Chicken Stir-Fry

I think I'll try posting a recipe on Tuesdays and everything else whenever I feel like it. That should help me be more regular with this blog and also help those who read it to be able to follow along.

***Quick note: While I was studying spices, I learned that this dish also closely resembles a buryani (rice dish native to the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia). I'm going to have to experiment some more...***

I must have been only 13 or so when I learned how to make this dish. My youngest brothers had food allergies (corn, soy, wheat, and milk) and most days it was easier to cook one meal that everybody could eat than to try to get two toddlers to only eat what wouldn't make them sick. In order to help my mom, I started making dinner. There's only so many meals you can make that use either rice or potatoes - and this quickly became a favorite because it was fast, relatively cheap, and didn't make very many dishes.

Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry
frying pan
wooden spoon or heavy duty spatula
pot to cook rice or noodles in
***
2 cups chicken (2 breasts or 5-6 tenderloins)
1 bag frozen vegetables or fresh vegetables cut into bite-size pieces
butter or oil
***
2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-3 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth or water or orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. vinegar or vinaigrette salad dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
***
1. Choose either rice or noodles as your grain and start them cooking. If you're doing noodles, it will help to have someone else around to stir the stir-fry while you drain the noodles. Follow the package directions or
1. Pour 1 Tbsp of oil into the frying pan and tilt the pan around until it completely covers the bottom. Or, you could melt 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan (but it tends to burn, unlike the oil, so you have to watch the stir-fry more carefully if you use butter). 2. On medium heat, cook the chicken until it is white on the outside (you will have to flip it), but still pink in the middle. Move it to a cutting board and cut it into bite-size pieces and then wash your hands.
3. I like to mix my sauce while the chicken is cooking. In a small liquid measuring cup, mix the spices. It really doesn't matter what spices you use, this was my favorite dish for experimenting with different mixtures of spices. So long as you have something sweet (sugar or honey or juice), something acid (lemon juice, vinegar), and soy sauce- your meal will resemble a stir fry. Use your nose to tell you what goes together (although you might want to add the vinegar last as it tends to cover up all the other flavors until after the food is cooked). You could also just add the spices to the stir-fry, although then you usually end up with pockets of just one kind of spice. I like to mix all the dry spices together and then add the liquid spices.
4. Pour the sauce into the pan and stir it around with the oil already in the pan. Then add the chicken, stir it to coat and cook the chicken for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so to make sure the sauce doesn't burn.
5. Turn the heat up to high and add the vegetables. Stir it around, there will be lots of steam as the ice melts. If you used fresh vegetables, add up to 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every 30-60 seconds.
6. Cover the stir fry and turn off the heat. Finish setting the table, invite everyone to dinner, and say prayer. After that, dish up a pile of noodles or rice and top it with the stir-fry.

So forget the mac and cheese or the ramen and make your family some tasty, vegetabley goodness. Their tastebuds and their waistlines will smile.

Beans and Rice

My husband went on his mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil and learned Brasilian. My little brother is currently serving in Rio di Janeiro. Both tell stories of living off of "Beans and Rice" much like our college students live off of Ramen and Take-out Pizza. I'll have to ask for an actual story later.

And so, this dish is my tribute to missionaries everywhere, but especially those who are going to the countries of beans and rice. It's a simple dish that still tastes good the next day and doesn't cost a lot in ingredients.

Beans and Rice with Chicken
1 ziploc bag
Frying pan & Spatula
Casserole dish
Can opener
Stirring spoon
pot with a lid (to cook rice in)
***
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
***
2 Tbsp. butter
***
1 1/2 cup rice
2 cups water
***
1 can diced green chiles
1 can drained and rinsed beans (black, kidney, etc)
salsa (optional)

1. In a small pot with a lid, cook the rice. Put the water and rice into the pot, cover it and turn on the burner to high. When it boils, turn down the heat to low, and set the timer for 20 minutes. DO NOT UNCOVER THE RICE UNTIL THE TIMER GOES OFF. After the timer goes off, turn off the burner and fluff (separate the grains by stirring) the rice. Scrape the rice off the bottom of the pot so it doesn't stick.
2. Open the can of beans and rinse the gooey sludge off the beans. I do it by opening the can most of the way and then pouring water into the can, pouring out the slime, pouring water into the can, pouring out the slime, etc. You don't have to get the beans completely clean, just get the goo off them. Open the can of green chiles too.
3. Lightly spray your casserole dish and dump in the beans, rice, and green chiles. Stir the beans and chiles into the rice and smooth it down into an even layer.
4. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees.
5. In a ziploc bag, mix 2 Tbsp. flour, 2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add in the raw chicken chunks, zip the bag tightly closed, and shake the bag until the flour coats (covers) all the chicken. It's easier if there are only 2-4 pieces of chicken in the bag at a time. !WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER TOUCHING RAW CHICKEN to prevent icky diseases like salmonella!
5. In the frying pan, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter on high. When the chicken is coated, put it in the frying pan and give it a nice crust. Watch carefully! The chicken and flour burn easy! Don't worry about getting the chicken all done, it will finish in the oven. You're just giving it a nice layer of flavor on the outside. When the flour starts to turn all brown and crispy, turn off the burner.
6. Put the chicken on top of the rice and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes or the chicken is done. Chicken is done when there isn't any pink in the middle of a chunk.
7. Eat it with salsa or as it is. It's mildly spicy. It also tastes great as a leftover - just package up what's left into little containers while the food is still hot and put them in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, or in the oven.

Mushroom Risotto with Fish

Earlier this week I was cooking dinner. I looked through the fridge (mostly empty), the freezer, and the cupboards. I then went through my stack of cookbooks looking for inspiration.

This is inspired by two recipes I found in my Ultimate Recipe Collection (Trident Press) cookbook. The first is called luncheon fish rolls, the second was creamy mushroom risotto.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH FISH
2 saucepans
1 9x13 pan
small bowl
30-40 minutes
...
2 cups boiling water
1 packet mushroom gravy (designed to make 1 cup of gravy)
...
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped fine
3 gloves of garlic
1 cup rice
1 can (6.5oz of mushrooms)
...
4 Thawed Tilapia fish fillets
5 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice

1. Read instructions on how to cook the fish (located on the package). Thaw 4 fillets.
2. Set oven to 375º (same temperature as on the fish package).
3. In one saucepan, Boil 2 cups of water and mix in the gravy mix. Turn the heat down to low.
4. Melt the butter in the other saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the mushrooms.
5. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Ladle in the gravy half a cup at a time, stirring it into the rice until the liquid is absorbed.
6. When all the gravy is in the rice, spray the 9x13 casserole dish and spread the rice into a thin layer on the bottom. Lay the fish fillets on top.
7. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the lemon juice together and spread over just the fish fillets.
8. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 16 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. Let the fish set for 2 minutes before serving.

The light flavor of the tilapia set off the earthy flavor of the mushrooms perfectly. Very tasty meal.