Cashew Chicken

Ingredients

Serves 4

* 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
* 3 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 2 teaspoons of minced peeled fresh ginger
* 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons of sugar
* 2 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons of dry sherry
* 3/4 cup raw cashews (4 ounces), toasted
* White rice, for serving (optional)

Directions

1.In medium bowl, toss chicken with sherry, ginger and 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch; season with salt. Refrigerate 30 min. In another bowl, combine broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 tsp cornstarch; set sauce aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high. Add chicken and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 min. Transfer chicken to plate.

3. To same skillet add 1 tsp oil, garlic, cashews, and scallion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic begins to soften, 30 seconds. Whisk sauce and add to skillet along with chicken. Cook until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Top with scallion greens and serve with rice.

Easy Fall Dinner

Here is a simple dinner idea I make a lot, often with veggies from the farmer's market-- it's great for fall and very easy.

4 pre-cooked sausages-- we use chicken apple sausages but you could do whatever

2 sweet potatoes

2 white potatoes

salt

pepper

drizzle of olive oil

Cut everything up into about thumb-sized pieces, drizzle some olive oil (you don't need much, if any, if the sausages you use are not lean) and roast in the oven on 400 for about 25 minutes, or until all the potatoes are cooked through and sausages heated.

I usually serve this with a side salad and sometimes ketchup or other dipping sauce for the kids to dip the "fries" in.

I do different dinner variations on this theme. Sometimes I put beets in, leave the sausages out and sprinkle rosemary over everything.

Weekly Meal Plan

Here's my meal plan for this week.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE start posting more of your ideas.  Just tell me what you're making!  I don't even need recipes...but it took every ounce of energy and creativity I had to come up with these this week!

Monterey Chicken

Thai Fried Rice

Dad's Ham and Potato Casserole 

Crockpot Lasagna  (Kraft recipe contributed by my cousin Heather)

Breakfast for Dinner (pancakes, eggs, and bacon- yum!) 
Chicken Pesto Foccacia Sandwiches (foccacia bread, sliced chicken, pesto sauce, cheese, and tomato)

Other Recipes: 

The Bateman Family Ham and Potato Casserole

(One of the best dishes my dad makes-- a Christmas Eve staple!)

Ingredients:

4 to 7 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks about the size of a silver dollar and about 1/4" thick

3 to 5 slices cooked ham thick sliced and cut into small squares

2 cans evaporated milk

Dehydrated onion

Salt and Pepper

1 cube butter, cut into pats

About 8 oz mild cheddar cheese 

Read more »

Chicken Stuffed Biscuits

One of my favorite Sunday dinners growing up was my dad's Season-All Chicken. It's the simplest thing in the whole world...generously sprinkle chicken breasts with Lowry's Season-All and bake at 350 until cooked through. He serves it with his famous homemade cheese and garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. It's the simplest meal in the world but super delicious. So I usually plan it into our menu at least every couple of weeks. The great thing about this chicken is that it's super versatile- so I make extra and use the leftovers to make lunch wraps, or dice it up and put it on pizzas, casseroles, or any other recipe that calls for cubed or shredded chicken. If you make extra ahead of time it's just as easy as canned chicken and has a WAY better flavor and texture (i personally can't get over the "tuna" flavor of canned chicken).

Anyway, one of the recipes I love to use this for the most is Chicken Stuffed Biscuits. It's one of those recipes where you kind of just add whatever amount of stuff you want, but I'll try to estimate here. Just realize you can add more or less of anything as you see fit:

Chicken Stuffed Biscuits

1 to 1 and 1/2 cups Season-All Chicken (small cubes or shredded)

4 to 6 oz shredded cheese (i usually use cheddar)

1 can cream of chicken soup

3-6 T cream cheese (optional)

Sour cream (I like to add a lot ---like 3/4c-1 cup---  to tone down the soup but you can get away with less)

A few dashes each of any or all of the following:

   garlic powder

   black pepper

   curry powder

   lemon juice

1 can of large Pillsbury biscuits (any kind you like- i usually get the flaky ones)

1 to 2 packets of gravy, prepared (I go back and forth between chicken and country- they each add a distinctive flavor so it depends on your mood- but I can't find country gravy in the city so it's been chicken for a while now ;)

Preheat oven according to biscuit directions.
Mix all ingredients together, adding spices to taste.
Divide each biscuit in half and stretch each half slightly.  Place bottom half on baking sheet, fill center with chicken mixture, add the top half of biscuit dough making sure to stretch far enough so you can seal the edges.
Poke 3-4 small holes in top of biscuit using fork or toothpick.  
Bake according to biscuit directions, until golden brown.  Top each biscuit with gravy and serve.

Makes 8 large stuffed biscuits plus some extra filling- so you can make more, add some broccoli and more cheese for a small chicken divan over rice, or add black beans, corn, lime juice, etc to the filling for a small pan of white enchiladas).

**The biscuits save really well for a few days- wrap biscuits in foil and then you can just unwrap them straight onto a baking sheet and reheat for 5-7 minutes in a hot oven.

Menu

Tuesday - Chicken Tortilla Soup

Wednesday - Blue Cheese Spinach Risotto

Thursday - Tex Mex Black Bean Dip (Liz Green's recipes)

Friday - Lasagna (Heather Mason's recipe)

Sunday - Cobb Salad w/ blue cheese dressing, onion rings and vanilla ice cream with balsamic reduction

The tortilla soup is the only recipe I've made before. The Cobb salad is basic. Spring mix, blue cheese crumbles, diced avocados, bacon bits, diced tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and a blue cheese dressing consisting of mixing equal parts mayo and sour cream with a teaspoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and 6 oz of blue cheese.

Tortilla Soup

• 2 cans cooked chicken
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 
  
  

Directions

1. Combine the chicken broth, tomatoes with green chilies, onion, and garlic in a soup pot. Add the chicken. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
2. Add the lime juice, cilantro and cumin. Simmer for 10-15 minutes longer. Serve and enjoy.

Onion Rings

Ingredients

1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk, or as needed

1/2 cup parmesan

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs - Panko bread crumbs

seasoned salt to taste

1 quart oil for frying, or as needed

Directions

1.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

2.

Separate the onion slices into rings, and set aside. Mix flour, baking powder and salt into a plastic gallon bag.

3.

Place onion rings into plastic bag and toss until coated. Set aside. Whisk the egg and buttermilk into the flour mixture using a fork. Dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then place on a wire rack to drain until the batter stops dripping. The wire rack may be placed over a sheet of aluminum foil for easier clean up. Mix bread crumbs and parmesan and place into another plastic gallon bag or into a large tupperware container. Place rings one at a time into the crumbs, and toss to coat. Give it a hard tap as you remove it from the crumbs. The coating should cling very well. Set aside. Repeat with remaining rings.

4.

Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with seasoning salt, and serve.

Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. In medium saucepan over medium-low heat melt butter until foam subsides.
2. Add brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes.
3. Add balsamic vinegar, turn heat to medium high and cook until very thick and bubbly.
4. Serve immediately over ice cream.

Macaroni and Cheese

I think that most people know how to make a basic, homemade mac and cheese, but in case you don't, here is the recipe/method I use:

1 box elbow macaroni or shaped pasta (I like to use tri-color shells)
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheese of choice (cheddar and mozz, parm, swiss)
salt and pepper to taste

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook as per directions on box. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet or saucepan. Add flour and whisk for one minute. Add milk while whisking and cook over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly, about 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat, add cheese(s) and mix until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese to pasta, mix and serve.

Note: Some delicious combinations you can use to jazz this up include mushrooms, onions, and/or bacon. Just saute any/all separately and add it to the finished product.