Peanut Chicken Recipe and Menu Plan

Originally, I had been looking for a copy-cat recipe of Cheesecake Factory's Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp (minus the shrimp for me) to make at home when I came across this recipe.  It was actually a recipe someone on the Menus 4 Moms boards shared.  I have tweaked it to our family's liking. 

I have since found copy-cat recipes for the Bang Bang Chicken, and I am anxious to give that a try.  But we will likely keep this favorite on our menu rotation for now. 

Oh, something else about my cooking... I don't measure most of the time.  I also don't remember from one time to the next how I have tweaked a recipe and whether we liked it better or not.  It drives my family mad.  But it is all part of the creative process for me!  I am trying to make notes here and there because I do want to pass the recipes on to my kids as well. 

Someday, I hope to even add pictures!  Ooohhh!

Peanut Chicken
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy seems to be best
1/2 cup vinegar, we typically use Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg's Liquid Amino's
1/4 cup brown sugar or Sucanat
1/2 - 1 tsp ginger, ground
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, more if you like more heat
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2.5 cups chicken, cooked and diced
1.5 cups rice, quinoa, etc. or a blend (you may want to use additional coconut milk and/or broth in place of the water to cook the rice for flavor)
2 T coconut oil
Carrots, julienned
Zucchini (or Cucumber), julienned
Shredded coconut
Chopped peanuts
Green onions, sliced


Put rice on to cook.



Heat first eight ingredients in heavy saucepan until mixed and bubbly; stirring frequently.  Then add chicken.


While sauce heats, slice green onions, carrots and zucchini or cucumber. These are best ice cold.


To serve, scoop rice onto each plate and top with chicken and sauce. Top liberally with onions, cucumbers, carrots, coconut and peanuts. 


Notes: for presentation, it works nicely to scoop rice into a small bowl, packed tightly.  Place the plate on top of the bowl upside down.  Flip bowl and plate together, then lift the bowl, leaving the rice in a nice rounded mound.  Then spoon chicken and sauce over and around rice.  Then top with the carrots, coconut, peanuts, etc. 

Also, we double the sauce for our family. 

We often serve this with a stir-fry veggie medley (broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, maybe squash or peppers, and onions, chopped and 'wokked' in a little butter and lemon juice, please!).  When we have dessert on Peanut Chicken night, I like the Mandarin Napoleons from Robin Miller.  Yum!  (We double this recipe as well.  The sugared, baked won tons are so yummy all by themselves as well!)

Cranberry Spinach Crustless Mini Quiche

I made up a quiche today to take to a baby shower, and it was so yummy. I actually adapted it from a recipe for Crustless Carrot Mini Quiche. I made the carrot variety, the spinach and cranberry and also a zucchini quiche that Kynzie really enjoyed. Here is the Cranberry Spinach recipe...

1-1.5 cups fresh cranberries, shredded (or chopped or what ever)
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
(some chopped fresh mushrooms might be good, but we didn't have any)
1-2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic (to your taste), minced
salt & pepper to taste (I skipped the salt & pepper by mistake and didn't miss it)
.5-1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar, optional
6 eggs, beaten
1.5-2 cups shredded cheese (I used a cup each of mozzarella and cheddar)
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Melt the butter, or warm the oil, in a medium to large skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and green onions and saute but do not brown. Lower heat and add spinach. Allow to wilt slightly. Stir in shredded cranberries until mixed well and warm. Remove from heat. In a medium mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Stir in cheese, cinnamon, salt, pepper, brown sugar and cornmeal until mixed, and gently fold in the spinach mixture. Scoop by tablespoonfuls into 'greased' mini muffin tins or mini muffin papers if you prefer. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 - 17 minutes. Remove from over and allow to set for two minutes before removing from pan. Best served warm.

Delainey and I like these best. I think I mentioned in another blog that if I could figure out how to get cranberries into all my recipes, I would. So, this morning as I was staring into the fridge trying to come up with ingredients to make different varieties of quiche, cranberries came to mind. I am just surprised it took me this long!

Kynzie liked the zucchini quiches best. Instead of spinach and cranberries, I shredded 2 medium zukes (skin on), used one less egg, 1.4 tsp of nutmeg instead of cinnamon, and only 1/2 cup cornmeal. These were the most moist of the three kinds, and Kynzie said that is what she liked best. She actually said because they were softer, I think. I thought they were a little bland.

The carrot quiches were the driest of the three, and we had the most leftovers of these. Here is the link to that original recipe, which I do intend to tweak next time.

Home Made Muesli Mix Brings Germany Home

mmm, mmm, mmm good! That's what this is. When Scott came home from Germany in February, he was constantly raving about the breakfasts he ate daily. Yogurt, apple cider type beverage, fruits, and a granola-like cereal. He spoke longingly of this granola-like cereal often. I dismissed the notion of having it here, thinking it was most likely a "Germany only thing".

In the meantime, I had been searching for an alternative to prepackaged oatmeal (because I don't care for it). I want something a little healthier and more filling than sugary boxed cereal. I like to reserve that for a special occasion or a treat or snack more than a way to start the day. So, I first came across Swiss oatmeal in a cookbook. (I cut the recipe down to 2 servings.) This was better, but still not quite the texture I desire.

One day, while on a search for a healthy, yet easy treat to take to a get-together, I spied a bag of Bob's Red Mill Muesli that looked interesting. It even had a delicious cookie recipe on the back. I took it home and made a batch of the cookies. I felt the recipe needed modifications and was quite pleased with the end result.

Also on the bag was the directions to eat the muesli as cereal, either hot or cold. I decided to give the cold version with milk a try first and found that I really enjoyed it. When I described my new found breakfast delight to Scott he said, "That's sounds like what I ate in Germany!"

As a side note, I grew up not liking hot cereals, porridges, or gruel of any sort. I also did not care for milk in my cereal. The texture of soggy cereal was not bearable for me. And, with maybe two exceptions, I still don't care for these things. So, trying to find something similar to what I don't like in a form that I do like has been a challenge.

Now I make it at home. And here is the recipe so far. I am sure as I learn more and try this or that, my recipe will change. What is Muesli, anyway? Check out the Wikipedia definition.

O'Brien Morning Muesli

4 cups 100% whole grain rolled oats (thick cut may taste better, but I haven't tried that variety yet)
1 cup pearled barley, uncooked
1 cup unsweetened flake coconut (not shredded)
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4-1/2 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted is best
1 cup raisins
1/4-1/2 cup date crumbles, look for no sugar added
1/4-1/2 dried cranberries
2-3 tablespoons flax seeds

Mix it all together and keep it in an airtight storage container. I actually doubled this today, and it should last us 1 week if Scott, Kynzie, and I eat it. (Scott may not eat it until he has his dentist appointment next week.)

If you do soak the oats overnight before mixing the cereal, which is probably the healthiest way as soaking grains brings out the best nutrient-wise, you would want to reduce the recipe down to tablespoons at a time instead of cups. You would only want to soak what you could eat in one day at a time. You could also mix fresh fruits instead of dry this way.

I add a little cinnamon and Stevia to it in my cereal bowl. Kynzie likes it this way as well. I have a sweet tooth that I am trying to tame, and Stevia seems to help in that department.

Scott enjoys it with a glass of apple cider just like in Germany. In fact, it brought back memories of Germany so vividly for him he's going back again! Seriously, his work is sending him back to Germany but only for a week this time.

Anyway, I also found a great recipe for Chicken Barley Soup to use some of the pearled barley! Maybe I'll post that one later.

A good cornbread recipe for an iron skillet

I made cornbread in my iron skillet… I am still looking for the BEST cornbread recipe, but this one was pretty good. Is all cornbread a little on the dry side? But this one was not nearly as crumbly as many other recipes I've made/eaten.
1 cup cornmeal – I only had maybe 2/3 cup left, so I added a little corn grits (polenta) to make it just under 1 cup. Then added a little extra flour.
1 cup flour – I used a combination of white and whole wheat.
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 ½ cup buttermilk – I did not have buttermilk, so I used 1 cup plain yogurt and ½ cup milk.
1/3 cup sugar
2 medium eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Here is where I found the original recipe: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/mybestcornbread.htm But of course, I couldn’t just make it as stated. I didn’t mix it in the order they suggest either, but it may have been even better if I had. I think this was the best cornbread I have made yet. It isn’t terribly sweet, but you can always add honey and butter when you’re ready to eat it up. It had a good flavor and a good texture. Oh, and I added cinnamon because I am a bit of a cinnamon fanatic. A teaspoon of vanilla would add some nice flavor as well.

Next time, I may add flax seeds, too…