Orange Chicken Sauce

We like to make Chinese food and this one has been made many times at our house. Even the kids love this sauce.

Ingredients:

2-4 TB Cornstarch (depends on how thick you like your sauce)

1/2 C Water

1-1/2 C Sugar

1/2 C Ketchup

1/2 C White Vinegar

Dash of Soy Sauce

1 Orange (I use the zest from about half of this orange and then I use all the juice from it)

Red Pepper Flakes (to taste - I like to have just a slight zing to it)

Directions:

Mix together the cornstarch and water (make sure to use cold water or you will get clumps). Mix all of the rest of the ingredients together and cook in a saucepan. Once boiling, boil until thickened. It will also be slightly clear. I like to double this recipe and freeze the other half so that it makes an easy dinner down the road.

Brown Sugar Muffins

My kids love these muffins! There are a few modifications I have made to make them egg free. This is one recipe where I don't miss the eggs or milk if substituted!

1 c brown sugar
1/2 c crisco
1 egg (or 1/4 c applesauce ~ equivilant of 1 indidvidual cup)
1 tsp baking soda
1c milk (or water)
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour

Cream together brown sugar and crisco. Add egg, or applesauce. Add vanilla and 1c flour. Dissolve baking soda in milk or water. Add to creamed mixture. Add remaining cup of flour and mix well. Spoon into well greased muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 20min (if using applesauce cook about 25min). To see if they are done, slightly press down on top of muffin with finger. If it is firm to the touch, they are done. If it leaves an indent, allow to cook a few more minutes.
If making large muffins bake about 35min.
*This is good if using cinnamon applesauce too!*

Lion House Pie Dough

This post is for Tamina. She swears this is the best pie crust recipe ever. I have yet to try it, but I believe her!

1/4 c butter
1/3 c lard
1/4 c margarine
1/3 c shortening
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp nonfat dry milk
1& 1/2 c pastry flour
1& 1/2 c bread flour
1/2 c + 1 Tbsp cold water

Preheat oven to 375.

In a mixer, cream together butter, lard, margarine & shortening. In a seperate bowl, whisk together sugar, baking powder, salt, & dry milk powder; add to creamed butter mixture and mix briefly. Add pastry flour and mix slightly. Pour in water and beat again just until water is blended.
Divide dough into 2-3 balls. Roll out each ball on a floured board. Line pie pan with dough and cut off excess dough. Flute edges. For recipes that call for baked pie crusts, prick holes in the bottom with fork. Bake empty pie shell at 375 for 12-15min, or until golden brown. Otherwise, fill unbaked pie shell and bake according to recipe. Makes 2-3, 9" pie shells.

*You can substitute 3 c all-purpose flour for the pastry and bread flour called for in the recipe. You can also make this dough by hand by cutting the fats into the dry ingredients.*

Lion House French Bread

I absolutely LOVE this french bread recipe. It makes 4 loaves (I whole cookie sheet). My kids love them too and better yet, it is egg and milk free!

2c hot water
2 Tbsp shortening
2 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp salt
2 pkgs yeast (1 use 2 Tbsp)
1c lukewarm water
7-8c flour

Combine 2c hot water, sugar, shortening, and salt in a large bowl. Stir to melt the shortening and dissolve the sugar and salt. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in 1c lukewarm water. Add to cooled shortening/sugar mix.
Mix in 4c flour and beat til well blended. Add the remaining flour to make a relatively stiff dough. Knead until well mixed.
Cover and let rise til doubled, apx 1hr
Punch down and divided into 4 balls.
pat each ball into a rectangle shape and roll up like a jelly roll. Place on greased cookie sheet. Score the top with a sharp knife (to make it look cool!)
Spray the top with cooking spray and allow to rise til double, apx 1 hr.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25min. Brush the top with melted butter.

(Rising time can be decreased by heating the oven to 125 then turning off. Place a shallow metal pan of water on the bottom rack and place bread dough in oven. They are usually ready for me to cook after about 20-30min. Remember to take them out before preheating the oven to 400)

Italian Chicken

This is another easy recipe that can be prepared in 10 minutes! It is also one that can be cooked in the crock pot if desired.

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cube butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 envelope Good Seasonings Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1/4-1/2 c water
6-8oz cream cheese

Combine sauce ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. (soup,salad dressing mix, & cream cheese). Microwave until cream cheese is melted, stirring often. Combine butter and chicken ina medium saucepan. Stir until butter is melted. Pour sauce over chicken. Heat over medium heat until sauce is hot. Stir in water until desired consistency is achieved. Serve over pasta, or rice.

To cook in crock pot place the chicken (not cooked), 2 cans cream of chicken soup, italian mix, and water. Cover and cook for 4-6 hours. 1 hour before serving add the cream cheese. (I prefer to serve this one with rice.) The last hour you can also add broccoli pieces.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

This is a really easy version of stroganoff that the kids love. It makes a thick sauce which is great to serve with hearty noodles like penne.

To crock pot add:
1 & 1/2 -2 lbs stew beef (or roast, cut up)
1 can cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken soup
1 onion, chopped
1 c beef broth
salt and pepper
1-2 tsp garlic powder (to your taste)
1 can mushrooms (optional)

I stir all the ingredients together, cover and cook on low for 8-10hrs. One hour before serving, add 1 package of cream cheese (cut into chunks to allow to melt easier), or 1 cup sour cream. let cook for remaining hour. If you choose to cook it with cream of broccoli soup, then add fresh broccoli pieces the last hour of cooking also.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute

Once again, we were making some pumpkin donuts and found out that we needed some pumpkin pie spice and we have never ever used that in our cooking before. So after a brief search, we found the following spices that can be used instead:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (scant) 

And of course, mix and store in an airtight container.