Kung POW Chicken

My family LOVES Asian food. Any type of Asian food. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, even Cambodian. (we have a Cambodian ward in our Stake, so we've ate our share of it) Living in SoCal, we're blessed with many resturant options if we want some type of Asian meal.

On the 'low' end, there is Panda Express...(who doesn't love their Orange Chicken??). My husband won't eat there. (you're not surprised, are you?) Mid range is Pic-up Stix, which has those lovely Cream Cheese Wontons. Husband WILL eat there, but not the Wontons. 'High' end would be PF Changs, or their little brother, Pei Wei. I don't think there is anything on their menus my husband WON'T eat, lol.

Now, you also have your small, privately owned places,...our Favorite until recently was a Thai resturant, Siam Palace, over in Los Alamitos. But then the owner (Kelly. Yes, we knew her name) sold it to one of her employees. Not the same...sadness.

We love to eat out. However, considering the size of our family, and our up and down financial situation, eating out is rarely feasible. So, being the 'awesome' cook that I am, (direct quote from all my kids.) I try to cook many of our Asian Resturant favs at home. I am always on the lookout for recipes that will please hubby's 'high end' tastes, but fit my 'low end' budget.

I've found great recipes in cookbooks, and magazines, but most of our recent favorite copy-cat Asian recipes have come from food blogs. (some of my favorite food blogs are on my sidebar). This recipe, which we had again tonight, comes from Suzanne's food blog, Creating Post it Notes. Suzanne is a GREAT cook and baker. We 'met' on a scrapbooking message board, where I lurked on her blog for quite awhile before finally introducing myself to her. Suzanne is LDS, and owned her own small bakery in Florida. (yes, I'm jealous) She now lives in New York, and plans to go to Culinary School in the near future! (still jealous) Go Suzanne!! She is very generous with sharing her WONDERFUL recipes with her blog readers, for which I am so grateful. My White and Wheat Breads are based on her recipes.

Here is the Kung Pao Chicken recipe, which I changed just a bit to work with the ingredients I have. (you can see the original on her website) This serves 4 adults, but I always double it for our family. You can also adjust the heat, by adding or subtracting Chili Peppers.

**Watch the "t's" in my recipes. BIG T = Tablespoon little t = teaspoon **

Suzanne's Kung Pao Chicken (photo above is from Suzanne's blog)

4-5 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (i buy those big bags frozen from Costco)

Marinade:

2 T. Cornstarch

2 T. Soy Sauce

2 T Sake, or Rice Wine, or Cooking Wine

1 T. Vegetable Oil

Cut up Chicken into bite-size pieces, put in bowl or Ziplock bag. Combine all marinade ingredients, pour over chicken, mix well and let sit for about 30 minutes. Prepare Stirfry Sauce.

Stirfry Sauce:

2 T Soy Sauce

1 T Sugar

1 teaspoon Vinegar

2 T Water

1 T Cornstarch

(you might want to double this, if you like alot of sauce on your chicken)

Mix all together in bowl, and set aside. Prep the veggies.

Veggies:

1 bunch Green Onions, sliced

2 T grated Ginger, either fresh or from a jar

2 cloves of Garlic, or minced from jar

1/4 C roasted Peanuts

1 can sliced Water Chestnuts, coarsly chopped (optional)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (depending on how hot you want it)

To Cook: Heat 1 T oil in wok or large frying pan. Add chicken, and cook until almost done. Remove from pan and set aside. Wash pan.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in pan. Add garlic and ginget, sauteing for about 20 seconds. Add chili flakes, continue sauteing for another minute, then add peanuts. Stir well, add water chestnuts, chicken, and stir fry sauce. Stir to coat, let cook until thickened. Add green onions, stir well, and serve.

Menu: Kung POW Chicken over Steamed Rice

Chow Mein or Trader Joes Pot Stickers (yum!)

Fresh Fruit, like sliced melon,...or steamed veggie, like broccoli

Cinnamon Rolls and Sloppy Joes

I've had a few requests from readers (all 4 of you) asking me to start posting recipes. Sure! Cause I have absolutely nothing else to do but spend *another* half hour on the computer. {eyeroll} Just kidding!! Actually, I'm rather flattered that there are people out there that want MY recipes. So, being the 'giving' person that I am, I have decided that I WILL start sharing recipes.
(NOTE; many, if not most of my recipes come from cookbooks, blogs, and cooking websites. I will try to cite the source if possible. I am not creative enough to come up with original recipes, but I do seem to have a good eye for finding recipes that will work for me and my family.)

As per the first request I got, from Amy-Sue, here is my Sloppy Joe recipe. It is from an old Mormon Cookbook, titled 'Mormon Country Cooking'. All 6 of my kids will eat this, except the oldest son, who will only eat it if I leave out the onions. He has texture issues. sheesh!

Jones Family SLOPPY JOES

2 lbs Hamburger
1 large Yellow Onion, finely chopped (the finer it's chopped, the less the kids will notice it)
1 can Tomato Soup
1/2 C. Ketchup (Heinz is the best!)
1/4 C Brown Sugar, packed
2 t. Chili Powder
2 t. Worcestershire Suace
1 t. Salt
1 t. Dry Mustard (or couple squirts of bottle mustard if thats all you have)

Chop Onion, spread in large frying pan. Top with Hamburger, turn on heat to medium high, and cook till hamburger is browned, stirring occasionally. Drain any fat off meat mixture, return to pan. Add remaining ingredients, mix well, simmer for 10-20 minutes. Serve on Hamburger Buns.

NOTE; you can adjust the spices on this, but it is not spicy at all. You can also add more brown sugar if you want it sweeter.

Now, on to CINNAMON ROLLS! Nope, sorry...you're not getting the recipe. I'm not THAT dumb, haha. I'm offering a Cinnamon Roll Special for the next 3 days. (that Tues-Wed-Thurs)
Order a pan of Cinnamon Rolls, and get a coupon for a FREE DOZEN Chocolate Chip Cookies!
The coupon will be good for 2 months, just give me a couple days notice before using.
The Cinnamon Rolls come in a 9x13 pan, 12 LARGE, FLUFFY, OOEY-GOOEY BUNS of GOODNESS, for only $10. Made will all the best ingredients...Butter, Milk, Eggs, Cinnamon, Sugar, More Butter...YUM! (For a photo of all that yummy goodness, go down a 5-6 posts.)

To Order, leave me a comment here, or send a message to me on Facebook. Or call my cell if you must; 500-4859. Thanks!! And Happy Eating!!

Dear Santa Claus

Dear Santa,

I've been a really good girl this year. I've only yelled at 2 kids, forgot to wash underwear once, took Cami out to deliever flyers for 2 hours so she could earn $$, threatened to wash out only 1 kids mouth, and only said 'h*ll' once in conversation. Not bad, considering it's only the 4th week of January.

Since I'm on a such a good girl roll, I thought I'd start my Wish List now. Just so if you are chatting it up with the Elves, you can get started on my stuff. Cause I could use these things SOONER, rather than later. Maybe you could pass this info on to the Easter Bunny?? I'm expecting him in a couple of months. Thanks!

#1 - A Beater Blade for my KitchenAid Mixer. It scrapes the sides of the bowl, so you don't have to stop the mixer and do it yourself. Cool, huh??

#2 - For my injured shoulder to stop hurting, and finish healing before the wedding. 3 months is long enough, I'd also like a full nights sleep, if it's not too much to ask. Seriously, I have sewing to do, and computer work to do, and WORK work to do....NO PAIN Please!

#3 - A job for husband. Where he gets paid in REAL $$$. (not a commission only, 6-8 months down the line. sheesh) And comes with Health Insurance. And Dental too, as long as we're wishing.

#4 -One of these please, that works. ---->

Color and Brand don't matter. Really Large would be great.

I loved my most recent (free!) dryer, but the heating element quit, and cost too much $$$ replace. Sadness. Thank goodness for sunny days and clotheslines!

#5 - More Carpet Cleaning jobs for our business. And less rain, cause when it rains too much, everyone cancels their carpet cleaning. No carpet cleaning = no $$ to pay basic bills.

#6 - Customers that need Wedding Cakes or other large baking orders. I have to bake many loaves of bread just to fill up my gas tank. A few big cakes would really be helpful, and result in higher per hour $$ for me.

#7 - Continued Health and Strength for our Family, and Friends. Apprieciation for the Love and Support we've been shown the last year. Gratitude for the Blessing we do have, try not to dwell on the Hardships.

Thanks Santa for your consideration. Love, the Jones Family.

And in the Baking World today...

BREAD! BREAD! BREAD! (yes, you read that correctly...BREAD!)

As I mentioned in Saturdays Post, I was gifted a nice size amount of Flour on Sat. Wheat, and White. Along with Eggs, Dry Milk, and Veggie Oil. Guess what?? Those are all items I use in my Homemade Bread! Yea!

I've decided that I will share the Bounty with You, my 4 blogs readers. (ha) For this week only, you can get my wonderful HUGE loaves of bread for only $4 a loaf! There is a catch, though. (isn't there always??) I'm only doing Country White or Honey Wheat at that price. AND, you have to order a minimum of 2 loaves of bread...either 2 White, 2 Wheat, or 1 of each. I think you will agree, after tasting my bread, that it is the best homemade bread you've ever eaten...or your money back. Wait, nevermind that last part,...I'm not giving any money back, hehe. Oh, these are LARGE loaves of Bread, or did I mention that already??

Here are photos of Homemade Bread. These are NOT my photos, it hasn't occured to me to take pics of my Bread yet until now,...but these pics, ('borrowed' from the internets) look the closest to my Bread.

To Order- The BEST way to order Bread from me this week is by leaving a comment here on the Blog, OR send me a Facebook Message. You can also email me at carrot_top6@yahoo.com but for some reason, I missed getting a few emails last week. darn. Leave your order, and either email or phone # for me to get back to you. Your order will be put in my baking 'lineup' for the week, and I will let you know when it's ready.

OH, and a gentle reminder...I do ALL KINDS of Baked goods. Cakes, Brownies, Cookies, Cinnamon Rolls, I even consider special requests, just let me know what you need. (ex: I'm baking a Double Chocolate Fudge Cake for someone at Church tomorrow!)

Must get back to my Kitchen...and KitchenAid...I have more bread to mix! BYE!

Trouble, Trouble...

What can I do to get into Trouble this week? Due to a delay in my boss getting his pallet of books, I'm still off from work for ONE MORE WEEK. I really do have a lot of things I can do around here,...just trying to prioritize and figure out what is the most appealing.

Should I work on a bridal shower gift idea for this girl??--->

(she really is cuter in real life, lol)

Wedding is March 27th, don't forget!

Or get some more baking started?? Maybe laundry, while the sun is shining and I can hang out the clothes?? Oh, I really should get my dinner into the crockpot, it needs a few hours to cook. (French Dip Sandwiches, yum) And it might be a good idea if I get the little girls Wedding Party dresses cut out, so Jessica can get started sewing...

WAIT! I've Got It!! {{handslap to forehead}} A SHOWER!!!!!!! Bye!

Flour Power! And a Giveaway!!

I woke up this morning, and slowly opened my eyes. What was that weird light coming in thru the window?? Ahhh...it was the SUN!! Hello Sunshine! I Love you! My wet towels that need to be hung out to dry Love you 2 !!
Looks like we made it thru a week of very wet weather with only a hole in the boys bedroom ceiling as damage. Hopefully you survived in one piece too??

Flour Power = A friend is on a low carb/no carb diet. She cleaned out her cupboards yesterday, and sent me a PILE of high carb goodies. And a few bags of FLOUR; whole wheat and white! Yea me! Since I have so much nice flour waiting to be used, (along with fat free milk?!) I'm having a BREAD Special. Get 2 loaves of either Honey Wheat Bread or Country White Bread for only $8. (That's $4 a loaf for those of you that went to school in LB. ha.) Order anytime today or Sunday, your bread will be available Mon/Tues. Your name will also be entered TWICE in my giveaway. Next...

In honor of the SUNSHINE, I am having a "Sunny Saturday Special", AND a giveaway!
The Special: Order a tray of Magic Cookie Bars (20 large bars) (also known as Hello Dolly's) within the next 6 hrs, and be entered TWICE in my giveaway. The bars will be available for pickup TODAY, after 4pm!! (or tomorrow, by arrangement) These are soooo yummy...graham cracker crust, choc chips, coconut, walnuts, with ooey-gooey sweetened condensed milk smothering the whole thing. MMmmm. The cost; Only $12 for a tray of 20.

Now, the giveaway. Order either or both of the specials today, and be entered in a drawing for a FREE loaf of my famous Cinnamon Swirl Bread. It's great for toasting or making into french toast! Don't feel like ordering anything right now? Then leave me a comment or link me to your blog, and still be entered once in the giveaway.
To Order; Email me at carrot_top6@yahoo.com or call me @ 562-500-4859 (cell)

Hugs, and Happy SUNNY Saturday!

Ehhh, What's Up Doc??

Carrots make me think of Bugs Bunny,...loved him as a kid, more as a grownup (could apprieciate the 'adult' humor)...so, that is the reason for the title. LOL.

Speaking of Carrots, my RAINY DAY SPECIAL for WED is...CARROT CAKE!! Here's the deal: Order a Carrot Cake from me TODAY, pick it up on FRIDAY for the weekend. An 8" Round Carrot Cake, Cream Cheese Frosting (no nuts), ONLY $20 !! What a steal! It will look just like the one right there on my blog, but 2 layers instead of 3, and no nuts. It serves 12-15, and keeps for days. Not that it will be around that long, hehe. Makes a great dessert to have on hand for family or guests this weekend. Or hide in a closet and eat half of it yourself...I won't tell. This cake if from an ollllllld family recipe, and has earned me a (good) reputation in my ward. I'm probably gonna have to make one of Jenni's wedding cake tiers Carrot Cake, to satisfy my family's love for it.

And here's a heads up for tomorrows special: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins AND Handmade Soft Flatbread!! Both are 'da bomb'...I mean, 'da macaroni'. Don't ask, loooong story. Just trust me. More info on both these goodies tomorrow! Stay tuned. Or as Elmer Fudd would say, "I'm off to catch that Wascally Wabbit" Happy Baking!!