Dodonut Balls (illustrated recipe)

1 ½ cups dates (½ pound of dates makes 1 cup, approximately)
1 cup white sugar
¼ pound butter
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, well beaten

3 cups rice crispies
1 bag flaked coconut

Combine first five ingredients and cook in the microwave until smooth, stirring every few minutes. Stir in 3 cups rice krispies. Cool.



Roll date mixture into 1 inch balls and then roll balls in coconut to cover.



Place on tray to freeze.




Tips:

It took me 8 minutes in the microwave to get the mixture to the right consistency.

The cooling step is very important. The mixture becomes less sticky as it cools.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is one of my hubby's favorites and is adapted from a recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook. The recipe is for 2 people but can easily be modified for a lot more. I have fed up to 10+ people with this recipe by just adding more of all the ingredients. I change a lot of things with the spices and ect. so I am not going to put measurements, just season it to taste. The best thing is that is really fast and really easy to make.

2 Chickens breasts, sliced (4+ if serving more people)
8 slices each red and green pepper (I usually will just use the whole peppers)
8 large mushrooms, sliced (more or less depending on your liking for mushrooms)
linguini (however much you need for your family)
1-2 cartons of heavy cream
lemon pepper (not too much or it will be very lemmony)
garlic (keep it light)
Cajun seasoning
basil
pepper
salt (not much)
chives (fresh or dried)

shake chicken in a bag with Cajun seasoning to lightly coat, or heavily depending on you liking
cook chicken in a large skillet in some butter or oil
add peppers and mushrooms, cook until just tender
Add heavy cream and seasonings (taste the cream as you season it to get it how you like it, now is a good time to add more Cajun if it is not Cajunny enough for you)
Heat through
Add hot cooked linguini. Heat through again.
Top with Parmesan cheese if desired. Tastes great with bread, like a baguette or something.

If you need more specific measurements let me know. This is so incredibly yummy, and one of those few dishes that tastes great hot or cold, leftover or brand new. Enjoy!

Moroccan Stew

This is adapted from ‘‘Rockin’ Moroccan Stew’’ and it’s from the Crazy Plates cookbook by Janet and Greta Podleski.

It’s a very flavourful vegetarian dish, full of beta carotene from the sweet potato. I think the chickpeas are the main source of protein, so keep that in mind if you decide to leave them out.

The recipe lends itself well to modifications. I use all colours of peppers, not just green. When I made some for my mom and dad to try, I left out the chickpeas and just put more onion, pepper, and sweet potato in. One ‘improper’ substitution I sometimes make is using chicken broth for the vegetable broth (not good for a supposedly vegetarian dish).


2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (or more if you like)
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 can (19 oz) tomatoes, drained and cut up
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp each ground cumin, curry powder, ground coriander, and chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp light peanut butter
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic until vegetables begin to soften.

Add all remaining ingredients except peanut butter, and cilanto (if using). Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Stir in peanut butter and cilantro (if using) and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve hot.


Notes:
The recipe is not ruined if you use a 28 oz can of tomatoes instead of a 19 oz can because that’s all you have.

I find that fresh ginger is really hard to grate, so I usually just chop it up.

I cook the whole thing in a dutch oven, same as any stew-type meal.

The original recipe called for raisins in with the peanut butter and cilantro, but I don’t like raisins so I just left them out.

Chicken Enchiladas

3 cups cooked chopped chicken breasts (about 3 breasts)
1 can cream of chicken soup (or your favourite "cream of" soup)
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonaise
1 can chopped green chilies
2 cups grated cheddar
1 pkg large tortillas

Mix all ingredients except cheese and tortillas. Spread a little mixture in 9x12 pan. Spread some mixture and a little cheese into a tortilla and roll up tortilla. Place tortilla rolls side by side in pan. Spread remaining sauce mixture and sprinkle remaining cheese on top of enchiladas.

Bake at 350º for 20 minutes.

Alfredo

I love italian food. Especially a really garlicy white sauce. But it seems like the only time you can ever find that really good white sauce is in the restaurants. (Johnny Carino's is a family favorite. Each of Shane's siblings have worked for it, and his sister and her husband to be both manage a separate one in Kansas City, KS).

Well just testing things I've discovered a way to make a really good alfredo whenever you want it. Buy a regular jar of your favorite alfredo at the store. (My favorite is the Di Parma Classico.

While you are cooking the pasta in the pan you plan to warm to alfredo sauce in add roasted garlic (I love those little jars of already minced garlic in the produce section at Walmart) and real bacon bits. Cook for a few minutes in a little olive oil until it starts to look kinda crispy. Then add your jar of alfredo sauce, stir and warm. Today I didn't have the real bacon bits so I instead I cut up thick slices of bacon into 1/4 inch pieces. Cook the bacon until done and then add the minced garlic.

I usually make garlic bread to go with it. Spread softened butter on bread sprinkle garlic powder and parmesean cheese on top and broil for a few minutes.

On occasion I make a breaded chicken breast as well.

The Breading:
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4-1/2 cup parmesean cheese
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 Tablespoons black pepper
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper

put all dry ingredients in one bowl, mix well.

In another small bowl but 1/2 cup milk and one egg. Beat until smooth.

Rinse chicken breasts, dip in milk/egg mixture, dip in bread crumb mixture. In a heated frying pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, add the chicken breast, cook at medium low for about 15 minutes, then flip. Cook on other side for about 15 minutes, check for doneness. If not done, flip chicken breasts again and cook until done.