Jackal's Recipe Journal

Got a recipe to suggest? Post it here. I'd love to try it.

Found this while looking for something to do with tomato soup we had in the cupboard. Ended up being very good.

( Chicken Tortilla Soup )

Thai Chicken with Basil

Tandoori Chicken

Swiss Rye Strata - want to try this without Rye. >.<

Sweet and Spicy Stuffed Chicken

Sunny Mediterranean Chicken

Spinach and Chicken Skillet

Spinach Manicotti

Southwestern Pork and Vegetable Stew

Southwest Black Bean Soup

Peanut Noodle Salad

Peachy Chicken with Red Wine

Orange Teriyaki Beef with Noodles (Cooking for Two)

Halibut Asparagus Stir Fry

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin and Pineapple

Grilled Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken

Grilled Lemon Garlic Halibut Steaks

Grilled Lemon Shrimp with Squash

Grilled Lemon Pepper Halibut and Squash Packets

Edamame Stir Fry

COLA-CAKE

1 regular cake mix, any variety
1 can Coca Cola

Follow the directions on the back of your cake mix but replace your water with diet Cola (Diet Dr Pepper or Diet Pepsi) for dark Cakes and (diet Sprite or 7 Up for white or yellow cakes). It will be a sweeter cake.

Bake 25 degrees less than normal.

The cake will be really moist because it has no eggs
It could be a little crumbly It will fall apart if you so much as look at it but the taste is great

Don't know if these are any good, but found them on gmail - this links back to a site with a lot of recipes.

Garlic Soba Noodles

What to look for, how to know what's ripe, and how to store it.

Apples: Should have a rich, deep, uniform color; avoid bruised, soft or blemished fruit. Hold at room temperature for 1-3 wks; when cut, dip in lemon juice, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate to prevent the flesh from turning brown

Apricots: Should have a deep color and a rosy blush and should be firm; avoid bruised, soft, or shriveled fruit. Store covered or uncovered in the refrigerator

Artichokes: Should be small with tightly closed leaves of uniform color; avoid those that are discolored or have spreading leaves, and watch for insect infestation. Store uncovered in the refrigerator for 1-2 days

Asparagus: Should be tender with firm stalks and compact tips and should be 6-8 inches in length; avoid stalks that are whitish or that are too large or long. Store uprgith and covered in the refrigerator; use within 1-3 days to avoid toughening.

Avocados: should be dark, with either smooth or pebbled skin; they should yield to gentle pressure when ripe, and they will ripen during sotrage. Avoid fruit that is too dark and soft. store covered or uncovered in the refrigerator. To ripen, store at room temperature. If cut, keep the pit in the fruit to preserve freshness, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate.

Bananas: Should be firm and uniform in color. They will ripen during storage; avoid fruit that is soft, bruised or spotted. Store at room temperature. If too ripe, peel and freeze.

Beets: Should be small (3 inches in diameter maximum with uniform deep red color. Store at room temperature. Remove tops before storing.

Berries: should be medium-size, uniform in color, firm and plump. Avoid berries that have started to "juice" or that have mold on them. Store unwashed, spread out in the refrigerator, covered; check frequently for mold.

Broccoli: Should be tight, close buds of uniform green color; avoid broccoli with yellow flowers or yellow buds or with smudgy spots. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Celery should be light, pale green; avoid celery that is too dark. Store in the refrigerator.

Corn: Should have blunt ends and darkened, dry silk. When a kernel is pierced with a fingernail, juice should spurt out. Avoid corn that has dried-out kernels and watch for insects or worms. Corn stays fresh longer if it is not husked; store in the refrigerator either covered (husked) or uncovered (in husks).

Cucumbers: Should be medium to dark green, long and slender, and firm; avoid cucumbers that are yellowed or soft with wrinkled skin. Store whole, covered in the refrigerator.

Eggplants: Should have a glossy shine and a deep purple color and should be fir; avoid fruit that lacks glossy shine or that has green spots. Store whole and covered in the refrigerator.

Lemons: Should be heavy for their size and should be deep yellow with uniform color and smooth, thin skins; avoid fruit with a greenish tinge or thick skins. Store at room temperature; lemons will yield more jice if warmed in a microwave oven for 20 seconds or in hot water for 15 minutes before juicing. Store cut lemons covered in the refrigerator.

Pineapples should have a small, tight crown, a sweet fragrance, and bulging eyes. The center leaves should come out easily when tugged gently, and it should make a dull, solid sound when thumped. Avoid those that are greenish, those whose stems don't pull out, or those with a fermented odor. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator; when cut, store covered in the refrigerator.

Potatoes: Should be firm with a netlike texture on the skin and should have shallow eyes and even color; avoid those with rot (unpleasant odor), green color (which indicates poison, or sprouted eyes (sprouts are poisonous). Store in a dark, cool, well-ventilated place away from light; do not store whole potatoes in the refrigerator. Cover cut potatoes with water and a few drops of vinegar, and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

1 lb butter = 4 sticks
1/2 c butter = 1 stick or 1/4 lb
1 oz = 2 tbsp
1 lb brown sugar = 2 1/4 lb well packed
1 lb granulated sugar = 2 cups
1 lb powdered sugar = 3 1/2 cups, sifted
1 lb white flour = 4 cups
1 lb whole wheat flour = 4 1/2 cups
3 cups cooked rice = 1 cup uncooked
2 cups cooked pasta = 1 cup uncooked or 4 oz
1 c bread crumbs = 2 slices of standard sandwich bread
1 c cracker crumbs = 12 graham crackers, 20 saltines, 24 vanilla wafers
2 c grated cheese = 1/2 lb
1 c chopped celery = 2 medium stalks
1 c chopped onion = 2 medium onions
3 tbsp lemon juice = 1 lemon
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest = 1 lemon
8 tblsp orange juice = 1 orange
2 tsp grated orange zest = 1 orange

Trim off the end of the asparagus stalks if they are tough.

Add a bit of olive oil to a skillet. Toss in a few cloves of chopped garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the asparagus and cook over medium heat until tender.

Optional: Serve with a lemon or drizzle with a bit of vinaigrette.

First Moon Chicken Stir Fry

3 tablespoons soy sauce - divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch - divided
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar - divided
1 clove garlic - pressed
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves cut into 1 inch squares
2/4 cup water
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar (or basalmic vinegar)
1/2 pound fresh broccoli, trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 medium onion - chunked
1 small carrot, cut diagonally into thin slices
1/8 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/3 pound fresh snow peas cut diagonally into halves

Combine 1 tablespoon each: soy sauce and corn starch with 1/2 tsp. sugar and garlic in medium bowl; stir in chicken. Let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile combine water, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tbsp cornstarch, t tsp sugar and vinegar in small bow; set aside. Remove flowerettes from broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces. Peel stalks; cut diagonally into thin slices.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in hot wok or large skillet over hight heat. Add chicken and stir fry 3 minutes (make sure chicken is almost cooked); remove. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in same pan. Add broccoli, onion, carrot and crushed red pepper; stir fry 2 minutes. Add snow peas; stir fry 2 minutes longer. Add chicken and soy sauce mixture; cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens.

Makes 4 servings. Always double the sauce.

May substitute any vegetables of your choice. Also makes an excellent vegetable-only stir fry.
Feel free to adjust portions of ingredients. Often Jackal doubles the garlic and red pepper while adding at least half as much more soy sauce.
Usually we make this with zucchini, carrots and chicken, but the other night Chris made it with just vegetables and it was pretty damn good.
When making with 2 eggplants, 5-7 zucchini and 2 bundles of asparagus, quadruple sauce.

This recipe has been so modified from the original, and I can't remember the source
Also, cross-posted here with replies and suggestions, ideas, etc.

Peanut Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Cayenne pepper to taste

In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together all the ingerdients until the peanut butter melts and is blended in.

Makes about a half cup.

From Slob in the Kitchen by Karen Duffy

Tips, hints, information:

- For a wine and cheese party, allow one pound of cheese for every 5 guests

- A standard wine bottle holds 6 glasses of wine

- When creating a cheese plate, choose at least 3 kinds of cheese. (That includes the kind that sprays out of a can.) Vary them by texture, taste, and type of milk -- sheep, goat, or cow.

-Creamy, high-fat cheeses, like Brie, Explorateur and Saint-Andre, go best with white wine. Offer both red and white wines and have fun experimenting with what tastes best together.

- To store hard cheeses, wrap them in wax paper, then foil or loose plastic wrap.

- Wrap cheeses like Brie tightly in plastic to prevent them from oozing all over. The harder the cheese, the longer it lasts.

- Let cheese sit at room temperature for two hours before your guests arrive. Coldness mutes the flavor of cheese.

- Use different knives to slice each cheese so the flavors don't get mixed up.

- Supplement the cheese and fruit plates with nuts, raw vegetables and some smoked meat.


From Slob in the Kitchen by Karen Duffy

Reserve avocado pits when making guacamole. Hold the pit with the large end on the bottom and push three toothpicks into the pit about a third of the way from the bottom. Suspend the pit in a glass jar, and fill the jar with water to cover the pit about an inch. Keep adding water so that 1 inch of the pit is submerged. Small roots ill begin to grow from the bottom and a stem from the top. After about 3 weeks, remove the toothpicks and transfer the pit into a clay pot with potting soil.

From Slob in the Kitchen by Karen Duffy