General Tsos Chicken

You will find the popular, delicious, spicy and sweet General Tsos Chicken in any Chinese Restaurant Menu, but with all the bad oils and MSG (monosodium glutamate,) it's so much healthier, (and not to mention cheaper,) if you make it in your kitchen.

Honestly, this recipe is a much more challenging recipe to try...but I guarantee you...it can't get any more tasty!

16 Ingredients You Will Need:

- 1/2 cup of arrowroot powder (cornstarch works just as well, and it's much healthier!)

- 1/4 cup of water

- 1 1/2 tsp of garlic (I used granulated garlic)

- 1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger root

- 3/4 cup of sugar (I used rapadura)

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

- 1/2 cup HOT chicken broth (heat it up if you have to)

- 3 1bs. boneless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)

- 1/2 cup soy sauce

- 1 tsp ground black pepper

- 1 egg

- 1 cup arrowroot power 

- 1 cup coconut oil (or any oil of your choice. Coconut is the healthiest, though!)

- 2 cups chopped green onions

- 16 chile peppers, sun-dried

DIRECTIONS:

1.	To Make Sauce: In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup arrowroot powder and 1/4 cup water. Mix together. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white wine vinegar. Then add chicken broth and stir all together until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.
2.	To Prepare Chicken: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup arrowroot powder and stir until chicken is evenly coated. Add oil to help separate chicken pieces. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep fry at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
3.	To Make Mixture: Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add scallions and dried chile peppers and stir-fry briefly. Remove sauce from refrigerator and stir. Add sauce to wok. Then add fried chicken and cook until sauce thickens (add arrowroot powder or water as needed until sauce is as thick as you like it). 1. Start a batch of rice (we use brown rice). 2. Cut up the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into bite size pieces. 3. In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup arrowroot powder and 1/4 cup water. Mix together. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white wine vinegar. Then add chicken broth and stir all together until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed. 4. To Prepare Chicken: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 cup soy sauce and white pepper. 5. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup arrowroot powder and stir until chicken is evenly coated. Add oil to help separate chicken pieces. 6. Heat up coconut oil in a frying pan. 7. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep fry at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crispy. 8. When it is finished frying drain the chicken on paper towels. 9. To Make Mixture: Place a small amount of oil in pan and heat until it is hot. 10. Add scallions and dried chile peppers and stir-fry briefly. 11. Remove sauce from refrigerator and stir. 12. Pour the sauce into the pan with the scallions and peppers. 13. Then add (already) fried chicken and cook until sauce thickens (add arrowroot powder or water as needed until sauce is as thick as you like it). 14. Serve warm over rice. Enjoy! - - - (My family enjoying the meal.) Hope you enjoy it too! ~Mel

Breakfast Leak Sausage

As soon as I saw this recipe, I really wanted to try it. And when I got a change too, it turned out SO good! They are more filling then just plain sausage, and extra tasty, and I had fun making them. :)

Apple, Leek & Bacon Breakfast Sausage

Servings: 14-18 patties, depending on the size.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 thick-cut strips of smoked bacon

• 3 ⁄4 cup chopped leeks (white ends)

• 1 medium apple, cored and quartered (no need to peel, if organic)

• 1 tablespoon fresh or dried rosemary

• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped sage leaves (or 2 tsp of dried)

• 1 tablespoon molasses (honey would work too, just use a bit less)

• 1 ⁄2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar 

• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 - 2 teaspoons sea salt, depending on personal taste

• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves

• A dash of cayenne powder

• 2 lbs ground pork

(Note: Stale old herbs won't work very well here! Using good

quality herbs and spices makes a huge difference.)

Directions:

First of all, you have an option of firming up the bacon a little, to give the sausage more body and a little less flab. You can do this by baking the strips of bacon on a baking sheet at 400º F for a few minutes, until the rashers are about half-way done-- this takes out some of the moisture, and a little bit of the grease. You can absolutely skip this step, too. I've done it both ways, and I prefer to make the sausages with slightly-cooked bacon. The rest is super-simple: Put all of the ingredients except for the pork into your food processor, and whiz until everything is pretty finely chopped. You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice, so you don't have any long strands of leeks. Once it's all evenly chopped up, add the ground pork, and just pulse for a couple of seconds until it looks like it's all mixed well -- if you go too long, it makes the texture too crumbly. If this is your first time making them, I would suggest getting out a pan and throwing a little bit of the mixture in to cook and taste. Then you'll know if you need a little extra salt or acid, before making them into patties. When you're ready, form them into little patties, and lay them out on a large baking sheet. You can flash-freeze these for a couple of hours, take the frozen patties off of the baking sheet and store them. When

you're ready for a great breakfast, just pull some out of the freezer and cook them in a slightly oiled skillet. You can also bake them in the oven at 350º F for 30 minutes-- a great way to prepare a lot of them for brunch!

These are great for freezing and thawing the night before, too!

Enjoy!

~Mel

(P.S Sorry I haven't posted on here in forever! It takes a lot of time to take picture-steps while trying to hurry and make the food! I have been still consistently posting on my main blog. If you don't know the link though, here it is.)

Crispy Buttermilk Onion Rings

These glorious rings had a crispy and flavorful crust on the outside, and the onion inside the crust was slightly crunchy but tender and evenly flavored by the crust!

 I couldn't have been more pleased on how they turned out! 

Crispy Buttermilk Onion Rings:

Serves: 6

Preparation Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 5 min

What You'll Need:

• 3 or 4 Spanish-type onions
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

What To Do:

1. Peel onions and cut into 1/3-inch slices; separate into rings.
2. Pour buttermilk into large shallow dish; add onion rings and soak for 30 minutes. 
3. In a large shallow dish, combine flour, water, baking powder, salt, egg, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper; stir until smooth. 
4. In a skillet, heat oil for frying on medium-high heat. Remove onion rings from buttermilk and dip into flour mixture; place in skillet and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain onion rings on paper towels. 
    Also:
   These rings come out crunchiest when made in an electric skillet, because it's easier to keep the oil at a consistent temperature.
   - - -
   
   
   My changes to this recipe:
   
   
   1. I used plain sweet onions instead of Spanish-type onions.
   2. It calls for vegetable oil, but I put coconut oil in its place. 
   
   But everything else I did how they said to do it! 
   
   
   

   

   
   
   (Sorry there aren't any more pictures! I wasn't able to take very many in between frying the onion rings!) :P
   
   The rings went well with our stir-fry dinner and my whole family enjoyed them!
    If you make them, I'd love it if you'd let me know and tell me how they turned out! :D
   
   Cheerio!
   -Melody-

|| Homemade Honey Glazed Donuts ||

Who needs Krispy Kreme Donuts when you have a recipe as simple and delicious as these?

I was as happy as could be when these donuts turned out oh-so good last evening!

I have done these donuts once before, and they turned out delicious and my whole family loved them. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you Pioneer Woman!

Now to share with you the recipe.

Homemade Glazed Doughnuts 

Servings: 18

 

  Ingredients:

• 1-1/8 cup Whole Milk, Warm
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2-1/4 teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
• 2 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
• 1-1/4 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Shortening  

  GLAZE:

• 3 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Cold Water Or Milk

Preparation Instructions:

To Make the Dough:
1. Make sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
2. Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add yeast into a small bowl.
4. Pour milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Melt butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting so butter won't be overly hot.
6. Add beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter's not too hot for the eggs.
7. Add the egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
8. With the mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.
9. Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it's thoroughly combined.
10. With the mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup increments until all the flour is gone.
11. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole minutes.
12. After five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
13. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds.
14. Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
15. After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
16. Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
To Make the Doughnuts:
1. Remove bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/3-inch thickness.
3. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and cut as much as you can, etc.
4. Cut holes out of each round using a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
5. Place both doughnuts and holes on a floured baking sheet.
6. Cover with large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen; my kitchen is very drafty, so I have to briefly warm the griddle, then turn it off and set the sheets on top to keep warm.
7. Allow doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if necessary. Doughuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.
To Fry the Dougnuts
1. Heat plenty of vegetable shortening in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375 to 380 degrees---do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
2. One to two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
3. Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
4. Place doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible before it soaks into the doughnut.
5. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side.
6. Allow doughnuts to slightly cool.
To Glaze
1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.
2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)
4. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)
5. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.

- - -

Yes, I know, lot's of instructions...but they are very informative and helpful!

My changes to this recipe:

1.  It calls for Whole Milk, but considering we didn't have enough of it in our fridge, I used what we had: buttermilk. The donuts were more flavorful and moist! 

2. We had only salted butter, so I used that and left out the salt that it called for in the recipe.

3. For the shortening, I used Coconut Oil. They fried beautifully, but if we had any lard left from our pigs from last year's butchering, I would've used that instead of Coconut Oil.

4. For the GLAZE, I did 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons of Honey, and approximately 1/4 cup of water. It wasn't as sugary but still plenty delicious.
5. It says to use a dough hook on your mixer. Well, I skipped both, and stirred it by hand with a spoon until it got too thick to keep going, then I kneaded it by hand. :)

6. And for the most important change in this recipe...I did NOT refrigerate overnight. Instead, I put in a metal bowl covered in plastic wrap, then put it out in our FREEZER, for 30 MINUTES, then I did everything else she instructed afterwards. They raised the same and tasted the same too! :)

   
And also, as another quick note, I doubled the recipe and it made 29 donuts!

Enjoy!

~Melody

Dinner Served: Rib Eye Steak

This evening's dinner was very scrumptious.

 It was intended first to be a cubed teriyaki steak in a green bell pepper stir-fry, but after my mom and I hurried out to our chest freezer filled with beef to bring back the desired packages of steak to thaw for dinner, we discovered that our freezer wasn't working and that quite a few packages of the meat had thawed.

To put it plainly: not good!

But thankfully by the next hour, we had transported all the meat from the one freezer into the small spaces of the other freezers in our garage. I then made it inside our kitchen, my hands nicely numbed from the past hour, with two heavy packages of Rib Eye Steak and another package of pork steak, and found a recipe on the internet that I am pleased to say was quite tasty! :)

Cuban-Style Rib Eye Steaks

Ingredients:

• 1 (tablespoon) garlic powder
• 1 (tablespoon) onion powder
• 1/2 (tablespoon) seasoning salt
• 1 (tablespoon) meat tenderizer
• 1 (medium) onion, sliced
• 1 (12.0 ounce bottle) bottle of beer
• 1 1/4 (cup) lime juice
• 2 (pound) rib eye steak, 1/4 inch thick

Directions

1. Mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, meat tenderizer, and seasoning salt in a small bowl. Rub the seasoning blend into both sides of the steaks.
2. Arrange 1/4 of the sliced onions in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan, lay steaks across the onions, top with more onions and pour 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 of the bottle of beer over the top; repeat these layers with the rest of the steaks and ingredients. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Place steaks on broiling pan 3 inches from heat. Broil on both sides to desired degree of doneness; about 6-7 minutes total for medium rare. Allow steak to rest a minimum of 5 minutes before serving.

- - -

My changes to this recipe:

- It calls for meat tenderizer. If you have this, go ahead and use it, but I found a neat tip on the internet saying you can substitute that with 1 Tablespoon of White Vinegar...I love it when you find things like that! :)

- It calls for "a bottle of beer." I used what we had out in our fridge: one 11.0 oz. bottle of Guinness.

- I used lemon juice instead of lime juice.

- It says let marinade for at least 30 minutes. I marinaded mine probably for about 3 1/2 hours!

- The Rib-Eye steak we had was about 1/2" - 3/4" thick. And because of that, I cooked them for about 5-6 more minutes in our oven. 

- - -

The steak marinading.

The steak in the oven, ready to be flipped!

Since the beef we were using was from one of our bulls we butchered this year, the meat wasn't as tender as the recipe made it sound, but otherwise, it had a moist and delicious flavor! :) I served it with some homemade mashed potatoes and green salad, all three from our farm and garden! What a blessing!

Enjoy!

~Melody

(P.S This is my first post! Yay!) :D