Cast Iron Pam

 Walnut Chicken

Recently we were at a Chinese Restraunt with some family members. One thing they ordered was Walnut Chicken. Everyone loved it!

My husband asked me to find a recipe and make it at home. S I did just that. It was a hit!

Put in a 2 quart saucepan, and cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and sauce is thickened.

2 Tbsp. Butter

3/4 cup Mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)

1/2 cup Sugar (Evaporated Cane Juice)

2 Tbsp. Honey

5 Tbsp. Sweetened Condensed Milk (such as Eagle Brand)

Add only as much as is needed:

3 Tbsp. Water (add 1 Tbsp. at a tme as needed)

Once Sauce is done add:

1 cup Walnuts (halves)

Heat up a frying pan on medium/ medium high heat.

Cut into fork size pieces:

6 regular size or 4 Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (halves)

Roll in:

1 cup Cornstarch (in a pie pan, salted to taste)

Then roll in:

1 cup Milk (in a pie pan)

Once chicken is cut up and ready to cook add:

Canola Oil into frying pan (about 1/3 cup) (add more when needed, it takes about 1 cup))

When Chicken is cooked put into a napkin lined cookie sheet with edges / jellyroll pan to drain excess oil, keep it hot 'til done cooking all of the chicken.

Serve with rice and a salad or cole slaw.

Pour Sauce on top of chicken.

This recipe serves 8 adults as a main dish.

Eat and Enjoy

Hot Dog & Bean Casserole

Do you ever get hungry for things your Mama made when you were little?  I do. 

It seems as though I can't get it out of my head or taste buds until I make and eat it.

Generally speaking my family are great sports and just go along with me (like they really have a choice since I'm the "cook"). Well the other

night it happened again. I looked into my fridge and saw hot dogs. Then the thought came to me to have hot dogs and pork and beans for

dinner. My Mom used to just cut up hot dogs and put them in a sauce pan with a can of pork and beans, heat them up and serve them. 

I decided to switch it up just a little. What I did was I heated up my cast iron frying pan, put a little oil in it. Then I added sliced hot dogs (cut

into rings) and fried them 'til they started to get a little brown. Next, I poured the hot dogs into a casserole dish, added the pork and beans,

mixed them up and baked them for 1 hour. 

My family loved it. By slicing the hot dogs, and frying them it brought out a very nice almost sweet flavor. 

The baking of the casserole made them thick and rich.

Almond Crust Cheesecake Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl mix the first 4 ingredients until crumbly.

1/3 cup Butter (melted)

1/3 cup Rapadura Sugar (Brown Sugar)

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Chopped Almonds

Reserve 1 cup and set aside. Press into a 8"x8" pan, bake 12 mins.

Mix together, pour over baked crust, bake 25 mins.

1/4 cup Evaporated Cane Juice (Sugar)

1/3 cup Butter (melted)

8 oz. Cream Cheese (Softened)

1 Large Egg

2 Tbsp. Milk

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

We love Chinese Food here at our house. So as it turns out I cook a lot of it.

Here's a recipe I came up with when my son brought home some fresh picked asparagus from work one day. 

I mean how could I go wrong, right? Asparagus,  and beef, hmm. Nope I can't go wrong with that. My family loves both of them,so

together---. Enough said here's the recipe.

Asparagus Beef

 2 Tbsp. fresh Ginger-cut into matchsticks

2 Tbsp. fresh Garlic-sliced very thin

4 Tbsp. Olive Oil

4 Tbsp. Toasted Sesame Oil

1 Lg. Yellow Onion-diced

3 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds

1 LBS Asparagus-cleaned and cut into 1" pieces

2 LBS Beef Stew Meat

1 can of sliced Water Chestnuts-drained

6 Tbsp. Sweet Chili Sauce

Heat a 10" cast iron frying pan on medium heat.

Add both oils,ginger, garlic,onion, and sesame seeds. Stir together and saute until onions are just beginning to get lightly browned.

Once onions are ready add asparagus, and water chestnuts. Stir them around and saute them for 3 mins.

Add the beef and cook it until it just gets browned (about 3-5 mins).

Pour in the sweet chili sauce and toss around to get through out the whole pan.

Serve immediately with rice. 

My family likes Chicken Bakes but I need 2 boxes of them to feed my family and that's too expensive for my blood so I came up with my

own version and the result was fantastic. My family loved them.

Baked Chicken Rolls

1 recipe of Pizza dough (makes 10)

3 cups Chicken Breast-already cooked,cut into 1/2" cubes

1 cup Onion-chopped

3 TBSP Garlic-chopped

1/4 cup Olive Oil (for sauteing)

1 LBS Bacon-cut into match sticks, cooked and drained on paper towels

8 oz. Cream Cheese

1 cup Parmesan Cheese-powdery type

1/2 cup Olive Oil (for brushing on rolls)

1 1/2 cups Asiago Cheese-grated ( to rolls rolls in)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make 10 balls from the Pizza dough.

Roll each out to an 8" circle.

Saute Onions, and Garlic in olive Oil (1/4 cup).

Slice and cook the Bacon and drain it on paper towels.

Filling:

Mix together Chicken, Bacon, Onions and Garlic in a medium size bowl.

Cheese Mixture:

In a small bowl mix together Parmesan and Cream Cheeses.

Grate the Asiago Cheese and set it aside.

With a rubber scraper spread 2 TBSP of the Cheese mix onto each of the rolled out dough circles.

Put 1/2 cup of the Filling in the center of each circle.

Fold in top and bottom ends of the circle.

Fold over one side and roll it closed.

Brush on olive Oil.

Roll each into the Asiago Cheese.

Put in the oven and bake for 20 min. until they are lightly browned on top.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 min. before serving.

In an attempt to come up with some new ideas for breakfast I came up with this recipe. it was a hit with my family. I hope it is with yours as well.

Baked Eggs and Sausage

Pre heat oven to 350.

Heat a 10" cast iron frying pan on medium heat.

2 TBSP Olive Oil

1/2 cup Yellow Onion-chopped

1 tsp. chopped Garlic

1 TBSP Dried Tomatoes in Olive oil-chopped

1 Italian Sausage-we liked Hot Italian Sausage (use your favorite) cut into rings and then quarters-cooked and drained

10 Large Eggs-whipped together in a bowl

1 cup grated Mozerella Cheese

After the frying pan is hot put in the Olive oil, Onions, and Garlic. 

Saute together until Onion is clear and Garlic is golden.

Toss in Dried Tomatoes and Sausage. Stir around to blend.

Next add Eggs and mix them together (eggs will start to cook) with other contents.

Top with Cheese.

Put into preheated oven. 

Bake 15 min until Eggs are set and Cheese is melted.

Makes eight servings.

Baked Polenta

1 cup Corn Meal

3 cups Water

1 TB Low Sodium Chicken Bouillon

1 cup grated Mozzarella Cheese

Cook the water, bouillon, and corn meal together in a 2 qt. saucepan, stirring constantly until THICK.

Pour into a greased 8"x8" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The top will be lightly browned when done and the polenta firm. Let sit 

5 min. before serving. Top with cheese and your favorite marinara sauce. 

Marinade Ball Tip at least 24 hrs. in:

1/2 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Rapadura Sugar or Molasses

1/4 cup Toasted Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp. Dry Mustard

1 Tbsp. Dry Ginger

Heat barbecue up on high for 10 min.

Turn off middle burner.

Place roast on middle burner and close lid.

Turn after 15 min. Repeat.

Check doneness with a meat thermometer. It's perfect when it reads 165 degrees for medium.

Remove from barbecue and let sit 5 min. BEFORE cutting into it.

Very tender and tasty....Mmmmmm… Even better the next day!

You will need:

8 steaks (or, 1 per person)

For the marinade:

1 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Dried Mustard

1 Tbsp. Ground ginger

6 large cloves of garlic –crushed

½ cup Rapadura sugar (or) 1/3 cup molasses

Mix all marinade ingredients together. Place steaks in a zip-lock bag and pour marinade over them.

Seal bag and shake gently to mix the steaks and marinade.

Refrigerate the steak in the marinade until you are ready to grill it.

When you are ready to grill:                                       

Heat the barbecue up for a few minutes on high heat to get it good and hot. Turn off the middle burner of the barbecue, leaving the others on high heat. Place the steaks on the middle burner section and close the lid of the barbecue.

Allow steaks to cook 3-5 minutes before flipping them (they should be nicely cooked on the bottom). At this point you can pour the remaining marinade over the steaks as they cook, for added flavor and moisture.

Close the lid again and wait another 3-5 minutes before checking the steaks and serving (they should be nicely cooked on each side). You can use a fork to check the thickest and thinnest parts for desired doneness. 

Serve and enjoy!

Sometimes I just get tired of the same recipes and have to create something different or make variations to recipes I already have. 

That's what I have done today. I came up with Blueberry Almond Pound Cake. If you already have my cookbook "Cast Iron Pam"

Healthful cooking you already have the main recipe, Sour Cream Pound Cake. Just add 1 cup of dried Blueberries and 3/4 cup finely 

chopped Almonds, and use Almond extract in place of the Lemon extract. For those of you that do not have my cookbook the recipe is

below. I hope you enjoy it.

Blueberry Almond Pound Cake

8 large Eggs

3 cups  Evaporated Cane Juice

2 cubes Butter-melted

1 cup Sour Cream

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 tsp. Almond extract

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup dried Blueberries

3/4 cup Almonds-finely chopped

1/4 tsp. Baking Soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and Flour 3 loaf pans.

Mix ingredients in order.

Fill loaf pans half way.

Bake 45-50 mins. checking after 45 mins.

When the toothpick comes out clean it's done.

Great with a cup of black coffee.

Eat and enjoy, but not too much or you'll get a tummy ache.