Candied Garlic Chicken Wings

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups honey
* 6 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 pounds chicken wings

Directions
1. Heat honey, soy sauce, and garlic in a saucepan until boiling.
2. Place the wings in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, and pour the honey mixture over the chicken. Cover with foil. Marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
3. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 1 hour; turn the wings after 1/2 hour. Remove the foil cover, and bake for 15 minutes. Take the wings out of the sauce, and bake on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken wings, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Comments
Hubby lurves wings, but I thought I'd look for a new recipe since I found some on a really good deal last week. Found this here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Candied-Garlic-Chicken-Wings/Detail.aspx

I doubled it since we had so many wings (4 pounds) and they are almost gone (and my daughter doesn't eat much meat and chose not to eat these tonight). I added 1 tsp red pepper flakes for a bit of heat to the marinade. Oh, and I lined my 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil before I put the wings and sauce in so cleanup will be easier. I didn't follow the cooking directions exactly. I baked for 30 min with the foil on, turned them, did the other 30 min with the foil off. Then I took them out of the 9 x 13 pan and put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet instead of a rack and baked at 450 for about 10 minutes (this might have been too high as they "browned" very quickly). While they were in at the higher temp, I put the marinade in a pot and started it boiling again, adding about 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar to cut the sweetness a bit. My plan was to reduce the sauce to thicken it and then brush it all over them, but they cooked too quickly. So it did probably reduce a little but not much.

They are quite sticky. Our water heater sprung a leak today, thus leaving us without water for the evening ... if I'd known that was going to happen, I wouldn't have made these tonight but they were already going when I found it. I'll be washing the pans in the a.m. after it's fixed, but we had to use baby wipes to wash our hands. ha. Hopefully next time I make them, nothing like that happens.

I'd probably give it 5 stars -- if you're having a finger food dinner party sort of event. Otherwise, skip them and do something more elegant and less messy.

Tangy Pork with Tomatillos, Tomatoes, and Cilantro

I got the recipe here.

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
* Cooking spray
* 1 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
* 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
* 2 cups chopped tomatillos (about 8 ounces)
* 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (about 8 ounces)
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 4 cups hot cooked instant rice

Preparation
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add pork; toss well. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Add pork; sauté 3 minutes. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté for 30 seconds. Add tomatillos; sauté 1 minute. Add pork; cover and cook 10 minutes or until pork is done. Add tomatoes and cilantro; cover and cook for 1 minute. Serve with rice.


Comments
I didn't use the cooking spray at all, just the small amount of oil. I made some baked country style apple/brown sugar pork ribs last night, so instead of the tenderloin, I used most of the leftovers of those. (I usually crock pot them and there are no leftovers, but they weren't as good baked). It added a really nice sweet component, and they were better in this than they were by themselves.

I added extra ground red pepper because we love spice, but it probably didn't need it. (as in, almost too hot for me). I also used two large fresh cloves of garlic instead of the bottled.

I probably wouldn't have used quite so many tomatillos and tomatoes, OR I would've added more pork. The ratio wasn't quite right for me.

My daughter is sick and hubby is asleep, so I'm the only one who ate it. I enjoyed it overall, but would probably only give it 3 stars to keep at home.

ETA: I like a little sauce on my rice and it seemed sort of dry, so I added about 1 c of chicken broth when I added the pork back in. I probably could've used a bit less, but it made a nice spicy sauce when served over the rice.

Also, hubby didn't care for it at all. hahaha. niiiiiiiiiice.

Chicken and Bacon Casserole

I went looking for water chestnut recipes and, like all of you probably, ran across a TON for bacon wrapped water chestnuts. Didn't sound like something I'd want to mess with since they'd be gone in about 30 seconds and were too much work for that (although they sounded yummy), so I decided to make a casserole sort of dish with bacon and water chestnuts.

1 package (12 oz) bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, diced
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
1 c frozen peas

Saute the bacon in large skillet until cooked to desired doneness. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add onions to drippings in pan and cook until translucent. Add chicken and cook until done. Add peas, water chestnuts, and bacon, and heat until warmed through. Serve over rice with a steamed vegetable on the side (because there's enough bacon you need more veggies so you don't feel guilty for eating all the fat).

*****

If you don't love bacon like my family, use just a few pieces for flavoring, but hubby and kidlet LOVE bacon, so I used enough so they could eat it. I didn't drain the bacon but probably could have -- it wasn't terribly greasy, but probably could've done without all the fat (there's a reason *I'm* fat). I'd probably also add another can of water chestnuts for a better ratio. It made enough I should have some leftovers for lunch. Hubby said it was delicious and filling and kiddo actually ate some and liked it. I'd only give this 3 stars, because it isn't fancy enough for a dinner party and is a little fussy for a potluck (serving over rice and all), and I might add some broth while it's cooking next time (there will be a next time) because I wanted some sort of sauce or something on the rice (but I'm like that).

Gnocchi

I love gnocchi. Decided to try making some. I found a bunch of different recipes, each claiming to be the "best" and "most authentic". Some used ricotta, some used eggs, others just potatoes and flour. I found this recipe in the comments section of some blog or other and didn't bookmark it -- the amounts were just super easy to remember. I roasted my potatoes instead of boiling to decrease the amount of liquid because they're not supposed to be super sticky, and then just put them through my baby food mill so they were very finely mashed. The techniques to add the little ridges on them were all different too; I chose not to add the ridges. They all disagreed about how to serve them too -- light sauce, no meat, marinara, with meatballs ... hahaha.

2 eggs
2 c mashed potato (about 3 medium russet potatoes)
2 c flour

Start a pot of water boiling. Mix all together. Divide into 4 equal pieces, then roll into logs. Cut into bite sized pieces.

Add the gnocchi to the pot of salted, boiling water and remove with a slotted spoon when they float to the top.

*****

The dough was still fairly sticky, so I might go with 1 egg instead of two. I served them with marinara and italian sausage. hubby liked them okay, kiddo refused to try them that night but has asked me to make them again so she can try them. I loved them. They were all gone the next day. I give it 5 stars because I probably would serve them at a dinner party, but I'd have to make a bunch.

Corn Flake Chicken Strips

I got the recipe here.

Crap, I just lit the kitchen on fire. Thank goodness for fire extinguishers. Ahem.*

Ingredients
4 cups crushed plain cornflakes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Lawry seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
(I added garlic powder too)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
Vegetable oil
Instructions
1. Mix together cornflakes, flour, seasoning salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.
2. Beat eggs with water. Dip chicken strips in egg mixture and then roll in cornflake mixture. Press mixture firmly onto chicken to coat well.
3. Pour oil into a large skillet to a depth of about 2 inches. Heat oil to 250F. Fry chicken strips 6 to 8 minutes or until done. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce. Serves 6.


NOTES: I only used 3 chicken breasts and most of the coating was gone. I'd measured out 4 c of corn flakes and then crushed them; I'm assuming the recipe really wanted 4 c of already crushed corn flakes.

Hubby has been craving fried chicken, so I decided on this rather than on cookies (which I always crave) or anything else I found recipes for. I've never had cornflake fried chicken ... so ... yeah. Hubby loved them and asked for more (and probably ate 2/3 of them by himself). Kiddo is flu-ish and didn't touch hers (she was feeling better earlier today but got sick again, ugh). I rather enjoyed them too.

I only give it 3 stars because I am too lazy to fry anything for anyone who doesn't live here. hahahaha.

*I'm exaggerating; I had a whole chicken roasting in the oven as well and the pan was apparently too small because it dripped all over the bottom of the oven and then smoked like mad. We didn't have to use the fire extinguisher, but I feel silly anyway since I was typing this post and hubby caught it. lol.

Crock Pot Apple Pork Roast

Gives a slightly sweet hint to the pork. I've done something similar before, but had to do it this week because of the challenge! (from What's in your oven)

I used two medium sized roasts with bone in that I got on sale. The husband loves pork, and this way I'll have leftovers for a couple of other dinners this week.

Place roast(s) in bottom of crock pot. Pour about 1/2 c apple juice over the top and sprinkle liberally with sea salt (and pepper if desired, but I'm out and didn't). Cook on low heat 8 hours. The longer you cook pork roast, the more tender it gets, so you could even start it the night before and cook for 20 hours. Soooo good. About 1/2 hour before serving, slice two cooking apples (granny smith, jonathan, etc., NOT red delicious or gala) and place on top and around the roast. If the slices get in the juices, they turn into more of a fried apple consistency.

We served with baked potatoes and green beans.

Leftover Turkey Hash

I got the inspiration while watching Food Network. Guy Fieri made the most amazing looking/sounding turkey hash with leftovers, and I decided to give it a shot but change it up a little so my pregnant taste buds could handle it. Here is the original; I left out the jalapeno, used a milder onion and only a green pepper, and no salt or pepper. I also didn't make fried potatoes -- I served it over leftover dressing/stuffing and there was plenty of salt and pepper in that. And I made a lot less than his recipe because the kids are being stinkers and I knew I didn't want a ton of leftover hash.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced (you can dice and freeze the other half to use later)
1 to 2 c diced, cooked turkey breast
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 limes, sliced
leftover dressing or stuffing

In medium skillet over medium heat, saute onion and green pepper until desired doneness (I like mine sort of caramelized). Add turkey and heat through, use more or less turkey depending on your tastes. Reheat dressing or stuffing and place individual portions in the center of individual plates. Divide turkey hash evenly over top, then add tomatoes. Juice the limes over each plate and enjoy!

*This probably would serve 3-4 normal grownups, but my husband is a big eater, so he got quite a bit of it, and I couldn't finish my plate because I'm still in the icky phase of pregnancy. It was delish; I'm just limited to how much of anything I can eat. Five stars.

Mary Ellen's toss it together soup with rolls

Toss it Together Soup

2 cups cubed ham
1 can of tomatoes (undrained)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of green beans (undrained)
1 can of kidney beans (undrained)
2 cubed potatoes
1 c water
1 bay leaf
oregano
garlic
dash of chili powder

Put it all in the crock pot and simmer for four hours on high in the slow cooker. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

*notes: I didn't have ham, so I used ground beef. I added 3 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled, and 1 c blackeyed peas leftover from our lunch. I also forgot the potatoes because I had a lot going on today, but it was still delish, though my toddler probably would have eaten more had I remembered the potatoes. He only ate the broth. Served them with rolls.


Dinner Rolls

This makes a very dense roll or bun. I found it originally when looking for a hamburger bun recipe. It is delicious, but if you like a lighter bread or need something lighter for your purposes, let it raise once before forming into rolls, then raise again. Two rises will give it a lighter texture.

2 c milk (I used soy milk)
1/4 c margarine
1/4 c water
1/4 c white sugar
2 Tbs yeast
2 tsp salt
6 c flour

In medium saucepan, combine first 4 ingredients over low heat. When about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, turn off heat, add yeast, mix, and set aside for about 5 minutes to proof (get foamy).

In large bowl, combine salt and flour. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add to flour and mix thoroughly, kneading for about 5 minutes. Divide into 24 equal pieces (flatter if you want hamburger buns, ball shaped if you want rolls), place into greased pans, cover, and let rise for about 20 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Brush the top with melted margarine when out of the oven.

How to stretch a roast

1. Buy a roast (pork or beef) on an incredibly good sale (I bought a 7.5 pound roast for 99 cents/pound not too long ago).
2. For dinner A, put it in the crock pot on low until it's cooked through but not falling apart, and eat slices of roast with your favorite sides. Then leave the remaining roast in the crockpot on low until it is falling apart, and shred. Put in fridge to keep for the rest of the week (or freeze part of it). (We had cheesy potatoes, because the dairy thing got lost by the wayside a bit ago, though we are working to get back to it, and frozen peas. Sides cost: $1.)
3. Let your husband make sandwiches out of some of the leftovers, but let him know you have plans for the rest (that last part is key in my house). He had two lunches of leftover pork roast sandwiches. Him loves pork. (he used shredded cabbage and mayo and bbq sauce on his sandwiches. approximate cost: 50 cents)
4. Dinner B, heat up some of the roast with BBQ sauce. Add some coleslaw and have BBQ pork sandwiches. This day, also slow cook one pound of dried beans in the crock pot on low heat all day. Freeze half for another time. (approximate cost for sandwiches: 75 cents)
5. Let your husband take more sandwiches to work, but remind him you want another dinner out of the roast. (50 cents)
6. For dinner C, put the rest of the roast in a pan with some fajita seasoning. Dice an onion and cook it in a separate pan in a little olive oil, then toss in the beans and 1/3 c salsa. Serve with cheese, sliced avocado, sliced tomato, and lettuce in warm tortillas. (about $3.50)
7. Husband gets another lunch out of the very last of this roast tomorrow. (50 cents)

When I make Kahlua pork, it doesn't last this long unless it's HUGE, but this roast made 3 lunches and 3 dinners. For about $14.25. FABULOUS.

orange coconut chicken

I didn't have any curry but wanted some sweet/hot coconut chicken and had some chicken legs in the freezer (from an awesome sale not too long ago). So I made this:



Orange Coconut Chicken

14 chicken drumsticks
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 of 18-ounce jar orange marmalade
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp ground ginger (maybe less, depending on your liking of ginger)
1/2 tsp onion powder
dash or two of cayenne
1/4 c coconut flakes

In nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat olive oil, then place in drumsticks, skin side down, to brown. While browning, mix remaining ingredients in small bowl. Turn chicken over, pour sauce all over, cover, reduce heat to low or medium low. Cook for 1 hour. Remove cover, increase heat to medium, let cook an additional 15 minutes. Turn chicken and continue cooking until done and sauce is reduced.

Serve with rice and mixed oriental veggies.

*Perhaps the best compliments were:
Hubby -- "Very filling ... so good ... I guess I'm done." After only two drumsticks. If you know my husband, you know that's not normal. He just couldn't stuff any more in him. Of course, I'll put it in the fridge and he'll eat it when he gets home from work. lol

Kiddo -- "Mom, where did you get this recipe? It's so good!" "From my BRAIN!" "No, really. Where?" hahaha. Stinkin' kid.

Baby -- "nom nom nom ..."

Um, yeah ...

We had chicken bacon avocado wraps last night. Cut a package of bacon in half and cook, slice raw chicken breasts thinly and cook, and slice an avocado. pile it all in warmed up tortillas, roll up, add a sauce if you like (ranch or BBQ or something), and enjoy.

Tonight, I diced the remaining pork roast and made Asian pork instead of the Asian chicken last night. It was yummy and cooked quickly since really the sauce just had to come together as the pork was already cooked.

Guess I'm going to be cooking the zucchini with the soup tomorrow, maybe add some cornbread?

Guy Fieri's Chicken and Avocado Egg Rolls

YUM. The recipe actually made 19 (because that's how many wraps I had) with a little filling left over.

On the episode, he dips the wraps in the egg wash (I used almond milk in it) before filling and wrapping. The instructions in the recipe are different. I did what he did on the show.

I also left out the peppers on purpose.

Killer. :P

They are all gone. Hubby ate most of them. Which I expected.

Baby ate some of the chicken and avocado (not in the roll), and gobbled it up. The avocado apparently didn't agree with him though ... we'll try that again when he's older.

The ones with the avocado were awesome and I made a few without, too. They tasted more like a traditional egg roll, totally yummy.

I'll probably make them again in a couple of months when we can afford another fried day. lol.

(copied the following recipe/directions/notes from what's in your oven)
Chicken avocado egg rolls by Guy Fieri of the Food Network. Oh my gosh, a little piece of deep-fried heaven ... I left out the red bell pepper and used yellow onion. Also used almond milk in the egg wash because we are dairy intolerant, and didn't use a dipping sauce. The other difference was in the rolling -- I watched the episode where he did these, and how he did it on there is different than in the recipe. He dipped the entire wrap before filling and rolling it, so you don't have to dip it once it's rolled.

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/2 cup finely minced red onion
* 1/4 cup finely minced red bell peppers
* 2 tablespoons minced ginger
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots
* 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
* 2 cups chopped chicken breast
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1 cup julienned green cabbage
* 1/2 cup shredded carrots
* 4 cups rice bran oil or canola oil
* 12 egg roll wrappers
* 2 avocados, sliced into 24 pieces
* 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk
* Jarred sweet chili sauce, for dipping

Directions

In a saute pan over high heat, add canola oil. Saute red onions and bell peppers until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, bamboo shoots, celery, chicken, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Deglaze pan with soy sauce. Cool mixture.

In large bowl combine cabbage, carrots and chicken mixture.

In medium saucepan, heat rice bran oil to 350 degrees F. Oil needs to be deep enough to keep egg roll from touching bottom of pan. Add more oil, if needed.

To roll egg rolls, layout egg roll skin with corner facing you, place approximately 1/12th of mixture on roll and place 2 pieces of avocado on top of mixture. Fold corner over mixture, and then fold outside corners over the mixture, making a roll, 4 to 5-inches wide. Roll firmly, being careful not to tear wrapper, and seal the final edge with egg wash.

Dredge the egg roll in egg wash, allow excess to drain off and submerge egg roll in oil. Fry until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on sheet tray lined with a cooling rack.

Asian Chicken

I'm sure Chinese or Japanese purists may freak out over this, but it tasted good. Hubby used the leftovers to make sushi and took it to work for lunch, so that was awesome, too.

2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/4 c hoisin sauce*
1/4 c teriyaki sauce*

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add sauces and cook all the way through. Sauce will reduce after chicken is thoroughly cooked.

*I used Dynasty hoisin and Kikkoman teriyaki glaze, both purchased at Wal-Mart in the Asian section. I eyeballed these amounts, so it's not a perfect measurement.

Pork chops ... mmmm.

We had pork chops, fried apples, green beans, and ramen noodles (not soup ...) for dinner. I realize it could've been healthier, but man ... some nights I want some comfort/southern grease. Kiddo said, "Well, tonight's a greasy dinner." She didn't eat much aside from her MEAT. WEIRD. She doesn't like meat.

The fried apples were hubby's favorite, which is also weird. 2 Tbs of earth balance (margarine) into a small saucepan, 2 large sliced apples, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 2 Tbs of sugar. Just cooked them over medium heat until they were tender.

I just sprinkled salt, pepper, and a little ground sage on the chops then cooked them over medium heat in my cast iron skillet that I'd put a little olive oil into. I got a good sear on them and they cooked beautifully. Only flip them ONCE, then let them rest before you serve/cut them. Easy, right? And delish. After I took them off the heat, I threw the frozen green beans in the pan, lowered the heat, and let them cook in the pork juices.

The ramen not soup thing is just how we grew up. Mom would cook the noodles, drain them, and then toss them with a little margarine and the seasonings packet. I never knew it was supposed to be soup until much later in life. lol.

I probably won't do the green beans in the pan again -- kiddo would eat them plain but not like that. And the ramen thing is something I'm trying to cut out of our diets as best as I can, but needed a quick side tonight since I woke up at 5:30 from my nap, which is when we're usually eating.

Orange Salmon (aka Candy Salmon)

If you don't like fish, you might want to try this. I happen to like fish, but even my picky DD will eat this salmon. This is the original recipe.

2 pounds salmon fillet (I just buy a package at Costco -- it's a rather large fillet so hubby gets enough to eat and there are leftovers, plus there isn't skin on it, which I hate dealing with and some grocery stores leave on. ew.)
salt and pepper
1 c orange juice
1/2 c honey
1 Tbs dried dill

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put OJ and honey in a glass measuring cup (only creating one dirty dish) and put in microwave for 1-2 minutes. Stir well. While the OJ is heating up, cut two pieces of tinfoil about 4 inches longer than your salmon and put on top of your broiler pan. Place salmon in the middle and crimp up the edges so the juices stay *in* the tinfoil (easier to clean up). Salt and pepper the top of the salmon, then baste with OJ mixture. Put in the oven for 3-4 minutes, baste, and bake again for another 3-4 minutes. Take out of the oven, turn oven to broil, baste again, then return to the broiler for a couple of minutes (until browned on top). Remove from broiler, baste with pan juices, and sprinkle dill on top. Let rest for a couple of minutes, then cut into pieces and serve.

We had this with rice and spaghetti squash. Rice was done by my husband in the rice cooker (thanks honey). I poked holes in the squash, then baked at 350 for an hour, let it rest for 30 minutes, then cut it open and scooped out the seeds and threw them away. I then scooped out the flesh (which was still hot) and mixed it with margarine (earth balance), salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley. Kiddo added parmesan cheese to hers and ate two helpings.

Ta-da! Dinner. Yum. Healthy, too. Sweeeeeeeeeet ...

Jambalaya

I will be looking for a from-scratch recipe for this next time, but for a box or two of Zatarain's, it wasn't bad. First, I took about 1-1/2 c of frozen, raw, peeled, and deveined (but still with a tail) shrimp out of the freezer a couple of hours before it was time to start dinner. They didn't quite thaw completely, but that was okay.

Then, I sliced the smoked sausage and cut each slice in half. Next, I diced and cooked 1 chicken breast in about 2 Tbs of olive oil. Then removed the chicken and, per the boxes' instructions, added water and brought to a boil. When it was time to put stuff in, I added the chicken and the sausage and the Zatarain's, then set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer went off, I drained and added the shrimp (so it didn't overcook), and let cook the remainder of the time on the box.

It was still watery.

I took the lid off and let it cook for a bit longer, but it was still soupy, which it wasn't supposed to be. So annoying.

So I served it with a slotted spoon and ate all the shrimp. Except a few pieces I let hubby have. lol. Kiddo ate some chicken and sausage and the rice, hubby ate a lot of the food, and I rather enjoyed it. There's enough left for lunch tomorrow or the next day (depending on if I'm in the mood).

I am changing tomorrow's menu though. We're having salmon and spaghetti squash instead of the salsa chicken soup.

Garlic guacamole burgers

(copied from my other blog so my recipes are all in one location)

2 Tbs olive oil
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound ground beef
1-1/2 tsp seasoning salt of your choice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried parsley

2 Tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
fresh ground pepper

2 avocados
dash of each to taste: garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lime juice, and Tabasco sauce

Light mayonnaise
8 french steak rolls

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium low heat and saute garlic for just a couple of minutes. take just the garlic out of the pan and put in medium mixing bowl with meat, seasoning salt, parsley, pepper, and sauteed garlic. Mix well. Make 8 patties about the same size and cook in the garlic oil over medium high heat until done, flipping only once.

While they are cooking: Slice onion. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat and add onion and ground pepper. Cook just until browned.

While both of the above are cooking: Make your guacamole. Mash avocados with the other ingredients and adjust to your taste.

Slice your rolls in half.

Assembly:
On the bottom bun, spread a little light mayo and add a spoonful of onions (I didn't measure this, just adjusted based on who would be eating which burger). Put burger directly on the onions. On the top bun, spread about 1 Tbs of guacamole. Put the top bun on top of the burger ... and moan with delight.

Orange Chicken

2 large chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 c milk (note: I used vanilla almond milk)
Vegetable oil (about 1/2 inch in your pan)
1-1/2 c orange juice
1/4 c honey (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of red pepper flakes

Heat veggie oil to medium to medium high heat. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in one bowl and pour milk in another. Dredge chicken in flour, dip in milk, then dredge again. Pan fry over medium to medium high heat 3-4 minutes on each side then set aside. After all the chicken is cooked, pour off all but 2 Tbs of oil, then add OJ and deglaze the pan. Add honey, ginger, and pepper flakes, then cook over medium heat until sauce is reduced by half. Pour sauce over chicken and serve over cooked rice and with stir-fry veggies on the side. Wooo!