Last weekend while my husband and dad were busy taking our car apart my mom and I were busy in the kitchen testing some recipes we'd found on Pinterest. Not only were they delicious, they came out looking exactly how they did in the pictures...and that hardly ever never happens!
While we sipped margaritas infused with Blue Curacao we whipped together:
* Baked Mozzarella Sticks and
* Garlic Bread-Wrapped Meatballs for appetizers and
* Spicy Cashew Chicken for dinner
Deliciousness!
Baked Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients:
12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella string cheese
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp flour
5 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
5 tbsp panko crumbs
2 tsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried parsley
olive oil cooking spray
Directions:
Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen.
In small bowl, whisk the egg. Place the flour on another small bowl. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs, panko, parmesan cheese and dried parsley.
Dip the frozen sticks in flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then coat with the crumbs.
Repeat this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a tray with wax paper. Place cheese back into the freezer until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden).
When ready to bake preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil.
When ready to bake preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil.
Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet. Spray the tops of the mozzarella sticks with a little more oil and bake in the bottom third of your oven until crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 5-10 minutes watching them closely so they don't melt.
Dip on your favorite ranch or marinara dipping sauce!
Garlic Bread-Wrapped Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury golden layers biscuits - each pulled into 2 layers
10 frozen fully cooked italian style meatballs - thawed and cut in half
2 sticks string cheese - cut each into 10 pieces
1 T. parm cheese
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 c. marinara sauce
10 frozen fully cooked italian style meatballs - thawed and cut in half
2 sticks string cheese - cut each into 10 pieces
1 T. parm cheese
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 c. marinara sauce
Directions:
Heat oven to 375. Separate biscuits into 2 layers. Place 1 meatball half and one piece of cheese into each biscuit, wrap dough around it and seal edges. Place seam side down into 9 inch round cake pan. Sprinkle with parm cheese, garlic pwd. and italian seasoning. Bake 18-20 min or until golden brown. Serve warm with warm sauce.
Spicy Cashew Chicken
*Note: I love spicy, but this was almost too spicy...ok, it was too spicy...I had to save almost half of what I served myself and had to eat in the next day for lunch because I couldn't finish it. I haven't had a chance to play around with the recipe to find the "right" amount of "kick" for it yet...but I'd probably say that 1/2 tsp is enough.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts cubed
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup oil
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it, a little goes a long way)
3 green onions, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic)
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup oil
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it, a little goes a long way)
3 green onions, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic)
1 cup cashews, unsalted
toasted sesame seeds
Sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp white vinegar
toasted sesame seeds
Sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp white vinegar
Directions:
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces & put into a bowl; add soy sauce. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients. (could also prepare a day before and do a 24-hour marinade to get a little extra flavor in the chicken)
In a small bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, 4 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp vinegar. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic.
Drain chicken in strainer to get the marinade off as much a possible. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add red pepper flakes to oil,stir a couple times. Add chicken all at once, let sit for a minute or two till golden,then turn chicken. Add garlic to chicken. Cook chicken till golden on all sides and cooked through. drain oil if there is still an excessive amount. Add cashews. Move wok off hot stove and immediately pour in sauce while constantly turning chicken over to cover everything in sauce. Sauce should thicken quite a bit, if you want it thicker put it back on medium heat for about 5-10 seconds, and stir, stir, stir. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and add sliced green onions. Serve over Rice. ENJOY!
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