A Cook's Quest

I love orange chicken.  But not just any orange chicken, a delicious sweet and crispy orange chicken that I remember eating when my family lived in Washington.  The restaurant was an old pizza place that had been remodeled into a Chinese restaurant. My mom used to take us there and my memory of the orange chicken leaves me drooling.  Now, as a grown up nothing has quite matched up.  Oh, yes, I have found many an orange chicken dish to try but none left me wanting more.  They were too sweet, not orangey enough, too sour, too gooey/sticky/thickish or simply just not good. So, when I stumbled onto this recipe I was excited for a few reasons.  First, I had all the ingredients (WOOT!).  Second, it cooked in the slow cooker (WOOT! WOOT!) and third, it is much healthier than fried versions (Triple WOOT!).  While it may not be what others deem as the best ever,  I was pleasantly surprised how the flavors came together.  The ...

I didn't share with most of you that I have been in mourning the last few months.  My dear, faithful, and trusty Kitchen Aide died on me.  My husband, who is very handy and mechanically inclined, stepped in while the poor thing was sputtering away and tried to no avail to save my favorite kitchen appliance.  But, there was nothing that could be done.  The motor was fried in a fluke accident when an interior bolt came loose.   As a result of losing my cooking companion, and life in general which includes three hunting trips, computer issues, kids going back to school, and me finishing my degree, I haven't been cooking much.  But now, life is slowing down a little bit and for my birthday my mother in law gave to me Ruby, my new Kitchen Aide mixer (yes, I know it isn't really normal to name an appliance but I couldn't help it.  I justify my actions by arguing that people name cars and boats and all kids of things so why not my shiny, new mixer?) R...

I have a little confession to make.  There is a certain  national fast food chain that makes chicken nuggets that I will eat whenever I can justify it.  There is nothing healthy or good about them and after reading the ingredient list I should be utterly appalled, vowing to never consume them again.   But, something about how they taste, their crispy texture and the bar-b-que sauce I dip them in makes me crumple and I consume them all along with the fries and a diet soda. Yes, I admit I not only eat the nuggets but I also buy them in a combo meal.   Unfortunately all three of my kiddos also love these bites of fried, over-processed goodness too.  It is not something I am proud to admit. Do I endorse this kind of eating?  Absolutely not. It goes against all the changes I have been trying to make for the health of my family. But what is a girl to do when the nugget craving hits not only her but the entire family?  Well come up with a recip...

I am not a lover of bananas, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE banana bread.  There isn't much to say about this recipe.  It is easy to mix up and the tastiest banana bread I have had in a very long time.  Next time you have some bananas that don't look so pretty try mixing up a batch of this. You won't be sorry.  ENJOY! Cream Cheese Banana Bread Recipe Source: A Thrifty Mom 3/4 cups softened butter 1 (8oz) cream cheese softened 2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 3 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1  1/2 cups mashed bananas ( about 4 bananas) 1 cup pecans (optional) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla In a bowl combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar until well blended.  Add the two eggs and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until everything just comes together, you don't want to over mix it.  Add the bananas, nuts and vanilla. Pour into a large greased bread pan or two small g...

Hello everyone!  I am sorry that it appears I dropped off the face of blog world without a hint of my whereabouts and more importantly without any new recipes to share.  My family went on vacation for a week and I thought I had some wonderful posts scheduled to appear in my absence but I did something wrong.  Not only did nothing post, but they also aren't in my drafts.  Needless to say I am a bit frustrated at the moment! But, back to the vacation stuff.  We went to a wonderful theme park called Silverwood, in Northern Idaho after attending a close friend's wedding.  If you have never been to the Northern part of the state it is a great place for a family vacation.  We were able to spend time in Sandpoint enjoying the beautiful town and Lake Pend Oreille and then time at Silverwood.  Silverwood has something for everyone but this year it was especially fun because our littlest guy who is five got to go on some of the big roller c...

I don’t know about your house, but summers are BUSY around here! Lately I have been very dependent on my stand by recipes for dinners. Breakfast in the evenings has been occurring at least twice a week, and the easy options of sweet and spicy chicken tacos , spaghetti with  slow cooker marinara and bean and chicken burritos have been regulars. In between baseball practices, tournaments all weekend, work, and everyday life I just didn’t want to make new dinner recipes. Instead I made sweet treats, breads, and food that, while they are OK in moderation, probably wouldn’t do so great as dinner. It is time to start incorporating some healthy options for snacks, lunches and dinners. That is why I made these corn dog muffins. My kids LOVE corn dogs but I don’t love the deep fried, processed versions that I buy at the store. I have seen this idea floating around blog land for a while and decided to give it a try. My kids loved them and think it is even funnier to say they w...

As I have mentioned a time or two , peanut butter and chocolate are one of the combinations that everyone in my house loves.  Usually, barring any major baking catstrophes, if a recipe calls for these two ingredients it is sure to be a hit especially with my husband.  When I stumbled onto this recipe at The Farm Girl Recipes  I knew it was going into the Ice Cream Friday series.  This ice cream has a wonderfully smooth texture thanks to the creamy peanut butter and heavy cream.  It has the salty flavor one expects, but is balanced nicely with the sweetness from the sugar and the chocolate.  Oh, and I can't forget to mention the chunks of peanut butter cups throughout.   The only thing that could have made it better was a covering in hot fudge, but we didn't not have any.  So, my poor family suffered through and it all up without fudge and let me tell ya they were real troopers about it.  ENJOY! I'm linking up, go check so...