PF Chang Lettuce Wraps and Fried Rice

 4 servings

LETTUCE WRAPS 

prep and cook time 20 min

1 T olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
2 garlic cloves
1 onion diced
1/4c hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 T Rice wine vinegar
1 T grated ginger
1 T sriracha
1 (8oz) water chestnuts (could use grated carrots, broccoli, peppers
2 green onions
salt and pepper
I head butter lettuce (or ice berg lettuce)

Heat oil in sauce pan on medium high. Add and cook ground chicken til brown 3-5 min. Drain fat

Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin, soy, rice wine, ginger, sriracha.

Stir in chestnuts and green onions, 1-2 min

To serve, spoon several tablespoons

My friend Dayna says she doesn't like water chestnuts so she uses other veggies in their place

FRIED RICE

4 cups white rice at least a day old chilled in the refrigerator.*
4 TBS sesame oil divided (I used bacon oil)
1 TBS peanut oil (I used olive oil)
1 tsp minced garlic

1/2c chopped celery
½ cup diced onion
1 cup Slivered carrots
½ cup frozen peas
2 TBS soy sauce
¼ tsp ginger
2 eggs
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp sesame oil
Green onions to garnish

1. Cook the eggs:
2. Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a large skillet (at least 10”) over medium heat.
3. Beat eggs with a pinch of sea salt, then pour into heated pan and spread evenly into one thin, round layer.
4. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until the egg is firm and bubbles appear on the top.
5. Flip and cook and additional 2 minutes until the egg is cooked.
6. Remove from heat, transfer to a cutting board and cut into thin pieces. Set aside.
7. Make the friend rice:
8. Sauté onion, garlic and carrots in 1 TBS sesame oil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook until vegetables are soft and just starting to brown (about 5-7 minutes).
9. Add 3 TBS sesame oil and 1 TBS peanut oil to the vegetables.
10. Add rice, stir and cook on high for 9-10 minutes, or until the rice just begins to brown, stirring occasionally.
11. Add peas, soy sauce and ginger, stir to combine.
12. Carefully add the egg and gently stir it into the mixture.
13. Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until the rice is lightly browned.
14. Serve immediately and garnish with green onions.

To make rice for the fried rice:

1. Bring 2 cups salted water to a boil
2. Add 1 cup white rice, stir.
3. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
4. Simmer 15-20 minutes until water is absorbed.
5. Turn off heat, let rice sit for 10-15 minutes, fluff with a fork or spatula.
6. Let rice cool, then transfer to an airtight container in the refrigerator. Store in the refrigerator overnight, then use the chilled rice in this recipe. (I didnt make the rice the night before. I cooked it the day I was making the fried rice. After the rice was completely cooked I put all the rice on an oiled iron pan. I flipped the rice every 5minutes so it would get crunchy, but not burned. I kept flipping the rice for probably 20 min or so) I love the crunch/toastedness of the rice

Ivars/Dayna's Clam Chowder

 

Epicurious

INGREDIENTS

2. 2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans minced clams
3. 4-5 garlic cloves
4. 1 cup finely chopped onion
5. 1 cup finely diced celery
6. 2 cups finely diced potatoes
7. 3/4 cup butter or margarine
8. 3/4 cup flour
9. 4 cups half-and-half, warmed
10. 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
11. 1 dash pepper
12. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
13. 1/2 lb bacon (didnt have)

PREPARATION

1. In a medium saucepan, saute onion, garlic, and celery. Then add clam juice and potatoes to onion mixture (in different bowl set the clams aside).  Barely cover to potatoes with water and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
2.  If you want bacon, cook the bacon in the large sauce pan. When the bacon is cooked, take it out of the pan and add the butter to the bacon grease. If you choose not to add bacon, you can skip this step. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add flour and stir in to the butter. Slowly whisk in the warm half-and-half. Cook and whisk until smooth and thick, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables with their cooking liquid, clams, salt, pepper and sugar to the pan. Chop the cooked bacon and add it to the large sauce pan (if you are adding bacon). Stir well and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
2. 1/18/21 just delicious!! loved it. Dayna mentions she uses this creamy soup recipe w/o the clams for any other creamy vegetable soup dinner.

blood orange mocktail

One Lovely Life 

1/8/21     serves 5-6 people, double next time

TO MAKE A PITCHER (ABOUT 4 or 8 CUPS): 

8c        4c
2 c       About 1 cup crushed ice cubes
4c         2 cups blood orange juice (about 8 oranges, dbl 14 oranges)
1-2T      2–4 tsp. fresh lime juice
1-2T      2–4 tsp. agave (I just used 2-3T of sugar, dbl 1/4c)
2 2/3c    1 1/3 cup sparkling water
10-20    8–10 mint leaves
10         5-6 slices of blood orange and/or lime, for garnish (optional)

---

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR A PITCHER:
Squeeze and press the oranges- set aside. Save 5-6 slices of oranges for garnish to go on the glass.

Place crushed ice cubes in 5-6 (or 8-10)glasses. a pitcher with at least 1 quart (4 cups) capacity.
Add blood orange juice, fresh lime juice, and agave. (Taste your blood orange juice before adding the agave/sugar. Sometimes it’s super sweet juice, other times, it’s tart. That’ll help you determine how much sweetener you might need.)

1/8/20 I just added the sugar right to the blood orange juice and stirred, it dissolved well.
Stir to combine.
Top off with sparkling water.
Garnish with mint leaves and citrus slices

Creamy Italian Chicken

 Can be made in the crockpot. I've made it both ways on stove top and crockpot

Makes 6 servings-

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 large onion sliced, or 2 small onions
1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing mix or the dry seasoning below
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
Serve with rice or pasta

• 1.  Place the chicken in a crockpot, sliced onions, and broth on top. Sprinkle dry Italian dressing mix on top. 
• 2.  Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4-6 hours. Once chicken is done you can remove it from the crockpot and shred it with two forks or with a mixer. Top with cream cheese. Stir the sauce in the crockpot until the cream cheese is fully combined and then stir in the chicken. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little more chicken broth or milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

Dry Italian Dressing-  Makes 8 Tablespoons

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons oregano ground or leaves
1 tablespoon parsley dried
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons salt or substitute
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon basil dried
¼ teaspoon thyme dried, ground
½ teaspoon celery dried leaves or flakes

Mix all ingredients together and store in air-tight container. Mix 2-3T in the crockpot with the chicken.
ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING: Mix 2 tbs of this mix with 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 tbs water, and 1/2 to 2/3 cup olive oil or canola oil.

Family history

 An example of mildred being married at age 3, someone typed it in wrong

Breakfast burritos

Makes 8 burritos

Once Upon A Chef

FOR THE AVOCADO-TOMATO SALSA-

• 1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 cup diced seeded tomatoes, from 1 to 2 tomatoes
• 1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

Egg Burrito- 

1 onion chopped and sauteed
8 eggs
30oz hashbrowns
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 lb spicy sausage (such as chorizo, Italian, or anything you like), removed from casings

• 1-2c (6 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

• 4 (10-in) burrito-size flour tortillas

• Vegetable oil

 Cook hashbrowns in oven 400, spray pan with oil, put frozen browns on top, drizzle oil and salt and pepper on top.  cook 40-50 min

Cook sausage on stove top.
In bowl combine- eggs, paprika, salt. 
On stove top, Cook  the egg mixture. In the middle of the flour tortilla layer sausage, hashbrowns, cooked egg mixture and salsa , top with cheese. Roll up 3 sides of the tortilla.

1. Lightly coat the pan with oil and set over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the burritos, seam side down. Cook, covered, until the bottom of the burritos are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the burritos over and continue cooking, covered, until golden, a few minutes more. Serve warm.

8/10/21

made 15 burritos- 15 eggs

Can freeze tortillas without the salsa. Fill the tortillas and roll up and wrap  individually with saran wrap. To reheat put in oven 350 for 15-20 min

Dayna & Amy Indian Butter chicken

 Averie Cooks

AMY's SUBSTITUIONS

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick + 1 stick), divided
•  1 large sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, diced small
•  1.50 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
•  4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
•  2 tablespoons garam masala
•  1 tablespoon cumin
•  1 tablespoon turmeric
•  1 tablespoon ground ginger or 1+ tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
•  1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
•  1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
•  1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
•  1 cup heavy whipping cream (see Notes below) (COCONUT MILK, 1 T cream cheese, 1 T mayo)
•  one 8-ounce can tomato sauce (I used no-salt added; see Notes below) (SALSA)
•  basmati rice (or your favorite rice), for serving
•  1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, or to taste for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To a large skillet add 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), onion, and sauté over medium-high heat until the onions begins to soften and caramelize about 5 minutes; stir intermittently. It does not have to be fully caramelized before moving on.
2. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is done; flip and stir often to ensure even cooking.
3. Add the garlic, stir to combine, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently.
4. Add the garam masala, cumin, turmeric, ginger, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (does not make it spicy but adds depth of flavor), and stir to combine.
5. Add the remaining 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter and heat until it has melted; stir frequently to encourage melting.
6. Add the heavy cream, tomato sauce, stir to combine, and allow mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and reduced slightly. Taste and if desired, add additional salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, etc.
7. Add rice to the serving plates and top with chicken and as much sauce as desired.
8. Evenly garnish with cilantro and serve immediately. Dish is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.

NOTES

• If you’re a sauce fan, this recipe produces an abundant amount of sauce as written. If you don’t want it as saucy, you can scale back on the amount of tomato sauce and/or cream.
• I used no-salt added tomato sauce and used nearly 2 teaspoons salt in total, but if you’re using salted tomato sauce 1 teaspoon salt will likely be enough.