Thai Massaman Curry

Our all time favorite Thai dish. This is really yummy, but we are still trying to perfect it. We keep it mild so the kids will eat it (and they love it) but you can add more curry paste if you like it hot.

Ingredients:
3 T Massaman curry paste (you can substitute other curry paste, but beware some are hotter than others.)
1/4 cup onion, chopped in chunks
1t. Garlic, diced
1/2 t. Fresh ginger, diced
2 cans or <1 quart coconut milk (not lite)
1-2 carrots, coined
1 potato, cut in chunks
1 chicken breast or 2 tenderloins, raw (you could also used already cooked chicken and just at it towards the end)
Optional: 1/2 can pineapple chunks, drained (Jim likes them in his. I don't.)
*some people like to put chopped peanuts our cilantro on top. I don't care either way.

Spices: ( if you don't have these things that is still good without them. You can also adjust the amount to your tastes.)
1/2 t. Ground cardamom
1/2 t. Ground Coriander
Pinch ground cloves

Directions:
saute onion, garlic, ginger and curry paste in a little oil for a couple of minutes. Add in the thick part of the coconut milk that is on the top of the can, about 1/2 cup. let that cook on medium low while you are chopping up the vegetables, at least 5 minutes. add in vegetables, chicken and spices with remaining coconut milk. (the exact amount of coconut milk is not really important, you can add more if you like more liquid) when chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pot and cut into chunks. if you are using pineapple, add it now. continue cooking until vegetables are barely tender. return chicken to the pot then adjust spices to taste.
Serve over jasmine rice.
Tip: serve the curry in a bowl beside the rice so you can scoop it over top as you go. if you pour all on top to begin with, it will soak in and become dry toward the end.

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas

I can't think of a time I have ever disliked a chicken enchilada. There are so many ways to make them, and I change it up depending on my mood and what I have on hand. This is currently my favorite easy enchilada recipe.

Ingredients:
White sauce seasoned with chicken flavoring, garlic and onion powder
1/2 cup salsa Verde or tomatillo salsa (more our less to taste)
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1-2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (leftover chicken works great)
1 can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
Tortillas

Directions:
Make seasoned white sauce. Add salsa and cream cheese. Reserve about 3/4 cup for topping. Add chicken and beans. Scoop mixture in middle of tortilla and roll up, closing both ends. Place in greased baking pan. Continue until you run out of filling, lining enchiladas side by side. (If you have more than you need, these freeze wonderfully, uncooked)
Top enchiladas with remaining sauce and cheese.
Cook at 375 for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Hawaiian Haystacks

No recipe. Just make a cream sauce and rice. Add any toppings you like. (if you need a recipe, see my white sauce recipe and add chicken bouillon, garlic and onion powder, salt & pepper to taste.)
Topping ideas:
Chicken
Pineapple
Mandarin oranges
Cheese
Bell peppers
Tomato
Broccoli

Assemble toppings in a bar style and everyone can chose what to put on their own plate of rice.

Justus took this picture of his haystack.

White Chicken Chili

Adapted from melskitchencafe.com

This is seriously amazing. I like how quick and easy it is to make. I LOVE it with crusty bread to dip, but you could also serve with tortilla chips. Or plain. It's good enough for that.
Tip: if you have lots leftover, thicken it up and use it as enchilada filling! Yum!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans (4 cups) white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (or about 2 cups) chicken broth
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies (or 1/4 cup salsa Verde)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
Fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Cook onions and garlic with chicken in a little oil or butter.
Add remaining ingredients except sour cream and whipping cream. Simmer for about 30 minutes. (less is fine, really) Stir in sour cream and whipping cream. (I add some of the hot soup to the sour cream first, it mixes better that way.)

Lemon Pasta with Chicken and Spinach

A quick, easy, light meal.  Pretty good.
Adapted from melskitchencafe.com

Ingredients:
Cooked chicken
12 oz pasta, cooked (I used angel hair)
4 cloves garlic
2 T butter
6 cups chopped spinach
1/4 cup chicken broth
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Cook garlic in melted butter. Add spinach and chicken broth and cook until spinach wilts (about 3 minutes). Add pasta. Add in lemon zest and juice and cooked chicken. Serve immediately and top with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Simple Chicken Curry sauce

Here is a recipe for when you need chicken curry but don't have any coconut milk or a lot of time! (like me tonight) Serve with Jasmine rice.

Ingredients:
-A few Chicken tenderloins
- about 1 tablespoon curry paste, more or less to taste (or powder will do, amount will be different I believe...)
-onion, chopped
-garlic
- chicken broth/bullion, start with 1 cup, add more later if needed.
-milk, opt.
-corn starch (opt.)
-any variety of seasonings that you fancy. I Used: spoonful of sugar, splash of lime juice and soy sauce, a touch of ginger, cilantro and red pepper flakes.
-would be great with potato chunks and garnished with peanuts!

Directions:
Saute onion in oil and cook the curry paste for a few minutes. Add a little garlic at the end.

Salt and pepper your chicken then add to pan. Add chicken broth. Let chicken cook, flipping halfway.
Remove chicken as soon as it is no longer pink. Chop when cool.

Season the sauce to taste. Add milk if you want it creamy. I also added about a tablespoon or two of corn starch (mixed with a little cold water) because I like my sauce a little bit thick. Personal preference.

Return chicken to sauce and serve over hot rice. Mmmm.

Chicken Soup/ Dumplings

This recipe is pretty versatile. Can be made with noodles, dumplings or even rice I suppose. In this picture, I used a little noodles and dumplings. I will add the dumplings recipe at end.

Ingredients:
-1 or 2 chicken breasts (depending on size and how much meat you want. I sometimes cook extra to use in a casserole another night.)
-couple cups of vegetables (carrots, potatoes, celery, onions..)
-chicken base/stock (I use "better than bouillon")
-garlic, parsley, thyme (go easy), 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper, onion powder (if not using fresh onion) all to taste
- about 1 or 2 cups medium egg noodles (depends on how much broth you have...) or dumplings

Directions:
1. Boil your chicken and vegetables together in pot of water. (start chicken first) Season while cooking. Check chicken and vegetables often to avoid over cooking. When chicken is done, remove from pot to cool on plate.
2. Add chicken base a little at a time and play with seasoning, tasting the liquid until it's just right!
3. When vegetables are almost done (but not quite!) add noodles or dumplings.
4. While that is cooking, chop the chicken, cutting out gristle and fat.
5. When noodles are tender, stir in the chicken and serve!

Dumplings
Ingredients:
-1 cup flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 Tablespoon butter, melted
-1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients, gently stir in milk and butter, just until moistened.
Drop by spoonful into boiling soup. Cover pot and cook for about 15 minutes without lifting lid.

If you like a lot of dumplings, you can double recipe. I found that making 1 and 1/2 this recipe was just right for my average pot of soup.

Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs

This is very good! I didn't do this as kabobs because I can't find my skewers. I wanted to though. I just grilled up some chicken on my handy dandy indoor grill (which I got at a thrift store for $8 and LOVE) and served it with my favorite potato wedges (have I posted that? Must check...) and had a delicious dinner! This is a great marinade for any occasion.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil


1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 skinless, boneless chicken

breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic

5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces

skewers

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).


Preheat the grill for high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

These are pretty good. Easy shmeesy, quick weeknight dinner. Kids liked them. I liked them. Jim...well, he said they were ok. I imagine it would be great to freeze these after cooking and reheat for a minute in microwave.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

from www.ourbestbites.com

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.


Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.


Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.
Dip ‘em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, spicy ranch, etc. Makes 12-16

Sweet Sour Chicken

I was really skeptical about this, but it turned out really good. Like you almost think you are in a chinese resturaunt. (or atleast thats what the husband said, in other words anyway) I was very happy with it, especially for the simplicity and the fact that you dont deep fry the meat.
Sweet and Sour Chicken


from melskitchencafe.com (Great site!)

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients - pour half over the chicken and follow the baking directions in the recipe and pour the other half in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce on the stovetop at medium heat for 8-10 minutes until it simmers and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

*Serves 4-6

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve the chicken over rice.

Creamy Chicken, Bacon and Tomato Pasta

This was a little tangy and I especially liked the contrast of the bacon. It was yummy and something different.

Ingredients:
3 cups bow tie pasta (farfalle)
1 pound chicken, cut into bite size chunks
5 (or more...) slices bacon, reseve 1 T. grease
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
pepper and salt to taste

Directions:
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, cook chiken. Add bacon, tomatoes, cream cheese, water, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, a couple of minutes. Drain pasta, mix into sauce. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Tortilla Soup

From Susan, a friend of Vern's family. This soup is similar to the tortilla soup you can find at Cafe Rio. :-) It is a delicious and filling soup. Yum! We eat it often. This recipe is also very easy to modify to your own tastes. For example, I like it with a little more rice. Tortilla soup is also good for leftovers for lunch the next day!

The recipe's ingredients are included in bold.

Boil and cube:

4 chicken breasts

Simmer the following in canola oil:

6 cloves crushed garlic (2-3 TB.)

1 medium onion minced

1 green bell pepper cubed

1 TB cilantro

Add chicken and saute for a few minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, place the following in a large pot:

5 cans chicken broth

2 small cans tomato sauce

2 cans black beans (drained)

1 can of corn (drained)

1 small can of diced jalapenos (optional)

1 cup uncooked rice

3 celery sticks chopped

Add the following spices to the soup:

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. cumin

Add the chicken mixture to the rest of the soup and simmer until rice is fully cooked.

Serve with grated cheese and sour cream. Makes 4 quarts.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is from my Mom. Don't know where she got it, but it was on the menu almost weekly at our house growing up. I am glad to be putting it on here because my index card is so stained I can barely read it.

2 T marg.
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/2 c. sliced olives (opt.)
1/4 c. chopped green chilis (small can)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 cans cream of chicken (I use 3/4 of one big can and add the rest to topping)
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken
1 c. (or more!) shredded cheese
8 flour tortillas
1/4 c. milk

melt marg. saute onion and garlic salt. stir in chilis, sour cream, soup and half the olives. mix well. reserve 3/4 cup sauce.
To remaining sauce, add chicken and half the cheese. mix well. warm tortillas, fill with chicken mixture. roll up and place seam side down in 12x8 baking pan.
combine reserved sauce, milk and olives. pour over tortillas.
bake at 350 for 30-35 min. remove from oven and cover with remaining cheese and olives.