Recipes

I have some new recipes that I have tried and loved! I am going to post each one separately. With the chicken, my sister loved it so much she wanted me to make it again the next night. I told her, maybe the end of the week! I hope you enjoy them!

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate
{AKA Cinnamon Bun Popcorn!} (from Best Bites)

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 C roughly chopped pecans (I left this out for the kids)
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, anything works, but I prefer a "natural" flavor that's low in butter and salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. And by large bowl, I mean like, twice as big as you think you really need.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. Again, use a bowl larger than you think you need to avoid scorching hot caramel. It's really important to incorporate the cinnamon into the brown sugar at this point. For some reason, if you don't it does crazy things. I don't know why.

Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.

Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

By this point it should be nice and bubbly.

If it doesn't quite look like that you can microwave it a little longer, but just beware that if you over cook it, it will reach the hard candy stage and you'll end up with a giant clump of tasty concrete-like substance with little popcorn pieces stuck to it.

Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda.

The vanilla makes it bubble and pop and the baking soda makes it foam up. SO COOL!

Now take that foamy science project and pour it right over the popcorn and pecans-if using. Stir right away, and stir lots. Take too long and the caramel will harden on you. Keep stirring until everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.

And yeah, go ahead and pop some in your mouth, you know you want to. It will be kinda chewy and stick-to-your-teeth-like. But we're gonna change that. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take a piece out and let it cool. "Sample." If it's not crunchy enough, bake for another 5 minutes. "Sample" again. This will not be the end of "sampling."

When it's done, give it a final stir and let it cool off for a bit while you melt your almond bark (just nuke it in the microwave according to the package directions) If you want, you can spread out your caramel corn on a clean piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil. I always do this because sometimes it sticks to the hot foil if I leave it on the original pan. I'm kind of a clean control freak and I like to have it on a nice, fresh surface.

Now, just use a fork and drizzle the melted almond bark over the popcorn mixture.

When it's hardened (pop it in the fridge to speed that process along) break into chunks and enjoy!

Sticky Coconut Chicken

This is the one my sister loved:

Sticky Coconut Chicken
(by: My kitchen café)

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used chicken tenders and they worked well)
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour (I let mine marinade four about four to five hours). Grill on barbecue. (Tenders only a few minutes on each side- they cook fast!)

Glaze:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
(this sauce is VERY strong and you might think it stinks - but do not worry it is a glaze and yummy on the chicken)

While the chicken is grilling, bring above ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat! Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.

Sidenote: I used the extra coconut milk left in the can as part of the liquid in my rice and it was unbelievable! It was very mildly sweet and paired so well with the chicken. Yum! The RICE WAS AWESOME with the coconut milk in it!!

Simple Asian Noodles

Simple Asian Noodles
And I mean simple. It was so fast to make we had to wait on the side dishes to cook!
*Serves 4-6

12 ounces thin spaghetti, fresh Chinese noodles or rice noodles (I used angel hair pasta)
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 pound ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 ½ teaspoons Thai red curry paste
8 ounces white button mushrooms, finely chopped (I used more and I thought it went better)
Sesame seed oil (I forgot this ingredient)

Sauce:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar

In a small bowl, whisk all of the sauce ingredients together to combine. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring lightly salted water to a boil (I use about 1 tablespoon kosher/coarse salt for 4 quarts of water). Add the thin spaghetti (or whatever kind of noodle you are using) and cook until desired tenderness. Drain and set aside.

While the noodles are boiling, in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until rippling. Add the mushrooms and Thai curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are nicely browned but not all the way cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook it with the garlic, mushrooms and curry paste until the turkey is cooked through.

Add the cooked noodles and with a pair of tongs, lift and separate the noodles and incorporate them with the other ingredients. Pour the sauce over the noodle mixture and again, lift the ingredients up and over with a pair of tongs to coat all the ingredients with the sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until the noodles have absorbed all the flavors and all the ingredients are heated through. If desired, drizzle lightly with Asian sesame seed oil to finish. Serve immediately.

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

Baked Asparagus OR Broccoli with Balsamic Butter Sauce

1 bunch fresh asparagus
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. butter
1 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Snap ends off of washed asparagus (why haven't I done this before so easy!!!!) and place on baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes or until tender. Melt the butter in a sauce pan or in the microwave. Stir in soy sauce and Balsamic vinegar. Pour over baked asparagus and serve.

OR use broccoli and steam it and add the last 4 ingredients - YUMMY for any Asian dinner! And I mean YUMMY!

This is now my favorite way to eat asparagus!!

Cleaning, watching kids and sickness

The TITLE says it all. This last week I moved up to the Big House (My sis and parents) to watch 7 kids (two of my own- ages 18, 14, 9, 8, 4, 3 and 1), chickens, ducks, bunnies and 2 dogs. My sis and her hubby went to Mexico on a 7 day vacation and at the same time my parents went to Arizona for my grandma's 94 Birthday and left John and me high and dry with 7 kids and the farm! But it didn't stop there, everyday someone different got the stomach flu and puked! I cleaned, nursed, cooked, cleaned, did homework, and cleaned some more. John and I finally got the sickness on Sunday and my niece had to take care of everyone. Good thing it only lasts 24 hours. But that was my life for the last 7 days. Crazy, but it sure makes you grateful for good health!

Mama and her babies

#1 reason I am glad I don't live in scorpion region. My sister-in-law sent me this picture. It was in a family members backyard. I don't think I would even take a picture I would be yelling and screaming to KILL it!

Here are some facts on the picture: The mom is an inch long and it surprisingly had babies 2 weeks ago...29 of them. Except now they think the Mom ate a couple of them. YUCK!!