Sweet and Spicy Noodles

2-3 chicken breasts cut into chunks and cooked

1 lb noodles, fully cooked and drained (any kind you prefer, I used thin spaghetti)

In a small sauce pan brown 4 tsp minced garlic in some olive oil then add:

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. white vinegar

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. sesame seeds

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes

Toss the chicken, noodles, and sauce together in a large fry pan or wok on medium heat. Let it all simmer together for about five minutes so the noodles absorb some of the sauce. Serve hot.

I have made this twice now, it's so yummy, and my kids like it, that's how I know it's a hit.

I made mine with shrimp, and that was good too...although not many of you like shrimp :)

Also, I didn't put as much red pepper flakes in because I didn't think my kids would like it.

Enjoy

"Healthier" Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

I got this recipe off of Picky-palate.com.  It was soooo yummy!  Also, it wasn't healthier for me because I ate 4 or 5 of them.  YUMMY!!!

“Healthier” Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

4 Tablespoons softened butter
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 Cup plain low-fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 Cup sugar
heaping 1/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 Cup coarse sugar (I used Turbinado sugar)
1/2 Cup shredded sweetened coconut
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place butter, eggs, bananas, yogurt, sugar and peanut butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine. Place all dry ingredients into a separate large bowl and stir to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips until just combined. Scoop into muffin tins lined with paper cups 2/3 way full. Sprinkle with coarse sugar and shredded coconut. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.
12 muffins

Check out what's cookin!!

Man this recipe takes forever... it won't be done until Sept 11, 2010 :):)

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
7oz Pasta (I used rotini, but it calls for macaroni.)
1/4 C butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 C milk
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 C cheddar cheese
1 C dry bread crumbs (I used crushed ritz crackers.)
2 Tbsp butter melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook pasta. Drain.
Over med heat: melt 1/4 C butter, and stir in flour. Cook 1 min until smooth and bubbly.
Mix in milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard. Cook until thickend.
Add pasta and cheese.
Pour into caserole dish.
Mix bread crumbs and melted butter and spread over.
Bake 15-20 min.

*The last time I cooked this I added a little chicken bullion to add a little flavor.. It was good both ways:)

Toffee

Ingredients

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup butter or margarine
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips {I always use more!}
* 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Heat sugar, butter and water to boiling in heavy 2-quart saucepan, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium. Cook about 13 minutes, stirring constantly, to 290°F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water separates into hard, brittle threads. Watch carefully so mixture does not burn.
When you're getting close to 290 degrees, the color of the toffee starts to darken. I always debate as to whether or not I should wait until 290 degrees, but I do and it turns out beautifully! Watch out though- the heat increases pretty fast, so have your pan and everything else ready to go.

Immediately pour toffee onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. If necessary, quickly spread mixture to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand about 1 minute or until chips are completely softened. Spread softened chocolate evenly over toffee. Sprinkle with almonds.
Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour, or refrigerate if desired, until firm. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in airtight container. Enjoy!

Homemade Caramels

* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 cup corn syrup
* 1 cup evaporated milk
* 1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream
* 1 cup butter
* 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium size pot, combine everything except the vanilla. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring occasionally. When the thermometer reaches 250 degrees {also called soft ball stage}, remove pot from heat.

Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to a greased 12x15 pan and let the mixture cool completely. When cooled cut the caramel into small squares and wrap them in wax paper for storage.
A couple tips on making caramels:

* Line your pan with foil, then spray the foil. Taking the caramel block out of the pan is a breeze after it's cooled!
* Don't feel like you have to stir the mixture continuously. It's OK to let it boil for a few minutes in between periods of stirring.
* When cutting the caramels, err on the side of smaller pieces, especially if you have small children.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate Mix

6 Cups Nonfat Dry Milk
2-8oz. Jars French Vanilla Non-dairy Powdered Creamer
1 (16 oz.) Package Powdered Sugar (about 2 cups)
1 (15 oz.) Package Chocolate Mix for milk (such as Quick)
(about 3 cups)
1 Package Unsweetened Raspberry-flavored Drink Mix
(such as Kool-aid)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an air tight container.

To Serve:
Pour 6 oz. hot water in a heat proof mug and add 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa mix. Stir until well blended. Enjoy!

Recipe from Wooden Spoon