Sesame Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

Hi everyone! Here's the video as promised. Next month I plan on doing another video and another set of polls to ask for more input from my followers! Thank you to those who participated and I assure you there will be more videos to come! Enjoy!

Video for 1-year Anniversary

Hey everyone! If you haven't already be sure to cast your vote on which recipe you'd like to see a video for. You can cast your vote by going to my facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/CookingWithLitaB or my Google+ page @ https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/105186733508443730713/105186733508443730713/posts

Vote now!

Freezing Meat Tip

Hey folks. I decided to do something a little different and provide a food tip to help save on prep time. Because I do a lot of stir-fry and other recipes that require cubed meat (mostly chicken), I tried to find a way to defrost meat faster. I'm one of the few people in this world that doesn't have a microwave, both for financial reasons and to avoid the allure of TV dinners...also I don't have a lot of counter space.

The Quick and Easy Process:

Step 1) When you get home from the supermarket, unwrap the meat from its container.

Step 2) For chicken, set aside as many Ziploc bags (sandwich size) as there are chicken breasts. For ground meat, divide into 4-5 equal sections and take out 4-5 Ziploc bags.

Step 3) If you are bagging chicken, leave a couple of breasts whole and cube the rest. Place each chicken breast's worth of meat in a Ziploc baggie. For ground meat, place each section that was divided into the respective baggie.

Step 4) Place in freezer.

*Tip* If you don't want to use the microwave for thawing, then fill a mixing bowl full of hot water. Place the bag of meat in the bowl and throw a towel over the bowl to lock in the heat. Switch out the water every 30-60 minutes because it will cool significantly. Once the meat is closer to being thawed out you won't have to switch the water out as often.

Mexi-Chicken Bean Dip

Here's an upgrade to the bean dip that I did back in August of 2012. I decided to make it more hearty and flavorful.

1 chicken breast, sliced into small chunks
1/2 can of dark red kidney beans
1/2 can of black beans
2 large spoonfuls of taco seasoning
1/2 cup of Mexi-Blend Cheese
1 spoonful of crushed red pepper
1 cup of salsa

In a medium-sized frying pan, spray bottom and sides with cooking spray; turn the burner to medium heat. Once you've cut up your chicken into small chunks, place the chicken in the frying pan. Add taco seasoning and crushed red pepper; stir so all the chicken is coated in the seasoning. When the chicken is white on all sides add in salsa and cheese. Once cheese begins to melt, add beans. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or however long the chicken needs to be cooked all the way through. Turn off burner and serve with tortilla chips. *Bonus* Goes great with sour cream!

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I posted. The holidays were a little crazy for me this year. Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday season! Here's an easy chicken noodle soup recipe to start off the new year!

1 chicken breast, cubed
1 can (14 1/2 oz) of chicken broth
4 cups of water
1/2 a bag of egg noodles
2 green onions, chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery
2 pinches of thyme
1 pinch of dried basil leaves
2 pinches of parsley flakes
2 pinches of dried oregano
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Place broth and water in the crock pot; add spices and stir. Now add chicken and vegetables. Cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or cook on low for 6-8 hours). For the last 30-40 minutes add egg noodles. Once the noodles are tender serve immediately, otherwise they will be too soft and mushy. Voila!