Sweet and Sour Chicken

For those of you that have ever eaten at The New Hong Kong here in town and have tried their sweet n sour chicken, you must make this!! It tastes the same. It's really good paired up with Aunt Pat's Fried Rice {recipe below}.

3 lb. chicken breasts
1 tsp. garlic slat
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 beaten egg
6 TBSP. flour
3/4 c. sugar
3 TBSP. vinegar
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 1/2 TBSP. ketchup
1 TBSP. soy sauce
*Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper. Let stand for 1 hr or more. Preheat oven to 325. Dip chicken in egg and then in flour. Brown in hot oil. Place in baking dish.
Cover with following sauce: Mix sugar, vinegar, chicken broth, ketchup, and soy sauce in saucepan and heat. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered for 1 hr. Turn chicken once. Makes 6 servings.
* I like to reserve a little sauce for dipping afterwards:)

Aunt Pat's Fried Rice
3 TBSP. vegetable oil
4 c. cooked rice
1 c. diced ham {or shrimp, chicken, etc.}
1 c. green peas
1/2 c. chopped green onion
4 eggs-broken, fired and chopped up
2 TBSP. soy sauce
salt to taste
*Heat oil in wok or skillet until it sizzles. Add rice and slat stirring constantly so rice doesn't stick. When rice is thoroughly heated add ham, peas, egg slivers, and soy sauce. Stir well. Toss in green onions, mix and serve.

Lush Pie

This is so yummy made with chocolate pudding or pistachio pudding.

Crust:
1 c. flour
1 cube butter, melted
1 c. finely chopped nuts {i always omit these since the hubs doesn't like them}
Mix together and press into bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool.

Cream cheese layer:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. Cool Whip
Mix and spread over prepared crust.

Pudding:
2 small pkgs instant pudding
3 c. cold milk
Beat for 2 minutes and spread over cream cheese layer. Top with Cool Whip. Refigerate before serving.

Soup Natzi Baked Potato Soup

This soup is oh so good and filling! I usually serve mine with rolls.



1 lg. onion, chopped
4TBSP. butter
4TBSP. flour
1 qt. milk
1/2lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled
5 baked potatoes, chopped

*Cook onion slowly in butter until caramelized. Add flour and stir until lightly browned. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Add bacon, potatoes. Heat thru. Add a shot of Tobasco. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves six.

Banana Bread

I've had this recipe since I got married 8 years ago. It was my husband's great grandma Adams recipe. I tried it a couple months ago when I was at my fabulous sister's house and decided to make it faithfully from there on out. It is so moist and delicious.

*Mix together*
2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening

*Then add*
2 eggs
5-6 ripe bananas{if your bananas are going brown and you don't have time to make banana bread for a while, just throw them in the freezer until you do!}

*After you've mixed above ingredients add*
4 little cups of flour
dash of salt
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla

*Mix well and bake for 1 hour at 350. Makes two loaves.

White Chili w/Chicken

{This recipe is courtesy of Whats Really For Dinner}

3 T olive oil
1 large diced onion
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cans white kidney/navy beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 C frozen corn
1 can diced green chilies
2 C chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
2 T softened butter
1 1/2 T flour
Pepper
3-4 T half-and-half (optional)
Grated cheddar or monterey jack

Warm oil in large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute, stirring constantly until cooked through. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic and saute another minute. Stir in chicken, beans, corn, chilies, broth, and salt. Bring to gentle simmer and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine butter and flour until creamy. Add flour mixture to chili and stir until thickens, about a minute. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
If broth to thick, add more chicken broth, if too thin add half and half to thicken.
Serve chili topped with grated cheese.

I served this with cornbread that I made from a box:)

Chocolate Chip Banana Pudding Cookies

These cookies are so chewy gooey and yummo!!

1 small box banana pudding
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
2 TBSP. hershey's chocolate syrup
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
milk chocolate chips
*Preheat oven to 375
*Combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Beat butter, sugars, syrup, and vanilla in seperate bowl. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by TBSP onto parchment lined {or ungreased} baking sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes.
*They won't look like they're done when you pull them out, but they'll continue cooking out of the oven.
*Cool on wire cooking racks.

Donna's Sloppy Joes

Not a single person in my house would touch a sloppy joe until my friend Donna brought these over. They are DEELISH!! I usually freeze my leftover meat for those busy nights when I don't have enough time to get dinner made so I can just pop it out of the freezer and serve on buns or slices of bread.

1 lb. ground beef, cooked
1 c. ketchup
1/4 c. water
2 TBSP. brown sugar
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce {why couldn't they shorten that name?}
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 hamburger buns, split {you'll only want to split your buns because this is a hearty sandwich and you get full off a half}
cheese slices

* Stir ketchup, beef, water, br. sugar, worcestershire, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve on buns. Broil with cheese for 3 minutes.

White Chocolate Popcorn

This is so yummy and perfect for a movie snack, neighbor gift, or you can just have the whole thing for yourself!
First you'll need 2 bags of popped popcorn...

Some baking white chocolate. Melt according to package directions and drizzle over popcorn. {I used the whole box}

And M&M's, which are totally optional. I usually use 1/2 a bag...

Now STUFF YOUR FACE!!!

Never Fail Yeast Rolls

Super yummy and super easy!! {Sorry no pics}
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 pkg. yeast
1 box white or yellow cake mix
3 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
butter, melted
*Dissolve yeast in water in a mixing bowl. Add flour, cake mix, and salt. Mix ingredients together {do not knead.} Put dough in a greased bowl and cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled.
*Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll each half on floured surface to a 12 in. circle and cut into 12 wedges. Roll wedges into crescent rolls and place on greased baking sheet.
*Baste with melted butter and cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Breakfast Pizza

This is super yummy and we actually have it for dinner:) It would be easy to assemble the night before and pop it in the oven for a warm delish breakfast!
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 lb. bulk pork sausage
1/2 c. frozen has brown potatoes, thawed
2 tbsp diced red pepper
2 tbsp diced yellow pepper
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

*Separate crescent dough into four triangles; arrange in lightly greased casserole dish. Press onto the bottom of pan, building up edges slightly, seal perforations.

*In a small skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

*Sprinkle over crust. Top with potatoes, peppers and cheese. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and pepper. Pour over pizza; sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

*Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are completely set and top is golden brown.

Reese's Pieces Cookies

These cookies are my absolute FAVORITE!! I use the mini Reese's pieces for baking, but sometimes I'll substitute them for chopped Andes mints. Both versions are delish!
Let's get started:
3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bag Reese's pieces for baking
*Cream butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Combine cocoa, flour, soda, salt. Stir in Reese's. Drop by tsp. onto ungreased cookie sheet{I always use parchment paper for a no mess clean up} Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. They will flatten as they cool.