Chicken Orzo Salad

I love pasta salads as they are so diverse and can be made so many different ways and are easy to change up. I recently went to a potluck for my daughters reading club. She asked me to bring FRUIT? What the heck? Fruit? My heart sunk... I need to cook... I need to, it is not a choice... it is just how my brain works. I compromised and took peaches and cream muffins. The recipe is soon to follow. They turned out great. But... I wanted to take more, so I made a batch of chicken orzo salad with dill. It received many compliments. I just threw things in it that I had in my pantry. Again, all of my cooking are not measured out well... I just throw this and that in and play with it as I go. These are approximate and I know you will play with it as well to your liking.

1 box of orzo cooked and cooled and placed into a bowl
1/2 bottle ranch dressing
1/2 bottle Bernstines cheese and garlic fat free dressing
1 can asparagus
1 can olives sliced
1 can garbanzo beans
1 large can of chicken packed in water (it is found near the tuna in the grocery store... and tuna is fantastic in this salad also)
1 carton grape tomatoes halved
1 zucchini sliced
1/2 onion diced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 bunch of fresh dill chopped

Mix all the above ingredients and place in large bowl and chill. It is great with feta cheese as well, but I didn't have any on hand. Enjoy. Fantastic. Makes a big salad for potlucks.

Mexican Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells

One thing that I love about blogging is finding new recipes. I found this recipe along the way. It is called Mexican Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells. It can be found at Busy at Home. Please check out her blog and her wonderful cooking recipes. I found it through a secret recipe project that looks fun. I just need to hurry up so I can have 60 recipes posted so I may join. YEAH... just my type of thing....

First of all, I have a hard time following a recipe beginning to end. I have to find a way to make it mine. This recipe was fantastic how it was, but I needed to adapt it to my version and what my family would love and is used to... (me tinkering in the kitchen with recipes.)

This is the original recipe.... I will add at the bottom how I changed it to make it mine.

• 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 green onions, diced
• 1/2 each of red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers (or 2 whole bell peppers of your choice), diced
• 3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles (don’t drain) (Rotel or store brand, either works)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of picante sauce
• 38 large pasta shells, cooked al dente

My changes were as follows. I increased the cumin to 2 tsp. We love cumin. I added a can of green chilis. I added a can of sliced olives. I crushed up some frito chips and also added some drained, canned, sweet corn. I put enchilada sauce on top of the shells and just rested them on the bed of tomatoes and picante sauce. It was so good... this recipe is a winner the way it is... but feel free to add to it.

Instructions

1. Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (still have a little bite to them) If you cook them too long, they will be difficult to stuff, plus they will have additional cooking time, once they are stuffed. Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling.
2. Cook, drain and dice enough chicken breast to make 4 cups. I always have homemade chicken stock and pre-cooked diced chicken bagged in my freezer. You could use canned chicken broth if you prefer.
3. To make the filling, mix diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well. (If you have trouble incorporating the cream cheese and tomatoes, you can heat it slightly in the microwave.)
5. Spread 3/4 c. picante sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan. (I used 13x18x2, but I’m guessing that two 9×13′s would also work.) Reserve the final 1/4 cup, for later.
6. Using a spoon, or your fingers, fill each of your cooked and cooled pasta shells, setting them into the picante covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pan.
7. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/4 cup of picante and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy and please stop by her blog and show her some love... very good site....

Soyu Chicken Hawaiian Style Plate Lunch

I miss so much about Hawaii. When I was 23 and left Hawaii as home, I didn't think I would miss it. I lived in a rough area. I lived in a beautiful environment that cost me an arm and a leg to live it. I went through a very sad divorce at a very young age to someone that I thought hung the moon and the stars. (Ended up being the best thing for me, but who would have known back then). So, I returned to Spokane... aka Spokavegas.

I miss the laid back lifestyle that they have there. I miss the music. I miss the early morning rain and the rainbows it left behind. I miss the smells of the plumeria flowers. I miss the shaka sign, wearing slippas all day outside and always being bare foot inside. I miss shave ice from Wiola shave ice and I miss L and L bbq and Zippys Chili over rice.

I went back a few years ago... well six and a half now... and I realized how much I missed it. I went with G and the kids and I was pregnant with Carlie. Dinner Cruise, hiking even when my ankles were the size of stumps... We ate fresh pineapple with sliced pepper jack cheese every morning for breakfast, (might sound gross... but the combo is fantastic... don't stand in the way of a pregnant woman and her yummies) We would have Leonard's Bakery Malasadas each day... my favorite were the coconut cream filled ones, and the guava filled ones... NOW MY MOUTH IS WATERING. Again, did I tell you I had shave ice daily... it was planned into our budget... ha... I would have ice cream in the bottom of it and and condenced milk drizzled over the top.

I try to bring Hawaii into my kitchen often. There is such an Asian influence there... so I get to cook Asian food, and Hawaiian food... and life is good. I will make a point of making spam musubi in the next couple of weeks. And Beef Tomato, and Short Ribs, and Beef Brocolli, and Loco Moco, and chili over rice... and... and... and... and....

One of my family favorites is Soyu Chicken. If you say SOY... you have it wrong... trust me here. It is pronounced Show You. Say it together... there ya got it. OH MY... I need to cook some Lomi Lomi Salmon as well.... so good... back on track Wendy, Back on Track...

So again... No perfect measurements... bodda you? I hope not...this is my kitchen we are talking about... just a very simple walk through. Oh, and a fantastic memory. I cooked over 300 pieces of Soyu chicken one year as a fundraiser for my job at Wachovia. I had four big kettles boiling on my stove all day... finish one batch and start another.... there was so much moisture in my kitchen it actually blew up my microwave that night when we used it that night... well at least I am pretty sure now that is what it was caused by...

So... here is how I make Shoyu Chicken... oh... man... now I thought of Chicken Long Rice... I will try to make chicken long rice as well...


Soy Chicken...

Chicken Thighs work best with this recipe. I buy the big pack of thighs
4 cups of soy sauce
2 cups of water If you don't do this step it is going to be very salty
3 cups brown sugar
1 Tbls chopped garlic
3 inch piece of fresh ginger grated on a ginger grater... it turns it into a paste, this is what you want.

Add all of the above to a pot on the stove. Bring to boil. (You can actually marinade your chicken in this over night as well if you would like... Add chicken. Place lid on chicken. After it boils I put it on medium and cook for about an 45 minutes or until chicken is done. The trick at this point is to take the chicken out of the marinade and place on a cookie rack and broin under broiler to get a crispier skin, and not soggy. We always have ours with fried rice and mac salad. Ono!

This is a great recipe fo shua... ono ono, Hawaiian Style...

Chinese Chicken Salad

The dressing was shared with me by Carlie's Great Auntie Janice. It is a great salad and so nice to have in the summer months. Enjoy this... it is one of our favorites.
Lettuce
Slivered Almonds or
Sliced almonds
Chinese Noodles
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts boiled, and shredded
(this would also taste good if they were bbq'ed)
Small can of mandarin oranges
Green onions sliced
Lots of fresh ground pepper, to your taste.

I make these in layers on individual salad plates. First I put on lettuce, then the chicken, the mandarin oranges, the chinese chicken noodles, the almonds, then the green onions... Pour the following dressing on the top.

Dressing:
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. MSG
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. salad oil
1 tbsp. sesame oil This is not like cooking oil. It comes in a small bottle in the Asian food section of a store. It is a very intense flavor and not watered down like other cooking oils.
3 tbsp. white vinegar

Combine first six ingredients, toss gently. Mix dressing in covered jar or bowl by shaking thoroughly. Pour dressing over other ingredients and toss again. Can be made ahead and put into a tupperware bowl. When ready to serve just add noodles and dressing.

Polynesian Breakfast

I am adding this onto a great blog called Don't Waste Your Homemaking (party 21). Check it out and stop by to see a lot of people sharing blogs there. Also check out her button on my side.

This is a dish that my whole family loves. It could be made in a more inexpensive way, but, they love the meat in it, so that is what they get. It is a good and hearty dinner that is filling. I hope you try it, as everyone that I have fed it to love it. Enjoy... This makes enough for about 8 people. We like left overs...

2 boneless pork chops
2 chicken breasts
olive oil
1 top sirloin steak
3 Tbls chopped garlic
2 medium sized onions sliced
3 red potatoes cubed
1 zucchini cut into ring sized pieces
6 large mushrooms sliced, stems included
6 eggs scrambled set aside
4 pkg top ramen noodles crushed in the package
1/2 c soy sauce
3 Tbls worcestershire sauce
5 green onions chopped

Scramble your eggs and set aside.

In large skillet, cook your pork chops and chicken, which should all be cubed, along with the onions, and red potatoes. I fry in olive oil, just a couple of Tbls. worth. These are the items that take the longest to cook. When they start to get closer to being cooked, add in the zucchini, and cubed up pieces of steak. Cook for about 3 minutes... not long at all. Now add the crushed up ramen noodles and their spice packets, along with the mushrooms. Don't add water. You want these like stir fry and not like soup or soggy noodles. Keep stiring for a few minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of water, the worsestershire and soy sauce. Put a lid on the pan and let cook for 5 minutes. keep stirring until the noodles are done. Add in the eggs at this point. When ready to serve add the green onions for garnish. This dish is similar to a lo mein.

Marsala Chicken

This is tenderized chicken breasts. They get really big. I put them in a breading and then brown them in olive oil. I use extra virgin.

You have to watch them a lot... as they will brown quickly and you don't want them to burn. This is how I like mine.

These are the only other items you need... other than salt, pepper, garlic powder or fresh garlic.

This is how it will look before you add the flour to thicken it....
The end result. It is good. I usually serve with a side of pasta and mizithra cheese and browned butter. However, when you have a five year old that loves mashed potatoes and marsala wine, you just pick your battles.

Recipe

*Three to five chicken breasts tenderized
*Breading to dip breasts in
*Olive oil for the pan to brown them in
*3 Tbl butter
*Sliced mushrooms. It depends on how much you like them. I would say a half pound to a pound for us... sliced.
*1 tsp fresh garlic
*Two cans of chicken broth. I use 99% fat free.
*About a cup of marsala wine. (you will find it in the grocery store near the vinegar)
*3 Tbl flour

Brown the breaded chicken breasts in the olive oil. Remove from the pan when they are browned to your desire.

In the same pan, melt the butter and saute the mushrooms in the butter and garlic. When they are starting to turn color to a medium brown, add chicken broth but saving a half cup of it for thickening later. Also add the marsala wine at this time. After mixing well in the pan, add the chicken breasts back into the pan. Let simmer until the chicken breasts are cooked so there is no longer any pink.

Take the remaining chicken broth and add the flour to it. Add to the pan with the chicken and the breasts. It will thicken the sauce as you stir it. Add more flour and water if needed to be even thicker.

**you can increase or decrease the marsala wine as needed for your own tastes. It is sooooo good. Enjoy!!! Ciao