Mind Exploding Recipes That'll Make You Ask for More!

Good evening bloggers! I have a super special treat for you all tonight. Here's what's going on... I have a great group of friends and family on facebook. We love sharing ideas and what not. Well, tonight, I asked them for their favorite recipes. We have some recipes from Mimi D., Rona Q., Mae M., and Amanda S. So, with that being said, let's get in the kitchen and start cooking!

Poppy Seed Chicken

You will need:

• Chicken tenders 
• 1 can Cream of chicken soup
• Butter
• Ritz crackers 
• Sour cream
• Poppy seeds

1. Cook the tenders according to the package instructions.
2. Mix the soup, sour cream and seeds together, then add some water. 
3. Crush the crackers. 
4. Smear butter in bottom of dish, then add the tenders in after being cut into pieces.
5. Pour the poppy seed mixture on top of chicken, then pour the crackers on top. 
6. Add a small amount of melted butter on top. 
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 mins. 
8. Serve with rice.
9. Enjoy!

Pancit Bihon

Stir Fry Rice Noodles

You will need:

• 1 pound rice noodles
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• Lean pork, fat trimmed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce or salt
• 1 pound small shrimp, shelled and de-veined
• Vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, sliced or minced
• 1 small head of Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 3/4 cup julienned carrots or use half a pack of broccoli slaw
• 2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by soaking the rice noodles in warm water for 15 minutes or until softened. 
2. Remove the noodles from water and drain.
3. Boil the chicken and the pork in a cup of water and 1 teaspoon fish sauce or salt until tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and take out the meat to drain and cool. 
5. Reserve the broth.
6. Shred the meat into small pieces and set aside
7. Heat oil in a wok or a large saute pan.
8. Saute garlic and onion until they are carmelized.
9. Add together the shredded cooked meat, shrimp and soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
10. Over high heat, add the vegetables and 3/4 cup of broth. 
11. Stir fry for about 2 minutes.
12. Reduce the heat to low and add the softened rice noodles, tossing gently until cooked through and well blended, approximately 3 minutes.
13. If the noodles seem dry, add more broth.
14. Serve immediately.

Pasta stuffed Acorn Squash

You will need:

• Acorn Squash, halved length-wish and de-seeded
• Roma Tomatoes
• Whole Garlic Cloves
• Ground Turkey or Beef
• Penne Pasta
• Salt
• pepper
• Preferred seasons for meat 
• Fresh Mozzarella cheese
• Diced onion
• Minced garlic

1. For The sauce: Line each pocket of a muffin pan with aluminum foil. 
2. Take each roma tomato and cut an "X" in the top and stuff a whole clove of garlic inside. 
3. Fold foil around each tomato to hold in heat. 
4. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 an hour. 
5. Remove the tomatoes and put into a sauce pan. 
6. Crush together to make the sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper and anything else you like in your spaghetti sauce. 
7. Heat through, stirring as needed, until the sauce is created. 
8. You may add sauce or more tomatoes to create more if needed, just keep tasting to season.  
9. For The Squash: Cut the squash length-wise. 
10. Each side will be your “bowl”. 
11. Fill baking dish with about 1/4” water. 
12. Set the squash “bowl-side” down in the preheated oven, still hot from cooking the tomatoes. 
13. Cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the outside of the squash is still firm enough to hold shape, but soft. 
14. Remove and set aside. 
15. Do not shut off the oven.
16. For The meat: Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
17. Add minced garlic and diced onion, and saute. 
18. Add salt and pepper. 
19. Add the ground meat and brown, seasoning the meat as you prefer. 
20. Bold, Italian tastes are very effective with this dish!
21. At this point, make your pasta.
22. Mix some of the sauce with the pasta, just enough to coat the noodles.
23. Fill each squash “bowl” halfway with noodles. 
24. Take the rest of the sauce and meat mixture and spoon onto the noodles. Bowls should be “heaping”. 
25. Place bowls onto cookie sheet or baking dish. 
26. Take the mozzarella cheese and cut in into cubes. 
27. Lay cubes generously over the pasta . 
28. Cover each bowl with aluminum foil, making a “tent” so that it does not touch the cheese and return bowls to oven, cooking long enough to melt the cheese and heat the bowls back through, which is usually 5 to 10 minutes, as everything should still be generally warm.
29. Serve!

Italian Wedding Soup

You will need:




FOR THE MEATBALLS:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork or turkey
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

FOR THE SOUP:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped or 1 small frozen box
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces soup pasta, acini de pepe or orzo pasta

1. For the Meatballs: Add all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together using your hands until evenly distributed.
2. Form meat into small meatballs by rolling in your hands.
3. Place the meatballs on a lightly greased shallow baking pan. 
4. Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned.
5. For the Soup: Cook soup pasta as directed on the package. 
6. Do not overcook; the pasta should be firm when added to the soup.
7. Drain the pasta after cooking.
8. While the pasta is cooking add the chicken broth to a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
9. If using fresh spinach, add to the boiling broth and cook for 5 minutes or until spinach is tender. 
10. If using frozen spinach, drain well before adding to the broth.
11. Add the meatballs and pasta. 
12. Bring the soup back to a simmer.
13. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

You will need:

• 4 eggs
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1.5 cups pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Separate 4 eggs, keeping just the whites in a bowl on the counter to warm up to room temperature for around an hour. 
2. Once egg whites are in room temperature, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
3. Whisk together in a large bowl the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and coarse salt.
4. Add and stir in the chopped pecans, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and the Bittersweet chocolate chips
5. Whisk the egg whites just for 20 seconds to loosen them a bit
6. Add the egg whites to the bowl and stir slowly just til moistened, no longer.
7. Use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter on to the parchment lined pans or silpat mats 
8. Depending on the size of the scoop you might get 24 to 36 smaller cookies.
9. Bake for 13 minutes, then turn the trays around and bake another 12 minutes for a total of 25 minutes.
10. Cool on wire racks. 
11. Store them in a container with an air-tight cover.

I hope you all had a splendid time getting to "know" my friends through their recipes. If you enjoyed this, I might have to ask for more in the very near future. Have a great night and happy blogging!