Patriotic Dipped Strawberries

Could these be any cuter? I found these at realmomkitchen.com and instantly knew I had to make them. They were so easy, and the best part is you don't have to heat your house up with an oven to make them. These are super fun as a gift or for a family get together. I already made one batch and I've got all the ingredients to make them again, hopefully you'll take the time to try them as well!

1 carton of strawberries
1/2 bag white chocolate chips or white dipping chocolate
blue sugar crystals

The easiest way to make this is to start by washing your strawberries and getting them completely dried. Then melt the white chocolate in small amounts (about 1/4 c. at a time) otherwise it starts to thicken up on you before your done. Dip strawberries in 2/3 of the way with white chocolate, then dip the bottom 1/3 in blue sugar. Place on parchment, silpat, or greased tin foil. Place and fridge for a few minutes, and enjoy!

Taco Salad Bowls

Take any deep dish pan such as a cake pan and fill it up with 1/4 in. water. Take a deep medium, oven safe bowl and cover it with tin foil and place in water. Spray with cooking spray. Then either run the tortilla under the faucet or dip in water, just enough to allow it to get wet and pliable, not saturated. Drape over bowl and kind of shape as needed. Cook at 450 for 4-5 minutes.

Orange Chicken

I almost hesitated to post this one because it uses another random ingredient, but I couldn't resist, it's way too good to not share! I was really impressed with how well this turned out. I just didn't expect it to be so good and it really wasn't as labor intensive as I had thought either. Anyway this was totally a five star meal to me and I will definitely make this one again.

Recipe found at favfamilyrecipes.com

Chicken:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 in cubes (I used 2 chicken breasts which was enough for 4 servings.
1 ½ c. flour
1 eggs (beaten)
¼ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce:
1 c. water
2 Tb. FRESH orange juice
¼ c. FRESH lemon juice
1/3 c. rice vinegar
2 ½ Tb. soy sauce
1 Tb. orange zest
1 c. packed brown sugar
½ t. ginger root, minced (I just used a little powder)
½ t. minced garlic
2 Tb. green onion, chopped
¼ t. red pepper flakes (this doesn't make it hot at all, so if you want more spice add more)
3 Tb. cornstarch
1/4 c. water

Add flour, salt, and pepper and place in shallow dish. In separate bowl add egg. Dip chicken into egg and then roll in flour, repeat until all chicken is coated. Deep fry chicken in fryer or I just used a deep skillet. Cook until no longer pink and golden brown. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile add water, vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, and soy sauce to small saucepan. Heat through for a few minutes then add brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, green onion, and red pepper and cook until boiling. In a separate bowl mix water and cornstarch and slowly pour into orange sauce and cook until thickened. Serve sauce over chicken and ENJOY!