General Tso Chicken Meatballs

Take out Chinese food growing up consisted of a handful of meals: almond/cashew/lemon chicken, sweet and sour chicken/pork, moo goo gai pan, beef and broccoli with carrots, and hot and sour soup with fried rice and egg rolls. Never once did the meals consist of spicy plates such as General Tso Chicken, Hunan Beef, or Sichuan Pork. Having a new found affentiny for meatballs and Asian foods, General Tso Chicken Meatballs were given ago. Besides, if I thought the sauce too spicy, I could temper to tastes.

Modifications Made:

Sauce: Not having teriyaki sauce, a homemade Teriyaki Sauce was quickly made and allowed to simmer and set while meatballs were made. Sauce ingredients were doubled and the use of chili sauce instead of chili flake was the only modification.

Meatballs: To one pound of ground chicken, one teaspoon of ginger, one teaspoon of chili sauce, one teaspoon of minced garlic, and two stems of finely diced green onion were mixed. Meat mixture was then placed back into fridge to firm up making formation of meatballs easier and without the need of breadcrumbs or eggs. Once properly chilled (about 30 minutes), meatballs were formed at about one tablespoon and pan fried in a cast iron skillet with a splash of vegetable oil. After being cooked on both sides, teriyaki sauce was added until meatballs just covered, not drowning.

Scaled for Likability: Great

Not to brag or anything, but this is one of the few meals where I feel my version and pictures are better than the original post. Next time these meatballs are made, the recipe will be doubled as leftovers were amazing, chili flakes along with the chili sauce will be added to the sauce for more heat, and meatballs will be made slightly smaller to allow for bitesize explosions of taste.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese ...

Eating Waffles

Search This Blog