Thai Chicken Soup with Rice

I like my chicken soup to be a little on the creamy side - usually I get this result by adding a can of cream of chicken soup to the pot, but yesterday I happened to be out so I had to get creative. The only creamy anything I had in my pantry was a can of coconut milk - this is what I came up with:

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
3-4 carrots, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons red thai curry
3-4 cups cooked rice (great way to use leftovers!)

Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Add onion, celery, carrots and saute until softening (you could add other vegetables here as well - maybe snow peas or broccoli) Add garlic and ginger and saute a few more minutes until aromatic. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro or fresh mint.

Chicken Tangier

Skinless chicken breast of your choice, can be boneless (up to 8 pieces)

1 Tbsp oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 - 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground turmeric

dash tabasco

2 whole cloves

Brown chicken in heated oil in a large frying pan with cover; set aside. Cook onions and garlic until soft. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, parsley, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, turmeric, Tabasco and cloves; stir to mix well. Add chicken back into pan in a single layer. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low and cook for 45 mins, turning chicken a couple of times. Uncover and cook 15 minutes longer or until sauce is slightly thickened. Sauce is excellent over brown or white rice. Be sure to remove the cloves before serving.

Cafe Rio Salad

This dish has been served at the dinner our stake provides before the RS Broadcast each year. It's always a big hit and the recipe is much requested. There are two different versions - chicken and pork. Choose your favorite and the rest is the same. The chicken tends to be a bit drier than the pork, but once you add the salsa and dressing, you would never know! Caution: This recipe makes a lot of food - you can easily serve 10-15 people with one recipe so adjust accordingly.

Just like Café Rio Pork
5-6 lb Pork roast

1 Tbs cumin

1 cup brown sugar

12 oz bottle Taco Sauce
20 oz bottle coke

Cook roast on low for 12 hours in Crock Pot with water covering half the roast. After 12 hours, drain water off roast and add remaining ingredients. Continue cooking 4 hrs. Then shred the meat and cook for 2 hours more. (I prefer cooking my roast in the oven, place in oven at night and cook at 220 degrees 8-12 hours. Drain, shred and add all other ingredients. Put in Crock Pot for about 2-3 hours to blend flavors)

Just like Café Rio Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. cumin
3 cloves garlic
5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

Pour all ingredients in crock-pot on low for 4 hours. Shred meat and cook for 1 hr more.

Just like Café Rio Creamy Ranch dressing
1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic
3 tomatillos (peel off paper skins)
1/3 cup buttermilk
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. If you can't find tomatillos, you can replace both garlic and tomatillos with 3/4 cup green salsa.

Just like Café Rio Rice
4 tsp garlic
½ bunch cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 can green chilies
¾ tsp salt
1 Tbs butter
½ chopped onion

Blend all ingredients in blender then put in pan and add 6 cups water, bring to a boil add 3 cups rice, simmer 25 -30 minutes. (Use the directions on your rice package for the amount of water, some rice calls for a 1–2 ratio, some have 1-1½ ratio)

To Serve
Place a tortilla shell on a plate; add rice and beans, meat (pork or chicken), shredded lettuce, cheese, and tortilla strips. Serve with guacamole, Café Rio Dressing, and Pico de Gallo.

Asian Barbecue Chicken

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)

¼ cup hoisin sauce

¼ cup honey

¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons orange juice

4 minced cloves garlic

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sliced scallions for garnish
In a medium bowl, mix together hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, scallions, ginger and cayenne pepper. Pour into recloseable plastic bag, add chicken, turn to coat, and marinate 1 to 2 hours in refrigerator. Remove chicken. Boil marinade in a small pan for 2 minutes. Arrange thighs on rack of broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place rack on foil-lined broiler pan; place pan on oven shelf on medium position. Broil about 7 minutes; turn and broil about 5 minutes more, basting occasionally with marinade until thighs are done, taking care not to burn. Garnish with scallions and serve.

I replace the honey with corn syrup or agave nectar since Andrew is allergic. I've also replaced the orange juice with lemon juice and it tastes just great as well.

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

1 6 oz. package long grain & wild rice
3 cups cooked diced chicken
1 cup mayonnaise
1 10 oz. box French cut green beans, thawed
1 can cream of celery soup
1 small onion, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, sliced

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cook rice according to package directions. Combine rice and remaining ingredients in large casserole dish. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake 45 minutes. Freezes well before baking.

Substitutions... you can use any condensed cream soup with good results, also if you can't find frozen french cut green beans, the canned variety works just as well - they're just not as firm.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce or tomato juice

2 cups water or chicken broth

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp diced green chilis

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups cooked chicken, cut in bite sized pieces

1 zucchini or yellow squash, diced

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with the following to be added as desired:

broken tortilla chips

sliced black olives

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

diced avocado

Crunchy Chicken Salad

This is the classic Ramen noodle and cabbage salad. My kids wouldn't touch it, but A and I finished off the whole bowl!

2 cups diced cooked chicken
4 cups shredded cabbage (I like Fresh Express Angel Hair cabbage shreds)
1 package chicken-flavored ramen noodles
4 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 flavoring packet from ramen noodles
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Place chicken and cabbage in mixing bowl. Break noodles up and add to cabbage with onions and sesame seeds. In small bowl, combine vinegar, oil, sugar, and 1 tsp ramen flavoring. Pour over slaw, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, stir in slivered almonds. (Side note: I didn't have sesame seeds so I mixed a 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil in with the dressing - I think you actually get a better taste that way.)

Crunchy Poppyseed Chicken Salad

This salad was absolutely delicious! I love the flavor of the broccoli slaw and you MUST use the cashews for the full effect. I actually had less poppyseed dressing than I thought so I used another fruity one I had on hand (pomegranate/blueberry) and it was just as tasty.

4 cups broccoli slaw

2 large red peppers, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

4 carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)

1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits, drained

1 cup grilled chicken breast, chopped

1/2 cup poppyseed dressing

1/4 cup cashew

Combine all ingredients except cashews and toss to coat with dressing. Sprinkle cashews on top just before serving.

Chicken Corn Chowder

One of our favorite dinners and super easy to throw together!

1 small onion, diced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1 cup celery, sliced thin

2 cups cubed, peeled potatoes

1 cup carrots, sliced

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast

1 can creamed corn

1 can whole kernel corn, undrained

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups chicken broth

red pepper flakes, to taste

fresh ground pepper, to taste

Saute onion and bell pepper in 1 Tbsp olive oil until tender. Dice the potatoes and place in microwave safe container. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Add to onions along with cubed chicken and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 20 minutes. Enjoy!