Strawberry Freezer Jam

Strawberry Freezer Jam
Recipe from the Sure Jell box

1 qt. (2 c. crushed) ripe strawberries, washed and stemmed
4 c. sugar
1 package fruit pectin (I use Sure Jell; I don't even think I've seen a different brand)
3/4 c. water
8-oz. freezer-safe containers

Wash and dry the freezer-safe containers and set aside.

With a potato masher or in a food processor, mash the berries, leaving some chunks. Measure out 2 c. of berries into a large bowl. Stir in exactly 4 c. sugar and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

While the berries and sugar are co-mingling, whisk the pectin into 3/4 c. water in a small saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over high heat and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir into strawberry mixture for 3 minutes or until sugar is almost entirely dissolved.

Ladle the jam into the prepared containers, leaving about 1/2" at the top for expansion. Top with lids and allow to stand for 24 hours at room temperature. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for 1 year. Makes 5 8-oz. containers.

Choc Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from allrecipes.com
makes 24 cupcakes
1 chocolate cake mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 oz. chocolate
Make cupcakes according to box directions. (Or use your favorite recipe!)
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth.
In another bowl, whip the cream until you have stiff peaks. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream.
Top cupcakes with the frosting. Grate the chocolate on top. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator.

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onion

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onionadapted from Cook’s Illustrated Complete Book of Poultry

¾ pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into uniform pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits or 2 cups fresh pineapple cut into wedges (I used canned pineapple)
3 medium scallions, green parts cut into ¼-inch lengths and white parts minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I omitted this since I didn’t have on hand and it still tasted great)
1 recipe sweet and sour stir-fry sauce (see below)

Toss the chicken with the soy sauce and vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside for 15 minutes, tossing once or twice.

Heat a 12- or 14-inch skillet over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes (the pan should be so hot you can hold an outstretched hand 1 inch over the pan for only 3 seconds.) Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl it so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it just starts to shimmer and smoke. Check the heat with your hand as before.

Drain the chicken and add it to the pan. Stir-fry until seared and about three-quarters cooked, 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Scrape the cooked chicken and all of the liquid into a bowl. Cover and keep warm.

Let the pan come back up to temperature, 1 to 2 minutes. When it is hot, drizzle in 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the onions and stir-fry until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pineapple and cook 1 minute. Add the scallion greens and cook 15 to 30 seconds.

Clear the center of the pan and add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle with ½ teaspoon oil. Mash into the pan with the back of a spatula. Cook until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and stir the scallions, garlic, and ginger into the vegetables for 20 seconds.

Return the pan to the heat and add the cooked chicken. Stir in the sauce and stir-fry until the ingredients are well coated with sauce and sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Serve immediately with rice.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce**Because we like things a little more saucy in our family, I one-and-a-halved this recipe to give a little bit more sauce to the stir-fry.**

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons tomato sauce
1 ½ tablespoon pineapple or orange juice (I reserved the pineapple juice from the can of tidbits before I drained it completely)
¼ teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Sticky Coconut Chicken
from Leigh Anne with my slight adaptations

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

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

Glaze:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

While the chicken is grilling, bring above ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. 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.

Sidenote: I used the extra coconut milk left in the can as part of the liquid in my rice and it was unbelievable! It was very mildly sweet and paired so well with the chicken. Yum!

Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken

Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken
from Erin W.

Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe (I’ll be sharing a few with you soon). Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.

Often, I will double the marinade and chicken and grill it all up and freeze the extras to use later.

Mushroom Chicken with Zucchini

Mushroom Chicken with Zucchini
from Blog Chef

Ingredients:
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
cornstarch (for dusting)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 package fresh button mushrooms
4 small zucchini

Cooking Instructions:Step 1: Cut chicken and zucchini into 1” chunks. Lightly dust chicken with a little bit of cornstarch until lightly coated.

Step 2: Add vegetable and sesame oil to the wok (or large skillet) and fry chicken pieces until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Step 3: Add zucchini and mushrooms to the wok and stir fry for a few minutes. Add soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, minced fresh garlic, and ground ginger to the wok stirring to coat and stir fry until mushrooms and zucchini are fully cooked.

Step 4: Return chicken pieces to the wok and coat with sauce, heat thoroughly and serve over hot rice.

Easy Chicken Lo Mein

Easy Chicken Lo Mein
adapted from Desperation Dinners

12 ounces Chinese Lo Mein noodles or linguine pasta (I used linguine cooked until barely al dente)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Stir-fry Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup broccoli florets, steamed until just barely tender (they will cook longer in the stir-fry)

Unsalted dry-roasted peanut halves (optional)

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, continue with the recipe, and when the noodles are done, drain and set aside.

Make the stir-fry sauce and set aside. Heat the oil in an extra-deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Stir from time to time. While the onion cooks, slice the chicken into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Add the chicken to the skillet. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir occasionally.

While the chicken cooks, add the carrots, broccoli and mushrooms and stir to mix. Stir-fry the mixture until the chicken is no longer pink. Immediately add the stir-fry sauce and noodles. Raise the heat to high and cook until the noodles and chicken are heated through and coated with sauce, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve, garnished with peanut halves (if using – I did not).

Stir-Fry Sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar (I used white since I had it on-hand)
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons chopped ginger (I omitted since my husband doesn’t like fresh ginger)
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil