Spicy Chicken and Rice

It has been quite a long time since I've posted, but I have a wonderful recipe for you! This is a change up to the Orange Chicken and Fried Rice. I ran out of several things I needed for that recipe, but all I had was chicken and rice in the house, so I changed it up a bit but I don't have pics, sorry! So ready? Here we go!

Ingredients:

• White Rice
• Chicken
• 2-3 Eggs
• Ground Ginger
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• Olive Oil
• Butter

Alright so you need to start it all by cooking your rice. If you're like us and have a rice cooker (because your Asian significant other eats it at least twice a day) it is easy enough, but other wise I recommend buying a box of Uncle Ben's and cooking it as instructed on the box for however many servings you need.

Once your rice is cooked and is all fluffy go a head and drop a pat of butter into a deep skillet on medium heat. You want a deep one so there isn't a huge mess with the rice later.

While the butter melts, crab a frying pan and put some olive oil in it, heating it up on medium heat.

Chop your chicken into bite sized bits, and toss into the frying pan. Take the rice and put it in the skillet, using a spatula to spread it out evenly in the pan.

Now for your eggs. If you have eggs Large or smaller you'll need 3. If you have XL or Jumbo you will be fine with two. Crack your eggs and drop them onto the rice, each on opposite halves of the skillet. Break the yolks with your spatula then start to fold and mix it all in. The idea is to coat the rice evenly in egg. Something else you could do is crack the eggs into the blow and stir them like you would for scrambled eggs, then pour that over the rice and fold in. Once the egg is evenly mixed in spread it out evenly once more and leave it be to fry. Every couple of minuets during the next step fold the rice on top, into the bottom, bringing the fried rice from the bottom up top.

Now its time to focus on cooking up your chicken. Once it is cooked through, pull it out and place it in a bowl. Add a little more olive oil to the frying pan, and reheat. Turn the heat up just a little bit as well. Then add in your ginger and red pepper flakes to the pan. Add a lot of each, the point is SPICY! Once that is in shake in some soy sauce. It should be enough to sizzle hard and turn it all into a thick kind of goo. This is where you add in your water. Fill the bottom of the pad about quarter of an inch. Add in a little more ginger then let it simmer just enough for it to thicken. Toss in your chicken and coat all of it. Once all your chicken has been coated, remove from heat and set aside.

Your rice should be well fried by more. Now it is time to add more ginger and red pepper flakes to the rice. Remember with the rice it is more like folding then spices in rather than mixing or stirring them in. Rice love to jump out of the pan and make a huge mess. So folding allows for better control and less mess. Once it's added in you are ready to serve it up!

I like to serve this in a bowl, rice on bottom, chicken on top. If you make more sauce than the chicken needed you can drizzle it on top of everything else as well. DELICIOUS!

LEFTOVERS!!!!! If you make extra of both rice and chicken, one of my favorite things to do is put it all together in a container and eat if cold for lunch the next day. It's almost better cold than cooked fresh.

Who will like this:

Anyone who likes spicy food. You can always tame it down but just adding less ginger. Then it could be more tolerable for the more sensitive pallets. Children or elderly for example. 

Thanks for tuning in everyone! See you next time!

~Alex~

Baked Cinnamon Apples

Alright I have a REALLY simple SO DELICIOUS treat for you today!

I was looking for something healthy and yummie. To add to my criteria list, my boyfriend recently became a vegetarian, and I needed something he could share with me. Something sweet and treat like that can be thought of as a dessert as well. Then I was struck with gold...or maybe red. Baked apples with cinnamon! It is so unbelievable easy, and so good too! My boyfriend ate almost all of it in one sitting haha!

Ingredients:

• Red Apples sized medium to large
• Cinnamon

Starting note. There is no measurement for this. The amount and size of the apples all depends on how you want to slice them up, including the kind of slices and how thick they are. The cinnamon is strictly to taste. Lets begin!

First preheat your oven to 200. Now you are going to slice your apples. Be sure to core them. I sliced mine two different ways. the first was into quarters then into eighths. The second was simply cutting off the top and bottom, and making nice round slices.

I also had a third apple that cut into eighths and then proceeded the make them even thinner. Next, be sure to take the seeds out. Some may prefer to core the apples entirely. Then arrange them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.

Place them in the heated oven and let back for about an hour. Your house will start to smell like apple pie, your mouth will be watering! After an hour, choose a thicker slice and test with a bit. The apple should be hot and soft as though it really were in a pie. If it is not return to oven, checking regularly. In the end you will have a delicious finished treat that's great for home made lunches and snacks!

It is so good and great for you! If you are looking to lose weight like we are, this is a great way to change up all those apples you've been eating!

Note: The thinner the slice the quicker it will dry out. Some very thin pieces with harden like apple chips if left in for too long.

FUN TIME CREATES GREAT MEMORIES! This is a great way to get the kids involved in healthy eating! When I was little I had a teacher who taught us a story about the star in the center of the apple. I had already loved apples at that time, but every time I have one, I still think of that story. Use this super SIMPLE COOKING recipe to make some great memories for you and your little ones!

Strawberry-Orange Smoothie

Hello my loves!

I am sorry! I know it has been so long since I've updated.But that is life and it happens. As it is, I have a wonderful new juicer and have begun some delicious drink recipes! Today I give to you, Strawberry-Orange smoothies!

Ingredients:

• One package of strawberries
• Seven Oranges
• Half a cup of milk
• Eight ice cubes

First you are going to roll your oranges on the counter and between your palms This softens them up and helps get more juice out. If you have a juicer, go ahead and use that, otherwise, after softening your oranges, cut them into quarters and peel.

Next juice or blend your oranges. Seven oranges with pulp should come to about 24 ounces.

Next put your Ice and milk in the blender. Crush the ice, but only just enough to make it easy for the blender later.

Now add in your strawberries. Be sure the greens are cut off. Put the lid on and hit the blend button for a few seconds. Once you see the white milk consumed you can stop.

Now add in your orange juice, and blend one more time to mix it properly.

Your finished product will be a delicious, thick, smoothie that makes about three pints. Plenty of orange and strawberry perfectly blended so one doesn't over power the other!

Added bonus!!! This is a nice healthy drink with no added sugar. Completely fresh and healthy for you and your loved ones!

Jello Salad!

This is a delicious treat I only got at Easter time... SOMETIMES at a 4th of July picnic or other special holiday but it was never really make any other time. I associate it most often with Easter though, and I hope you try it out this year for yourselves and enjoy it!!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz pack of Jell-O (any flavor you choose. I used cherry)
• Mini Marshmallows
• Cool Whip

First your'e going to make your Jell-o and let it sit for the directed time. When the Jell-O is ready, open a bag of marshmallows and dump it into a large bowl.

Then with a spatula or spoon dump the jell-o into the bowl as well.

Add in an entire small container of cool whip (or half a large one if that's what you bought)

And mix it all up! A rubber spatula works best for getting the marshmallows from the bottom in the center of the bowl. It should look like this when finished....

So good! You can use any flavor you want. You can also ass in things like mixed fruit cups or pineapple or apple chunks. adding in fruit really changes it up texture wise since it's so soft. Experiment with flavors of Jell-O and different add in foods!

When you're all done refrigerate until ready to serve!

Tip: If you making for more people simply add in another half bag or even an additional full bag of marshmallows. That's all you really need to do for a big family gathering!

That's all for now! Happy Easter!!!

Strawberry Shortcake

I know it's been just over a month since the last entry, I apologize. A lot has happened in the last five weeks but to make it up to you all I am going to post my dad's Strawberry Shortcake. This is for those who are always asking for dessert, and its probably the one I remember the most from my childhood. It was always a really special treat when my dad made this, and even now when I buy the things for it, I get really excited and just can't wait for it, haha. I hope you all love and enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• Two packages strawberries
• Sugar
• A package of mini angel food cakes
• One pint of heavy whipping cream
• Whipped Cream (optional)

First you're going to wash your strawberries and cut the tops off. Slice them in half and place them in a blender. Don't cut them all up, save a few to garnish your finished product!

Next pour in about a third of your heavy whipping cream.

Then sprinkle in about a quarter cup of sugar.

Place the top on your blender and turn it on. The blend or the whip setting are what I prefer to use but whatever floats you boat as long as it mixes it well. When done it should be nice and thick and creamy.

Give it a taste, if you find it to be a little bland, add more strawberries to counter out the whipping cream. They also balance it out if there is too much sugar.

Next place a cake round in a bowl, and pour the strawberry sauce over it, to drown it.

Place another cake on top of the first and add more sauce. Top it all with whipped cream and the left over strawberries for a delicious treat!

Who will like this: Everyone! Kids love it because it's a rare and special treat, parents love it because it's easy to make, and really not that messy.

LEFTOVERS! Yes that's right! Depending one how many you are serving there is usually some sauce left over. I like to place it in the refrigerator and save it for a delicious treat later, when I'll simply sip it out of a glass. I think this was my favorite part grown up, drinking the leftover strawberry goodness!

There you go guys one more insanely super Simple Cooking gone right! I hope you all enjoy it, leave comments let me know what you think of if you have questions!

Remember you are all amazing and wonderful! I love you all!

~Alex~

Cinnamon Candy

My big sister, over at Burnt Toast likes to give me challenges for Simple Cooking. The other day she challenged me to make a Cinnamon Candy recipe she found. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I love candy, particularly cinnamon candy. This was a really great and fun recipe. And like the goal of the blog says, simple! You can find the original recipe here.

So lets get started!

Ingredients:

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of light corn syrup

1/2 a tsp cinnamon extract

1/2 a tsp red food coloring

You will also need a candy thermometor. You can get one at Walmart for just under four dollars. :)

Alright! So lets get started. In a pot start cooking the water, sugar, and corn syrup on a medium heat.

Let it cook to a boil on the medium heat, we wanna heat this up slowly. As it rises to boiling be sure to stir it occasionally. Once boiling, place a lid over it and let it cook for three minuets. Go a head and take the lip off then and turn the heat to a medium/high heat. From here on out let it boil, and do not stir. The mixture will thicken severely as it boils. Use your candy thermometer to check the temperature. You want it to be at 310 Fahrenheit, also known as the Hard Crack Point. It will take about 15-20 minuets for it to reach that point, just keep an eye on the thermometer.

Once it's reached the hard crack point, remove the pot from heat and add in your cinnamon extract and red food coloring. Mix well and fast, and be sure it's all well away from your face as the fumes will be strong.

Quickly pour onto a greased baking sheet and using a spatula spread it out so it cover the whole surface.

Using a sharp knife, or a pizza cutter, start to score the sheet of liquid candy into roughly one inch squares. You can cut them as big or as small as you like, however. The gel will trying to form back together, you just have to keep repeating the scoring lines until it's cooled enough for the lines to stay in place. I had some issues with it pushing around on the sheet so mine are all deformed, but the over all shape really doesn't matter.

Let it sit at room temperature till it's completely cooled and hardened. This only takes about ten minuets or so, not too long at all. The pieces break apart easily into their squares, like sugar glass, and that is all there is to it!

The texture is the same you would get in say, jolly ranchers, and things, so just by changing the flavore of the extract this recipe opens up a lot of candies to you, if you want to make others.

Note about the cinnamon, I felt the flavor wasn't enough for me, next time I'll probably add a full teaspoon instead of just half, but it's still very good.

LEFTOVERS! This makes a lot candy.

Who will like this: Children will love this! It's homemade candy, I don't think any kid wouldn't like it! Also, anyone who enjoys cinnamon flavored candy!

That's all there is to it my loves! Go out and enjoy the cinnamon goodness that is this candy!

Alyce Sheahen's Banana Bread

An Introduction to This Recipe:

This recipe started belongs to Cassie's great Grandmother. She never wrote down her recipes. So if a family member wanted it, they had to follow along with her and write it down as she went. Cassie shared this with us on the Simple Cooking Group .

This is actually my third attempt at this recipe, which is why it's taken so long to post a new blog. I have been hell bent on this recipe being the next entry. The first time I attempted it, I cooked it exactly as instructed. The very middle didn't cook at all and the top caved in because of it. The second time I cooked it for longer and on a higher temperature, and it turned into a Banana Brick.

I knew it wasn't my oven, because it cooks everything else just fine. And I was following the recipe exactly. It had to be the pan. Well a few days ago I bought some 9" round pans, and decided to use those instead of the traditional loaf pan. Today I gave it my third try and SUCCESS! I now have banana bread in the shape of round cakes! Enjoy!!!

First, oreheat oven to 350 degrees. Next....

Cream Together:

1/2 cup shortening (See note at bottom of entry on Shortening)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 bananas

Sift Together:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Little by little add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mix well, and repeat till all is mixed together well. Don't worry if it is a bit chunky, it doesn't have to be smooth.

Now add in a tsp of vanilla. This is also where you add in nuts if you choose to do so.

Pure dough into pan. If you use a bread loaf pan, as tradition dictates, I suggest splitting it into two pans or cooking half now and half after the first, as the center tends to not cook for me if I place it all in a bread pan at once. Alternately you can use round pans or small casserole/cake pans, they work just as well, and in my experience, the 9" rounds take about half the time to cook.

Whatever your choice in baking dish is, place the dough into it after spraying it with non stick cooking spray.

Place in the hot oven and cook for 40 minuets. If using a more sallow pan like a round pan, keep a close eye on it, it should be ready after about 20 minuets.

When is is all done it make appear slightly under-cooked. This is alright as long as it's ONLY slightly and not drastically under-cooked. You can keep it in the oven for longer, but be careful, because if it gets over cooked it will be dry and not as good. Let it cool for a few minuets then go a head and cut right into it! It's delicious! Especially when its still warm and has butter on it. Hope you enjoy it!

Note on shortening: Shortening and butter were used to replace the use of lard in recipes. The shortening and butter, when melt in the oven, create the little air like pockets we see in cakes, breads, and other baked goods. The most common shortening is Crisco, but you can replace shortening with butter if you like. The ratio for that is..

1 cup shortening + 2 tbs water = 1 cup butter

Roughly a cup for a cup then. It is recommended, however, that if you choose to replace shortening with butter, you chill the batter before cooking it. Butter melts at a lower temperature than shortening does, and in baking, timing is everything. If the butter melts too soon, it can create a problem with the turnout, but chilling the dough and subsequently the butter will help it last a little longer, to melt at a more opportune time.

Who will enjoy this: EVERYBODY! I honestly don't know a single person who doesn't like banana bread unless they have an allergy, in which case, shame on you for eating noms in front of somebody who can't have it!