Oreo and Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup  hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 tub  (8 oz.) cool whip, thawed, divided

1 small pkg.  (3.9 oz.) chocolate instant pudding

16 oreo cookies, chopped (about 2 cups)

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

 

Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup cool whip. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in half of the chopped cookies. 
 
Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long sheet of foil; top with half the cool whip mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining cool whip. Press in the last cup of chopped oreos.  Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet. 
 
Freeze 4 hours or until firm. 

* This is from Kraftrecipes.com and has been Breanna's birthday dessert choice for years.

Orange Chicken

Sauce:
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c white vinegar
2 t soy sauce
1/2 c orange juice

Chicken:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 egg
1/2 t black pepper
1 t salt (I like kosher)
1 t oil
1/2 cornstarch
1/4 c flour

Other:
oil for frying
1 t powdered ginger or 1 T fresh grated
1 t minced garlic
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 T sesame seeds
1/4 c chopped green onion (or some minced onion)
1/4 c orange juice
1 T cornstarch
1 T sesame oil (optional)

Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Put about 1 inch of oil in a wok or heavy skillet and begin to heat until oil starts to ripple.

While oil is heating, place cubed chicken in a bowl.  Stir in the egg, salt, pepper and oil.  Mix cornstarch and flour together in a small bowl and dip chicken individually (or mix and pour it over the top of all the chicken and stir together like I do).

Add the chicken pieces a few at a time and fry u ntil golden.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Watch oil so it does not overheat and begin to burn the chicken.  When all chicken is cooked, reserve a couple tablespoons of oil from the skillet in a small bowl, then wipe out the wok or skillet after dumping the hot oil into an appropriate container or dish.  Be careful - it will be hot! 

Reheat skillet or wok on medium high and add the reserved oil.  Add ginger, garlic, red pepper, sesame seeds and onion and stir fry a couple of minutes.  Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.  Add in the cooked chicken and combine well.  Combine final 1/4 c orange juice and 1 T cornstarch together and stir until smooth.  Stir into the chicken and heat until sauce thickens.  Stir in sesame oil. 

Serve over rice.

*I double the sauce ingredients for our family, but leave the rest as they are written here.  The chicken can be used for many other recipes if desired - like salads or other stir fry sauces.

Calzones

Dough Ingredients:
1 T yeast
1 c warm water
1 T sugar
2 T oil
1 t salt
2 3/4 c flour (maybe a little more)
spices (optional)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Add oil, salt and 1 c of the flour.  Can add flavoring spices like basil, cracked pepper, dill, parmesan, garlic powder, etc.  Add the rest of the flour and mix well.  If using an electric mixer, knead 4-5 minutes.  If by hand, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead at least 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.  Let rest 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare cookie sheets with sprayed foil and sprinkle with corn meal.  Divide dough into 6 portions.  Flatten into circles and place sauce of choice and toppings in the center.  Fold over and twist edge shut.  Place on cookie sheets and bake until golden brown - about 15 minutes.

*I always triple this recipe for our family to make 18 calzones.  Our favorite fillings are sauce, pepperoni and cheese, but we've tried sausage, mushrooms, ricotta, peppers and olives too.

German Pancakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cube butter or margarine
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c milk
1 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Melt butter in 9x13 pan or two pie pans.  Put eggs in the blender and whip until bubbly.  Add remaining ingredients and blend.  Remove melted butter from the oven and pour egg mixture on top of butter.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until center is set and top is lightly browning.

*We do 1 1/2 of this recipe and bake in an 11x15 glass pan.  I reduce the heat to 375 and cook slightly longer.

Serves 6 with original recipe

Suzanne's Waffles

1) Melt and cool 5 T butter or margarine

2) Sift Together in medium bowl:
3 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar

3) Put into small bowl:
4 egg whites - beat on high until stiff, but still moist

4) In large bowl:
4 egg yolks - beat until well mixed, then add
2 c milk

Add sifted dry ingredients to large bowl and beat on medium until blended. Add butter and mix only until incorporated.  Fold in beaten egg whites.  Cook in preheated waffle iron.

*We always do 1 1/2 times this recipe for a family of 10

Fancy Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts cooked and diced
1/2 c finely chopped celery
1 c red grapes halved or quartered
1/2 can drained pineapple tidbits
chopped green onion or chives to taste
1/2 t salt
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c Miracle Whip or Mayo
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Combine everything together and chill.  Serve with crackers, rolls, etc.  Our favorite is croissants.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing:
1 egg yolk
juice of one lemon (about 3T)
1/2 c light-flavored oil (like canola)
1/4 c sugar

Whisk it all together and refrigerate.

Combine:
1 package pre-washed spinach (you can tear it to bite-sized pieces)
1-2 cups sliced strawberries (I like a lot)
1/2 c candied or toasted nuts (almonds and walnuts are my favorite)
feta

Pour dressing over just before serving - it doesn't save well.  I don't usually use all the dressing, so add to your liking.