Massaman Curry

For the longest time, I have thought that my husband hated Thai food. In fact, that is what he told me when we were first married. So I never pressed the matter. We never went to any Thai restaurants and I never attempted to make a Thai dish. A few months ago, our neighbors had us over for dinner and served the most amazing Massaman curry and now he is obsessed with it. We have eaten this curry three times already in the past month. 

There are a few things for this recipe that need to be purchased at an Asian market, although if you have a good international section in your grocery store, you may find them there. I have marked these things with an asterisk. Although you will probably be able to find coconut milk in your local grocery store, you may opt to buy it at an Asian market if you want a more authentic brand. Mae Ploy and Chaokah are some of the best. 

Another great tip that my friend gave me was to make this curry and refrigerate it overnight before serving it. That allows the flavors to more fully penetrate the meat and potatoes - kind of like a marinate. Reheat over the stove or in the oven. 

Preparation time: 30 minutes active, 45-60 minutes passive

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp canola oil

3 Tbsp massaman curry paste* (more, if you want it spicier) 

1 can coconut milk* 

1 - 11/2 lb chicken or beef, cut into chunks

3 Tbsp fish sauce*

3 1/2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate*

1/3 cup roasted peanuts or cashews

2-3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

2 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces

Directions:

Preheat canola oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add Massaman curry paste and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add 1/3 can of coconut milk and continue to cook, stirring frequently for 4-5 minutes. Add meat and cook, stirring, until it is cooked through, then add the rest of the coconut milk and 3/4 can of water.

If using chicken, you can add potatoes and carrots now. If using beef, simmer for 30 minutes or until beef is tender, then add potatoes and carrots.

Add fish sauce, sugar, tamarind concentrate, and nuts. Stir to combine and simmer for 30-45 minutes. If curry sauce is too thick, add a little water. If it is too thin, simmer longer.

Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta and Bacon

This was one of the best meals that my husband and I have had in a long time. For months now, I have been wanting to try some sort of stuffed chicken breasts. There are tons of different recipes out there, but I always imagined that the preparation would be so difficult and time consuming that I wouldn't be able to handle it, especially with a baby that wants to be held constantly. I finally decided to do it and it actually wasn't too bad! I felt like it went pretty well - definitely worth the extra time. The only thing I would change next time is that, rather than trying to pound out the huge chicken breasts that I had, I would first slice them in half (like a hamburger bun) so they were already pretty thin, then pound them out. Even after pounding for quite a while, I feel like I still didn't pound my chicken thin enough.

Prep time: about 1 hour

Serves: 4

2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half and pounded out

2 slices bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

Prepare chicken breasts so that they are thin (about 1/4"). Then, in a medium skillet, cook the bacon. Drain bacon grease from skillet and add tsp olive oil. Saute onion, green onions, and garlic until onion becomes translucent. Remove from skillet and allow mixture to cool.

In a separate bowl, combine bacon, ricotta, Parmesan, spinach, oregano, basil, and parsley. Stir in onion mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon prepared mixture onto the center of chicken breasts. Roll them up and secure them with toothpicks. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet that you used for the bacon and onions mixture. When it has preheated, place the chicken rolls, seam side down, in the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes. Continue to cook, carefully rolling the chicken breasts so all sides are golden brown and fully cooked, another 10 minutes approximately. 

When the chicken is fully cooked, allow it to rest for about 5 minutes, and then slice and serve.

Mandarin Orange Chicken

Another successful Asian recipe! I think I might finally be getting the hang of this Asian stir fry thing! This recipe came from motherthyme.com, a site that I plan to visit frequently now that I have discovered it. Plus, she is really good at photography. The amazing picture definitely helped convince me to make this recipe. The only thing I added to the recipe was more vegetables. I love cooking with fresh veggies! Part of what made it taste so good was that I served it over Coconut Rice, which I will be posting later this week.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 people

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

2 Tbsp prepared orange juice

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp corn starch

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 red pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

1/2 cup sugar snap peas

1/2 cup broccoli

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp hoisin sauce

1 can mandarin oranges with juice

3 Tbsp vinegar

3 Tbsp brown sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place chicken pieces in a medium bowl. Add orange juice, 1/4 cup corn starch, salt and pepper and mix until the chicken is evenly coated.

In a medium skillet, preheat oil over medium heat. When oil begins to glisten, add chicken and stir fry until it is golden brown on all sides. Then add vegetables to skillet and cook until they are tender. Mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and remaining corn starch. Add sauce mixture, mandarin oranges with juice, vinegar, and sugar to skillet. Continue to cook, stirring constantly for another 3 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper to taste.

Spicy Basil Chicken

This is an Asian-inspired dish that I will definitely make again. When I saw the recipe on For the Love of Cooking, I knew that it had to be good (does she even make something that isn't good? I love that blog!) I still wouldn't say that it tastes like something out of a Chinese restaurant, but my husband and I both liked it a lot.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes

2 tsp canola oil

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp hot chili sauce

1 tsp water

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced

Preheat canola oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add green onions and cook, stirring, approximately one minute. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until completely cooked. Then add garlic and cook for another minute.

Combine Oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, water, and cornstarch. Pour mixture over the chicken and cook until the mixture thickens, approximately 1 minute. Then, remove chicken from heat and stir in basil leaves. Serve over rice.

Simple Chicken Cacciatore

There are some recipes that I have heard of dozens of times, but never had myself. I often think of them as  "gourmet" or "fancy." This was one of those recipes. I wanted to cook something Italian and so I decided to make it. Once I read through a couple of recipes completely, I realized that it is pretty much just chicken with spaghetti sauce. There is another recipe by Giada de Laurentiis that is somewhat different and I really want to try it in the future. The sauce completely homemade and it looks really good (and gets great reviews). Still, this one was decent, quick to make, and I would definitely make it again.

Yield: 4 servings

4 chicken breasts

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

1-2 tsp minced garlic

4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cups pasta sauce

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil for about 15 minutes or until it is thoroughly cooked and is crispy and golden on the outside. Add onion and garlic during the last five minutes of cooking. Then add remaining ingredients and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Serve over spaghetti, prepared according to directions on the package.

Hawaiian Haystacks

This seems to be a pretty common recipe among people that I know. My mom made it when I was growing up, and just a few months ago, my mother-in-law made it too. I am sure that it actually has no ties to Hawaii, it is fun to make and to eat. I would definitely recommend it. Although I have it labelled as a "slow cooker," my mom never made the sauce that way, she just did it in a sauce pan over the stove. This is also an easy one to adapt to the number of people that you are serving. It can be made as a small dinner for two, or it can  be expanded to serve dozens of people.

Recipe Yield: about 4 servings

1 chicken breast

1 can cream of chicken soup

Milk

Rice

Toppings:

coconut tidbits

olives

peas

diced celery

shredded carrots

cheddar cheese

raisins

pineapple

green or red peppers

mandarin oranges

chow mien noodles

sliced green onion

cashews

... or anything else that strikes your fancy 

If you use a slow cooker for this meal, place the chicken breast and the chicken soup in the slow cooker and  cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken. Add milk to your desired consistency. If you like more sauce compared to chicken, simply add another can of cream of chicken soup.

To prepare this over the stove, cook the chicken and cut into cubes. Then heat chicken soup and about 1/2 cup milk over medium heat. Then add chicken cubes.

Everyone gets to assemble their own dish. Begin with rice; pour sauce over top and then pile on the toppings. 

Crock Pot Chicken with Bacon and Havarti

This was another recipe that I tried because it allowed me to experiment with a new kind of cheese that I had never used before. I liked the flavor of the Havarti cheese, although next time I might just use Swiss, which was also presented as an option in the original recipe. Although this recipe got really good reviews on the about.com website, I wasn't too impressed. It tasted good, but it was very similar to a lot of other recipes that I have tried in the past, which was kind of a disappointment for me.

5 slices bacon
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
10 oz can cream of chicken or mushroom soup or 10 oz jar Alfredo sauce
6 oz fresh mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Swiss or Havarti cheese

In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Crumble and set aside. Brown chicken in the leftover bacon grease. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way through. Place chicken in a slow cooker and top with mushrooms and onion. Pour soup or Alfredo sauce over everything and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Before serving, sprinkle cheese and bacon over top and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Chicken and Rice

This is another super simple dinner that my mom often made when I was growing up. She didn't usually fry the chicken first, from what I can remember, but I thought it was a nice touch. The chicken is always good - tender and moist - but my favorite part by far is the rice. It has such a great flavor. I love the texture too. So I guess this is kind of a comfort food for me. One thing to remember is that this dinner needs to be prepared in advance - it only takes a few minutes to put it together but it bakes for nearly two hours! Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups rice (not instant)

9 pieces chicken

3 cans cream soups (usually cream of chicken and cream of mushroom)

1 cup milk

Mix soups, milk and rice together and spread in a 9x13" pan. Top with chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

*Optional: coat the chicken with a thin layer of flour and fry in olive oil so that the surface is crispy and golden. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way through. 

General Tso Chicken

One of my friends recently published this recipe on facebook. She just raved about how great it was, so I definitely had to try it. It was a yummy dinner that didn't take too long to make. I also appreciated the fact that I didn't have to go out and buy any expensive specialized ingredients. The only thing is that I have yet to find a recipe for a single Chinese dish that actually tastes like the things I get when I go to a Chinese restaurant. Still, I wouldn't be nervous about making this one for other people. I liked it and so did my husband (who is ultra-discriminating about food, even though he claims that he isn't).

1 lb chicken breast, cut into small pieces

Flour

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp water

4 green onions, sliced

Preheat a wok or skillet with vegetable oil over medium heat. Cover chicken in flour and fry until golden brown. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne pepper over chicken and turn heat to low. 

In a saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger, and heat gently. When sugar has dissolved and sauce is at the point of boiling, slowly add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce has reached your desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onions. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Tomato Basil Penne with Chicken

I really like making pasta and "Italian" food for dinner, but sometimes the traditional red sauce or white sauce recipes get kind of old. I was looking for something interesting I could make with penne pasta and I stumbled upon a recipe that looked really good. I made a couple of changes to the recipe to make it my own. It was really good and VERY easy to make. It only took about 20 minutes total. I would recommend this recipe to anyone - especially those busy people who want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, but still appreciate good food.

8 oz penne pasta, prepared according to directions on box

3 Tbsp olive oil, divided

3 tsp minced garlic

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (more if desired)

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp minced fresh basil

1 1/2 lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

Chef Todd's seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Cook chicken, seasoning with Chef Todd's seasoning until the meat is thoroughly cooked and begins to turn golden brown on the outside.

Then, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook garlic, stirring, for approximately 1 minute. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cheeses. When they begin to melt, stir in cooked penne pasta and chicken. Season with fresh basil.

Spanish Fried Chicken

Occasionally my husband cooks food that he used to eat when he was in Spain. He said that this is a common dish that people cooked for him in Spain. They have Italian bread crumbs in Spain, but apparently they are more flavorful than the ones we can buy here, so if you make this, try adding some extra Italian seasoning to the mix. When I first tried this dinner, I said "this chicken would be great on a sandwich." My hubby said that he thought the same thing when he had it for the first time, but they just don't eat sandwiches like that in Spain. He served this with salad and Tortilla de Patata. 

Chicken breasts

Eggs

Italian bread crumbs

Olive Oil

Prepare chicken breasts by cutting them into thin slices - approximately 1/4-1/2" thick. Beat eggs in a bowl. Dip chicken in egg and then coat with Italian bread crumbs. Preheat an electric skillet to the highest heat and pour a thin layer of olive oil into pan. Fry chicken breasts in oil, replenishing oil throughout cooking as needed. 

Chicken Taquitos

I have never made taquitos before, but I really wanted to make something Mexican for dinner a few days ago. My husband was late coming home from work so I decided to do this all by myself (which is actually pretty rare - we do a lot of the cooking together). I started by cooking the chicken and got it all seasoned and browned. It tasted great. When I went to get out the tortillas, I realized that I needed corn tortillas - not the flour tortillas that we had in the fridge - so I had to take a break and go to the store. I also considered making the tortillas myself because we did that all the time in Honduras, but to no avail. I think I threw away our corn flour when we moved here. But still, these tasted awesome. They were fun to eat and even more exciting knowing that I made them myself.

1 lb chicken, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup green bell pepper

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

3/4 cup white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
corn tortillas
canola oil

Preheat a medium sized frying pan on medium-high heat with about a tablespoon of canola oil. Add garlic and let it cook for 20-30 seconds, then add onion and peppers. Cook until the peppers are soft and the onion is somewhat translucent, 3-4 minutes, then add the chicken pieces and lime juice. Season with cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, and pepper while it is cooking. Cook chicken until the edges begin to get golden brown and a little crispy.

Preheat the oven to 425° and wrap 10-15 tortillas in a damp paper towel. microwave them for about a minute to soften them. Prepare a baking sheet by brushing canola oil onto it (cooking spray works too). Place a line of cheese and then a bit of the chicken on top of each tortilla. Roll and place them on the baking sheet with the seam side down. Brush more canola oil over each tortilla. Bake for 6-7 minutes; turn them over and bake for another 5-6 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Serve with salsa,  guacamole, or any other preferred topping or sauce.

Dutch Oven Chicken and Potatoes

We went camping with some friends a couple of weeks ago and I was in charge of making our dinner one of the nights. After completely charring tin foil dinners the first night - and being forced to eat pizza at a restaurant down the road so that we wouldn't starve - everyone was pretty nervous that this dinner wouldn't taste good. Thankfully it turned out amazing. It was almost as good as when my aunt made it a few months ago. Because we were using the other pan to make dessert, we made the chicken and potatoes in a single dutch oven, even though they should really be made in two separate ovens in order to maintain separate flavors. 

Chicken:

2-3 lb chicken, cut into large chunks

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp poultry seasoning

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 tsp salt

Olive Oil

additional salt and pepper to taste

Mix flour and spices in a gallon ziplock bag. This can be done before you leave to go camping. Place chicken in ziplock bag and shake until it is evenly coated and prepared for cooking.

Prepare dutch oven by heating with coals (or it can be done over a fire or grill for less mess). Pour olive oil in 12" dutch oven so it is approximately 1/4" high. Once it is hot, add chicken and cook until it begins to brown. Cover oven so it will cook faster, turning chicken every 5-10 minutes. Should cook in 40 -50 min. maximum.

Potatoes:

2-3 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 

1 cup flour

2 tsp garlic

1 tsp onion powder

1 onion

1/2 green pepper

1 package real bacon bits

Salt (lots) and pepper to taste

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix flour, garlic, and onion powder in a gallon ziplock bag. Place potatoes in bag and shake until they are completely coated.

Prepare dutch oven to approximately the same temperature and with the same amount of oil as the chicken. Begin to cook the potatoes, onion, and green pepper, adding considerable salt and pepper as they cook. Cover with lid, but continue to turn them every 5-10 minutes. When they are completely cooked, pour in a can of cream of chicken soup and bacon bits. Stir together and sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Cover with lid for 5 minutes or less to allow the cheese to melt.

Picante Chicken

This is a great recipe that my mom made a lot when I was younger. A few years ago I tried to make it myself using a new type of salsa that was on sale. Big Mistake. If you make this recipe, only use a salsa that you trust. Because the salsa gives it most of its flavor, using a new type of salsa will give it a flavor that you don't recognize and maybe don't even like. Having learned that lesson, I recently made this recipe again and, thank goodness, it tasted just as good as when my mom used to make it for me.

2-3 lb chicken, left whole or cut into pieces depending on preference

1 cup white rice 

2 tsp oil

1 cup salsa (I use medium Picante brand)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion

2 cups chicken broth

1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced ripe olives

Preheat skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add broth and salsa and bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Arrange chicken over rice and cover tightly. Simmer 20 minutes, then remove from the heat. Leave cover in place and let stand until all of the liquid is absorbed - about 5 minutes. Garnish with tomato, cheese, and olives.

Asian Style Cashew Chicken

This is a variation of a Rachael Ray recipe from the cookbook 365:No Repeats. It tasted pretty good, and I am proud that I was able to make a somewhat Asian-style recipe without completely screwing it up, but I don't really know if I would make it again. I just haven't really mastered the art of making good Asian food. Anyway, here is the recipe - and I am happy to report that I now know what duck sauce is and it turns out that I have eaten it before.

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, 1/4 finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup brown rice
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 1/2 lb chicken, cut into pieces
Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste
3 tsp minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 pkg asian style stir fry vegetables
1/3 cup tamari (dark, aged soy sauce)
1/2 cup duck sauce
1 cup cashews

In a medium pot over medium heat, combine 1 Tbsp of the vegetable oil and butter. When the butter melts into the oil,add the chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes, then add the rice and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the stock and cover the pot. Raise the heat to bring the stock to a rapid boil. Once the stock boils, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, 17-18 minutes

While the rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, then the chicken. Season the chicken with steak seasoning. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, the garlic, bell peppers, and other vegetables. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then mix the vegetables and meat together. Season the stir fry with tamari and duck sauce. Add the cashews and cilantro and serve over the brown rice.

Swiss Chicken

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in an activity with other women who attend my church. The activity was entitled "Freezer Dinners." We all got together and assembled 5 simple recipes that we could take home and leave in our freezers until we were ready to use them for dinner. It took less than a half hour for me to assemble all of mine. Although I wasn't a big fan of most of them, I actually liked this one so I will include it here for future reference.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup apple juice
1 package chicken stuffing mix
1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

Place chicken in 9x13" pan - use a foil pan if you plan to freeze it rather than bake it immediately. Place a slice of cheese over each piece of chicken. Combine soup and apple juice in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cover pan with foil if it is to be frozen.

If dinner has been frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350° and remove foil. Mix stuffing with butter and cover chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour or until internal temperature is 165° F.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is one that my husband loves from his childhood. Of course every time we make it we have to do something a little differently. This time we added onions, which apparently aren't in the original recipe, but the sauce base is really delicious. You could actually add a number of different ingredients and it would be great. The original recipe says that the recipe is also really good with pureed peaches or apricots, although I have never tried either of those things.

 1 can pineapple (with juice)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 green sweet pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped (a can of diced tomatoes would also work)
1/4 cup corn starch
1 lb chicken, pork, or meatballs
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except corn starch in a medium pan. Cook until peppers are tender. Mix corn starch with a tiny bit of cold water and add to sauce. Stir until it has thickened.

Chicken Farfalle with Feta Cheese

 

A few weeks ago I got another cookbook at the thrift store. It is called PASTA. This recipe is based on a recipe from that book, with a few alterations. This is definitely one I will make again often.

1 lb chicken pieces, cooked with garlic, salt and pepper

6 oz farfalle pasta

1 tsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

10 Grape tomatoes, halved
4 oz feta cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
Salt and Pepper  to taste
Black olives

Cook pasta according to directions on the package. In the same pan, heat the garlic in olive oil for about 1 minute, then add tomatoes. Toss olive oil in spaghetti and season with salt, pepper, and basil. Top with feta cheese and black olives.

Kung Pao Chicken

I have attempted a few times to make chinese food and have even posted my recipes. I thought they all tasted pretty good except for the fact that they were VERY salty (which I may or may not have mentioned in my notes about the dinner). So I did a little more research and found out that there are different kinds of soy sauce. The normal soy sauce that you buy in the store is a very salty one. I was actually using a store brand rather than name brand so I'm not sure if that was part of the problem. So I went to 1st Oriental Market, the Asian food store we have here in Orem, and bought dark soy sauce, like the recipes were actually calling for (and I didn't know the difference). Mine actually is called Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce, and according to my research I believe that all "dark" soy sauces are mushroom flavored. I think you could also try using a reduced sodium soy sauce and it would also be less salty, but I'm not sure because I haven't tried it. So let me know if you have any experience with that. I got this recipe from www.chinesefood-recipes.com and it was really good. A few people who tried it thought it was too spicy, so what I would do to fix that is just to use a few less dried chilies; maybe 6 or 5 rather than 8. So I would consider this recipe to be my first successful experience with Chinese food but I will keep working on it until I feel like I have really mastered it.


3/4 lb. chicken, boned and skinned
2 tbsps. oyster sauce
2 1/2 tbsps. cooking oil
8 small dried red chilies
4 tsps. minced garlic
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1−inch squares
1 can (8 oz.) bamboo shoots, sliced and drained
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup roasted peanuts (I used cashews)

Sauce:
3 tbsps. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsps. hoisin sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsps. chili garlic sauce
2 tsps. sugar

1. Cut chicken into 1−inch pieces. Marinade chicken with oyster sauce in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil, swirling to coat sides. Add chilies and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
4. Add chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove chicken and chilies from wok.
5. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to wok, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add celery, bell pepper, and bamboo shoots; stir fry for 1 1/2 minutes.
6. Return chicken and chilies to wok; stir fry for 1 minute. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens. Add peanuts (or cashews) and stir to coat.

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

I had never made lasagna from scratch before I decided to make this one. It started out as only an idea for a combination of flavors. I didn't even have a recipe! Needless to say, I learned a lot about putting together a lasagna, and found out that it wasn't as intimidating as I had imagined. One thing I learned is that I only needed to make about half of the box of lasagna noodles, or do more layers of lasagna (which would require more of the other ingredients). My husband loved this dinner and was very eager to eat leftovers, which there were quite a lot of because I made a whole 9x13 pan and there are only 2 of us. This lasagna also freezes well.

Lasagna noodles
Alfredo Sauce, double the recipe (4-6 cups total)
1/2-1 lb sliced mushrooms
Fresh spinach
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 lb chicken, cooked and shredded or cut into small pieces


Begin by preparing lasagna noodles according to directions on the package. While noodles are boiling, make alfredo sauce and set out all ingredients for ease of assembly. Generously oil the bottom of a 9x13 (or 10x18) baking dish. Drain the noodles but do not rinse them. Cover bottom of pan with noodles. Layer chicken, alfredo sauce, mushooms, spinach, then lightly sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over top. Repeat layers until pan is full. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350° 20-30 minutes. You may want to cover with foil for the first 15-20 minutes to melt the cheese and then uncover for the last 10 min. to brown it. Let the lasagna stand 10 minutes before serving.