Chicken Divan

12 February, 201412 February, 2014Marissa

I wish I could tell you the name of the recipe book I found this in, but it’s old and the front and back covers have long since been lost. Regardless, it is an easy dish that has become a popular choice in our house. Evey time I say I’m not sure what to make for lunch, my brother tells me to bake chicken divan. There’s rarely left overs here, but it does heat up well the next day.

In other news, there’s a Scarlet Pimpernel Quotation Challenge and Giveaway running now until Feb. 14 on Musings of an Introvert for the Anthony Andrew’s blog hop. If you’re interested, make your way over there and see how many quotations you can complete.

Chicken Divan

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1 teaspoon olive oil

4 cups chicken, cut into small pieces

4 cups chopped carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until done.

Meanwhile, place vegetables with water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Let cook for a couple minutes. Drain vegetables.

Place vegetables on the bottom of a 9×13-in. baking pan . Top with cooked chicken. Mix cream of chicken soup, curry powder, and mayonnaise. Spread over chicken mixture. Top with cheddar cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes at 350°F. Remove foil and book another 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting brown and sauce is bubbling around the edges. Serve with rice.

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Chicken Fried Rice

29 January, 201428 January, 2014Marissa

I have a confession to make: for many years I made chicken fried rice using a boxed dinner because I was intimidated by this dish. It seemed like it would be so simple, but when I tried one recipe I found online it was a soggy mess that tasted like licorice because of the Chinese five-spice. Just recently, I finally found another recipe to try (this one a simple side-dish), and I expanded it into this chicken fried rice. The secret to avoiding sogginess is to use rice that has been sitting in the refrigerator for a day or so, which gives it a chance to cool and dry-out a little. I still don’t feel I’ve quite mastered the art of keeping the egg on only one side of the skillet while scrambling it, but at least when we want fried rice we’re not eating dinner out of a box any more.

Chicken Fried Rice

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1 pound chicken, cut into chunks

1 teaspoons sesame oil and 1 teaspoon canola oil

3 Tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 cup peas

1 cup diced carrots

1-2 green onions, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, lightly beaten.

4 cups cooked white or brown rice (day old or leftover rice works best)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine

3/4 teaspoons ginger

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon canola oil in wok or large skillet. Fry chicken in hot oil until cooked through. Remove when done.

Add 3 Tablespoons sesame oil to the wok and heat over medium heat. Add the peas, carrots, onion, and garlic. Stir-fry until tender. Push the mixture off to one side, then pour eggs on the other side of the skillet and stir-fry until scrambled.

Add rice and stir. Add soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and pepper. Stir to blend. Continue stir-frying until thoroughly heated, then serve.

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Brown Rice Pilaf

15 January, 201415 January, 2014Marissa

When served with a few pieces of chicken, this brown rice pilaf is one of my favorite meals. The original recipe (the origin of which I have lost track of) called for long grain or basmati rice — I’ve always used the brown rice that we keep on hand to serve with stir-fries. It has to cook longer than the original 15-20 minutes, but it’s healthy and it tastes good. There are several variations you could try on this recipe, though I like the one with basil and carrots so much that I haven’t played around with it too much. I have kept substitutions suggested by the original recipe in parenthesis if you want to experiment with some of them.

Brown Rice Pilaf

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1 cup brown rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth

¼ cup shredded carrots (can substitute mushrooms, sweet peppers, or zucchini)

¼ cup rice wine (can substitute apple juice, dry white wine, or water)

¼ teaspoon dried basil (can substitute oregano or thyme)

½ cup slivered almonds (can substitute green onions, chopped walnuts, or pine nuts)

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add garlic and uncooked rice. Stir in hot butter for 3 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth, then stir in carrots, wine and dried herb.

Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Add slivered almonds and serve.

"Brown Rice Pilaf" by marissabaker.wordpress.com. For the chicken, I pour some rice wine in a baking dish, add garlic and basil, then add the chicken. Shake some basil and garlic over the chicken and top with mozzarella cheese or crushed garlic and cheese croutons — For the chicken, I pour some rice wine in a baking dish, add garlic and basil, then add the chicken. Shake some basil and garlic over the chicken and top with mozzarella cheese or crushed garlic and cheese croutons

Cheese Burger Soup

23 October, 201321 October, 2013Marissa

Ah, the fall season — crisp weather, autumn leaves, ripe apples, nasty allergies, and warm soup. This soup began life as a way-too-cheesey potato soup, and has now settled down as a meat soup with respectable levels of cheese.

A bit of bloggish news: I’ve added a recipe book page. It has all the recipes I’ve posted in one convenient, organized location so you can easily find what you’re looking for. I’ll keep it updated as I post new recipes.

Cheese Burger Soup

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5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)

1 large carrot, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)

2 cups water

2 cups beef broth

1/2 pound ground beef, cooked

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender (15 – 20 minutes. Add ground beef.

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

6 Tbsp. flour

3 tsp. steak seasoning (see recipe below)

2 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar or a mixture of different types)

In a small bowl, combine ingredients except cheese. Stir into soup, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Steak Seasoning

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon paprika or chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 t teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon . cayenne or chipotle powder

1 dash each coriander and tumeric (optional)

Combine all and place in a container.

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Vegetable Chicken Chowder

16 October, 201315 October, 2013Marissa

The first time I made this soup, my family was praising the smell even before they got a taste of it. The basic recipe comes from an old cookbook my grandmother gave my mother called Country Classic Pioneer Cookbook. I’ve changed it a little, streamlining the recipe instructions and adding meat. This version calls for chicken, but you could easily make it with beef (which is what I did the first time I tried it). It goes well with bread, such as these Easy Bread Sticks.

Vegetable Chicken Chowder

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2 cups water

3 cups chicken broth

1 can tomato soup

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons onion powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup rice

2 cups chopped potatoes

½ cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrot

2 cups chopped chicken

1 cup milk

3 Tablespoons flour

Combine liquid, seasonings, and rice in a large sauce pot. Heat to boil. When soup boils, add chopped potatoes, celery, and carrots. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook chicken. Add to soup after the 45 minutes cooking time or when the rice is tender. Whisk milk and flour, add to soup. Bring to boil and serve immediately.

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Turkey Tetrazzini

2 October, 20132 October, 2013Marissa

We had to cook a turkey so all the beef from our butchered steers would fit in the freezer, so I have lots of cooked turkey to experiment with. My go-to recipe for leftover turkey is a rice casserole, but it calls for sour cream and I won’t have that until I go grocery shopping (by way of the library book sale) tomorrow. For my first foray into something-other-than-rice-casserole, I chose this Turkey Tetrazzini recipe from allrecipes.com.

Most pictures I saw were adding peas to it, but I opted for carrots. I also thought 1-2/3 cups of Parmesan cheese was way too much, a change you’ll see reflected in my recipe. I’m thinking next time I’ll cut the cheese on top to 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup — the Parmesan taste was still a bit strong.

Turkey Tetrazzini

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16 ounces uncooked spaghetti

1 cup peas and/or diced carrots

½ cup butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk

½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 cups chopped cooked turkey

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain, and place in a lightly greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Meanwhile, bring vegetables to boil in medium sauce pan and remove from heat. Drain, and spoon over the spaghetti.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Add in chicken broth and milk, whisking until smooth. Cook and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir in about 2/3 cups Parmesan cheese and the 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese. Remove from heat.

Mix turkey into the chicken broth mixture. Pour evenly over spaghetti. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes in the preheated oven, until surface is lightly browned and edges are bubbling.

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