Quick Jell-O Pie

2 Packs Sugar Free Jell-O-any flavor

2 Containers of low or fat free yogurt-something close to Jell-O flavor

1 Container Cool Whip-low fat

2 Pie crust (or 1 crust and pudding cups)

Empty Jell-O into large bowl. Add just enough hot water to dissolve Jell-O. Whip in yogurt. Add in container of thawed cool-whip. Mix until well blended. Put into pie crust. Cover. Place in fridge.

Set time--One Hour

Coconut Chicken

So this is one that we adapted from a recipe we found online and actually liked it enough to share. That doesn't always happen. Usually my experiments turn out badly. I just happened to have some coconut milk left over from a different recipe that I didn't want to waste. Lucky for us we have a new favorite dish at our place. It's probably not the most healthy dish, but it tastes pretty good. Serves 4.


2 T white sugar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp salt
dash of black pepper
dash of paprika
1/2 tsp of garlic powder or fresh garlic if you have
1 T red pepper (or to taste, however spicy you would like it)
2 T peanut butter
1T lime or lemon juice
2 cups of diced chicken
2 T butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup coconut milk (or 1 and 1/2 cups and omit reg milk)
1/2 cup light sour cream


Combine the first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl(will be sticky). Set aside about a tablespoon of the mixture for later. Add chicken pieces and make sure chicken is coated well. You can let this marinate for a while or get cooking. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. On medium to high heat cook the chicken mixture until coating is nice and golden brown. Then add the rest of the peanut butter mixture until it melts and blends in. Then add the milks. Once the milk seems to be warmed up add the sour cream. Mix in well and turn down the heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Served over rice. You can experiment with it too. Maybe you can make it even better.

Dreamy Guacamole

(This one is from a mission companion of mine who is thinking about joining the blog. I hope she does soon. This looks good! )

Dreamy Guacamole

6 avocados
1 bunch of cilantro
4-6 green onions
2 limes
3-4 roma tomatoes
Garlic salt (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
White vinegar (1/4-1/2 C)

This is usually the order that I do this in.

Juice of the 2 limes. (if you like more lime taste you could zest it)
Put in the avocados cut up. Mix the 2 together.
Finely chop the cilantro. (Use as much or as little as you like, I tend to like more)
Chop the onions as finely as you can.
De-seed and juice the tomatoes. Roughly chop.
Add the garlic salt, pepper and salt to your liking.
Add ¼ c of white vinegar.

Then depending on how soft the avocadoes are, mash with a potato masher or a pastry cutter until the consistency that you like. If they are not ripe enough, add the other ¼ C of vinegar and continue to mash.

Serve!

Enjoy!


Ally

Double Chocolate Cookies

1 package (18.25 oz) plain* devil's food cake mix
1/3 cup water
4 Tbl. (1/2 stick) butter, melted (do not substitute margerine or it won't taste the same)
1 large egg
6 oz (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

*Plain cake mix has no added pudding. Duncan Hines brand meets this criterion, and so do some store brands.

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets with solid shortening. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, water, melted butter, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat 1 more minute. Cookie dough will be thick. Fold in the chips and nuts.

3. Drop scoops of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Place in oven. If both sheets won't fit on the center rack, place one sheet on top and one in the center and rotate them halfway through the baking time.

4. Bake until set but soft in the center, 10-12 minutes. Remove pans from oven, let cookies rest on the cookie sheets for 1 minute. Remove with a metal spatula to cooling racks, let cool for 20 minutes. (I don't think we have ever had enough self-restraint to let them cool that long.)

Gone All Afternoon Stew

Gone All Afternoon Stew from Mums

1 lb. lean round steak, trimmed of fat and cubed
1 Tbl. dry tapioca
5 medium carrots, cut in chunks
3 large ribs celery, thickly sliced
1 onion, cut in chunks
4 medium potatoes, cut in chunks (I scrub them but do not peel them)
1 can tomato soup
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. Italian seasoning or equivalent (I just throw in basil, a little oregano, and thyme)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cup frozen peas

Layer all ingredients except peas in a heavy roaster or casserole dish. No need to brown the meat first. Cover tightly, use foil if your pan doesn't have a lid.

Bake at 275 degrees for 5 hours. Stir in peas just before serving.

Spicy Chicken and Rice Bake

This is a delicious dish that has a ton of flavor and just enough spice. Left overs are great too because the rice only gets better the next day!

1 to 2 Pounds meaty chicken pieces (I like to use 4 chicken breasts)
1/2 chopped onion (medium)
1/2 chopped sweet green pepper
2 cloves garlic,minced
1 Tble olive oil (or other cooking oil)
1 15 ounce can Black beans rinsed and drained
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup Chicken stock (add more if you think mixure needs more liquid)
1/2 cup Tomato juice
1 cup frozen corn, or 1 reg. size can of sweet corn
2/3 cup of uncooked long grain rice
1 tsp. Chili powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
salt to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional, I think everything is better with cheese)

1. Skin Chicken and set aside.
2. In a large sausepan cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until tender. Stir in Black beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken stock, corn, Cumin, chili powder, rice, and salt. Bring to boil. Transfer rice mixture to a 3 quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice mixture. Sprinkle chicken with paprika.
3. Bake covered in a oven heated to 375 degrees for 40 mins, then uncover and sprinkle cheese over the chicken and rice if desired and cook until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender. Then enjoy.

Gyoza/Pot Stickers

Ingredients:
One pack of pot sticker wrap round shape. No square

(filling) It doesn't has to be exact amount of things.

1 lbs. ground pork

1 egg

1/4 c Nira/Chinese Chive minced

1 c Napa Cabbage minced

1 clove of garlic

2 T soy sauce

2 T sesame oil

salt & pepper

some options:

Green onion, cabbege, shiitake mushrooms, leak, bok choy, ginger

(dipping sauce)

If you can find the dumpling sauce at the Chinese market, it's the best.

3 T soy sauce

1 T vinegar

some drops of chili oil

If you like white rice to go with gyoza, start making rice now.

Mince all the Vegetables by hand or use food processor.
Size of Ants!
Put all the filling ingredients in one bowl and need by hand.

You shouldn't see any grains of pork

Scoop one teaspoonful of filling onto one wrap
and put water around half circle.
water is for glueing.
If it's too much fillings adjust the amount.

Fold in half .

Make three fold at the curve
You shouldn't taste at this moment, so cook one in the boiling
water until it's done and try it.
Add more soy sauce if the filling needs more taste.

Stand them up on the well-floured Tupperware.
They should not touch each other.
They stick together easily when they sweat.
The folded edge should be on top.
I made about 85 gyoza, but still had some left over wraps.
I usually freeze some.The cooking instruction is the same for frozen gyoza.

~use non stick pan! ~

Heat the pan and add 3 Tablespoonfuls of oil.
They will stick to the pan if you don't put enough,
so add little more than usual.
Line Gyoza in the pan.
The folded edge should be standing.
Then, add water up to 1/3 of the gyoza's height and cover.
Steam for 5-8 minutes at medium heat.

Open the lid and evaporate the water and
brown the bottom.
You can tell the bottom color by looking at
residue on the pan. Some Gyoza will be connected with this residue at the bottom, but it's easy to separate when you eat.
The bottom should be brown but not burned.
Be careful not to break the skin when you take out of the pan.
When you serve, the bottoms of the Gyoza should be up.
That way, those gyoza will stay crunchy longer.

For less calories, I boil them instead of pan fry just like ravioli.
Sometimes I put some in soup.
You can also deep fry them.

Filling can be easily changed. It's not the end of the world if you cannot find some veggies. I had Mexican style goyza with ground chicken and cilantro filling. Also Italian gyoza with pork, basil and parmesean cheese. Dipping sauce is another fun thing to play around. Have some fun and invent the new potstickers and dips.