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!