Sticky Coconut Chicken

If you still haven't visited My Kitchen Cafe, you really need to. I can always find something that sounds good, and I have never tried one of Melanie's recipes that I didn't like! As I'm sure you can guess, this recipe is no exception! I made this for dinner one night when I was visiting my family in Boise and it was all gone after dinner! Even the landscaping guys could smell it cooking and wanted in! I used chicken tenders when I made this dish and it worked fine, so I'm sure any cut of chicken would work fine. You definitely won't be disappointed after you make this! (Photo courtesy of my mom- thanks mom!)

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Marinade:
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used about 3 pounds chicken tenders)
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger (or use 1 tsp dried ginger, but I did use fresh)
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (my mom's flakes were hiding, so I used 1 tsp chili oil)

Glaze:

3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (again, I used 1 tsp chili oil)

Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour (Melanie likes to let hers marinade for about four to five hours). Grill on barbecue.

While the chicken is grilling, bring glaze ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. (If you are using chicken tenders or pieces of chicken that will cook fast, I would make the glaze before you start grilling.) Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat! Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.

Citrus Water Punch

This is such a refreshing drink and I'm excited to make it in the summer! It tastes like a limeade, and is sooooo good! It tastes better than store bought lemonade/limeade and is a lot healthier for you, too! Thanks to Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe for the recipe! You can find the citric acid at most health food stores (if you live in Rexburg, ID- I found some at Nature's Nook). Make this! You'll be glad you did!

Citrus Water Punch

2 tablespoons citric acid (you can find this at most pharmacies or natural food stores)
5 quarts water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons pure lemon extract
3 sliced lemons
3 sliced limes
Crushed ice

In a large pitcher or punch bowl, stir water, sugar, citric acid, and lemon extract together. Add sliced fruit and ice.

A note from Melanie: *Note: as mentioned by commenters (and I’ve received emails about it), if you have leftover punch, remove the sliced limes and lemons before refrigerating. The limes and lemons will give the punch an overly sour acidic taste if the punch is stored overnight that way.

PW Sloppy Joes

The wonderful Pioneer Woman inspired this dish and it was well worth the effort. I would highly recommend serving these on homemade hamburger buns, too. The sloppy joes were excellently flavored and also served as a hideout for some peppers and tomatoes I had lurking around my house waiting to be used. This is definitely something the whole family can enjoy!

PW Sloppy Joes

• 2 Tablespoons Butter (I used olive oil to brown the veggies in and nothing for the beef)
  
• 2-½ pounds Ground Beef
• ½ whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1 whole Large Green Bell Pepper, Diced (I also added in 1-2 diced tomatoes)
  
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-½ cup Ketchup
• 1 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard (I used about 2 -3 tsp prepared mustard)
  
• ½ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
• Worcestershire Sauce To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (optional) (I left out)
  
• Tabasco Sauce (optional; To Taste) (I left out)
  
• Salt To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Kaiser Rolls (I used homemade hamburger buns)
  
• Butter

Add butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard.

Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, or until vegetables begin to get soft.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle or skillet. Spoon meat mixture over the rolls, topping with a slice of cheese if it makes your skirt fly up. Serve hot with kettle cooked chips!

Homemade Hamburger Buns

I've been wanting a good homemade hamburger bun recipe for a long time and

I finally found one! These are light and airy like store-bought, but taste so much better! This recipe came from allrecipes.com.

Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted (I used vegetable oil)
  
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed (I used bread flour)
  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, margarine, warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
2. Mix in the salt, and gradually stir in the flour until you have a soft dough. Let rise until doubled. Divide into 25 pieces, and form into balls. Place on baking sheets so they are 2 to 3 inches apart. Let rise until desired height, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake the rolls for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly, then split them in half horizontally to fill with your favorite burgers.

Penne with Tomato Cream Sauce

This was a delicious dinner when I made it! I got it out of The All New Better Housekeeping Cook Book that I checked out of the library (which is an excellent place to go when you need meal ideas! And I mean both the cookbook and the library!) While it is similar to spaghetti, it is different enough that even if you had spaghetti the night before you'd still enjoy this dish. You could make it even heartier by adding cooked ground beef, chicken or even ham. We will definitely make this fast, easy, and delectable meal again!

Penne with Tomato Cream

1 Tbl Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (I used 2 Tbl dehydrated chopped onion)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (I used my garlic press)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I just added a pinch)
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes in puree, coarsely chopped (the closest I could find was S&W crushed tomatoes in a rich sauce)
3 Tbl vodka (optional; I left it out)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 package (16 oz) penne or rotini
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (I just sprinkled in some dry basil into my sauce, probably about 2 tsp)

1. In a nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes (If using dehydrated onion, add with the garlic). Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook until garlic is golden brown, about 30 seconds longer. Stir in tomatoes with their puree, vodka if using, and salt; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in cream and peas; heat to boiling.

2. Meanwhile, in large saucepot, cook pasta as label directs. Drain. Toss pasta with sauce and sprinkle with basil. Makes 4 main-dish servings (It made enough for 4 adults and some leftovers when I made it, but I also served it with fruit and dinner muffins).

Cheesy Breadsticks

My mom got this recipe off the internet a long time ago, and if I remember right, they are supposed to be a mock Pizza Hut breadstick recipe. Although, I don't think they taste similar at all. I like these sticks because they aren't greasy but they are soft and the cheese and seasonings is great on top. This does make a whole baking sheet of breadsticks, so either make 'em for a crowd or scale them down.

Cheesy Breadsticks

Dough:
1-1/3 cup warm water
3 Tbl olive oil
4 cup flour (I used bread flour)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
3 Tbl powdered milk (if you don't have, substitute 1/2-3/4 cup of the water for milk)
2 tsp yeast
Topping:
2 Tbl dry Parmesan cheese
1 Tbl garlic powder
1 Tbl garlic salt (I left this out)
1 Tbl onion powder
1 Tbl oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese, optional

Add dough ingredients to the bread machine in order and set to first rise. Roll dough out into a rectangle 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Cut dough into 1"x4" strips. Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise. Meanwhile, stir the topping seasoning together with the cheese. Brush the breadsticks with olive oil. Sprinkle with topping and bake at 350* for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. (I think I actually just rolled the dough out onto my baking sheet, added the topping, let rise and then baked and cut them when they came out of the oven.)

Helpful Hints

They passed out a big long list of helpful hints submitted by members of our Relief Society this past Sunday. Quite a few had something to do with food. Some of them I knew, some I didn't, and I figured it's probably the same with most of us, so I'm just going to post them all up here. I hope they help! Caveat: I have not tried all of these, but some of these women swear by them.

Turn to spices, not salt, for good flavor:

Allspice for ground meats, stews, tomatoes, peaches, applesauce, cranberry sauce, and gravies.

Basil for fish, lamb, ground meats, stews, salads, soups, and sauces.

Bay leaves for meats, stews, poultry, soups, and tomatoes.

Chives for salads, sauces, soups, meats dishes, and vegetables.

Apple cider vinegar for salads, vegetables, and sauces.

Dill for fish sauces, soups, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, cucumbers, potatoes, salads, macaroni, beef, lamb, chicken and fish.

Garlic (not garlic salt) for meats, fish, soups, salads, vegetables, tomatoes, and potatoes.

Onion (not onion salt) for meats, stews, vegetables, salads, and soups.

Paprika for meats, fish, soups, salads, sauces, and vegetables.

Lemon juice (and might I add, almost any citrus) for meats, fish, poultry, salads, vegetables.

To keep cheese fresh, put an unwrapped block of cheese in a Press 'n' Seal bag by Glad. It will keep it fresh and mold free for a long time.

Homemade brown sugar: make in a ratio of two cups white sugar mixed with two tablespoons molasses. Measure the amount of brown sugar for a recipe; add the molasses to the sugar as needed.

Sweetened condensed milk: combine 1/2 cup of water with 3/4 white sugar. Heat to bubble stage (do not boil). Remove from heat and add 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dry milk powder. Stir until smooth. Mixture will be thin, but will thicken after 48 hours.

Wrap fresh celery in foil; it will last longer and stay crisp. Another suggestion is to keep celery and lettuce in paper bags (just ask for one at the store) instead of plastic. (Either way, it sounds like plastic is the worst thing to keep them in.)

Honey as a sugar substitute: 1 c. honey for 1 1/4 c. white sugar. It is best to reduce the liquid for the recipe by a 1/4 c. for every 1 cup or honey being used. In baking, it is helpful to add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used to neutralize the acidity of the honey. Reduce baking temp by 25 degrees to reduce excess browning.

Add a capful of cooking oil to boiling water to prevent it boiling over.

To get the best of delicately flavored herbs, add them in the last few minutes of cooking.

To peel a tomato: cut an X in the blossom end, opposite the stem. Immerse in boiling water for ten seconds. Transfer to ice water and then peel.

Let's thank the sisters of Livermore, CA for all their genius!