Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

adapted from pinterest recipe
serves 3-4
Ingredients

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup corn starch
2 tablespoons oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped or sliced
1 green pepper, chopped or sliced
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped

sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider or white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion salt*
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon cold water

Instructions
1. First prepare the sauce, Add sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion salt, and ketchup to a medium sauce pan. Stir and Bring to a boil. In a small bowl whisk together the 1 tablespoon corn starch and cold water until dissolved. Add to sauce pan and stir until thickened, then reduce to low heat.
2. Add chicken pieces and corn starch to a large ziplock bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken. Drizzle a large pan or skillet with oil. Add coated. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add peppers and onions. continue to saute over medium heat until Chicken is browned and cooked through.

3. Add sauce to chicken and peppers. Stir to coat well. Serve warm with cooked rice if desired.

*If you don't have onion salt, use garlic salt or Jane's crazy mixed up salt instead or garlic powder, and use onion powder instead of garlic salt.
If you like sauce...double the sauce recipe.

Creamy Chipotle Chicken

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from chipotle peppers

Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, brush with butter, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Pour in the cream of chicken soup and chicken broth, and add the cream cheese, peppers, and adobo sauce. Stir the mixture gently. Cover, set the cooker to Low, and cook for 6 hours.

Serve over rice.

Amazing Soft White Sandwich Bread

Dough Starter (Sponge)

from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/basic-soft-white-sandwich-loaf-351269

• unbleached all-purpose flour (use only Gold Medal, King Arthur, or Pillsbury): 2 1/4 cups plus 2 1/2 tablespoons (12 ounces or 341 grams)
• water, at room temperature (70° to 90°F) : scant 1 3/4 liquid cups (14.3 ounces or 405 grams)
• honey: 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (1.5 ounces or 45 grams)
• instant yeast: 3/4 teaspoon (2.4 grams)

1. Make the sponge.

Simple Stovetop Tuna Cassarole

Tuna Casserole

1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles

1/4 cup butter

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Garlic salt and pepper

Directions

1.    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until done then   drain.

2.    Melt the butter, mushroom soup, tuna, and Cheddar cheese in the same pot as drained      pasta. Stir until cheese is melted, and the mixture is smooth. Add garlic salt and pepper to    taste.

Ricotta Dip

from Southern Living

1 c. cream
1.5 c. buttermilk
3 c. whole milk

heat until steamy (180-degrees)
stir until (190-degree)
curdle
stand 30 mins
chill 4 hrs

Swedish Rice Pudding/ris a la Malta

Swedish Rice Pudding/ris a la Malta

8 cups of Milk
4 cups of Medium grain rice
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
4 cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a large sauce pan add the first four ingredients.  Cook for 1 hour 10 minutes or until thick at medium heat, just below boiling. Be sure to consistently stir with a flat, wooden spoon or heat tolerant silicone. (at this point it is rice porridge, and is delicious)

Turn off heat. Take room temperature eggs and whisk them thoroughly adding a some of the hot pudding mixture to the eggs to temper the mixture. slowly incorporate the eggs back into the pudding.Return the pudding to the medium heat and slowly stir as you bring the pudding back to a boil. (

Take pan off heat. put pudding in glass bowl cover with saran wrap and cool for 6-24 hours.

Whip 4 cups of heavy whipping cream and 2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract.

Fold the whipped cream to the cooled mixture until it is fully enveloped.

Keep pudding refrigerated, it lasts about 1 week.

Different Flavors:
Amaretto rice pudding
omit vanilla extract and instead add 2 ts. of almond flavoring

Chocolate rice pudding 
In a microwave melt 1 cup of milk chocolate chips with 1/2 cup of heavy cream for 2 minutes. Whisk until shiny and add to the cooled pudding before adding the vanilla whipped cream.

Raspberry rice pudding
Add a bag of frozen raspberries and mix into the pudding fully incorparating and then fold in the vanilla whipped cream.

This recipe makes a whole bunch of rice pudding and can easily be halved.

Zatarain's Jazzed Up Jambalaya (Mardi Gras meal)

Zatarain's Jazzed up Jambalaya

1- 8 oz box Zatarain's Jambalaya
2 1/4 cup water (I substitute some of water with one can of rotel)
4 oz bacon
12 ounces smoked pork sausages, cut into moon's (I use 2 Kielbasa)
12 ounces boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
4 ounces creole seasoning (I used less, just sprinkled it on the chicken)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic (I use 6)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used red and green)
1/4 cup green onions
(I also added shrimp, right at the end)

In a medium sized pot, fry down bacon until cooked, remove bacon (leave drippings.). Add smoked sausage, cook until it starts to get brown, then remove.

Rub chicken thighs with creole seasoning. Add chicken thighs to the pot and cook till pieces are starting to brown. When finished add back the sausage and bacon with the vegetables. Cook for around 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Add the Jambalaya Mix and stir and cover.

Bring back to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer and cook for around 20 minutes (or until most of the water is gone) stirring occasionally. When done turn off heat, uncover, stir in green onions, recover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve and Enjoy.