White Chili

This rockin recipe is not mine to take credit for, but my friend Missy's. She had a super fun recipe exchange party at her house when we lived in Monterey and I think that is when I got this recipe from her.

White Chili

1 pound small white beans, soaked overnight
2 chopped onions
48 ounces chicken broth
4 cups cooked chicken, cubed
7 ounces diced green chilies
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6-8 cloves garlic
1 cup sour cream
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Combine beans, onion and broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 2 hours. Add chicken, chilies, and seasonings. Cook until thick, 30-60 minutes. Add sour cream and cheese, stir until cheese melts.

Chef Ming Tsai's turkey brine

Here's Chef Ming Tsai's Turkey brine technique that I saw on a segment of the Rachael Ray show last year ('08):

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/ming-tsais-turkey-brine/

We tried it on a turkey a week before Thanksgiving and it was the best turkey I've ever had. I searched for it this morning and was so happy to find it.

It is so moist and yummy ...

Here are the "ingredients", but be sure to watch the segment at the above link for a better idea of how to do it:

Ingredients

• 5 gallons water
• 10 cups salt (eyeball it)
• 10 cups sugar (eyeball it)
• • the solution should taste like sweet seawater

Lemon Chicken Alfredo

Sauce:

Tonight I was in the mood for chicken. And lemon. So I was broiling a bit of lemon pepper chicken in the oven when I thought of a yummy sounding recipe. So I googled it, and lo and behold, it is an actual recipe. I followed this recipe from Mmm...Cafe and just changed it a little bit. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it!!! Anyway, if you like lemony chicken goodness, you'll love this recipe!

I did one large chicken breast, covered with olive oil and lemon pepper, in the oven at 400 degrees. Then once it was almost done, I took it out, cut it up into bite-sized chunks, and stirred it in a bowl with a little bit more oil and lemon pepper (so all the sides of the pieces were exposed) then put them back in the oven for a few minutes.

Then I used the recipe for alfredo sauce (below) only I added another shake or two of lemon pepper (because I didn't have lemon peel) and 6 Tablespoons lemon juice.

Then prepare your noodles (I like linguine) and pour the sauce over and top with the chicken.

Hopefully I'll get a picture soon -- (Davis asked if we could add this to our regular rotation of favorite meals, so I'm sure we'll be making it again :)

Alfredo Sauce:

I found this tasty recipe for alfredo sauce and it is really easy and good. Plus I like to think that because it has a little chicken broth that means it has less fat in it. Ha!

1/4 Cup butter

3/4 Cup flour

1 1/2 Cup 2% milk

1 1/2 Cups chicken broth

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp. Parsley Flakes

2 tsp. Oregano

Melt the butter on low heat. Add flour, milk and broth and cook until slightly thicken. Add Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup at a time. Heat until parmesan is melted, then add parsley flakes and oregano.

Chinese Potstickers

Davis learned how to make these when we were at DLI. He was taught by native Chinese people, so I consider these to be pretty authentic, even if I make them. We don't really follow a recipe

and tend to change/improve them each time, but here's a general idea of how to make them.

I usually get a little saucepan with meat (I have done both chicken and boneless pork ribs and both are excellent) and water. If I use chicken, I usually do one breast and 3-4 boneless ribs if I do pork. I add probably 1/4 cup of soy sauce to the water. Then I let it cook s l o w l y for about 3 hours on the lowest temperature (with a lid on so it is slightly simmering). After that, I cut the meat up into tiny pieces.

Put it in a bowl with cabbage, also cut into small pieces. I usually try to do about a 1:1 ratio of meat to cabbage. Add some fresh ginger, also chopped really small, and diced onion. Then a few drops of sesame oil (maybe a teaspoon? I really don't know how much). This is what the mixture looks like now.

Next you take the dumpling wrapper (I like the round ones) and put a spoonful of the meat in the middle. Dip your finger in water and rub it around the edge of the circle. Then you can press the edges together and they will stick.

You want them to be sealed really good because if not the filling will leak out during boiling. You can pinch it together to make little folds if you want.

Next they go in the water. Davis's teacher said to let the water reach boiling, then pour in a cup of cold water. Let it reach boiling again, then pour in another cup. Do this 3 times. However, I usually do it just once or not at all. Since my meat is already cooked, that doesn't matter.

Next they go into a frying pan with just a little oil over medium-high heat. Turn them after a few minutes and let them cook a few more minutes on the other side.

Mmmmmmmm

Sugar Cookies

I have tried several different sugar cookie recipes over the years (I only really make them about once a year so it's not like I've tried thousands or anything) but I think I've finally found my favorite. Mmmmm. There's just something about them. But honestly, what's not to love about sugar and butter with frosting on top?

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F .
2. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in lightly beaten egg, vanilla and cream. Blend well. Chill dough for one hour for easier rolling.
4. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes. Place on ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe
Ingredients
2 teaspoons milk

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

assorted food coloring colors

Directions
1. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and confectioners sugar until smooth.
2. Beat in corn syrup and the vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If the icing is too thick, add additinal corn syrup to thin slightly.

3. Divide the icing into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to the preferred color intensity. Paint the icing onto the cookies or pipe with decorator icing tubes and tips.

Tips for making perfect sugar cookies:

• If you are rolling the dough to use cookie cutters, remember to keep the dough chilled. As it warms it sticks to the rolling pin and the surface you're rolling on.
• The thinner you roll your dough, the crispier the cookie will be. This recipe calls for rolling the dough 1/4 inch thick, which makes them soft with just the right amount of crispness around the outside of the cookie.
• Soften the butter at room temperature for about an hour or two before mixing. Butter that isn't softened won't mix properly and your cookies will be flat. Do not microwave butter to soften, it will soften unevenly.
• The eggs should also be room temperature. Cold eggs can cause the batter to curdle.
• Halfway through the baking process, take a minute to rotate the baking sheets from back to front for even baking. This step is worth it to prevent unevenly baked batches of cookies.
• If you are making more than one batch, do not put the dough on hot cookie sheets. It will spread as you're placing the dough on the sheet, and baking will be uneven.

Fried Ice Cream

1 cube butter - melted

In a separate bowl, combine:
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cup coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Pour butter over and stir.

Add:
2 1/2 cups rice crispies

Stir. Spread out on cookie sheet, bake at 300 degrees for 21 minutes Every 7 minutes turn/stir/fold so it gets brown all over. While topping is baking, take 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream out of freezer to soften.

Divide topping in half. Place half on bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Slice ice cream and spread evenly over crust. Sprinkle remaining topping over top of ice cream. Cover and freeze overnight. Cut and serve with caramel topping.
Sorry - no picture of the finished product! Trust me, it's good!

Best Chili

http://www.goodchilirecipes.com/best_chili_recipe.html

I needed to make a huge batch of chili for Bryon's work party and our ward Halloween party. I found this recipe and it was really good.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lb. lean chuck, ground

1 lb. lean pork, ground


4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped onion
 (yes, I really did do this!)

8 oz. tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 can beer (12 oz.)
 (I just added a squeezy box of apple/white grape juice)
3 Tablespoons chili powder

2 Tablespoons instant beef bouillon (or 6 cubes)

2 Tablespoons cumin, ground

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons oregano leaves 

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa 

1/2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce 
(I used our Tapatío Hot Sauce and it was great)

1 teaspoon cornmeal

1 teaspoon flour

1 teaspoon warm water

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan brown 1 1/4 pounds of the ground meat (the beef and the pork), drain the fat.
2. Remove browned meat and brown the rest of the ground meat. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
3. Add the garlic and onion, cook and stir until tender.
4. Add the other half of the meat and the tomato sauce, water, beer, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, sugar, coriander, cocoa, and hot sauce. Mix well.
5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered , for 2 hours.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal and flour, then add the warm water and mix well.
7. Stir into chili and cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.