Pineapple Glazed Chicken Chow Mein

I made this one up as I went along and it is bowl licking good! It's easy to make too. It's a perfect blend of Chinese and Polynesian flavors. I think this would be great with green peppers too.








Pineapple Glazed Chicken Chow Mein

• 4 thawed chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 5 carrots sliced
• 3/4 cup diced onions
• 1 can pineapple chunks (juice set aside)
• 2 pkgs of chicken flavored Top Ramen
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp corn starch
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 1/2 cups water

In a hot skillet fry chicken cubes in butter until golden brown. Add carrots and onions, cook until tender. Add garlic, ginger and salt. Add pineapple. In a small bowl mix water,pineapple juice and corn starch until dissolved. Pour into skillet. Add vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce. Add dry Ramen noodles and both packets of chicken flavor. bring to a boil then simmer on low until noodles are tender and sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and serve.

Brownies From Scratch

Homemade brownies are the best! They taste much better than the boxed stuff for sure. I am taking an interest lately to old fashion, from scratch recipes especially cakes. My mom said that when she was a little girl her mom always made cakes from scratch and she could never enjoy a boxed cake mix since. I'm going to test that and see if they really are better. So far, I am agreeing.

Try your brownies with a scoop of peppermint ice cream and chocolate sauce. My neighbor made this yummy ensemble a few weeks ago at her home. It is refreshing and hits the spot.

Brownies From Scratch

• 5 oz (5 squares) unsweetened chocolate cut into squares (note: I did not have bakers chocolate when I made these so I took about 5 Tbsp of bitter unsweetened cocoa and just enough water to make a runny paste. It work perfectly in place of melted chocolate)
• 3/4 cup of butter
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13 X 9 inch pan. In small saucepan on low heat, melt chocolate and butter stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs until sugar is dissolved. Fold chocolate mixture, flour mixture and nuts into egg mixture until blended. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool.

Cinnamon Joes

I created this while trying to come up with a gourmet sloppy joe. Sloppy joes often have a bad reputation as cheap, easy, unhealthy food. By making a few changes, this classic recipe has been reborn!

I had an idea to try adding cinnamon to the meat and am glad I did. The fragrance in the sauce and in the kitchen was divine - not to mention the flavor was out of this world. My husband was a skeptic until he tried it and absolutely loved it. Who would have ever thought that cinnamon would compliment meat so well? We are going to make this more often.

Cinnamon Joes

• 1 1lb ground turkey or beef
• 3/4 cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce (will not taste the same with any other BBQ sauce)
• 1 tsp cinnamon divided
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Add salt and 1/2 tsp cinnamon to raw meat and cook until brown. Reduce heat to low and add BBQ sauce and the other 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with artisan rolls and a mild flavored cheese such as Swiss. The cheese is optional, but avoid a strong cheese or it will overtake the flavor.

Cake Mix Cookies

I remember hearing about these cookies and making them years ago. Then I forgot. Then I was reminded at an activity last week and I am so happy!

These cookies are so easy to make and there are hundreds of combinations. If you are ever in a hurry and you need to make cookies, as long as you have a cake mix, butter and an egg you are set. So easy and so delicious. I made these for a party and my husband loved them. I used a milk chocolate cake mix, chocolate chips and oats. They were soft and yummy.

I'd like to try chocolate cake mix with Andes mints on top, and spice cake mix with white chocolate chips or raisins. Mmmm.

Cake Mix Cookies

• 1 box of cake mix (your choice)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 egg
• (toppings or fillings of your choice - raisins, chocolate chips, oats, nuts, etc.)

Mix ingredients together. Shape into 1 inch balls and space 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Rainbow Jell-O

My Dad's wife makes this all the time and I love it. Six flavors of the rainbow all at once on your tongue is pure delight. This has a yummy, creamy, taste. It is a time consuming recipe but not difficult at all. You'll want to make this a day in advance from when you plan to serve it. Also, I used a round, deep dish to make it in - I found that when using the 3 oz Jell-O packages and a 9X13 pan the layers were super thin and not as drastic. You could also use cups.

Rainbow Jello

• 6 (3 oz) pkgs of Jell-O (cherry, lemon, orange, lime, blue raspberry, grape)
• 1 large container of fat free plain yogurt
• 1 container Cool Whip

Dissolve 1 cup of boiling water into jello contents. Take 1 cup of that mixture and add 2 Tbsp of cold water and pour in your pan or dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile add 1/3 cup of yogurt to remaining jello. When layer in fridge is solid, pour yogurt layer over. Continue this process with all 6 layers. Top with Cool Whip.