Lisa's Sweet Chicken Fingers

Story:

Another good one from sweet Lisa P. I got it through my friend Heather D., though. She posted it on our ward's recipe blog: Sharing Is Love. She posted it, I tried it, and it's a hit. I've had some chicken tenderloins in the freezer that need to be used, so I'm making this tonight.

Ingredients:

Chicken tenderloins (as many as it takes to fill the tummies)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 C flour

1/2 C cornstarch

1/2 t garlic salt

1 T oil

1 1/2 C sugar

1/2 C water

1/2 C ketchup

2 T soy sauce

1 t salt

Beat the eggs in one bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, and garlic salt.

Dip the chicken in the eggs. Then roll in the flour mixture. Coat the chicken well and then fry in a lightly-oiled skillet until browned on both sides. (Add extra oil as you go, or in between batches.) Place the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.

Whisk the ketchup, water, sugar, soy sauce, and salt together in a saucepan. Simmer until warm. Pour over chicken and bake for 45 minutes at 350. (Heather recommends making extra sauce or save some to pour over your rice or egg rolls.) Serve with white rice.

Notes:

As I've noted before, some things tend to be "too sweet" for Ben. The first time I made this, he was surprised by just how sweet is was. The next time I cut the sugar by a third. Still too sweet (for him). The third time I cut the sugar in half, and he liked it better, though it wasn't quite sweet enough for me to still be able to call it "Sweet Chicken Fingers." So depending on the intensity of your sweet tooth, adjust accordingly.

Moroccan Chicken

Story:
Ben and I were able to have a week-long getaway in April. It was great! Ben, being the patriot that he is, has really wanted to go to Washington DC. Neither of us had ever been there, and we know it's a "must see." One of the biggest highlights of the week, however, was that we got to stay with my life-long friend Becky, her husband Mark, and their cute, cute little boy, Abram. They were excellent hosts and excellent company. They even had dinner ready for us every night when we got back from our adventures, regardless of the time. Mark cooked a few times, and this is one of the meals he prepared. I LOVED it.

(Note to my dinner group: I haven't actually MADE this meal yet, so I have no special "tips" to give you. Good luck!)

Ingredients:
1/2 t olive oil
2 lbs boneless, skinless thighs (or breasts)
2 C thickly sliced yellow onion
1 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t black pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 C chicken broth
1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (7oz) package dried apricots, halved (about 1 1/3 cups)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven (I'll just use a skillet, I guess) over medium-high heat.

Add half of the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, browning on all sides.
Remove chicken from the pan and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Add onion to pan; saute for 3 minutes or until tender.Add ginger and next 6 ingredients (through the garlic).  Saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Stir in broth, scraping the pan to loosen the browned bits.
Return chicken to pan; bring to a simmer.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon; cool slightly.

Cut chicken into bite-sized

pieces.  Add chicken, chickpeas, ad apricots to the pan.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Serve with couscous.

(Yield 8 servings, about 3/4 C each)

Amazing Sandwich

Story:
Have any of you ever been invited to do one of those "recipe exchanges"? It's like one of those good ol' fashioned chain letter things that you used to get invited to do as a kid... only this one you forward on a recipe on to one person and then you get like a zillion recipes from other people. I'm not very good at following through on these kinds of things, but if I get one when my mood is just right, I try to do it.
Well, this recipe came from one of those recipe exchanges a few years ago. The gal didn't put her name on the recipe card, so I have no recollection of who sent it to me. But, man!, this is a yummy sandwich. Now that my kids are getting older and eating more, I usually do two loaves... or just one if I have a side dish to go with it. We all like it a lot.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 Pillsbury French Bread Loaves (refrigerator section)
Guacamole (I like Wholly Guacamole... so good!)
Turkey (deli meat)
Monterey Jack cheese, sliced
Tomatoes, sliced
Olives, sliced
Lettuce

Directions:
I think it's pretty obvious... but bake the loaves according the instructions on the package. Then layer on all the ingredients. Be sure to spread the guacamole on generously.