Slow Cooker Sweet Fire Chicken

This is an awesome recipe! My husband loves eating Sweet Fire Chicken when we go eat Chinese food so I decided to try making it at home as a surprise. He loved it, of course! Like most Slow Cooker recipes it's about putting it all together in the pot and letting the flavors meld together over time. The combination of spices, peppers, and pineapples together with the chicken is super tasty. My family loved it and I'm sure yours will too!

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut them into cubes)

1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

1 can of pineapple chunks, drained

For the sauce:

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes (if you want it hotter add another 1/2 teaspoon)

2/3 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of sweet red chili sauce

1/2 teaspoon of salt

4 tablespoons of cold water plus 3 tablespoons of cornstarch

Procedure:

1. Cut the chicken and bell pepper. 
2. In a bowl mix together the ingredients for the sauce, except the 4 tablespoons of cold water and the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.
3. Add the chicken, bell pepper, and pineapple into a greased slow cooker.
4. Pour the sauce into the slow cooker and give it a stir. 
5. Cover and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.

After cutting the chicken and peppers prepare the sauce. First put the minced garlic in a bowl.

Then the pepper flakes.

Followed by the sugar.

The cup of water.

And the sweet chili sauce.

Lastly add the salt.

Mix thoroughly.

Put the chicken in the greased slow cooker.

Followed by the peppers.

And the pineapples.

Stir to combine.

Cover and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.

Put the cornstarch in a separate bowl.

Then add the cold water and stir to combine.

Remove the lid.

Pour the cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker, 30 minutes before serving.

Mix well.

Cover and cook for the 30 minutes.

It will come out super moist, soft, and tasty. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Pie

From the moment I saw the scene featuring it in the film Julie and Julia I've wanted to make a chocolate pie. It haunts me every time I watch the movie (as my husband will tell you, I've seen it a lot of times) so finally decided to make one. My brother wanted me to make one for Three Kings' Day celebrations. Honestly, I was a little scared of tempering the chocolate mixture with the raw egg yolks, but it went great! As always my hubby told me "I told you so... I knew you where gonna make it perfectly." Gotta love him! He's my rock! Hope you guys enjoy this double chocolate pie! It was amazing! Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

A 9 inch pie crust
1 1/2  cups of white sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp of salt
3 cups of 2% milk
3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
2 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract


Procedure:

Take a pre-made pie crust from the fridge and let it thaw for 15 minutes.

 

Once thawed, pinch it with a fork.

Cut out a piece of parchment paper (sized just a bit larger than the 9 inch pie).
Stretch it out over the pie.

Gently spread a pound of dry beans or pie weights over it.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Once the pie has baked remove the beans and parchment paper.

Get a 2 qt sauce pan.

Toss in the sugar, cornstarch, and salt then stir together.

Add the milk.

Add the semi chocolate chips to the mixture.

Add the unsweetened chocolate.

Start gently mixing at a medium temperature. 

It will start to het darker and thicker. Be warned though, it's gonna take quite a bit time!
Don't worry, though it's totally worth the wait!

Once it thickens it's important to get it off the stove.
In a separate bowl beat the 4 egg yolks, by themselves.

Slowly add a little bit of the chocolate mixture to the eggs and start combining them.
It's important to add the chocolate to the eggs little by little to temper the eggs slowly (otherwise you get chocolate covered scrambled eggs!)

Once you've added half of the chocolate to the eggs pour it all back into the saucepan and put it on medium-high heat. Keep mixing it until it just starts to boil.

Once it's thickened up a little add the mixture to the baked pie.

Refrigerate (for at least 3 hours) and enjoy!

Natilla

My father used to make this dessert for me when I was a child. It’s a kind of pudding. I remember it fondly as something special the two of us shared. Neither my sister nor my brother liked it. So on the rare occasions he made it I was super happy with the treat. Now as an adult when I’m feeing down and want to feel like a little girl again I make it for myself. This is just real comfort food for me. There are few foods that can really give you that sense of innocence and comfort. This is one of the top ones in my personal list. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Tips:

·      The way you know the pudding is done is with the wooden spoon. When you make the line with your finger (careful not to burn) and the mixture doesn’t run it is ready. 

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups of milk

¼ cup cornstarch

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Ground cinnamon (to taste)

Procedure:

In a medium size pot add the milk.

Add the cornstarch. Mix until well combined.

Add the sugar.

Add the salt.

Add the vanilla extract.

Prepare the aluminum molds.

Cook the mixture, stirring constantly at a medium temperature until it’s thickened.

 

This is the mixture at the start. It's very runny. 

This is the mixture at the middle of the process. It's starting to thicken.

This is what I was talking about in the tip. The top doesn't run.

Pour the mixture into the aluminum molds.

 

Sprinkle some ground cinnamon on top.

Enjoy!