño or Serrano peppers, onions, cilantro, salt and 1 teaspoon of lime zest and the juice of 1 lime.
Coat corn and fish with liberal drizzle of vegetable oil to keep it from sticking to grill. Season the corn and fish with salt and pepper. Season the fish with Old Bay. Cook corn 12-15 minutes until kernels begin to darken in spots. Remove corn and cool to handle, then scrape corn from the cob. Grill fish 8-10 minutes until cooked through and firm. Place fish in bowl and flake the flesh with a fork.
Heat a drizzle of vegetable oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat and add tortilla. Warm tortilla then flip over and sprinkle with shredded cheese, scatter some fish, corn and salsa on half the tortilla and fold over. Cook the taco a minute or 2 on each side to melt the cheese. Keep tacos warm in oven on cooling rack placed over baking sheet until ready to serve. Serve 3 fish tacos per person with Rice alongside.

Chicken Parmesan

2 C. dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine first four ingredients in a shallow bowl. Dip each chicken breast in beaten egg, then roll in bread crumb mixture to evenly coat.
Place chicken on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 375' F. oven 10 min. Turn chicken over; bake 10-12 min. or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

FREEZE in 1 gallon bag with separate bags of sauce and shredded cheese.
TO SERVE: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat chicken in 375' F. oven until heated through and crust is crispy. Spoon tomato sauce over chicken.
Sprinkle cheese over top. Bake an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Makes 4 servings

Shredded Beef on a Bun

The perfect meal for a casual crowd. Serve with coleslaw, potato salad, a variety of pickles -- and let the party begin!

1 cup sliced onion
1 cup prepared chicken broth
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. prepared mustard
4 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp. powder)
1/2 tsp. salt
3 lbs. boneless blade (or chuck) roast
12 kaiser rolls (or your favorite), split

Makes 12 beef buns

Combine first 9 ingredients in 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker.
Add roast.
Turn until coated.
Cover.
Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours.
Transfer roast to large plate.
Cover to keep warm.
Skim and discard any fat from surface of liquid in slow cooker.
Strain liquid throuth sieve into large frying pan.
Transfer solids to small bowl.
Set aside.
Bring liquid to a boil on medium-high.
Boil gently for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and reduced by almost half.
Makes about 1 3/4 cups sauce.
Shred beef with 2 forks.
Add to sauce.
Add reserved solids.
Stir well.
Makes about 5 cups shredded beef mixture.
Divide and spoon beef mixture onto bottom half of each roll.
Cover each with top half of roll.

Quick Beef Taco Lasagna

24 lasagna noodles
2lbs lean ground beef
2 envelopes taco seasoning
4 egg whites
2 cartons (15oz each) ricotta cheese
8cups shredded cheddar cheese (2lbs) - you could also use the already shredded Tex Mex for a bit of "bite"
2 jars (24oz each) chunky salsa

1. Cook noodles according to the package directions. (can use the ones that cook when you put in the oven)
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink: drain. Stir in taco seasoning.
In a small bowl, combine egg whites and ricotta cheese. Drain noodles.

2. In each of two 13x9x2 inch baking dishes, layer four noodles, 3/4c ricotta mixture, half of the beef mixture
and 1 1/3c cheddar cheese. Top each with four noodles, 3/4c ricotta mixture, 1 1/2c salsa and 1 1/3c cheese.
Repeat.

3. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3mths.
Bake the second casserole, uncovered at 350degrees for 35-40min or until heated thru. Let stand for 10min before cutting.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in fridge for 8 hours. Bake as above.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 1/2 lb raw extra lean ground beef
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
Sweet and sour sauce

1/3 cup white or rice vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons water


Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray (PAM)
In a medium bowl, combine beef, oats, egg, onion, garlic, parsley & oregano. Shape mixture into 48 1-inch balls. place on baking sheet.
Bake meatballs for 25 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker and set on LOW heat to keep warm. Or, place meatballs in a heated chafing dish.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over meatballs and let heat about 20 minutes. Yield: 4 meatballs per serving

Just Stew It!

This one is from the Eat, Shrink and Be Merry cookbook. There's a pretty long list of ingredients, but it's easy to make. I like to get it going when the kids are napping and then you just need to finish it up before supper. A beautiful, hearty meal!

2 lbs stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp Herbs de Provence (if you don't have, just use a combination of oregano, basil, and whatever else you like!)

2 cups beef broth

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped carrots

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 tbsp each cornstarch and chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, or 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

- Trim beef of fat and sprinkle with flour. Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick pot over medium-high heat. Add beef cubes and cook until lightly browned.

- Add onions, celery and garlic. Cook and stir until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in herbs. Cook 1 more minute. Add broth, vinegar, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add carrots and simmer 20 minutes more.

- Combine sour cream, corn starch and parsley in a small bowl. Add to stew along with green peas. Mix well. To make dumplings, combine baking mix with milk and rosemary. Stir with a fork until smooth. Drop by teaspoonfuls over hot stew. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer 20 minutes without lifting lid. Dumplings should be puffed up and dry to the touch. Serve hot.