The FAMOUS Empanadas

Living in Tropic, we didn't go out for dinner for our birthdays, instead there were two different dishes that we would beg mom to make. Either homemade pizza, or EMPANADAS! Our first few years of marriage, I don't think I could make them without having some kind of meltdown. But, I've gotten pretty good at them and it's always a plus when Mardi's eyes light up and she's hovering around the kitchen waiting for the beloved treat.

Ingredients:
Dough:
2 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp powdered milk
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
4 Tbsp oil
Directions for Dough:
1.) Mix yeast, sugar, and water. Let it bubble, then mix in other ingredients.
2.) Knead together, pull off lemon-size balls of dough to make empanada shell.

Filling:
1 pound of hamburger
garlic & oregano for seasoning
green onion (diced)
2 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 can tomato sauce
grated cheese
sour cream

Directions:
1.) Brown hamburger and onions on stove. Add garlic and oregano for seasoning.
2.) Add worchestershire sauce and tomato sauce to browned meat.
3.) Roll out dough shell.
4.) Fill shell with hamburger filling, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
5.) Fold shell over, and make sure it is sealed.
6.) Deep fry until golden brown.

Homemade Reeses Bars

Since I am the developer of the site, I figure I can throw a curve ball if I want. After my grandma provided me with 6 jars of peanut butter for my food storage, I decided to look up a kind of Reeses recipe. I remember my mom having made something like this when I was little only once or twice. It is soooooooo good, that I also decided that she probably quit making them after finding herself EATING THE WHOLE PAN! (I won't end up eating the entire pan at my house, I had to slap Mardi away right before dinner tonight and Brett has his own little addiction to Reeses Peanut Butter cups as well.)

Homemade Reeses Bars

1 cup butter, softened
1 packet (about 8-9) whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the butter , graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Whip until light and fluffy. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. In a metal or glass bowl over very hot water (almost simmering), melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I thought it tasted more like teriyaki than sweet and sour but it was still good. I pulled together a few recipes because I didn't have much on hand and really didn't want to go to the store. The next time I make this, I will add red peppers(I don't like green) and carrots-like in Triessa's recipe.





1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1" chunks
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
2 teaspoons cornstarch

In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.

1 onion-cut into 1 inch chunks
several stalks celery cut into 1 inch chunks
slivered almonds-I just added some until it looked like enough and then sprinkled some on top

Sauce:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 large can pineapple with juice
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Bring all ingredients to a boil and thicken with cornstarch.


Stir fry the onion and celery in vegetable oil, until crisp-tender. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add sauce and mix. Serve with white or brown rice.

Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

My sure sign of a good dinner is when Justin's compliment is followed by, "You can make this one again." Yesterday's Sunday Linner (Lunch/Dinner) was one of those recipes, so I thought I would share it here.

Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin (from Taste of Home)

2 pork tenderloins (1 lb. each)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup apricot preserves

3 Tbsp. chicken broth

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp. minced garlic in the jar)

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Place pork on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. (I don't have a roasting pan, so I just used a glass 9x13.) Combine the oil, salt and pepper; rub over pork.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over pork. Bake 10-15 minutes longer (I baked it 20 minutes longer), basting occasionally with pan juices. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Side dishes: I served it over white rice with crescent rolls and peas, but it would be really good with asparagus and mashed potatoes, too.

photo is from the Taste of Home web site. I'm not a food photographer at all :)

Chinese Take-Out Lemon Chicken

While I was growing up, our family had a Sunday tradition. Each Sunday after Church, we would go out to eat at China Bowl. I always felt guilty about so blatantly breaking the Sabbath, but my parents assured me that the people who ran the restaurant didn't believe in the Sabbath so it was OK.

We always ordered the same things: Sweet and Sour Pork, Beef with Broccoli, Ham Fried Rice, and Lemon Chicken. I loved the lemon chicken. Its sauce was sweet enough to be a pie filling, yet so warm and gooey and delicious.

I've never been able to find that exact same taste, but this recipe comes close--in fact, I think it's better. It's China Bowl's lemon chicken without the breaded chicken breast and with some veggies added for good measure.

My family stopped the Sunday China Bowl tradition many years ago now, but we still do get take out during the Priesthood session of General Conference. So, between my semi-annual tastings of the original China Bowl lemon chicken, this Kraft Food and Family recipe does well to substitute for the gooey, warm, sweet flavor. (And it only takes about 30 minutes to prepare!)

Chinese Take-Out Lemon Chicken

1 Tbsp. oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 pkg. (6 oz.) snow peas (about 2 cups), trimmed

1 small red pepper, cut into strips

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing

2 cloves garlic, minced

HEAT oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add snow peas and peppers; cook and stir 2 min.

MIX dry gelatin mix and cornstarch in small bowl. Add broth, dressing and garlic; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add to skillet. Reduce heat to medium; cook 3 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently.

Lindsay's notes:

1. I use frozen pepper strips instead of cutting up a pepper. It's a great shortcut especially if your family shies away from a lot of peppers.
2. Have you tried the new Kingsford Corn Starch package that allows you to just scoop it out with a spoon? It's a fabulous new packaging for messy corn starch.
3. I use the store brand Zesty Italian and it works just fine.
4. Use the minced garlic in the jar. It saves time and stinkiness.

Italian Pork Roast

This recipe came out of my Family Circle magazine this month. Any time I see something that can be cooked in the crock pot while I'm at work is AWESOME!
**Ingredients:
1 boneless pork roast
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes
Basil
Oregano
garlic
1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp low sodium chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

**Directions:
1. Rub pork with 1 tsp of the Italian seasoning and place in slow cooker.
2. Scatter tomatoes around pork. Pour 1/3 cup of broth in cooker; top with 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp of the salt and 1/4 tsp of the pepper. Cook 3 hours on high or 5 1/2 hours on low.
3. Add green pepper to cooker the last 45 minutes of cooking time.
4. Blend remaining 2 Tbsp broth, cornstarch and balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Remove pork to a serving platter; keep warm. Strain liquid from slow cooker into a small saucepan and place vegetables around pork on serving platter.
5. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture, remaining 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper; cook 1 minute. Spoon sauce over pork before serving.

***Side dishes:
cubed potatoes and carrots baked at 375 degrees for an hour with butter and italian seasonings
(rolls and suddenly salad) You can't make EVERYTHING from scratch every meal!!

Rotkohl for St. Patrick's Day

Brett emailed me a recipe two days ago... I think he was trying to drop a hint for St. Patrick's Day dinner. He took charge and prepared the Rotkohl, and we grilled some brats to go along with it. Yum!
Ingredients:
1 medium head of red cabbage
4 slices of bacon, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt and pepper
Directions:
Chop cabbage coarsely.
Fry bacon, once it is cooked, but not crisp, add the sugar and onions and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the sugar is slightly caramelized.
Stir in the cabbage, apple, onion, bay leaves, sugar and vinegar, as well as generous amounts of salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for several minutes until ingredients are heated through, stirring constantly.
Cover the pot and reduce heat to medium low. Allow the cabbage to cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

My Italian Dinner

Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill are my all-time favorite places, I especially like the Bruschetta or flatbreads with tomatoes. So, tonight I decided to try an Italian dinner. It was good, but not Macaroni Grill.
Main Course:
Rotini noodles, with Italian sausage and "Hunt's" spaghetti sauce.
Side Dishes:
Green Salad
Focaccia Bread topping - yum!
Ingredients: 6 Tbsp Olive oil/ 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar/ 1 clove garlic, minced/ salt and pepper/ diced tomato/ mozzarella cheese/ basil
** I bought the little Italian bread in the deli - you mix the above ingredients, all but the cheese and set aside. Meanwhile you melt the cheese on your bread, serve with topping.

Crock Pot Sweet & Sour

So... the meal today was just a concoction of my own, but it turned out yummy. And, I always love something that can be thrown in the crock pot to cook while you do other things. (After church nap was on the agenda today.)
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 cup grated carrots
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 can chicken broth
**Combine all of the above ingredients in the crock pot and let cook on high for two hours.

Sweet Sticky Rice:
**We have a steamer that does sticky rice, so cook it for the recommended time.
1 can lite coconut milk - (prepare as directed on the can)
**When rice is finished, pour the yummy coconut milk mixture over the top and stir.

Rhodes Rolls
**I learned the trick from my friend, Holly, to put two rolls together in a muffin tin. I always end up using the "quick rising" method. You put the rolls in the muffin tin and heat your oven to 250 degrees, then turn off. Meanwhile you boil some water in a pan and put the water under the rolls in the oven. They are risen within an hour!!!

Yummy Chicken Biscuits and Gravy

4 cans crescent rolls

2 cans chicken

4 stalks of celery, diced

2 green onion stems, diced

1 pkg cream cheese

3 chicken gravy packets

bread crumbs 

melted butter

** Preheat oven to 375 degrees, melt butter in own bowl, soften cream cheese in a large bowl.

** Combine cream cheese, drained chicken, celery and onion.

** Put together two crescent rolls so that they form a larger triangle.  Scoop chicken mixture into rolls toward the wider end, tuck in each side and roll up.

** Roll in butter, then in bread crumbs and place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees about 20 minutes or until browned to your desire.

** Prepare gravy as packet instructs as well as any other side you would like.

**Serve with gravy and ENJOY!

Roasted Vegetable Pie

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced

2 medium parsnips peeled and cut

1 cup baby carrots

1 sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup vegetable both

1 Tbs cornstarch

3/4 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbs bread crumbs

1 pkg refregerated rolled piecrusts 

2 Tbs parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg beaten with 1 Tbs of water

** Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Coat a large baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

**In a large bowl, add cauliflower, squash, parsnips, carrots, and pepper.  Toss with olive oil and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.  Spread out on the baking pan in a single layer.  Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring halfway.

** Meanwhile place the broth in a medium-size saucepan and stir in the cornstarch.  Bring to a boil lower heat and simmer 1 minute until thickened.  Stir in the thyme, oregano and remaining salt and pepper.  In a large bowl, gently toss roasted vegetables, bread crumbs and sauce.

**Fit one of the piecrusts into deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.  Sprinkle 1 Tbs of cheese over the bottom.  Spoon in vegetable mixture and sprinkle on the remaining cheese.  Place the second piecrust on top and crimp crusts together.  Pierce a few times with a paring knife to vent.  Brush lightly with the egg-water mixture.

**Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Lower heat to 425 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before slicing.

ENJOY!!:)