General Tso's Chicken

This is not my recipe. I just put it in my blog as an easy way to find it when I need it. It's from America's Test Kitchen. 

Serves 4

To crush the cornflakes, place them inside a zipper-lock bag and use a rolling pin or the bottom of a large skillet to break them into fine crumbs.

Vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites
5 cups (5 ounces) Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 2/3 cups water
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup apricot jam
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray. Spread flour into shallow dish. Whisk egg whites until foamy in second shallow dish. Spread Corn Flakes crumbs into third shallow dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg whites, then coat with Corn Flakes, pressing gently to adhere; lay on prepared wire rack.

2. Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until chicken registers 160 degrees and coating is brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk water, soy sauce, apricot jam, hoisin, cornstarch, and vinegar together in bowl. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy sauce mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

4. When chicken is cooked, return sauce to simmer over medium-low heat. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat. Serve.

Per serving: Cal 490, Fat 8g, Sat Fat 1.5g, Chol 110mg, Carb 62g, Protein 44g, Fiber 2g, Sodium 1410mg

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 16 oz sour cream (almost 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 egg

• 6 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups mini-chocolate chips. (I prefer it without these!)

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Beat sugar, sour cream, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix by hand.  Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.  Cool 1 to 2 minutes before removing.  Transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling.

These get 4 stars! They were so soft and moist!

Christmas Dessert: Snowball Cookies

These are easy and taste amazing!!


Ingredients:
1/2 lb butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans (about 4oz.) *I used walnuts


1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder
3. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat until well blended.
4. Stir in pecans (walnuts)
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on buttered 12- by 15- inch baking sheets
6. Bake at 300˚, regular or convection oven, until cookies are pale golden brown, about 25 minutes
7. If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking
8. Let cookies stand on sheets until cool enough to handle
9. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar to coat all over; discard remaining sugar
10. Set cookies on racks to cool completely


* They seem to cool fast so be prepared to roll in sugar shortly after taking out of oven. I put them in a ziplock baggie and tossed them. Be careful because they are very delicate! 
* I doubled the recipe and would probably make 2 batches next year. (So, quadruple this recipe!)
* They don't have to be an inch apart, they rise a tiny bit... give them a little room.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (Hershey's Kisses)

Dinner: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

I want to make some homemade pizza! I'll have to try this some day!

Ingredients:

1 yeast

1/4 c warm water

1 tbsp honey

3 3/4 c whole wheat flour

1 c cool water

1 tbsp olive oil

Pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the honey and let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy.

2. Put the flour in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade. Mix the 1 cup cool water with the olive oil and salt. With the motor running, pour the olive oil mixture and the yeast slowly in through the feed tube. Process until the dough forms a ball that rides around on the blade.

3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down the dough and knead it on a lightly floured surface for 1 minute. Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll them into tight balls. Place on a tray, cover with a damp towel, and let rest for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator before use.

4. Roll or stretch each ball of dough into a 7-8 inch circle. Place the circles, one at a time, on a wooden peel or on a baking sheet and build the pizza as desired.

Thanksgiving: Caramel Pumpkin Pudding Cupcakes (Hungry Girl)

Per serving- 1 cupcake (yields 12): 108 calories, 2g fat, 188mg sodium, 21g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 12g sugar, 2g protein
(Even though it would make it higher in calories, I think I would substitute some of these ingredients. I'm not a huge fan of using artificial sweeteners etc...)
Ingredients:
For cupcakes:
2 c moist-style yellow cake mix (1/2 of an 18.25-ounce box)
1 c canned pure pumpkin
1/3 c fat-free liquid egg substitute
2 tbsp sugar-free maple syrup
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/8 tsp salt
For glaze:
3 cubes (about 1 ounce) chewy caramel
2 tsp light vanilla soy milk
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF
Combine all cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl with 1/3 c of water. Whip with a whisk or fork for 2 minutes until well blended.
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with baking cups. Evenly spoon batter into muffin cups. Place pan in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes (until cupcakes have puffed up but still appear a little gooey on top). Once cupcakes are cool enough to handle, arrange them closely on a  plate so that the edges are touching.
Place caramel and soy milk in a tall microwave-safe glass or dish (mixture will bubble and rise when heated). 
Microwave at medium power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir mixture vigorously until smooth and thoroughly blended. (Return to microwave for 30 seconds at medium heat if caramel has not fully melted.) Immediately drizzle carmel sauce over cupcakes.

Thanksgiving: Apple Onion Stuffing (Hungry Girl)

I'm interested to see how this actually tastes. 
per serving (1 cup): 108 calories, 1g fat, 206mg sodium, 24g carbs, 4.25g fiber, 12g sugars, 3g protein (Yields: 8 Servings)

Ingredients

6 slices light bread (40-45 calories each with at least 2 grams fiber per slice)

4 cups chopped Fuji apples

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup fat-free chicken broth, room temperature (plus extra if needed)

1/4 cup raisins (not packed)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute

1 tbsp ligh whipped butter or light buttery spread

1 tbsp minced shallots

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Lightly toast bread slices. Cut into cubes and set aside.

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add celery, onion, shallots, garlic and salt. Saute veggies for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove pot from heat and add apples, raisins, and parsley. Mix well. Add broth and egg substitute, and stir thoroughly.

Spray a medium baking dish with nonstick spray. Transfer veggie mixture from the pot to the baking dish Add bread cubes and fold in gently. The bread cubes should be moist but not saturated. Add a few extra tablespoons of broth to coat, if needed.

Let stuffing mixture sit at room temperature for several minutes, allowing bread cubes to absorb some of the moisture.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and, using a fork, gently fluff and rearrange stuffing. Return to oven, uncovered. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until top is golden brown.

While stuffing is still warm, mix gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Devour!