Favorite Stir Fry

2-1/2 c. hot water
2 t. finely minced garlic
3 T. soy sauce (and additional soy for adding later)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1-1/2 long grain white rice
1 large green pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. finely chopped carrots
4 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 c. cubed smoked ham (the good stuff!)
vegetable oil
black pepper

In a medium saucepan add the water, garlic, 3 T. soy and the bouillon cube. Heat to a boil, making sure the cube is dissolved. Add the rice. Bring to a boil again and immediately turn down to "simmer" and cover. Leave simmering on stove for at least 20 minutes. NOTE: I used instant brown rice and it was still yummy.

Turn your wok on med-high (if you don't have a wok, use a large frying pan on stove top). Pour 2 T. veggie oil into the wok. Add your chopped veggies. Stir-fry the veggies for about 5 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water and cover on a lower hit, checking and stirring often. Heat them until they are soft.

Meanwhile, scramble your eggs with black pepper and chop the eggs into small pieces.

Add your ham to the soft veggies and heat together for a few minutes(make sure there's no extra water in the wok). Add rice to the veggies along with the scrambled eggs. Stir well. Sprinkle on a bit of soy and heat it all through for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
½ cup carrots chopped
1 cup corn
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
4 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup cheese

DIRECTIONS
1 Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2 In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3 Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Top with cheese. Serve immediately

Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

2-4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or 2 large cans Canned Chicken (Sam's Club Style)
6 Scallions, thinly sliced
Course Salt and Ground Pepper
1 can (15 ounces) Pumpkin
4 Garlic Cloves, peeled or 1 teaspoon Dehydrated Garlic
1 Jalapeno Chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
2-1/2 cups Chicken Broth*
6-8 (6-inch) Corn Tortillas
2 cups grated Sharp White Cheddar Cheese (about 10 ounces)

*If cooking chicken, use reserved broth. If using canned chicken, use canned chicken broth or 2-1/2 cups water and 3 bullion cubes.

1. If using uncooked chicken, clean and remove any fat. Place chicken breasts in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Add 1 Tablespoon dehydrated onions or 1/4 medium onion, chopped. Toss in 4-6 peppercorns. Cook on High heat for 18-20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and shred. (Strain broth and reserve for later.) Put chicken in a medium bowl. If using canned chicken, drain and put in a medium bowl.
2. Combine chicken and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper, set aside.
3. In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and 2-1/2 cups chicken broth, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold top firmly as blender will be quite full). Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish.
4. If making rolled enchiladas, lay tortillas on work surface; mound chicken mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in baking dish.
5. If making the casserole, layer 3 tortillas on sauce, followed by half the chicken, and 1/3 of the cheese. Next layer 3 more tortillas, the rest of the chicken, the remainder of the sauce and the last of the cheese.
6. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes

Don't be scared to try these. I know pumpkin enchiladas- it doesn't sound too appealing, but they are REALLY GOOD!!! And so fun to make in the fall.

Spiced Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 c. olive or vegetable oil
1/2 c. dry vermouth (obviously i substituted here. can sub: apple/grape/white grape juice or white wine vinegar)
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 - 1 t. ground cinnamon
2-3 T. brown sugar
2 tart apples, cored, cut in wedges
3 sweet potatoes, cooked and sliced

brown chicken pieces in a heavy skillet in hot olive/vegetable oil. drain off all but 1 tablespoon of oil. combine dry vermouth with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and brown sugar. add vermouth mixture to chieck in skillet along with apple wedges. bast chicken. cover skillet and cook over low hear for 25 minutes. add cooked sliced sweet potatoes and baste again until with cooking liquid. cover and simmer until heated.

note: i had to play around with this a little bit. i added more cinnamon and brown sugar because i substituted white wine vingear for the vermouth and i didn't really like the flavor. i think i'll use white grape juice next time. also i cut up the sweet potatoes and baked them in the oven for about a half an hour then added them to the skillet (i actually used a big boiling pot) and let them cook with the chicken and apples for the 25 minutes. i served it over rice pilaf. it was yummier then i thought it was going to be and darek liked it too even though he's not really a sweet potato fan.

chicken and wild rice salad

so this salad is really delicious and such a good summer dinner. however, i lost the recipe so this is from my head. feel free to experiment a little.

salad:
4 chicken breasts, seasoned, cooked, cubed
2 boxes uncle ben's original recipe long grain wild rice (the 5 minute quick recipe works too)
1 red pepper, diced
4-5 green onions, diced
juice from one lemon
sugar snap peas, diced (i've never added this but i know the original recipe included it)

dressing:
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 - 1/3 c white wine vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
2 T sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
pepper to taste

toppings:
sliced almonds
diced avocado
whatever else you think would be yummy (maybe craisins?)

bake chicken at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, while chopping veggies. i season my chicken on both sides with lowry's seasoning salt. prepare rice per box instructions. combine rice, cubed chicken, red peppers, green onion and sugar snap peas in large bowl. in seperate bowl whisk dressing ingredients together (can blend in a blender, or shake in a jar to mix as well). add dressing to rice salad. stir well. serve chilled with toppings. this salad is yummier if you prepare it 24 hours before serving.

enjoy

Beef with Peperchinis

This is Shima's recipe and it's so good and easy.

3-4 pound beef bottom round roast
1 cup of water
1 1/2 packet of Italian seasoning mix

Cook the above in a crockpot for about 6 or so hours.

Chop one glass bottle of pepperchinis (not the bottle, the pepperchinis) and add the pepperchinis. Shred the beef with a fork and then cook for another 1.5 hours or so.

Serve in mini sandwiches with havarti or cheddar cheese, tomatoe slices and good dinner rolls or baguettes. (The best is with the Great Harvest white rolls)

Pita Pocket Dinner

I have no idea what to call this since I have no idea where it originated, other than my mother, who I am sure didn't make it up herself. I made this tonight when I realized it was 5:30 and my kids were super hungry, thus super onery. It was literally on the table in 15 minutes. Super fast, easy, and my kids always gobble it up.

1 package pita pockets
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 4 oz. can diced green chilis
1 4 oz. can chopped olives (sliced works too), drained
1 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms (or fresh), drained
2-3 roma tomatoes, chopped
shredded cheddar cheese (I use 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. but you could add as much or as little as you like)
salt and pepper

Brown ground beef/turkey in skillet, drain fat. Add chilis, olives, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff in warmed pita pockets.

Crockpot Chicken with Rice

This recipe is for Shauna (the cream cheese/chicken of mushroom soup girl), although I’m sure you have this one if the two ingredients you use the most are the above! This is an easy crockpot recipe and one of my family’s FAVORITES!!!

You will need:
1 package cream cheese
1 package Italian seasoning (the kind that you use to make salad dressing – but just use the spices. DO NOT make the dressing.)
1 can cream of chicken soup
4-5 pieces of thawed chicken breasts
salt/pepper
Put chicken in crockpot. Salt and pepper chicken. Mix together cream cheese, Italian seasoning spices, and can of cream of chicken soup with mixer. Add cream cheese/soup mixture on top of chicken. Cook in crockpot on low for about 5 hours. Serve over brown rice.

corn and salsa chicken packets

alrighty, i made this tonight to test it out and it was real easy and pretty tastey

4 sheets heavy duty aluminum foil
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 jar chunky salsa
1 can whole kernal corn, drained (i used frozen)
salt/seasoning salt/garlic salt (your choice)
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

preheat oven to 450 degrees. put a chicken breast in the middle of a piece of foil. salt both sides of chicken breast. pour enough salsa to cover chicken breast. top with corn. bring up foil sides, double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for air to circulate inside. repeat for all four packets. bake 20-25 minutes on a cookie sheet (i baked for 5 extra minutes because i used frozen chicken breasts). be careful to let the steam escape without getting burned when you open up the packets. sprinkle with cheese, add sour cream if that tickles your fancy. yummy served over rice.

Salmon with warm spinach salad

This is one of my favorite meals - soooo good! From Rachael Ray.

4 T. olive oil
1 med. red onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. ground cumin
salt and pepper
juice of 2 limes
3 T. honey
1 t. chili powder
4, 6 oz. salmon filets
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 10 oz. box frozen corn
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 15 oz. can black beans
2-3 T. cilantro, chopped
6 c. baby spinach

Combine juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, s&p. Coat salmon in lime mixture (I actually marinate my salmon in this mixture a couple hours before I am ready to cook it) and cook 3-4 minutes each side on medium-high heat with 2 T. olive oil.
In separate pan, heat 2 T. olive oil, add onions, garlic, red pepper, cumin, and s&p. Cook 3 minutes. Add bell peppers, and corn and cook 1 minute. Add broth, cook 2 minutes. Add beans and remove from heat. Add juice of 1 lime, cilantro and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Plate and top with cooked salmon.

CREPES or Swedish Hotcakes- as my grandma would call them

Seriously simple. Get out your blender.

4 eggs
2 cups of milk
2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cube of melted butter

preheat a frying pan (preferably an electric one) to 350 degrees. mix eggs and milk in blender. add flour. add salt. add butter. be sure to scrape down sides. pour batter(usually about a cup) into the center of the pan and then tilt the pan all around until the batter spreads into a big circle. cook about 15 seconds, when bottom side is dry, flip(using a spatula) and cook other side. makes about 12 crepes.

this is great for any meal- we serve it with fresh berries, homemade whipping cream and powdered sugar. my brothers fold them in half and eat them with peanut butter and syrup just like pancakes.

i also make chicken crepes as a main course that our family loves. i know it sounds weird but they are yummy.

lest i digrecipe

sauce
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 c. grated cheddar cheese

2 c. sour cream
10 oz. cooked broccoli
2 c. cooked chicken breast(app. 5 breasts)

Sauce- over medium heat, melt butter in small sauce pan. stir in flour and whisk it until bubbly and thick. add chicken broth and Worcestershire. cook, stirring constantly until thick. add 2 cups of the cheese. remove from heat and add the sour cream.

now using a large Pyrex, you make them like enchiladas. lay out a crepe, put in a 1/4 c. of cooked chicken, about 2 Tbls of sauce and sprinkle a little broccoli then wrap it up like and enchilada. lay them out long ways, all right next to each other then cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the last cup of cheese. cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. serve warm-great left overs(makes 12 crepes).

Gooshteh Loobia

This is my favorite Iranian dish although they don't make it all over Iran. It's from my dad's hometown on the Iran/Iraq border and it's generally poor people food, but it's so good and so easy. Sorry I don't have exact measurements, but you really can't mess this one up.

You need:

3 skinless chicken drumsticks
1 yellow onion
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoons of pasta sauce or tomato sauce
1 package of great northern beans
salt


So you can do this in a crockpot the night before you want to eat it or in the morning and you can eat it at night.

Put a package of beans and the chicken and onion (cut in quarters) into the crockpot with the turmeric and salt (about 2 teaspoons-but make sure to taste it to make sure it's not too salty). Add water--about 2 or three inches above the food. Turn the crockpot on for about 6-8 hours on high and then a little bit before you eat it, put in the tomato or pasta sauce (for coloring and flavor).

We eat this with cinnamon (just put some cinnamon on top) and a little bit of yogurt on the side. You can serve with rice--I will post a recipe of fancy Iranian rice later, but you can just cook up some plain white basmati rice or any other rice. It's yummy.