Orange Chicken

This is a crockpot recipe that I ended up just making in the skillet, and it tasted amazing! My new roommates loved it too, so I'd say it was a definite success.

I did a terrible job of taking pictures during the process of making the chicken, but I did have enough patience to take a picture of the finished product before wolfing it down!


First, I cut the chicken into cubes and lightly breaded it with flour. Then I put the chicken in a warm skillet with a bit of olive oil and let it cook. I then started mixing the orange sauce in a bowl. Once the chicken appeared golden brown, I dumped the sauce into the skillet and let it simmer while the rice cooked.

Thanks to http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-orange-chicken-295686 for the inspiration!

This recipe yielded enough for 3 generous servings of chicken, served over white rice.


Ingredients

-8 small chicken breasts
-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2/3 cup orange marmalade
-1/2 cup mustard
-1/2 cup ketchup
-2 tablespoons soy sauce
-2 tablespoons brown sugar
-3 chopped scallions

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Toss the chicken in flour until each piece is lightly coated.

2. Heat a skillet with the olive oil. Place the chicken into the warmed skillet and allow to brown.

3. Mix the marmalade, mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a bowl.

4. Once the chicken appears almost completely cooked, add the marmalade mixture to the skillet and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

5. Serve over rice. Add the chopped scallions on top of the chicken.

Note: To make in the crockpot, bread the chicken same as step 1, then toss all of the ingredients except for the scallions into a crockpot and allow to cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Bailey's Brownies

Final exams are over, and what better way to celebrate than baking?  On top of that, a dear friend of mine just graduated AND got engaged, so I have plenty of excuses to bake!  One of my favorite recipes that I've come across, courtesy of my amazing neighbor who is an incredibly talented baker herself, are these Bailey's brownies.  They are super easy to make and taste absolutely amazing.  No one would believe they come out of a box!  Yep, that's right, this recipe uses boxed brownie mix.  Super easy :)

All you need is 1 box of brownie mix (I like Duncan Hines or Ghirardelli, but any brand will work), 1/2 a cup of Bailey's, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup vegetable oil.

Mix the ingredients together until the mixture is homogeneous and has the consistency of thick batter.

Pour the batter into an 8x8 baking pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350 F.

After the brownies have fully baked, let them cool in the pan until they can be flipped out in one solid piece.

While they are cooling, start mixing the frosting.  You will need 1/2 a cup of softened butter, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, and 2-3 tablespoons of Bailey's.

Beat the ingredients until the frosting has the desired thickness, then spread liberally across brownies.

Take 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips and melt them in the microwave by putting them in a microwave-safe bowl and heating them for no more than 20 seconds at a time.  Stir the chocolate chips in between heating sessions until they are completely liquid.  It only took me two 20 second microwave sessions to reach the desired consistency.

Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate across the top of the icing.  Allow the icing to set, then cut and serve.

Thank you to my lovely neighbor for this amazing recipe!!

Ingredients

-1 box brownie mix

-1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

-1 egg

-1/3 cup vegetable oil

-1/2 cup softened butter

-2 cups confectioner's sugar

-2-3 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream

-1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Mix the brownie mix, 1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream, egg, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a brownie pan.

3. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

4. Beat the softened butter, confectioner's sugar, and 2-3 tablespoons Bailey's (depending on how strong you want the taste of Bailey's in your icing) in a small mixing bowl until the frosting has the desired thickness.

5. Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies.

6. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave (do not heat for more than 20 seconds at a time, and stir in between heating intervals) and drizzle over the top of the icing.