Homemade Chinese Takeout

Makes 4 servings

1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 dried cayenne peppers, crumbled
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size piecess
1 bag frozen Aisan-style mixed vegetables
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup honey
Ginger
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Hot cooked brown rice

1. Heat the oils in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cayenne peppers and saute for 1 minute, until the garlic begins to brown.
2. Add the chicken and saute for 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until no longer pink on the inside.
3. Add the vegetables, hoisin, honey, and spices to taste. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender.
4. Serve hot over cooked rice.

Thai Coconut-Red Curry Soup

Makes 6 servings

2 cans coconut milk
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1-3 tsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lb cubed tofu
1 sweet potato, diced
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 can sliced water chestnut, drained
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp portobello mushrooms, sliced
6 green onions, sliced
1 lb cooked shrimp

1. Shake up the cans of coconut milk before opening them. Combine the coconut milk, broth, sugar, curry paste, fish sauce, and sesame oil in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the tofu, sweet potato, zucchini, and water chestnuts and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
2. About 5 minutes before serving, stir the lime juice, mushrooms, and green onions into the soup. add the shrimp just before serving. Serve hot.

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread

2 C. sifted unbleached flour
1 C. confectioner’s sugar
8 oz. unsalted butter
½ C. strained unsweetened cocoa powder
Fresh ground Espresso beans, medium not course or fine ground

1. Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 300˚. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or aluminum foil. , shiny side up.

2. Place the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft. Add the sugar and beat to mix. Then add the flour and cocoa and beat until the dough holds together and is smooth.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl, form it into a ball, and flatten it slightly. Place the dough on a floured surface and turn over to flour both sides. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it is ½” thick.

4. Use a plain round cookie cutter preferably 1 ½” in diameter. Place the cookies 1” apart on a cookie sheet.

5. Place a small cup of water next to you. Dip your fingertip in the water, and with your fingertip wet the tops of a few cookies.

6. Carefully sprinkle some of the ground espresso on the wet cookies (about ¼ tsp. per cookie), covering only about half of the top of each cookie. Then with a dry fingertip, press gently on the espresso to press it into the dough a bit.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Watch carefully. They burn and become bitter before you know it.
Yield: About 40 cookies

My Apple Pie Recipe

Pie Crust:
1 C. flour
½ t. salt
1/3 C. butter,lard, or shortening
2 T. water

• Put flour, salt, and butter in a tupperware container.

• Put lid on tightly and shake until crumbly.

• Add water and shake again until lump is formed.

• Roll out. Fold into quarters and transfer to the pie pan.



Filling:
5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced(I use Granny Smith apples and I slice them thin)
¾ C. sugar
2 Tbls. flour
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

• Mix flour, sugar, and spices together.



Crumb Topping:
1 ½ C. flour
1 C. brown sugar
½ C. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

• Mix together with pastry cutter until crumbly.

• Layer apples in prepared piecrust(if you do it right you can get more apples in the pie than if you just dump them in), sprinkling with sugar mixture as you go.

• Top with the crump topping(crumb topping is a lot easier to do than a regular topping. Yummier, too.)

• Bake at 425 F for 50 minutes.

• Cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes.