Tag: Recipe

Recipes

Sticky Honey Sauced Chicken

Nicole



I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this recipe. The original recipe serves 2 so I had to double the recipe. The one you see below is doubled. It distressed me when I realized this one recipe was going to empty almost an entire honey bear container of honey. LOL silly huh?
Initially when I could smell this recipe cooking I wasn’t all that impressed. Don’t get me wrong it smelled good if you like the smell of soy sauce. I was had a terrible feeling that this was going to taste like soy sauce and nothing else.
I made it, let it cool and put it away for the next night’s dinner. I was afraid my husband wasn’t going to like it, but I was wrong BOY was I wrong. He not only liked it but he loved it. He was actually exited because he said it tasted just like something he loved  at a restaurant he ate at all the time when he was stationed in Washington at Fort Lewis.
I really liked it too. I was afraid I had over cooked it because my slow cooker is the opposite of slow it cooks extremely fast. It actually turned out perfect. To me it’s a cross between sweet and sour chicken and teriyaki chicken. Either way it was a real winner!!
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
  • 1.5 pounds boneless chicken breast
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. dried onion flakes
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:
  1. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot.
  2. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
  3. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce.
  4. Serve over rice.

Original Recipe Source


Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Recipes

Sweet Garlic Butter Sauced Pasta

Nicole



This is my favorite way to use up left over pasta of any kind. I have used this recipe with left over tortellini, spaghetti, and linguine. Anything you have left over will work great. I hate having left over pasta go to waste. It’s not that expensive, but waste is waste.

Before I was married I would make this sauce and add tortellini to it that would be my quick and easy dinner.  Now that I am more frugal I use any left over pasta in this sauce to make a nice side dish for a casserole or chicken or whatever we are having that needs a little extra to go along with it.

Waste not want not right?

I have always loved the ease of this garlic butter sauce. I will admit that it’s not very easy for me to cook it slowly but cooking it slowly really is the key to the success of the garlic. There seems to be a fine line between overcooked bitter garlic and crispy sweet garlic. Patience is a must with this recipe but its well worth it!!

Ingredients:
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 8 ounces cooked pasta noodles

Directions:
  1. Preheat skillet on a medium flame or on a medium heated burner. To a warm skillet on add butter and olive oil.
  2. Once the butter is melted adds minced garlic.
  3. Sauté garlic on a medium to medium low flame so that the garlic gets crispy and toasted but does not burn or get scorched. The goal is sweet garlic flavor not bitter garlic. Cooking it as low as possible is the key for success with this sweet garlic. Be patient it’s worth the wait.
  4. Once the garlic is a nice toasted brown color add cooked pasta.
  5. Mix pasta in the butter garlic oil mixture until pasta is well coasted.
  6. Continue to heat until pasta is warmed through.

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Recipes

Butternut Squash with Brown Butter (Martha Stewart)

Nicole



My parents made yellow squash all the time when I was a child and I hated it.  The only type of squash we ever had was yellow squash and to be honest with you I have never tried any other type of squash in my entire life until last week.  I doubt I will ever eat yellow squash again, but there are plenty of other choices in the squash world.

Last week when my husband and I were at Trader Joe’s I found a butternut squash that intrigued me. Like I said before I have never had any other squash and for the price of $1.95 for a big squash I thought I would give it a try. My thought was …. What do I have to lose?

As apprehensive as I was about making the butternut squash it actually surprised me! I really liked it. Making it with this Martha Steward recipe it turned out tasting like a mild sweet potatoes. I was shocked at how much I liked it. 

My husband was thrilled because he loves sweet potatoes and thought this tasted even better than sweet potatoes. I don’t know if I would go that far, but I must say this is a keeper recipe and so is butternut squash! You just never know what you might like you might like until you try it.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 butternut squash (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon dark-brown sugar

Directions:
  1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown. 
  2. Add squash; sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, about 16 minutes.
  3. Add chicken broth, the water, and brown sugar; cook until liquid has evaporated and squash is nicely caramelized, about 6 minutes. 
  4. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. 
  5. Serve.

Original Recipe Source


Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Recipes

Pepper Steak

Nicole


This is honestly one of the best recipes I have made in a long time. Tops on my list that’s for sure. The flavor is fantastic! It’s super simple to make and makes a beautiful presentation, certainly restaurant quality and more than anything you get a lot of bang for your buck!!

I really didn’t know if my family would enjoy this recipe. My aunt makes a killer pepper steak which my husband adores so I wasn’t sure he would be too happy with this recipe. You know it’s one of those things when you love something it’s hard to be excepting of something similar.

He was over the moon for this recipe and actually had seconds because he loved it so much. The worst part of making this recipe was taking the time to cut the meat nice and thin. The original recipe calls for round steak. I actually ended up using roast meat because I got it on sale and planned on using the other half of the roast for something different so it worked out well for us. 

Ingredients:
  • 16 oz. round roast
  • 4 tsp. plus 3 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. rice wine
  • 3 tsp. cornstarch
  • 5 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced into thin strips
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

  1. Slice meat into thin slices with the grain. Cut each strip across the grain about 1″ long so you have small thin slices. Place in a bowl and add 4 tsp. of soy sauce, 1 tbsp. of rice wine, 1 tsp. cornstarch and black pepper.
  2. In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. water and 2 tsp. cornstarch. Set aside.
  3. Heat the skillet on medium high heat. Swirl in 1 tbsp. oil and add the beef spreading evenly. Cook undisturbed for 20 seconds letting the beef brown. Using a spatula, stir meat, cooking another 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  4. Add remaining 2 tsp. of oil to the skillet, add peppers and onions and cook about 2 minutes. Return beef to the skillet, add the sauce and stir fry about 30 seconds until slightly thickened.

Original Recipe Source

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com

Recipes

Olive Garden’s Gnocchi With Spicy Tomato and Wine Sauce

Nicole


I had never had gnocchi before, but I have heard so many great things about it that I wanted to try it. I was at World Market a few weeks ago and came across it so I decided to pick up a bag.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I knew gnocchi was potato pasta so to speak, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it. I thought it was really great and I thought this recipe was excellent. The only thing I would do differently next time is I would go low salt everything. Low salt broth and I would not add salt to the gnocchi while it’s cooking. In the end everything was just extremely salty to all of us.

Other than cutting out as much salt as possible this recipe is a true winner and something I look forward to making again in the future. I have no idea if it’s even close to Olive Garden’s Recipe but its great regardless! 

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb gnocchi  (potato dumplings)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 fresh garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup sweet creamy butter, cut into 1 inch cubes, chilled
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (to taste)
  • salt, to taste
  • freshly crushed black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sauce Preparation:.
  1. Place the olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a cold pan. On medium heat, stir and cook the olive oil, garlic, chili flakes until garlic turns slight golden brown.
  2. To this mixture, add the white wine and chicken broth. Simmer about 10 minutes.
  3. Reduce the wine and broth by half, add the tomatoes and basil, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
  4. Puree the sauce in blender with the butter and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Gnocchi Preparation:

  1. Prepare pasta when sauce is complete. Use a large pot to boil pasta. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until they float (approximately 3 minutes or 160 degrees F internal temperature).
  2. Remove pasta from boiling water and lightly mix with sauce.
  3. Top with Mozzarella cheese if desired. 

Original Recipe Source

Check Out Our Online Recipe Book: www.CafeChatterbox.com