Italian-Teriyaki Tin Foil Dinners

2 Boneless Chicken breasts, cubed

1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced

1/2  medium red bell pepper,diced

1/2  onion, diced (I used a red/purple onion)

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut up

4 medium red potatoes or 3 small russet potatoes

2 cloves of garlic

Teriyaki sauce (about a cup)

Italian dressing ( I used Zesty Italian) (about 1-1.5 cups)

Aluminum Foil

Cut raw chicken breasts into cubes.  Marinate the chicken in the Teriyaki sauce in a ziploc bag.  Cut all the vegetables up.  Place in a separate ziploc bag and marinate in the italian dressing.  Marinate both meat and vegetables in the fridge for several hours or overnight. When you are ready to cook.  Add minced garlic to the vegetables.  Take out pieces of aluminum foil and place desired amount of vegetables and chicken in each one. It should make about 4-5 foil packets.  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Or start grill.  Cook in oven or on a grill for 2-3 hours or until done.

Suzanne's Note: This is probably the most delicious tin foil dinners I have had.  There is so much flavor that I didn't feel the need to add salt and pepper or load it down with ketchup(like I do with other tin foil dinners) Joe was skeptical about combining the teriyaki and italian, but he loved it and couldn't stop eating it. 

 I didn't have a red bell pepper on hand as you will see from my picture.  I also used a different brand of teriyaki sauce (not kikkoman).  I also cooked ours in the oven.

Fresh Lemonade

courtesy of The Sisters' Cafe

5 Lemons

5 Limes

5 Oranges

5-6 cups cold water

1.5-3 cups sugar, to taste(depends on how tart your fruit is)

Juice all of the fruit.  Pour into pitcher.  Then add the water and sugar. Mix

Suzanne's Note: Wow! This is delicious.  It really hits the spot on a hot day.  You definitely want some kind of juicer though, even if it is a cheap hand one like mine.  I wouldn't recommend trying to juice these with your hands.

Sweet Potato, Chipotle, and Apple Soup

courtesy of  "Food and Wine" cookbook

2 Tb vegetable or Canola oil

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp. dried ground ginger)

2 gala apples, peeled, seeded and coarsley chopped

1 celery rib,chopped

1 3/4 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and sliced

1 quart chicken stock

3 cups water

1 small canned chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and minced (I hate adobo sauce, so I used 1 dried chipotle pepper, in the mexican food section)

1. In a soup pot, heat oil until shimmering.  Add the onion, garlic, and ginger.  Cook until softened, about 7 minutes.  

2. Add the apples and celery and cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.

4.  Add the chicken stock and water and bring to a boil.  Cover partially and simmer over low heat  until the vegetables are very tender, about 45 minutes.

5.  Stir in the chipotle.

6.Working in batches puree the soup in a blender (or use an immersion blender right in the pot).

7. Season with salt and pepper and return to the pot.  

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

courtesy of The Sisters Cafe

6 Tablespoons Honey

5 Tablespoons Lime Juice (about 1-2 limes)

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 Tsp. garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (about 3-4 chicken breasts)

8-10 flour tortillas

2 1/2-3 cups monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

16 ounces green enchilada sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with the shredded chicken.  Marinate  in a ziplock for at least an hour (I prefer to marinate it all day or overnight).

Pour about 1/2 cup of of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.  Fill flour tortillas with chicken and cheese (reserving 1 cup of cheese for the top).

Mix remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and any leftover marinade.  Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Suzanne's Note: These are really delicious and really fast to put together.  Mixing the enchilada sauce with the cream makes it more visually appealing to my kids because it doesn't look green anymore, just like another cream sauce.  The chicken would be really good on its own too. It would taste great with tacos or something if you didn't want the enchiladas.

Orange Chicken

Adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter

Orange Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar (white distilled vinegar can be used)
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Green onions for garnish, optional

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice.  Garnish with raw green onions.

Lighter/Speed Method: Cook desired amount of cubed chicken breasts in a frying pan.   Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Make sauce as directed.  Drizzle desired amount of sauce on your chicken, then freeze leftover sauce in labeled ziplock bags for later use.

Suzanne's Note:  The sauce is the key to this,It is really good.  So if you are watching your calories and don't want to coat the chicken and wait 30 minutes for it to finish cooking, I would recommend the speed method since you still get all of the good taste.  It just tastes a little less "deep fried"    

Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream Cake

courtesy of Kraft Foods

1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 tub (8 oz) cool whipped cream topping

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) Instant chocolate pudding mix

8 Oreo cookies chopped

12 Vanilla ice cream sandwiches

POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies. 

ARRANGE 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long piece of foil; top with half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining COOL WHIP. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.

Freeze for 4 hours.

Suzanne's Note: Yummy Yummy. Sorry about the blurry picture.  We have been making this recipe for a few years. In this particular picture  we forgot to buy Oreos so we did m&ms instead.  It was really good but I prefer the Oreos.  In the past we have also gotten different flavors of ice cream sandwiches, so you can pretty much play with this recipe to get it how you like it.  It is perfect because you can just keep it in the freezer and cut off a piece whenever you want and it keeps for a long time.

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary, or 1 Teaspoon dried rosemary

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Thyme, or 1 Teaspoon dried Thyme

2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened Red grape juice

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

3-4 cups beef broth

Parsley, for garnish

crusty bread, for serving

In a large soup pot heat 3 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and saute until the onions are tender, about 2 minutes.  Toss the beef in a bowl with flour, salt, and pepper.  Turn the heat to med-high and add the beef to the pot.  Cook until the beef is browned and golden around the edges, about 5 minutes.  Add the grape juice to the pot.  Using a wooden spoon, gently stir up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.  

Add the butternut squash and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine.  Add the beef broth.  Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 1 hour.  Season the stew to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with chopped parsley.

Suzanne's note: Be sure to notice that this has to simmer for an hour. Be easy on adding salt and pepper to taste.  I didn't have to add very much more.  Don't brush this off as just another beef stew. It is really good and is a really a unique twist to your typical stew.