Cheater Chicken and Spanish Rice

Yum

Hit play now.... before you go any further....

....wonderful....

You are no longer in your kitchen.
Imagine the smells of chilies roasting on an open flame.
Beautiful colors dancing in front of you as the sun sets and the parties begin.
That amazing feeling of carelessness and infinite happiness.

Welcome back to your kitchen, sorry. But I hope I have inspired some Fiesta in you!


This recipe came about because I already had some day old rice ready for frying, and I was trying to get over the same old fried-rice-grilled-chicken combo.... and my chicken was frozen at the time too. Last minute planning always a muse, what can I say.

I have a family recipe for slow cooked Chops and Spanish rice, so I just adapted it a bit.
This one is called "Cheater" because it's all thrown together using left overs or whatever is on hand.


You will need:

• 5 chicken thighs, or leftover roasted chicken.... any parts will do as you will be shredding it.
• day old cooked rice

For the chicken boil:

• 3 cloves garlic
• chili powder
• salt
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
  

For the rice:

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 Serrano pepper, sliced
  
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 3-4 green onions, sliced
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• salt/pepper

Let's get started.
Throw the chicken boil mix together, cover and ignite the flame. Get that chicken boiled.
If it is frozen, probably about 20-30 minutes on high will do
If it is left over chicken, just 5-10 minutes to rehydrate it and marinate it all will be fine.
{boiling chicken shots... ho hum

{the chicken boil, smells great!}
{ugly boiled chicken, remove skin please!


You're going to shred this, and remove any bones if they are present, so you can leave the chicken in the boil, or start shredding it whenever.
{the easy way to shred chicken, 2 forks and 2 arms

Now the rice. Get a large skillet nice and hot with the oil, onion, serrano, and some splashes of lime juice, save the rest for later.
{spices ready for the rice mix

Add the rice, and break up, getting it warmed through out.
{breaking up cold rice is my least favorite cooking task

Next is the tomato sauce and the beans. Mix well, and get it all to a smooth consistency.
{homogeneous rice, check

Now add the shredded chicken bits..... look at that, it's almost done.
{incorporating the mix

Wait, there's a Bonus!

Because I usually make my recipes spicier, I decided to add a cool cuke salad to mix up the textures and compliment the flavor. It turned out better than I thought:

• 2 cucumbers
• lime, lemon juice
• salt
• green onion, sliced

Peel the cucumbers, or if they are from your garden, you can skip that. Cut off both ends and slice into 8ths long ways.
{slice the cukes!
You may remove the seeds, but I believe I kept them this time for the added cooling affect. Chop to desired sizes.
Just toss with juices, onion, and salt to get the right tang ratio for your taste. It is a great salad!
{cuke salad fin

Not your mom's Coleslaw!

That picture right there says it all.
Yeah it's kinda brown and weird looking.

Quit judging this book by it's cover.

I will say right now that I am not normally a fan of mixing my fruit with "savory" flavors. But I was making this while standing in front of my fruit bowl.... and I thought, hmmm... apples would be fun.
And so there it was....

The Recipe: Asian Slaw

• 1 head cabbage- sliced how you like it
• 4 lg cloves of garlic
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 small bunch cilantro, minced
• 1 small apple, sliced thinly
• 3 dried Thai peppers, crushed, too taste (these are very hot)
• 3 tsp peanut butter, the natural kind tastes best with this recipe
  
• 2 tsp soy sauce, give or take, probably more on the give side...
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• salt, to taste
• toasted sesame seeds

I added some chopped broccoli heads for a little color and fiber.... be experimental!

Toss, toss, toss!
It may take some elbow grease to get the peanut butter to incorporate properly with the rest of the slaw, but when it's done, it's worth it!

The Bread Adventure : Update

Here are some pictures of a couple loaves that have taken place in the oven so far!







Free Form Artisan Bread- made on my oven stone.











Awesome Fluffy White Bread, made in my $5 Bread Machine.



So I have tried making a Rosemary Thyme loaf, and a Ginger sesame loaf, both of which turned out amazing. Just steep the spices you choose to use in the water you add to the flour mix.

Homesteading is Serious Business

So I've been reading a lot about making my own bread. Motherearthnews.com has a great link on making no knead dough that you can keep in your fridge and just tear off portions everyday for a fresh loaf of home baked bread every day.
Let me tell you, I love to cook, but I am terrified of baking. I read that article over and over and over... it kept eating at me. And after a month of rereading the article, I finally came to the breaking point.

Screw it, I'm going to try the bread thing.

Let me just say, I really don't like having to buy things from the store. If I could have a farm, and an orchard, I would be in udder paradise. Really.

I went out and bought a beautiful oven stone. I went and found Vital wheat gluten. I very cautiously made my first batch of dough. I let it sit. And I started the oven. 4o minutes later, not only did my house smell amazing, but I had the most amazing loaf of free form artisan bread. More than that, I had a loaf of pride and accomplishment, riddled with tears of joy. Seriously. The bread made me cry.

Well, the bread event opened up a whole can of worms. I have been wanting to make my own butter for a while- and now that I have accomplished what seems to be an impossible chemistry experiment that is named bread- I feel like I should be doing more. I spent all night after that typing in, "how to make..." into the google search bar- followed by ketchup, mayo, mustard, cheese, etc. I was laying in bed until 3 am pondering the possibilities of home-made goodness. I had dreams of canning sauces and stocked cabinets and self sufficiency.

I have to say that my mind was blown away at the easiness of creating condiments. I almost felt hurt that I have wasting money on chemically processed foods that no one told me I could make at home.

So I'm going to start creating many things, and I'm taking you all with me on the journey. It's a whole new level now. Bigger than dinners and music. Soon enough, the only thing I will have to buy from the store is flours and oils... oh and coffee.... Everything else is going to be purchased from local(ish) farms and orchards. My fridge will be packed with things that have come from my own hands. I can't wait to get started!

Gallery

From Foodie Fried Rice with Shrimp

Guamanian Pancit



Asian Style Eggs




Best Homemade Spaghetti You'll Ever Have





Ceviche!






Udon with Salmon and Oyster Mushrooms






My Turkey and Stuffing

Tangy Coconut Salmon

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

I turned on Pandora to my M.I.A. station, and I have refined it to where there are a lot of bollywood and Indian style songs.... Sadly though, some of them I could not find on Playlist.com to add here. I was in kind of a curry/tropical mood when I started dancing!


Things you will need:

3 cups Calrose rice (or sticky rice, I imagine jasmine will work too)
2 Salmon fillets
Enough{frozen/fresh} green beans for whom ever you're feeding ( my measurement is half a colander) Please don't used canned, unless you really insist.

For the Fish:
approx 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (mine was nearly powder)
1 tsp. Coriander
1 tsp. Mustard seed
1/2 tsp. Chili powder (or to taste, we like things spicy here)
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt (to taste again)
2 tsp Ginger (mine was already in paste form)
1/2 can coconut milk
2 Serrano chilies (more or less, again to taste, and you may omit seeds for less heat)
2 dinner rolls, bread slices or the equivalent mass of whatever bread you have is fine, stale or fresh
Juice of one small orange

For the Beans:
the other 1/2 can of coconut milk
1/2 cup Mayo
1 Serrano Chili
2-3 cloves Garlic
sprinkles of chopped almonds

Press Play, set the oven to 350 and lets go!

• Roughly 30-40 minutes total prep & cook

• I feed me, two full grown men, and twin daughters that eat more than I do

First, get your rice washed and in the cooker- It can always stay warm in the cooker if it finishes before you do.

Crush your Coriander and Mustard seed if it isn't already

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

In a bowl, squeeze the juice of the orange and add the ginger, salt, chili powder and crushed coriander/mustard seed. Mix it up a little, then add the chopped Serranos and first half can of coconut milk

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

If your bread is not already stale, then slice it up so you can easily crumble it

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

Lay your fish out on your desired baking pan, pour milk concoction over it. Save that bowl and don't wash out the leavins! Sprinkle the almonds and finally the bread over the top of the fish, pop that sucker into the oven. Depending on the thickness of your fillets, it should only be about 20 min. bake time.

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

Now let's start the beans. If you're using frozen, put them in a colander and run cold water over them to thaw. If they are raw, go ahead and start getting them steamed in a pot.

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

In the same bowl from the first milk sauce add the second half of the coconut milk. Get the garlic cloves smashed and chopped neatly adding that along with another serrano, and some almonds to the milk. Add the 1/2 cup mayo and wisk wisk wisk

If your beans aren't already cooking, get them into a pot and add the new sauce. I like my veggies still crunchy yet gently cooked. Stirring occasionally with a nice medium temp, should just barely boil the sauce, and bring your greens to done-ness

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

If your fish isn't looking crispy and brown on top, turn that heat up a little to get the bread toasted. I couldn't even get a picture of the finished fish before it was halfway gone!

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

There you have it!
Layer your rice first, then the beans w/ sauce and add the fish last.
You can add a little more sauce from the beans on top of the fish if it suits you!
Yum!

From Tangy Coconut Salmon

Mini Musubies

One that came about from a simpler recipe of just good ole fashioned rice wraps. This recipe is one of the fun ones because you can do it so many different ways...
A lot of my recipes will have an Asian influence. I prefer Far East cuisine to most others. I love the flavor combinations, and for the most part, the healthy factor in the dishes. Also, my husband is Chamorro (Guamianian, Guamish, Guamese), and even though he prefers "white-boy" food, he can't turn down some good home cooking reminiscent of his family's.
I get a good portion of my ingredients at either a Seafood City, or an Asian market. While you can find many of the items at the regular markets, I find the quality and the price is incomparable.

Playlist:
Iko Iko: The Dixie Cups
He Mele No Lilo: (Disney, IDK!?)
Island Girls: Pau Hana
Closer To the Sun: Slightly Stoopid
Island in the Sun: Weezer
.....There was more, I know, it's an old recipe!!!
Let's get started. You will need:

• 2 cups- Med. grain rice (Calrose is my favorite)
  
• 1-2 Package(s) - Seaweed, I prefer seasoned, even though it tends to get soggier (Seasoned or roasted is your call, there are ups and downs for both)
• 1 can- SPAM
  
• small bowl of water for dipping, and rice paddle
• Teriyaki sauce for drizzling

• Put your rice in the rice cooker or pan and wash well. When you fill the cooker with water, the best measurement is placing your finger lightly against the top of the rice, and fill with water until it rises to your first joint on your finger. When you do this, make sure the rice is even, and don't add the water forcefully, disrupting the rice, or your water calculations will be off. No one likes soggy rice!

• Cut your Spam in slices, and then dice. It is easier to cook up when it's already diced, and you don't have to burn your fingers later.

• When the rice has finished cooking, open the pot and stir, and let sit for a minute. This will help it dry out a little. This also helps reduce the starchy napalm effect it will have while you are handling it.

• Take the package of seaweed unopened, and fold into fours. (halfway in both directions) . This makes it easy to rip into squares when adding the rice, and keeps the mess factor low.

• Pull your seaweed sheets in fourths, and plop a paddle full of rice down in the middle. Anywhere from about a fourth of a cup + depending on how you like it. Remember, the seasoned seaweed is not as strong as the roasted kind, and will get soggy from the rice, do not overload it.

• The trick it to dip your fingers and rice paddle in water between scoops to keep the rice from sticking to you. Like I said, starchy napalm. Ruthless.

• Add a couple pieces of Spam to each rice plopping. It might even be better to create a little divitfor them to rest in.

• Take the four corners of the seaweed wrapping and squish towards the rice, creating a "wonton" look. You need to be slightly forceful to make it stick, but careful not to rip the bottom.

• Drizzle with Teriyaki sauce if you like. They taste good even without it.

Good as appetizers, or a side, or even a small meal. Try experimenting with different sauces. Like I said, they are good plain, even without any Spam, just as rice wraps. If you are making them plain, you might want to add some rice vinegar to the recipe, to add some kick.
(Sorry no pics ATM, old recipe- will update with pics if I make it again soon!)