I love chicken tacos....I love chicken lasagna...I love chicken on my salad and I love chicken period.
Shredding chicken is so much easier that you may think. So let's just cover it now so that in the future when when I say use shredded chicken you already got that part covered.

What to do if you are just eating the chicken as is:
season the chicken breasts with your favorite seasoning and then cook it up (bake, grill, fry doesn't matter).
Remove it from your preferred cooking dish and set it on a cutting board.
Allow to cool slightly.
Then start digging into it with the teeth of two forks. like this....

This is how your shred chicken. You just dig into fork by fork and rip it apart.
If your going to be putting your chicken in a sauce than their is an even easier way.

What to do if you are putting your shredded chicken in a sauce:
Bring a large pot of chicken to a boil.
While waiting for water to boil give your chicken breast a good pounding to flatten out the chicken as much as possible.
Place chicken in boiling water and cook until done (about 20-30 minutes)
While chicken is boiling fix your sauce or cook whatever else you need to cook for your dish.
When chicken is cooked remove from water and place on a cutting board.
Then shred chicken by digging two forks into like the picture above.

Shredded chicken is an awesome way to add chicken to a dish. Try it out.

I love rice, I love chicken, I love spicy food and lets be honest if I can mix those things together than I am all over that chance. I also love anything that is even better when warmed up later. I do really do leftovers but there are a handful of items I'll eat the next day for lunch and this recipe is one of those things.


What you'll need:

Orange Chicken:
4 large chicken breast cut into chunks
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup of your favorite orange juice
1 cup of water
2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
3 gloves of garlic
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water


Fried Rice:
1 cup white rice cooked (I use a rice cooker)
1 onion
1 cup of chopped carrots
2 whole eggs
2 tbs soy sauce
oil for frying

Rules:
        You can really use any veggie you like in this rice have some fun and make it different each time by adding something different.

Start:
Cook your rice in a rice cooker and let it keep warm inside
chop all your veggies and set aside.
Chop up garlic to nice small minced size and set aside.
Chop up chicken breast and set aside.
In a large zip lock bag combine you flour, salt, and pepper. Give it a good shake to mix it all up and then add in your chicken. Seal the bag and give it a really good shake making sure to coat each piece of chicken.
Fill a deep pot with about an inch high worth of oil and cook chicken until crust is golden brown and chicken is fully cooked (3-5 minutes) remove chicken from grease and set aside.

In a large skillet add in oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan (you can use some of the oil you just used to cook the chicken)
in a small bowl beat your two eggs together completely and then toss them in to the skillet when the oil is hot. fry egg until fully cooked and then remove. Set aside for later.
In that same skillet toss in carrots and onion cooking them slightly for about 102 minutes. Just enough to release their flavor but keeping them nice and crisp.
Add in cooked rice and stir.
Cut up egg and add it to rice along with soy sauce.
Stir until fully combined

In a small pot add in orange juice, water, vinegar, brown sugar, ground ginger, garlic, soy sauce and red pepper flakes and let bring to a boil stirring just to mix the brown sugar around from time to time.
In a small cup add in you 2 tbs of water and 2 tbs of cornstarch until fully combined.
When sauce is boiling add in water/cornstarch mixture and stir until you reach the thicken you like.
Pour chicken into pot or sauce into bowl with chicken (it does not matter which) and mix.

*Tips*
      I like to add my chicken to my rice but you do not have to do this. You can keep chicken warm by placing it in your oven preheated to 250 degrees before hand. just place on a cookie sheet and let it sit there while you finish rice and sauce.

Remember when we made Hummus? You know this is what I love about food. You take one thing and with it you can make a billion new things. Take this amazingly yummy yet simple sandwich.

All you need is:

2 slices of really good bread
1 cucumber thinly sliced
2 tbsp hummus


I could give you the how to's but I'm willing to guess you already know how to make a sandwich. So I'm not going to walk you through that. What I really want to talk about here is the one thing we seem to forget. That meals don't have to be elaborate. That good cooking comes from someplace other than the Foodnetwork, and recipe that list ingredients that cost more than a flat screen TV or that you can't even find in your local market to start with. This sandwich is SO good, and there isn't a single ingredient that you can't find everywhere. BUT here's the point. It's just a base. ADD MORE. Use your imagination and go wild. This is how cooking starts. This is how your grandma cooked. This is how simple food gets fancy. You start here and you take it to a place only you can come up with. That's when you go from being a cook to being a chef, and when you go from simple to fancy. Cooking is like life. Jump in.

I love Hummus. I'm not lying, there is an addiction there that you should be aware of if you ever invite me over to your house to enjoy hummus. Hummus is also one of those things that are incredibly good for you AND taste good. Unless you're my punk arse sister in-law and you hate anything that is made with any type of bean. Then you won't really think hummus is good, but it will still be incredibly good for you. Hummus is also incredibly easy and cheap to make. The problem is that it contains one ingredient that isn't always easy to come across and in that, making it yourself can be stressful...unless you have a cheat. Which I do.

What you'll need:

1 can of chickpeas (or garbanzo beans)
1 garlic glove
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp tahini


*CHEAT*
            Tahini can be hard to come by sometimes (most times) though always check your store to see if they carry it. You'll find it in the ethnic food aisle. However if your store doesn't carry it (as none of mine seem to) you can substitute the tahini for sesame seed oil. Tahini is just sesame seed paste. They carry the same taste just one is an oil and one is paste. They share very different consistencies and textures so for this cheat when using Sesame Seed Oil you will only use 1 tbsp and not 2.


Start:

Drain your chickpeas but reserve the oil for later in a small bowl.
Mince garlic glove up as fine as you can by hand and set in a large bowl.
Add your drained chickpeas into the large bowl.
Then add all other ingredients.
Mix together using a hand blender also known as a smartstick.
If you don't have a hand blender you can mix this ingredients in a food processor.
Blend/mix until incredients come together in a creamy spread.
If your mix seems a little try you can spoon in 1 tsp at a time some of the reserved chickpea juice.
Don't use water it will take away from the taste.
Chill for 1 hour in the fridge and then enjoy......mmmmmmmm enjoy.

I love cookies this is no lie, but there is something you should know about my recipes. When I cook/bake I tend to stand there and wing it. Then I wait to see what happens. This cookie sort of came about that way. I wanted chocolate chip but I also wanted some almonds and as stuff was mixing I was drinking some strong coffee and went "Hmmmm?" and then I poured some in. Yeah, there you have it my friends the truth I wing my way though it and if it comes out good then you get to see it here if it doesn't then it goes down in the "we'll pretend that never happened" folded, but I mean that's never happened so I so don't have a folder like that. Yeah.

What you'll need:

    2 cups of Butter (softened)
    3/4 cups Brown Sugar
    3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
    2 Large Whole Eggs
    3 cups all purpose flour
    1 tsps baking soda
    1 tsps Salt
    3 tbsp Espresso or strong brewed coffee
    2 tsps Vanilla Extra
    1 cup  Almonds
    1 Cup Chocolate Chips

 
Start:
   Heat oven to 350.
  Add together butter, and sugars until creamy.
  Add in eggs, vanilla, and espresso.
  Slowing add in baking soda, flour and Salt then mix completely.
  Turn your mixer to a low setting and mix in your chocolate chips and almonds.
  On a parchment lined cookie sheet or well greased if you don't have parchment paper spoon heaping teaspoon sizes balls of dough onto your sheet about two inches apart from each other and bake for 10-12 minutes.

mmmmm Monkeybread.....nough said.

What you'll need:

3 cans of plain buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup & 1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 bunt cake pan or any deep pan
1 large plate (ideally with a lip around it)
1 gallon size zip lock bag

Rules:
You can really have fun with this recipe. If you want more of a cinnamon taste add more cinnamon, want less add less. Want more carmel topping then add more butter and brown sugar. Let this dish become a family staple and really have some fun with it.


Start:
Pre- heat oven to 350'
Add 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tbsp to your gallon size zip lock bag and set aside.
Cut up each biscuit into fours. You can do this with a knife or a pair of kitchen scissors (which is how I prefer to do it)
Add biscuits to the zip lock bag and seal the bag.
Shake vigerously until each piece is coated with the cinnamon and sugar mixture and then set aside.
In a medium size pot melt 1 cup of butter on low over the stove top.
While butter is melting use the 1 tbsp of butter left over to butter your pan......BUTTER YOUR PAN.
Once bunt pan is coated add the biscuits into the pan as evenly ad possible.
When butter in your pot over the stove has melted add in brown sugar and turn the heat up to medium high.
Stir until the brown sugar and butter had fully combined.
Then pour your carmel over you biscuit pieces and place in your oven for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and place large plate over bunt pan and flip.
Tap the top of the bunt pan to loosen out any stuck pieces and then enjoy.

I feel that at this moment I should tell you so that you know with full disclosure the truth about me.

I love soup.

There I told you. There's no going back and there's no denying it. I tell you this truth because you need to know that when it comes to soup I believe in my heart that EVERYONE needs to know how to make their own special just for them soup. I will share with you for a lifetime my favorite *me* soups but it's up to you to come up with *your* soup. This means sucking it up and jumping in head first.
Little tid bit about soup; soups some down to three categories: broth, cream, stew. They are very different and within each category there are even more categories but these three are key. Find out which one you like the best and then go for it. Potato Soup is a creamy soup. It is the love of my life and it makes my winters better. It makes my life better.
What you'll need:
4 Large Potatoes cut into bite size chunks
2 Carrots cut into bite size pieces
3 Celery Stalks cut into bite size pieces
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of chicken
salt & Pepper to taste
1 large onion cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups half & half
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup reserved water from boiled potatoes

Rules: cook this soup at a low heat and let it *get hot* don't rush it.

Start:
Boil Potato chunks until fork tender (about 10 minutes)
While Potatoes boil In a large skillet saute carrots, celery, and onions in your butter just until onions are tender.
Then remove from heat.
Before draining Potatoes remove about 1/4 a cup of the water and set aside.
drain Potatoes and run cold water over them for a few minutes. This will stop the cooking process and ensure that your potatoes wont get mushy.
let sit in strainer while you continue.
In a large pot add cream of celery, cream of chicken, garlic powder,salt, pepper,half and half.
Cook over medium low heat until fully combined and creamy.
Add sauteed veggies into your large pot and stir softly.
Add Potatoes and cook until warmed to your liking then serve.

Now if the soup is too thick add in the reserved water from your potatoes. If it's just how you like it then don't.


YUMMY!!!!!!

If you're not familiar with the term Adobo that's okay but I'm willing to bet you've been made some type of Adobo dish or have eatin an Adobo dish in your lifetime. Adobo is a Spanish term for sauce, seasoning, or marinade used during cooking. Although this recipe is inspired by Ivory Hut's Filipino Adobo recipe the name still means the same. Which could have some from Spain invading the Philippines in the late 16th century and encountering the vinegar based stewing process....which they then referred to as adobo. The differences between the two cultures and their meaning behind the term Adobo is long and if you are at all interested in knowing more about it Google it an check it out cause it is awesome.
The main difference and the difference we're going to focus on with this dish, is that Adobo for a Filipino dish has a a base of vinegar and almost always pork or chicken. Vinegar and meat love each other. I'm not going to really get into the details here but Vinegar is the key to cooking a cook juices chicken. A good dare I say even awesome marinade always starts with Vinegar. For this recipe we are going to use Ivory Hut's basic ingredients.

What you'll need:
6 to 8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce(or an additional tablespoon of brown sugar)
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, half left whole, half cracked slightly
2 bay leaves

and I would like to add
A nice big strong skillet.....I truly do prefer a cast iron for this recipe. I swear you need to get you one of those.

What we're going to change:
4 chicken breast
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Rice

Rules:

This recipe is all about patience. Don't rush this and don't keep looking at it telling yourself it don't look right. Relax and let things cook.

Start:
In a large mixing cup of small bowl mix together all your ingredients.
Then in your CAST IRON skillet lay your chicken breast out.
Pour your ingredient mixture over your chicken and put it in your fridge for at LEAST 20 minutes but overnight is even more awesome.
Pour rice in your rice cooker and start it.
When you've marinated your chicken long enough take it out and put it on your cook top over medium high heat, cover the pot and bring to bard boil.
When it starts to boil turn the heat down to a simmer and let the chicken cook for 15 minutes.
At 15 minutes you want to flip your chicken and cook uncovered at a soft simmer to reduce the sauce this takes about another 10 minutes.
Flip the chicken again and continue to cook until the chicken it done. All in all cooking time is about 30 minutes.
Lay chicken out of a bed of rice and serve.

PLEASE PUT THIS IN YOUR MOUTH.....PLEASE!!!!!!!

I love cookies. I love baking. I love food. But I'm not the biggest fan of really sweet stuff. I like my desserts to have more of a savory taste to them.  Enter the Dolly. I can't give you a history lesson on the Dolly like a normally do. I'm sure somewhere out there the correct name for these cookies exist and a long history of a king wanting a cookie but since for me they were invented in my kitchen while realizing that I wanted to make cookies but not chocolate chips cookies and I just started seeing what I had in my pantry hoping that by the end of it I would enjoy what I was putting in my mouth, their names in this house became Dollies. Because it's the BEST COOKIE NAME EVER!!

What you'll need:

1 cup butter
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
2 cups sliced almonds


Start:
In a large bowl cream together your butter and your sugars.
Add in eggs and mix well
Add in vanilla extract
cut your vanilla bean in half length wise and scrape out the yummy seeds, then add the seeds to your mix.
Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
Add in almonds and mix slowly combing the almonds into your dough.
Set bowl in fridge and allow dough to cool.
Pre-heat over to 350'
when the oven beeps you can take your dough out of the fridge and begin making your cookies.
Scoop a teaspoon of dough onto a parchment lined or lightly greased cookie sheet.
Place cookies about two inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.

Who doesn't like cake? Seriously about the only thing about cake that sucks is that you can't drive and eat it at the same time. Fuck that, I love cake. My round body and voluptuous breasts prove I love cake and I ain't ashamed of that. So when life was like "you can't eat cake while driving" I was like "Yes, I can!"
Enter the wonderful world of Whoopie Pies. If you've ever been to the east coast and especially up around the New England area than you know all about Whoopie Pies. In fact you more than likely have stock in Whoppie Pies because Whoopies Pies ARE AWESOME!

Please make these. They are so easy and so good and I am so proud of myself for this recipe ya'll and I really want your life to be wonderful and these for at least a moment or two will do that for. I swear.

What you need for the Inside Out Cake:

1 cup butter softened
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoons almond extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs at room temp.
4 1/2 cups Flour
1 cup Half & Half

Rules:
There really isn't any. If you would like a lighter cake substitute the half & half with milk. If you like a denser cake go with heavy cream. Eggs whip better when they're at room temp so set them out for a little bit before you add them.

Start:
Preheat oven to 400'
In a large mixing bowl add together the butter, salt, vanilla, baking powder, and sugar and mix them together until they're nice and creamy.
Then slowly add the eggs one at a time making sure to mix in each egg before adding another one.
Add the flour.
Then add the milk

With a small scoop or a pasty bag you want to lay out your cookies on a parchment lined or lightly greased cookie sheet. They don't spread too much so make sure you really make them about the size you are wanting leaving 2 inches between each cookie. I like to make mine bite sized.
Bake for about 11 minutes or until cookie looks set.
Let cookies cool completely before adding the frosting.

Vanilla Bean & Espresso Butter Cream Frosting

What you need:
2½ sticks butter softened
1 vanilla bean
2½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoons half & half
1 Tablespoons brewed espresso (or strong coffee)

Start:

In a large bowl add in butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, half & half, and espresso.
Cut your vanilla bean in half length wise and scrape out all the yummy seeds, then add them to your large bowl.
Mix ingredients together until fully combined and frosting is nice and creamy.
Set in fridge for 5 minutes.


How to assemble cookies:

Add a small dollop of frosting to one cookie.
Then take another cookie and set it on top of the Frosting.
Press down slowly and lightly.
Continue for each cookie until finished.