Crock Pot Cashew Chicken

I miss my Chinese restaurant here in town and I am not a fan of buffets so I avoid my only other option.  When I picked up cashews on sale I thought of using some for cashew chicken but I needed a recipe.  I found three but I didn't have all the ingredients from each so I worked out my own recipe which turned out great.

3 chicken breasts, cubed
soy sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
green onions, sliced - optional
cashews

Cut up chicken breasts then sprinkle with soy sauce and let marinade while preparing sauce.

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.

In frying pan brown chicken breast cubes for about 2 minutes per side.  Place chicken in crock pot and pour sauce over chicken.  Add chopped green onions if desired.  Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.  Serve over rice and sprinkle with cashews.

Sweet and Sour Jam

Steve's Mom has a cherry, apricot and two apple trees.  We were able to get cherries and apricots and have to see what comes of the apples.  I was looking for different ways to use apricots and stumbled upon this recipe.  I love sweet and sour chicken!  I keep saying that I love this or I love that but I really should say I love food!!!  I did make a couple of changes by not using habaneros, shallots, cherry tomatoes and cilantro.  I didn't have any of those so I used jalapenos, green onions and a tomato minus the seeds.  There wasn't any heat when I used the jam on the chicken so next time I think I will leave a few jalapeno seeds in.

2 jalapenos, minus seeds unless you like heat
3 cups fresh apricots, pitted and chopped
1 cup green onions, sliced into thin slivers
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
1/4 cup tomatoes, minus seeds, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
6 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon butter

9 sterilized half-pint canning jars with lids and rings

Wearing rubber gloves and avoiding touching your eyes or face, seed and mince the jalapeno peppers. Place the jalapenos, apricots, green onions, green and red bell pepper, pineapple, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice into a large pot over medium heat, and stir in the pectin until dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, and mix in the white and brown sugars, stirring until completely dissolved. Return the jam to a full rolling boil, add the butter to reduce foaming, and boil hard for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Turn off heat, and skim and discard any foam that forms on the jam. Pack the jam into the sterilized jars up to 1/8 of the rim and top each with a sterilized lid and ring.
 
Simmer the filled jars in a boiling water bath for 25* minutes, then remove the jars and listen for the popping sound. Let jars cool completely.

*25 minutes is for my elevation 5800 ft.  I consulted the packaging with the pectin which told me how to adjust my time.

I opted out of breading my chicken, you could use pork, to cut down on the calories but you can bread if you like using this recipe.  I cut up my chicken into bite-size pieces and then spooned jam over chicken.  Toss chicken to coat and bake at 325 for 1 hour. 

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

I got this recipe from http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/

Southwest Egg Rolls

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained

4 green onions, chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Mix well to blend. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place ¼ cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with salsa.

Baked Cream Cheese Wontons

I have always eaten these with Sweet and Sour sauce and they are great.  Tonight I tried them with Jamie's Pomegranate Jalapeno Jelly and they were delish!  Since we don't have Jamie's Jalapeno Jelly recipe here is mine.

Wonton wrappers
Cream cheese
Pam

Preheat oven to 425.  Place a small amount of cream cheese in the center of the wonton wrapper.  Moisten edges with water and fold as directed in the picture below.  Place on a baking sheet coated with Pam.  Lightly spray wontons with Pam.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Chow Mein

2lb. pork steak
1 1/2 c. onion
1 1/2c. celery
1 Sm. can mushrooms
1 c. cold water
1 c. hot water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 can Bean sprouts
1 Sm. can water chestnuts
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 Tbsp. cornstarch

Brown meat; add onions, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until onions turn yellow. Add salt, pepper, and hot water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Combine corn starch, cold water and soy sauce; add to meat mixture. Cook for 10 minutes. Just before serving add Bean sprouts and water chestnuts; heat until entire mixture is hot.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I love sweet and sour chicken and this recipe is so easy. Sorry I can't give you exact measurements I just make what will feed the crowd that I am serving.

Chicken
Flour
Eggs, beaten
Oil
LaChoy Sweet & Sour Sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Dip chicken into flour and then in to egg. Fry until brown. Place in an oven safe dish. Pour sweet and sour sauce over chicken. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken

Jamie found this recipe online at All Recipes. I found it a little to spicy for my palate but those that like spicy food enjoyed it.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
2 tablespoons white wine - we omitted
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2
tablespoons water
1 ounce hot chile paste
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts
4 ounces chopped peanuts

To Make Marinade: Combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Place chicken pieces in a glass dish or bowl and add marinade. Toss to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together and add green onion, garlic, water chestnuts and peanuts. In a medium skillet, heat sauce slowly until aromatic.

Meanwhile, remove chicken from marinade and saute in a large skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. When sauce is aromatic, add sauteed chicken to it and let simmer together until sauce thickens.

Chicken Rice Bowl

I took this recipe off of Favorite Family Recipes and made alterations to work for us.

1 bottle Mr. Yoshida's Sweet Teriyaki Original Gourmet sauce
3 chicken breasts - I had the butcher block cut these up into bite size pieces
1 head broccoli, florets only, cut into bite size pieces
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 c. celery, sliced (optional)
1/4 c. red pepper, finely chopped - I omitted
1 tsp ginger - I didn't have fresh so I used ground ginger and sprinkled some on
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes - I just sprinkled some on
4 c. white rice, cooked

Marinade chicken with Mr. Yoshida's, at least of 15 minutes. While meat is marinating cut up vegetables. Heat wok, pour in marinade and chicken. Cook until chicken is cooked through then remove. Now stir fry broccoli, zucchini, carrots, red pepper, celery, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes in a little bit of the Yoshida's sauce until all veggies become tender. Serve by layering 1 cup of rice in each bowl, 1/4 of the veggies and 1/4 of the chicken. Serve with sauce if needed.

Chicken Lo Mein

2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules (or 2 cubes)
2 cups boiling water
8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into long,thin slices
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 can water chestnut, chopped
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup frozen green pea, thawed and drained
1 carrot, shredded
8 ounces thin spaghetti, cooked and drained

Dissolve broth granules in boiling water in small saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup broth mixture into large skillet. Let remaining liquid in saucepan cool. Bring mixture in skillet to boiling. Add chicken and simmer 5 minutes, until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken with slotted spoon to platter. Pour off liquid from skillet.
Stir soy and cornstarch in small bowl until smooth. Stir into remaining cooled broth in saucepan. Heat oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger; cook 30 seconds, stirring. Add all veggies; cook, stirring 2-3 minutes until veggies are crisp-tender. Add chicken and pasta; toss 2 minutes until heated through. Stir cornstarch mixture in saucepan; add to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened. Top with additional sliced green onion if desired.