Chicken'n'Cream

This is an old family favorite.  My mom's made it ever since I can remember.  There's not really a recipe, per se, but I'll do my best.

You'll need:
Cubed chicken
Garlic (or garlic powder, if you don't have fresh garlic)
A few bouillon cubes
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
Rice

Sauté garlic and cubed chicken.  Cook until chicken is done (juices are clear).  Add enough water to cover the chicken and chicken bouillon for flavor (I usually use about 3).  Bring to boil.  Add whipping cream and let cook for a few minutes.  Thicken with cornstarch/water mixture (or flour/water mixture).  Serve over cooked rice.  Yum!

Makes good leftovers, too.  When Spencer's in one of those "moods" (where all he wants to eat is cheese), this is the one thing he'll eat.

Santa Fe Chicken

A friend sent this to me as one of her "food storage" recipes -- something you eat when it's the end of the world and you don't have anything else more worthwhile to eat. But it's delicious, and (especially if the chicken is precooked) it's super fast.

In a large skillet, boil

• 2 cubed chicken breasts*
• 1 cup of salsa**
• 1 cup water
• 1 packet taco seasoning***

*I used precooked shredded chicken.
**I always throw my salsa in the blender and whirl it up. I don't like chunks and neither do some of my kids, but if it's blended we'll lap it right up on its own or in recipes.
***We use taco seasoning in several recipes, so instead of dropping 70 cents each time, we bought a big container of it from Costco for $3.50. If you do the same, you'll use about 2.5-3 Tbps of seasoning.

Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked (or warmed in my case). Stir in

• 1 can black beans
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Heat through. If you have to cook the chicken, this whole thing can take maybe 20 minutes start-to-finish. But if your chicken and your rice are already cooked, you're looking at 5-10 minutes total.


You can top this with sour cream and cheese and eat with corn and tortilla chips, or you can throw these in a wrap like we did last night. Might I recommend getting super fancy and buying a pack of jalapeno cheddar burrito shells and garnishing with lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Amazing.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

If you've ever lived in Rexburg, this kind of reminds me of the Sweet and Sour sauce at Fongs. It's certainly closer to the Eastern Idaho take on Chinese food than the sauces I get here in northern Idaho.

For the sauce, boil

• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 6 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 can pineapple juice

At first the ketchup will look globby and gross like this.


But don't worry, when it boils it gets better.

Pour the sauce onto some precooked chicken, about three chicken breasts-worth. I like to use shredded chicken, since I always have cooked shredded chicken in my freezer. But you can cube and cook it over the stove or whatever you want. (You can also coat the chicken in an egg, flour, cornstarch and garlic salt concoction, but that's way too much work in my mind.)


Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. In the meantime, make yourself some perfect rice in the microwave. Top the rice with the chicken and sauce and enjoy.


By the way, this also makes fantastic leftovers.

Island Pork Tenderloin with Coconut Rice

This was taken from my sister's blog: ldssuperchef.blogspot.com. She's an amazing cook and this is one of my favorite recipe's that she makes!!


Island Port Tenderloin

2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2-2.5 pounds)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (this is different than regular brown sugar)
2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 Tbsp tobasco sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make spice rub with first 5 ingredients.
Rub all over pork (you dont need to trim the pork). Heat oil in a pan (I use a deep pot). Then barely brown the pork (just the outside part...the pork will still be raw).
Put sugar, garlic, and tobasco in bowl then pat into pork. Rub it all over.
Place in a baking dish and place it in the oven for 30 minutes or until pork is not pink in the middle. When done slice the meat and pour juices over the cut meat.

Coconut Rice

1 cup jasmine rice (uncooked)
1 can coconut milk (should be in ethnic isle of grocery store)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk

Rinse rice with cold water until water runs clear.
Add all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to low. Cover and cook 25-30 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes--do not let it over boil or you will end up with a sticky mess all over your stove. Serve warm along with the pork tenderloin.

Cilantro Lime Rice

This is yummy all by itself, but I serve it with the Cafe Rio Pork. It's a tasty addition.

1 cup white rice

2 cups chicken stock

2 T. butter

1 T. lime juice

3 T. cilantro

1 T. sugar

Cook rice in chicken stock, according to package directions. When rice is done, add butter, lime juice, cilantro and sugar.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 6

1 package (6 ounces) long-grain and wild rice mix, prepared according to package directions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 (about 8 oz. total) boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped (OR USE ½ ROTISSERIE CHICKEN INSTEAD)
2 cups (8 ounces) sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed (I left it out the first time, still good)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 oz. can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Sliced green onions (optional)
Toasted slivered almonds (optional)

HEAT vegetable oil in large saucepan. Add chicken, mushrooms, chopped onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender and chicken is no longer pink.

ADD rice, broth, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Combine small amount of evaporated milk and cornstarch in small bowl; stir until smooth. Add to saucepan with remaining evaporated milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until soup is thickened. Garnish with green onions and almonds.

FOR FREEZE AHEAD:
PREPARE as above; do not top with green onions and almonds. Cool soup completely. Place in airtight container; freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.
HEAT in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with green onions and almonds.

Lemon Pesto Chicken

Super easy recipe. Here's what the original recipe calls for:

1 T. oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup uncooked rice
2 cans chicken broth
1 T. lemon peel
1/2 T. pesto
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute chicken and garlic in oil. Stir in rice, broth, lemon, pesto & pepper. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, or liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese just before serving.

K, now my variations:
I never have chicken broth, so I used water and bouillon cubes and made my own. I also never use a real lemon, I use lemon juice instead (still about a tablespoon, maybe a little more, depends on how lemon-y you want it). I also never use pesto, I just sprinkle some Italian Seasoning over the whole thing instead. I usually use real garlic, but I discovered I didn't have any this time, so I used garlic salt. This is really easy to make and it makes a TON. Cory and I both had generous helpings, and we've got enough leftovers for at least 3 more servings.

Sweet Pork & Rice

,If you've ever been to Cafe Rio you'll love this. It's Soooooo easy!
6-8 servings

Sweet Pork:
1-2 lb. Pork tenderloin (you could use chicken or beef as well.)
1 C. Brown sugar
2 C. Salsa

Mix sugar & Salsa, pour over pork. Cook in crock pot for 8 hrs. on low. Remove pork, shred, and return to salsa. Serve with tortillas.
I don't have a crock pot, and I'm cheap when it comes to meat. I cooked pork chops, by boiling them in water until done. Then I shredded them. I mixed the salsa & sugar together, then I boiled it. I added the shredded pork and then let it simmer, covered for about 1 hr. It still turned out great.

Green Chile Rice:
1 C. Rice
2 C. Chicken broth
4 oz. diced green chiles
1/2 C. diced onion
1 t. Oregano
1/2 t. Salt
1-2 t. Cumin
Mix together and cook as usual.

I made these into burritos, layering rice, black beans and pork. Then I melted cheese ontop. They were so good.

Perfect rice in the microwave

I've been wanting to get a rice cooker for ages now. After finding this recipe on a friend's blog, I'm so glad I never got around to it. This really works.

Take 2 white cups rice, 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons vinegar, put them in a microwave safe dish. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 20 minutes.

That's it. It's amazing. No really. Go try it.

Mexican Chicken Bake

I kind of just made this up so none of the spices were measured. Just do to taste.
This is one of my husbands Favorites.

1 C. Rice
1 chicken breast per person
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/4 C. Sour Cream
1/2 C. Milk
1 Can black beans
1/2 jar Salsa
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Onion powder
Cheese

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9 pan.
Cook Rice, spread into bottom of pan.
Cube and cook chicken with spices
place over rice
Mix together soup, sour cream, milk and beans. Spread over top chicken
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake in oven for 20 min.

-Like I said, I kind of made this up. You can use whatever beans you like. The chicken can be seasoned with taco seasoning, or fajita seasoning if you'd prefer. I added some lemon juice because my husband loves it.
If you wanted to you could leave the chicken breasts whole and then just add about 1/2-1 C. of water and cook it all in the oven for about 1 hr.