2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 lbs chicken parts (I like to use boneless and skinless thighs and then cut each one into three or four pieces)
1 small onion, peeled & chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled & finely chopped
3 cups salsa
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 to 3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp cocoa
Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken; cook, turning occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet. Add onion and garlic to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is tender.
Stir in salsa, broth, chili powder, peanut butter and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Place chicken in sauce; cook uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through.
Serve over cooked rice.
The longer you can let it simmer, the more the flavors marry and the better the dish tastes.
Showing posts with label quick and easy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quick and easy. Show all posts
Wednesday
Tuesday
Herb Crusted Pork Rub
Here is a quick and easy rub (from Paula Deen) that I used on a nice pork tenderloin. It would be great on any pork roast actually.
Since I've had a nice healthy pot of herbs growing on my back deck all summer I used fresh herbs, but this would work with dried herbs too. Just use less because the flavor is more concentrated.
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp dried)
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil (or use 1 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I haven't tried growing rosemary yet, maybe next summer)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (I'm sure you could use 1 tsp garlic powder, I just happen to like cooking with the real stuff)
Place the in a small bowl with 1 tsp salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix it all together and rub it all over the tenderloin, or whatever cut of meat you've decided to serve.
Cook the roast according to whatever method you feel like using. You can roast it, you can grill it, you can brown it first and then slow roast it....
The important thing is to make sure the pork is cooked through (but not overcooked). I like to bring my tenderloin (since it is a smaller cut of meat) to 155 degrees (Get a Meat Thermometer if you don't have one) and let it sit for five to ten minutes before carving. The roast continues to cook while it sits and doing it this way insures that you won't overcook the pork, which makes it tough not tender.
By the way, I didn't actually measure any of the above ingredients. I just eyeballed it.
Since I've had a nice healthy pot of herbs growing on my back deck all summer I used fresh herbs, but this would work with dried herbs too. Just use less because the flavor is more concentrated.
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp dried)
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil (or use 1 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I haven't tried growing rosemary yet, maybe next summer)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (I'm sure you could use 1 tsp garlic powder, I just happen to like cooking with the real stuff)
Place the in a small bowl with 1 tsp salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix it all together and rub it all over the tenderloin, or whatever cut of meat you've decided to serve.
Cook the roast according to whatever method you feel like using. You can roast it, you can grill it, you can brown it first and then slow roast it....
The important thing is to make sure the pork is cooked through (but not overcooked). I like to bring my tenderloin (since it is a smaller cut of meat) to 155 degrees (Get a Meat Thermometer if you don't have one) and let it sit for five to ten minutes before carving. The roast continues to cook while it sits and doing it this way insures that you won't overcook the pork, which makes it tough not tender.
By the way, I didn't actually measure any of the above ingredients. I just eyeballed it.
Spiffy Food Storage Spuds
I'm trying to include food storage items in our meals occasionally.
A - I'm learning how to cook with them
B - I'm actually using them and thus rotating them
C - I don't have time or the inclination to go to the store (which brings us back full circle to A & B
Last night I pulled out the Potato Flakes. We know these are pretty yummy anyway, as far as reconstituted mashed potatoes go. Hey, they'll never take the place of REAL mashed potatoes but boil up some milk and some butter to reconstitute them and they aren't half bad (in a pinch).
I was serving up a nice pork tenderloin which doesn't make a lot of drippings, thus no gravy. But I wanted to kick the potatoes up just a notch so I rummaged in my fridge and found a container with Feta Cheese.
Perfect!
I mixed a handful of Feta Cheese into the hot mashed potatoes, let them sit together for a few minutes and served them up.
Creamy! Tangy! Yummy! Easy!
One of these days I need to try making Potato Flakes with the dried milk and dehydrated butter that I have stored. Has anyone out there done this yet? Any hints on working with dehydrated butter?
A - I'm learning how to cook with them
B - I'm actually using them and thus rotating them
C - I don't have time or the inclination to go to the store (which brings us back full circle to A & B
Last night I pulled out the Potato Flakes. We know these are pretty yummy anyway, as far as reconstituted mashed potatoes go. Hey, they'll never take the place of REAL mashed potatoes but boil up some milk and some butter to reconstitute them and they aren't half bad (in a pinch).
I was serving up a nice pork tenderloin which doesn't make a lot of drippings, thus no gravy. But I wanted to kick the potatoes up just a notch so I rummaged in my fridge and found a container with Feta Cheese.
Perfect!
I mixed a handful of Feta Cheese into the hot mashed potatoes, let them sit together for a few minutes and served them up.
Creamy! Tangy! Yummy! Easy!
One of these days I need to try making Potato Flakes with the dried milk and dehydrated butter that I have stored. Has anyone out there done this yet? Any hints on working with dehydrated butter?
Monday
Chicken Enchiladas
Got home from church hungry! Opened the freezer and saw that we had chicken thighs and tortillas in there. I knew we had cheddar and pepper jack cheese and instantly decided to make chicken enchiladas.
These are so easy to make, I semi-defrosted the chicken and cubed it up pretty small and browned it. I then actually shredded about half of the meat in the Cuisinart after it was cooked . I just really like the texture of the shredded chicken when I'm eating an enchilada. I put it back in the pan, added some chopped onion and garlic and cooked that up together for a few minutes then added my go to taco seasoning from Costco and let it all simmer together while I got the pan, the sauce and the cheese ready.
I sprayed a 9x13 pan lightly with vegetable oil and grated up a little bit of pepper jack cheese and lots of cheddar. Of course, you can change the amounts based on your own taste.
I did not have a can of enchilada sauce in the basement so I Googled it and found an interesting idea on AllRecipes.com. One of their recipes suggested using a combination of salsa and cream cheese. Amazingly I had both of those items in my fridge so I dumped a little more than 1 cup into a saucepan and added about 4 oz of cream cheese, roughly cubed into six pieces. I set that on the stove over low heat and just let the cream cheese melt into the salsa. I whisked it all together and then spooned it on top of the tortillas before adding the cheeses and chicken. We discovered, since I'd made more than needed, that this is actually quite yummy as a dip for tortilla chips.
I rolled up the tortillas over the filling, placed them seam side down in the pan, spread a little more sauce over each enchilada, sprinkled them liberally with cheese and then as a nice finale, diced up a fresh tomato from the garden and added that to the top. They baked at 350 degrees for not quite 20 minutes and then we devoured them. Simple, inexpensive and Yummy!
Chicken Noodle Soup
I used fresh celery (chopped) and garlic (minced), sauteed in butter (okay, not healthy, but I didn't use much and I refuse to believe that FAKE butter is better for anyone).
Then I added equal amounts of chicken broth & water and dumped in a couple handfuls of dried carrots and some dried onions (YEAH, I used my food storage!). Then I added a shake of peppercorns (just don't bite into one - SPICY!) and a couple of shakes of Italian Seasoning. I brought this to a light boil and then let it simmer for half an hour.
Then I cut up two chicken breasts into bite-size pieces, turned up the heat to medium and added the chicken to the broth. After the chicken had cooked for 15 minutes I turned up the heat to medium high and once the soup was boiling again I dumped in a couple of handfuls of egg noodles, letting them cook until tender. Then I served it up in my pretty soup bowls and enjoyed!
Oh. My. Goodness! You should make this.
Then I added equal amounts of chicken broth & water and dumped in a couple handfuls of dried carrots and some dried onions (YEAH, I used my food storage!). Then I added a shake of peppercorns (just don't bite into one - SPICY!) and a couple of shakes of Italian Seasoning. I brought this to a light boil and then let it simmer for half an hour.
Then I cut up two chicken breasts into bite-size pieces, turned up the heat to medium and added the chicken to the broth. After the chicken had cooked for 15 minutes I turned up the heat to medium high and once the soup was boiling again I dumped in a couple of handfuls of egg noodles, letting them cook until tender. Then I served it up in my pretty soup bowls and enjoyed!
Oh. My. Goodness! You should make this.
Italian Sausage Pasta Toss
Brown a package of Italian Sausage, cut into slices (we like to partially freeze it and cut the slices before cooking).
Add some chopped fresh vegies and sautee until they are tender. We used red, yellow & orange sweet peppers but it would have been yummy with asparagus or broccoli or tomatoes, etc.
Cook a package of bow-tie pasta and toss the meat and vegies with Italian Salad Dressing (to taste).
It was yummy and light. We will be making this again
Add some chopped fresh vegies and sautee until they are tender. We used red, yellow & orange sweet peppers but it would have been yummy with asparagus or broccoli or tomatoes, etc.
Cook a package of bow-tie pasta and toss the meat and vegies with Italian Salad Dressing (to taste).
It was yummy and light. We will be making this again
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