Chicken and Broccoli

This is one I did a while ago, so I don't remember what I seasoned this with. So sorry! But the basics are still there, and you can easily season it in a way that you prefer. So heres' the basics.

Ingredients

1 bunch of broccoli

Probably 2 chicken breasts

Cut the chicken into small bites, and prep your broccoli. Put the chicken in a pan and start cooking. You can marinate it beforehand or just add some seasoning as you cook. We probably just used a combination of sauces, like we always do. I'm pretty sure we did the broccoli in a separate pan, just pan frying it/steaming a little. It was still pretty al dente, which I liked. Then when both were done cooking, we combined them and stirred well. I think we ate this with rice, maybe.

This was quite a while ago, I've been really slacking. But hopefully you'll appreciate the idea behind the meal. It really tasted awesome. It was just like beef and broccoli from a chinese place, but it was chicken instead. I imagine you could substitute the chicken with some type of beef strips and it would taste equally awesome.

Fried Potatoes

So this one is pretty self-explanatory and not very complex, but it was a first for me so I had to share.

Ingredients

Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

oil

salt (You could also try other salts, like Lawry's or other multi-purpose seasonings)

At first I thought I would try using my cheese slicer to slice my potatoes, hoping it would make them more uniform in thickness. It didn't work. And they would've been too thick anyhow. So I ended up using a knife, which was far more effective and I was able to make them quite thin.

I heated some oil in my pan (a nice layer) and added a layer of potato slices.  I just had to guess as to when they were done, and eventually you'll figure out what they look like when they're about finished.  After taking them out, I put them on a plate with paper towels on it and sprinkled them with salt.

I was pretty darn amazed that the really nicely sliced ones that were thin tasted exactly like Lays potato chips. No kidding. It took a while. I'm sure it would go much faster with a deep fryer, or something like that. I was just trying to figure out more ways to eat potatoes, since we're not big potato people. It was fun, and we all really enjoyed them.

Bell Pepper Tip

Now that I've been using bell peppers more and more, I've slowly been learning the easiest ways to chop them. They're far easier to chop from the inside out. The skin on the outside is slippery and makes it hard to slice all the way through. I'm usually chopping them so I'll share what I've learned about the easiest ways for chopping and whatnot.

After chopping the pepper in half, and cleaning out the seeds, I cut it into strips, cutting from the inside of the pepper, dragging my knife to slice. Then, if I'm chopping it, I lay the strips down, with the insides facing away from me, the slices on their side (I'll explain this.) and begin chopping. I've found that if I try and slice from the side of the skins, it's not very effective, like I mentioned. If I lay them skins down and chop them from the inside of the pepper, it won't always cut all the way through, not slicing all the way through the skin. So I've learned that if I lay them this way, when I chop I still cut through the inside of the pepper, but by laying the slices on their side, I'm able to slice all the way through the skins too. Many times I've slices through the pepper and when I've gone to move them, they've all still been attached by the skins, and I've had to manually separate them or re-chop them.

So this is my proven method for chopping your peppers without any problems. I hope all that makes sense!

Pico de Gallo

I posted a pico de gallo recipe with the Applebee's Santa Fe Chicken Salad but I have another one that I ate growing up. It's not quite as flavorful, having less ingredients, but I could see some people liking it's simplicity still. It's still delicious.

Ingredients

1 bunch cilantro

6 medium tomatoes

1 onion

Salt

Garlic Salt (You could easily substitute with real garlic. Maybe 3 cloves.)

Chop cilantro, tomatoes, and onion. Combine in a bowl. Add salt and garlic salt.

This recipe is to a pretty big scale. You could easily cut it in half.

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

These are a recipe that I was super excited to realize I had. I went to Red Lobster for the first time and had their biscuits. They really are amazing. I was jazzed to see that I had their "recipe" in my Top Secret Restaurant Recipe book. We had them a few times the next week, and they are delicious!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups Bisquisk baking mix (I didn't have this, so I substituted this and the following dry ingredients with my baking powder biscuit recipe)

4 tbsp cold butter (I also used the shortening from the baking powder biscuit recipe)

1 heaping cup grated cheese

3/4 cup cold whole milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Brush On Top

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

pinch salt

Preheat your overn to 400 degrees. Combine bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. (Or combine dry ingredients from baking powder biscuits with the shortening listed in that recipe.) You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunk of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and 1/4 tsp garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop approximately 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tbsp butter in a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in 1/2 tsp garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over hte tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. (Really, use it all.)

I could see the flavor might be different using butter instead of shortening. I think I'll try it that way next time. (Still using my dry ingredients from my biscuits recipe. I don't keep bisquick on hand.) I've scooped them, and I've rolled them out and cut them like I would my biscuits. I don't know that it makes a difference. Whatever's easier.  I think it's really the garlic mix that you brush on top that makes the recipe. Absolutely delicious. A must try!

Ramen Fried Rice

So this is one that we kinda made up when we were first married.  You can really add whatever floats your boat and change it however you want to. Here's the bare bones.

Ingredients

Top Ramen (no seasoning packet)

Chicken breasts

Eggs, scrambled

Carrots, grated

Any other vegetables you want

Cook the ramen by the directions. Scramble your eggs. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, cook on the stove. You marinate the chicken beforehand if you want to. Combine all the ingredients in your large saucepan and heat through. I don't remember how we seasoned this one. It might've been a marinade. But in the past we've just used some soy sauce or something simple. Or if you use a marinade, you can use the leftovers to season the dish, just heating it all thoroughly.

Hawaiian Haystacks

I first had Hawaiian Haystacks at a luncheon at church put on by a lady who lived in Hawaii most of her life.  I have come across a few recipes since then for the sauce, and this, by far, is most like Sister Watanabe's.  It's really easy to make and is just scrumptious.

If you've never had them before, here's how they work.  You start with a pile of rice, topped with the sauce.  You then add a variety of toppings that suits your taste.  I've also heard them referred to as chinese sundaes.

Ingredients:

2 c. chopped green pepper (or one can Ortega green chilis)
1/2 c. margarine or butter
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. flour
2 cups milk or evaporated milk (I've never used evaporated)
2 cans chicken chunks or 2 boiled chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Instructions:

Saute green peppers in butter in the bottom of a pot.  Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper.  Whisk flour in slowly.  Add milk.  Bring to a boil.  Add chicken. 

Now, a lesson to be learned here is that whenever you use flour or cornstarch to thicken a sauce, you MUST let it come to a full boil.  It will never reach it's full thickening potential without it. 


As far as toppings, go, there are a few things that are kinda considered essentials for every haystack.

• Grated cheese
• Pinapple
• Something onion-y; chives, green onions, or diced purple onion are good choices
• Something ham-y; bacon bits, diced ham, or crumbled bacon

Let your imagination go from there.  I like raisins.  My husband likes coconut and crispy chinese chow mein noodles.  I've seen corn, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, and peanuts.  Just use your imagination and whatever you have lying around the house.

The best thing about this dish is that everyone can personalize it to their own tastes.  It is easy to please even the pickiest eaters with this dish.

Here was my evening's creation with the sauce, cheese, raisins, pineapple, bacon bits, and some chives from my garden that you can't see but are really there.  I usually put corn on mine too but we were out.