LEMON GARLIC PEPPER WINGS

2 lbs. chicken wings
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 whole garlic clove (4 slices chopped)
1 tbsp. pepper
2 tbsp. salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Place wings in bowl; pour on lemon juice, garlic and pepper. Sprinkle salt and pout oil; stir. Marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally to keep coated. Wings may be barbecued or placed in saucepan and baked at 450* 20 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally.

Read More

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits - Top Secret Version

Ingredients:2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
4 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup cold whole milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Brush on top
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 pinch salt

Directions:1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Combine Bisquick and cold butter. Don't combine too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter about the size of peas.
3 Add cheddar, milk and 1/4 tsp garlic.
4 Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
5 Drop 9 equal portions onto greased cookie sheet.
6 Bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are light brown.
7 Melt 2 tbsp butter in a bowl. Stir in 1/2 tsp garlic powder and parsley flakes.
8 Use a pastry brush to spread garlic butter over tops of biscuits.

Read More

BIGGEST LOSER PANCAKES

Biggest loser oatmeal & egg white pancakes. They say once you try these, you will never go back. tastes like French toast!

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
                                                           1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed. Makes about 10 pancakes.

Number of Servings: 3
Nutritional Info Per Serving:
181 Calories, 2.7g Fat, 10mg Cholesterol, 361mg Sodium, 20g Carbs, 2.8g

Read More

Pasta Fagioli slow cooker crock pot version

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
3 (10 ounce) cans beef stock
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons pepper
5 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces pasta

Directions:
1. Brown beef in a skillet.
2. Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
3. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
4. During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.

Read More

THE BEST potato soup recipe ever!

THE BEST potato soup recipe ever!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, sliced into small bite sized pieces
1/2 regular package uncooked bacon, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 bunch celery, diced
8 cups milk
4 cups water
4 chicken bullion cubes (use a cup of the hot potato water to dissolve, then use the cup of hot water in place of one of the above cups of water)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup salted butter
3/4 cup flour
1/4 bunch freshly chopped parsley
1 cup whipping cream
***For garnish:***
Shredded cheese
fried bacon bits
chopped green onions

Directions:
In large pot, boil potatoes in water 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. In sauté pan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain bacon fat and place on paper towel over plate to drain more. Add onion and celery to bacon pan over medium-high heat until celery is tender, about 5 minutes. To the large potato pan, add milk, water, bullion, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture is very hot, about 8 minutes, stirring often. Do not let mixture boil. In small, heavy saucepan melt butter. Add flour and mix well. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture bubbles, stirring 2 to 3 minutes to make a roux. While constantly stirring soup, add roux slowly until soup is thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Stir in parsley, reserved potatoes, and cream. Garnish with cheese, bacon bits, onions or all three. Serve hot!

Read More

Apple Cinnamon Loaf

Apple Cinnamon Loaf

1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 apple, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. Beat white sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated; add vanilla extract.

Combine flour and baking powder together in another bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture. Mix milk into batter until smooth. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Next add half the apples and half the brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Lightly pat apple mixture into batter.

Pour the remaining batter over apple layer; top with remaining apples and add more brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Lightly pat apples into batter; swirl brown sugar mixture through apples using a finger or spoon.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

Read More

Fried Cabbage Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 lbs cabbage, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1.Fry bacon until crisp and well browned.
2. Drain and set aside.
3. Add chopped onion to the bacon grease and stir until translucent.
4. Add cabbage, pepper flakes, salt and pepper, stirring until all cabbage is coated.
5. Add the crumbled bacon bits and cover.
6. Cook over low heat until cabbage is tender.

Read More

Creamy white chicken alfredo lasagna one of my favs

Ingredients

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA, divided
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil, chopped, divided
12 lasagna noodles, cooked

Directions
HEAT oven to 350°F.
COMBINE chicken, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and tomatoes. Beat cream cheese, milk and garlic powder with mixer until well blended; stir in 2 Tbsp. basil. Mix half with the chicken mixture.
SPREAD half the remaining cream cheese mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining noodles, cream cheese mixture and mozzarella; cover.
BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

Read More

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Ingredients:

8oz pkg. cream cheese
8oz. Pepperjack cheese, shredded
1 1/2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded
8 flour tortillas
cooking spray
shredded cheddar cheese
green onions, for garnish
sour cream
salsa


Stir together cream cheese, Pepperjack cheese and taco seasoning.
Fold in chicken.
Divide among flour tortillas.
Tuck in sides, and roll up each tortilla.
Lay seam side down in a sprayed 9x13" baking dish.
Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Turn chimi's over, and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Serve with cheddar cheese, green onions, sour cream, and salsa.

Read More

Pasta, Tomatoes, Veggie Broth, Olive Oil, and Seasonings

Blow your MIND" Tomato Basil Pasta! - No Straining, just Stirring

Pasta, Tomatoes, Veggie Broth, Olive Oil, and Seasonings (details below)

Throw it all in the pot, INCLUDING the uncooked Pasta, and cook! - Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. The starch leaches out of the pasta and makes a rich, warm sauce for the noodles. The other ingredients cook right along with the pasta

Ingredients

12 ounces pasta (I used Linguine)
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor)
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .

Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

Click SHARE, so it will store on your personal page.

Read More

Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cup muffin tin with silicone liners, foil liners sprayed with cooking spray or just spray the cups with cooking spray. Either of these three methods will make it easy to take the cupcake out after it’s cooked. Paper liners make it difficult to remove the cupcakes.

Mix the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Add the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, baking powder and baking soda to the mixture. Fill each muffin cup with 1/3 cup of the mixture. Bake for twenty minutes and let cool for twenty minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle more pumpkin pie spice on top and serve.

Read More

Tarragon Chicken

Ingredients

• 
  Preparation4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves$
• 1/4 teaspoon salt $
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt $

1. 1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
2. 2. Combine olive oil and remaining 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil mixture to pan, spreading evenly over bottom of pan with a wide spatula. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes. Drizzle chicken with 2 teaspoons oil mixture. Turn chicken over; cook 2 minutes. Drizzle remaining oil mixture over chicken; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until done. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Pour pan drippings over chicken; serve immediately.

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House 
2009

Read More

Garlic, chilli and broccoli stir-fry

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 85g/3oz broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• ½ red chilli, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ lime, juice only
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Heat the olive oil in a wok, add the broccoli and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until starting to soften, then add the garlic and chilli and fry for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender.
3. To serve, spoon the stir-fry into a bowl and serve as a side dish

Read More

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

"Tasty strips of sirloin are seasoned with garlic powder, then slow cooked with onion, green pepper, and stewed tomatoes for this easy and comforting dinner."

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips garlic powder to taste 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cube beef bouillon 1/4 cup hot water 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup chopped onion 2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
2.	Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
3.	Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

Read More

General Tsao's Chicken II

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups vegetable oil for frying 1 egg 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 pinch white pepper 1 cup cornstarch   2 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 tablespoons chopped green onion 1 clove garlic, minced

6 dried whole red chilies 1 strip orange zest 1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 3 tablespoons chicken broth 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 teaspoons sesame oil 2 tablespoons peanut oil   2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.	Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.
3.	In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
4.	Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.

Read More

Vegetable Chow Mein/Hakka Noodles with Instant Ramen Noodles

Indo-Chinese food is the amongst the most popular cuisine in India. Indian’s who move out of the country miss this kind of fast food the most, because this cuisine is extremely difficult to find in restaurants. Noodles, fried rice, Manchurian – these are very uniquely Indo-Chinese dishes that evolved in the north east part of India (which is close to the China border). The people in this region borrowed flavors from both the countries and created a cuisine that is their pride now. These dishes are as famous as street food as they in fancy restaurants. I remember I was so excited when I saw chow mein on the menu of a Chinese take out here in the US for the first time. But then I discovered they were totally different from the yummy noodles that I am used to!

The recipe that I am sharing today is my favorite – chow mein. These are thin noodles that stir fried with some sauces and vegetables/egg/meat and are extremely delicious!! Chow Mein means fried noodles in Chinese. They can be stir fried (as we get them in India) or deep fried (as we get in the USA). These noodles are also known as Hakka Noodles in India. Essentially these noodles are stir fried with vegetables until they get an almost crispy texture. These are almost the not so juicy versions of the lo mein from a Chinese take out, but with more flavor! You can buy Hakka noodles in Indian grocery stores, Ching’s is the most popular brand.

But they are not readily available everywhere. So this time I thought of cooking these up with instant ramen (maggi) noodles. They are very inexpensive ($2 for a 12 pack!) and these noodles are the closest in consistency to the Indian hakka noodles. You can buy any brand of ramen noodles, any flavor. We are not going to use the seasoning that’s provided with the package. You could also use angel hair pasta, that would be fine too. The same recipe can be followed with rice noodles as well.If you are using instant noodles, cook them carefully because they cook really really fast! Boil a large pot of water as you would for cooking pasta. Bring it to a boil and add in the instant noodles, all at the same time. They cook in about a minute on high heat. Immediately drain the noodles and immerse them in ice cold water. This stops the cooking and helps in removing the excess starch from the noodles. This also ensures that the noodles don’t stick to each other. Drain the noodles from the cold water after 5 minutes and spread them in a large plate/bowl and let them air dry for a while, until your sauce is ready. These noodles can be prepared and stored in the refrigerator for a few days and used whenever required!

Another important thing about this recipe is that the vegetables must be sliced/julienne very thin. The vegetables must not be soggy, but remain crisp and crunchy in the noodles. You can also use the pre-sliced coleslaw mix and add more veggies if you like. You may also add in some scrambled eggs and add them in while adding the noodles. This recipe is a brilliant way of sneaking in veggies into your kids diet.

Ingredients:
Serves 4

Instant noodles – 4 packs
Onion (sliced) – 1 medium
Green Pepper (julienne) – 1 medium (use red, yellow or orange peppers or a mix of all these for extra color)
Cabbage (julienne) – 1 cup (Substitute purple cabbage or napa cabbage)
Carrot (julienne) – 2 medium
Baby Corn (1 inch pieces)- 2 cups
French beans (julienne)- 1/2 cup
Mushrooms (sliced)- 1 cup (optional)

Use any vegetables that are lying in your fridge or freezer. Feel free to add in bean sprouts, broccoli, snap peas, chestnuts, bok choy and celery.

Spring Onions/Scallions – a small bunch
Garlic (chopped) – 6 large cloves
Ginger – 1 tsp (grated)
Salt – to taste
Pepper powder (preferably white pepper) – 1/2 tsp
Oil (preferably asian sesame oil) – 1/4 cup (use less if you are using a non-stick pan)

For the sauce:

Soy Sauce – 1/4 cup
Chilli Vinegar – 2 Tbsp (I’ll tell you a secret on where to find this in the method section below!!)
Hot sauce (I LOVE Sriracha brand) – 1 Tbsp (optional, substitute green chilli sauce if you can find it)
Duck sauce (I like to save the packets from Chinese takeouts) – 2 packs (optional)
Tomato Ketchup – 1 Tbsp

Method:

For the noodles:

• Boil a large pot of water as you would for cooking pasta. Bring it to a boil and add in the instant noodles, all at the same time. They cook in about a minute on high heat.
• Immediately drain the noodles and immerse them in ice cold water. This stops the cooking and helps in removing the excess starch from the noodles. This also ensures that the noodles don’t stick to each other. Drain the noodles from the cold water after 5 minutes and spread them in a large plate/bowl and let them air dry for a while, until your sauce is ready.

Tip: These noodles can be prepared and stored in the refrigerator for a few days and used whenever required!

For the sauce:

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned for the sauce in a small bowl.

Tip: You can make your own chilli vinegar by immersing 3-4 slit  green/serrano chillies in 1 cup of white vinegar. Now here’s my secret – I save the water from the pickles jalapeno peppers. They are fabulous for recipes like this and various dips!!

To prepare the chow mein:

• Heat the oil in a large pan/wok on high heat. Add the ginger and the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Then add in the onions, cabbage, carrots, french beans, baby corn and mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt and the pepper powder and sauet on high heat for about 4 minutes.

Note: The logic here is to first add the vegetables that take long to cook. The other veggies like bok choy and peppers need not cook that much, so they are added along with the noodles. The bean sprouts need not cook at all, so they are added in the end along with the scallions (spring onions).

• Then add in the green pepper (and other peppers if using) and the cooked noodles. Pour in the sauce and toss to mix everything together. You can use the pasta/noodles spoon or use two wooden spoons and toss the noodles like you would toss a salad.

• Once mixed thoroughly, let the noodles stir fry for 5 minutes on high heat. Stir every minute to make sure they fry evenly.

• Finish with bean sprouts (if using) and lots of chopped spring onions (greens only, use whites while adding large onions in step 1).

Serve immediately. I usually serve my noodles with Gobhi Manchurian or Mushroom 65 and Fried Rice. Make all these and you’ll have a Ind-Chinese feast ready for your family. I agree its not the healthiest of meals, but it sure is divine in taste!!!

Try this recipe and you will be hooked!!!

Source > http://ambikaskitchen.com/?p=3933

Read More