Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

Chicken Fingers:

• 2 cups corn flake cereal
• 2 ounces whole wheat melba toast
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Kosher salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 pounds chicken tenders

Red Pepper-Basil Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup 2-percent Greek Yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped roasted red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 small clove garlic, grated
• Kosher salt
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

For the chicken fingers:
Combine the cereal, melba toast, Parmesan, parsley if using, paprika and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large re-sealable bag and, using the bottom of a skillet or rolling pin, crush into a coarse meal. Dump out into a shallow dish. Whisk the egg whites with 2 tablespoons water in another shallow dish.
Dip the chicken tenders into the egg white, shake off the excess, and coat thoroughly in the coating. Bake immediately, or refrigerate up to 1 hour before baking. To freeze, arrange the breaded chicken tenders on a baking sheet and freeze until hard, 1 to 2 hours. Store in re-sealable freezer bags for up to 1 month.
For the sauce:
Combine the yogurt, basil, red pepper, 1 tablespoon water, vinegar, garlic and salt to taste. Wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a baking rack and spray with cooking spray. Generously spray the fresh or frozen chicken tenders all over with cooking spray. Arrange on the baking rack and bake, flipping halfway through, until golden and crispy and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes (if frozen, 20 to 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and season with salt. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Best Macaroni & Cheese EVER

You will need:

:: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
:: 1 pound elbow macaroni
:: 8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter
:: 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese
:: 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mild Cheddar cheese
:: 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
:: 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack
:: 2 cups half-and-half
:: 1 cup (8 ounces) Velveeta , cut into small cubes
:: 2 large eggs , lightly beaten
:: 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
:: 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to make:

:: Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly grease a deep casserole dish.  (I used my Rachael Ray Large Bubble and Brown Baker <– GAH, I LOVE that thing!)
:: In a large pot, bring water and a dash of salt to a boil.  Add the oil and then the macaroni.
:: Cook macaroni until just tender – do not over cook.
:: As your macaroni cooks, melt eight tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan.
:: Drain macaroni and return to cooking pot.
:: Stir melted butter into macaroni.
:: In a large bowl, mix all of your cheese except the cubed Velveeta.
:: Add half-and-half to macaroni along with 1 and 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta and the eggs.
:: Season with salt and pepper.
:: Stir everything until just mixed and transfer to the buttered casserole dish.
:: Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and dot with remaining one tablespoon of butter.
:: Bake uncovered until bubbling around the edges (approximately 35 minutes).
:: Serve hot.
:: Keel over because you can’t believe how delicious this tastes!

Homemade Pierogies

Dough:

3 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

water

Cheese onion filling:

1 lb. of pot cheese

1 onion chopped

2 eggs

salt and pepper

Combine flour, salt, egg and about 3/4 cup of water.

Dough - roll 1/16" thick. Cut 4" circles - 1 tsp of filling fold and pinch.

Drop in boiling water, let rise, drain.

Crock Pot Short Ribs (a la Liz)

2 lbs Boneless short ribs
1/3 c soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp honey
½ tsp Chinese spice
6 cloves of garlic minced.

Cook 5 hours.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

I had a leftover chicken carcass, so i boiled it for an hour to start the chicken broth base.  I added chicken bullion (i use the Better than Bullion paste) to make more flavorful.  I added two cans of garlic and onion diced tomatoes and a large zucchini cubed.  Boiled the zucchini in the broth until it was soft. In a separate pot, cook tortellini for two minutes and drain.  Add to soup.  Serve with bread.

Coconut Shrimp I

6 Servings, Prep Time: 10 Minutes, Cook Time: 20 Minutes

These crispy shrimp are rolled in a coconut beer batter before frying. For dipping sauce, I use orange marmalade, mustard and horseradish mixed to taste..

Ingredients

1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup beer

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

1-2 lbs cube steak, cut into one-inch pieces; or 1-2 lbs stew beef, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cans condensed golden mushroom soup (no substitutes!)
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
1 14 oz can beef broth
8 oz button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream

In the crockpot, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms, salt and pepper and beef broth. Cook on low for 5-6 hours (or on high for 3). Stir in cream cheese and sour cream about half an hour before serving, stirring every ten minutes or so.
Serve over cooked egg noodles or rice.