ORANGE CHICKEN

from: https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/orange-chicken/#recipe

Chicken Coating and Chicken
3/4 cup plain (all purpose) flour
1 medium egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon cold water
pinch of salt and pepper
8 chicken thigh fillets (skinless and boneless) - chopped into bite-size chunks
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup vegetable oil - for frying

Orange Sauce 

Juice of 2 large oranges
Zest of half an orange
6 tablespoon caster sugar - or superfine sugar
5 tablespoon soy sauce - (I use dark soy sauce, but you can use half dark and half light soy sauce for a lighter colored sauce). You can use low sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 3 tablespoon cold water to form a slurry - (optional)

To Serve:

boiled rice
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Start by making the batter for the chicken. In a large bowl, add the plain (all purpose) flour, egg, garlic salt, salt, pepper and water and mix together using a whisk until smooth.
Place the chopped chicken thighs in a separate bowl and sprinkle on the cornflour (cornstarch). Toss together so the chicken is coated in the cornflour.
Add the chicken to the batter, and mix together so the chicken is coated in the batter.
Add the oil to a wok or large frying pan (skillet) and heat over a medium-high heat until hot.
While the oil is heating, make the orange sauce. In a medium bowl, mix together the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. Put to one side.

When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the oil. I find it's best to work in two or even three batches for the crispiest chicken. Add the chicken in a piece at a time, and cook for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs, until golden brown and cooked throughout (*note 1).
Once cooked, place the chicken in a bowl lined with kitchen paper while you cook the second batch. You can add a little more oil in if needed, to ensure the chicken is surrounded by oil, but be sure to keep the temperature up so the oil is bubbling and hot.
Carefully disposed of any leftover oil from the wok and turn down the heat to medium. Add the orange sauce to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
If you want to thicken further, then slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water) whilst stirring (*note 2).
Add the chicken back to the wok and carefully toss together until the chicken is coated in the sauce. I find the best way to do this is to slide a spatula underneath the chicken, lift it up and turn it over - do this repeatedly until all the chicken is coated.
Serve the chicken over boiled rice, topped with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

RED SAUCE - PASTA BAR

from: ResNexus Academy

Cook Time 75 mins, Feeds 10

1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed

1 pound ground beef

1 chopped small onion

3 crushed cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 (12 ounce) can of Hunt's tomato paste

2 (28 ounces) can Hunt's diced tomatoes (one can is petite diced and one can is regular diced), or you can use fresh tomatoes

2 (15 ounce) cans Hunt's tomato sauce

2 cups of water

3 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup red wine

salt and pepper to taste

Brown beef and Italian sausage, breaking it up as you stir it. You may want to heat up a little olive oil (about 2 minutes) before adding the meat. Add chopped onions to the meat mixture and continue cooking. Stir occasionally until onions are softened. Add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato sauce. Mix in the spices, sugar and garlic. Bring your sauce to a boil, then add your wine and water. Simmer on low, stirring often, for an hour. 

ALFREDO

from: ResNexus Academy

Cook time 75 mins, Feeds 10

1 pt heavy cream

1/2 cup butter

2 tbsp cream cheese

1/2-3/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

1 tsp garlic powder

salt

pepper

pasta water (if needed)

In a saucepan combine butter, heavy cream and cream cheese. Simmer until melted and mixed well, stirring the whole time. Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on low stirring often. Add salt and pepper. Save some of the pasta water to add at the end to thin the sauce as needed. 

OREO TRUFFLES

1 block cream cheese softened
30 oreos, any flavor you want to have
1 bag chocolate chips

Crush oreos (in a gallon ziplock)

Mix cream cheese and crushed oreos

Scoop oreo mixture into tablespoonfuls. Refrigerate scoops 20+ minutes. 

Melt chocolate chips, in a double boiler or other method.

Roll oreo balls in chocolate and let set in the fridge

Drizzle melted chocolate over top, for a more decorative look (optional).

POTATO ROLLS - OH SWEET BASIL

from: https://ohsweetbasil.com/potato-rolls-recipe/

Prep Time: 2 hours    Cook Time: 15 minutes    Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 32

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Sticks Land O'Lakes Unsalted Butter 3/4 Cup

3 Cups Scalded Milk* instructions below

1 Cup Potato Flakes

1 Tablespoon Salt

4 Eggs

1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast or 2 Tablespoons Regular Yeast. We use instant.

7 Cups Flour

*1/3 cup additional butter softened

Instructions

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat and add the milk.

Cook until the edges begin to foam and froth, but do not allow it to boil. There will be a little layer of the milk "skin" on top.

Remove from heat and add the sugar, butter, potato flakes and salt.

Stir thoroughly and allow to cool to luke warm.

Add the yeast, stir and then add the eggs, stirring until they are mixed in.

Place the flour in a large bowl.

Pour the milk mixture in and stir until the dough has come together, but is still soft. Sometimes we only use like 6- 6 1/2 cups of flour. This is not like a bread dough. It is a slightly sticky dough.

Cover the bowl with a towel or saran wrap.

Let dough rise for one hour.

Push down and divide dough into 2 parts. Roll out one portion at a time to 1/2" thick and butter 1/2 of dough with a few pats of butter. Fold the unbuttered dough over the buttered dough and press to seal. Cut into 1" wide strips. Pick up one strip at a time and tie into knots. Or divide into 4 and roll each piece in a circle, butter 2/4 circles and place the unbuttered on top of each one, creating two different buttered, sealed circles. Press down gently and cut into wedges. Starting at the fat end, tightly roll into crescent rolls. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and cover with a towel. Let rise for 1-2 hours more or until doubled in size. Bake at 350 until golden brown, (14-20 min)

Notes

Butter can be replaced by butter flavored shortening if you're ever in a pinch. Scalding milk does not have to be scary. Just heat on med-low heat, watch for the foamy bubbles around the sides of the pan and use a wooden spoon to occasionally touch the top of the milk to see if a slight skin has formed. Bread making just takes practice. You may be unsure of yourself the first time or two, but this is one of those things that the more you do it the better you get. The dough will look shaggy. Don't worry. Just place the towel over the bowl and let it rise anyway. These can be made a day ahead, let the dough rest in the fridge, bring it back to room temp, roll it out and proceed as normal.

Rolls will keep for up to 7 days in an airtight bag.

BUTTERMILK SYRUP

from: Terese Mayfield

1 cup buttermilk 

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter 

1 tbsp Vanilla or Almond extract 

1/2 tbsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon - optional (more or less depending on how you like it. I also add nutmeg and cloves sometimes. It makes it taste like Christmas.) 

In a small pan on medium heat bring the butter, sugar, and buttermilk to a boil. Boil on medium low heat for 2 minutes (longer if you want it to be more caramel-y). Take off the heat and add the extract and the spices you want. Right before serving add the baking soda. Make sure that the bowl or pan you use is big enough because the baking soda will make the syrup foam up to about 3 times the size of the syrup. 

CHILI SAUCE

from: Grandma Stewart

12 quarts tomatoes, peeled and ground (1 heaping half bushel)

6 really large onions ground

4 green peppers ground

1 1/2 ounce whole unmixed pickling spice in a bag

Boil for about 1 1/2 hours and then remove the spice bag. 

Add in: 

1 quart vinegar

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup salt

Boil for 3 or 4 hours or until thick.

Makes about 15 pints. 

Scoop into pint jars, make sure the rims of jars are wiped clean, place lids on and hand tighten rings onto jars. Let cool.