Teriyaki Chicken

I have made this recipe for years in a frying pan, but an extremely warm day a few weeks ago lead me to try it as shish kabobs on the grill.  We were even able to cook the rice outdoors on our grill’s side burner.  Wonderful both ways!

Ingredients:

• Chicken Tenders (about 4 oz per person)
• Teriyaki Sauce (a generous amount)
• A Squirt of BBQ Sauce
• A Squirt of Dijon Mustard
• A Dollop of Orange Juice
• 1 Can of Pineapple Chunks
• Rice (about 1/2 C uncooked rice per person)

In a bowl, combine Teriyaki Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Dijon Mustard, Orange Juice, and juice from can of Pineapple.  Tear chicken into large chunks and place in Sauce.  Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.  About ten minutes before returning to the chicken, begin cooking your rice.

Here is where the recipes deviate.  If cooking indoors, heat frying pan to med-high.  Add chicken pieces and small amount of sauce.  Stir while frying.  When chicken is done, set aside and in the same pan combine remaining sauce, a small amount of flour (less than 1/2 T), and pineapple chunks.  Bring to a boil and stir continuously.  Serve chicken over rice topped with pineapple and sauce.  Serve with broccoli.

If you are cooking outdoors, skewer alternating chicken and pineapple chunks.  Place on grill on a very low heat.  Using a basting brush, baste with teriyaki sauce occasionally.  Serve over rice with broccoli.

 

Dodo and Nigerian Stew

Ingredients:

• 3 Plantains (on the yellowish end)
• Vegetable Oil
• >1 lb chicken
• 1/4 red bell pepper, minced (I minced it all and froze the remainder in three separate bags for next time)
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 14.5 oz can diced tomato
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• <2 C water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube or equivalent
• Salt and Pepper
• Thyme
• Rice, preferably basmati or jasmine

This recipe can be made on the stove or in the crock pot.  Watch for distinction in directions.  Sautee onion and bell pepper in tomato paste in fry pan for crock pot or large stew pot for stove.  Move to crock pot if cooking that way.  Add chicken, diced tomato, bouillon, salt and pepper to taste, a dash of thyme, and water (less than one cup for crock pot, 1-2 cups on stove).  Don’t add too much water–remember, the diced tomato were canned in water and you don’t want it to taste too watery.  Simmer (1.5-2 hrs on the stove or >6 hrs in the crock pot), stirring occasionally and watching viscosity.  During the last 30-60 minutes, peel plantains by chopping off the ends, slicing down the side (just through the skin), and removing the skin.  Slice at an angle to make elongated pieces about a thumb joint thick.  Heat vegetable oil in frying pan.  Place plantain pieces in oil not touching.  Turn when the bottoms are light to golden brown.  Remove after the other side has reached a similar color and place on a napkin-lined plate to absorb excess oil.  Add plantains to stew and cook for a minimum of 10 additional minutes.  Cook rice according to instructions.  Serve with stew over rice.

 

Chicken Parmageane

Ingredients:

Chicken Parmageane pictured with squash and steamed broccoli

• Chicken Tenders
• Flour
• Egg
• Milk
• Salt & Pepper
• Paprika
• Bread Crumbs
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put flour in one bowl; egg, milk, salt & pepper, and paprika in another (blend well); and bread crumbs and Parmesan in another (1:1 ratio).  Coat each chicken tender first in flour, than in egg mixture, and finally in bread crumb mixture.  Lay coated tenders on a greased cookie sheet or in a greased casserole dish.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour (cut into the largest piece of chicken to see if it is thoroughly cooked).  Spoon spaghetti sauce over each piece of chicken and sprinkle over mozzarella.  Return to cooling oven until cheese is melted.

 

Taco Soup

Recently, my mom gave us the left over carcass of a BBQ flavored chicken.  She said I could boil it down and make soup out of it.  ‘What kind of soup can I make with BBQ chicken?’ I thought.  Taco soup seemed the only solution.  While it turned out that the chicken was not BBQ flavored, the taco soup turned out amazing.  We did some taste tests to see if it was better straight or creamy and what one should add to make it creamy.  Matt preferred it straight but liked the sour cream version, too.  Both my sister and I liked it best with cream cheese.  Everyone agreed, however, that half and half was just bad!  (Pay attention to the recipe for those options, don’t just put it all in).  It’s cheap, too.  We calculated it out and discovered that, after the donated chicken, we spent more on the tortilla chips than the rest of the meal.  If you add in the cost of the meat, you can make it for under $6–that’s 6 portions!  You don’t have to have a chicken carcass, either.  You can use any kind of meat (chicken, pork, ground beef, beef roasts).  I’ll make notes of where the recipe might be different.

Ingredients:

• >1 lb meat (chicken, pork, ground beef, or roast beef)
• 1 medium sized yellow onion, minced
• 1 package taco seasoning (we like Lawry’s b/c there isn’t any MSG)
• 1 package Ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley is our favorite)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 six oz can tomato paste
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can chicken broth (unless boiling down a chicken carcass)
• Water (Water + chicken broth = 4 C liquid)
• Salt and Pepper
• Grated Cheddar
• Guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Possibly Cream Cheese
• Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Cook meat in crock pot w/ minimal water until tender (a few hours for most meat, but at least overnight if you are cooking down bones).  Combine meat, onion, taco seasoning, ranch mix, tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, pinto beans, chicken broth, and water (the water that you cooked the meat in counts!) in crock pot.  Cook on low >6 hours, stirring occasionally.  If a creamy soup is desired, stir in 4-8 oz cream cheese or 1/2 – 3/4 C sour cream for the last 15 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Top with grated cheddar, sour cream, and guacamole.  Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Fettuccine Alfredo

• 2 Tb Margarine
• 2 Tb Flour
• 1 C Milk
• 1 C Grated Parmesean/Romano
• Italian Seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fettuccine Noodles
• 1/4 lb Chicken Tenderloins (optional)
• 6-8 Mushrooms (optional)

Use margarine, flour, and milk to make a cream sauce. Add grated cheeses (commercially made Alfredo generally contains more Romano than Parmesan; however, I prefer to use a little more than 1/2 Parmesan) and stir until melted. Then season to taste with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Put sauce in a different container. Put fettuccine noodles on to boil and then tear apart the chicken removing all the yucky parts (like fat, skin, and/or ligaments) and place in the pan that you made the sauce in. Wash and slice the mushrooms and add to the chicken. Cook on a medium heat until done (the mushrooms make their own water). Drain cooked noodles and put mushroom/chicken mixture on top. Reheat sauce until it has regained its original consistency (I put it in the microwave for about a minute) and pour on top. Serves 2-3.

 

Chicken Pockets

Ingredients:

• 1 C Spinach (or 10 oz frozen, thawed, drained, and pressed)
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 1 C Mayonnaise
• 8 oz Water Chestnuts
• 1 t Lemon Pepper
• 1/2 t Dried Basil
• 1/2 t Garlic Powder
• 1/2 t Celery Salt
• 1/2 t Dill Weed
• 1/4 t Onion Powder

(These first 10 ingridients may be replaced with a 12 ounce container of refrigerated spinach dip of your choice)

• 1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 t Lemon Peel
• 1 lb Chicken Tenders (about 8 pieces)
• 2 cans Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough
• Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Put chicken in a pot of water to boil.  In a large bowl, combine Spinach Dip (ingridients), Parmesan Cheese, and Lemon Peel.  Drain Chicken and shred using two forks.  Add chicken to mixture and mix well.  Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and unroll the crescent roll dough.  Divide the dough into 8 rectangles pinching the diagonal lines together.  Place filling (about 1/2 C) in the center of each rectangle.  Bring the corners together and pinch the seams closed.  Roll pocket in bread crumbs and place seam-side down on cookie sheet.  Flatten all pockets to a uniform height and put in the oven for 25-35 minutes.  When the center of the pocket is firm and not doughy, remove and cool 5 minutes before serving.