Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

Oriental Dressing

• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Chicken

• 1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 egg
• 2 T milk
• 1 ¼ cup Corn flakes, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Salad

• 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup red cabbage (optional)
• 1 cup napa cabbage
• 1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Blend together all ingredients for dressing in a small bowl. Put dressing in refrigerator to chill while you prepare the salad.

3. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut into 4 or 5 strips. Mix together eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, mix corn flake crumbs, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken into egg mixture then into the crumb mixture coating each piece evenly. Place onto a foil-covered baking pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake, uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Prepare salad by tossing the chopped romaine with the chopped red cabbage, Napa cabbage, and carrots. Sprinkle sliced green onion on top of the lettuce.

5. Just before serving, sprinkle almonds over the salad, then the chow mein noodles.

6. Once cooked and slightly cooled, cut the chicken into small bite-size chunks. Place the chicken onto the salad forming a pile in the middle. Serve with salad dressing drizzled over it or on the side.

Honey Orange Teriyaki Chicken

We love the Mr. Yoshida's marinade. It makes a great chicken/turkey marinade, wonderful stir-fry...yes. We like it. I have usually purchased it from Costco, so I'm not sure where else carries it for sure...but this is a very simple and easy dinner. My boys had seconds and thirds. A two-year old having thirds is definitely considered success at our house! I served with plain rice, and some steamed veggies. Enjoy!

Honey Orange Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Cup Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sauce
1 Cup Orange Juice-premium, Not from concentrate (or juice from about 3 oranges)
3 tbs orange zest (optional....but do add it!)
6 Tbs. Honey
1 1/2 lbs chicken-breast, sliced or chicken tenders
1 tbs olive oil
Optional: 1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:
1. In bowl, mix orange jujice, Yoshida sauce, honey, and 3 tbs zest (optional). Reserve 1 cup.
2. Marinate chicken for 10 minutes. Drain chicken; discard marinade.
3. Lightly brush grill pan with olive oil. Heat to medium.
4. Cook chicken, turning once halfway through cooking time (4-6 minutes) and bursh with 1 cup reserved sauce. Cook for 4-6, until thoroughly cooked. Use remaining sauce at table as a dipping sauce or salad dressing.
5. Optional: top with toasted almonds.


Yum. Seriously. You have to make this. :)

Amazing Thanksgiving Turkey Rub

Last year for Thanksgiving I couldn't find a rub that was what I was looking for, so I took a few different recipes and came up with my own. It is SO good! It always makes me feel good when my husband takes a bite of food and says, Oh yum! That's so good! He even made the comment for the first 3 or 4 bites of turkey! Yum! I used it again for our Thanksgiving Turkey this year. I wanted to brine my turkey using THIS recipe, but unfortunately, my grandpa unexpectedly passed away, so I found myself traveling for the 3 days before Thanksgiving. I got home Wednesday afternoon in time enough for a little bit of prep, then my hubby and I went to see Wicked!! Anyway, the bottom line is, this rub is so delicious, and it is so easy!! We will be making a turkey again for Christmas (I got a free one from my work!).

Mindy's Thanksgiving Turkey and Rub (I had a 18 lb turkey, so I doubled the rub)
Ingredients for the rub:
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbs brown sugar
5 slices bacon (I use turkey bacon), cooked and crumbled
1 tbs Worcestershire

Other ingredients:
Turkey (whole, or turkey breast)
Carrots
Onion, sliced
Celery, diced
Worcestershire sauce, a few dashes
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour (for your oven bag)
Oven/Turkey bag
1 cup water or chicken broth

1. Mix ingredients for the rub in a small bowl. I add the Worcestershire last. Use your hand to loosen the skin from the turkey (NOT frozen, I thaw in fridge for a few days before). Make sure that you don't remove the skin...you are just going to (literally) rub your rub between the turkey and the skin. Cover with plastic and return to the fridge for 4-24 hours (this is a rough estimate. If you don't have time, it's OKAY to rub the turkey and immediately cook it!)

 2. Put flour into oven bag and shake around (this ensures that the bag doesn't burst). Place whole baby carrots, sliced onion, and diced celery in the bottom of the bag, and set into your roasting pan

3.Take your turkey and place on top of the veggies in the bag. Cut your 2 tbs of butter into several smaller pieces and press them onto the top of the turkey (on top of the skin). Sprinkle with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Pour you water into the bottom of the bag. You can also sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper as desired.

4. Tie your bag with the included ties. Cut a 6 2" slits into your bag (that's the directions that the oven bags I bought gave) to release steam. Place pan in the oven and cook according to the directions on your turkey (it depends on how large it is. I generally reduce the head by 25 degrees, and cook for an extra 30 minutes).
5. When finished, remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. Make the most AMAZING gravy. YUM!

**You can also cook a turkey in the crockpot...just cover tightly with foil instead of using the lid!!! Prepare with rub as above. Place a crockpot liner in your crockpot. Put veggies and water in the bottom. Put turkey in and cover tightly with foil. I usually stick my meat thermometer right through the foil so I don't have to lift the foil and release heat. If your turkey has a pop-up timer, just note where it is at so you can notice it when it pops!

(I realize that the final-product picture isn't the BEST picture, but it's the best one I have, sorry!). Trust me, this tastes amazing, and makes phenomenal gravy!

The. Best. Lemon. Meringue. Pie.

This recipe is seriously DELICIOUS!!! Best lemon meringue pie ever!!! You can find the recipe here.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked (homemade, frozen, refrigerated...whatever you prefer)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, salt, and 1 1/2 cups water in a heavy saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water to make a smooth paste. Gradually whisk into boiling sugar mixture. Boil mixture until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks and lemon juice. Gradually whisk egg yolk mixture into hot sugar mixture. Return pan to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in grated lemon rind and butter or margarine. Place mixture in refrigerator and cool until just lukewarm.
4. In a large glass or metal bowl, combine egg whites and salt. Whip until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar while continuing to whip. Beat until whites form stiff peaks. Stir about 3/4 cup of meringue into lukewarm filling. Spoon filling into baked pastry shell. Cover pie with remaining meringue.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until meringue is slightly brown. Cool on a rack at for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Moist Banana Bread

I have been in search of a good banana bread recipe for awhile, I like mine moist, NOT dry! Anyways, I found a recipe on allrecipes and I changed it up quite a bit, but the bread turned out SOOO yummy. I went to get my camera and it was already 1/4 gone!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter (softened to room temp)

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I substituted half with whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup of ripened, mashed bananas

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (opt)

1/2 chocolate chip cookies (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl combine the softened butter with the sugar. Mix until creamed well, then add the eggs and the vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir until mixed evenly.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredient bowl to the butter/sugar mixture, hand mix with a spatula or wooden spoon.

5. When mixed well add the sour cream and mashed bananas, then add the walnuts and chocolate chips. Pour into the greased pan.

6. Place on center rack of preheated oven. Let bake for about 1 h 15 m. Check to see if it is done by place a knife in the middle and pulling it out, if it comes out clean then it is done.

7. Once done, place on a cooling rack while still in the pan and let rest for 10 minutes. When the ten minutes is up let cool completely.

Mine did NOT have a chance to cool completely before the piranhas were on it. I hope you all like it! Next time I think I will try to substitute half the butter for apple sauce, I will let you all know how it turns out!