Chicken and Almonds

I was looking for a different recipe to try and found this.  It is pretty simple and tastes great. Serve with rice.

Chicken and Almonds

Ingredients:

• 3 T. oil
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 2 T. water
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Heat oil in wok or large fry pan.  Stir-fry chicken 3 minutes.  Remove chicken.
2. Stir-fry celery, onion and mushrooms 2 minutes.  Return chicken to wok.
3. Add salt, soy sauce, frozen peans and chicken broth.  Steam 5 minutes.
4. Mix cornstarch with water and add to chicken until thickened.  Add almonds.
5. Serve over cooked rice.

German Chocolate Pie

This year, 2020 I decided to make a different pie every week.  Not sure I will make it doing different ones all year, but I am off to a good start.  I made a German Chocolate pie, that has always been one of my favorites.  I always used the recipe from the German Chocolate package.  Now they don't have it  on there.  So I found a recipe on the internet that seemed to be pretty close.  It  seems to taste different, but it was good.

German Chocolate pie!

Ingredients:

1 pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan

1 pkg. German sweet chocolate (4 oz.)
1/4 cup butter
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  In 1 quart saucepan, heat chocolate and butter over medium-low heat until melted and mixture can be stirred smooth.  Remove from heat; gradually stir in milk.

In medium bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt.  In small bowl, mix egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually add chocolate mixture to egg mixture, stirring with wire whisk.  Add chocolate-egg yolk mixture to cornstarch mixture, stirring with whisk.  Pour filling into crust lined pan.

In small bowl, mix coconut and pecans; sprinkle over filling.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until puffed and almost set.  Cool completely on cooling rack, about 4 hours.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This is a good soup for a cold winter day. And for a sunny summer day too.  I like broccoli cheddar soup but can only eat it once or twice a year.  This soup is a beautiful green color.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

2 onions
4 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 heads broccoli
1 medium russet potato
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

Halve 2 onions.  Peel and coarsely chop.  Peel and smash 4 garlic cloves, then coarsely chop.

Melt 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a large pot over medium-low heat.  Add onion, garlic, and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes; season with salt and black pepper.  Stir to combine, then cover pot and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and just starting to take on color 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim bottoms of 2 heads of broccoli, then peel.  Separate hefty stalks from florets.  Set aside florets. Coarsely chop stalks into 1- 2 inch pieces.  Peel the potato and chop into 1-2 inch pieces.

Add broccoli stalks and potato pieces to pot and stir to coat in butter.  Pour in 5 cups water, add         1 Tbsp. salt and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and keep at a simmer.  Cover pot and cook until broccoli stalks and potatoes are completely tender, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop reserved florets into small pieces.  Grate 8 oz. of cheddar cheese on the large holes of a box grater.

Add half of florets to pot, cover, and cook until bright green, 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to a blender, let cool for 5 minutes, and puree until smooth.  Don't fill your blender more than halfway - work in batches as necessary.  An immersion blender can be used.

Return to medium heat and add remaining florets.  Cover pot and cook until bright green, another 3-5 minutes.  Add grated cheddar cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.

Remove soup from heat.  Stir in Greek yogurt if using.  Add salt and pepper to taste.