Joy in the Kitchen!

This is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to cook bone in chicken that I've come across in all my years of cooking!  Though the price of chicken has gone up a fair bit in the past few years, it is still an economical main dish.  Even more-so if you watch for chicken to come on sale, or I can sometimes find 10 pound bags of chicken leg quarters at the grocery store for quite a bit less per pound.  If you don't mind separating the thigh and the drumstick yourself, you can save quite a bit more.  If you prefer, you could leave the leg quarter intact and it will bake up just as well.   I love recipes like this that come from trusted friends and family.  A year ago or so, I was asked to help bake some of this chicken for a fundraiser to help restore an old two-room schoolhouse that is near my home.  The school house is so fun to see and contemplate all the children who learned together in that one room with one teacher for all ages.  The ...

When I was growing up, most of the time Mom fixed meals using foods we grew in the garden and meat we had raised.  Most meals were meat and potato meals.  Usually four items on our plates at dinner:  Meat, potatoes, vegetable, and some sort of salad. Most always a dessert accompanied that, often though it was a bowl of home canned fruit.  Once in a great while, Mom would make a casserole or dinner using ingredients we had to buy such as cheese, pasta, or rice.  It was such a treat to have a meal out of the norm.  One of the dishes Mom would occasionally make for Sunday dinner was Chicken and Rice.  So easy to put together and throw in the oven to cook while you do other things.  This dish is such a comfort food for me!  Creamy, warm, delicious!  I'm not sure where she got the recipe, but the original name was Busy Day Chicken.   I buy whole chickens and cut them up into 10 pieces for this, or sometimes I buy chicken l...

My family doesn't generally love brown rice.  They really enjoyed it in this dish though.  I started out to do a skillet dinner, but I took a little time to put it all in a pan and melt the cheese in the oven.  Next time I'm going to try just mixing it in and letting it melt in the skillet rather than sprinkling it on top. This was a tasty dinner and full of healthy ingredients.   My family requested it again! Brown Rice and Broccoli with Chicken 1 1/2 C. brown rice 3 1/4 C.chicken broth or water with 3 tsp. chicken boullion  Place in medium pan, bring to a boil and cook for 40 minutes.  Remove from heat. While the rice is cooking, saute the following in 1 T. of olive oil: 2 chicken breast, diced 1 C. onion, diced 1 C. mushrooms, sliced 2 C. broccoli florets (fresh or frozen is fine) When the rice is done, place it on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan .  Spread chicken and vegetables over rice.  Drizzle a couple of tablespoon...

Summer is coming!!!  It's time to start thinking cool meals for warm summer days!  Salads are always a hit in our home and my teenage girls especially love pasta salad.  This delicious pasta salad is packed with flavor and pretty simple to assemble.  It travels well in a cooler to those summer potluck holiday meals.  Perfect! Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad 1 12-16 oz. package of shell pasta (Large or small), cooked until tender and drained. 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked, cooled, and diced (We like it grilled best but boiled is great too!) 2 C. Ranch Dressing thinned w/ a little milk - appx 1/4 cup. 4-6 slices of bacon, fried until crispy and crumbled (I like to use 6 slices of precooked bacon) 1 C. celery, sliced 1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks and sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning. 1 can black olives, sliced Green onion, Optional Mix all of the above ingredients together saving a few pieces of avoca...

Several years ago on the Frugal Families forum I'm a member of, someone posted a favorite crock pot recipe called Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken.   The thought of garlic and brown sugar was NOT my idea of a good mix!  I gave it a try though since it was getting such good reviews and I was totally wrong!  Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken is so delicious!   I love using my crock pot on busy days.  Monday's I get home from work about 15 minutes before our usual dinner time.  I'm tired and everyone is hungry!  Having a nice meal already cooked is a wonderful thing to come home to.  All you need to add on this recipe is rice.  Minute rice or rice precooked and reheated with a little water would be easy enough.  I'm only gone from 3:00 - 6:00 so I can put my rice in my rice cooker and it cooks and stays nice and warm until we're ready to eat.    I love eating Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken with quinoa in place of the rice but most of my ...

This hearty salad works well as a potluck side dish or as a main dish for a summertime meal!  Several years ago my sister Beverly brought this dish often to family gatherings.  It always disappeared quickly!  Several of my children request it.  I usually don't put the pineapple in and red grapes are as good as green.  Yum!  It calls for cooked chicken breast.  I usually simmer them in water until done but baked works just fine too. Bev's Yummy Chicken and Pasta Salad 4 boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced 6 oz. small shell macaroni, cooked and drained 2 C. celery, diced 1 bunch green onions, sliced 2 lbs green grapes (or red seedless grapes) 1 small can tidbit pineapple, drained 1 C. Kraft coleslaw dressing 1 C. mayonnaise 1 C. cashews (reserve a few for garnish) Mix mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing together.  Pour over other ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir to coat, sprinkle with a few extra cashews.  Chill until...

This recipe got a thumbs up from my family!  I love when an experiment turns out!  I had some leftover chicken I needed to use but we all agree here that pepperoni and cheese with olives or ham and cheese would be terrific too.    I made my own dough but you could easily use frozen roll dough thawed for this.... you'd either need 2 portions of dough or make half sized bundles though. To start, I had a few pieces of leftover fried chicken I bought at the store a few days ago.  Not enough for each of us to have a piece, but too much to save just for someones lunch.  I tossed that in a small pan with about an inch of water and simmered it for about 15 minutes so it was heated & would debone easy.  Any cooked chicken would work.  You just need about  2 Cups.  The dough recipe is just a modification of my favorite pizza dough recipe.  I used my Kitchen-Aid mixer to mix the dough, but it could be mixed and kneaded by h...

We love Alfredo Sauce on noodles, however, right now I've got a bunch of potatoes stored that need to be used.  I figured we could do our usual alfredo sauce and some chicken tenders and settle that over some real mashed potatoes for a nice potato bowl.  It turned out terrific! You could use a bottled alfredo sauce, but it's really pretty easy to make your own if you have the ingredients on hand. Easy Alfredo Sauce 2 C. half & half or a mix of heavy cream and milk OR 2 C. of evaporated milk 1 C. milk 2 T. butter 3 T. flour 1 clove of garlic, minced 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, grated salt and pepper to taste Saute the garlic in the 2 T. of butter until it softens.  Mix in flour and make a roux.  Add milk and cream slowly, stirring constantly over medium heat until all milk is added and sauce starts to thicken.  Add Parmesan cheese and stir until it's melted and blended in.  Salt and pepper to taste.  The sauce thickens as it cools.  If it's thi...

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs Marinade:  1 can of citrus soda (usually 7up, but I only had Squirt) 1 cup of soy sauce 1/2 cup oil 1/2 tsp ginger Cut up 2 chicken breasts into 1in cubes.  Put in a tupperware container (I use those Ziploc or Gladware tossable ones) with the marinade.  Marinade in the fridge for at least an hour. When you're ready to grill alternate the chicken cubes with pineapple on a bamboo skewer.  Grill for 10 min. Enjoy! Notes:  Heat your grill for about 15-20 minutes before you are ready to grill.  If using charcoal it takes about 20-30 minutes to get those ready.   Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least half an hour to help them from burning. Chunk pineapple or fresh pineapple works best for skewering.

While my daughter Keeley and I were planning the Mothers Day menu, she came across this recipe online.  I wasn't too sure about the pineapple salsa, but we decided to try it.  It is AWESOME!  The chicken was tender and flavorful, the salsa was sweet, but not too sweet, and is a terrific accompaniment for the chicken.  YUM! You can find the recipe for the Yogurt Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Roasted Red Pepper Salsa right here at the Food Network. We added less hot sauce, but next time we'll add more.  I marinated the chicken for 5 hours just because that's how it worked out. :o) We will definitely be adding this to our menu in the future.  It is nutritious, tasty, and FUN!   Give it a try & let me know what YOU think! Here's the rest of our Mothers Day Dinner.... Shrimp Cocktail Garlic Roasted Potatoes                    ...

Any time we serve these it feels like a party!  Hawaiian Haystacks are a delicious assemble-it-yourself meal!  They offer a terrific range of texture and taste; crunch and smooth, warm and cold, sweet and savory.  One of the little girls today declared SHE didn't see how it looked like a haystack.  I suppose if you compare it to the neat bales of hay stacked together it doesn't.  BUT, as you pile ingredients on top of each other, a main one of those being crunchy chow mein noodles, it can resemble the old fashioned stacks where hay was just piled as high as one could toss the hay with a pitchfork.  This is more a meal with directions rather than a recipe.  You increase or decrease amounts according to the number of people you're feeding and tailor it to your likes. Hawaiian Haystacks Cooked rice (1 or so cups per person) chicken gravy cooked chicken to add to the gravy chowmein noodles These items are the base.  I like to boil a whole chicken,...

I've been wondering what to do with the bag of limes we got at Christmas.  You can only have so many glasses of Sprite with a squeeze of lime. :o)  That dilemma combined with my wishful yearning for summertime, inspired me to try making Chili Lime Chicken.  It would be best on the grill, but I wasn't determined enough to walk through the snow in the dark to grill it.  Tonight we pan fried it and it turned out great!  If I try it again before the snow melts I think I'll try broiling it.  This would be great with a rice pilaf or Spanish rice.  I'm trying to use up the many pounds of potatoes I have stored, so we had baked potatoes with ours. Chili Lime Chicken 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast Marinade: 1 1/2 C. yogurt 2-3 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. salt 3 T. freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime) Mix well.   Place chicken breasts in gallon size zip-lock bag and pour marinade over.  Zip closed a...

I love sweet and sour foods.  Chicken, pork, meatballs... yummy!  I've been craving some for several weeks now and today is a good day to give in to the craving. :o)  I think I got this recipe from Mom.  It's written on a well used 3x5 card, with only ingredient amounts and a few directions.... like put in pan and bake. LOL  I'm pretty sure I wrote it as I talked to her on the phone.   This is not like the sweet and sour pork or chicken I've had at chinese restaurants... thus the #1 after the title.  I will make and post that type of recipe another time.  It is wonderfully good too. On this dish tonight, I used halved boneless skinless chicken breasts, it was originally written for bone in chicken pieces.  If I had some on hand, I would have used that - it's my favorite.  The skin on the chicken adds a little different flavor.  OR, if you'd rather cut your boneless chicken into bite-size chunks, that works well too. Sw...

Here is a terrific appetizer for New Years Eve!   Simple to make, and I haven't met a person yet who doesn't absolutely love it.  Kara Age is pronounced sort of like Kahdah Ahgay you have to sort of roll the "hd" like you roll an R in spanish but not quite as hard. (my own phonetic spelling there... take it for what it's worth!)  My husband spent 2 years in Japan on a church mission. He loved so much of the food. Oddly, this wasn't one of the dishes he tried there!  However, when we were first married, and had our first internet connection, we searched for Japanese food recipes and this one came up.  It has been a favorite for years. This requires deep frying, but I just use a 2 quart pan and about 3 inches of oil.  You marinate this for a few minutes prior to frying, so be sure to start this about 1/2 an hour ahead of time.  As a time saver, you COULD mix up the marinade early and cube the chicken, but you don't want to mix them together too ...

I am pretty sure these enchilada's are not an authentic ethnic recipe.  LOL  Regardless, they are so good!  I don't stick hard and fast to any recipe but I'll give some direction and approximate amounts.  My family loves chicken enchilada's... only one out of ten of us doesn't care for it. (and she's 6 years old, so I just keep telling her when she's bigger she'll probably like it. )  Tonight I actually used turkey in my filling since I roasted a turkey Sunday.  We also used whole wheat tortilla's and 2 of the 3 cans of cream soup were Healthy Request 98% fat free.  I didn't notice much difference at all in taste or texture with these healthy changes!  Chicken Enchilada's Filling: 3-4 C. chicken, cooked and diced or shredded 1 C. cooked rice 1 onion, chopped 2-3 stalks of celery, chopped 1 T. oil, butter or margarine 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 can cream of chicken soup 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese Sauce: 2 cans...

Dave and I were able to enjoy a Date Night at home again!  I've been itching to try a new recipe or two, and it's fun to cook new things for just the two of us.  (The little girls don't always appreciate dishes out of the norm. Silly girls. lol )  Last month Mom took me to Johnny Carino's for my birthday.  We had their Bowtie Festival, which was chicken, bacon, tomatoes and onion in Alfredo sauce, tossed with bowtie pasta.  Divine!   I had shrimp I wanted to use, and figured I could make up the rest.  It did come out similar.  My sauce was thicker, and I think I would have LOVED freshly grated Parmesan cheese, but I just had a jar of pregrated in the fridge.  Often, we end up with regular tossed green salad with ranch dressing, but last night we tried Mandarin Almond Salad and it was a wonderful change!  We'll have both dishes again!  If I hadn't been trying to watch our portions, I would also have served a small loaf of crus...

My husband and I are beginning a contest to eat healthier.  Of course I will win, but in the process he gets to benefit from the healthier meals I fix as well.  These Shredded Chicken and Black Bean Stuffed Tortilla's fit right into our goals.  Tonight I made whole wheat tortilla's that use oil as the fat instead of my usual recipe using white flour and shortening. (though those are wonderful!  I'll post that recipe another time.)  If you haven't tried making flour tortilla's yet, it's REALLY worth the effort... so much more tender and tasty than the ones you purchase at the store.  I used a crockpot to cook the filling.  If you don't have time or don't have a crockpot, you can do it in the oven or stovetop on a low temperature for a little shorter time.  I didn't serve this with cheese OR sour cream tonight, but if I weren't determined to beat Dave in this contest I would.  LOL  Good luck Honey!  ;o) Shredded Chicken and B...

Soups are some of my favorite meals! They're filling and inexpensive, easy to throw together for a nutritious meal. White Bean Chili is one of our favorites. Chicken, great northern beans, chili's and onion blend into a satisfying dinner. Enjoy! (I'm serving mine tonight with freshly made french bread. White Bean Chili 1 lb Great Northern beans Water Rinse beans and place in large pot with enough water to cover a few inches above the beans. Bring to a oil. Reduce heat & simmer a couple of minutes. Turn off stove, cover, and let soak for 1 hour. Drain off water & discard. In the same pot, combine: 6 cups water 1 large onion chopped 2 small cans diced green chilies 1/3 C granular chicken bouillon or 6 cubes 1 T. chili powder 2 cloves minced garlic (or 2 T. garlic flakes or 1 tsp powder) 2 tsp. oregano 1 tsp onion salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional - I don't like it that hot) Bring to boil and then simmer for about 2 hours. Stir in: 2 boneless c...