Saturday, October 11, 2008

Twice Baked Broccoli Potatoes

4 medium sized baking potatoes
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Bake potatoes (I did mine in the microwave) and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Slice off one side of the potato lengthwise to make a long opening. Scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl, leaving about 1/4 inch attached to the skins and set the skins aside. Add yogurt, butter, cheese, and spices to potatoes. Run broccoli through your food processor to chop it into small pieces and add to the potatoes. Stir until well mixed, adding milk or more yogurt if necessary. Scoop potato back into skins and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle more cheese on top if desired. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. (NOTE: You will have more potato than fits into the skins - place the remainder in a small baking dish and place in the oven with the potatoes or simply stick it in the fridge to use another day - we like leftovers, so this is what we do.)

Friday, October 10, 2008

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.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

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.



Saturday, September 27, 2008

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

Lentil Stew

1 lb lentils
1 lb smoked sausage
4 cans (8 cups) chicken broth
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Rinse lentils and remove any stones. Cook lentils, sausage, and broth 30 minutes. Add spices and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.