Thursday, February 26, 2009

Pasta, chicken salad

Ingredients:
16 oz bowtie pasta
1 package of costco mixed greens
1/2 pack red grapes cut in half
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup graded parmesan cheese
3 cooked, cut chicken breasts

Dressing:
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sweet hungarian paprika
2 tsp celery seeds
dash of salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup oil (I usually use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 vegetable oil)

Cook pasta and cool. Combine all ingredients and pour dressing over it.

Chicken Rolls

4-5 chicken breasts (2 cups chopped chicken)
1 package cream cheese (8 oz)
3 Tbsp softened butter
1 small can mushrooms(optional)
2 packages crescent rolls
pepperidge farm dressing

Cook chicken breasts. ( I usually cook them in the microwave for
about 10 minutes.) Cut into small pieces- mix with softened cream cheese and
butter. Put cream cheese mixture in the center of 1 crescent roll triangle. (make sure that
you form the crescent dough into a round circle and put enough mixture
into it. About 1/8-1/4 cup.) Seal the edges to form a round ball. You can freeze them at this point.
Dip roll into some melted butter and then roll in the dressing. Place on ungreased
baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with sauce.

Sauce: 1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice

Heat the above mixture then serve.

Cafe Rio Burritos

Title: Cafe Rio Salad Burritos

Ingredients:
SWEET PORK

pork roast
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can coke
1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Place pork in crock-pot and fill it half way up with water. Cook roast on high for 4-5 hours. Drain off water. Shred and de-fat pork. Mix together ingredients (sauce, coke, brown sugar) and put on top of pork. Cook an additional 2 hours on high. Then set on low until ready to serve.


CILANTRO-LIME RICE

2 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 bunch fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.


BLACK BEANS

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

CILANTRO RANCH DRESSING

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 c. sour cream
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
salt, pepper
cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together in the blender and chill.

Here is how to put it all together: Warm a large tortilla in a pan. Remove to plate and add shredded cheese, beans, rice, pork, then lettuce (I used a mix of red leaf and iceburg) If you have a little pico de gallo and guacamole, that is a bonus. Also some crunched up tortilla chips! Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing.

Japanese Chicken

8 raw chicken breasts
2 eggs
1 cup flour
6 Tbsp 1 tsp sesame seeds (I excluded this because I am allegric)
12 Tbsp soy sauce
6 Tbsp 1 tsp water
4 cups granulated sugar
2 cups vinegar

Directions:

1. Thaw out chicken breasts
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Whip eggs in one bowl; in another bowl combine the flour and sesame seeds
4. Dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture and then roll in evenly and heavily in the flour mixture and place in a greased cake pan.
5. Mix soy sauce, vinegar, water, and sugar together.
6. Portion out this sauce over the chicken breast and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes uncovered.

Lazy Stroganoff

1 envelope dried onion soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water
1 1/2 lbs cubed stew meat (round steak, cut long and thin)

No need to brown meat. Simple mix all ingredients and bake. Cover at 275 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. Serve with cooked egg noodles.

Shelia's Porcupines

Mix well and form into balls:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 c uncooked rice
1/4 c milk or water
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp garlic salt
dash of pepper

fry in 1 Tbsp shortening until brown

Add to skillet:
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 c water
Simmer for 45 minutues. May need to add water. Serve over cooked rice.

Teryaki Chicken

4 chicken breast halves, shredded
1 tsp veggie oil
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp grated ginger

Add oil to fry pan and warm over medium heat. Add shredded chicken until warm. Combine and add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Thai Curry

Ingredients:
1 can drained Bamboo shoots (strips) (Brand: Aroy-D)
1 can coconut milk (Brand: Chaokoh)
2 spoons Red curry paste (Brand: Mae Ploy)
Long green beans (cut as same length as bamboo shoots)
Basil to taste
2 chicken breasts cut
Fish sauce
sugar

Add coconut milk to large skillet on the stove and let simmer for 5 minutes on medium or medium-high heat. Then add 2 spoons of curry. Then add chicken. Add fish sauce (start with 5 dashes) and sugar (1 tsp). Cover and let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add bamboo shoots and green beans. Cook for 10 minutes. Continue to add curry and sugar for your taste. I usually end up adding more curry and sugar and a couple more drops of fish sauce. Turn off heat and add basil leaves.

Megan's Mom's Meatless Chili

1 can each: dark red kidney (lg. can); black and chili beans (27 oz)
1 can beef broth 15 oz
1 large can chopped tomatoes 28 oz plus a 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 chopped green pepper and/or red pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
chopped cilantro (to taste)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cumin

Saute onion and green peppers. Add drained beans, broth, tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a low boil; simmer as long as you want, at least 1/2 hour- 45 minutes

Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp rosemary
2 Tbsp butter

1. Place yeast, sugar, and water in large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly.
2. Mix in 1 T butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour.
3. Add one tablespoon of the fresh chopped rosemary.
4. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or in food processor about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
5. Add more flour if necessary.
6. Oil a bowl, put dough in it and cover with a towel.
7. Let dough rise in a warm place for one hour until doubled.
8. Punch down dough and divide in half.
9. Let dough rest about 5 minutes.
10. Spray baking pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.
11. Shape the dough into 2 small rounded oval loaves.
12. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tablespoon of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface.
13. Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 327 degrees
15. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
16. Carefully remove from oven, brush with remaining butter (and salt if desired). 


Yields: 2 loves
Time: 2 hours 33 minutes

Elizabeth's Broccoli Cheese Dish

2 c. cooked rice
1c. fresh chopped broccoli or frozen 8 oz pack
1/2 white onion chopped and saute
salt and pepper to taste
1 can cream of chicken
1 (8 ounce) pack velveeta cheese melted

Mix all ingredients and put in casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. 

Mexican Chicken Haystacks

4 pounds cooked, cut up chicken
2 large onions, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 (7-ounce) cans diced green chilies
3 (15 1/2 ounce) cans pinto beans, undrained
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano flakes
1 tablespoon cumin

juice of 3 limes (add just before serving)

Mix together and cook at 325 degrees in large roaster for 2 to 3 hours. Squeeze lime juice into mixture just before serving.

Serve with:
rice
corn chips
chopped tomatoes
grated cheddar cheese
guacamole
sliced olives
shredded lettuce
sour cream
salsa

Great for a crowd. This recipe serves 20

Amber's Italian Crock Pot Chicken

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 packet Good Season Italian dressing mix

Combine soup, cream cheese and dressing mix.  Pour over chicken in crock pot and cook all day on low heat. Serve over noodles or rice. 

Cranberry Chicken

8 to 10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (8-ounce) bottle French salad dressing
1 (16-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
1 package dry onion soup mix

Mix the dressing, cranberry sauce and onion soup mix. Pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Lemon Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
lemon pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4" thick. Combine salt and flour; dredge chicken in mixture.  Liberally sprinkle lemon pepper on each chicken breast. Melt butter in a large skillet and saute chicken in melted butter for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Add lemon juice to skillet and increase heat to make glaze. Serve chicken and lemon butter glaze with white rice. Chicken is also good cold. 

Balsamic Vegetable Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved and sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. water
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix

Instructions: 
In a salad bowl, combine tomatoes and cucumbers. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, water and dressing mix. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

Salad Ingredients:
Chicken (prepared any way you like; I just "browned" mine on the stove top)
Lettuce (I just used a bag to make it super easy)
Can of corn, drained (or you can use frozen, I'm sure)
Can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Tomato
Shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)
Avocado
Crushed up tortilla chips and/or onion straws (depending on preference)

Note: you'll notice there are no measurements because it's up to how many people you're serving and how much you want of each thing - I just guessed it all out. Like I said, it's hard to mess up.

Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup Ranch dressing (I used Hidden Valley, I'm sure whatever is fine)

Directions:
1. Put chicken, lettuce, corn, beans, and tomato in a bowl and mix up, set aside.
2. In separate bowl, mix up BBQ sauce and Ranch (you may like more or less BBQ or Ranch, up to you).
3. Put lettuce mixture in bowls or on plates and top with shredded cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips (or onion straws).
4. Put dressing on and mix up and eat!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
Kosher Salt
2 cups elbow macaroni
2 eggs, beaten
1 14 oz. can evaporated milk + 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup water (2 cups total)
1/2 cup margarine, melted
3 cups grated sharp cheddar
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (can use the fridge kind)

Directions:
1. Preaheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally until almost tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
3. In a larger bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and 1/4 cup melted margarine.
4. Put half the macaroni into a greased 2-quart casserole dish and top with half the cheddar cheese. Repeat.
5. Pour the milk mixture over the macaroni and cheese.
6. In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the paprika, the remaining butter, and the Parmesan. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the macaroni.
7. Bake until brown and bubbly, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm.

Kidney Beans and Corn

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T cumin
1 tea ground dry mustard
Ground cayenne pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, with liquid
1 (15.25 oz) can whole kernal corn, with liquid

Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over mdium-high heat and cook garlic and onion until onion is tender.
2. Stir in the green bell pepper and cook until tender but firm.
3. Season with cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
4. Stir the kidney beans with liquid and corn with liquid into the skillet.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and continue cookeing 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Serve immediately.

Coconut Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (substitute cayenne pepper if you like the heat)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
Jasmine rice (cooked)

Directions:
1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil, curry powder, and paprika in a large skillet over medium-low heat for two minutes, until fragrant (but don't let it burn).
3. Turn the heat up to medium and stir in onions and garlic and cook ten minutes more or until onions are very clear.
4. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through.
5. Add potatoes, then add coconut milk, tomatoes (I lightly crushed the stewed tomatoes with my fingers before adding), tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine.
6. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes or until sauce thickens.
7. The sauce thickens upon standing, but is great served piping hot (and a bit thinner), too.
8. Serve with Jasmine rice (or your favorite rice).

Chicken Florentine

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 T Italian dressing seasoning
1/4 c butter
1/2 c half-and-half (I used fat free)
3 t minced garlic
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 T lemon juice
1 big bag of fresh spinach (sauteed)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use half chicken, half mushroom - if you double the recipe you can also use cream of roasted garlic)
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (sauteed)
2/3 c bacon, crumbled

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the chicken breast halves on a baking sheet
3. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
4. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
5. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
6. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and Parmesan cheese.
7. Arrange the spinach over the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
8. Cover the spinach with the mushrooms.
9. Pour half the mixture from the saucepan over the mushrooms.
10. Arrange chicken breasts in the dish, and cover with the remaining sauce mixture.
11. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and top with mozzarella cheese.
12. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the 400 degree oven, until bubbly and lightly browned.
13. Serve over pasta.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
Marinade -
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas)
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. Whisk the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken in a Zip-loc bag.
2. Let it marinate for at least a 1/2 hour, but preferably a half day or so.
3. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.
4. Fill the tortillas with chicken, saving marinade, and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.
5. Put tortillas in 9x13 pan as you go.
6. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade (if there is any).
7. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas.
8. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
2 T. finely diced onions
1 tea. Italian seasoning
1/2 tea. salt
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half (I used fat free and it turned out fine)
3/4 cup milk (I used fat free here too)
1 T. flour
One 9-inch frozen pie crust

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Bake the pie crust for 5 minutes.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients together.
5. Pour mixture into the crust.
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Slice into wedges and serve.