Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Earlier this summer my mom visited me in Bismarck for a whole week!  She had a class that she needed to take for her teaching degree.  How wonderful it is to cook with mom in her kitchen…but in my kitchen?!  Well it’s a little tight for space, but I was very happy to have company.

We made shrimp with sweet-and-sour sauce.  Mom said she liked it alot and would have to make it from the following recipe again.

Ingrediants:

• 1/2 C. packed brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons conrstarch
• 1/2 C. chicken broth
• 1/3 C. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 C. finely chopped green or red sweet pepper
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspons grated gingerroot
• 1 clove garlic, minced

In a small saucepan combine brown sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in chicken broth, vinegar, sweet pepper, corn syrup, soy sauce, gingerroot and garlic.  Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.  Serve warm.  Makes about 1 1/3 cups of sauce.

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Ginger-Peanut Chicken Salad Wraps

Ginger-Peanut Chicken Salad Wraps

Ever get bored and need a lil distraction at work?  Certainly!  At times I get frusterated with dealers, suppliers, and other employees…how do I relieve the tension?  You  Tube: animals falling asleep or panda sneezing.  The possibilities are endless.  Also, while eating lunch, I usually look at what to make for supper. 

The wraps are great.  I like the lime and ginger; I zapped it in the mic for 15 seconds, the heat helped the flavors meld.    I didn’t use cucumbers.   TIP:  Ginger stays wells in the freezer.

You can use left over chicken breasts for an even faster meal.  And you can substitute slices of breast meat from prepackaged rotisserie chicken, which makes the preparation easier, but the dish will be a little higher in fat and sodium.

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 wrap)

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 6  (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
• 1  cup  chopped seeded peeled cucumber
• 3/4  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1  tablespoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3  tablespoons  fresh lime juice
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1  garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4  cup  creamy peanut butter
• 2  tablespoons  water
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 8  (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• 4  cups  chopped romaine lettuce

Preparation

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the chicken from pan; cool. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place chicken, cucumber, and bell pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

Place sugar and the next 6 ingredients (sugar through garlic) in a blender, and process until smooth. Add peanut butter and water; process until smooth, scraping sides. Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture; stir well. Add cilantro, and toss well. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; top each serving with 1/2 cup lettuce, and roll up.

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Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies

 

After a short day of skiing, I decided I needed a sweet treat to help recover.  Luckily I had just the fix in my new Martha Stewart Cookie book with the chew chocolate ginger cookies.   I was in a time crunch, but the cookies had to be chilled, so it worked out perfectly.  The chewy chocolate ginger cookies didn’t turn out like the photo but their taste is extra extordinary.  They were very easy and quick to mix up, but the cookies offer a wonderful complex flavor.

Makes 2 dozen

• 7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate (I used 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate)
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Ginger-Orange Honey Mustard Glaze

Ginger Orange Honey Mustard Glaze on Salmon

This is my absolutely favorite way to eat salmon, and I have had alot of good salmon.  The flavors are perfect for salmon: sweet and tangy.  Even if you don’t like salmon, I encourage you to give this a try.  Grilling salmon can get tough so you might want to use high temperature cooking spray or use aluminum foil.

• 1/4 C Fresh Orange Juice
• 1/4 C Lite Soy Sauce
• 1/4 C Dry Sherry
• 1/4 C Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 t Ground Ginger, or 2 Tbsp Grated Peeled Fresh Ginger (I have used crystalize ginger too)
• 2 T Honey
• 4 (6 oz.) Salmon Fillets

Combine first 6 ingre

dients in a large zip-lock bag. Add salmon to bag; seal and marinade in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove salmon from bag, reserving marinade.
Prepare grill or broiler. Place salmon on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Cook 6 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting frequently with reserved marinade.
Place remaining marinade in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Serve with salmon (and I like using the remaining marinade on white rice.)

Number of Servings: 4-8

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