Purple Cabbage

German Red Cabbage

Made: July 20, 2013

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup sliced green apples
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions
- Place butter, cabbage, apples, and sugar into a large pot
- Pour in the vinegar and water, and season with salt, pepper and clove
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the cabbage is tender for 1 1/2 - 2 hours

I used 1 apple (with the skin still on) and about 1/2 a head of cabbage. It's really sweet and juicy.

(Recipe used: allrecipes.com)

Asian Rice

Fried Rice

Made: July 14, 2013

Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions
- On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet (or wok)
- Add the peas, onion and garlic
- Stir fry until tender
- Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side
- Pour your eggs on the other side and stir fry until scrambled
- Add the rice and the soy sauce
- Blend together
- Stir fry until thoroughly heated

I thought 3 tablespoons was a lot of the sesame oil, but it complemented the soy sauce just right. I always have trouble with the eggs as they always run into whatever else I'm cooking in the pan, but overall it came out nice. I'll have to tweak it to see how I could get the rice drier and not so mushy though.

(Recipe used: found on facebook)

Cracker Chicken

Crispy Baked Chicken

Made: July 7, 2013

Ingredients 
Chicken/coating
- chicken tenders (8 pieces)
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Sauce
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 tablespoon butter

Directions
- Crush crackers
- Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate bowls
- Toss the salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine
- Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then cheese
- Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers
- Then press the cheese coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in
- Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan
- Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken
- Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 F for 35 minutes
- Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy
- In a medium sized sauce pan, combine the cream fo chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk
- Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot
- Serve over the chicken

Served with a pasta side & asparagus

I didn't have Rtiz crackers, so I used Townhouse butter crackers instead. I also put the parsley in the sauce instead of over top the chicken. Other than that, I followed the recipe to the point

(Recipe used: found on facebook)

Coffee and Chocolate

Deep-Dish Brownies

Made: May 26, 2013

Ingredients
Brownies
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup water or coffee
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
- Heat oven to 350 F
- Coat 8-inch square pan with cooking spray
- Whisk sugar, melted butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla in large bowl; whisk in eggs until blended
- Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl; slowly whisk into egg mixture until well-combined
- Spread in pan
- Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean but with some crumbs attached
- Cool completely on wire rack
- Meanwhile, melt chocolate, 1 tablespoon butter and water in small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally
- Pour into medium bowl; whisk in powdered sugar until smooth
- Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Refrigerate until frosting thickens slightly (about 25 minutes), stirring occasionally
- Spread over brownies; let stand until set

To melt the chocolate, I used a double broiler and I used coffee instead of water. I used a lot of powdered sugar and it seemed like it was still too watery. Even after an hour in the fridge, it still didn't seem like it wanted to set. I used it as a glaze and it's finally starting to set (about 3 hours later).

(recipe used: Cooking Club of America)

Taco spin-off

Beef Tostadas

Made: May 25, 2013

Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 12 packaged tostada or hard taco shells
- 3/4 cup fat-free refried beans
- 1-1/2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- 3/4 cup salsa

Directions
- Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper
- Place 3 tablespoons of the lime juice, the garlic, jalapeno, onion, chili powder, cumin and cayenne in a slow cooker
- Place beef on top and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours
- Remove beef to a cutting board and when cool enough to handle, shred with fingers or using two forks
- Place shredded beef in a large bowl
- Strain remaining liquid in slow cooker over a bowl or measuring cup, discarding solids
- Add strained liquid and remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice to beef in bowl and stir to combine
- Cover; keep warm
- Warm tostada shells in oven according to package directions
- While tostadas are baking, heat refried beans in microwave for 1-1/2 minutes on HIGH, stirring halfway through until warm and spreadable
- Spread each tostada with 1 tablespoon refried beans
- Place 1/3 cup beef over beans and divide lettuce equally among tostadas
- Top each with 1 heaping tablespoon cheese and 1 tablespoon salsa

I made mine slightly different ... I used ground beef instead of round steak. I browned the beef in a pan with the spices and I used lemon juice instead of lime juice. I also added in a touch of taco seasoning. I also used spinach instead of lettuce and I also used sour cream to add a touch of cool. Also makes a good salad

(recipe used: recipe.com)