Taquitos

These were so tasty and so easy to make!!  I used thinly sliced london broil mixed with seasoning (cumin, oregano, garlic powder, chili powder) and cheese as the filler.  Definitely a keeper, I will try chicken next time.

Taquitos

2-3 T oil (I used corn oil)

10 corn tortillas

2 c. cooked shredded beef

2/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil up a baking sheet.

2. Heat 2 T oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, fry each tortilla one at a time until soft, about 20 seconds per side. Add more oil if needed. Transfer to plat using a paper towel to separate each tortilla.

3. To assemble, spoon 2 Tablespoons of meat misture into a tortilla and roll closed. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all are rolled.

4. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until ends start to brown. Remove and sprinkle cheese on top. Turn oven setting to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and serve with toppings like shredded lettuce, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc.

London Broil

This recipe wasn't as good as the other London Broil I tried recently, but was a serviceable one.  Unfortunately, I over-cooked the meat.  I won't keep this recipe because the other one was preferable to me.

London Broil

1 beef flank steak (1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pounds)

1/4 c. salad oil

1 T lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1. Combine salad oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper for marinade. Place steak in plastic bag or flat utility dish and pour marinade over it. Close bag securely or cover pan with foil and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

2. Pour off and reserve marinade. Place steak on grill and broil at moderate temperature for 5 minutes. Turn, brush with marinade and broil 5 minutes or to desired doneness (rare or medium). To carve, slice diagonally across the grain in thin strips. Make 4 servings.

Baked Chicken with Cashews

The chicken was pretty good, if a bit dry, unfortunately the sweet potato was uninspiring. I will keep this recipe and will try it again, perhaps not baked as long.  I also would like to try this recipe with almonds. I don't have a toaster over, so I used the oven.

Baked Chicken with Cashews

1 large chicken thigh or 1/2 a boneless chicken breast, skinned

1 1/2 t. butter, melted

1/8 t. paprika

1/8 t. curry powder

1/8 t. oregano

dash garlic powder

dash cayenne pepper

salt, if desired

1 T cashew pieces or slivered almonds

1 small yam or sweet potato

1. Place chicken in individual casserole.  

2. Combine butter, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix well.

3. Spoon over chicken.

4. Bake, uncovered, in 350º toaster oven, along with yam, for 45 to 60 minutes, or until chicken and yam are tender. About 10 minutes before chicken is done, baste chicken with butter mixture in casserole and sprinkle cashews over top. Makes 1 serving.

Chicken Rosemary

This was a disappointing recipe, with crunchy rosemary being the most unfortunate of the problems. Actually, the sauce, if there had been more of it, tasted fine.  This dish screams out for rice as the base, in fact my leftovers were more sauce (without the rosemary) and set on a bed of rice. I would make this dish with fresh rosemary sprigs in the sauce while it is heating so I could get the flavor without the crunchy dried rosemary leaves, and then remove them before eating.  Or, perhaps use a sieve to separate out the dried rosemary.

Chicken Rosemary

1 chicken, quartered

1/2 c. frozen orange juice

1/2 t. dried rosemary

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cornstarch

1. Arrange chicken in a shallow baking pan.

2. Combine orange juice, rosemary, salt, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until smooth and thick.

3. Spoon sauce over chicken and bake in a 350º oven for 1 hour. Serves 4.

Blueberry Crisp

This crisp was even better than the apple crisp I made for Independence Day!!  I adjusted this recipe to have more butter, more brown sugar, more cinnamon, and less flour (I used oat flour).  I used fresh blueberries. So yummy with ice cream, too.  

Blueberry Crisp

3 c. blueberries or 16-ounce package of frozen blueberries

2 T lemon juice

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. quick-cooking oats

1/3 c. butter, softened

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

cream or ice cream

1. Heat oven to 375º.

2. Arrange blueberries in ungreased 8"x8"x2" square baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

3. Mix brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle on top.

4. Bake until topping is light brown and blueberries are hot, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with cream. Makes 4-6 servings.

Apple Crisp

This is the recipe I have always used for my Apple Crisp.  My family started an Independence Day tradition, we bake up the Apple Crisp during dinner, take it out of the oven and go watch the Fireworks.  When we get back we eat the still warm Apple Crisp with ice cream.  About a half a minute in the microwave will heat it up nicely if it has cooled too much.

I always add more butter, more brown sugar, more cinnamon, and less flour.  This time I followed the recipe exactly and it became apparent why I do the alterations.  Also, the apples get a bit dry, so adding some additional moisture, perhaps some lemon juice, might be a good idea if the apples are not as juicy as they should be.  I am off gluten right now, so I used oat flour and it was fine. This is a keeper, when modified of course!!

Apple Crisp

4 c. sliced tart apples (about 4 medium)

2/3 to 3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. oats

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

3/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/3 c. butter, softened

1. Heat oven to 375º. Arrange apples in greased square 8"x8"x2" square pan.

2. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples.

3. Bake until topping is golden brown and apples are tender, about 30 minutes.

4. Serve warm and, if desired, with cream or ice cream. Makes 6 servings.

Orange Jewel Chicken

This was not a good recipe.  The sauce was too watery, and it was hard to eat the orange portion.  It was too sweet, and that is saying something coming from someone who loves sweets.

Orange Jewel Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets

salt and pepper to taste

2 T butter

2 large naval oranges

2 T dried cranberries

2 T honey

1 T lemon juice

2 green onions, sliced

1. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag one at a time and pound to flatten slightly. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165º. Remove from skillet and keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, cut peel away from oranges and discard. Cut oranges into bite-size pieces. Add to skillet along with cranberries, honey, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until liquid has thickened slightly. Stir in green onions.

4. Pour over cooked chicken and serve with rice or cous cous. Serves 4.

Korean Style Chicken

This dish has WAY too much soy sauce for my preference, it was so salty!! Part of that could have been the MSG that was an ingredient.  I might try this again with less soy sauce and no Accent.

Korean Style Chicken

3 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1/8-inch slices about 2" square

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 T sesame seeds

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1 green onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 t. peanut oil

1 T sugar

1 t. Accent [MSG]

1. Add soy sauce to the chicken.

2. Place sesame seeds in an iron skillet and heat until the seeds begin to swell up and pop. Put the seeds in the bottom of a wooden bowl along with the sale and, using the back of a large spoon, crush them as fine as possible [I used my ceramic mortar and wooden pestle]. Add the pepper, onion, garlic, peanut oil, sugar, and Accent.

3. Stir the chicken and the soy sauce into this mixture and let stand for 30 minutes.

4. Put mixture into a large skillet, cover, and cook over low heat until the chicken is tender.  If it becomes too dry during the cooking time, add a little water. Serve at once, piping hot. Serves 4.

London Broil

This marinade was perfect, I have a couple others to try, but this one is definitely a keeper. I used this beef in many other dishes this week.  It would have made a great sandwich, but I am off gluten for now so perhaps next time.

London Broil

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. sugar

2 T minced onion

1/2 t. dry mustard

1/2 t. Italian seasoning

1/4 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 flank steak (about 2 lb.)

1. Combine all ingredients except the steak, blending well. Place steak in a glass or enamel baking dish. Cover with the marinade mixture and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, turning the steak occasionally.

2. Preheat broiler. Remove steak from the marinade and broil about 5" from the heat for 5-6 minutes on each side. Meat should be rare.

3. Cut steak diagonally across the grain in thin slices. Serve with buns, mustard, and mayonnaise. Serves enough for about 36 buns.

Chicken Sticks with Peanut Sauce

This recipe tasted nice, but boy did it have a lot of ingredients!!  Also, I learned my lessons about either curry powder or turmeric, yellow stains were all over my kitchen towels, potholders, and my plastic storage containers.  Don't know if I will do this one again, if I do I am going to make sure I don't use my plastic containers and will use paper towels!!  Also, my kitchen smelled like curry for days afterwards!!

Chicken Sticks with Peanut Sauce

1/3 c. olive oil

1 T soy sauce

1 t. honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T curry powder

1 t. ground coriander

1 t. ground turmeric

1 t. ground cumin

salt and pepper, to taste

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 t. tabasco sauce

1/4 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. smooth peanut butter

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

2 T brown sugar

pinch ground cinnamon

1/4 c. boiling water

1. Combine the first 9 ingredients in a bowl.  Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

2. Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet over low heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the curry powder and tabasco. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring to mellow the flavors. Stir in the cream and water, then stir in the peanut butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Place in a food processor [I used my blender] and process until smooth, adding the boiling water slowly through the feed tube to bind the sauce. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and reserve.

5. Thread the chicken pieces evenly on 6 skewers and grill over hot coals, 3 inches from the heat source , for 5 minutes per side. [I used my broiler] Serve immediately with the peanut sauce. Serves 6.