Chinese Cucumber (or Chicken Salad) Dressing

I love to use this dressing over sliced cucmbers, and topped with toasted sesame seeds. It's great over a bed a iceberg lettuce, mixed with some shredded chicken and a finely sliced green onion. Oh, and don't forget to top your salad. Toasted sesame seeds or fried wontons are a great way to top off your salad.


3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
1 Tbsp sesame seed oil (a little goes a long way, may use less and add more if desired)


Place ingredients in small sealed container. Shake well, and pour over salad or cucumber slices. Top with sesame seeds or fried wontons.




Sited: cooks.com

Veggie Salad in Lettuce Cups

1 large cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

2 small carrots, shredded

12 radishes, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons Crisco® Olive Oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon honey mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

8 Boston lettuce leaves

In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, carrots and radishes. In a jar

with a tight-fitting lid, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper; shake well. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat.

For each serving, shape two lettuce leaves into a cup; fill with vegetable mixture.


Sited: Taste of Home

Korean BBQ Flank Steak

Forgot to marinade? No problem! This one only takes 10 minutes.

Marinade
2 Tbsp grill seasoning (McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning, preferred)
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp red pepper flakes (less if you don't like too much heat)
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp toasted (dark) sesame oil
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 lbs. flank steak (or you can use a thinly sliced sirloin steak)


In a bowl, combine grill seasoning, soy sauce, honey, red pepper flakes, garlic, sesame oil, green onions and a drizzle of vegetable oil. Coat the steak in the mixture and let stand for at least 10 minutes (but can marinade longer if desired).

Preheat grill (or grill pan if indoors) to medium high. When the grill/grill pan is screaming hot, add meat and cook 5 minutes on each side for medium rare (may need to adjust the cooking time depending on the thickness of the steak).

Remove meat from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the meat on a heavy angle against the grain (the line of the meat).

Serving Suggestions: white rice & Chinese cucumbers

Alice Springs Chicken (an Outback favorite)

1/2 cup Dijon mustard               salt
1/2 cup honey                          pepper
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil              paprika
1/2 tsp lemon juice                  8 slices bacon, cooked
4 boneless chicken, skinless   
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tsp parsley, finely chopped


Use an electric mixer to combine the mustard, honey 1 1/2 tsp oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whip the mixture for about 30 seconds. Pour 2/3 of the marinade over the chicken breasts and marinate them, covered, in the fridge for about 2 hrs. Chill the remaining marinade until later.

After the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and heat an ovenproof frying pan large enough to hold all 4 breasts. (If you don't have an ovenproof pan, transfer the chicken to a baking dish). Use 1 Tbsp of oil in the pan and sear chicken for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove pan from heat, but keep chicken in the pan. As the chicken is cooking, saute the mushrooms in the butter in a small frying pan. Brush each seared chicken breast with a little of the reserved marinade (not the portion that the chicken soaked in) being sure to save a little extra that you can serve on the side later with the dish. Season the chicken with salt, pepper & paprika. Stack 2 pieces of cooked bacon, crosswise on each chicken breast. Spoon the sauteed mushrooms onto the bacon, being sure to coat each breast evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Monterrey jack cheese evenly onto each breast followed by 1/4 cup of cheddar. Bake the pan of chicken for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted and starting to bubble. Sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon parsley before serving. Put extra marinade into a small bowl to serve on the side . Enjoy!

Chicken & Dumplings (or Noodles)

1 1/2 lbs. chicken, cubed              1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp cooking oil                           2 ribs celery, diced
2 Tbsp butter                                  1 carrot, diced
2 cups chicken broth                  
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste
12 oz Reemes frozen noodles OR
1 pkg Bisquick Complete biscuit mix (I perfer cheese & garlic flavor)



In a large pot, put the cooking oil, butter, onion, carrot, celery. Saute vegetables for 5 minutes, adding Old Bay, pepper, garlic powder. Once veggies are tender, add 1 3/4 cup of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then add the diced chicken and the can of cream of chicken soup.
.
IF USING NOODLES: Add the Reemes noodles at the same time as the chicken. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until noodles are done. Enjoy!

IF USING DUMPLINGS: Reduce heat to simmer, cooking for 20 minutes. In a bowl, make the Bisquick mix according to directions on the bag. Once mixed, add 1 tsp of biscuit dough at a time to the pot. Gently, spoon the broth over the dough to cook it. Don't stir the dough into the mixture, as they will fall apart. Add as many dumplings as desired. Let them simmer another 5-7 minutes or until they are cooked through. Enjoy!

*If the chicken is getting too thick, add the remaining 1/4 cup of chicken broth.
*You can also add 1/2 cup of frozen peas. Add them at the end of cooking (they only take about 5 minutes to cook).

The Best Cutout Sugar Cookies

This is one of our family's favorite desserts (especially at Christmas). I keep them in an air-tight container and they stay soft and yummy for over a week.



1 cup sugar                        3 1/2 - 4 cups flour                 
2 sticks butter                    1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs                                2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk                       1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla



In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter; add eggs, milk, vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the baking soda, baking powder, salt & half of the flour (about 2 cups). Blend together with the wet mixture, adding remaining flour until dough is no longer sticky. Cover and let dough stand in the refridgerator for 2-4 hours (You can even leave it overnight if necessary).

When ready to bake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough and cut. Bake cookies  for 7 minutes (longer if you like them more crispy). Transfer to a cooking rack. Decorate & enjoy.