Chinese Lettuce Wraps

(sorry for the camera phone photos! Our camera was lost but I'll get better ones uploaded as soon as we get a new camera!)

I am so lucky to share the joy of cooking and baking with my oh so sweet Mother In Law! She has given me several recipes. Some that she has collected and others that she came up with herself! This is one such masterpiece that she invented! Of all the recipes she has given me, I must admit this is my most favorite! I usually make it as an appetizer but I'll admit I've made it as a snack before too!
p.s. I secretly LOVE these WAY more than P.F. Changs version!

Chicken Filling:

2 Chicken Breasts (size medium- large)
1 Can of Water Chestnuts (small can)
4-6 Tbs. Iron Chef's General Tso Sauce (see pic below)

1 Head of Lettuce

Spicy Chinese Sauce:

2 Tbs. Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Hot/ Spicy Chinese Mustard
1 tsp. Chinese Chili Sauce (my family calls it "Rooster Sauce". lol)
*I have pictures of all of these below for a visual verification! And you can find all of those ingredients at Wal Mart in the Chinese section.*

Directions:

 1. Cut up your raw chicken breasts into 1 centimeter sized cubes. Also cut up your water chestnuts into slightly smaller sized cubes. (Really the size and ratio of chicken to water chestnuts is up to you!)

 2. Put the chicken and water chestnuts in a frying pan and drizzle with Iron Chef's General Tso Sauce. You just want enough to cover the chicken, about 4-6 Tbs. There really isnt a specific amount, but if you're in doubt add a little more.(Usually when I list a specific brand it's important. =D)

3. Cook the chicken and water chestnut mixture until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside.

4. To make the Spicy Chinese Sauce, add the Soy Sauce, Rooster Sauce and Spicy Mustard together and mix well. (Hopefullt his picture will clarify what I'm talking about!)

If you decide the Spicy Chinese Sauce needs more of a punch, just add a little more Rooster Sauce! And leave some out if its too spicy!

5. Tear pieces of lettuce of of the head of lettuce. Ideally you want the pieces to be ABOUT 3x5 but it usually tears off in askewed sizes and shapes. =D

6. Assemble!!! Add chicken mixture to the middle of a lettuce piece, then  add as much Spicy Chinese Sauce as you wish, roll up and DEVOUR! =D

 Just a tip, go easy on the Spicy Chinese Sauce, it may be hotter than you think and you can always add more if you need to! It has taken people off guard before! A little goes a looooooong way!

Triple Chocolate Cookies/ Crinkle Cookies

I hope ya'll have missed me! I cant believe its been so long since I posted here. July was a BUSY month for us and on top of that, we lost our camera on our last vacation trip and I apologize for the sad pictures I took from my phone. Hopefully we can replace our camera soon since Im terrible at taking pictures anyways and using a camera phone doesnt help! lol. Thanks for bearing with me!

These cookies are soooo good, I was only able to get 1 picture before they were all eaten! (Sadly it was just a picture of the cookie dough, so I'll leave it out. But, dont worry I'll make them again and upload a good picture soon! I just wanted to share this recipe ASAP!) My good friend claims them to be her ALL time favorite dessert! And my brother in law claims they're his favorite cookie. Seriously these are yum! The other great part is you can use the same cookie dough to make 2 different cookies! Shazam!

Ingredients:

1 C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 C. White Sugar
1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
*For Triple  Chocolate Cookies: 1 C. White Chocolate Chips and 1 C. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. (or more!)*
*For Crinkle Cookies: 1 C. Powdered Sugar*

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix together Cocoa, Sugar and Oil.
2. Beat in the Eggs 1 at a time, then stir in the Vanilla.
3. In a seperate bowl whisk together the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt. Then mix into the cocoa mixture to form a dough. *For Triple Chocolate Cookies: stir in the white and semi sweet chocolate chips.*
4. The dough will be sticky, so you must place the dough in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
5. Roll the dough into balls, place them on a cookie sheet and flatten them a little bit. *For Crinkle Cookies: After rolling the dough into a ball, roll it around in the powdered sugar and then place on a cookie sheet.*
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.


I found  this recipe on Allrecipes.com  a few years ago!

Cake Batter Mousse

***I apologize in advance for ANY diets this DELICIOUS dessert will ruin!***

With the whole "Cake Batter Craze" goin on,  I decided to make up a recipe that is not something you'd easily find on pinterest! ;D If you were unaware, mousse is a type of dessert that closely resembles pudding, but has a lighter and fluffier texture! Heaven!  It is used in Trifle recipes, as fillings in cakes, eaten with ice cream, eaten by itself (my fave way to eat mousse), or you can get crazy and  top it with whipped cream!

(This is dedicated to you Alyssa, my fellow Cake Batter lover! I hope this recipe doesn't ruin our friendship!) lol.

This is TOTALLY the "Cake Batter Lover's" dream! It tastes exactly like the stuff but has a whipped, pudding like texture! I really wish I had some Hersheys Chocolate Syrup to drizzle over top to get the Yellow Cake and Chocolate Frosting taste! I ate mine plain in a bowl, yum!, and Darren choose to eat his with chocolate ice cream! I didn't expect him to like it because he HATES the cake batter taste, but surprisngly he LOVED it!

Just LOOK at that big bowl of heavenly deliciousness! 

Ingredients:

1 Packet of Dream Whip (found in the baking isle!)
1/2 C. Cold Milk
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1 Pkg. Instant Vanilla pudding
1 1/2 C. Cold Milk
1/2- 3/4 C. Yellow Cake Mix (how much you put in depends on your taste preference! the more you add, the stronger the cake batter taste and the sweeter it will be! Of course I used 3/4 cups!)

In a mixer add the packet of Dream Whip, 1/2 cup Cold Milk and 1/2 tsp. Vanilla. Mix on slow until combined and then on high for 4 minutes or until sitff peaks form. Set aside.

In a seperate bowl whisk together the Vanilla Pudding and Cake Mix with a whisk. Add in 1 1/2 C. Milk and whisk by hand for 2 minutes. Mix the Pudding mixture in with the Dream Whip mixture and VOILA! Let set in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

 And be prepared because I may have another Cake Batter Recipe up my sleeve!

*Does this recipe look familar? I got the inspiration for this recipe from the Mousse recipe right of the Dream Whip box!*

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

My husband and I just LOVE eating at the Cheesecake Factory! Whenever we would go my husband would encourage me to pick out a cheesecake after our meal. As a creature of habit, I would always go for the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake! I just knew I would have to do my best to recreate this masterpiece! My recipe is not an exact repilca of the Cheesecake Factory's, but it tastes VERY similar and satisfies my cheesecake cravings!

This recipe is easily one of my best known desserts! This baby has made me famous among my friends and family for over 2 years now! It's bittersweet to be giving this recipe away, but I hope you all will love and enjoy it as much as my family has!

Oreo Cookie Crust

1 Pre Packaged Oreo Cookie Crust

I will admit to you, I will usually buy a pre-packaged Oreo Cookie Crust from the store, dump it into my springform pan and firmly smooth it out into a nice, even crust. I do this because it's probably the same price as a package of Oreo cookies anyways and saves me time (and the guilt of throwing away all of those yummy Oreo cream fillings). But if you choose to, you could easily make the crust yourself with the following recipe:

Ingredients:
24 Oreo Cookies
1/4 C. Melted Butter or Margarine

Directions:
Remove all the cream fillings from the 24 cookies. Add the cookies to a food processor or blender and finely crush the cookies. Mix with 1/4 c. melted butter. Evenly spread the Oreo Cookie Crust in the bottom of a springform pan. Set aside.

Raspberry Filling:

This layer is optional. It doesn't affect the flavor much. I mostly use it for the beautiful raspberry ribbon it creates. If I'm making this with a short time allowance I will skip this step. Sometimes I will  make this filling the day before. I made a whole post dedicated to this wonderful Raspberry Filling. =D (I've seen Raspberry Filling in a can at the store before. I've never used it before, but I'm thinking I may try it next time I whip one of these up!) For now I just use the following recipe.

Ingredients:1, 12 oz. Frozen Bag of Raspberries (You can also use fresh Raspberries, about 2 1/2 cups.)
1 C. Water
1/2 C. Sugar, or more to taste
1 tsp. Cornstarch

Directions:
1. Put the whole bag of raspberries, 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar into a saucepan.
2. Turn the burner to medium- high and let the sauce start to boil.
3. Stir the sauce constantly until the raspberries have completely broke down.
4. Take the sauce off the heat and run the sauce through a sieve. Use a spatula to help push the sauce through the sieve. (This step is to eliminate those nasty seeds. If you like lots of seeds you can skip this step.) I usually put about 1 tsp. of the seeds back into the sauce, because I like the authenticity of it! And to me it's the perfect amount!
5. Return the seedles, or near seedless, sauce back to the saucepan. Add in 1 tsp. Cornstarch and simmer at medium heat. It may take 15-20 minutes of simmering to get a nice thick texture. Keep in mind, it will thicken quite a bit as it cools. If you make it the day before, you may need to heat it up to make it easier to spread.
You will only need about 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup of the Raspberry Filling.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake & Assembly

1/4 C. Sugar
3, 8 oz. Packages of Cream Cheese
1, 14 oz. Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Cups Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 Large Eggs
2 tsp. Raspberry Extract
1/2 C. Mini Chocolate Chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat Cream Cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 
2. Gradually beat in Sweetened Condensed Milk until smooth.

3. Using a double boiler, melt the 2 cups of semi- sweet chocolate chips.

4. Add in the remaining ingredients, including the melted chocolate, and beat until well combined.
5. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
6. Pour half of the Cheesecake mixture over the Oreo Cookie Crust in the springform pan.

7. Layer about 1/2 cup -3/4 cup of the Raspberry Filling (just put enough on to make ya satisfied) over the Cheesecake mixture in the springform pan and evenly spread.
8. Add the remaining half of the Cheesecake mixture over the Raspberry filling.
9. Optional: Make a water bath to prevent cracking in your cheesecake. (pour boiling water into a 9x13 pan and place on the bottom rack in the oven. The cheesecake will go on the middle oven rack.)
10. Bake the cheesecake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Open the oven to check the cheesecake after 1 hour. (This is also important to let out lots of the heat for the following step).
11.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour more. (Just to be clear, the cheesecake will bake for 1 hour, then rest for 1 hour in the oven.)

12. Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter.

 Chocolate Ganache

If you choose to cut out each piece of cheesecake and then drizzle the ganache over each individual piece, you may want to double the following recipe.

Ingredients:
1/3 C. Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 Tbs. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract.

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan combine the chocolate chips and the heavy whipping cream.
2. Cook until the chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is well combined.
3. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
4. After the cheesecake has cooled, top with the ganache and let the Cheesecake chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or, for best results, overnight! (It's a good idea that once the ganache has set, maybe 30 minutes, to cover the cheesecake so that the fridge doesn't dry it out, especially if you pre- slice the cheesecake!)




Big Thanks to the following website/ recipe contributor for posting the recipe to inspire my Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!!!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-cheesecake/detail.aspx

Winger's Sticky Fingers

When I was pregnant with Kaiden my cravings were for McDonald's Fries and Diet Sodas. When I was pregnant with Jaxton I craved ALL forms of Sugar and also Salads, in particular Winger's Sticky Finger Salad! I can't even remember how many times I talked Darren into picking up a salad for me on his way home. I must have ate there at least once a week! (It should be noted that Darren is AMAZING at getting me my cravings when I'm pregnant! And when I'm not!) Anyways, this little gem would have been quite helpful back then!

Of course I still love Sticky Finger's and now that we've moved away from any Winger's Restaurants, I had to think of a back up plan!
I was amazed at how similar this recipe tastes to the original. The only difference was that it wasn't as spicy as the restaurant's recipe. I'm wondering if upping the hot sauce and downing the sugar would change that, BUT I actually like this less spicy version better! This was a pleasant surprise!
You can use this sauce on breaded chicken strips and serve it with fries or use popcorn chicken to replicate a Sticky Finger Salad, which is what I always do! You can also mix it with 1/2 Ranch Dressing and get Winger's Amazing Sauce which they use as a Salad Dressing for their Sticky Finger Salad and they also use it as a Dipping Sauce for their Fries and delicious Onion Rings.
This is one of my favorite Under 30 Minute Meals and the ingredients are so easy to have on hand!

Ingredients:

Frozen Breaded Chicken Strips OR Frozen Popcorn Chicken (I use the Popcorn Chicken when I make the salad!)
6 Tbl. Frank's Hot Sauce (It HAS to be Frank's! I used the Buffalo version and it tasted great!)
4 Tbs. Water
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Light Corn Syrup (I added this based on a few comments left on the recipe's page. It's optional!)

~The Following Ingredients are for the Sticky Finger Salad~
Romaine Lettuce (I get the prepackaged stuff with the carrots in them! You could also mix a bag of Romaine with a bag of American Blend, my personal fave! You could also just use an American Blend)
Dried Cranberries
Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
Ranch Dressing

Directions:

Heat the chicken in the oven according to it's package directions. In a saucepan add Hot Sauce, Water, Borwn Sugar and Corn Syrup. Cook until the sugar has dissolved. (This will take less than 5 minutes!)

When the chicken is done, put it in a bowl and drizzle some of the sauce over it. Then shake/ stir the chicken until it is drenched with the sauce. Set the chicken aside for now. Put the salad in personal bowls, or on a plate and top with desired amounts of shredded cheese and dried cranberries. Place the sauce covered chicken right on top! I like to make the Amazing Sauce to "dress" my salad. All you have to do is mix equal parts of the Winger's Sauce with Ranch Dressing and drizzle over your salad! You could also just use Ranch!

Bon Apetit!

Universal Raspberry Sauce

This recipe is a KEEPER for SURE! I've also used the same recipe for a Strawberry Sauce, but found that recipe requires more sugar, almost double! lol. Anyways, this is the recipe I use to make a sauce for French Toast, Ice-Cream, to drizzle over Bundt Cakes or Cheesecakes, ETC! I also use this recipe, in a jelly form, in the middles of Cakes, Cheesecakes and Pies! So, without further ado!

Ingredients:
1, 12 oz. Frozen Bag of Raspberries (You can also use fresh Raspberries, about 2 1/2 cups.)
1 C. Water
1/2 C. Sugar, or more to taste
1 tsp. Cornstarch

Directions:
1. Put the whole bag of raspberries, 1 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar into a saucepan.

2. Turn the burner to medium- high and let the sauce start to boil.
3. Stir the sauce constantly until the raspberries have completely broke down.

4. Take the sauce off the heat and run the sauce through a sieve. Use a spatula to help push the sauce through the sieve. (This step is to eliminate those nasty seeds. If you like lots of seeds you can skip this step.) I usually put about 1 tsp. of the seeds back into the sauce, because I like the authenticity of it! And to me it's the perfect amount!
5. Return the seedles, or near seedless, sauce back to the saucepan. Add in 1 tsp. Cornstarch and simmer at medium heat until you see your desired consistency.

For a nice syrup, about 5-10 minutes of simmering is what you're looking at. Remember, the sauce will thicken just a bit as it cools. For a nice jelly texture it may take 10-20 minutes.

When I use this recipe to fill cakes or pies, I immediatley take it off the burner and straight way spread it onto the cake/ pie. Since the sauce will thicken as it cools, I like to put it on right away, since the longer it's cooled, the harder it is to spread.


I will most likely refer to this recipe often! ;D P.s. this recipe is FANTASTIC on my favorite chocolate cake recipe! I bake 2, 9 in (or 8 in) circle pans and place the raspberry jelly in between the layers!  Truly DIVINE!

Stuffed French Toast

Darren makes fun of me because at every single restaurant, I have my "go- to" dish. It's the dish I always order when I go there, because it's my fave! Very rarely is there a restaurant where I have 2-3 favorites, but it does happen! Darren is more of a "try a new dish everytime" kinda fella. Which is also good cause' then I can try his! lol. Well at IHOP I always get the Stuffed French Toast! Hey, why mess with the best? Well I was super excited when the grocery stores started selling IHOPs food in the freezer section! And that what we usually do, but I got a hankerin for them today and had a whopping total of ZERO on hand and so, I do what Chelsea's do best, and I IMPROVISED! Even I was impressed with myself! So yumm! Here we go!

You will need my recipe for the Universal Raspberry Sauce. This stuff is great! Depending on how long you cook it, it can be thin  like a syrup for drizzling on cakes or ice-cream, or even thick for a filling in a cake and any consistency in between! It's also safe to refrigerate for up to 2 weeks! (Go to the above link for more pix and more in depth directions if you get confused. I have a feeling I will be referring to that particular sauce quite often!)

Raspberry Sauce:

1, 12 oz Bag of Frozen Raspberries
1 C. Water
1/2 C. Sugar (more if you want it on the sweet side and not the tart.)
1 tsp. Cornstarch

1. Place the frozen raspberries, water and sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium high heat.
2. Boil the mixture until the raspberries have "melted down" and there are no more "chunks".
3. While the sauce is still liquidy, place the sauce in a sieve. Use a spatula to help get the sauce through the sieve easily, this part is to get rid of those nasty seeds. If you like lots of seeds, then you can skip this part. I usually end up putting about 1 tsp of the seeds back into the sauce, because I like just a little bit for the authenticity of it! ;D
4. Once the sauce has been thoroughly sieved, return the sauce back to the saucepan, add in the cornstarch and cook on medium or medium-low until desired consistency.

 For a syrup texture it might take 5-10 minutes and for a cake filling/ jelly like texture it may take 10-20 minutes. Just remember that the sauce will thicken a bit as it cools. Not alot, just a little.

Cream Cheese Filling:

Recipe respectfully from AllRecipes.com

4 oz (half a package) Cream Cheese, Softened
1 C. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2-4 Tbs. Milk, possibly more

1. Mix the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar in a bowl, you may need a mixer. Add in vanilla. Add in milk as needed to get a frosting like consistency. You will be plopping this into the center of piece of bread after all and you dont want it spreading all over the place. You want it to stay put.

French Toast:

Sadly I don't have an exact recipe for the stuff! I just mix a few eggs, a little milk, a dash of cinnamon and I'm ready to go. To make the Stuffed French Toast however, we're going to have to get a lil fancy with the bread!

 I used a large cookie cutter and cut out 2 pieces of bread. Then a dropped about 1 Tbs. of the Cream Cheese Filling into the center. Then a squished around all the edges with my fingers and then I used a fork to go around the edges to produce a more reliable seal!

After all those shenanigans you just dip both sides in the egg mixture and cook as you would "normal" French Toast!

Top with the Raspberry Sauce and a little Whip Cream because we're not on diets, right!? lol!

I even got a little lazy with a few and drizzled both the cream cheese filling and the raspberry sauce on "normal" French Toast and it tasted the EXACT same. So you don't need to get too fancy if you don't wanna! =D Hey, I'm NOT here to judge!