Orange Chicken by Pioneer Woman

I am a huge fan of Ree Drummond. I love her cooking style. Her recipes are quick, easy and not complicated, suitable for a busy wife and mother like me.

This recipe is adapted from Ree's Orange Chicken except I use real oranges instead of store-bought orange juice. I have few oranges that kids don't want to eat anymore, so I make good use of them. I also double the recipe considering I am feeding 4 boys.

I also use a cooling rack to drain the oil from the chicken. This makes the chicken oil-free and crunchier.

Orange Chicken

Prep: 20 Minutes	Level: Easy
Cook: 20 Minutes	Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Vegetable Or Peanut Oil For Frying

• Chicken

• 4 whole Egg Whites

• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs, Cut Into Bite Sized Pieces

• Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Orange Juice

• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

• 1 Tablespoon Packed Brown Sugar (OR White Sugar OR Honey)

• 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar (or Regular Distilled Vinegar)

• 1/4 teaspoon Sesame Oil

• Dash Of Salt

• Dash Of Crushed Red Pepper, More To Taste

• 1 clove Garlic, Pressed Or Minced

• 2 teaspoons Minced Ginger

• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch (additional)

• Zest Of 1 Orange (optional)

• 1/4 cup Water

• 2 whole Green Onions, Sliced

Preparation

For the chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and egg whites with a fork until almost frothy, about 1 minute. Add the chicken to the mixture and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

For the sauce: Meanwhile, put the orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, crushed red pepper, garlic and ginger (and orange zest, if using) in a small nonstick skillet and whisk together. Heat until bubbling and starting to thicken, about 3-4 minutes.

Whisk together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch slurry to the sauce. Mix in and thicken for 1 minute. (If sauce gets overly thick, just add in another 1/4 cup water and whisk in.)

Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 350 degrees F. In batches, carefully drop a few pieces of chicken into the oil (drop them in one by one to keep them from sticking together) and move it around, 2-3 minutes or until light golden. Let the pieces drain on a plate lined with paper towels for 2 to 3 minutes. Then drop them back into the oil for 1 minute to really solidify the coating.

Toss the chicken in the sauce and serve immediately with orange zest and sliced green onions on the top.

Taken from:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/orange-chicken/?printable_recipe=11820

Asian Chicken Curry at its Best

This is a very quick, easy and fast chicken curry that you can cook right in your home. This dish is always requested when friends come over, and always a hit on potluck parties.

We are a family of 6 so I always get my meat from either Sams club or Costco. Having 4 boys in the house, 6 lbs of chicken is just for one dinner.

I prefer using the real coconut milk from the real coconut, but it's hard getting one from the US. In the Philippines where I grew up, coconut is so easy to get.




I'm glad the Asian market in our area offers a variety of canned coconut milk. I prefer Arroy or Chaokoh brand because both are more thick and creamy.



For the curry, I use whatever is available in the Asian market or grocery store. For this recipe, I mix Indian Curry and the Vietnamese Curry powder I got from Asian Market. It tastes good especially with Morton seasoned salt. I got the perfect taste I want for my curry.

Easy Chicken Curry

6 lbs chicken thighs
2 cans of coconut milk
Oil for sauteeing
2 inches ginger (minced)
1 whole onion (chopped)
2 tbsp garlic (minced)
1 cup carrots (chopped)
3 potatoes
1 cup sweet green peas
Seasoned salt or plain salt ( according to your taste)
Black ground pepper
Chili pepper flakes (optional)

Curry powder (pictures posted below)
3 tbsp yellow curry
1 tbsp hot indian curry

Procedure

1. Cut the chicken into two pieces, remove skin. You can also use slices of whole chicken, drumstick or chicken breast, whatever you prefer. Set aside.
2. In a big pan, pour a little oil and sautee the ginger, onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the chicken. Stir the chicken for about 10-20 minutes or until the water is gone and chicken is turning a bit of light brown.
4. Add the curry powder. Stir for about 5 minutes, until the chicken absorbs the curry powder.
5. Add salt and pepper.
6. Add two cans of coconut milk.
7. It is important to turn the heat between medium and high, once the coconut milk boils, add the potatoes.
8. Check if potatoes is half way done. This will take about 15 minutes.
9. Add the carrots and peas. Taste it again. If blunt, add more salt.
10. Put heat to low and cook this for about 30-1hr uncovered.
11. If you want spicy, add a little of dried chili pepper flakes.
12. Serve with hot jasmine rice.

Bone-in chicken thigh is always tastier than white meat

NOTE:

• The low heat will cook the coconut milk and will add more aroma to your dish. You will see your curry turning to a very creamy dish.
• If you will use 3 lbs or less, use just 1 can of coconut milk. But if you want more soup base, 2 cans will do.
• OPTIONAL ADD ONS: sliced mushrooms, thai basil leaves, peas, eggplant, or bamboo shoots. 
• If you want it super spicy, use 1-2 sliced jalapeno peppers instead of chili flakes.

The picture might not do justice on the taste of this curry as I am only using a regular phone for photos, but I assure you, you would want to cook this again :)

The Ultimate Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushroom

November and December are the two months of nonstop Holiday celebration which makes everyone busy cooking and spending. For business owners, this is the Q4 so add that on the busy-ness list.

This is a signature dish of my family every year. I normally make this with my stepdaughter when she's around, some sort of bonding for the two of us. This year she wasn't around for Thanksgiving, nevertheless, she still made this for her mom and grandma.

This recipe only requires few ingredients and I usually make this about a day or two before the celebration, so it's one dish out of the way with the rest of my to-do cooking list.

I used to bake this using just a baking pan or silicon sheet, but I notice, it always comes out saggy and watery. I have tested using a cooling rack for this recipe and I got great result.... it's gone in a heartbeat during Thanksgiving dinner lol

I forgot where I got this recipe, but surely it's via google. For paprika lovers, you can add a dash of paprika on each mushroom cap before cooking. This makes the stuffed sausage aromatic. I did not put paprika in this batch though because I simply ran out of it, and no time to drive to the grocery.


INGREDIENTS:

24 large whole fresh mushrooms
1 lb Italian sausage
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 bunches scallions, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan ( Plus more for toppings)
1/4 cup Italian breadcrums
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
dash of paprika for toppings (Optional)


HOW TO DO IT:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place the cooling rack on a baking pan and spray with oil. I use Pam or any olive oil spray.

Wash the mushrooms and dry it with paper towel. Break off the stems. This will hollow out the center of the mushroom.

Don't throw the stems. Cut them or put into food processor. Set aside.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until the color turns into brown. Set aside until the sausage is no longer hot.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked sausage and the rest of the ingredients except the paprika. Mix all ingredients well.

Take each mushroom and using a spoon, fill each cap with the stuffing. Top it with the additional parmesan cheese and paprika.




Arrange the mushrooms evenly on the wire rack.





Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.









It's as simple as that!!! Great side dish to serve this Holiday and it could be your bonding moment between you and your kids. This is the first dish I taught my stepdaughter and she did it so well. Now, its her own take-along dish to parties, couldn't be more proud!!

Easy Oven-Baked Salmon

It's been a while since I last post a recipe in my blog. A lot of going on in my life. Being a full time wife and mother, and self-employed, it's taking a lot of my time. 

I miss sharing my recipes so here I am again :)

My stepdaughter's craving for a baked salmon. I don't have much in the fridge as I have not visited the grocery store for a while now, so I just gather whatever I have in the fridge for her baked salmon.

Here is what I came up with by combining the recipes I found online and the spices I have in my pantry and fridge.

I used my cooling rack for this recipe for optimal airflow which makes my salmon evenly baked. Spraying of oil before cooking makes clean up way more easy. 

Baked Salmon with Mayonaise

6-7 salmon fillet (thawed)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Mix the last 4 ingredients. Set aside.
3. Take out the cooling rack and place it in a baking pan. Spray it with an olive oil spray or Pam.
4. Place salmon on top of the cooling rack.
5. Season it with a little salt and pepper.
6. Baste the mayo mixture on top of each salmon fillet.
7. Bake the salmon for 35 minutes and broil at 450 F for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Serve with your favorite veggies or rice pilaf.