Naan Bread

I wanted to make naan because I was inspired by a long ago friend who made naan for her family a few days ago and shared on face book.

I absolutely love naan bread. This recipe was decent and pretty good but not quite the perfect recipe for me. So, I combined the two recipes together and made my own.

I tried the recipe with the Indian woman and she messed her ingredients up. It is written baking soda and in the video she says baking powder. I went with the written of baking soda and the bread was a flop. I am sure she meant baking powder.

Then I made the recipe by the russian woman and this recipe was perfect and easy to follow until it came to adding the eggs and milk. There is not a measurement for that milk. I ended up winging it and adding enough milk that I thought was in the video.

I will make this recipe again because it was pretty close to being a good thing!

Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures. My camera card got corrupted and I was left with just this. Once it baked in the oven on 400 degrees on my stoneware it eaten so I suppose my guessitmate on the milk wasn't that far off.

Coconut Curry Chicken

A few friends from work have been trying different ethnic cuisines each month. We have tried Indian and Thai foods. This is an Indian dish that I particularly liked and tried to duplicate. After surfing the net through various recipes. I came up with one that I like. I am still working on how to make a more pugnent coconut flavor. In this recipe there is just a tease of the coconut flavor.
I found my recipe from Allrecipes.com and foodgawker.com

The saddest thing about this dish. Is my card got corrupted and I lost all my pictures. At least I have the final product but the picture does not do this dish justice!
I did this over the stove top in a skillet but to save time you could brown your chicken pieces and then toss everything in covered dish and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until chicken is super tender. Make sure your dish is covered with a lid or foil.

Coconut Curry Chicken
2 to 3 of pounds chicken (I had a whole chicken cut in pieces) I took most of the fatty skin off but left some for flavor.

1 can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth

Cayenne Pepper to taste (our family likes it hot, I used 1 to 2 TBsp)

Curry Powder to taste Start with 2 TBLsp, (I used 2 1/2 and a few more dashesTBLsp)

Cumin Powder to taste ( I used 1tsp)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 TBLsp crushed garlic or if you have garlic powder you can add 1-2 tsp.

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tsp vanilla, (this enhances the flavor of the coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Wash and lightly dry the chicken. Put 1 TBLsp butter in hot skillet and add chicken pieces.

Brown the chicken seasoning it with salt and pepper. Add crushed garlic to pan.

Add the chicken broth and coconut milk.

Then sprinkle the rest of the spices and ingredients over the chicken and broth.

On medium to low heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Cover skillet with lid and allow chicken to tenderize and bake in sauce.

Remove lid and stir the coconut around. (this will clump some)

Continue to simmer on stove for another 30 minutes or so UNCOVERED until chicken is completely done.

Once chicken is tender and falling off the bone. Remove chicken from skillet.

Add 1 TBLsp of butter and bring the sauce to a full boil. Whisk til smoothe and reduce.

I took 1/4 cup of the broth mixture and added 2tsp of cornstarch. Stir until dissolved.

Add to remainder of broth in skillet. Continue to whisk over medium heat.

Taste the sauce to make sure that it is seasoned enough to your liking. If it needs something extra add it here.

We loved it. It was good.
Serve over rice and homemade naan!


***********Baking directions*****************************

If you were to bake. Oven 375
Add your chicken pieces to a 9x13 pan.
Pour broth and coconut milk.
Add all seasonings
cover dish with lid or heavy duty foil.
Allow to bake for 45 minutes.
Stir sauce around to mix coconut mixture.
Bake another 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove chicken from pan and pour sauce into a skillet.
Add 1 TBLsp butter and bring to boil.
thicken, you can add more seasonings and some cornstarch to thicken sauce slightly.
Cook your rice and naan and ENJOY!

Orange Beef

Orange Beef

2 Tbls olive oil

1 lb beef flank or round steak, semi frozen

1/4 cup orange peel, slivered

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbls cornstarch

1 1/4 cup cool beef broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/2 tsp crushed dry red pepper flakes

Slice beef thinly on the diagonal. Heat oil over medium heat. Add beef 1/3 at a time, stir fry 3 minutes, until brown. Return all beef to the pan, add orange peel, garlic and ginger. Stir fry one minute.

Mix together cornstarch, beef broth, soy sauce, marmalade and pepper flakes. Add to beef, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Balls)

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Balls)

16 oz ground chicken

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbls sugar

4 Tbls chicken broth, divided

2 Tbls soy sauce, divided

1 egg

1/4 to 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

2 Tbls veg oil

3 1/2 Tbls water

Soak the onions in water and squeeze out moisture. Combine the chicken and onion with the sugar, 2 1/2 tbls chicken broth, 1 tbls soy sauce and the egg. Mix well. Add enough bread crumbs to be able to work with the meat mixture. Roll into bite size balls (or use a 1" scoop).

Heat the oil in the pan; brown meatballs on all sides. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes or until cooked through. Return tsukune to the skillet you used to brown and keep warm.

Combine the water with remaining 1 1/2 Tbls chicken broth and 1 Tbls soy sauce. Add to the Tsukune and cook over med heat until almost evaporated.

At this point the Tsukune is ready to eat, or you can finish it off with the Orange Glaze recipe posted seperately.

Beef Broccoli

Beef Broccoli is one of the easiest dishes to make! Just start a pot of rice and dinner is ready in under 20 minutes.

BEEF BROCCOLI (6 to 8 people)

2lbs. fresh broccoli florettes/or frozen

Beef flanks

1/2 soyu sauce
1 1/2 TBL.garlic
1cup brown sugar
1 TBL. spoon ginger
1 cup water

Remove meat from pack and rinse. Place meat in hot pan and begin to brown. Add garlic when meat is nearly done. Just barely pink. Season with salt and pepper or lawry's salt. Remove from pan and place broccoli florettes into pan with 2tbl. water and place lid on pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove lid and add beef and garlic and soyu sauce, ginger and brown sugar with 1 cup water. Toss and season until flavors are absorbed. Add a little more water or soyu sauce to make a good broth and add more brown sugar or seasonings as needed. Turn heat up from medium to medium high. Remove when broccoli is still a la dente.
These measurements are all guessamations! I do a lot of my cooking by taste. If the sauce needs more tang I add a bit more soyu or if it isn't sweet enough I add brown sugar. If I need a bit of a different taste I sprinkle in a little more ginger or garlic. If the soyu is too strong then I weaken it with a half a cup of water or a bit less. Don't be afraid to try things out and change things up to the liking of your own family.
I did use a seasoning packet because I wanted to see if it was easier to use a pre made ready packet. YOU know what? It's not. I can do the same exact thing with the seasonings I have at home. But, If you like packet is very much the same. I just added more seasonings to our likening. Serve over steamed rice.

Cheesy chicken quesadillas

I found this wonderful recipe on Cynthia's blog. Cynthia and I have very similar taste buds!
Her pictures are better than mine and definitely more appetizing so please check her out for her pictures alone. This takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish.

*****DISCLAIMER*******
This recipe calls for a can of Campbells Southwest Style Pepper Jack condensed soup but they have discontinued making this soup. If you can find it follow the recipe. If you can not find this hot commodity please follow my improvised recipe.
"original"
CHEESY CHICKEN QUESADILLAS: I found the recipe here.

1 pound boneless chicken breast halves, cubed 1 can (10¾ oz.) CAMPBELL'S Condensed Southwest Style Pepper Jack Soup ¼ cup water 8 flour tortillas (8-inch), warmed Pace Chunky Salsa

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook chicken in nonstick skillet until done and juices evaporate, stirring often.

Add water and soup and heat through. Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture on half of each tortilla to within ½-inch of edge. Fold over and seal. Add 1 TBLsp oil to hot skillet. brown each side. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa. Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 8 quesadillas

****************************IMPROVISED RECIPE***************************************

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 large can of breast of chicken 12.5 oz can or 2 lb. boneless chicken breast.
1/4 of a block of pepper jack cheese (cubed)
1 Tbl spoon red pepper flake add as much or as little to preference.
Heat ingredients in a pot on stove. Once cheese is melted then spoon on to flour tortillas and fold. Add 1 Tblsp oil to hot skillet. Add flour tortillas to skillet and brown. Flip and brown the other side. Remove and cut into wedges or eat whole with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on the side.

Tres Leche

Popular in Mexican & Honduran cultures.
SERVES 6 -8
I got this recipe from recipezarr.com
Ingredients

cake
white cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 cup whole milk
12 ounces evaporated milk
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces whipped dessert topping mix
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
9 cherries

Directions
1 Bake cake as directed on box.
2 While cake is cooking, mix together 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 can evaporated milk, & 1 cup whole milk with a whisk. Set aside.
3 When cake is finished cooking, use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake. Whisk your milk mixture once again, and pour slowly over the entire cake. Put the cake in the fridge for 4 hours to set flavors.
4 After 4 hours, make your whipped topping by mixing together the vanilla, milk & whipped topping mix. Use mixer for 4 minutes. When topping is ready, spread over cake.
5 To top it off, drain & rinse 9-12 cherries. Dry each cherry off, so the juice doesn't run in the topping. Put dry cherries on top of cake in rows of 3 or 4.
6 This makes a beautiful cake. Must be kept refrigerated. You can use various flavors of cake mix. Many people love to put sweetened coconut in the whipped topping. You can also make a lower fat version by choosing low sugar cake mix, fat free sweetened condensed milk, fat free evaporated milk, & skim milk.
7 Enjoy!

Taco Seasonings

Taco Seasonings

No more wondering if you have a pkg of seasonings in the cabinet. Make your own!

1/4 cup instant minced onion

3 Tbls chili powder

2 Tbls cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbls cornstarch

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients together and place in a clean jar with a tight lid. Use 2 Tbls of seasoning mix per pound of meat.

Chicken Lo Mein/ Stir Fry

My family loved this. M was craving chinese food and I found this recipe. It was a hit. Aden even loved it. Kai is allergic to peanuts so we did not add peanuts to hers. The dressing is a bit tangy but adds an awesome flavor to the chicken. I added a bit too much soy sauce and that was easily remedied by adding a pinch of sugar. Be careful not to add too much.



8 oz. angel hair pasta.
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. each: ground ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts

( I cooked with whole wheat pasta for a healthier dish. I also add seasonings to taste. I did not measure. Add to your preference. If you do not like any of the ingredients just substitute or delete). If I had carrots and zuchini I would have added those sliced on the bias. This can be a very health conscious tasty meal

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time.

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until done, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 to 3 minutes.

DRAIN pasta mixture; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon evenly into four serving bowls; sprinkle with the peanuts.

Makes: 4 servings, 2 cups each

Beef Taco Skillet

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (103/4 oz.) Campbell's Tomato Soup

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas cut into 1" pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook beef in 10" skillet until well browned. Pour off fat.

2. Stir in soup, salsa, water and tortillas.

3. Heat to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes.

4. Top with cheese.

Taco Soup

I have found many variations of this soup. This is one from Gretchen which we then added a few extras. Feel free to add different beans.

2 pounds ground beef
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can stewed tomatoes - mexican style
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can light kidney beans
l can dark kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can northern beans
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix -(opt.)
1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing(dry)
1 package shredded cheese (topping)
1 container of sour cream (optional)
1 package of tortilla chips
You may add a diced onion or any other bean. Add more water if you prefer more broth.
PREPARATION:
Brown ground beef and onions in a large pan, drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so. Remember do not drain cans. Pour entire can into pot or slow cooker. When ready, serve in big soup bowls, and have a skillet of hot cornbread to eat, too. Top with chips, cheese and sour cream.