Chinese Poached Chicken

Chinese Poached Chicken
Serves 4-6

1 whole chicken, 3-4 pounds
4-5 teaspoons kosher salt
8-10 cups water
3-4 green onions, chopped finely
Sliced ginger
Cilantro, optional

Rub salt around and inside chicken. Wash, reapply, and set aside for 30 minutes.
Fill the pot with water, and add green onions and ginger. Bring it to a vigorous boil. Slowly immerse the chicken in the boiling water. Add more hot water if necessary to cover the chicken.
Bring water back to a boil for about 5-7 minutes. Cover the pot with a lid and turn off the stove. Let the chicken soak in the hot water for 30-40 minutes.
After 30-40 minutes, bring the water back to a full boil. Cover the pot with a lid, turn off the stove, and wait for 30-40 more minutes.
Remove chicken from the pot, and let stand for about 15 minutes.
Serve warm. Can utilize liquid after fat is skimmed off for soup.

Tasting Variations: Use liquid to make rice after. Combine both cycles into one cycle – 75-105 minutes.

Cheese ball

Cheese ball

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
8 oz bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3-4 green onions, chopped finely
A dash of garlic powder
A dash of onion powder
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 packages of thinly sliced beef, ham, or pastrami

Mix all ingredients and form into a ball. Roll in chopped nuts if you desire. Refridgerate for an hour. Serve with crackers.

Quick Pickling Recipe

Quick Pickling Recipe

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Pickle for at least 15 minutes.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

American Goulash

American Goulash
Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 jar tomato based pasta sauce (approximately 26 oz)
1 (15-oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/4 cup low sodium beef broth (or water)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
2 cups Elbow Macaroni, uncooked
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Drain fat and return to pan.
Add tomato paste, pasta sauce, and diced tomatoes. Stir to coat. Pour in broth. Season with Italian seasoning and paprika. Stir in macaroni. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in cheese and remove from heat. Garnish with parsley.

Chicken Spaghetti Bake

Chicken Spaghetti Bake
Serves 6

8-12 ounces dried spaghetti, broken into pieces
3 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 jar of spaghetti sauce or marinara
1 can of diced tomatoes
8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese
Can also add vegetables such as green peppers, chopped onion, mushrooms, etc.

Preheat oven to 350.

Season the diced chicken with the dried oregano, salt and pepper.
Spray 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour sauce to cover bottom of dish. Start alternating layers of spaghetti, vegetables, and chicken. Add diced tomatoes and repeat layers. Make sure all spaghetti is covered with sauce. Cover with mozzarella cheese generously.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serve.

BLT Pasta Salad

BLT Pasta Salad
1 lb. macaroni pasta
8 slices bacon
2 medium-large tomatoes
2-3 bunches of green onions, plus extra for garnish
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add macaroni. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and pour into large mixing bowl; chill.

Fry 8 slices of bacon; crumble into bite sized pieces. Set aside.

Chop tomatoes and green onions. Combine with mayonnaise and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add in macaroni and stir well. Stir in the crumbled bacon. Sprinkle on extra chopped green onions.

Tasting variations: Any small pasta will work; used shells. Used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Serves 4

1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Tasting Variations: Any small pasta will work: used elbow and cappelleti. Added second smaller can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. Used gruyere cheese instead of mozzarella. Used panko instead of bread crumbs.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka
Serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 large jalapeño chile, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground caraway
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped, or spinach
4 large eggs
Optional: Ground beef (my variation)

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and sauté over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers and jalapeño and cook just until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add beef if adding beef.

Slowly pour in the tomatoes. Stir in the bay leaf, sugar, salt, paprika, cumin, pepper, chili powder, and caraway and let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes. Layer the Swiss chard leaves on top.

Crack the eggs into the tomato mixture. Cover and simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until the whites of the eggs are no longer translucent.

Taste variations: Utilize ground meat for more protein.

Gooey Butter Cake

Gooey Butter Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Crisp Cucumber Salsa

Crisp Cucumber Salsa

2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream or Greek Yogurt
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.