Asian Lettuce Wraps

I made these last night and couldn't believe how the kids gobbled them up. I think they liked making their own wrap, and the veggies were easy to eat diced up with the other ingredients. I'll definitely add it into my standard dinner rotation! I don't know if this recipe is better than any other in particular, but we really liked them. They best thing is you can adapt and add a little more or less of what you prefer.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

2 pkg (3oz) chicken-flavor ramen noodles
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 each red and yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced green onions with tops
1 medium cucumber sliced into small pieces
2 medium carrots sliced into small pieces

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 garlic, pressed
1 half inch piece peeled fresh gingerroot, pressed (use garlic press!)
2 tsp Asian seasoning (I just added ground ginger, a little red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little pepper)

lettuce leaves (about 1 head, I just used iceberg)

optional: (but yummy)
peanuts, chopped
sweet and sour sauce

Boil about 3 cups of water, add ramen (broken up) and seasoning, cook 2 minutes, stir. Drain and rinse under cold water. Place noodles, chicken, bell peppers, green onions, cucumbers, and carrots in a big bowl, mix.

Combine soy sauce, oil, garlic, ginger, and seasonings. Toss to coat chicken noodle mixture. Cover and refrigerate.

Remove full lettuce leaves and rinse well, dry.

To eat, place lettuce leaf on your plate, spoon noodle mixture on top, top with peanuts and sweet and sour sauce, wrap up in lettuce leaf like a healthy burrito!

Boterkoek

Dutch Boterkoek

This is Dave's dad's recipe

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ lb butter

t vanilla

t almond extract

3 eggs

Mix together butter, sugar and extract.

Add beaten egg (save some to brush on top for golden brown finish)

Add flour to form dough

Put dough in ungreased pan. 9-12” or 2 rounds

Mix the reserved 1 tsp of beaten egg with 1 tsp of water, and brush over dough.

Decorate with sliced almonds, if desired.

Bake at 350°F for 25-40 minutes or until done (firm to the touch).

This is a dense cake, but should be soft on the inside and hard on the outside, but not too hard

THIS RECIPE ALSO SOUNDS GOOD:

4 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 lb. butter

1 can almond filling

Cream together sugar and softened butter, then add egg and stir. Add flour a little at a time; stir well. Use 2 pans (11 x 7 x 1 1/2) and divide the batter into fourths. Use 1/4 of the batter in the bottom of each pan. Spread 1/2 can of almond filling in each pan then add another fourth of the batter over that. (May help to press the dough flat in your hands, then press in pan.)

Beat an egg and brush some on top. May also add some sliced almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until golden brown on top. Cut into pieces while still warm.

Emily's Wet Burrito Meal

My sister Emily loved mexican food. She was a server at a mexican restaurant for several years and was always very picky about her mexican food; she considered herself an expert (we loved to tease her about that!). This is the recipe for her famous wet burrito meal. Don't make the mistake of calling these enchiladas, Emily would have corrected you! And you MUST make this as a meal, the burritos are only good in COMBINATION with the beans and corn. This is a great vegetarian dish also, and I just love it with homemade guacamole and chips on the side!

Wet Burritos
16oz. sour cream
1/4 c. chopped green onion
8 + oz. Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
12 + oz. Colby, shredded
2 t. cumin
1 pkg. Enchilada powder
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 c. water
1 pkg. burrito size tortillas

Mix 1st five ingredients (set aside additional cheese for topping). Spoon in tortilla, roll up, place seam side down in greased pan. Set aside. For sauce, bring last three ingredients to boil, let simmer for 10 min. Taste, and add Tobasco, more tomato sauce, salt, etc. Pour over burritos. Bake 20 min @ 350. Top with more cheese and bake an additional 5 min, till cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Black Beans

2 cans black beans
1/2 large red onion
1 green bell pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T Tobasco
1 T cumin
(topping: chopped sweet Vidalia onions)

Blend all but the beans in a blender until very smooth, add to beans and cook 8 hours on low in crockpot. Top with chopped sweet Vidalia onions.

Fiesta Corn

Fresh corn
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
salt, pepper, butter, and Tobasco to taste

Grilled Curry Chicken with Spinach-Coconut Rice

We made this for Sunday dinner, and had it for leftovers tonight (and it tasted even better). The picture I'm posting is the leftover meal, so it's all dumped in one bowl. It is so yummy and a good warmer weather meal. Delicious with the limes squeezed over!

Grilled Curry Chicken with Spinach-Coconut Rice

1 1/2 c plus 2 T canola oil, divided
2 T smooth peanut butter
2 T chopped cilantro
1 T salt
1 T curry powder
2 t minced ginger
1 t tamarind concentrate (hard to find, I usually just omit)
5 t minced garlic, divided
4 boneless, skinless chicken
1 can (13oz) unsweetened coconut milk
3 c jasmine rice
2 large onions, sliced
1 1/2 lb fresh baby spinach, cleaned
Salt to taste
Lime wedges and cilantro for garnish

In blender combine 1 1/2 c oil, pb, cilantro, salt, curry, ginger, tamarindo, and 3 t garlic, until smooth. Place chicken in resealable plastic bags and pour in marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade, pour marinade liquid into small sauce pan and boil until reduced by half. Grill (or broil) chicken, 12-14 min, turning once. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing into strips. Serve with sauce on side. (I usually pour some sauce over the chicken slices before serving to get more good saucy flavor.

Meanwhile, pour coconut milk into large measuring cup. Add enough cold water to make 6 cups, bring to boil in sauce pan. Stir in rice and return to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. (I do this all in my rice cooker, it's fine).

Heat remaining oil in large nonstick skillet. Add onions and saute’ until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add remaining garlic, spinach, and 2 T water. Cover and simmer until spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. Stir into rice; toss to combine (I don't do this, cause some wimpy people are scared by spinach and delicious grilled onions, so I dish them separately).

Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.

"Hawaiian BBQ Chicken"
This is one of my favorite recipes. We eat this at least twice a month and since there is only two of us, I get to enjoy the leftovers for lunch for several days. It is really good served with rice. I don't have a picture right now, but the next time we have it I will take one then.


6 chicken thighs
1 Cup pineapple juice
2 cans pineapple chunks, (these are the small cans, or just use one large can) use the juice from these for the above 1 cup of pineapple juice
1/2 Cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, or dried if you don't have fresh

Marinate the chicken thighs with the rest of the ingredients for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator, I marinate for a least two hours in a zip-lock bag.

Place thighs, marinade including the pineapple chunks, in a baking pan and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn heat to broil and broil for an additional 5 minutes until the skin is crispy.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Put the pan on the stove and make a Rue, (flour and water mix) add this to the sauce and stir until thickened.

Top the chicken with some of the gravy and use the rest of the gravy for rice.

Don't do what I did. This is pretty embarrassing; I used to have this huge blue glass pan that I would cook this recipe in. Not thinking, I put the "glass pan" on the stove (not a good idea) to mix the Rue in when the pan exploded. I had blue glass all over the kitchen!