{Copycat} Panda Express Chow Mein

Seriously. This is a true copycat recipe and I absolutely loved it.

Photo Credit to Food.com

Panda Express Chow Mein
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 (5.6 oz) packages refrigerated Yaki Soba noodles (found in the produce section of the grocery store.. usually the 3 packages are sold together in one 17oz. pack)
2/3 c. chopped celery (chopped diagonally)
1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
2 c. chopped cabbage

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Set aside.
Remove Yaki Soba from packages and discard included flavoring packets. Rinse noodles well, drain, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Add celery and onion and saute for about 1-2 minutes or until onions start to become soft and transparent. Add cabbage and saute an additional minute or so.
Toss Yaki Soba noodles and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium-high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until noodles are heated through.

Recipe Source: Favorite Family Recipes

English Muffin Breakfast Pizza

These were so delicious! I love breakfast food a lot. And I love pizza. So, pizza for breakfast...kaching! Count me in. We had a little disaster with the aluminum foil, so I changed the recipe to just grease a baking sheet. Other than that. Bueno!

Photo Credit to Our Best Bites

English Muffin Breakfast Pizza
6 whole wheat English muffins at room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
About 10 dashes Tabasco sauce
12 thin deli slices of ham or 10-12 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
3/4-1 c. shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
Optional: Chopped vegetables like green onions, tomatoes, sliced olives, mushrooms, green peppers, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or line with oil.
In a pie plate, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and Tabasco sauce. Gently pull apart each English muffin and soak each side (like you would for French toast) in the egg mixture–you want the egg mixture to soak into the bread, but you don’t want the English muffin to be completely falling apart. Place the muffin, cut side up, on the baking sheet.

If using ham, slice the ham into thin strips and then place on top of the English muffins. If using bacon, just sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top. Add any additional desired toppings and then sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and serve immediately.

*FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: After baking, loosen them from the baking sheet with a spatula and then allow them to cool completely. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer. When the pizzas are solid, transfer them to a large Ziploc freezer bag. To reheat, place on a plate and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes at a time until the pizza is heated through (actual time will depend on how powerful your microwave is).

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

Chicken with Creamy Braised Leeks

Sometimes I order a Bountiful Basket just to try new things, because I like to do that a lot (just in case you were wondering). It gives me a lot of fresh produce while kind of forcing me to try new things. So after I received so many leeks I didn't know what to do with...I searched and searched. Then I found this and thought "Hm...I'll try it." Holy crap. Yes, I just said crap. It was delicious. So delicious Scott raved about it for 2 days (which is a long time for him). If you ever need to get rid of leeks...try it!!!

Photo Credit to Eating Well

Chicken with Creamy Braised Leeks

4 Servings
8 medium or 4 large leeks
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, halved
6 sprigs fresh thyme
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5-6 ounces each), trimmed and tenders removed (see Note)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Trim roots and dark green tops from leeks, leaving 5 to 6 inches of white and light green parts. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise (or in quarters, if large); rinse well. Place the leeks in a single layer in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, on their sides if necessary, nestling them together. Pour in broth; submerge the garlic and thyme in the broth between the leeks.
Bake the leeks for 40 minutes.
After about 30 minutes, sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from the heat.
After 40 minutes, remove the leeks from the oven and nestle the chicken into them. Add cream and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to the hot skillet (but do not turn the burner back on). Stir up any browned bits and let the cream heat up from the warmth of the pan. Pour the cream mixture over the leeks and chicken.
Return the baking dish to the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 165°F, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the chicken with the braised leeks, spooning the sauce over both.

*Note: It’s difficult to find an individual chicken breast small enough for one portion. Removing the thin strip of meat from the underside of a 5-ounce breast—the chicken tender—removes about 1 ounce of meat and yields a perfect 4-ounce portion. Wrap and freeze the tenders and when you have gathered enough, use them in a stir-fry or for oven-baked chicken fingers. {I just used the whole breast, but only used 3}

Recipe Source: Eating Well

Sweet Coleslaw

Scott's Great-Grandma Fern recently passed away. She was full of life and love and I am so grateful to have known her. She left some great recipes for us as well. I'm not a huge fan of coleslaw, but when I had this at Sharrie's house I was in love. I promptly asked for the recipe and got it quickly in return. Thank you Grandma Fern (and Sharrie!).

Photo Credit to ReadySetEat

Sweet Coleslaw
1 Head cabbage, shredded (can use bagged pre-shredded cabbage)
2 red apples, chopped
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
Put in lg. bowl.
Add dressing:
3/4 - 1 cup Mayo. (Grandma says ONLY use Best Foods, but...)
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp salt

Mix all together well. Put in fridge for a while so sugar dissolves.

Recipe Source: Grandma Fern (via Sharrie)

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese

This is more of a great idea than a "recipe." Have some leftover guac and bacon you want to cook? Throw it on a grilled cheese. It is amazing and delicious. And ridiculous.

Amazingly delicious photo credit to Denise Griffitts

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese
Bread
Butter
Bacon, cooked
Cheddar Cheese
Guacamole

Make a grilled cheese, then just add the guacamole and bacon.
Eat and melt from deliciousness.

Recipe Source: Denise Griffitts

Roasted Strawberry Muffins

Awe.Some. I bought a flat of strawberries and decided to make stuff with all of them. Rather than, like, jam. So we had some good and bad things all made with strawberries all within a week. It was actually really fun and I want to try the same thing, but with avocados.
The roasting seemed to really bring out the strawberry flavor and the muffins were delicious! Can't wait to make them again!

Photo credit to Jersey Girl Cooks

Roasted Strawberry Muffins
Makes about 16 muffins
1 lb. strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered
1 cup sugar, plus a pinch for roasting
Low-fat milk, if needed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup low-fat greek yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Coarse sugar, for topping (optional) {I didn't use this}

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread the berries out on the baking sheet, sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and toss gently to mix. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the berries are tender and have released most of their juices, about 20-22 minutes. Place a colander or strainer over a bowl or liquid measuring cup and strain the berries, reserving the excess juices. You will have approximately 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of juice. Add just enough milk to make 6 tablespoons total of liquid if you are short on juice.


Lower the oven temperature to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flours, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the reserved strawberry juice/milk, greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined and no dry streaks remain. Fold in the strawberries with a spatula.


Divide the batter between the prepared muffin liners. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Recipe Source: Annie's Eats

Fast Awesome Pizza Dough

Every Friday night at the Farrer residence (or at our house, depending on if we invite them to share their tradition at our house), there is a pizza night tradition. Or calzone, depending on the mood we're in. They make this pizza dough every time. Why you ask? It's so fast. Seriously rises in 20-30 minutes. Also, it's like heaven in dough form. I'm actually not sure where they got it, but I fetchin love it (yes I said fetchin).

Photo credit to foodnetwork.com

Fast Awesome Pizza Dough
3 cup warm water
2 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
6-8 cup flour

Mix water, yeast and sugar. Add 3 cups flour and milk. Add salt and any herbs then 2 cups flour. Add remaining flour until not sticky. Knead 5-10 minutes. Raise 20 minutes.
Flatten {pretty thin, it rises some more while cooking}, top with sauce and toppings.
Bake at 400 degrees for 18 mins.

Photo credit to ducksoven.blogspot.com

Note: If you are doing calzones, only put toppings on half, then fold crust over and pinch sides together. Brush with melted butter and garlic powder mixed {makes it too delicious!}

Recipe Source: Laurel Farrer {No idea who her source is...}