Chicken Pot Pie

The first time I made this I managed to get gravy EVERYWHERE. Don't do that. Pretty good recipe though to impress people with your grown-up cooking skills. 

Ingredients: 
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cooked and cubed  
1 cup sliced carrots 
1 cup frozen green peas 
1/2 cup sliced celery 
1/3 cup butter 
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed  
1 3/4 cups chicken broth  
2/3 cup milk 
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.) 
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. 
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. 
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. 
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Hippy Dippy Zesty Quinoa Salad

Dude, ever wanted to experiment with quinoa? It's the newest craze in Boulder man. It's a super dank, healthy super food that's technically a sort of a spinach seed. Om nom nom...

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 limes, juiced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup of feta cheese (optional)

Instructions:
1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.

3. Combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, cherry tomatoes and green onions together in a bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and black pepper. Throw in feta if desired.

4. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator. Do not be surprised by the urge to wear chacos and play hackey sack.

Chicken Cortez

My personal contribution to the Green Chicken epidemic of junior year.

Ingredients

1lb Boneless, skinless chicken (chicken tenders work best)

1 can (12oz) of green enchilada sauce

Pepperjack Cheese

Cumin

Black Pepper

Cayenne or chili powder

Fresh Green Chili (optional)

Method

Cook chicken in pan until lightly browned and cooked 75% of the way through. Season chicken with spices such as cumin, pepper, and cayenne to personal taste. Pour green enchilada sauce over chicken and simmer for ~10 minutes with the pan covered. If you have green chili (or buy it in a can), slice and warm up the chili then place a slice on each of the pieces of chicken. Add extra chili (if you want) to the sauce. After the 10 minutes place slices of pepperjack cheese on each piece of chicken and allow them to melt.

Best served over brown or wild rice

Cardamom Bread

Here's the bread recipe that I used for our Fakesgiving dinner senior year. This recipe has been a requirement at every holiday meal in my house for as long as I can remember. The technical name for the bread is Swedish Sweet Bread with Cardamom. If you spread cranberry sauce on it, it is awesome :)

Ingredients

6 cups flour (preferably bread flour)

2 packages of active dry yeast

2+ tsp cardamom

2 tsp salt

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs

tap water

Method

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and cut in the butter (butter should be room temp or cool, but NOT cold) until even. Add eggs. Add water a little at a time and mix with hands until a ball forms. Roll ball around bowl at least 25 times. Put ball in a plastic bag removing all air and put into a glass or metal bowl. Keep warm and allow to rise for about 30 minutes or until the size has doubled.

Knead the bread out and allow to rise again the same way. Knead again and braid loaves and place onto cookie sheet; allow to rise once more while covered with a towel.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Brush top with butter upon removal from oven and serve warm!

Puppy Chow

Delicious, easy and addictive. Plus you can make it in a microwave! DO NOT actually give this to puppies.

Ingredients:
9 cups of Chex
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth preferably)
powdered sugar.
Large ziploc bags

Instructions
Microwave chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a large bowl.
Take the melted chocolate and peanut butter out and throw in the Chex
Mix together till Chex is completely coated with chocolate

Throw this mess into large ziploc bags along with powdered sugar
Shake bags up heartily till all the Chex mix is covered.

Place bags in the fridge to cool.
When chocolate and peanut butter have hardened, take out of the fridge and start munching!

Scotch-a-Roos

Scotch a Roos

1 C Sugar

1 C Clear Corn Syrup

1 C Peanut Butter

6 C Rice Krispies

1 C Butterscotch Chips

1 C Chocolate Chips

Smear 9x13 pan with thin layer of butter.

Stir sugar and corn syrup in LARGE sauce pan.  Bring to a boil –cool slightly and stir in peanut butter.  Stir in Rice Krispies – spread in pan.

Melt Butterscotch and Chocolate chips together. (see note below)   Stir over Krispies mixture – cool and enjoy.

 To melt the chocolate mixture – microwave in glass measuring cup for small time increments on medium.  Stir every 20 seconds or so – it won’t look melted, but it will be. This mixture burns very easily and will get thick if it burns.

TC's Homemade Pizza

Kelsey and Jamie's Mystery Chili

It's a deviation from a basic recipe, laden with guessing and incidents, like the top coming off our bottle of cumin! Always at random and always delicious!

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (46 fluid ounce) can of tomato juice
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1.2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chili powder

additional ingredients to consider for zing: cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice

Instructions: 

1. Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high until evenly brown. Drain and crumble. 
2. In a large pot, over high heat, combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder, plus any other spices for flavor. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. 
3. Keep upping the spice content as needed for optimal tastiness. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. 

Alex's Hard Apple Cider

It's a cold-weather party favorite! Appropriate for friendsgivings, christmas in julys and general drunkeness

Ingredients:
Gallon of apple cider
Packet of mulling spices
Brandy or Rum in whatever bottle size you choose

Instructions:
Mix gallon of apple cider and entire bottle of booze into big stock pot and bring to a boil
Reduce mixture to a simmer and add mulling spices
Keep on heat to induce feelings of happiness.

Jean's (TC's mom) Cowboy Cookies

So TC's mom is an awesome, hardworking lady and she can bake too! Thanks Jean for sending this to me!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar 1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of dry oatmeal
1 package chocolate chips
1 cup of nuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream together the sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla 
3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Mix together the liquid and dry ingredients.
5. Add oatmeal, entire package of chocolate chips (Jean uses less but consider what kind of people we are), and nuts (like said, optional). 
6. Place dollops of batter on ungreased cookie sheet.  

Jean never actually measured how long it took. From my experience 6-10 minutes (more towards 10 at altitude).

DO NOT OVERBAKE, KEEP SOFT

Apple Pie from the Streets

As Kelsey knows, I cut apples up like I used to cut up people on the streets. Here's what I use those poor apples for.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
7 cups thinly sliced apples (I like Granny Smiths)
2 cups lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 frozen pie crusts (thawed)
4 tablespoons milk (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon peel
3. In one of the pie crusts, layer 1/3 of the apples into the pie crust. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Repeat steps until all the apples are used up. Sprinkle with lemon juice and bits of butter. 
4. Place the second pie crust on top of filling and crimp the edges of the two pie crusts together.  Cut slits on top of the crust and brush with milk for a glazed appearance if desired. 
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. 

Geneva's Fancy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:
Chicken Tenders
Baggy pants with pockets

Instructions:

1. Go to your campus dining hall
2. Stealthily slip chicken tenders into pants' pockets
3. Run really fast to your dorm room (because they're hot!)
4. Lay chicken tenders on bed to air dry
5. Enjoy at a later date!

Brian's Baked Ziti

Brian used to cook this in our very first apartment together! Simple, manly and delicious.
...that's what she said!

Ingredients
1/2- 3/4 a box of ziti or any other pasta of your choice as long as it's an acceptably fun noodle shape.
1 jar of red pasta sauce
Bag of Italian cheese blend
Any other veggies or meat you'd like to add

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Boil water in a sauce pan
Add noodles to boiling water
Once noodles are tender, drain noodles and place in an oven-capable container
Mix noodles and pasta sauce in said container until sauce is evenly distributed
Throw shit-tons of cheese on top (especially if you're Kelsey) of noodles and sauce mix
Throw in oven for about 20 minutes, or until you see some goldening on the cheese

Enjoy your manliness!

Alex's Green Chicken Recipe

Omigod! is Alex trying to put rat poison in your food again? Nope! This time she's just offering you a zesty green chicken dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken, cut into quarters (or 4 boneless breasts)
Salt and black pepper (for chicken)
1 cup parsley leaves, tightly packed
1/3 cup basil leaves, tightly packed
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. salt (for puree)
1 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of Greek yogurt

Instructions:

1.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken
2. Puree the herbs, garlic, salt, honey, cayenne and olive oil until smooth. Using half of the mixture, marinate chicken pieces in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. 
3. Grill chicken over low heat, turning just until firm to the touch, about 7 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Mix remaining herb puree with yogurt. Drizzle over chicken. 

Enjoy!

Jamie and Kelsey's EPIC Jello Shots

Kelsey and Jamie know how to throw the best parties! To totes be like Ke$ha, follow these directions.

Ingredients :
2 packets of Jell-O
Handle of vodka
2 cups of water

Instructions:
Boil 2 cups of water in a pot and add the Jell-O mixture, stir until dissolved
Add 2 cups of vodka to mixture, add more vodka to taste
Pour mixture into tiny plastic cups or baking pan
Chill in fridge until Jell-O is firm

Enjoy your night of bad decisions!

Introduction

The Amplipeeples met in the humble college towns of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois This is a blog showcasing the many recipes for this "special" group of friends. Considering we are a global friend group, I think an internet blog is the best place to start. I have some recipes ready to boot but I am looking for contributions as well. Maybe one day we can even make a book!
Cheers!
Jamie