Asparagus

Pick a bunch of asparagus that looks good. I prefer thin to medium stems.

Wash, snap off the ends

Place in a 12 inch skillet with about a few Tablespoons of water.  Cover and place over medium heat.  Let the asparagus steam until it's bright green.

Drain the water

Add a small amount of EVOO (and small amount of butter for flavour if you wish), minced garlic, minced red onions, and a TBSP of balsamic vinegar. Sauté until the vinegar is mostly absorbed. Super delicious, sweet, healthy, and easy! Great with fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Laundry Detergent

Ok, so I know this is not edible, but it IS still a recipe. . .

Save up those detergent bottles, and when you run out, try making your own detergent. Here is what I did:

grate (finely) 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap ($0.97 at Wal-Mart). Other lightly scented soap can also be used (body or laundry--another laundry soap I saw is Zote)

1.5 c Sodium Carbonate (pH plus or Washing Soda. Cannot find Washing Soda, so I used pH plus from the pool chemical section. It is 98% Sodium Carbonate and 2% Water. $5.97 at Wal-Mart)

1.5 c Borax. ( I believe it was $3.97 at Wal-Mart)


boil 3 c water in a large saucepan. add grated soap, whisk well. add sodium carbonate. mix; add borax, mix again. pour into a bucket and add about a gallon of water (more if you want it thinner, less if you want it concentrated. I simply did this amount because it was the combined capacity of my bottles). If you add about a gallon, use one ounce per load. It must be shaken before each use, as it will separate almost immediately.


I figured out that this costs about $4 for 120 loads. a lot less than you pay for Tide

Southwestern "Eggrolls"

Tonight I was thinking about how to get rid of some egg roll wrappers left over from when I made cream cheese wontons.
Soooooooo, I decided to do a southwest veggie egg roll.

In the food processor, I 'processed':

About 4oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
the leaves of 10-15 stems of cilantro
1 jalepen, ribs removed, most seeds left (remove seeds if you don't like some heat)
About half an onion
About a third of a zucchini
1/4 cup green onion
2 cloves garlic

Place in a large bowl.

Process one can of diced tomatoes, drained. Don't go overboard, you don't want a puree, just smaller pieces

add to other ingredients

Add
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
About a tsp cumin
About 1/2 tsp chipotle
Red pepper flakes to taste
Black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.
(also get some shredded cheese if desired)

Lay a wrapper out in a diamond shape, and put some filling in it, about 2/3 of the way down, leaving spaces on the side. It's great with a little shredded mexican cheese blend. Start to roll it up, tuck in left/right corners (think an envelope), then wet the top inch or so of the wrapper (a bowl of water to dip fingers in works great), and seal it up. Yeah, terrible instructions, the package should have a diagram, so you can look at that.

(this should give you a good idea of how much to put in)

Fry them in oil over medium heat until desired crispness.

Place on a paper towel-lined plate, tilting upward to aid oil drainage. Flip em over so the other side can drain too.

They're GREAT dipped in greek yogurt. I added some more cumin to my yogurt. . .it's one of my fave spices!

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken-

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-size cubes)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 eggs (beaten)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Oil (for frying)


Orange Sauce-

1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)
½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.


Step 2: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil. Add more orange zest and juice if you like. I recommend making the sauce a little too strong and sweet if you will be eating this with rice.

Step 3: Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.


from: http://blogchef.net/orange-chicken-recipe/


notes:
it helps to get a large bowl or a pan (like a cookie sheet with sides, whatever it's called), line it with 2 layers of paper towels, and place your chicken on it. A bowl will help retain heat, the paper towels absorb oil.

this does not make very good leftovers--so only make what you plan to eat. the coating on the chicken gets a little soggy with moisture. the sauce, however, keeps well. it starts to look gelatinous after being in the fridge, but I just dump it in a saucepan and reheat.

egg beaters work just as well as whole eggs. gluten free flour and tamari soy sauce also work great if you have celiac/follow a gluten free diet--tastes the same. I believe I used Red Mill flour (all-purpose)

Tuna Mac Skillet

• 1 pkg. macaroni and cheese dinner mix (like plain ol' blue box)
  
• 3/4 c. milk
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
• 2-6 oz cans tuna, drained
• 1 c. sour cream
• frozen peas, however much looks good to you. and PLEASE, not canned. They're gross! Trader Joe's has the BEST frozen peas
  

Boil macaroni.

In a pan mix milk and cheese powder.

Add butter, parsley, paprika and mustard. Bring to a boil; simmer 5 minutes.

Add tuna, macaroni, peas, and sour cream. Top with shredded cheese, cover and cook on medium low heat until cheese is melted (not too long or the pan will be hard to clean!)

Mexican Skillet

• 2 c uncooked pasta (rotini works great)
• about a pound of defrosted chicken breast cut to bite size pieces (i used a bit less)
• 2 c (1lb) salsa
• 2 c (10oz) frozen corn
• 4 oz cream cheese (half a block)
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• couple dashes each of black and cayenne peppers
• shredded cheese

cook pasta as directed

meanwhile, cook chicken in med-lg oiled skillet till done

add salsa, corn, cream cheese and spice, simmer until corn is heated and cream cheese is melted, stirring occasionally

add drained pasta and about a handful of shredded cheese; stir in

top with more cheese and wait till its melted. I didn't cover it because there was still a lot of liquid from the salsa, but if it looks dry enough, cover.