Easy Sesame Chicken

One of my girls made sesame chicken to take to bible study one night a while back. It was really good and pretty easy. It was requested again for dinner at home. Of course, we couldn't find the recipe we printed off and a quick search didn't bring it up but I did find this one. It was even easier, really tasty, and quick. My only quibble with it is that it didn't make enough sauce so I've doubled the recipe here for the sauce. The recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs; you can also use breasts or tenderloins (which is what I had and used).

Easy Sesame Chicken
serves 4

Not the prettiest picture, but I had already eaten

 all mine.

chicken
1 egg
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 pinch each salt & pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

sauce
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp cornstarch

for serving
4 c cooked jasmine rice
2 whole green onions, sliced

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any extra fat from the chicken, then cut into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken in the egg and cornstarch mixture.

Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring only occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through (about 7-10 minutes). Drain off the excess oil, if desired.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the sauce ingredients. Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, pour the sauce over top. Toss the chicken to coat the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as soon as it hits the hot skillet. Once the chicken is coated and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat.

Serve the chicken over a bed of rice and sprinkle the sliced green onions over top.

modified from Budget Bytes

Coconut Lime Chicken Soup

Oh. My. Gosh. This soup was so fabulous! I had some leftover coconut milk that I needed to use (most of a can) and I found this on my soups pinterest board. I figured I'd give it a try since it was supposed to be cooler today (it was, but it was still very humid) and since I wasn't sure how the rest of the family would like it, I made it while they were gone. This is a super easy recipe and very flavorful.

Coconut Lime Chicken Soup
serves 6

3 Tbsp butter
1 or 2 small carrots shredded
Thai seasoning:
    1/2  tsp curry powder
    1/4 tsp cinnamon
    1/4 tsp ginger
    1/4 tsp chili powder
    1/4 tsp paprika
    1/4 tsp salt
3 c chicken broth
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 15oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 2-2 1/2 lb deli roasted chicken, shredded
1 c cooked long grain rice
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp soy sauce
optional garnish: extra cilantro and lime wedges

Add the butter, carrots, and Thai seasoning to a large pot, cooking over medium-high heat until carrots are softened.

In a blender, combine the chicken broth and cilantro, pulse a few times then pour contents into pot.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a low boil, then remove from heat. Serve with extra cilantro and lime wedges.

slightly modified from Favorite Family Recipes

Mt. Dew Cake

This is another recipe from my friend Wendy. We needed to take a dessert to a potluck for the Guatemala mission team and I was told by one of my girls that this was really good. This is really easy and makes a good tasting, moist Bundt cake. This would probably be really good with a lemon glaze drizzled on it. Maybe we should try that next time.

Mt. Dew Cake

Lemon cake mix
12 oz. Mt. Dew
4 eggs
Lemon pudding
2/3 c oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Spray a Bundt pan really well with non-stick spray. Bake at 325* for 40-45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack.

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

We needed to make cookies for something recently and went for oatmeal. The containers of oatmeal that I had didn't have a recipe on them for cookies so we had to hit the web to find something. We came across these and they were really good. They didn't last long enough for a picture! I guess that just means that we'll have to make more and remember a picture before they're gone again.

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

1 c butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 c rolled oats
1 1/2 c raisins
1 c walnuts, chopped (optional)

Cream butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking soda, cnnamon, and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in oats, raisins, and walnuts.

Chill the dough for a bit (this makes for a thicker, chewier cookie) then scoop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. You could also scoop the dough, put it into a freezer container and just bake as needed.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350* for 10-12 minutes (perhaps slightly longer if you bake them from frozen). Take them out when they are golden on the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the cookie sheet 5 minutes, then put on a rack to cool.

Recipe from (and ever so slightly modified) smitten kitchen.