Toasted Sesame Candy Chicken

From my favorite cooking blog Just cook already...

Made this for Trevor the other night and he LOVED it!

serves 6

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 fillets)

2 eggs

2 cups flour

cooked rice

sliced scallions (optional)

sweet candy sauce:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

toasted sesame seeds

In a pan, pour about two inches of oil and heat on medium heat till hot. Cut chicken on the diagonal into thick strips, about two inches wide. In a bowl, beat eggs. In another container, place flour.Coat chicken strips in egg mixture first, then generously pat with flour, covering all sides. (I will often give it a couple of coatings) There should be a thick layer of batter on the chicken pieces.When oil is hot, fry chicken pieces (about 3 minutes on each side) till golden brown. Remove chicken, and let rest on a paper towel to drain the oil.To make candy sauce, place soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and mix together, about 30 seconds. The sugar will not completely dissolve, but the mixture should be thick, and not grainy. Add sesame seeds and mix to incorporate. Dip chicken in sauce, covering all sides. Repeat, till all pieces are covered. Serve with rice, drizzle remain sauce over chicken. Garnish with sliced scallions.

Poppy Seed Chicken

LOVE this recipe from just-cook-already.blogspot.com

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 16 oz container sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup
1 stick snack crackers, crushed
2 tsp poppy seed
1/2 cup butter, melted

Precook chicken breasts in boiling water until thoroughly cooked. Remove breasts from water and let cool (save the broth for other things!)

Tear cooled breasts into bite sized pieces, and put in bottom of casserole dish.

Mix together sour cream, cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom (or cream of celery) soup and spread on top of chicken. Cover with crushed snack crackers. Sprinkle poppy seed on top. Drizzle melted butter on top.

Place in preheated 350°F oven until warmed through, about 20-25 minutes.

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Baked Potato Soup

I made this today for lunch...DELICIOUS!!!! I suggest that if you like Baked Potato Soup you try this recipe...much better than anything I've ever bought.

Ingredients

4 baking potatoes (about 2.5 pounds)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 cup reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 cup reduced-fat sour cream

3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes, coarsely mash them. Discard skins.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a large dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 min). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions, and bacon.

Yields: 8- 1.5 cup servings.

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

Oil - I made an olive oil and vegetable oil mixture - gave the chicken a really nice flavor. But you can use anything you want (olive oil, peanut oil, lard, vegetable oil)

2 C All purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt (the recipe calls for coarse salt - I didn't have it so I used less than a tablespoon of regular iodized salt)

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Recipe calls for 1 whole chicken - I used 3 large breasts cut into strips for two of us but if you are making this for 4-6+ people you'll definitely want to use more than that.

Instructions:

Heat about 1/2 inch of the oil or fat over medium heat in a deep fryer, deep skillet or broad saucepan that can later be covered.

While it is heating mix together flour and seasonings in a plastic bag. Toss the chicken in the bag - depending on what you are using a few pieces at a time - close bag and shake until chicken is well coated. Put them on a rack - if you have lots of pieces as you finish.

When the fat/oil reaches 350 degrees add chicken slowly - you can add all the pieces but you will need to raise the heat to high - do not add all the pieces at one time or the temperature will decrease rapidly. Cover the chicken making sure that oxygen can still get inside - please avoid a fire. Chicken will need to cook for 5-7 minutes each side. Make sure to flip over.

Cook Chicken until golden brown.

Serve Hot or at room temperature - Please make sure that your chicken is cooked thoroughly!

Bombshell Brownies with Frosting

Brownies:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C Flour

2 C sugar

4 eggs

5 T cocoa

1/2 t salt

1 C oil

1 C chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:

Mix all of the above together and pour into a grease 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

When you take the brownies out, start the frosting.

Frosting:

In a pan melt 1/2 C butter, 6 T milk, and 4 T cocoa. Bring to a gentle boil while whisking constantly and let roll for 1-2 minutes. Then add 1 box (1 pound) powdered sugar, 1 T vanilla, 1 C chopped pecans (optional). Stir together until well combined and spread over warm brownies. Cool and then Cut.

Easy Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, 110° F.
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 tp 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Put warm water in a cup; sprinkle yeast over water and stir in sugar; let stand for about 10 minutes, or until it begins to bubble.

Combine 2 1/4 cups flour and salt in a large bowl; pour in oil and yeast mixture and stir until a stiff dough is formed. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Add extra flour as needed to keep from sticking to hands and board.

Place in a large bowl greased with shortening or butter; turn dough over to coat the dough well. Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Dough should double in bulk. Punch down the dough and shape to fit a lightly greased pizza pan which as been sprinkled lightly with cornmeal. Keep dough slightly thick around the edges. Fill with favorite filling and toppings and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes at 425°.

French Bread

Ingredients:
1 package quick acting yeast
2 C lukewarm water
4 C Flour (sifted)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Dissolve yeast in 1 cup lukewarm water. Add flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl, then stir in the dissolved yeast. Add just enough of the second cup of water to hold the dough together (I used the whole cup). Mix until soft and rather sticky. Cover and set bowl in a warm spot. Let rise until double in size (30 mins to 1 hour). (I usually sprinkle it with flour so that it doesn't stick to your hands and the bowl, I also spray the bowl with pam or crisco so it doesn't stick. Adding four to the dough will make the bread more crispy though.

When dough is high and spongy, punch down. Divide into 2 parts and put each in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise (about 30 mins). Brush top with melted butter. Bake 45 minutes at 400 degrees.