Oriental Chicken Salad

This recipe is supposed to be a clone of Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad. I think it's pretty close. This is for 4 servings, I usually double it for my family.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

6 Tbls honey

4 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbls rice vinegar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

Salad:

4 cooked, breaded chicken breast, cut into strips (I use a bag of Tyson chicken)

6 cups of lettuce(s) (I usually use a combination of romaine, red or green leaf lettuce, and sometimes I'll throw in some spinach as well)

2 cups shredded red cabbage

3 green onions, chopped

shredded carrots (I use the matchstick carrots, pre-cut)

toasted almonds

rice noodles (these come in a can by the chow mein noodles. Similar to chow mein, only thinner)

To serve this, I mix just the lettuce and cabbage together, divide onto plates, then top each salad with the rest of the ingredients and top with the dressing.

4 servings

Frog Eye Salad

This is always a favorite. You can use any type of fruit you prefer.

Ingredients:

8 oz acini de pepe pasta

1 cup sugar

2 cups pineapple juice (reserved from canned pineapple)

3 Tbls flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, well beaten

1 Tbls lemon juice

1 tsp butter

1 8 oz container of cool whip

1 cup coconut

1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

1 20oz can pineapple tidbits, drain and reserve juice

2 11 oz cans mandarin oranges, drained

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and put into a large bowl. Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to make 2 cups of liquid. In a medium size pan, combine pineapple juice, sugar, flour, salt, eggs, lemon juice and butter. Cook over medium heat until thick. Pour over pasta. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Fold in cool whip and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This dinner is a hit with my kids. It calls for green bell pepper, but I sometimes use other colors, as you can see from the photo.
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup sliced carrots
1 medium green pepper, julienned
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
Hot cooked rice
Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Add water to juice to measure 1 cup. Stir in vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce; pour over meatballs. Add carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender. Stir in green pepper and pineapple; cover and simmer 5 minutes longer or until pepper is crisp-tender. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into meatball mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I like to garnish this soup with tortilla strips. An easy way to make these is to cut corn tortillas into thin strips, spray with cooking oil, sprinkle with salt, and microwave until crisp.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
2 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce, or one red enchilada seasoning packet, prepared
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cooked, boneless and skinless chicken breast halves, chopped or shredded
2 cups half-and-half

Garnish with:
Shredded Cheddar cheese

Sour cream (optional)

Tortilla chips or strips (optional)

Green onions or cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Combine chicken stock and tortilla strips in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until strips soften and broth thickens somewhat.
Stir in enchilada sauces and cumin. Stir in chicken and half-and-half; heat through.
Garnish with and cheese and other desired toppings.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

This cake is so rich, but so good if you love chocolate. I used mini bundt pans and it made 6. You can also use ramekins or muffin tins. Just make sure to spray the pan well and remove them while still warm. Depending on the size of cups you use, you may have to experiment with the cooking time a bit to get it just right. I think these taste best when the batter is made ahead.

1 cup butter

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into bite-size chunks
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons flour

DIRECTIONS
Place butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate melts completely. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.)
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray ramekins or muffin tins with cooking spray. Divide batter among cups.
Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 12 to 14 minutes. Turn warm cakes onto dessert plates.
Top each with whipped cream or ice cream.

Buttercream Frosting

I prefer cream cheese frosting for eating, but this is a great frosting for cake decorating. This recipe makes A LOT, but is easy to half if you don't need as much.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1 cup shortening
3 pounds confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk or cream
DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and shortening. Beat in sugar, vanilla, salt and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency.

Fruit Pizza

There are 2 different topping that I have used for this dessert. I think they're both delicious. I usually make it according to what I have on hand. Sometimes I make a combination of the two. You can use any type of sugar cookie dough that you prefer. To make this easy, I use the Betty Crocker packaged mix. You could make it even easier by buying the ready made dough.

I made this on a 12 inch pizza stone, but be warned-one package of cookie dough is TOO MUCH for a 12 inch pan. I smoked us all out of the house when it overflowed in the oven. I usually use a bigger pizza pan, but wanted to try my stone. A 14 inch should be safe.

Ingredients:

Sugar cookie dough of your choice

Topping choice #1:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

7 oz marshmallow cream

OR

Topping choice #2:

8 oz Cream cheese, softened

8 oz whipped topping, thawed

Assorted fruit of your choice

Press cookie dough onto a 14 inch cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until light golden brown. Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy, then fold in the next ingredient (depending on which topping you've chosen to use). Spread over crust and top with assorted fruit.

Note: If you choose to use bananas or something else that will turn dark, put them first in lemon juice or you can make a glaze by melting a light colored fruit preserves, then brush it over the top.