Chicken "Fried Rice"

I am obsessed with bulgur wheat.  Here are a couple of my favorite:  Bulgur Wheat with Sauteed Vegetables, Turkey Manicotti

A couple of weeks ago, Scott suggested that we try to make it into a "fried rice" type dish.  I thought this was a great idea so yesterday I tried it.

Chicken "Fried Rice"

1-1/2 lbs chicken breast, diced

Stir fry vegetables

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 onion, sliced

2 cups bulgur wheat

4 cups water

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

1 egg

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (to taste)

Here's what you'll need:

Disregard the soy sauce, sesame seed oil, rice wine vinegar.  I was going to use it to make a sauce but I could never get it to taste right so I just went with teriyaki.

Cook bulgur wheat according to directions.  It is a 2:1 ratio so I used 4 cups of water and 2 cups of bulgur.

I minced 3-4 cloves of garlic and sliced up 1/2 of an onion.

Dice up the chicken into bite-sized cubes.

Put the bulgur on to boil and let it boil for 10-15 minutes.

Saute the onions and garlic in 2-3 Tbsps of olive oil in either a wok or a hot skillet.

Add the chicken.

Once most of the water has cooked out of the wheat, pour it over into the pan with chicken, onions, and garlic.

Move all of it over to one side and crack the egg.  Scramble it up and mix it in with the rest of the mixture.

Add the vegetables.  If you use canned, make sure to drain.  I used frozen.

After letting the veggies cook for a couple of minutes, I poured about 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce and mix it together.

I really wanted to have the wheat crisp up like a fried rice so I pushed it all down into the skillet and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.  I then scooped it all around and pressed it all down again and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes.  This really gave the wheat some crispiness.

This is what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This dish was so good and so healthy.  If you dont' know anything about bulgur wheat and you are trying to eat more healthfully, I encourage you to do some research on it.  I love it.

I am really glad that I pushed the wheat down into the skillet to really let it crisp up.  It gave it the crispiness of Chinese fried rice and even Kanin really liked it.  He ate 3 helpings!!

BTW, the broccoli was great with the earthiness of the wheat.  I should have just added a whole bag of broccoli but I also added peas, carrots, and corn.

Of course, you could do any type of Asian marinade or sauce but Scott loves teriyaki so that is what I used.

This pan was full if it gives you any indication of how much everyone liked it. 

Hope you enjoy!

April



Mexical Cheesy Pot Pie

Mexicali Cheesy Pot Pie Adapted from Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner
1 lb. ground turkey, 93% lean
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
5 oz. cheddar cheese, divided

For corn bread topping:
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk, 1%
2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:  Brown ground turkey and onions in large pan until cooked. Season with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes, corn and peas & carrots (used whatever veggies you want.) Transfer to an 8 x 8 in. baking dish.

Top with half the cheddar cheese.

In a bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, chipotle powder and salt. Stir in egg, milk and oil. Spread evenly over turkey mixture. Top with the rest of the cheese. Bake, uncovered for about 35 minutes or until topping is set.

Modifications:
-I used whole wheat.
-I did not use peas or carrots.
-I used a can of drained corn.
-I used a can of tomatoes with peppers and celery
  rather than Ro-Tel.
-I used an Italian blend cheese.

Here's what you'll need for the meat mixture:

Here's what you'll need for the cornbread mixture:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Chop up the onion. 

Place the turkey and the onions in a skillet and cook through.

Once cooked, add corn and Ro-tel. I used a can of tomatoes with peppers and celery.  I just cut up the tomatoes a little more.

Add the spices.

Meanwhile, add all of the ingredients for the cornbread mixture.

Place the meat mixture into a greased baking dish.  Spread the cornbread mixture out and put in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until cornbread rises.

About 5 minutes before finished, sprinkle cheese on top and put back in the oven until melted.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This meal turned out to be somewhat of a pantry meal.  I changed a lot of the ingredients or omitted them because I didn't have them on hand.

I thought the combination of the cornbread with the meat mixture tasted really great.  There were several textures in there that complimented each other.  The one issue I had was that it was a little dry.  The cornbread soaked up most of the juices from the tomatoes so I wish that I would not have drained the corn before putting it in.

I was also a little worried about making the cornbread topping out of the whole wheat but it had a good texture and flavor.  Of course, you could always use one of those Jiffy corn muffin mixtures and it would work great, too.

Scott said that he thought the meat mixture tasted great (and it was actually pretty healthy) but that it was too much cornbread for him.  He didn't like that every bite had cornbread and he pulled it back and was just scooping the meat out of the bottom of the pan.  In that case, you could always just make the cornbread on the side and serve it that way.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Dijon Chicken Breasts

Dijon Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Dijon-style mustard
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions:  Preheat grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine mustard, oil, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, tarragon, salt, and pepper; mix well. Pour sauce into a zipper-style gallon-sized plastic storage bag and add chicken breasts; close bag and knead until evenly coated. Marinate in refrigerator 1 to 2 hours; remove chicken from marinade, discarding excess marinade.

Grill chicken 10 to 12 minutes, or until no pink remains, turning it over halfway through grilling.

Modifications:
-I did not grill the chicken but just cooked them in a skillet.
-I rolled the chicken breasts in bulgur wheat.

Here's what you'll need:

Salt and Pepper the chicken breasts. 

Put the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and mix.

Put the chicken breasts and the mustard mixture into a Ziploc bag and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

You can skip this step but I then rolled the chicken breasts in bulgur wheat.

Cook either on a grill or in a skillet until the juices run clear.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
What to say about this dish?  First of all, the marinade was really good and I will definitely use it again.  It has a great mix of tanginess and sweetness.  If you didn't want to marinade the chicken in the mustard mixture, you could definitely use it as a dipping sauce for the chicken breasts.

Now, on to the bulgur wheat.  In theory, it was a great idea.  It added a hint of texture and earthiness that was actually a great compliment; however, since I used uncooked wheat it was very crunchy.  I, personally, didn't mind a bit of it and even Scott thought it was a great added texture but we had to scrape quite a bit off of each breast because it was just too hard.  I think that if I used this method again, I would first cook the bulgur according to directions and then roll the chicken in it.  Then, once it got placed into the skillet with the oil I think that it would kind of crisp up but still be a lot easier to eat.

Either way, I think that I have to call this dish somewhat of a success just because the mustard marinade was so good.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Guacasalsa or Salsamole

OK, I cannot take credit for the title above.  Over the weekend I attempted to make guacamole and when it came up, my nephew and friend, JoAnna, came up with the names.

Anyway, I was going to make the PW'S guacamole but when I got to the step where I was supposed to add the avocados and I realized that they were really under ripe.  I tried to scoop them out and my spoon was bending so I decided to just throw everything into a food processor and pulse it a couple of times.  I'm sorry that I didn't take a picture but instead of the guacamole being a smooth, chunky texture all of the different components were in equal little bits. 

The texture was really interesting.  It was like a lot more like a pico with minced pieces of avocado mixed in.  It was so good that I had to make a second helping that same day.

I then decided to make the dish again on the 4th of July while watching fireworks and I got tons of compliments on it again.  I did it the exact same way and the avocado were still not very ripe.

Bottom line, while I love the traditional guacamole this stuff was great!  Don't let those "green" avocados scare you!!



Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork adapted from allrecipes.com

This recipe is for 8 servings but I doubled it (plus a little more) to have about 20 servings.
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 (2lb) pork shoulder roast
1 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 extra large onion, chopped
2 large cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tsps dried thyme
8 hamburger buns
1/8 cup butter

Directions:  Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker.  Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the bbq sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth.  Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme.  Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork 5 to 6 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker, shred the meat using two forks.  Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter.  Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown.  Spoon pork into the toasted buns.

Modifications:
-I didn't use brown sugar.
-I didn't toast the buns.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up the onions

Chop the garlic. 

Pour the oil into the bottom of a slow cooker and lay the pork on top.

Pour the bbq sauce over the meat.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

I cooked it on 375 for about 4 hours and then I turned it down to 300 for another hour. 

Pull the pork from the cooker and shred it.

Put the shredded meat back into the sauce.  Turn it on low until ready to serve.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

Most of you probably don't know but I do not eat pork.  Funny then that I would make pork, right?  Well, Scott loves pork so when we have a family gathering I try to give it to him.

This sauce was so tasty.  Once again, if you have your own favorite bbq sauce then you could just use that.  I did use store-bought sauce but added a few extra ingredients to kick up the flavor.

When we pulled the pork out to shred it, it was some of the most tender meat I have ever seen.  This pork shoulder was "bone-in" and I literally just grabbed the meat and gently pulled the bones out.  It was that fall-apart.

Everyone went on and on about how much they liked it and there was hardly any left.  I know that it smelled delicious!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Braised BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Braised BBQ Beef Sandwich adapted from Simply Recipes
1 3lb chuck roast, rinsed and dried
2 medium onions, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
1 18oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 sandwich or hamburger buns

Directions:  In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, roughly chopping them in the pot.  Add the bbq sauce, increase heat to medium high and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the chuck roast.  Bring to a low simmer, cover and slow cook until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 hours.

Remove the meat from the pot.  Use a fork and knife to separate the roast into small pieces. Set aside.

Increase the heat on the pot to medium/medium-high, uncover, and reduce the liquid until thick.  Stir often to prevent burning.

Return the meat to the liquid in the pan.  warm both thoroughly.  add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on buns.  Makes approximately 12 sandwiches.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up an onion

Saute in a deep pan with some oil.  Make sure the pan is big enough to slow cook the meat in.

Add a can of tomatoes.  The recipes says to add the can and then roughly cut them up while they are in the pan.  It would have been much easier to give them a rough chop beforehand.

Add the bbq sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the meat and slow cook for about 3-4 hours.

Pull out the meat and shred it and then put it back into the sauce.  Keep on low until ready to serve.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This beef was very tender but also had a few "burnt ends" which were fantastic, as well.  While it didn't have the smokiness of being cooked in a smoker, being slow cooked on the stove gave the meat a very tender, fall apart texture that really soaked up the sauce.

I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle Sauce which had a nice little zing at the end but you can use whatever sauce you love the most.  This is a perfect and easy summer meal!

Hope you enjoy!

April