Chicken Soup II

Made another batch of chicken soup to enjoy over the winter. This one had some odd ingredients that turned out well.

Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts bone-in
- 2 carrot sticks (cut up)
- 2 celery sticks (cut up)
- 1 yam (cut into chunks)
- 1 - 1.5 cup brown rice
- salt & pepper
- chili powder
- red pepper flakes
- ground ginger
- chopped fresh cilantro
- chopped fresh parsley

Boil chicken breasts with skin on in water seasoned with salt and pepper until cooked - about 1 hour. Remove chicken from the newly created chicken broth. Remove the skin and shred the chicken and add back to the broth.

Add carrots, celery, yam, rice, red pepper flakes (add extra if you want spicy soup) dash of chili powder, dash of ground ginger. Add water if needed to replace water that may have boiled off.

Bring pot to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until carrots are soft (about 1.5 hours).

Remove from flame and stir in cilantro and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Panko Chicken Fingers

I've been hearing good things about Panko for about a year now. I finally saw it in the store, it was cheap, so I bought it.

I'd heard Panko chicken fingers and fish sticks are the best. I started with the chicken fingers since I had some honey mustard from Chick-fil-a (possibly the best honey mustard sauce ever - with Red Robin honey mustard coming in a close second).

Ingredients are easy:
Panko
Chicken strips
salt
pepper
dash paprika
dash chili powder
Eggs
Oven at 400

1) Depending on chicken, beat 1-2 eggs in bowl (about 2 eggs per pound).
2) Pour panko in another bowl.
3) Dip chicken in egg, dip in Panko, put on baking sheet (if you have a wire rack - use that, else you'll have to flip half way).
4) Sprinkle with seasoning.
5) Put in oven for 10 minutes at 400. Increase temp to 450 and cook another 10 minutes.
6) Serve with honey mustard and a veggie side. Enjoy.

Dill Salmon

This is my go to recipe whenever I want something nice that is also really easy to make.

You'll need the following:
Salmon
Olive Oil
Dill
Salt & Pepper
Veggie (asparagus, broccoli or spinach work best)
Quinoa

Preheat oven to 350.
Coat salmon in olive oil, then pat on dill. Add salt and pepper.
Cook uncovered till done (about 12 minutes)

Prepare Quinoa according to package. Add salt and pepper when done.

Steam the veggies while everything else is cooking. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.

If you do it right, everything will be done at the same time. Serve and enjoy.

Chicken Soup

This is great to make if you happened to have made chicken burritos and chicken and rice bowls on the same day and you don't want to throw away all the leftover chicken broth and aren't sure what to do with extra chicken.

Soup is about the easiest thing in the world to make.

Take the leftover chicken broth and put through strainer (if you have one). Be sure not to strain into the sink, but into a pot.

Put some chicken in the broth. Put some veggies in the broth (i used carrots). Put some seasoning in the pot. Lots of pepper, some salt, celery seed, pepper flakes, anything else you think is good. If you have anything else laying around that you want to put in the soup, add it.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for a while. Right before it's done, bring to a boil and throw in pasta and cook according to package. Remove from heat and enjoy. Goes well with a huge piece of bread.

Chicken and Rice Bowls

The great thing about chicken and rice bowls is that they are a meal in themselves. It contains meat, veggies & grains all in one bowl.

What you'll need:
1 cup brown rice
Broccoli, cut up
Carrots, cut up
3 chicken breasts
Soy Vay

First, place chicken breasts (w/o skin) in boiling water. Cook for about 45 minutes or until done

Next, while Chicken is cooking, start the rice according to package. Be sure to add extra water (about 1/4 cup)

When rice has 10-20 minutes left, add the vegetables on top of the rice. This will steam them. This is what the extra water is for. When rice and veggies are done, if needed, drain extra water and separate veggies from rice.

Pick and pull chicken from bones and put onto frying pan. Add some Soy Vay and mix it up over medium high until you feel good about it. Then remove from flame.

In a serving bowl, add scoop of rice & then some veggies. Top with chicken. Add more Soy Vay if needed to taste. Eat.

Chicken Burritos

Sick of boring lunches at work, I decided to spice things up and make some frozen burritos to eat throughout the week. I already wish I made more...

What you'll need:
Burrito sized tortillas (6-8)
2 chicken breasts, skin removed
1 cup brown rice
1 can tomatoes and jalapeno peppers
shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 can non-fat refried beans

- Place chicken breasts in boiling water until cooked (~45 minutes).
- Meanwhile, make brown rice according to package. Add a little extra water and drained can of tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. If desired, add spicy spices like chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc.
- When rice and chicken is done, it's time to build the burrito.

Step 1: Lay out tortilla flat.
Step 2: Spread some beans on the tortilla.
Step 3: Spoon some spiced rice on top of the beans.
Step 4: Pick chucks of chicken off the breast and put on top of rice.
Step 5: Sprinkle cheese on top of chicken.
Step 6: Roll burrito, stick in freezer safe bag, put in freezer.

To thaw, simply put it in a microwave and cook it for 90-120 seconds per side. Chances are you'll burn your tongue at least once.

BLT

Perfect to eat with fresh tomatoes.

Take 4 strips of bacon and put in pan on med-high heat. Make sure the pan isn't too small or cooking the bacon becomes difficult. Cook until med-well done - crispy but with some softness.

Meanwhile, cut 1-2 tomatoes into quarter inch slices. Wash piece of red leaf lettuce. Cut fresh springy white bread to half inch slices. If desired, add a little mayo to one of the slices.

When bacon is done cooking, make sandwich in the following order (bottom to top):
Bread with Mayo
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Fresh ground pepper
Bacon
Other piece of bread