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South of the Border Chicken & Rice
Sometimes it just has to be quick and easy. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t flavorful.
South of the Border Chicken & Rice
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 1 onion
- 1-2 tbsp pickled sliced jalapeños
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 oz can sliced black olives (opt)
large saucepan or dutch oven
Heat ½ oil in pan, add chicken and cook until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add remaining oil, onion, peppers & jalapenos to pan and sauté. Stir in uncooked rice and stir for 1 minute. Add water, chicken broth, tomatoes to pan. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to low and let simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Add chicken and olives, simmer for 5 minutes and serve. Serves 4 – 6
Quick Dinner
It was one of those days. When everything is stressful I need to cook. And I love to take what I have on hand and see what I can make of it. Creative cooking and quiet time in the kitchen busts stress and improves my outlook.
Tonight I had 4 tomatoes that were past eating in a salad or such and needed to be cooked soon. Some leftover fresh mozzarella from a recipe last week and some brown rice pasta. I knew the mozzarella was going to be my star here, so I whipped up a quick sauce with some ground beef and my fresh tomatoes, very light with lots of oregano balanced with a bit of basil and garlic. When you have fresh tomatoes, you don’t really need to dress a sauce up with much. I spread the cooked pasta in an oiled baking dish, topped with the sauce and covered it all generously with mozzarella and topped with grated Parmesan.
Baked it at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the cheese was browned and bubbly. Served with carrots for a quick dinner.
Luckily there is leftover strawberry bread for dessert, so I didn’t have to give that much thought
Looks like JeffW has something delicious cooking in his kitchen. He’s up next, stay tuned….
Golden Curried Beef
Serve with couscous, peas and fruit yogurt for dessert for a quick dinner. This curried beef is as easy to make as it is tasty.
Golden Curried Beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb sirloin, London broil or flank steak, cubed
- 2 tbsp or more of flour
- salt & pepper
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 large apple, finely diced
- 1 cup drained diced tomatoes
- ½ green pepper, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 8 oz beef broth or equivalent (water & bouillon cube)
skillet
Season flour with salt & pepper, and dredge beef in mixture. Heat oil in skillet. Add beef and brown on all sides, remove and set aside. Add butter, apple, tomatoes, pepper & garlic to skillet and sauté until apples are tender. Add spices, water and bouillon, stir and add meat. Cover and let simmer 20 minutes.
Kid Friendly: Fruit Crepes
It’s snowing here….3 inches an hour according to the local weather guru. I have bread baking and got to work from home today, so it is all good. It’ll be 60 degrees by Sunday, so I’m enjoying the last (hopefully!) of the snow. With the promise of spring, I’m still all about fresh fruits and vegetables, so the kid’s recipe tonight is for crepes. They’re light and fresh.
Do the idea of crepes scare you?! They did me until I decided to brave the waters for this recipe. They are unbelievably easy. The only difference between this and making pancakes is how you manipulate the pan. Make sure after you’ve lightly greased the pan and heated it, you remove it from the heat before adding the batter. Then you need to swirl the batter thinly around the pan and up the sides, until it sets. Return to the heat to let it cook. Immediately begin to loosen the top edges with a butter knife, so when it’s time to flip, it’s easy to do.
I found flipping it by hand easiest. Gently loosen the edges completely and gingerly pickup by the edge and flip it over when the bottom is golden. You may need to loosen the bottom with a spatula before flipping. If you’re feeling daring…you can try flipping them. Just remember, they don’t have to look perfect or be paper thin to work!
Fruit Crepes
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups milk
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
=======================
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 4 oz sliced strawberries
- 1 banana, sliced
- 2 kiwi fruits, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup granola
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- powdered sugar
10-inch skillet with sloped sides or crepe pan, 2 bowls, plate & parchment or wax paper
Whisk together eggs, flour, milk, butter, ¼ tsp cinnamon. Mix well and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes while you prepare fruit.
In medium bowl, combine ¼ tsp cinnamon, berries, banana, kiwi, granola & yogurt. Cover & refrigerate. Lightly grease skillet and heat over medium heat. Just before adding batter, remove from heat. Add ½ cup of batter for each crepe. Immediately after adding it, swirl pan until batter is spread completely around the pan and up the sides. Return to heat and cook until golden on the bottom, flip and cook until other side is golden. About 2 minutes each side, but watch carefully. Remove to plate. Repeat for each crepe. Place parchment paper between crepes.
To assemble, put ¼ fruit mixture in each crepe and roll up. Top with garnish of powdered sugar. Makes 8 crepes.