Cashew Chicken--3 out of 4 of us enjoyed. Beth was not a big fan.

SLOW COOKER CASHEW CHICKEN

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 2 HOURS, 35 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 2 HOURS, 45 MINUTES

A Chinese takeout favorite made right in your crockpot. All you need is 10 min prep. Doesn’t get easier or healthier than that!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 green onions, sliced

FOR THE SAUCE

• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the sauce, whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 2 minutes.
4. Place chicken into a slow cooker. Stir in soy sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 hours. Stir in cashews and cook on low heat for an additional 15 minutes.
    Coupons
5. Serve immediately, garnished with green onions, if desired.

See a Honey BBQ Ribs Recipe

Adapted from The Recipe Critic.

http://damndelicious.net/2014/10/27/slow-cooker-cashew-chicken/

Chicken Marinade

The BEST Chicken Marinade 

Prep time Total time
45 mins 55 mins
Look no further for the Best Chicken Marinade recipe ever! This easy chicken marinade recipe is going to quickly become your favorite go-to marinade! This marinade produces so much flavor and keeps the chicken incredibly moist and outrageously delicious - try it today!
Author: Trish - Mom On Timeout Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar (or other vinegar) 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1⁄8 cup lemon juice
3⁄4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp Dijon or Spicy Brown mustard
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
6 chicken breasts or 3.5 lb chicken
Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients, except for chicken, in a large Pyrex measuring cup or mixing bowl and whisk together. 2. Place chicken in a large, ziploc bag and pour marinade over the top. Close securely.
3. Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
To grill

1. Preheat grill to medium high heat and lightly oil the grates.
   
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off.
   
3. Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Baste the chicken occasionally with the leftover
   marinade.
   
4. Remove chicken from grill and tent with foil. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving
   

Optional.
1. If you bring the remaining marinade up to a boil, let simmer until slightly reduced, it makes a wonderful sauce to go on top of the chicken.
Notes
I've marinated my chicken for as few as 30 minutes and the chicken was still phenomenal. Basically, the longer you have to marinate the better but don't worry if you don't have a lot of time.
Recipe by Mom On Timeout at http://www.momontimeout.com/2016/05/the-best-chicken-marinade-recipe/ 

Muffins

Monday, October 7, 2013

Blueberry Muffin Standoff!

I've had a bag of Namaste Perfect Flour Blend in my cupboard for a few weeks unsure of what to make with it.  Gluten free mixes can be tricky and I hate wasting entire batches of baked goods, so I avoided making anything with it.  I LOVE Namaste Pancake & Waffle mix, which is why I trusted the brand enough to try their all purpose flour.  I wanted some easy snacks for school and for the kids so I decided to make muffins - and it hit me, time to pit flour against flour and have a muffin standoff.  

I'd like to take a moment to point out my husband's face trying to eat a muffin hands-free (he was actually just trying to ruin the photo - joke is on you sucker, I'm publishing the pic!) and my cooking partner playing with a mini food processor (blade removed) and emptying every drawer and cupboard in the kitchen!  

Let's start with the recipe I used...

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil - feel free to melt and use coconut oil
1/3 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups frozen (don’t thaw them) blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375F and line muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold gently until almost combined; add the berries and stir just until blended.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch. Makes about 1 dozen muffins or 24 mini muffins (requires same bake time).

The Results Are In!

The photo above shows the gluten free muffins on the left and the regular flour muffins on the right.  I was shocked by how little difference there was between the muffins, and actually preferred the gluten free ones - they seemed less cake-y.  The real test is that my kids ages 1,3,5,8,11 & 12 didn't notice the difference at all.  Thumbs up to the all purpose gluten free mix!  

Next time I will make a control batch vs a vegan batch.... that should be interesting!

http://onlyfitinjustenough.blogspot.com/2013/10/blueberry-muffin-standoff.html

Nicole-- I have a batch of these in the oven right now.  Hopefully my kids won't be able to tell the difference.  I used Namaste flour blend and raspberries instead of blueberries.

Really Big Biscuits

Really Big (Really Delicious) Biscuits

MARCH 15, 2012

I shared this recipe before at myrecipes.com, but since it is a favorite at our house, I wanted to add it here too.  Nothing jazzes up a simple meal of soup or salad more than a batch of fresh biscuits.   Here’s a hint to make biscuit-making even quicker.  Shape your biscuit dough into a nice rectangle, patting the edges to make them as straight as possible.  Then use a pizza cutter to cut square biscuits.  There’s no waste, no need to re-roll the dough.   Thirty seconds, and they’re ready to go into the oven.  Easy peasy.

Makes 16 biscuits

Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2/3 cup cold butter
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Using a box grater, shred cold butter into the mixture and stir to distribute evenly throughout the dry ingredients.  Pour the milk into a 2 cup measuring cup and add vinegar.  Milk will begin to curdle a bit.  Voila– fake buttermilk!  Pour milk mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring just until dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 15 times.  Shape dough into a rectangle and roll it to 1-inch thickness.  Pat edges smooth with your fingers, and cut into squares with a pizza cutter.  Brush excess flour off biscuits and place them on an ungreased baking sheet.   Bake until edges begin to brown, about 13-15 minutes.  Serve hot.

reposted from owlhaven.net

Update: 2/17/2017  My kids LOVE these and Grandpa Taylor said "Don't lose that recipe."

Pork Chops

Six Sisters' Stuff

Serves: 5-6

The Best Pork Chop Marinade

Looking for the best pork chop marinade? Well, look no further! This recipe leaves your pork so juicy, tender, and full of amazing flavor!

8 minPrep Time 

16 minCook Time 

24 minTotal Time 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless pork chops (about 4-6 chops)

Instructions

1. In a gallon-sized resealable bag, add the soy sauce, chili sauce, honey, vegetable oil, green onion, and curry powder and mix until completely combined (I just use my hands and squish it all around in the bag until it's all mixed).
2. Add in the pork chops, then seal the bag. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but I highly recommend letting them marinade for 6-8 hours (or even overnight!).
3. Remove bag from fridge, place pork chops on grill over medium high heat and discard marinade. Grill for 6-8 minutes on each side or until the insides of the pork chops are no longer pink.
4. Enjoy!

Recipe Type: Main Dish

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2015/06/the-best-pork-chop-marinade.html

Six Sisters Stuff

Kettle Corn

How To Make Kettle Corn at Home

Makes 6 to 8 servings (About 10 cups)

What You Need

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil, like coconut oil, canola oil, or other vegetable oil
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/4 to 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, to taste
1 teaspoon salt

Equipment
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
4-quart sauce pot with lid
Long-handled spoon for stirring

Instructions

1. Prep the baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment and set it near the stove. You will pour the popped corn out onto this sheet to cool.
2. Warm the oil: Pour the oil into the pot and drop three kernels of corn over the top. These three kernels will be your indicator for when the oil is hot. Cover with the lid and set over medium-high heat.
3. Add the corn kernels, sugar, and salt: When you hear one of the kernels pop, uncover the pot and pour in the rest of the kernels, sugar, and salt. Use 1/4 cup of sugar if you like slightly sweet kettle corn and more if you like sweeter. Quickly stir everything together to coat all the kernels and replace the lid.
4. Shake the pan while the popcorn pops: Shake the pan occasionally as the popcorn starts to pop, and then more frequently and vigorously as the popping increases. Rest the pot on the burner every few seconds to maintain the heat.→ Some wisps of steam toward the end of popping are normal — don't confuse this with smoke! However, if you smell smoke, stop popping and proceed with the next steps.
5. Remove from heat when popping slows: Listen closely — when you hear the popping begin to slow, 1 to 2 seconds between pops, remove the pan from heat. Don't wait for every kernel to pop or you'll end up burning the popcorn; as soon as you think it might be starting to slow down, take it off the heat. Total popping time is about 2 to 3 minutes on my electric stove.
6. Pour the popcorn onto the baking sheet: When the popping slows, immediately uncover the pot and pour the popcorn on the prepared baking sheet. Use the long-handled spoon and your fingers to spread the popcorn into an even layer to cool and pick out any burnt pieces (there are always a few in every batch!).
7. Cool the Popcorn: Let the kettle corn cool for at least five minutes — the popcorn will crisp as it cools. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container for several days.

Recipe Notes

• Cleaning the pan: Unless you have a Whirley Pop popcorn maker, I've found that you'll always get some burnt sugar on the bottom of the pan. This is normal. To clean the pan, follow these instructions.
• Kettle corn with other sugars: Kettle corn is usually made with plain old white granulated sugar, but this shouldn't stop you from experimenting! Try any other granulated sugar, like turbinado or muscavado, or experiment with liquid sweeteners, like honey and maple syrup.
• Unpopped kernels: Look out for unpopped kernels, which can get stuck to in the clusters and give your molars a nasty shock when you bite down. This is a good candidate for this trick for separating out unpopped kernels.

Copied from http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kettle-corn-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-192917

Spinach Salad

Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Serves 4 to 6 as a side salad

1 pint strawberries
1/2 cup almonds (or smoked almonds)
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
5 to 8 ounces baby spinach (4 to 5 lightly packed cups)
2 to 4 tablespoons poppy seed salad dressing, store-bought or homemade

Hull and then cut the strawberries into thin slices. If your almonds aren't already toasted, toast them at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until darkened and very fragrant; cool briefly before tossing with salad. (Or not! Warm nuts would be very tasty in this salad.) Set aside a few of the prettiest strawberry slices, a few almonds, and some of the goat cheese to sprinkle over the top of the salad.

Transfer the spinach to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle a tablespoon of the poppy seed dressing over the greens and toss gently to coat. Continue adding tablespoons of dressing as needed until the greens are all evenly slicked with dressing. Gently toss the sliced strawberries, almonds, and goat cheese with the spinach.

Transfer the salad to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the reserved strawberries, almonds, and goat cheese over the top, along with one last drizzle of dressing.

Posted from http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-spinach-strawberry-salad-with-poppy-seed-dressing-side-dish-recipes-from-the-kitchn-218596