Cajun Fries

Oh man, these were so good! I served them as a side to sloppy joes and corn on the cob.  I used sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.  The regular potatoes were way better than the sweet potatoes, but the sweet potatoes were still good enough to include next time. 

Ingredients:

•  2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• a few shakes of cayenne 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Tbs olive oil
• 2 regular potatoes 
• 2 sweet potatoes

What you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 230 C (450 F)
2. Slice potatoes into thirds and then slice each portion into 3 or 4 wedges.  
3. Mix the spices and olive oil together in a bowl, add the potatoes and coat thoroughly.
4. Spread out into a single layer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until done! ENJOY!

Herbed breaded chicken

This one was great! I served with a potato bake dish that wasn't anything special.  Next time I will serve with potatoes au gratin and a vegetable.  Recipe from here.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of chicken legs (mixed drumsticks and thighs are fine too - about 8 medium sized pieces)
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 T. parsley (dried or fresh is fine)
• 2/3 sprigs fresh rosemary (dried is also fine - about 1 1/2 -2 T. will do)
• 6 leaves chopped fresh basil (dried is fine)
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 T. red wine vinegar 
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/3 c. plain bread crumbs 
• 1-2 T. butter

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C fan forced)
2. Place chicken parts in a bowl, add garlic, all herbs (dried or fresh), salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil and toss/coat chicken very well
3. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top (bread crumbs will absorb all liquid) and coat chicken
4. Lay chicken out in a roasting pan - be sure to place any bits of the bread crumb coating on the chicken, as the goodness should not go to waste
5. Pat with butter on top and roast for 35 minutes
6. Once chicken is cooked through, finish off in the broiler for 3-5 minutes (watch well so it doesn’t burn) so bread crumbs darken and chicken fat crisps
7. Remove chicken from pan and place on a dish

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Yum! This was great! Like, seriously amazing! I got the recipe from here.  The only thing I might do differently next time is perhaps use a touch less sugar. Although, I'm not sure I want to mess with this sauce too much because it really was great.

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the baking directions in the recipe and pour the other half in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.
*Serves 4-6

Chicken:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

• ¾ cup sugar (try using a bit less next time) 
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve over rice.

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread

 This was great bread! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup warm milk

1/2 cup raisins (I used sultanas)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup palm sugar (I used brown sugar)

2 eggs

1/4 cup yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Topping

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon palm sugar (I used brown sugar)

1 tablespoon butter

Yields 1 loaf

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Combine oats, milk and raisins in bowl, cover, let stand for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line loaf tin with parchment paper.

Beat olive oil and sugar in small bowl until smooth.  Add eggs,  one at a time. Whisk until well incorporated, before adding the next one. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Stir in oat mixture.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

For the topping, combine oats, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Rub in butter with your finger tips until mixture becomes crumbly. 

Pour cake batter into prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle with topping . Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick come out clean. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Read more: http://www.anjasfood4thought.com/2010/10/cinnamon-raisin-oatmeal-cake.html#ixzz1EjlrzqWf

Mongolian Beef

This was a pretty good asian dish.  I'm notoriously terrible at asian cooking, but this one was good enough to make again.  Next time I will use the veggies I listed below:

Ingredients:

• 500 g beef, thin sliced (I used sirloin, 4 steaks should be good)
• 2 tbsp sherry cooking wine
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 4 tbsp plus 2 tsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red capsicum, sliced into strips
• 1 broccoli head
• 1 zucchini, in sticks
• 6 green onions, cut into 2" pieces

Place beef in a bowl and add sherry cooking wine and cornstarch. Mix together and marinate for 15 minutes. If you are making rice, start it now so that it's ready when your stir fry is finished. Meanwhile, mix together the 4 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and the soy sauce and set aside.

When beef is ready, add remaining 1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce and mix into beef. Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok on high heat. Add beef and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, or until no longer pink. Don't cook too long or it will get tough! If it's still a little pink it's ok. Remove the beef to a bowl and return wok to the stove. Add a little more oil to the wok and stir fry the garlic,veggies, and green onion for 2-3 minutes. 

Move the vegetables to one side of the wok, add beef to the other side. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the centre and stir a little then combine beef, vegetables and sauce. Stir just a minute or so to combine and serve immediately over rice. 

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

Another great recipe!  I tried another sloppy joes recipe a few weeks ago and it just wasn't quite right. This one is perfect.  I found it here.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 green capsicum, finely diced 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste 
• ~800 g ground beef chuck 
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 
• 1 (400 g) can crushed tomatoes 
• 1/2 cup dry red wine 
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar 
• 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

6 buns, sliced

mayonnaise (not the salad dressing stuff)

yellow mustard

bread and butter pickles

What you do:

1. In a large skillet ( bigger if you are doubling the recipe) over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion and capsicum and sauté until it begins to brown, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.  Set aside.
2. Add the beef and cook until brown, breaking up any large clumps, about 5-7 minutes. Add the veggies back in.
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, remaining salt and black pepper and cook, stirring every few moments, for 2 minutes.  
4. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for another minute.  Add the crushed tomatoes, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar and boil, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 6-8 minutes.  Stir in the vinegar and season to taste with additional salt and black pepper if needed.

To serve

Slather a bit of mayonnaise on each bun half.  Spoon some of the meat sauce on the bottom of each of the buns, top with a few onion slices, some bread and butter pickles, and a drizzle of yellow mustard.  Add the top half of the bun.  Smoosh together and take a big bite.  Enjoy!

Slow cooker asian chicken

 This recipe is from my sister.  It was AWESOME! It seems like it's not enough sauce, but trust me, it's plenty of sauce!

Ingredients:

• 1 3-4lb whole chicken
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup firmly packed lite brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sherry or apple juice
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 green onions, halved + trimmed
• 1 clove garlic, pressed

1. Wash/dry chicken, remove giblets, neck, + excess fat. Put chicken in slow cooker breast side up
2. In bowl combine: everything I said above. Pour over chicken, cover and cook on high for 3.5-4.5 hrs.
3. Remove chicken.
4. Remove and discard onions. Add 2 tbsp cornstarch abd 1 tbsp water to sauce. Stir over heat. Toast 2 tbsp of sesame seeds and serve on top of chicken and white rice with a side of broccoli