Thai Lettuce Wraps

So here is a Rachael Ray recipe for "Thai Lettuce Wraps" that I have been making for a few years now (come to find out she has changed the recipe so don't plan on finding this one online- the new one is more difficult).  I know they are not authentic Thai- my friend who served a mission in Thailand already told me so- but it doesn't mean they are not tasty.  The thing that I like about these is that they are SUPER easy and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand (once you buy the sweet chili sauce which will last forever in your fridge).  Other lettuce wrap recipes can be a little more difficult and time consuming so it's nice to have something quick and fast if needed.  I know the combination of ingredients for the sauce is different but it comes out tasting quite delicious.

Thai Lettuce Wraps
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 iceberg lettuce heads, cut into quarters and leaves gently removed to make the lettuce cups
1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 handful basil, chopped

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of olive oil, about 1 tablespoon. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the pan until golden brown on all sides.

Add in the red pepper and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the chili sauce and honey and simmer to reduce it and coat the chicken.

To serve, lay the lettuce leaves on a platter, then scoop some of the chicken mixture onto each leaf.

Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, lime juice and basil.

Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Sterling & I made these the other night and I have to say, they were quite delicious. 

However, I think the cheesecake recipe for the 

middle of the bar could have been cut in HALF it was so sweet!

That's what we would do if we made them again.

Hopefully our neighbors enjoy them as much as we did 

because there is no way I'm keeping the whole pan of it!

It would be gone before the end of the week!

Chocolate chip cookie layer:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening

1 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

1 T cider vinegar

1 large egg

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake layer: (Seriously, I think you'd only need half of this amount!)

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, salt and vinegar. Beat in the egg, then the baking soda and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the dough into two equal portions and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with the sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. 

3. In a 9x13 pan, spread 1/2 of the cookie dough mixture evenly across the bottom. (This is somewhat tricky to do. I find it easier to add dollops of cookie dough throughout the pan and then spread all the dollops together. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the top of the cookie dough. With the remaining cookie dough, flatten chunks of dough between your hands into discs, and then place on top of the cream cheese mixture. (The dough discs don't have to touch, just place them near each other so they cover the surface as well as possible.) 

4. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is brown and cooked through. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

Via: http://heatovento350.blogspot.com/2011/04/cheesecake-chocolate-chip-cookie-bars.html

Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

I made this a few months ago and it was pretty tasty! 

I was trying out all sorts of recipes that use plain greek yogurt

 instead of heavy cream, butter, etc. 

Sterling approved so it's been added to my list of favorites.

Oh, and we definitely had plenty of leftovers!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)

2 cups roasted broccoli florets

8 ounces fettuccine

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pinch ground nutmeg

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. 
2. Drain and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. 
4. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Whisk in the flour until smooth, about 2 minutes. 
6. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, Greek yogurt, milk, pepper and nutmeg. 
7. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. 
8. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
9. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan.
10. Add cooked chicken and broccoli to sauce mixture, followed by the cooked pasta. 
11. Toss to combine and serve with more Parmesan, if desired.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

via:  http://www.celebrations.com/content/skinny-chicken-broccoli-alfredo

Sloppy Joes

Brad and I had to make sloppy joes for a ward campout this last week and I went to our family cookbook expecting to find the Sloppy Joe recipe that mom would make growing up (I believe that it is Grandma Wallace's recipe).  I realized that it was not in there.  So I pulled out mom's old fashioned recipe card box and made a copy of the recipe.  I thought you might enjoy having it as well so here you go!

Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef- browned
1/4 cup chopped onion- lightly browned
1/4 cup celery*
1/4 cup green pepper*
1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 T sugar
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients together and simmer for 1 hour.

*Mom says she didn't put celery or green pepper in because us kids would have thrown a fit :).  It would be a great way to get some extra veggies in though- especially if you dice them small enough!

*Also I thought Brad's family was crazy for adding these two toppings on top of Sloppy Joes but it is actually quite delicious and now do it in our family.  Spread some sour cream on the bun and put some cheddar cheese in the sandwich as well.  It's pretty tasty!

Cafe Rio Recipe Changes

These are some new recipes for Cafe Rio.   Laura suggested I put them on the blog.

LIME/CILANTRO RICE 

3 cups cooked white rice

1 cup loosely packed cilantro

1/2 c chopped white onion

1/4 c green onion

1 1/2 T lime juice

3/4 t salt

1 t olive oil

Cook rice.   Combine all other ingredients in a blender. 

Mix with cooked rice.

CREAMY TOMATILLO DRESSING

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing mix

2 T salsa verde (in a can in the Mexican section)

dash Tabasco

1/2 bunch cilantro

2 cloves garlic

3/4 c. mayonnaise

3/4 c. sour cream

1/2 c. buttermilk

juice of l lime

Blend dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth.  

Refrigerate at least several hours.

Homemade Twix Bars

So Brad LOVES Twix bars and I tried these puppies out for his birthday in March.  They were super delish.  I had originally intended to do it the fancy way like the picture and cut them into sticks and then dip them in chocolate individually but ran out of time so I just simply poured the chocolate while they were still in the 9x13" pan and cut them into squares.  No matter which you do they are quite heavenly.  I recommend letting them fully cool before eating as well or else the shortbread is a little crumbly.  Thinking about these again makes my mouth start to drool a little....

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/thousand-dollar-bars-recipe#

Thousand Dollar Bars

Shortbread layer

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Caramel layer

• 2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate layer

• 3 cups chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate, melted
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional)

Directions:

1) FOR THE CRUST: Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.

2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.

3) Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.

4) Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.

5) Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely.

6) FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER: Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.

7) FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER: Melt the milk or dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler or over very low heat. If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel. Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set. Cut into 2" x 2" squares to serve. It's best to store these bars in the refrigerator.

8) These bars can also be cut and dipped in milk chocolate to resemble Twix ® bars. After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars. Then cut each long strip into "fingers". Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours.