Crowd Pleaser: Potato Casserole

One of the things I learned to make in the kitchen was potato casserole. I remember thinking that it was so hard when I was helping my friend made it. But just a spoonful of it made me realize all the hard work was worth it.

So today I am sharing this potato casserole recipe that my friend taught me. I used to cook it like once a year only but in the past two weeks, I've cooked it 3 times! One of the reasons was I found a simpler way to cook the potatoes. You see, sometimes I don't follow the recipes quite closely, I change stuff around so it becomes an easier dish to make.

Ingredients:

--10 potatoes (just buy a bag of medium size potatoes and use 10. Don't buy 10 individual potatoes that are huge.)

--1 cup and a half of mayonaise.

--1 teaspoon of white vinegar

--1 can of cream of chicken soup

--1 can of water (after you've emptied the cream of chicken soup. use the can for the water)

--1 onion, diced.

--3 cups of plain corn flakes, crushed (use a ziplock bag for this. put the corn flakes in it, make sure the air's out, and then seal it. Use a cup and crush the corn flakes.)

--2-3 tablespoon of butter, melted in the microwave.

--1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

--1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions:

1. Wash and bake the potatoes in the oven at 400 degree fahrenheit for 50 minutes.

2. (Don't start this til your potatoes are almost done cooking in the oven.)In a pan, drizzle some olive oil and stir fry the onions til they are soft, not brown.

3. Add the cream of chicken soup to the onion in the pan.

4. Add one can of water to the soup and onion.
Stir and mix.

5. Add the mayonaise to the mixture. Stir and mix.

6. Add the vinegar, salt, and half of the 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Stir and mix.

7. When the mixture is boiling, turn the fire off and let it cool while you wait for the potatoes to be done cooking.

8. When the potatoes are done, take them out from the oven and let them cool a little.

8. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop their inside off the skin into a 9x13 baking dish.

9. Mash the potatoes with the spoon a little just to make the big chunks smaller.

10. Pour the mixture of onion, chicken, mayo, and cheese into the baking dish with the potatoes and stir them so the mixture don't just rest on the surface but mix in with the potatoes.

11. On top of the casserole, add the crushed corn flake with melted butter to the top layer and make sure they are distributed evenly and cover the potatoes.

12. Heat your oven to 375 degree fahrenheit.

13. When the oven reaches 375 degree fahrenheit, put the baking dish in and bake for 20 minutes.

13 steps might seem very complicated but it really isn't that hard and the outcome is sooooooo great!

Happy Cooking!

Chicken Alfredo Linguine

Lately I have been craving Chicken Alfredo pasta. There were a few times when I was so tempted to just go to Olive Garden and order some Alfredo Fettucine despite how expensive it was. But I managed to talk myself out of it because this scrumptious food seem easy enough to make. So I googled some recipes and came up with my own recipe for my favorite chicken alfredo linguine.

I love how during the proceess of imitating a recipe, you sometimes recreate new recipes that fit your taste bud better than the original recipes do.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and found something more personal for you in the process of cooking.

Ingredients:

--Half box of linguine or however much you desire. I used half a box for my husband and I.

--4 chicken fillet or 2 chicken breasts. Cut into small pieces.

--2 teaspoon of butter

--1 teaspoon of garlic salt

--A dash of black grounded pepper

--8oz of Classic Alfredo Pasta Sauce. * I use the Walmart Great Value kind. And I use about half a bottle of it.

--2 teaspoons of Parmesan style grated toppings/parmesan cheese. *Again, I use the Walmart Great Value brand.

Instructions:

1. Boil the linguine in 10 cups of water for about 15 minutes or til the pasta gets tender.

2. When the linguine is done cooking, drain the water and put the pasta aside.

3. Heat the pan on high and put in the butter. Wait til the butter melts.

4. Put in chicken pieces and stir fry them for about 2 minutes.

5. Turn the fire down to medium and occasionally stir and toss the chicken pieces to get them cooked evenly. This takes about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the chicken.

6. Put in the garlic salt and keep tossing and stirring the chicken.

7. When the chicken is cooked, stir in the Alfredo sauce and mix evenly.

8. Pour in the cooked linguine pasta. Stir the sauce, chicken, and pasta together and mix evenly.

9. Put in the black pepper and parmesan cheese.

10. Stir and coat evenly. Then turn off the fire.

Cheap, tasty, and home-made.

Happy Cooking!

Soft Sugar Cookies

My husband has been craving some sugar cookies, so I found a recipe online for "soft" sugar cookies, because I don't like the flat hard ones.

I came across a pretty good recipe that didn't disappoint.  Here is where I found the recipe: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shortening
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until dough comes together. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place them on an unprepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

We also needed some frosting, as it is Sunday and we couldn't go out and buy some.  So I found another recipe online that is super easy.  Now, it's not necessarily my favorite frosting, but it would be great to make for little kids as it is so easy and we had fun coloring it.  Here is where I found the frosting recipe: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• food coloring

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners' sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.

Chocolate Haupia Pie

About a year ago, I was missing Ted's Bakery's Chocolate Haupia Pie. I used to eat it so much when I was in Hawaii and I never got sick of it. It's heaven in every bite! Anyway, I went online and searched for the recipe, doubting I would find the recipe since it was so rare and probably copyrighted. Amazingly, I came upon this newspaper interview of Ted's Bakery on Oahu and the article was accompanied by THE recipe I was looking for!!

I waited for a long time to bake this because I didn't believe in my baking skills (growing up we never baked in our house. We didn't own an oven til I was older, like 18 or 19). I invited my friend, Nikki, to bake it with me. I am very proud of what we made, although I got the wrong chocolate :( I got the unsweetened Ghiradelli chocolate and the pie came out tasting bitter despite the sugar and coconut we added.

It is worth the try though. I would totally bake it again!

The bottom layer was the chocolate + coconut layer

The top layer was the coconut only layer

Ingredients:

1 9-in. unbaked pie crust
1 cup milk
1 can coconut milk (14 oz.)
1 tbsp. coconut extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
7/8 cup chocolate (Dutch chocolate, or any chocolate with high cocoa butter content)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Bake crust for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, coconut milk, coconut extract and 1 cup sugar.

4. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in water.

5. After bringing coconut milk mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer and slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue stirring over low heat until thickened—about three minutes. Divide evenly into two bowls.

6. In another bowl, microwave chocolate until melted.

7. Mix chocolate into one of the bowls of coconut pudding, then pour mixture into the pie crust, spread and let sit.

8. Pour the remaining bowl of coconut pudding on top of the chocolate-coconut pudding mixture and spread smooth being careful nut to mix the two layers. Refrigerate the pie for an hour or more.

9. Whip the heavy cream with 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff. Layer the whipped cream on the pie surface. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Enjoy and happy cooking!!!!

Szechuan Chicken

This is one of my favorite things to cook for dinner when I forgot to plan or I just don't have a lot of time. It's great because all the ingredients are things that I always have on hand!

Usually I don't really measure and I just kind of wing it, but here is an approximate recipe:

Ingredients

Chicken

Cornstarch

Oil

Garlic

Soy Sauce

White Wine Vinegar (or normal White Vinegar)

Sugar

Water

Green Onions

Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and lightly coat with corn starch

Heat some oil in a frying pan, add minced garlic (I like a lot)

Add chicken and fry until all sides are white

Add soy sauce (I would say for 1 lb of chicken it would be about 3-5 tablespoons)

Add vinegar (for the same amount of chicken 1-2 tablespoons)

Sprinkle with sugar

Add a couple of tablespoons of water. It just depends on how strong of a flavor you want and how runny you want the sauce.

Add diced green onions and cayenne pepper. You can make it as spicy as you want.

Anyways, I know these aren't very good directions, but it's really good so you should try it! Just serve it with some rice, it's delicious!

Oven "Fried" Chicken

I love this dish so much! I made it for my family for New Year's Eve dinner and for my husband on Valentine's Day. It is also super easy to make. I love fried chicken, and oven fried chicken makes frying no hassle!



Servings: 6

1. 8 pieces of chicken fillet
2. 1 cup all purpose powder
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
5. 1 large egg
6. 2 tablespoon water
7. 1 cup dry bread crumbs with herbs
8. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
9. lemon wedges for serving

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree celcius or 400 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse the chicken in cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper.
3. Combine the flour, pepper, salt, on a plate with a fork to mix. Coat the chicken pieces on all sides with the flour and shakes off the excess.
4. Sprinkle a little water on to the chicken pieces, and coat again lightly with the seasoned flour.
5. Beat the egg with the water in a shallow dish. Stir in the herbs. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture, turning them over to coat them thoroughly.
6. Combine the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese in a plate. Roll the chieken pieces in the crumbs, patting with your fingers to help them adhere.
7. Place the chicken pieces in a greased shallow baking dish, large enough to hold them in one layer. Bake until thoroughly cooked and golden brown, 20-30 minutes. (To check if they are cooked, prick with a fork; the juices that run out should be clear, not pink. ) Serve hot, with lemon wedges.

Coconut Shrimp--Hawaiian :)

This is a recipe I found in a magazine at my friend's house. The first time I had the coconut shrimp was at Jackie Chan Restaurant in Hawaii. It was really good but quite expensive. I am glad I found this recipe because now I eat this dish whenever I feel like it!

The original recipe comes with a salsa dip for the coconut shrimp, which I did not end up making myself. But I will share it nonetheless :)



Serving: 2-4

Ingredients:
1. 12 jumbo shrimp (If you don't have jumbo shrimp, I just use large shrimp that I bought from Wal-Mart)
2. 2 cups Vegetable oil
3. 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten. (I used only one egg white for my 20 large shrimp)
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 cup cornstarch
6. 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I used more than one cup)

Instructions:
1. Peel shrimp, leaving tails on, and devein.(I bought shrimp that are already peeled and deveined)
2. Pour oil into a frying pan. Enough to cover the shrimp. Heat oil on medium high fire.
3. Combine egg whites and salt in a shallow bowl. Place cornstarch in a separate shallow dish.
4. Coat shrimp with cornstarch, shaking off the excess. Dip shrimp in egg white mixture and dredge in coconut.
5. Fry shrimp in 2 batches, 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain.

To make salsa, you need to have
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup chile sauce with garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups finely diced pineapple
3/4 cup diced papaya
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded cucumber
1/4 cup diced red onion

Stir together. Makes 7 cups.

Twice baked potatoes--Muy delicious!!

I love to hunt for recipes online and try them out. I usually choose the recipes that has really good pictures. I guess I am shallow that way. But I do think that if you want to eat food, you gotta eat something that are pleasing to look at! Anyways, today I bring to you a very very easy recipe. It's actually a recipe from Pioneer Women's site. I am sure some of you know about her cookbook. She has some really good recipes on her site that just look so mouth-watering.

I love potatoes! Everytime I hear the word "potato," my mind goes to the scene in The Lord of The Rings when Gollum asked Sam, "What's tater, Precious? What's tater, eh?" and Sam goes, "PO-TA-TO, boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in the stew." Sorry, I am dorky that way.

On to our recipe!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1. 2 large potatoes (washed)

2. butter--1/2 stick or 1/2 cup

3. sour cream--1/4 cup

4. Real bacon bits (don't use the fake kind!!)-as much as you like!

5. spring onions--2 stalk(chopped)

6. salt- some

7. pepper- some

8. shredded cheddar cheese- 1/4 cup

Instructions:

• Wash, then place potatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes, making sure they’re sufficiently cooked through

• Slice the butter into small cubes and then put them in a mixing bowl. Add bacon bits and sour cream to the bowl as well.

• After the potatoes are done baking, cut them in halves. Potatoes are SO hot at this point so use a cloth to hold them. Scrap the potato with a large spoon into the mixing bowl. Be careful not to tear the shell. Leave a thin layer of potato in the shell.

• Use the potato masher and mashing the potatoes with other ingredients in the mixing bowl. You can mash until it's smooth or you can have a bit more texture or "lumps" if you like it that way.

• Add the cheese, salt, and green onions into the mixture. Mix them around.

• Then, begin scooping the mixture back into the potato shells Keep filling until the filling's all gone. After that, you can top the potatoes with some more cheese.

• Lastly, put them back in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potato is warmed.

Potato Gnocchi with Butter and Cheese

My husband wanted me to make this recipe he found in one of the Food & Wine magazines we have.  It was different, but pretty good!

Here is the picture from Food & Wine

Here is what mine looked like.  They were pretty sticky still, so I probably didn't add enough flour on them before cooking them.

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs baking potatoes (about 4)
2 large egg yolks
Salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 tbsp unsalted butter (I used margarine, that might have been my problem with the stickiness?)
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork. Bake in a microwave oven at high power for 10 minutes, then flip the potatoes and microwave for 5 minutes longer. Transfer the potatoes to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Alternatively, bake the potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour, until tender.
2..Halve the potatoes. Scoop the flesh into a ricer and rice the potatoes. Transfer 2 slightly packed cups of riced potatoes to a bowl. Stir in the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the 1/2 cup of flour; stir until a stiff dough forms. Knead the dough gently until smooth but slightly sticky.
3..Line a baking sheet with wax paper and dust with flour. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 4 pieces, rolling each into a 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut the ropes into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll each piece against the tines of a fork to make ridges; transfer to the baking sheet.
4..In a large, deep skillet of simmering salted water, cook the gnocchi until the rise to the surface, then simmer for 2 minutes longer. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter. Using a slotted spoon, add the gnocchi to the butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

TIPS FROM ME
I chose the option to bake the potatoes for 1 hour in the oven, since I had other things to do at the time and I don't like to run around the kitchen, wait, and run around some more.

I don't have a ricer and I didn't know what one was.  I researched it, and apparently it is supposed to make your potatoes creamy.  Well, I just let mine whip for a while and it seemed really smooth to me!  So if you don't have a ricer, don't sweat it.  Just whip the potatoes as if you were making whipped potatoes.

There are other variations of Gnocchi.  Visit the Food & Wine website to learn how to add some flavor to your Gnocchi.  It's a fun snack or appetizer.  :)

Rosemary Garlic Bread

As a lot of us know, garlic bread takes a long time to make.  Well, this one was worth the time!  It produces 3 loaves, so be prepared.  Make sure you have at least 2 cookie sheets available to make this.

Makes: 3 loaves

INGREDIENTS
5 whole garlic bulbs (not cloves, BULBS)
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup miced fresh rosemary or 4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (I used dried)
1 tbsp chicken broth
9 to 9-1/2 cups bread flour (i used all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar
3 packages (1/4 oz each) quick-rise yeast
3 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup water
3/4 cup butter or margarine, divided (i used margarine)
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp garlic salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut top off garlic heads, leaving root end intact. Place cut side up in a small baking dish. Brush with oil; sprinkle with rosemary. Cover and bake at 425 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until softened. Cool for 10 minutes; squeeze softened garlic into a bowl. Add broth; lightly mash.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, water and 1/2 cup butter to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Beat in egg and garlic paste until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into thirds. Divide each portion into three pieces; shape each into an 18-in. rope. Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Melt remaining butter; add garlic salt. Brush over bread. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.


TIPS FROM ME
 It was my first time roasting garlic.  Make sure to use a very sharp knife to cut off the heads of the garlic or you may end up breaking off some of the cloves.  This happened to me on two of the bulbs, but then I sharpened a knife and all was well afterward.  Also, if some of the cloves are small (like some of mine were) then cut the heads of the small ones off separately from the rest.  It's best to attempt to leave as much garlic as possible.

Make sure you cook the bulbs long enough!!  I should have left mine in for about 5 or 10 minutes longer.  When I attempted to squeeze them into the bowl, it was tough and I was burning my hands.  I attempted to use oven mitts to avoid the heat, but it was harder to squeeze them.  Also, be aware that you might get some of the garlic shells in the bow.  Be aware and remove any shell that falls into the bowl.

Use a light-colored cookie sheet if possible.  The dark ones will cause the bottom of your bread to cook too fast.  If you don't have a light colored cookie sheet, make sure to move the oven rack up higher so the bottom of the bread doesn't cook so fast.

The bread tastes best straight out of the oven.  Enjoy with some oil and balsamic vinegar or any dipping of your choice.  Definitely a favorite.  Yum!

Blondies

Lately I have been trying to bake more. I've never been the best baker, but I figure "practice makes perfect" is a saying for a reason!

On Sunday I was craving something sweet, and I decided to make Blondies, for the sole reason that I had all the ingredients! This recipe came out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Sorry I don't have a picture! But they were so good that I thought I should post it anyways.

Blondies

Ingredients

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or cashews

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

2 Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

3 Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the nuts.

4 Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 9 blondies.

Fettocine Alfredo

For some reason I am drawn to Italian food. I love the cheesy look of all the things they cook. I am also a huge fan of noodles and pasta. That's why here's another Italian noodle post. This is actually a really quick and easy meal. So if you're ever in a hurry or want to just cook something fast, this is the recipe. I found this recipe over at Pioneer Woman's website.

The downside of this food is it is SOOOOO SUPER FATTENING! Stay away from it if you don't want to add 10 pounds to your butt.

Serving size: 2-4 people

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 cup of HEAVY cream

2 cups of parmesan cheese, grated.

1 bag of fettucine.

Some salt and ground pepper.

Instructions:

1. Cook the fettucine noodles in a pot of boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water.

2. Melt the butter in the saucepan on medium-high heat.

3. Once the butter is melted, pour in the heavy cream and stir to mix.

4. Season the mixture with the salt and pepper.

5. Sprinkle the cheese on the plates and pour in the warm butter and cream mixture once they are boiling.

5. Don't stir the cheese and cream mixture. Let it sit for a few minutes.

6. Drain the noodles once they are cooked.

7. Immediately pour in the noodles when they are still hot into the plate with the other ingredients.

8. You can toss the noodles and the ingredients with the tongs or just use your spoon and fork.

9. Sprinkle some pepper and some more parmesan cheese on top of the noodles.