Moms Chinese Chichen Salad

This is one of my favorite dinners that my mom makes. I love the way all of it just taste so perfect together. She always makes everything she makes look so easy. I think we take for granted all the time that our moms took just to make us a meal. It starts from coming up with the idea to putting it on the table. There are so many steps involved. This is part of the love of a mother. Each day you plan a meal, prepare a meal, and serve that meal without so much as a thank you. Usually it is followed by whining about why they don't like the meal. But we do it because we love them and really for no other reason. So here is to you mom. Thank you for all those times you made me dinner. I love you too.

I didn't know until I started making it how much preparation it took. First off this is definitely a meal you won't just have the ingredients in your pantry. So you will have to head to the grocery store. I think the hardest things for me to find were the wontons(in my store it is in the produce department by the bagged salads) and the Maifun rice sticks(down the Asia isle). The rest is all stuff you already know. Once you have that part done the rest is easy. And really if you haven't ever deep fried Maifun rice sticks you must try that part. It was a lot of fun. I hope you will try this one. It really is delicious.

Marinate for at least 4 hours
2 chicken breasts cubed
1/3 cup soy sauce
3T. sugar
Pour all this in a fry pan sprayed with Pam and cook together on medium heat until chicken is no longer pink. Personally I like to cook until it starts to caramelize.
Let cool.

1 head of lettuce ( like to use half a green leaf lettuce and half iceberg lettuce.)
3-4 stocks chopped green onion
2 T sesame seeds (optional)
2 ounces of Won TOns cut into strips and deep fried
2 ounces of Maifun rice sticks deep fried
1 can Mandarin oranges (optional)

Dressing:
2 T Sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
3 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup salad oil

Mix dressing and top salad just before serving. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

I was at the pool today and my darling neighbor told me that I need to make a new post. I agree with her. It really has been a slow summer. I will try to be better.

I have been making this for about 4 years now. My friend Joy gave me this recipe and it quickly became a family favorite. I love it. My kids love it. I mean really who doesn't love pizza. We were eating it a lot and I had to lay off the breads for awhile so I kind of forgot about it. I love making if for Friday night dinner. The kids always think they are getting a fantastic treat. Plus it is fairly easy. I don't think I say that enough on this blog. It is getting old. Maybe I should come up with more words for easy. It is fairly simple. There that is better. So this pizza is so yummy that I can't even get a picture before my hubby breaks off a piece of crust. I told all the kids to back off and didn't remember to tell him. Who can blame him. It was literally calling his name.
2 cups warm water
1 T. yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
About 6 cups of flour
Corn meal for sprinkling pan

Mix water, sugar, and yeast. Allow the yeast to bubble. Then add remaining ingredients. Add one cup of flour at a time. Mix. Add another cup of flour until dough is soft. Allow to rise until doule in size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Oil the baking sheet and sprinkle corn meal over the oil. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings. Bake until cheese is melted.
This recipe makes 1 baking sheet and 1 9x13 pan/large round pie plate. Enjoy!

Combination Toppings:
sauce in a jar
Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan and/or cheddar
pepperoni
mushrooms
sausage
onions
green peppers

Chicken Alfredo Pizza Toppings
Alfrado sauce see recipe
garlic cooked chicken
mozzarella and Parmesan
bacon
tomatoes
green onions
mushrooms

Hot Artichoke Dip

One of my friends Joy, was able to publish a recipe book"Bliss" last year. I have enjoyed some of the recipes from it and this one is certain to be one you will use. I recommend you look into getting this book. She has recipes that will wow everyone. It is a book that her friends have been asking her do to for a long time so if we all wanted it I am sure you will as well.
2 8 ounce packages of light cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 14-ounce artichoke hearts
3/4 cup chopped frozen spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves washed and finely chopped.
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups cups fresh grated Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, artichoke hearts, spinach, basil, garlic, and 1 cup grated cheese, then bake in a casserole dish for 25 minutes.

Serve with bread chunks, crackers, tortilla chips, pretzels. Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Salad

My sister introduced me to Barbecue Chicken Salad at California Pizza Kitchen. I loved it. I love just about anything they have at CPK. I wrote down what was in the salad one of the times I had it and went home and tried to recreate it. It was okay but didn't quite test like CPK's version. I found a recipe on line and tried it out. Although I have tweaked it a little bit I do use the marinade exactly. I don't know who wrote the recipe but thanks to whomever you are.

This salad is a little extensive. I was in the kitchen a good 2 hours yesterday getting it ready. You could do it in steps so that you are not doing everything at once but plan on 2 hours start to finish. It is so yummy and well worth not skipping steps to make it turn out wonderfully.

Salad
1 head Romaine Lettuce
1 head iceberg Lettuce
1 can Black Beans rinsed and drained
1-2 cups corn
jicama
3-4 T cilantro
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Ranch Dressing

Toss together add:

BBQ Chicken
diced tomatoes
green onion
Corn tortilla strips


Barbecue Chicken Recipe
1 1/3 T Olive Oil
1 1/3 T minced garlic
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Salt
1/4 c sweet and spicy BBQ sauce
5 boneless skinless chicken breast
Marinade for at least 1 hour longer is better. You can cook it on the BBQ or stove top. Make sure that you coat the chicken with the remaining sauce in the bowl while on the BBQ. If you make in a pan I recommend dicing it first.

Fried Tortilla Strips
Canola Oil
12 corn tortilla
cut 1/4 inch wide place in med-med high heated oil. Cook until crisp and barely changing color. They change fast.



Serves 8-10, ENJOY!

Best Burger Ever!

I absolutely love this recipe that I found in Martha Stewart Everyday Foods. I will have to admit I LOVE Martha. Her easy recipe magazine is one of my favorite things ever. It is actually a meatball recipe but who says you always have to follow rules. I thought it might just make a yummy burger and darn it, it is!

I have tested this on very picky eaters,"Men's men", kids, and even women. The consensus is that they all love it.
1 large egg
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs or oatmeal
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces hamburger
1 t. Italian seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Roll into balls big enough for a patty and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick. Grill to desired amount.

Toppings for us include green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, purple onion, ketchup, mustard, pickles, mayo(not for me). Toast the bun and enjoy!

Chocolate Frosting

When I moved out and started making my own cakes I always bought the frosting. I would wonder why mine never tasted quite like my moms. It turns out it is because she didn't cut corners on her frosting. She always made her frosting from scratch. It is so yummy. I will admit that I will never make a cake from scratch to this day cause the box usually taste better and it is cheaper, but the frosting is now homemade just like my moms.

3-4 cups powdered sugar
4-6 T cocoa
1/2 cup butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
4-5 T whipping cream or milk
Mix together in a mixing bowl. The frosting should peak when you pull out the beaters. It should spread easily but not run off. Just add more powdered sugar if to thin and more whipping cream if to thick. Enjoy!

Grandma Dorothy's Teriyaki Steak Sandwiches

If you know my family you know we love these sandwiches. These are a must whenever we have company over for a BBQ. My siblings always request this when they are in town. It doesn't look like much but, oh, it is delicious. My mom's side of the family always have these at big get togethers. They remind me of cousins, and having a wonderful time together. There is something so special about playing in the back yard with your family and the smell of the BBQ in the air. Oh, I love it. Seriously though, make these this summer. Try it out and tell me how you like it. My hubby doesn't love the butter on the roll, but I think he is missing out.

Sirloin Tip roast about 5 lbs. cut into thin slices (uncooked) We ask the butcher to cut it as thin as he can without it falling apart.

Marinade:
1/2 cup oil
2 T. Vinegar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 T. minced onion
1/3 tsp garlic powder

Blend the ingredients. Toss with thinly sliced beef and marinate for 24 hours. Cook on grill for about 1 minute on each side until done. Serve on buttered potato rolls. and you will ENJOY (I promise) Serves about 15-20

Strawbana berry Smoothie

This is my kids most favorite breakfast. They love when we buy strawberries at the grocery store, which is practically every time. The first thing they ask is "Can we make a smoothie for breakfast?!?" I like it cause it is healthy. My little angel doesn't so much love fruit so this is the perfect disguise for her much hated fruit. She drinks this right up.


1 raspberry yogurt
1-2 ripe bananas
1 pint strawberries (about 8-10)
Handful of raspberries (optional)
Handful of blueberries (optional)
Handful of spinach (optional)
1 T flax seed (optional)
1 T Honey
1 cup orange juice
3 cups crushed ice

Add all ingredients together and blend until well blended. Add the ice and blend again. Blend until ice is chopped up. Serves 4-6 Enjoy!

Simple Barbecue Sauce

This sauce goes perfect with the Best BBQ Chicken recipe that I have. The molasses was the only thing that I didn't have on hand. My hubby found that on the syrup aisle. The Cider Vinegar is on the Vinegar aisle. It was all at my local grocery store. I think this sauce is good. I wouldn't write home about it. It is better than any store bought one I have tried but if you have a favorite this might not compare. Again this is a Martha recipe from her Everyday Food Recipe Book #54

Stupid me forgot to take a picture of the BBQ sauce before I threw it out.

3 cups Ketchup
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
1 T paprika
1 T onion powder
1 T Mustard powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is thickened and reduced by a third, about 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before using. (To store, refrigerate up to 2 weeks.) Enjoy!

Best BBQ Chicken

My hubby and I have been trying out new recipes lately. Our newest and probably most favorite find is this delicious chicken from yes, you guest it Martha Stewart. It just looked mouth watering, so we decided to grill these bad boys up. It is probably the BEST chicken I have ever had. It doesn't take long to just add a little extra to spice things up. Mmmmm, Mmmmm good!

2 T paprika
2 T chili powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cups Barbecue Sauce

Heat grill to medium, lightly oil grates. In a small bowl combine the paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper; sprinkle spice rub all over chicken. Reserve 1 cup of the bar-be-cue sauce for serving. Keep remaining sauce in another bowl for basting.

Grill chicken, turning often, until cooked through, 15-20 minutes. During final 5 minutes of cooking, baste chicken with barbecue sauce. Serve chicken with reserved sauce. Enjoy!
There will be a barbecue sauce recipe posted in the next couple of days. If you become a follower it will just pop up and let you know. There that is my little plug.