Spicy Ginger Soda, a Hangover Cure

I recently found this recipe for a hangover cure, and it occurred to me that after a night of too much wine, it would probably make me feel 10x better. The creator of this recipe claimed that they drink it when they're sluggish, dehydrated, or if they didn’t sleep well the night before. It is supposedly a "miracle beverage."

Ingredients

• Lemons
• Seltzer water
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6″ of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

Directions

1. Combine 2 cups of water, salt, ginger, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a pan over the stove.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from heat and let it sit, covered, until it is cool.
4. Strain the syrup into a jar and put it in the fridge to chill.
5. Fill a tall glass with ice.
6. Put 2 Tbsp. of the spicy-giner syrup and a lemon wedge into a glass.
7. Fill the glass with soda water and stir.

p.s. If you're going for a 'hair of the dog' type-situation, this works especially well with a shot of whatever liquor you were drinking the night before. ;)

15 Freakin' Stir Fry Sauces

Stumbled across these recently and it occurred to me that I always use the same things for my stir-frys. Why not mix it up? It's easy, for every sauce just combine the ingredients in a small bowl, stir
well to combine, then add to your stir fry. Don't miss the tips at the bottom of the recipe
list, as well.

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce 
- Great with seafood stir fries, such as shrimp and/or scallops, as
well as chicken.

1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce II 
- nice with chicken and seafood.

2/3 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste)
Optional: red pepper flakes

Soy Sesame Stir-Fry Sauce 
- good all-round Asian sauce, suitable for all proteins.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. rice wine vinegar
4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
2 tsp. sugar

Basic Stir-Fry Sauce 
- good all-round sauce.

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine or rice vinegar
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce
 - great with chicken and pork.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider or rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce II 
- great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce III 
- great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup pineapple juice (or addition 1/4 cup water)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Hot and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce 
- good all-round sauce.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. chile paste (sambal oleek)

Thai Stir-Fry Sauce 
- great with chicken or shrimp.

2/3 cup coconut milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili
2 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

Thai Stir-Fry Sauce II 
- perfect for noodles or chicken.

1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp. chopped peanuts

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce 
- nice with chicken and pork.

3/4 orange juice
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Finely grated orange zest

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce II 
- nice with chicken and pork.

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. brown sugar
1 green onion, finely chopped

Spicy Orange Stir-Fry Sauce 
- great with chicken!

3/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. finely grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper, or to taste

Orange Sesame Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce 
 - nice with chicken.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar or rice wine
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 fresh red chili, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp. sambal oleek)

Spicy Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce
  - great all-round spicy stir fry sauce.

3-4 Tbsp. sodium-reduced soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine or rice vinegar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp.sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. green onion, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili paste (sambal oleek or chili paste sauce with garlic)


 


Tips:

1. Some of these sauces already have cornstarch added but if they don't, you can use
this to thicken any sauce that you think is too thin. Simply combine 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
with 3 Tbsp. water and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add a bit, stir and cook until sauce thickens. Add more as necessary.

2. Consider using low-sodium chicken broth and soy sauce to avoid an overly-salty
finished dish.

3. Each of these sauces makes 1/2 - 1 cup of stir fry sauce. You may not need it all,
depending on the amount of meat, noodles and/or vegetables you are stir frying. Add
as necessary to make it as saucy as you like and thicken with the thickener above, if
desired. Of course, you can also double the sauce if you're making a lot of stir fry.

4. Some of these sauces already contain things like minced garlic, ginger, onion or chilis
(or other heat) but if they don't, be sure to consider adding some into your stir fry.

5. Everyone's tastes are different so you will likely want to tweak the sauces to your
tastes. If you print out the list, you can simply make notes as you go to develop your
perfect sauce


Cheers, Foodies!

Random Creamy Chicken

 I call this chicken "random" because I have been trying to find ways to season my cooking without using lots of salt. So, I used onions and herbs to bring out the flavor in this dish. (I know the dressing can attribute for most of the sodium though. )

Servings: two to four
Time: 25-35 minutes

Ingredients:

-Two to four chicken breasts
-1/2 yellow or white onion, sliced
-3-4 green onions, chopped
-1 clove garlic, chopped ( or garlic powder )
-seasoning mix of a pinch of each of the following: dried parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin, pepper, celery salt
-1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
-1/2 cup orange juice
-a few tablespoons of safflower or coconut oil
-1/2 cup white wine
-1/2 cup Annie's Goddess dressing

Directions:

-combine the first seven ingredients in a large ziploc bag;
(chicken, onion, green onions, garlic, herbs, curry powder, orange juice)
-allow bag to sit in the fridge for at least fifteen minutes
-heat a saucepan with the oil of your choosing
-add contents of bag to saucepan
-cover saucepan and cook , stirring occasionally and flipping chicken occasionally
-when chicken is cooked enough so that there is no more raw chicken showing, pour Goddess dressing over chicken and cover, flipping chicken once or twice more until fully cooked

This recipe would be great enjoyed with white or brown rice and some roasted vegetables.

Scrumptious Strawberry Banana Bread

I am so sorry that it has been so long since my last post! I have been extremely busy, but I have also racked up many recipes since my last post. Here's a great one: I just made this today for the first time, and it was fantastic!! It turned out very moist, and you can taste the bananas and strawberries at the same time. Please enjoy my foodie friends. 

Ingredients

1. 3 eggs
2. 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3. 1 1/2 cups strawberries, mashed ( 16 ounce box)
4. 1 cup mashed bananas ( about 3 medium)
5. 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
6. 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
7. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8. 2 teaspoons baking powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
11. 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated 
12.  
13.  
14. Directions
15. Grease and flour two 8x4x2-inch pans or six 5x3x2-inch pans. Preheat oven to 350°F.
16. Mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together, set aside.
17. Beat eggs with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until thick and yellow, about four to five minutes. Add granulated sugar, beat 2 minutes. Then add the berries, bananas and applesauce on low speed until combined.
18. Add flour mixture to the wet mix, stir until just combined. Pour evenly into prepared pans.
19. Bake at 350°F 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans ten minutes. Turn out onto racks, and let cool completely before slicing.