Do you have a bunch of oatmeal sitting around? There’s no better way to make good use of it than with Oatmeal Cookies! These crispy, chewy and slightly crunchy cookies are sure to impress almost anyone. Unlike some other recipes, this recipe uses real oats, not quick oats or any other special variety. The original recipe calls for raisins but I used chocolate chips instead. Use whichever you want, I have nothing against raisins but chocolate chips are better! If you want you can also add chopped nuts into the recipe. These cookies are very easy to make and you will be eating them in no time. If you are looking for a great cookie recipe, give these a try! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups oats
1 ½ cups chocolate chips or raisins

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Set aside.
Step 2: Beat together on low speed, butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Increase the beating speed and beat together until fluffy.
Step 3: Stir in the flour mixture into the butter mixture until no flour is visible. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

Step 4: Fill a cookie scoop or a tablespoon with dough. Drop one by one onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes until golden but still moist inside. Remove from the oven and fully cool.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe, baking

A Chinese-American dish that is growing in popularity is Cashew Chicken. This dish actually originated in the United States in Springfield, Missouri. Cashew Chicken can be found at many Chinese buffets across the country. This recipe for Cashew chicken consists of fried chicken bits with cashews and vegetables in a delicious oyster sauce. I have been using a lot of oyster sauce lately; it is truly becoming an addiction. It has to be one of my favorites Asian sauces. This recipe differs from others and those at the buffets because the chicken is breaded and then deep fried leaving the chicken pieces nice and crispy. The vegetables I added were green peppers, onions and scallions, but you could also add some sliced mushrooms as well if you want. Cashew Chicken is best served on top of white rice. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)
2 cups flour
5 teaspoons cornstarch (divided)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 eggs (beaten)
oil (for frying)
Sauce-
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
1 large green pepper (sliced)
1 large onion  (sliced)
2 cups cashews
1/3 cup green onions (chopped)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a bowl mix flour, baking soda and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. In another bowl beat the eggs. Dip chicken pieces first then the flour mixture, then in the egg mixture and then again in the flour mixture.
Step 2: Fry in oil in a wok or in a deep fryer at 350 degrees in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Step 3: Heat a tiny bit of oil in the wok and stir fry green pepper and onions for 2-3 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside.

Step 4: To make the sauce- in a bowl mix chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and 4 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Step 5: Pour sauce into wok and cook over medium heat stirring until well blended and sauce thickens. In a bowl pour sauce over chicken pieces, add green peppers and onions. Mix well and garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve with white rice.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe

Forget about the box mixes, be adventurous and make homemade buttermilk pancakes! There are literally tons of different ways to make pancakes but you can’t go wrong with the classic buttermilk. Buttermilk pancakes are some of the lightest and fluffiest pancakes you will ever eat and they are so delicious. If you have never cooked pancakes before don’t let the process intimidate you, making pancakes are very easy and in no time at all you will be a pro at it. You want the pancakes to cook rather slowly so they don’t burn (black pancakes don’t taste very good J) and so they are cooked all the way through without burning the outside. The process is simple, basically mix the batter, pour and flip. If you’re look for a fast and delicious breakfast this recipe is for you, and after all, what would breakfast be without pancakes?

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until smooth and let batter set for a few minutes.
Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with oil or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, if  or when the drops start to dance its hot enough.  
Step 3: Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe

One of my favorite things to order at a restaurant is a basket of breaded shrimp. I love seafood and when prepared correctly it has great flavor. Unfortunately, most frozen breaded shrimp from the store tends to be very disappointing. That’s where this recipe comes into play; here I have for you a simple and easy way to make perfectly crispy breaded shrimp at home. If you want you can butterfly the shrimp. I would recommend using larger shrimp as they are easier to work with but I actually used medium shrimp for this article. The method is very simple – the shrimp are first dipped in a light batter, and then rolled in a bread crumb mixture, repeated one time and then deep fried. That’s it; it’s as easy as that. For the bread crumb mixture I added seasonings such as garlic and onion powder. Many other seasonings would go great with this as well so feel free to add anything you like. Serve your favor shrimp dipping sauce and fries. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb large shrimp (peel and deveined,  and butterflied if you choose)
4 cups water
1 ½ cups corn starch
2 eggs
2 cups breadcrumbs
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon onion powder
Oil (for deep frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl mix water, cornstarch and eggs. On a plate or using a shaker bag mix breadcrumbs, onion and garlic powder.
Step 2: Dip the shrimp into the cornstarch mixture until completely coated and then roll them in the bread crumb mixture. Stir the cornstarch batter, and then dip the shrimp back into the mixture and roll in breadcrumbs once more.
Step 3: Deep fry shrimp in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

One of my favorite Chinese appetizers is egg rolls. Egg rolls are very popular in the United States, they can be found at stores, buffets, take-out places, and at many other locations. They mainly consist of a variety of vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts. In this recipe I decided to use shrimp but you could also use chicken or pork depending on whatever you prefer. Adding soy sauce and garlic powder to the cabbage mixture give s it a great flavor. Wrapping egg rolls is very easy and I tried to explain it in the best way possible.  Egg rolls are very easy to make and are a great appetizer to make for parties or other social events. Eggs rolls go great with sweet and sour sauce for dipping. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
6 cups shredded cabbage and carrot mix
½ cup fresh bean sprouts
1 celery stalk (diced)
2 tablespoons green onion (minced)
1 4 (oz) can shrimp (drained)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
black pepper (to taste)
1 egg (beaten)
cornstarch
20 egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl combine cabbage and carrot mix, bean sprouts, celery and green onion. Stir in shrimp, soy sauce, garlic powder and black pepper.
Step 2: Heat a skillet to medium high and fry and pour beaten egg into it and fry like a pan cake on one side and then flip. Chop egg up finely. Stir the egg into the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle the top of the cabbage mixture with cornstarch and mix well.

Step 3: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Lay out an egg roll wrapper. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the corner of the wrapper, but not so the filling is actually touching the corner. Fold over that corner and roll about half of the way up. Fold over the left and right corners to the middle. Using a brush or the bottom of a spoon, brush the cornstarch/water mixture on the edges of the wrapper. Finish rolling up tightly and secure to make sure there are no leaks. Repeat until all the egg roll wraps are used.
Step 4: Deep fry egg rolls in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Could there be a better type of bread than banana bread? I have been eating banana bread for as long as I can remember and I can’t remember a single recipe that I didn’t enjoy. Banana bread is very easy to make and it’s also extremely moist and flavorful. It’s also a good way to make use of bananas that you have had sitting around for awhile that are no longer good to eat. For this recipe you want to use bananas that are blackened, the riper the bananas the more flavor the bread will have. Adding pecans or other nuts is a great addition as well as mini chocolate chips if you like. No mixer is required for this recipe because the mixing will be done with your hands. Mixing with your hands seems to give the bread better mixture but you can also mix with a mixer or even better gently with a plastic spoon. This recipe will make 1-2 loafs. If you want a bigger loaf just make 1 or make 2 for a couple smaller loafs. The baking time will differ depending on how moist you like your bread. If you want your banana bread to be moist don’t bake it until a toothpick comes out clean but just until it comes out almost clean.

Ingredients:
¾ cup butter (softened)
1 ½ cups sugar
3 bananas (blackened)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1  teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup nuts (chopped)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees,  and In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Mash bananas by hand and add to mixture. Add in eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, flour and salt. Stir in buttermilk and chopped nuts.

Step 2: Pour mixture into 1 or 2 greased loaf pans.
Step 3: Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean or almost clean).

I have wanted to try this recipe for Mandarin Chicken all summer, and I wanted to give my new grill pan a test drive so I decided to make it tonight. Let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed with the results, it was a big hit around here. The combination of seasoned grilled chicken and a delicious sweet mandarin sauce really made this dish a winner. Grilling the chicken was really a big change because normally with Asian recipes I am either frying the chicken in the wok or deep fryer.  I used a grill pan, but by all means if you have a nice outdoor grill feel free to fire it up. This recipe is very easy to make and takes little time. Grilling the chicken and making the sauce are about all that there is to it. Unfortunately, there is a lot of sugar in this recipe and if necessary, cut back on the amount of sugar a little bit. Mandarin chicken goes great served with white rice. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
vegetable oil or cooking spray
½ tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
Mandarin Sauce-
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
¼ cup water
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pound chicken breasts with a mallet to an even thickness and season both sides with sugar, salt, and garlic powder. Grill chicken 4-6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink inside. Remove from grill and cut into bit sized strips. Set aside.

Step 2: In a bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic and ginger. Pour into a wok or sauce pan. Heat the mixture until almost at a boil. Combine cornstarch and water. Once the sauce starts to boil add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened.
Step 3: Add grilled chicken to the wok and coat with the sauce. Simmer until heated thoroughly.

Here’s a great breakfast idea for anyone looking for something different – Egg Foo Yung. Egg foo yung is a dish found in Chinese American cuisine. Many of you have probably tried it at the Chinese buffets in the United States. It is basically an omelet or pancake with vegetables mixed into it. Feel free to add in or replace whatever vegetables you like or dislike. If you don’t like ham, shrimp or chicken would go great as well. There are a couple ways to cook this – the first way is to cook it on the bottom and then fold it over like an omelet. The second way is to cook it like a pancake. I used the omelet method myself because I wanted it to a little thicker. What I found great about this recipe is the foo yung sauce, it’s absolutely delicious! The foo yung sauce is just a simple combination of chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Let me know how it turns out. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
¼ cup green onion (minced)
¼ cup bamboo shoots (minced)
4 water chestnuts (minced)
¼ cup slivered ham
1 teaspoon soy sauce
oil (for cooking)
Foo Yung Sauce-
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a bowl mix together eggs, vegetables,  ham and soy sauce.
Step 2: Heat a skillet with a little bit of oil or cooking spray and add 1/3 cup of the egg mixture. Cook either as you would a pancake, once lightly browned on one side flip and brown the other, or fold as you would an omelet. Repeat until the egg mixture is gone.

Step 3: To make foo yung sauce – Add chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar to a sauce pan. Bring sauce to a boil. Meanwhile combine cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl. When the sauce starts boiling, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring until sauce is thickening and bubbling.