Amy's Recipe of the Day

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Location: Texas, United States

Monday, January 30, 2012

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry

Marinate the chicken while you prepare the rest of the ingredients
1 pound chicken breast (about 2 breasts), cubed
3 scallions, whites only, thinly sliced on an angle
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
About 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 to 6 cups broccoli, trimmed sliced stalks and medium florets (keep the 2 cuts separate)
3/4 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, optional
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
Garnish: toasted sesame seeds, optional
Serving suggestion: Jasmine rice

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the scallion whites, about half the garlic and ginger, the soy sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the sherry, and the sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1/3 cup water.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat. Add the broccoli stems, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the florets and the remaining garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of water, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Get the skillet good and hot again, and then heat 2 more tablespoons oil. Add the chicken and chili flakes if using. Stir-fry until the chicken loses its raw color and gets a little brown, about 3 minutes. Add the hoisin sauce, return the broccoli to the pan and toss to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Add more water if need to thin the sauce, if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if you like. Mound the stir-fry on a serving platter or divide among 4 plates and garnish with sesame seeds; serve with rice.

SERVES 4; Calories: 431; Total Fat 16 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 32 grams; Total carbohydrates: 40 grams; Sugar: 8 grams Fiber 4 grams; Cholesterol: 66 milligrams; Sodium: 1,097 milligrams

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Easy Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:
1 (49.5 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
1 bunch chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
3 eggs
2 tablespoons cold water
Directions:
1. Heat chicken broth and green onions in a large pot over medium-high heat. Mix sugar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/3 cup of cold water in a bowl until smooth. Reduce heat and stir soy sauce mixture in to the broth. Boil soup on high for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium-low.
2. Beat 3 eggs with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Using a fork, stir egg

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

From All You magazine. The chorizo gives this a very nice flavor.

1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch chunks
Salt
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 oz cooked chorizo (this recipe sliced it in rounds; they only had the crumbled variety here, so I just added crumbled chorizo)
1 1/2 c rice
3 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup frozen peas

Sprinkle chicken with salt and dredge in flour. Warm 1 Tbsp oil in a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in skillet and add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add chorizo and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in rice, broth, tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil; add chicken, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in peas, cover and let stand until peas are heated through, about 5 minutes.

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Basic Yellow Cake


I ran out of vanilla and used approximately 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla (all I had left) and about 1/4 tsp almond extract.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (do not sift the flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
Vegetable oil
1 stick butter (not margarine), softened
1-tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°

Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of (3) 9 x 1 1/2-inch round pans. Spray the pans with cooking spray, place the wax paper in the pans and spray the paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, mixing well.

Measure the 1-1/4 cups of milk in a 2 cup measuring cup….then add enough vegetable oil to bring the liquid up to 1-1/3 cups.

Add the milk/vegetable oil mixture, butter and vanilla to the flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Add the eggs and continue beating an additional 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center of cake comes out clean, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.

Cool cakes on wire racks for 15 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.

Coconut Buttercream Frosting (when you're out of vanilla, you have to get creative): This is enough to frost only one layer--I ran out of powdered sugar. I'd recommend making more for the whole cake. I didn't test larger amounts--I made one round cake and the rest were cupcakes, which I burned and then tossed, so I just needed this much.

6 Tbsp butter, softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar
a few Tbsp whole milk
food coloring
1 tsp coconut extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Put all into mixer (start w/ 1-2 Tbsp milk) and mix until thoroughly combined. Keep adding milk a Tbsp at a time until you get desired consistency.

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Creamy Shell Pasta

1 cup small uncooked seashell pasta
3/4 cup fresh broccoli florets
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cubed American cheese
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup sunflower kernels
1 hard-cooked egg, peeled and chopped

Note:I did not have broccoli, cucumber, celery, or sunflower kernels on hand. I made mine with halved grape tomatoes instead, and subbed shredded cheese for cubed. The dressing was quite yummy. From allrecipes.com.

DRESSING:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared Ranch salad dressing
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, broccoli, carrot, cheese, cucumber, celery, sunflower kernels and egg. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Peanut Butter Blondies


From cooks.com. Jon and I just loved these. You will want to lick the bowl with the butter, molasses, peanut butter, and vanilla. The kids, however, were not impressed. So I will continue to make these for the adult crowd.

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. super chunky peanut butter
1 tbsp. light molasses
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sifted all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts
1/2 c. peanut butter chips

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Butter and flour bottom of 9 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Cool to lukewarm. Mix in peanut butter, then molasses, honey, and vanilla. Combine 1 cup flour and salt in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat egg with sugar in large bowl until thick and light colored. Fold in peanut butter mixture. Gently stir in flour just to combine. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle top with peanuts and peanut butter chips. Bake until center is almost set, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 9 squares.

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Friday, January 06, 2012

Corn Soup


Martina's Soup. They serve this at her school and after several attempts, I have finally come close to what she wants.

2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 1/2 cups milk (I used skim, but you can use anything)
1/2 cup cheese (any kind)
2 cups frozen corn
Salt and white pepper to taste

Melt butter on stove. When melted, add flour and stir quickly. When absorbed, add milk and stir constantly until mixture starts to thicken. This could take awhile. Then stir in corn, cheese, salt and pepper, and serve.

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Sunday, January 01, 2012

Tomato Pesto Brunch Bake

This is the one we decided to try for the first time at New Year's Brunch this year. From Betty Crocker. We'll have to keep making this one!

2 1/2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
3 large tomatoes, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup refrigerated basil pesto
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
4 eggs
Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, Parmesan cheese and milk until soft dough forms. Press dough with fingers dipped in Bisquick mix into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.
Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese over crust. Layer tomatoes over the cheese, overlapping if necessary. Spread pesto over the tomatoes. In medium bowl, beat whipping cream, salt, pepper and eggs with whisk or fork until blended. Gently pour mixture over tomatoes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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