Chicken and Broccoli

Sorry I don't have a picture of this one yet, but when I make it again I'll be sure to take a picture of it ^_^

This I served tonight to my mom, dad and grandma with brown rice, but I'm sure it would go really good with steamed white rice.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

4 boneless-skinless chicken breast, cut into strips(however big or small you want)

2 tbsp oil, vegetable/canola/peanut

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1.5-2 heads fresh broccoli, cut into pieces. or 1 bag frozen broccoli

1-2 tbsp soy sauce(we used low sodium), all depends on your salt preference

pepper

1 cup water with 2 tsp cornstarch(or flour) mixed in

Directions:

In a wok or large skillet heat oil and add garlic, let cook 2-3 mins, don't let the garlic burn.

Add the chicken and pepper it to taste. Cook most/all the way through. 5-8mins(depending how thick your chicken is cooked)

Add broccoli and soy sauce and cook until tender.

Stir in Cornstarch-water mixture and stir until sauce is to the thickness you like.

Serve with white or brown rice!

*I like a little spice =p so when I made it tonight(see pic) I added a pinch of red pepper flakes, and thickened with about a tsp of flour mixed in water, served over steamed white rice and it was DELICIOUS!!!*

Spicy Shrimp and Broccoli with Brown Rice

Ok, so this is me trying to replicate Zen's spicy shrimp bowl, which is delicious. If you've never had it (and can eat shrimp and in the Austin area) I highly recommend you go and try it, and if you're not a shrimp person go to Zen anyway, they have really good food!

Anywho, to make this, I did brown rice, but it's good with white rice or maybe even lo mein, so cook that according to the directions on the package.

So here's for the Shrimp:

*this is all for single serving, feel free to double or whatever if it's more than one person*

Ingredients:

- 8-12 medium shrimp, I used frozen and thawed them

-1 clove of garlic, minced

-2 tbsp oil(something with a high smoke temp, ie-vegtable, canola...)

-1cup broccoli, I used frozen but you can use fresh

-1.5 pinch of red pepper flake, depends on how spicy you like it

1-2 tsp soy sauce, I used the cap on my soy sauce to measure(1.5 of them)

Directions:

-In a large skillet (or wok) warm oil over medium-high heat.

-Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, let cook for 1-2 mins

-Add shrimp, broccoli and soy sauce.

-Cook until shrimp are cooked all the way through and serve over the brown/white rice or lo mein.

When I made this it wasn't very "saucy" next time I'm going to try and get a little more liquid so that the flavors can get all over the rice and stuff. If I like it I'll post how I did it ^_^

*OK so to make the sauce "saucy-er" I added a little more soy sauce/oil and then cornstarch mixed in water to help thicken it*

*Also the next day when I made this I put in about a palm full of red pepper flakes(If you want to know the exact measure Rachel Ray measures that way so she'll be able to tell you =p), it was really good if you like the "mouth kinda on fire/runny nose" kinda spicy-ness that I like.*

Molten Lava Cake

I have been craving one of these, mainly one from Chile's, for awhile! So here is a recipe from the Neely's, I'll probably add the one from Paula Deen later...you can never have too many recipes for molten lava cake ^_^

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, unsalted, plus more for ramekins
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch cayenne
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter 8 (6-ounce) ramekins and sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

In a saucepan combine butter, cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg, and chocolate over low heat until melted and smooth; stir frequently. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, eggs and yolks, vanilla extract and almond extract until creamy. Add melted chocolate to the batter and whisk together.

Pour into prepared ramekins.

Bake cakes until the top is stiff and cracked and the edges are dark, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake with a small paring knife then invert onto plates while warm.

Chicken Wrapped Asparagus

So I made this last night, it turned out really good. I paired it with brown rice that I made in my rice cooker, using chicken broth instead of water to give the rice a little extra flavor. Since this is my own recipe I only made enough for 2 servings, but it's not at all hard to double this recipe to make it for 4 people. So here goes:

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breast

8-12 Asparagus Spears, I used fresh but you can use frozen

Salt and Pepper

1/2 -1 cup*just enough to coat the outside of the chicken* of bread crumbs of your choice (I did a mixture of Zesty, Italian and a little Paramsean Cheese)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 F

2) Place chicken on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Using a mallet or large frying pan, pound chicken to about a 1/4 inch thick. Pat chicken dry.

3)*optional* Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken(where the asparagus will be place) or the asparagus

4) Place 4-6(depending on their size) asparagus spears on one end of the chicken breast, then roll and secure with a toothpick.

5) Dredge rolled chicken in breadcrumbs and place crease side down on a greased baking pan.

6) Bake for 20 mins, or until chicken in cooked all the way through.

*Before serving don't forget to remove the toothpick!

Baked Apples

I might try these for dessert/breakfast this week ^_^

Ingredients

• 2 apples (recommended: Fuji or McIntosh)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam, jelly or preserves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, cold and diced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oats, uncooked
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut each apple in half along its equator. Using a melon baller, cut out each side of the core, creating a rounded hole. Rub exposed apple flesh with lemon juice. Place 1 tablespoon of jam into each hole. For the topping: in a small bowl mix together flour, butter, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt. Press this mixture on the top of each apple, covering jam. Place in a baking dish filled with about a 1/4-inch of water. Bake until top is golden brown and apple is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.