Day 7 - Grilled Citrus Chicken Salad

I love sleep.  But I refrain from joining my kids during their daily nap.  Today could not be avoided, however.  The temperature in our home swelled so high, and the air conditioner did not reach our bedrooms.  As I put my little guy down for his nap, I snuggled with him for "just a second", and I was out within minutes. When I woke up, my husband was already home and nothing was ready for dinner!

I planned to make Japanese Curry, but my husband thought it was too hot for that, so this is what I came up with...

I marinated the chicken in juice from one orange, 2 cloves garlic and a no-salt seasoning.  Then we put it on the grill while I cut up some romaine, tomatoes, purple onion, sprinkled feta cheese and made a quick balsamic vinegarette.

Balsamic Vinegarette

2 Tbsp   Olive oil
2 Tbsp   Balsamic vinegar
1 Clove  Garlic minced
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

A cool meal for a very warm evening.  Everyone loved it. 

Day 6 - Chicken Parmesan

Came home from bible study tonight and the chicken Parmesan had been devoured by my family before I could get a good picture.  This is my portion, which I reheated, but was still very tender and delicious.  Somehow, Italian food always tastes better as it ages. 

This recipe was adapted from a couple of different recipes that my talented friends have given me over the years.  I simplified mine to make it an easy dinner that we have a couple of times a month.  The panko bread crumbs are always stocked at my house, and give the breaded chicken a light and fluffy texture. 

Ingredients:

4          Boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

Seasoning salt and pepper to season chicken

2          Eggs

2 C      Panko bread crumbs

3 Tbsp Olive oil

8 slices Mozzarella cheese

1 jar     Marinara sauce

2 Tbsp Fresh basil, cut in strips

1/2 C   Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk egg. Season chicken breast with seasoning salt and pepper.  Dip the chicken breasts in egg and then in bread crumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish.  Slice 8 pieces of mozzarella cheese and put two on each chicken breast. Pour your favorite marinara sauce over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil and bake at 375° for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with pasta of your choice and desired sides (bread, salad, etc.)

Day 5 - Shoyu Chicken

This recipe brings back a lot of memories of a friend who used to make this dish to serve many of us at church.  His cooking brought so many together and his selflessness in cooking for so many often times went overlooked.  He was never one to bring attention to himself.  He has since moved back to Hawaii and his fellowship, along with his delicious meals are greatly missed. 

Ingredients:

1 C         Soy sauce
2 C         Water
1 C         Sugar
1 1/2lbs  Chicken (I use legs and thighs, bone-in and skin on)
1/2 Tbsp Fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves  Garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients, except chicken in a pan and bring to a boil.  Add chicken, reduce heat, and simmer until the chicken starts to fall off the bone.
Serve with steamed rice.

Keeping the skin on and the bone in gives it much more flavor.  For a healthier alternative, you could cook with boneless, skinless chicken.

Simple and very delicious!  My kids love to soak their rice in the Shoyu sauce.

Day 4 - Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato

When our family first decided to have some healthier ingredients in our meals, I was bummed at the thought of losing some great dishes that had ground beef in the recipe.  Thank goodness for ground turkey and ground chicken.  We can still have meatloaf, spaghetti with meatballs and shepherd's pie...

Swapping out the traditional potato for the sweet potato give this dish a sweet and savory flavor.  My daughter loved the combination.  My son...not so much!

Ingredients:
Sweet Potato Topping:

6 C      Sweet potatoes

4 Tbsp Butter, cut into pieces

1/2 C   Sour Cream (I used plain yogurt)

1 C      Grated cheese

Paprika

Ingredients:

Meat Filling:

2 Tbsp   Butter

1            Large onion, chopped

1            Rib celery, chopped

1 1/2 lb. Ground Chicken

1 clove   Garlic, minced

2 Tbsp   Flour

1 C        Chicken broth

1 C        Canned diced tomatoes

1 tsp      Dried thyme

1/2 tsp   Dried rosemary

1 1/2 C  Mixed veggies (frozen)

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Boil potatoes, uncovered, over high heat until soft.  While the potatoes are cooking, begin the meat filling.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions and celery in butter, stirring often, about 6 minutes.  Add chicken, cook until done.  Lower heat, stir in garlic and flour.  Stir in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, herbs, veggies and Worcestershire sauce.  Simmer mixture for several minutes until slightly thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer mixture to 13x9 in casserole dish.

Drain the cooked potatoes and transfer them to a large mixing bowl.  Scatter butter and sour cream over the potatoes (I actually left the skin on the sweet potatoes for extra fiber).  Mix to a medium soft consistency.  Spoon potatoes evenly over the meat filling.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Sprinkle paprika over the cheese. 

Bake in the center rack for about 20 minutes.  Cool for several minutes before serving. 

Perfect comfort for the chilly weather we are having!

Day 3 - Thai Red Curry with Chicken

For those of you who love spicy, tonight's dinner comes from Thailand.  This recipe is super easy and super exotic.  Please click here for the complete recipe. 

Red Curry Recipe (Serves 6)

2 Tbsp    Red curry paste (Found at the Asian food market, I use the Mae Ploy brand in the photo above)
2 Tbsp    Vegetable oil
2 Cans    Coconut milk
2 Tbsp    Sugar
1 1/2lbs   Chicken cut up in 1 inch pieces
2 C         Vegetables of your choice sliced (onion, bell pepper, zucchini, etc.)

On medium heat, saute red curry paste in oil for 1 minute, add 1 can of coconut milk.  Add another can of coconut milk and heat until boiling.  Add meat and continue cooking until meat is nearly done, then add vegetables and sugar.  Cook until vegetables soften and serve with Jasmine rice. 
***Red curry paste is very spicy, for a milder flavor use half the portion***

You can read my inspiration for cooking here.

Day 2 - Chicken Gyoza

Ingredients:

Gyoza (Makes 50 pieces)

For step by step instructions on how to make the gyoza, click here.

1 lb.       Ground Chicken
1 C        Cabbage finely chopped
1/2 C     Nira finely chopped
1/2 C     Green onion finely chopped
2 Tbsp   Garlic minced
2 Tbsp   Ginger minced
1            Egg
1 Tbsp   Sesame oil
2 Tbsp   Soy sauce
1/2 Tsp  Salt
1/4 Tsp  Pepper

Add ground meat, vegetables, egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper, and mix well.  Place about a 1/2 tablespoon sized amount in the middle.  Close the edges making a crimping pattern on the top.  Fry them in oil to make them crispy and then put a small amount of water in the pan and cover the pan with a lid to steam.

You can read about my inspiration for cooking here.

Day 1 - Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

1lb.     Chicken breasts

1pkg.  Taco seasoning

Salt & pepper to taste

1         Green bell pepper sliced into thin strips
1         Red bell pepper sliced into thin strips

1         Yellow bell pepper sliced into thin strips

1/2      Onion cut into thin strips

10       Tortillas (Flour or corn)

Sour cream

Grated cheese

Salsa

(Any other toppings you would like to put on your fajitas)

Cut up your chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces. 

I actually ask the butchers to do all my cutting for me.  They will cut up your chicken into fajita-sized pieces and slice you chicken breasts thin.  They run when they see me coming cuz they know I'm going to put them to work.

Slice your bell peppers and onions into strips.  Don't you just love the colors?  Add 2Tbsps of oil into a frying pan and combine your chicken and veggies over medium heat.  Add the package of taco seasoning.  I actually make my own but adding the pre-made seasoning cuts out the time. 

For my toppings I did avocado, grated cheese and plain yogurt.  I'm always trying to sneak healthy alternatives into our dinners.  My husband didn't even notice!  Served with rice and beans. 

*For a gluten free version - leave the tortillas out and serve everything over the rice!

You can read about my inspiration for cooking here.

This 31 Days of Cooking with Chicken was inspired by the Nester.  She's doing 31 days of Lovely Limitations and has over 700 inspirational people linked up with her to do 31 days of topics.

Bringing Her Food From Afar - Chicken Salad Sandwich




Looked so good that I took a bite before I could take a picture!

 

Shred that leftover rotisserie chicken from previous meal.  (About 2 C)

Chop up any fresh herb you may have in your refridgerator or any dry herb you may have in your pantry.  This a lemon thyme that I have growing in the garden.  (A few sprigs fresh or 3/4 tbsp dry)

Mayo (To your own liking.  I like lots of mayo so I put about 1/2 C)

Chopped green onion (2 Tbsp)

Dried cranberries.  Or any other dried or fresh fruit: grapes, chopped apples, raisins, strawberries.  (1/3 C)

Seasoning salt (To taste) and I also added curry powder (1 tsp)












Mix it all together and enjoy on your favorite bread.  We had it with salad and Red Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato soup.  Enjoy!

Bringing Her Food From Afar...Gyoza

When I lived in Japan as an English teacher, I felt like I learned so much more from my students than I was able to impart to them.  Coming home from that country, I brought back more than just the luggage that I had come with.  One of my favorite souvenirs was this recipe for gyoza.  Gyoza is the Japanese version of a Chinese dumpling or pot sticker.  It is a favorite of those living in our house.  They do require some work, but often make our dinner a delight.  Here's my recipe:

Gyoza (Makes 50 pieces)

1 lb.       Ground Meat (Pork, turkey, chicken, beef

1 C        Cabbage finely chopped

1/2 C     Nira finely chopped

1/2 C     Green onion finely chopped

2 Tbsp   Garlic minced

2 Tbsp   Ginger minced

1            Egg

1 Tbsp   Sesame oil

2 Tbsp   Soy sauce

1/2 Tsp  Salt

1/4 Tsp  Pepper

Chop the cabbage very finely.  A food processor can be used to chop all your vegetables.  I prefer doing it the old fashioned way just because I don't like to clean all of the attachments on the processor. 

Nira is found at Asian food markets.  It is sometimes called chieve or a Chinese leek.  It looks like green onion but it is flat and has a very strong fragrance. 

I just love green onions!

I recruited one of my little darlings to be my helper and what a wonderful helper she has turned out to be.  This slows down the process a little but we have a wonderful time together.  One day, I may actually get to eat the gyoza without having prepared it myself :)

Add ground meat, vegetables, egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper, and mix well. 

Gyoza skins can also be found at the Asian market and come with about 50 per package.  They are a bit thinner than won ton wrappers.  Before adding the meat mixture, moisten the edges of the gyoza skin all the way around with a little water.   

Adding the meat is a little tricky and can only become perfected through practice.  Do not be too hard on yourself if it does not come out right at the beginning.  Place about a 1/2 tablespoon sized amount in the middle.  Close the edges making a crimping pattern on the top. 





I fry them in oil to make them crispy. 

Then I put a small amount of water in the pan and cover the pan with a lid to steam them a little. 

Enjoy with steamed rice and veggies sauteed in soy sauce and sesame oil.  I also make a dipping sauce consisting of 2 parts soy sauce and 1 part vinegar.   Good luck trying to put the gyoza on a serving dish and getting them to the table.  I still haven't figured out how to keep my family from eating them before dinner starts!

Bringing Her Food From Afar...Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is most popular in Central and South America. It is typically made by taking raw fish and marinating it in the juices of limes and lemons.  I have even heard of one recipe that marinates ground beef in the citrus juices.  That recipe I need to try first before I can endorse it here. 

You can find this particular shrimp recipe at one of my Mother's fine dinners.  I actually tweaked it a little to make it friendly for my kids to enjoy.  But it was a hit. 

Shrimp Ceviche (Serves 6)

1  pound medium-small shrimp cut in half (I buy     them pre-cooked to cut out the cooking time)

2 Tbsp salt

Juice from 4-6 limes or 2-3 lemons

1 cup finely chopped red onion

1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, minced (I didn't use the chile this particular time)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 avocado, peeled, seed removed, and chopped

1 squirt of ketchup

I just added all the ingredients together and served it into the glasses with a slotted spoon.  And garnished them with cilantro.  For added flavor, the shrimp can be marinated in the citrus juices for an hour in the refrigerator before being added to all the ingredients.