Ginger Chicken Egg Rolls with Hot Curry Mustard

I've been having a wee craving for Chinese food and thought, what the heck, with the fryer, we can make our own egg rolls! I guesstimated the whole way, throwing together what sounded good, and it created a phenomenal dinner.



Ginger Chicken Egg Rolls
* 2 chicken breasts
* 1/2 bag cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage, carrots, etc)
* 1/3 cup water chestnuts, roughly chopped
* egg roll skins
* marinade (low sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 clove chopped garlic, juice of 1/2 lime)

Marinate chicken for two plus hours and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Cool for an hour and shred. Toss with cole slaw mix and water chestnuts.

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375. Spoon a portion of mix into an egg roll skin and roll tightly, sealing with water.





When oil is hot, carefully drop two egg rolls at a time into the basket. Rotate carefully with a metal spoon until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and continue until all are cooked.



Hot Curry Mustard
* dijon mustard
* horseradish
* curry powder
Combine all ingredients to taste. Chill before serving.

Panko Crusted Chicken Fingers

The fryer sure is getting a workout since I started using it. We had some frozen chicken tenderloins that needed to be cooked up, so DH picked up some panko breadcrumbs and I adjusted my Southern Fried Chicken recipe to work for it. YUM.

1 lb chicken tenderloins
4 cups buttermilk
box of panko breadcrumbs
herbs & spices to taste (garlic salt, black pepper, oregano, parsley, basil, paprika, crushed red pepper)
oil for fryer

In a large bowl, mix buttermilk and your choice of herbs and spices. Mix together and add chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.





Put recommended amount of oil in fryer and heat to 375.

In the meantime, put panko breadcrumbs in a bowl with herbs and spices to taste.



When oil is ready, move pieces of chicken into the panko breadcrumbs, coating thoroughly. Gently place in fryer basket and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Repeat until all chicken is cooked. Allow to drain on a paper towel for a few minutes before serving.

Honey Balsamic Chicken

The fun thing about marinades is that you can really just throw together flavors you enjoy and normally, you get a pretty good combination. I also believe that the longer you marinate your chicken, the more flavorful it will become.

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

basil & oregano to taste

boneless, skinless chicken breast

Whisk honey, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano together in a medium bowl. Place chicken in marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least an hour.

Grill to desired temperature.

BBQ Chicken & Mom's Mac & Cheese

DH loves bbq chicken legs and I was watching Food Network's Mac & Cheese Challenge yesterday, so voila. Props to J next door for his recommendation on the bbq sauce - total cheat, but totally good. Oh, and boxed macaroni and cheese is not permitted in the RVA household, so I don't make this too often - but darn it's good.

Easy-Peasy BBQ Chicken


Marinate your favorite chicken pieces (I used drumsticks and a boneless, skinless breast for me) in Sonny's Sweet Sauce (I used about 8 packages for 6 pieces of chicken) for several hours. Grill pieces til cooked through, basting often. Serve with lots of napkins.






Mom's Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Guess what? No measurements! This is one of those recipes that you just sorta kinda feel your way through. It's got cheese - how can it be bad?

Cook your favorite pasta according to directions (I used mini penne and I make it very al dente). Drain and set aside.


In the same pot, make a roux out of equal parts butter and flour. I tend to make mine a little soft for a creamier sauce. Over low heat, add about 1-2 cups of milk. Stir with a wooden spoon until roux is completely dissolved and milk has thickened. Add one block of shredded cheddar (1 3 cup bag of pre-shredded will work fine) and stir until all cheese has melted. Salt & pepper to taste.

Pour drained pasta into the cheese sauce and toss until pasta is well coated. Pour 1/2 mixture into a casserole dish and top with more shredded cheddar. Repeat with remaining mixture and more cheese.

In a small saucepan, melt a few tablespoons of butter. Add breadcrumbs and combine until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Sprinkle on top of the casserole.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and until crumbs are golden brown.

Moroccon Chicken & Lentils

Credit for this again goes to Nancy, who has introduced me to some really new and fantastic flavors. I never, in a million years, would have thought to use lentils as the base of a dish. It's a fabulous touch.

8 cups water

3 teaspoons salt, divided

1 pound dried brown lentils, rinsed, drained
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons ground cumin, divided

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine 8 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Add lentils; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well; rinse with cold water and drain again. Place in large bowl.

Whisk 1 cup olive oil, vinegar, 2 tablespoons cumin, 2 tablespoons chili powder, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt in large measuring cup. Pour 1 cup dressing over warm lentils and toss. Cool.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onion; sauté until dark brown and soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken; sauté 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cumin, 2 teaspoons chili powder, and cinnamon. Sauté until chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.
Arrange lentils on large platter. Place sliced chicken atop lentils. Drizzle with remaining dressing and sprinkle with parsley. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Cous Cous Salad with Chicken & Nectarines

Thanks to Nancy for this delicious recipe. I played around with it a little bit, but DH and I both agreed that it's a keeper for the future.

1 cup instant cous cous

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup finely chopped parsley leaves (approx. 6 sprigs)

6 tbsps olive oil

2 spicy grilled chicken breasts

3 fresh nectarines, cut into bite sized chunks

2 small shallots, thinly sliced rings

3/4 cup of pistachio nuts, shelled

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Place cous cous in a medium bown. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and stir in the cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over cous cous. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Stir in the parsely and 2 tbsps of the olive oil. Set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the nectarines and shallots. Drizzle with vinegar and the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in cous cous. Add pistachios just before eating.

Chicken & ChickPea Salad

2-3 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp curry

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 cup white wine

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tomatoes, diced

cucumber, diced

1 tsp curry powder

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

2 scallions, chopped

3 tbsp minced red onion

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Combine wine, garlic, ginger, cumin, curry, salt, and red pepper. Pour marinade over chicken and chill for 2-4 hours.

Combine remaining ingredients (except butter & vinegar) in a serving bowl and chill.

Bake chicken at 375 in a glass dish with butter for 30 minutes. Slice and arrange over salad. Toss with vinegar.

Rum Chicken

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
2/3 cup dark rum
dash of Grand Marnier
1/3 cup orange juice
3 tbsp worcestshire sauce
6-7 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 piece grated ginger (1 tsp powder)
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk together everything but the chicken. Submerge chicken breast and marinate in the fridge for 1-4 hours. Grill on medium-high heat to desired temperature and serve garnished with orange slices.