Orange Carrot Cookies

These are Adam's Grandma's famous cookies. They are incredible! They are fun to make now with Easter coming up and with Spring being here.

Orange Carrot Cookies

Cookie:
1 cup Crisco
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup mashed cooked carrots
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of salt

Frosting:
5 tablespoons orange juice
1-2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon grated orange rind (optional)
3- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (As much as it takes to make the frosting thick enough to frost a cookie) 

Mix crisco and sugar together until creamed. Add egg and mashed carrots. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and extracts. Drop onto cookie sheet in medium sized spoonfuls. Bake at 350 degrees
12-15 minutes.  Frost the cookies with frosting when cooled.  

Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad Cups

There were a lot more of these, but there were only two left that I could take pictures of. These are so cute! They are a little smaller than a muffin in real life. I'm excited about this new recipe!

These were so amazing and a definite keeper. They are so cute and easy to eat. They are packed with wonderful flavor and it is defiantly an added bonus that they are healthy! There is no guilt about eating these. I was thinking that this would be the perfect appetizer to serve at wedding receptions or any type of shower. I actually got this recipe from watching the Today show a few weeks ago and they have constantly been on my mind to make. It's a recipe from Candice Kumai who was on Top Chef. You should try them, you will love it!

(With the red cabbage, it was really expensive at the grocery store I went to, so I just bought a salad mix bag and picked out the red cabbage from that and it was the perfect amount for how much I was making, and it was a lot cheaper that way.)

Chinese Chicken Salad Cups

Servings: 48 cups (I fourthed this recipe and it was the perfect amount for Adam and I for two meals eating it as our side.)

For dressing

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil (I used regular sesame seed oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

For salad

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

48 wonton wrappers

Dark sesame oil (I just used sesame seed oil)

1 1/2 cups chopped Napa cabbage

1 1/2 cups finely chopped red cabbage

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup Asian almonds (optional)

To make the dressing: Place the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan often, until they're fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer the sesame seeds to a medium bowl. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and ginger and whisk to combine. Add the peanut butter and whisk until completely smooth. Set aside.

To make the salad: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat a ridged cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and grill until both sides have grill marks and the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside until cool.

Press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup of a 24-cup nonstick mini muffin pan (the ends will peek up above the cups). Brush with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before gently lifting the wonton cups out of the pan. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Chop the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl and add the cabbages, carrot, scallions and cilantro. Toss with three-fourths of the dressing. Fill each wonton cup with 1 heaping tablespoon of salad and top with the Asian almonds and extra cilantro. Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.

Note: When you make salad, be light with the dressing. Save a little to serve on the side — this keeps things light and lets your friends do up their salads with as much or as little dressing as they like. The salad and wonton cups can be made a few hours ahead of time, just hold back on filling the wonton cups until right before serving so they stay nice and crisp.

Award Winning White Chicken Chili

The 24 other chilis that we were up against. Ours is in the red crock pot.

 Adam holding our prize!
The Most Original Chili

Adam and I got this recipe originally from my sister Amber. (Thanks Amber for sharing!!) It's been one of our favorites and Adam expands on it each time we make it. Our ward was having a talent show/chili cook off last night and there were 24 people who brought their chili. Adam and I brought this White Chicken Chili and there were about 3 other people who brought white chili as well. There were five awards that they were giving out: the spiciest, the most appealing looking, the chunkiest, the most original, and the best overall. We were awarded the most original, and all the five that they picked had to taste really good too for them to be awarded the prizes. Each chili was given a number so that it could be anonymous and we heard several people comment on how good our white chili was. We even heard the judges talk about it, so this is seriously a keeper recipe!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used one chicken breast and it was plenty)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
6 to 8 small garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans,undrained
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup sour cream, plus additional for topping
2 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped tomatoes


Our additions:
1-2 Potatoes cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2-3 big carrots chopped
Extra cayenne pepper
Corn
1/2 package of Bacon
We used Rotisserie Chicken rather than Chicken breasts... yum!
Just make sure these are all cooked and added to the pot!

1. Cook the chicken by the desired method. Cool and tear into pieces.
Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic,
and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add
the chicken, chiles, beans, broth, chicken bouillon, cumin, oregano, and
cayenne. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this point
and refrigerated or frozen for serving later.

3. Add the 1 cup sour cream and cheese, and continue cooking until the
cheese is melted. Keep warm until serving.

4. Serve in bowls and pass cilantro, tomatoes, and additional sour cream.
-thefoodnanny.com

THANKS AMBER FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPE!!

Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pie

I made this a few weeks ago and I did mess it up a little, but it still turned out really good. I'm sure more expert cookers and bakers would do it correctly. Adam had this exact recipe on his mission and the woman who made it gave him the cookbook that it was in because he liked it so much.

Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons ice water
2/3 cup cold butter

Filling:
1 cup sliced carrots (3 carrots)
1 cup sliced celery (1 stalk)
2 cups frozen peas
1 cup chopped white onion
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 egg, beaten

I also put in corn

1. Prepare the crust by sifting together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Make a depression in the center of the flour with your hand.
2. Put the yolks and ice water into the depression. Slice the butter into tablespoon-size portions and add it into the flour depression as well.
3. Using a fork, cut the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. When all of the flour is moistened, use your hands to finish combining the ingredients. This will ensure that the chunks of butter are well blended into the dough. Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. This will make the dough easier to work with.
4. When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and start on the filling by steaming the vegetables. Steam the carrots and celery for 5 minutes in a steamer or a saucepan with a small amount of water in the bottom. Add the frozen peas and onions (and corn) and continue to steam for an additional 10 to 12 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
5. Prepare the chicken by poaching the breasts in lightly salted boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.
6. In a separate large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, remove from the heat, then add the flour and whisk together until smooth. Add the chicken broth and milk and continue stirring over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook for an additional minute or so until thick, then reduce the heat to low.
7. Cut the poached chicken into large, bite-size chuncks and add them to the sauce. Add the salt and a dash of pepper.
8. Add the steamed vegetables to the sauce and simmer the mixture over medium/low heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
9. As the filling simmers, roll out the dough on a floured surface. Use one of the cassorole dishes you plan to bake the pies in as a guide for cutting the dough. The filling will fit four 16 ounce casserole dishes perfectly, but you can use just about any size single-serving dish (you can even use just one larger dish to fit it all) or oven-safe bowls for this recipe. Invert one of the dishes onto the dough and use a knife to cut around the rim. Make the cut about half-inch larger all of the way around to give the dough a small "lip", which you will fold over when you cover the pie. Make four of these.
10. Spoon the chicken and vegetable filling into each casserole dish and carefully cover each dish with the cut dough. Fold the edge of the dough over the edge of each dish and press firmly so that the dough sticks to the outer rim. Brush some beaten egg on the dough on each pie.
11. Bake the pies on a cookie sheet for 30 to 45 minutes or until the top crust is light brown.

I got this recipe from Top Secret Restuarant Recipes.