Cashew Chicken (Shrimp or Vegetable) Stir Fry

• 2  boneless skinless chicken breasts (uncooked and cubed)**
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• Mixture of fresh stir fry vegetables washed and cut accordingly or use a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables
• 1 ½ to 2 cups cashews or almonds (toasted *)
• 1 cup vegetable stock (chicken stock works too)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• ½ teaspoon sugar

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper before cutting into bite sized cubes. If you’re using fresh stir fry vegetables, wash and prepare accordingly. In wok set to high (or fry pan if need be) pour in 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil. When oil is hot drop in chicken pieces. Cook until opaque. Add vegetables. Reduce heat to Medium. Stir fry until hot but still crispy tender. Add vegetable or chicken stock. Cover and simmer about 2 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, corn starch and sugar. Add sauce to stir fry mixing constantly until thick. Top with toasted cashews before serving. Serve over a bed of cooked rice.

 *Toast cashews or Almonds by heating the oven to 350° F. Spread cashews or almonds in a single layer on cookie sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

** You can replace the chicken with shrimp or skip it all together!

The Inn at Irish Hollow Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Bananas Foster

• 1 1/2 Cups Water 
• Dash Sea Salt
• 3/4 Cup Oatmeal
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

Boil water and salt in pot on stove. When water is boiling, add steel-cut oats. Cover pot and reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stir occasionally. When the oats are drying out from the water, add 1/2 cup Heavy Cream. Remove from stove and is ready to serve.

Bananas Foster

• 1/2 Stick Butter
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1/8 Cup Irish Whiskey (we use Jameson)
• 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1 Bananas, sliced horizontal, then vertically

Melt butter in a sauté pan on the stove at med heat. When butter is hot and melted, add brown sugar. When mixed and bubbling, pour whiskey in and light a match carefully, putting it to the sauce, lighting the alcohol on fire (be very careful with this if you've never done it). When it burns off, add 1/4 cup Heavy Cream. Once all mixed well, add sliced bananas and heat in the foster sauce for about a minute.

Pour sauce (with bananas) over oatmeal in serving bowls and garnish with fresh berries and mint. I used about 2 Tablespoons sauce per bowl. My husband likes much more than that.


**The original recipe comes from here (The Inn at Irish Hollow) a wonderful B&B we stayed at for the weekend this February. I've altered it only by cutting the foster sauce in half. The first time I made this we had a lot of sauce left over in spite of my husband using quite a lot. It was okay though, a little zap in the microwave to reheat and he used it to top his ice cream the following day. If you want leftovers or prefer to really pour it on your oatmeal go back to the original recipe. Happy eating!

Bonnie's Cinnamon Rolls

CINNAMON ROLLS

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour

FILLING

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4-6 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter , softened

FROSTING

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 -2 cups powdered sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl
Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour, mix well.
Knead the dough into a large ball, using your kitchen-aid mixer and bread hook or hands on lightly dusted surface with flour.
Put in a greased bowl, and lightly grease dough cover bowl with warm wet towel and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.
It should be approx 1/4 thick preheat oven to 400 degrees
To make filling, combine the brown sugar, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar/sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the surface.
Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge
Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan, 4 across on most cookie/jelly roll pans
Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
While the rolls are baking combine the frosting ingredients.
Beat well with an mixer until fluffy.
When the rolls are done, spread generously with frosting.

** I like to add raisins or pecans to my cinnamon rolls. You can too. Just sprinkle a generous hand full along with the butter and cinnamon sugars.  I also prefer caramel coating to frosting. For this I boil 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar to a rolling boiling. Boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat and pour a generous amount over each cinnamon roll. To make Caramel Pecan Rolls, simply add a generous amount of pecans to the top of the rolls before pouring the caramel over the top.

Caramel Puffcorn

• 1 bag (8oz) puff corn (Oke Dokee brand is what we get)
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. butter
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Spray lightly a large roaster pan with cooking spray. Dump in the bag of puff corn.
Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt in tall saucepan. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring often. While still on flame stir in baking soda and mix very well. It will foam up so be careful! Take off flame. Pour over puff corn in the large roaster pan and mix until most of the puff corn is coated.

Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to distribute the caramel over the puff corn even further. 

Break apart as it's cooling. 

Cool completely and store in air tight plastic bag or container.

*It does not hurt to add you're favorite nuts into the mix either. I like nuts so I add about 1 1/2 - 2 cups whole nuts.