Kristina's Easy Chicken Curry

28-oz can tomatoes
4 whole chicken breast cut in half
1 onion chopped
half a green pepper chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 ribs celery chopped
1-2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water OR can of chicken broth

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover. Cook on high 2-3 hours OR on low 5-6 hours.
OR
let simmer on stove for 1 hour-ish.

Brown Rice

My grandma and her sister made this. It is not "healthy" brown rice, by any stretch of the imagination.

1/4 C butter, melted
onion (no measurement, just a small handful to taste)
1 C rice
1 can beef bouillon soup (beef broth)
1 can beef consomme soup

Stir rice and onion nito melted butter. Put in casserole dish (1.5 Q) and pour in both cans of soup. Cover. Bake at 375 degrees about 1 hour. Liquid should pretty much cook off, but not to the point where it's dry at all.

baked chicken nuggets

we love these in our family. so much better than fried chicken nuggets. we like them dipped in sauces as a finger food. but they're also good served with pasta and a tomato or alfredo sauce.

Original recipe yield: 30 nuggets

INGREDIENTS
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch size pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter/margarine in a bowl or dish for dipping.
Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter/margarine first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place well coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

chicken taco casserole

boneless, skinless chicken, cooked & chunked
(I boil it, let it cool & chop it up)
1 bag tortilla chips
1 bag shredded cheese (you probably won't use it all)

sauce: in saucepan 'til runny
2 cans mushroom soup
2 cans chili1 can tomato soup
1 (small) can tomato paste
sour cream
1 pkg taco seasoning

layer in 9x13 pan:
chips, sauce, chicken, cheese...chips, sauce, chicken, cheese
bake at 350 until the sides are bubbly and the cheese is dark.

chicken tortilla soup

i made this for the dinner swap this past week.
i thought it was yummy.
serves 4.

INGREDIENTS
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chunky salsa
8 ounces corn tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium heat, saute the chicken in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with the Monterey Jack cheese and a little sour cream.

CHICKEN POT PIE

My bishop's wife made this for our family the week after Audrey and I came home from the hospital, and I had to get the recipe because it was so delicious! I made it last night but forgot to take a picture (sorry!)

Filling:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-3/4 cups chicken broth (about 1 can)
2/3 cup milk (or half-and-half to make the filling a bit richer, which I did)
2 cups chicken, cooked and cut into pieces
1 package peas and carrots

Pastry dough:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
5 tablespoons ice water

(Note: I found the dough to be fragile, tearing easily. You may want to make the dough first, then refrigerate it while preparing the filling to make it easier to handle.)

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Blend in flour, onion and seasonings. Cook, stirring, until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat and whisk in chicken broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil, stir one minute. Gently stir in chicken and vegetables, remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425◦ F.

Prepare pastry by sifting together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening. Sprinkle in ice water one tablespoon at a time, until all flour is moistened and dough almost cleans sides of bowl. Gather dough into a ball. On a lightly floured board, roll 2/3 of the dough into a circle. Ease pastry into a 9" or 10" pie dish. Pour filling into pan. Roll remaining dough into
a circle; place over filling. Crimp edges and cut slits in center of crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 425◦ F for 30-35 minutes. Serves 8.

Corn Syrup Anybody???

This was too funny and I had to share it. Look close....this was inherited from Spencer's grandpa when we lived in his house. I pulled it out when I was making a pecan pie and decided that maybe corn syrup doesn't get better with age! :)
Happy Thanksgiving!

Easy Chicken

I know there are 1000's of "breaded chicken" recipes - this is just my current favorite.

Blend (in a blender):

1 tube Ritz crackers
2 T shredded parmesan cheese
1 t garlic powder
1 t Johnny's seasoning salt

Roll 4 chicken breasts in sour cream and in the crumb mix.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes - until chicken is cooked through (looks white inside when you cut into the middle).

Why I like it: fast, common ingredients, stays moist and yummy.

kids cookbook

i haven't tried any recipes yet
but it looks promising
"deceptively delicious"
by jessica sienfield (jerry's wife)
you hide veges in your normal meals
ex. butternut squash puree in mac and cheese
spinach in brownies
etc.
it's interesting

Dinner in a Pumpkin

I thought it was time for a new post and this one is a fun Fall dinner. It is a little bit like stroganof and squash. Here is the recipe:

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 small to medium pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lbs. hamburger
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 8 oz. can chestnuts, drained

Cut top off pumpkin. Clean out seeds and pulp. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, sauté onions in oil. Add meat and brown. Drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add cooked rice and chestnuts. Spoon mixture into cleaned pumpkin. Replace pumpkin top. Bake 2 hours on baking sheet. Scrape the cooked pumpkin off of the side as you serve it.

These are the ingredients I used (my husband laughs that I never follow a recipe correctly):
1 small to medium pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. hamburger
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
3 cans cream of chicken soup
6 cups cooked rice
no chestnuts

Happy Fall!

DIABOLICAL CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFFS

Puffs:
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Water
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
4 Eggs

Filling:
1 (5.9 ounce) Pkg. Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup Milk

Necessary Hedonistic Flourish:
1 Pkg. Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Mix together Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix, Heavy Cream and Milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
3. Whisk together Flour and Salt. Set aside.
4. In a pot (2 quart or larger), bring Water and Butter to a rolling boil. Remove from liquid from heat and stir in Flour and Salt mixture. Stir until the mixture forms a ball.
5. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and allow it to cool for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the Eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
6. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. (Parchment paper or Silpat liner work best to prevent sticking.)
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
8. When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.
9. Melt Chocolate Chips in double-boiler.
10. Dip split or filled side of the puff into melted chocolate. Cool completely.
11. Devour!

Berry Pie

I used my favorite pie-crust recipe, but with Bobs Red Mill 100% whole wheat pastry flour. This crust was heavenly!

Remember to be nice to your dough as you combine the ingredients. There should be visible lumps of butter in your dough as you role it out.

I filled it with:

3 C. blueberries
3 C. blackberries
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. sugar
4 T. cornstarch

then baked it for 35 minutes at 350*

Whole Wheat Spice Bars

I've gotten many requests for the recipe for this, and now it's in a centralized location for all to enjoy:

Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Dry Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Blend wet ingredients until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until all ingredients are moist. Spread dough onto 1 large cookie tray leaving about 1 inch from the edges. Bake 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Cut in squares and enjoy.

Variations:
Add more flour to make cake-like
Add chocolate chips

big daddy surprise

this was big daddy's spontaneous creation for dinner tonight- best food i've had in a LONG time.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 t. lemon pepper
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. sea salt
1/2 c. heavy cream
4 slices mozzerella
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 avocado, thinly sliced
french bread, topped with butter and garlic, toasted

place chicken in a shallow baking dish. lightly sprinkle with seasonings. spoon heavy cream on top. bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. top with mozzerella and tomato and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is done. top with avocado and serve immediately with warm garlic bread. mmm...

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped into 1/4" pieces
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 recipe pastry for a 9" double crust pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Add strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Toss with sugar and flour and let stand for 30 minutes (letting the filling rest is essential, or the pie will be too runny). Pour filling into pie crust. Dot top with butter, and cover with top crust. Seal edges of top and bottom crust with water. Apply yolk to top of pie, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut small holes in top to let steam escape. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. Cool on rack.

And here's my recipe for a 9" double crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add butter, and use a pastry blender to cut the butter in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.

Add ice water two tablespoons at a time, working it in before adding more, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Test the consistency by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.