Asian Slaw Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 firm mangoes, julienne and shredded
• 1 head of red cabbage, shredded
• 1 green papaya, shredded
• 1 bunch of bok choy, chiffonade
• 4 carrots, julienne
• 1 cup bean sprouts (250 mL)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (5 mL)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce (5-10 mL)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (5 mL)
• 3 green onions
• Cilantro
• Grape cherry tomatoes, halved
• Chopped, roasted peanuts

Directions

1. Shred, julienne and mix all of the fruits and vegetables in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, lime juice, chili sauce, fish sauce and green onions.
3. Pour over the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate and let marinate for 1 hour.
4. Garnish with grape cherry tomatoes, cilantro leaves and chopped toasted peanuts.

Link to intructions through playing cooking games: 

http://www.dressup24h.com/game/7402/Asian-Slaw-Recipe.html

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Veal with tomato, sage & bocconcini

Ingredients 

• Olive oil spray
• 4 (about 125g each) veal leg steaks
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
• 1 x 400g can no-added-salt chopped tomatoes
• 500g small washed potatoes, quartered
• 2 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley
• 75g bocconcini, thinly sliced
• Steamed green round beans, to serve

Method 

• Step 1: Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Spray with olive oil spray. Cook veal for 1-2 minutes each side or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a baking dish.
• Step 2: Reduce heat to medium. Spray the pan with olive oil spray. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and sage. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
• Step 3: Meanwhile, cook the potato in a steamer over a saucepan of simmering water for 10 minutes or until tender. Add half the parsley and season with pepper. Toss to combine.
• Step 4: Preheat grill on high. Pour the tomato mixture over the veal and top with the bocconcini. Cook under grill for 2-3 minutes or until the bocconcini melts. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Serve with the potato and beans.
• Accordingly, the items you can do the following through cooking games: http://www.dressup24h.com/game/7276/BBQ-With-Veal-Tomato.html

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Southwest Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 pound cubed leftover pot roast
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 cups water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

Directions:

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil, diced onion and garlic and saute until the onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, pot roast, black beans, chili powder, and 2 cups water. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle the chili into serving bowls and sprinkle each bowl with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Serve hot.

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Chicken and Pea Orzotto

Ingredients

• 1 Small onion
• 2 Cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp of chicken fat or butter (see note below)
• 150g, 5.5oz Pearl Barley
• 1/2 tsp White wine vinegar
• 850ml, 1.5pints Chicken stock (preferably home made)
• A bay leaf
• 200g, 7oz Cooked chicken
• 100g, 3.5oz Frozen small peas

To finish

• 2 generous tbsp Parmesan or other cheese of your choice
• Small knob of butter
• Parsley if liked

Method

If you've had a roast chicken at the weekend, this is a great way to use up leftovers.  Make stock from the bones and you will probably find once it cools there is a thin layer of fat on the surface.  Well it might sound weird but why not use this to fry your onions?  Ok, not up for that?  Use a little butter.  Anyway, peel and finely chop the onion and gently fry in a frying pan in the chicken fat or butter until softened.  Put the stock onto heat up with the bay leaf until simmering.  Add the garlic and then the pearl barley.  Stir around a bit then add the vinegar followed by a ladle of stock.  Stir around and then add the stock bit by bit as you would with risotto although as it takes far longer, I would be a bit more gung ho and add a few at a time early on to avoid extreme boredom!

Once you get to about 35 mins, slow the addition of stock and taste the barley, cooking for longer if needed.  As I said I stopped at 40 minutes but I think 45 would have been a smidge better.  Some Orzotto recipes I have seen say it takes 20 minutes but mine was still too firm by then.

Once the barley is pretty much cooked, add in the peas and chicken and continue to cook until they are hot through.  Once hot, add the butter and cheese and beat in, taking off the heat.  Leave to stand for a few minutes then serve sprinkled with parsley if liked.

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The Best Roast Potatoes

Ingredients

Floury potatoes - as many as you want but I used about 4 medium sized spuds.  This served 2 adults and a toddler.   You need to bear in mind that people really like roast potatoes.
2-3 tbsp Duck or Goose fat (or vegetable oil if you don't have either or would like a vegetarian version.  Dripping or lard is also good.)

Method

Peel your spuds and cut them into pieces of the same size.  What size you chose is basically up to you as long as you're consistent but I tend to look at the potatoes and decide once I see what size they are but it's normally bigger than an inch (2.5cm) and smaller than 2 inches (5cm).

Put into a saucepan and cover with boiling water.  Bring to the boil and boil for 7-10 minutes.  You kind of get a feel for this, how long will depend on how old your potatoes are.  Drain your spuds and put the lid back on.  Give a shake and a shimmy of the saucepan with the lid on.  Not too hard because you want the surface to be roughed up without the potatoes breaking up.  Have a look, if they're not showing any signs of roughing up, be a bit more aggressive.  If you find you've really not boiled them for long enough and they're showing no signs of being fluffy at all, you can save the day and cheat and use a fork to rough up the surface, but this takes a bit longer and doesn't quite work so well.

Put the oven on to 220oC / 450F and put a baking dish or tray into the oven with the fat or oil in it to heat.  You want the fat really hot.  While the fat is heating, leave the potatoes to cool a bit, if you have a lot in the saucepan, turn them out onto a cold plate.  Losing the steam helps them crisp up.

When the fat is hot, carefully bring out the tray or dish onto a heatproof mat and put in the potatoes, carefully as the fat can splash.  As you add the potatoes, the fat should sizzle, if it doesn't put the tray back in the oven to heat up more.  Use a spoon to poor some of the hot fat from the dish over each potato and return to the oven.  Lower the heat to 200oC / 400F and roast for 45 mins or so turning once or twice or until they are golden, crispy and delicious.  Just be aware that if you're cooking a lot of these, do use a big tray because you need space around the potatoes for them to go crispy.  Also be aware if it's Christmas day and the oven door is being opened multiple times they may need a little longer.  Remember my top tip though is to get your turkey done an hour before you want to eat, wrap it in foil to keep warm then up the temperature in the oven to get the potatoes on.  Much easier.

Best served as soon as possible after cooking to be at their crunchiest.

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Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb

Ingredients

• 1kg Half shoulder of lamb
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 2-3 Sprigs of rosemary (although as I grow my own, I took around 6 of the tips of the sprigs as they are the most tender)
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• For the gravy
• Beef or lamb stock (you can use a stock cube and water but fresh stock is better if you have it)
• 1-2 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220oC / 450F.  Fry the lamb shoulder on all sides until browned.  Discard any oil and fat in the pan.

Smash together the garlic, rosemary and pepper in a pestle and mortar until broken up (it doesn't have to form a paste).  Rub over the lamb shoulder and put into a baking dish.  Pour 100ml (3.5 fl oz, just under half a cup) of cold water around the lamb.  Cover with a layer of baking paper and then wrap well with foil and I mean well, you want to seal it as well as possible.

Put in the oven for 30 minutes and then lower the temperature to 170oC, 340F and roast for a further 2 hours or until tender.

Allow to rest for a good 20 minutes and in the meantime drain off the juices into a jug.  Scoop off the fat from the juices, there will be quite a bit, shoulder can be a fatty cut.  Mix the juices complete with the bits of rosemary and garlic (they're tasty) with the stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce until to your liking.  With the stock mixture boiling, mix 1-2 tbsp cornflour with cold water and whisk in, bring to the boil until thickened.  The amount of cornflour you will need will depend on how much stock you have.  Just see how thick it is and add more if you feel it needs it.

Carve the lamb, this won't carve into super neat slices because it is so soft but do watch out as there are a couple of natural fatty layers in a shoulder so you might want to cut them off rather than serve them.

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Homemade Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 4 medium ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Mash the avocados in a large bowl. Stir in the tomato, onion, and lime juice. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.

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Classic Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 1 dozen large eggs
• 2 tbsp white vinegar (optional)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp yellow prepared mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• paprika for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover completely with water. Add the vinegar (this is optional, since I made a test batch with–and the ones for the party without–there was absolutely no difference in the end result). Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and cover the saucepan. Let sit for 15 minutes.

2. Remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a colander. Rinse under cold water until the eggs are cool enough to touch. Remove the shells.

3. Slice each egg in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks from the whites and place in a separate bowl and mash with a fork until there are no large chunks left. Mix in the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. Scoop the yolk mixture into a plastic bag. Cut off one corner of the plastic bag and pipe the yolks into the egg whites. Sprinkle with a dash of paprika.

4. Cool the eggs completely before serving.

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Cranberry Couscous

Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 3 3/4 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups plain couscous

Directions:

1. Slice onion into thin strips. Heat olive oil and butter in a medium/large pot over medium-high heat and saute until soft and lightly browned.
2. Add broth and cranberries to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the couscous. Cover the pan and leave it to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, leave covered, and let sit for 2-3 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

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Black Bean Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped  parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1 garlic clove, peeled (or roasted for more mild flavor)
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped (and seeded if you can’t handle the spice)
• dash of salt

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process or blend until smooth. Spoon into a bowl. Dig your favorite chips into it. Grin at your success.

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Broccoli Cheese Bites

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) package of frozen broccoli florets, cooked according to package directions
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Cook your frozen broccoli — let cool and cut up any big pieces in the bowl.
3. Mix together the broccoli with the cheese, eggs, and breadcrumbs with a wooden spoon.
4. Form the mixture into 15 – 20 balls. Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the back of your hand. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the patties, then bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy!

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Beet Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of beets — I can’t give an exact number here, since beets can vary drastically in size, but other sources say about 4 medium. So just weigh them before you leave the produce section
• 3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt

Directions:

1. To cook the beets: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Trim the leaves off of the beets if it came with the leaves. Then wrap each beet individually in foil. Place on the baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until they are tender. You’ll know when a fork can easily be inserted into the center of the beet without resistance. If some of your beets are smaller than the others, take them out of the oven when they are ready. Remove from foil, let cool, then take a paper towel and place the beet between your hands. Gently rub off the skin using the paper towel. Discard the skins and cut the beets into smaller chunks.
2. Place the beets in a food processor and process until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the processor as necessary.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth and well blended. Save the salt for last; taste, and adjust salt amount until seasoning is correct.
4. Cool in the fridge for a few hours, then dig in — either with a spoon, some pita chips, or anything else your heart desires.

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Hot Crash Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

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Moroccan Coconut Truffles Recipe

3 ingredients! Wow with all the leftover Christmas baking supplies I have I am going to have to try these out. I wonder if I covered them with chocolate, would they taste like a almond joy?

Moroccan Coconut Truffles

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cool Time: 4 hours
Serves: 1
Complexity: very easy

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of dried coconut flakes (natural, no sugar added)
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
Roasted almonds (or walnuts, hazelnuts)

Directions:

Mix the sweetened condensed milk and dried coconut flakes together. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.
Note: You should be able to make balls with the coconut mixture, if it’s too soft, add more coconut flakes.

Make balls with the coconut mixture, insert an almond in the middle, and roll it in coconut flakes.

Put the coconut truffles in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Serving: Serve the coconut truffles cold.

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Betty’s Batter-Dipped Fried Chicken Nuggets

In this video, Betty demonstrates how to make Batter-Dipped Fried Chicken Nuggets. This recipe features a batter that can be used for deep-fried chicken, seafood, or vegetables! Kids love these almost as much as adults (we just don’t want to admit it). You don’t actually have to use the yeast if you don’t want to, she says there is only a bit of difference. So, if you don’t want to fry up your nuggets, try the recipe I found on Pinterest which follows this recipe. No video but it is easy to make.

Ingredients:2 ½ pounds uncooked chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used 1 ¼ pounds of sliced chicken tenders, but there is enough batter to coat twice as much. You may also use this batter for chicken tenders or half-breasts.)
salt, to taste
freshly ground black peppercorns, to taste
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
¾ cup water
1 egg, well-beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
peanut oil, enough to come up to 1-inch in a heavy potCut uncooked chicken breast meat into 1-inch cubes. Salt, to taste. Grind fresh peppercorns over the top, to taste. Mix together, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so. Combine ¼ cup lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon active dry yeast in the container of an electric blender. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add ¾ cup water, 1 well-beaten egg, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend for 30 seconds. Pour batter into a bowl. Dip chicken cubes into batter and deep fry in 1-inch peanut oil (350 degrees to 375 degrees F) until golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove the browned chicken nuggets to a platter covered with paper toweling to drain. Continue in batches until all chicken nuggets are cooked. Remove from paper toweling to a nice serving plate. These are terrific served with a sauce, such as Blazin’ Hot Wing Sauce (from bettyskitchen). This batter makes about 2 cups, and you may use it for chicken, seafood, or vegetables.Pinterest
Ultimate Chicken Fingers (Gluten Free)
adapted from Bisquick

3/4 cup Bisquick® Gluten Free mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (or 8 tenders)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Cooking spray
1. Heat oven to 450°F. Line cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper; spray with cooking spray.
2. Stir Bisquick mix, cheese, paprika and salt in shallow baking dish. Dip chicken strips into eggs, then coat with Bisquick mixture; repeat with other pieces, dipping in eggs and Bisquick mixture two times each. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Spray chicken with cooking spray.
3. Bake 12 to14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

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Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken

Here is a restaurant quality recipe. It is easy and quick to prepare, and delicious. So, this is not a diet recipe. However, if you want to cut some fat and calories use half cup of half and half and a half cup of skim milk. To busy to make this during the week? Cook up some boneless chicken breasts and add them to a box on instant Fettuccine Alfredo. Talk about fast and inexpensive!

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

8 oz Fettuccine
2 Thin Pieces of Chicken Cutlets
1 tsp Granulated Garlic
1 tsp Granulated Onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 Tbsp of Butter
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Parmiggiano Reggiano Cheese

Directions:

1) Bring a large pot filled with water up to a boil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Add fettuccine and cook according to packaged directions. Drain the pasta once cooked and set aside.

2) Season both sides of the chicken with the granulated garlic, onion and salt and pepper to taste.

3) In a medium non stick sauté pan with high sides, over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and cut into bite size pieces.

4) In the same pan add the heavy cream and reduce it for 5 minutes. Add the parmiggiano and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the cut chicken and drained pasta. Give everything a big toss and dig in right away!

If you thought you could not get that rich and delicious restaurant quality fettuccine alfredo at home, you were so wrong! Fettuccine Alfredo is probably one of the easiest and inexpensive things to make and it always taste so much better when you make it yourself, that way you can control the quality of ingredients and the quantity of salt.

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Lemon Caper Butter Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

2 lemons
2 T. cold butter
1/2 tsp. savory
1 tsp.parsley
1 T.capers

Take 1/2 tsp. butter and cook until it starts to brown then add capers and savory, saute about 20 seconds, add lemon juice (med. heat), reduce to about 1/3. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and add remaining butter.

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Simple Sautéed Salmon Recipe

Salmon is a great fish to work in to your diet and it’s good for you too. Full of Omega 3, a “good fat” that may reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and more. Salmon is also a good source of B12, Niacin and vitamin D.

In this simple salmon recipe, Rita shows you how to sauté salmon filets in a cast iron skillet and finish them in the oven. Great for a crowd, an easy recipe like this salmon recipe make quick work of your time in the kitchen.

Simple ingredients that you can adapt are a great part of this salmon recipe. A bit of seasoning, lemon and the option of lemon grass round out this dish.

Ritas Master Seasoning

Mix together and store airtight at room temp

4 tablespoons sea salt
2 tablepoons freshly ground black pepper
1 generous tablespoon garlic powder (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon celery salt
Even Better: For seafood and grain dishes: reduce pepper to 1 tablespoon and add 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning to the mix.

Dry the salmon with paper towels. Sprinkle with seasoning. Saute salmon in olive oil, sliced garlic, teaspoon of lemon juice, and a few sprigs of lemongrass if you have it. Cook until just just browned on both sides (about 7-10 minutes). Put in 400 degree oven for 6-7 minutes.

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Grilled 5-Spice Chicken Recipe

Chinese Five Spice has a proven track record of awesomeness when combined with smoky, caramelized meats, and this grilled five spice chicken recipe is a great example. You need to marinade the chicken for 6-8 hours, so prepare it ahead of time. This chef brushes the marinade on the chicken as he cooks. He says if you cook it for at least 5 more minutes, it will kill any bacteria possibly in the marinade. However, if you are like me you don’t want to take chances,make a separate batch for basting.

For the marinade:
1/2 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 teaspoons sambal, or other red chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon 5-spice powder

For the sauce:
1/2 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sambal, or other red chili sauce
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
all these can and should be adjusted to taste

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Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili Recipe

2 chicken breasts, still frozen
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

Put the chicken in the crock pot.Top with the tomatoes, corn, the drained and rinsed beans,ranch dressing, cumin, onion and chili powders,stir to combine then top with the cream cheese.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice to blend in the cheese. Shred the chicken into large pieces. Serve in tortillas, taco shells, over rice or noodles.

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