Orange Chicken

Found this recipe on Pintrest and tried it last night. My whole family loved it! Wade said it is better than take out and it wasn't too spicy for the kids. I served it with a side of Jasmine rice.

Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-1/2” pieces
• 1 ½ cups corn starch
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs - I ended up using about 2 cups
• 2 eggs, beaten - I ended up needing 3
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1/4 cup orange juice - I used fresh
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated - I would add a little more next time
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ginger root, minced - I used 1/4 tsp ground ginger 
• ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped - didn't have any but they would add a fun flavor
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Combine corn starch, salt, and pepper.  Prepare a bowl with beaten eggs, panko bread crumbs and another with corn starch. Dip chicken in egg mixture, dredge in cornstarch, then again in the eggs and finally in the panko bread crumbs, set aside.  Heat pan with vegetable oil to 375 degrees, fry chicken in batches until completely cooked.

In a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.

Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired garnish with green onions

Enjoy!

Cindy

"Neua Yang Nam Tok" or Beef Waterfall

Its finally posted!! Sorry it took so long but now we can all enjoy it. This is one of our favorite southeast Asian dishes. Even the kids have started to get use to it. Thankfully we have many more years to get their taste buds use to it. :) I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. You can serve this warm or cold. Cambodians typically serve it cold but restaurants serve it warm. Tweak the recipe to your liking. This is the way Ming Sohpa - Wades Cambodian mission mom taught me how to make it. Everything is approximate, since she taught me to make it without measuring.

 3-4 servings (my kids don't eat a whole lot)

Marinade Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons sugar – Cambodians use palm sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 3 Thai chili peppers, cut into very small pieces
• juice from 2 limes

Salad Ingredients: 

• Beef – I use ½ to ¾ a round steak
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• juice from 2 limes
• 1/3 to ½ small red onion, sliced very thinly
• ½ - 3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons toasted rice (get your wok fairly hot, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. stir until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a mortar and pestle or food processor)- if your in a pinch for time you can leave the toasted rice out,but its a fun texture & crunch. 
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes – serve kids 1^st (also we prefer fresh Thai chillies, when we have them)

Instructions: 

1. Mix marinade ingredients and marinate beef for at least 3 hours to overnight. (you can skip the marinade all together but if you have time it makes a HUGE difference.
2. Grill beef over medium high heat until it's done.  Let rest for a few minutes and then slice against the grain of the meat into very thin slices.
3. Combine the sliced beef with all of the other ingredients.  Adjust the amount of herbs and spices to your tastes.  The salad should be equally salty, sour, and hot.  Some restaurants serve it  with cabbage, cucumber, mint, or Thai basil. We prefer it with cucumber and rice on the side. Even though this is well know as a Thai dish the Cambodians make it the same way except when it is done they wrap it in lettuce leaves and eat it ( kinda like an Asian taco), try it its fun.

Enjoy!

-Cindy

Bourbon Street Chicken

Ingredients:

	2 pounds boneless chicken breasts; cut into bite-size pieces
	1 tablespoon olive oil; (1-2)
	1 garlic clove; crushed (we love garlic so use 2 cloves)
	1/4 teaspoon ginger
	3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or half that for kids)
	1/4 cup apple juice
	1/3 cup light brown sugar
	2 tablespoons ketchup
	1 tablespoon cider vinegar
	1/2 cup water
	1/3 cup soy sauce
	1 tablespoon cornstarch; (if thick sauce desired, which I totally suggest)

Directions:

   Heat your wok or skillet. (I prefer a wok, if you have the option)

   Add oil to your HOT wok.

   Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.

   Remove chicken.

   Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well

   mixed and dissolved.

   Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.

   Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

   Serve over hot rice.

This is a super delish recipe and it is so easy!! Recipe & pict from bigoven.com.

-Cindy

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
hot red pepper flakes, to taste
6 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cups marinara sauce (I think next time I make this I am going to do 3 cups, it was a little dry)
1/4 cup chopped basil
8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
4 0z Parmesan cheese shredded
1 (5oz) package garlic croutons


Put olive oil, garlic, and red peppers on bottom of glass baking dish, spread evenly.  Then put chicken down and pour marinara sauce over, cover completely.  Next sprinkle half of mozzarella and half Parmesan on marinara.  Then pour bag of croutons over distributing evenly across dish.  Then put the rest of the cheese on croutons. Put in oven and bake uncovered for 40 minutes.  I made this meal and Ben loved it.  It was extremely easy and tasted great.  We put it over angel hair noodles.  Have fun girls!
- Trina

Shrimp pasta

20-30 shrimp (peeled and deveined)
Tomatoes ( fresh or dehydrated)
Green onions
White wine
Alfrado sauce (powder in pouch)
Butter
Garlic
Pasta noodles (we use angel hair but whatever your family likes)

Put about 1 to 2 teaspoons of butter and garlic in frying pan. Melt butter and add shrimp. While shrimp is cooking add tomatoes, green onions and white wine to frying pan. While shrimp is cooking make up alfredo sauce according to package details in separate pan. cook shrimp until it is almost done and then add Alfredo sauce. Remove, do not over cook shrimp or it will be rubbery. While you Are making the sauce, have a pan of water boiling with noodles. When both are done enjoy. This meal only takes about 10-15 minutes. It is really easy and we enjoy it.
-Trina

Thai Peanut Chicken with Fruit Salsa

This is one of my family's favorite meals. Definitely top five.

Thai Peanut Chicken with Fruit Salsa

• 2 ¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½ cup hot water
• ½ cup natural peanut butter
• ¼ cup any salsa
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, or ½ teaspoon ground dried ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground red chili pepper, optional

Put chicken between plastic or waxed paper and pound to uniform thickness. Place in nonmetal bowl or 1-gallon resealable bag. In small bowl, stir water and peanut butter until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour over chicken and marinate 12 to 24 hours. Grill chicken. Serve over steamed rice with Fruit Salsa spooned on top.

*After I have started grilling the chicken, I boil the marinade on the stove top for 5-10 minutes to kill any bacteria and then serve it as a sauce on top of the chicken and rice and then top with the fruit salsa.

 

Fruit Salsa

• 1 cup chopped fresh fruit (pears, peaches, mango, pineapple, or combination)
• 1 cup chopped, seeded cucumber
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro ( I have only used cilantro)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Dash of salt

Combine all ingredients and chill to blend flavors until ready to use.

- Ashley

Carrot Soup

This soup is one of my favorites to make for several days' lunches.  I unintentionally made it a bit spicier than normal at Tralyn's baby blessing, but that is easily adjusted by the amount of red pepper (cayenne... are they one in the same because the recipe calls for cayenne, but I use red..?)

Carrot Soup
1 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 sliced carrots
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (less for more mild, i think i used more for the blessing, I was kind of winging it)
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I often do half of each)
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro for garnish ( I have never added this...)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. add onion and carrots and cook slowly for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and cook for another minute, stirring.

Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Season to taste. Serve hot.


*We ate this soup a lot for lunch when we were doing the anti-inflammatory cleanse. To beef it up, after I got the soup cooking I would saute more carrots, onions and diced chicken until cooked and tender. After pureeing the soup I would add these for more substance to the soup. I almost always top this soup with bean sprouts for some yummy crunch.

PS- I borrow all of my images off of the internet, so thank you to all of the better cooks and photographers than I am.

- Ashley