Chicken Sanchez

Like most Man-Food, this is designed to be tasty, filling, quick and have a reasonably long shelf life (2-3 days).

Here is what you will need:

4 large chicken breasts (no bones or skin)
4-6 sausages (not breakfast sausage but the big Brat-type)
1 cup of Pace Picante sause
2 cups of brown rice
Optional: Shredded cheese and Sour cream
1-2 cans of beans (black, kidney or pinto)
1 large bag of tortilla chips

First, start the rice as it will take about 45 minutes to cook.  As will all rice, I use a 2:1 ratio of water to rice. So, if you are using 2 cups of rice, you will be adding that to 4 cups of boiling water.  I find with rice that it is often helpful to add about half a teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of butter per cup of uncooked rice.

Add the rice after the water is boiling.  Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat for another 20.  Be sure to taste rice before adding it as sometimes my timing may be off by a bit.  If the rice is not soft, leave it in the hot water longer.

Cut the chicken into sugar-cube sized bites.  Cook until it is done all the way through.  Feel free to add some Monterey Steak Seasoning (I add this to everything).  Once it is cooked, put the chicken into a large pot.

Chop up the sausage (1/4 inch thick slices) and cook for about 10 minutes in a frying pan.  Add cooked sausage to the pot of chicken.

Add the cans of beans to the pot.

Add the Pace Picante sause to the pot.

When the rice is done, add it to the pot.

Crunch up a few handfuls of tortilla chips and add them to the pot.

Stir the contents of the pot together and then serve in bowls.

As desired, top will shredded cheese or sour cream.  I use both.

Eat and enjoy.

Jim

Grease Enhanced Chicken and Rice

Sometimes I like to roast an entire chicken.  Typically, I do this when I'm (a) hungry and (b) have an hour's worth of something else to do while the chicken is cooking.

The problem is always that I can't seem to eat an entire chicken so there is always something left over.  Now, since I typically eat all of the good parts while I'm still hungry, I end up with about a third of a chicken that basically doesn't look entirely edible.

So I came up with another way to cook it.

Here is what you need.

1 big chicken
2 cups of brown rice
3 onions

Spray a big glass cooking pan in PAM (unless  you want to spend a lot of time cleaning up later)

Slice up the onions and line the bottom of the cooking pan with the slices.

Wash the chicken then put it onto the onions.  If you have some, sprinkle some Costco Steak seasoning on the chicken.

Put the chicken in the oven and cook at 350 for about an hour and a half.

Now for the rice.  Boil 4 cups of water (with a tablespoon of butter).  Add the rice, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Set  a timer for the rice.  When I don't do that, there is about a 60-40 chance that my brown rice will end up black and stuck to the bottom of yet another pot I need to throw away.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and let it cool.  Take off the skin and feed it to the dog.  My wife disagrees with this, but since you are single, this shouldn't be a problem.

When the chicken has cooled, pull off the meat, cut it into bite-size bits and toss it back into the pan with the onions.  Note, the onion should be sitting in about half an inch of chicken grease from when you cooked the chicken.  Add the rice.

Stir and enjoy.

Mushroom Stew - without the mushrooms

My wife bought me a cookbook for my slow cooker.  This cookbook came with lots of pictures which I find to be a tremendous help.  I can't look at a bunch of raw ingredients and tell what I'm going to end up with.  But a picture...that's another story.

I found myself drawn to a picture of a delicious looking stew.  I'd already decided to make it before I noticed it was called Mushroom Stew.

I am not a mushroom guy.  I can eat food that has "mushroom essence" but no actual mushrooms.  I consider direct contact with an actual mushroom to be little more than a prelude to a stomach pump.

So, I came up with a stew that looks just like the picture in the cookbook, without actually following the cookbook's recipe.  And...there are definitely no mushrooms involved.

Here is what you need:

9 cups of chicken broth
1 pound bag of barley
1-2 pounds of chicken
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
1 can of peas
1 can of corn
1 onion
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
8 ounces of tomato paste
2 table spoons of Thyme (don't ask me what that is)
Salt and Pepper

1 large crockpot or slow cooker.  If you only have a small one, try using the below recipe but smaller portions of everything.

Peel the onion and chop it into small pieces.

Peel the carrots and chop them into little pieces.

Chop the celery into little pieces.

Chop the chicken into little pieces.

Throw everything on the above list into your slow cooker.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set it on high and wait for 6-8 hours.

Eat and enjoy.

This makes what looks to be about 50 pounds of stew.  This is because the barley swells up after a few hours.

When you eat it, I suggest adding a little sour cream.

Eat and enjoy.

Please stop by my regular blog at http://jamesdillingham.com

jim

Vegetable Catch-Up

Kids don't like vegetables because they don't taste good.  By that I mean, they don't come with frosting on top.

Men don't like vegetables for three reasons:

1. The don't keep well and we often don't discover this until they have begun to ferment. 
2. We don't know how to cook them.
3. They don't come with frosting on top.

Here is a way to periodically catch up on all of the vegetables you've been missing.  It tastes great, uses vegetables from a can and costs almost nothing.

What you need:

A large bowl
A can of corn
A can of peas
A can of diced tomatoes
A can of olives
1/2 cup of PACE Picante sauce or the equivalent

After draining the excess fluid from each of the cans, mix this all together in the giant bowl.

Heat on "high" in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Eat and enjoy.

Jim



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Orgasmic Fruit Salad

Okay, this may not be completely "orgasmic" but I know which words catch a guy's attention.

This is an easy and healthy breakfast - if you have the ingredients on hand.

That is a big IF since fruit salad depends on your having fresh fruit in the house.

Here is what you need to make a single serving:

1/2 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup of chopped pineapple
1 sliced up banana
1 single serving of blueberry yogurt

Take all of these ingredients and mix them together in a bowl.  I suppose you could blend them together but why bother.

Eat and enjoy.

Jim

Chicken Breast Dress Up

I am not a fan of white meat.

When it comes to chicken, I'll take a leg, wing or thigh anytime over the breast.

So this brings up the question: What should I do when I thaw out what I thought was a chicken thigh(s) only to find out it was a breast?

Here is what I did and it actually turned out pretty good.

What you need:

A chicken breast, skinned with no bone
A frying pan
Some cooking oil
A hand full of flour (at most)
Salt and Pepper
Mustard
A hand full of shredded swiss cheese
A hammer

Clean off your hammer and then use it to smash your chicken breast flat.  This should take at least a minute.  The flatter the better.

Poor some cooking oil (2-5 tablespoons) into the frying pan and set it on high.

While the oil is heating up, smear mustard on both sides of the breast.

Add some salt and pepper.

Spread the flour on a cutting board or something similar and then plop the chicken on top of it.  Turn the chicken over a couple of times to ensure the flour covers everything.

Toss the chicken into the frying pan.  Now, "toss" does not mean to try and throw it in from the far side of the kitchen.  "Toss" is more of a masculine way of saying, "Put the chicken into the oil, being careful not to splash the oil over the side of the pan where it will catch fire and turn this whole thing into a bar-b-que event."

Cook on each side for about 5 minutes.  The thicker the chicken is, the longer you must cook it on each side.

Lift the chicken up and drop the swiss cheese into the pan.  Try to make a "swiss cheese pattern" that is similar in size and shape to your chicken breast.

Set the chicken back down onto the cheese.

This is going to look really messy at first.  Don't worry, the cheese will harden after a few minutes. (I'm sure there is a technical term for this but I don't have any idea what that could be).

Use a spatula to test the cheese every now and then.  When it looks like it has hardened under the chicken, take the whole thing out.

What you will end up with is a mustard sort of flavored, breaded chicken breast with hardened swiss cheese stuck to one side.

Eat and enjoy.

Jim

The Slow Cooker Solution

I was walking through the meat isle at the store yesterday.  I'm just sort of browsing; like a person at a bookstore.  I don't know what I want but if I see it, I'm ready to make my move.

I came across a 5 pound package of meat that was going for the low, low price of $.99 per pound.  I didn't know what it was but it ended up in my shopping cart just the same.

As I was putting the groceries away, I noticed the meat.  "Pork Shoulder" is what the label said.  I could tell by the bone and chunks of fat that this was going to be a challenge to make edible.

Then I remembered by old standby.  The Slow Cooker.

Here is what I did.

I put the meat into the slow cooker and then added a package of "pot roast" seasoning.  I know this is pork and not beef, but it was all I had in the cupboard.  I also added a cup of water.  I set it on high and went about my day for 4 hours or so.

I then chopped up three potatoes, three carrots, two onion, one stalk of celery, one red bell pepper (all of this chopped up) and 1 heaping tablespoon of my secret ingredient - Costo Monterey Steak Seasoning.

I let this go for another 4 hours or so.

I had to pick out two large bones and a few lumps of fat. (My dog starts his diet tomorrow.)

I just finished my second bowl of this stuff.

This was really, really good.

Try it, Eat and Enjoy...

jim

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Pickled Eggs

Have you ever had that feeling that you needed to eat something but not sure why?  You are full but for some reason, you keep walking to the kitchen hoping for inspiration.

Here is what is going on:  Your body wants a pickled egg.

These things are tasty, filling, easy to make and best of all...if you forget you have them for several months, you can still eat them and they are even better!

Here is what you need:

A pot to boil eggs in.

A different pot to boil the vinegar and spices in.

A large glass or plastic container that has a top that can be sealed tight.  Vinegar is involved and if the top is loose, your whole place is going to smell like the night before Easter (when all the eggs are being dyed).

A large bottle of vinegar.  I'm guessing a gallon is too much and a pint is not enough.

1or 2 dozen eggs.  Take a look at your jar and imagine how many eggs you can fit into it.  That's how many eggs you need.   Or, take a look at how many eggs you have and imagine them in a jar.  That's how big a jar you will need.

1 container of Pickling Spices.  Some stores have this some of the time.  I can never find it even though I know it is going to be in the spice area of the store.  Having this pre-made makes everything easier.  However, you can make your own.

I went through my collection of spices and took out a teaspoon from everything that seemed like it would be good as a pickled egg.  This was a huge mistake.  Buy some pre-made or find a pickle spice recipe online somewhere (other than here.)

Bring your vinegar to boil with the spices added.  After it boils, reduce the heat to minimum for 10 minutes.  After that, you are ready to add it to the eggs.  So lets do the eggs.

Boil your eggs in accordance with my post on boiling eggs.  Put the peeled boiled eggs into the plastic container.

Add the vinegar/spice mixture to the container.  You may not use all of the vinegar but make sure all of the spices floating around go in with the eggs. If you don't have enough to cover all of the eggs, boil some more vinegar.

Safety tip:  Don't pour boiling vinegar into a plastic container.  Turns out that some plastics melt at a temperature lower than vinegar boils at.  I know from experience that this makes a huge mess.  So, let the vinegar cool for a bit.

Finally, put the lid on the container and wait for at least 2 weeks (although a month is better).  You don't need to put this in the refrigerator.  Just stick it in a a cupboard somewhere.  I think putting it out in the hot sun might be a bad idea but that is just speculation on my part.

Forget about the pickled eggs.

Now, when you are hungry and don't know what you are looking for, the pickled eggs will begin to sing their siren song.

Eat and enjoy.

jim

Creamy Scrambled Eggs

The best thing about eggs are that you can keep them for a long time in your refrigerator without them going bad.  That, plus they are used in just about everything you can make in a kitchen.

Scrambled eggs, by themselves are good.  But dress them up properly and they become great.

What you will need:

a pan and a wooden spoon

4-6 eggs, depending on how hungry you are

1 teaspoon of cream cheese per egg.

Beat eggs with a fork while the pan is heating up.  If you don't have a non-stick pan, you may want to add some butter or oil so the eggs don't stick

Add the eggs and then add the cream cheese.  The cream cheese should be in small chunks, about the size of a penny.

Stir until the eggs are cooked.

Eat and enjoy.

Now:  There are several extras that can be added.  Chopped ham is a good additive.  Surprisingly, parsley makes it better as well.  I'm more than a little surprised to find that I know this.

As for a topping, ketchup makes everything better.

Fried Parley Potatoes

I am not a big potato eater.  The reason for this is - I am a big potato eater.

I could easily eat potatoes all day.  Unfortunately, this is one of those foods that you will turn into if you're not careful.

However, every now and then, I want my spuds.

This is easy, tasty and filling.

What you will need:

• A frying pan with a lid
• A wooden spoon (I like wooden utensils as they don't harm the pot or pan)
• Three large potatoes
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• Salt and pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks small enough to pass through the "okay" thumb and index finger hole.

Melt the butter in the frying pan and then add the potatoes.

Cook on a medium to high heat with the lid on the pan.

Stir every five minutes for just a few seconds.  Otherwise you may burn a few.

After 20 minutes (and a few stirrings) add the chopped parsley.  Also add salt and pepper to suit your taste. As always, if you're not sure how much salt, use less rather than more.  You can always add more later if you want, but it's really hard to get off if you over do it.

After a total of 30 minutes, this should be done.  Test a potato.  It should be soft all the way through.

Optional:  As always, mexican cheese salsa or sour cream can make this even better.  Additonally, you may want to consider washing the potatoes and then leaving the skin on.  I hear it is healthier that way.

Eat and enjoy.

jim

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j

Naked Spaghetti

The following is fast, filling, extremely inexpensive and fairly tasty.

What we are basically going to make is spaghetti with the minimum amount of stuff added to it (thus the "naked")

First of all, as a rule of thumb, the single man should always have all of the following: Spaghetti, Basil and Oregano (these are spices, buy them in bulk) and canned, cooking oil and diced tomatoes.

A lifetime supply of these staples should run you about $20.

What you will need:

All of the above and a pot. I also recommend a spaghetti ladle/fork like thingy.  This is like a big spoon with tines around the sides - great for scooping out large quantities of spaghetti.

Fill a large pot half way up with water and bring to boil.

Add the spaghetti and cook until done (around 10 minutes).  Done is when it tastes done to you.

Drain the water and add 2 teaspoons (the smaller spoon) of cooking oil and stir.


Some people will tell you to add the oil while the spaghetti is cooking.  Don't do that as it will extend the cooking time and cause uneven heating of the pasta (heard that on a radio show.)

Add a heaping teaspoon of oregano and another heaping teaspoon of basil  Dump in the entire contents of a can of diced tomatoes.

Stir well.

Eat and enjoy.

By the way, this tastes great cold.  You can also add more stuff like olives (but then it becomes less naked).

Jim

Sliced Egg-a-Palooza

Have you ever eaten a dozen hard boiled eggs in one sitting?

If you make this, then you are about to.

What you will need:

A dozen eggs and a pot to boil them in.

Another pot and a package of Hollandaise sauce which I think calls for some butter, milk and lemon as well.

Boil the eggs in accordance with one of my earlier posts on How to Boil Eggs.

Peel the eggs and cut them in half lengthwise.  Cut the half in half, again, lengthwise.

By now, you have a plate full hardboiled eggs sliced to look like sections from an orange.  Set aside.

Make the Hollandaise sauce in accordance with the directions on the back. This is fairly easy to do; just don't get distracted.  You can burn this fairly easily if you walk away from the stove.

Once the sauce is done, pour it over the egg slices.

Important: Allow to cool a few minutes before eating.  If you start too quickly, you will not be able to stop no matter how hot it is.

Eat and enjoy.

Bueno Cottage Cheese

This has to be my most perfect recipe.

It tastes great.  It can be made in under a minute; and it may actually be good for you.

What you need:

A bowl
Some cottage cheese  (how much depend on how hungry you are)
Some salsa (medium or spice, your choice)

Mix the cottage cheese in the bowl with the salsa.  The ratio of Salsa to Cottage Cheese is not that important.  Experiment to suit your own taste.

Eat and enjoy.

jim

Tostadas

I love Mexican food.  It's easy to make, filling and tastes great.

Today, we are making tostadas.  This is a fried corn tortilla with stuff on top.

There is only one problem with your basic tostada.  You can only add so much stuff on top before it starts spilling over.  I have a solution for that.

What you will need.

A frying pan with a quarter inch of cooking oil in it.
1 pound of hamburger
1 can of olives
1 can of diced tomatos
1 head of lettuce
1 package of corn tortillas
1 container of sour cream
1 jar of Mexican cheese salsa (my secret ingredient available at Safeway stores everywhere)
2 cups of shredded cheese

First the tortillas.

Heat the oil until it reacts (fizzles) when you put a drop of water in it.

Put a tortilla into the oil.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes per side.  Some tortillas will sort of grow like a blowfish when heat is added. Don't panic.  Just poke a hole in it and allow to deflate.  I don't allow any bubbles to form in my tortillas since it messes with the balance of food you will soon be placing on top.

Make 6-10 tortillas this way.

Now, this next step is important.  Open your can of olives.  Dump the water out of the can and put the olives on a cutting board.  Now, dump the used oil out of the frying pan into the olive can, allow to cool and then throw away.  If you don't wait for it to cool, it will melt through your plastic kitchen garbage can (you don't want to know how I know this.)

Put your hamburger into the frying pan and cook until all of the pink is gone.  Drain off excess oil into the olive can with the other oil.

Take a giant bowl and put the hamburger into it.

Chop up the olives on put into the bowl with the hamburger.

Chop up a bunch of lettuce and put into the bowl.  I'm not sure how much a "bunch" actually is.  If you feel like you need some vegetables in your diet, use the whole head of lettuce.  Otherwise, use less.

Dump the can of diced tomatoes into the bowl.

Dump the Mexican cheese salsa into the bowl.

Dump about half of the sour cream container into the bowl (use it all if you like sour cream)

Dump the shredded cheese into the bowl.

Now, stir everything in the bowl together.  What you end up with is a taco salad without the tacos.  By mixing everything up in the bowl, you can heap it onto your fried tortillas without fear of spillage.  Everything should be pretty much stuck together.

Now, put the stuff in the bowl onto your tortilla.

Eat and enjoy.

jim

Vegetable Beef Stew with Dumplings

My favorite meal has always been Chicken and Dumplings.  Not just any C&D, but the kind my mom used to make. It had big chunks of everything.  The best part was the dumplings.  They were the size of a softball and always perfectly cooked.

So I thought, I should be able to do that.

Gave Mom a call and got the recipe.  It basically came down to "a little of this and a little of that and there you have it."

Wrong!

I should have remembered my own findings: Anything that involves bread is akin to witchcraft.

I tried to make dumplings.  I tried from scratch and I tried with Bisquick.  I checked on the internet and I asked friends.  They all said the same thing, "Simply do this..."

The best I could do was a lump slurry.

Then there is this stuff called Corn Starch.  It's supposed to make the liquid thicker.  Same thing as the dumplings.  Everyone said, "Simply do this and then that..."

Turns out this stuff is temperamental.  You must first mix it with cold water or milk, the exact ratio appears to be either unimportant or a keenly held secret.  Then you add it to the cooking stew.  You must bring it to boil or the Corn Starch Gods will be unsatisfied.  However, if you allow it to continue to boil, the whole things breaks down.  You must "skirt" the boil.  Stay there long enough to get a sense of the heat, and then remove from the heat immediately.

This was starting to sound like Anti-Cooking For the Single Man.

Having tried and failed, I am going back to my old formula; one which has served me well.

Keep it simple.  Make it fast.  Make it good and make it filling.

What you will need;

A large pan with a lid
3 cans of Campbell's Vegetable Beef Soup
1 container of Pillsbury Biscuits (ever notice how hard it is to spell biscuits?)

In the pan, bring all of the soup to boil.

Take the Pillsbury biscuits and cut them into fourths.

Drop the biscuits onto the soup.  The reason you want a pan instead of a pot is to increase the surface area where you drop the biscuits.  The more surface area, the more room for the biscuits (which are about to become your dumplings.)

Turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Before taking it off of the heat, take out one of the dumplings.  Let it cool for a minute and then test to make sure it's done.  If the dumpling is not cooked all the way through, give it a few more minutes.

Eat and enjoy.

jim

Easy Side Dish

For most guys, an easy side dish is a bag of potato chips.

Step1: Open bag
Step2: Pour bag into big bowl
Eat and enjoy

However, there may be times when you want to impress someone without going to too much effort.

I'm not talking about impressing the gang that came over to watch the game.  I'm talking about the type of impressing meant to show you have a bit of culture underneath your 49ers T-shirt.

So here is our goal:  Must be easy.  Must be unique.  Must taste great.

Here is what you need:

• 2 peeled Granny Smith Apples.  The green ones that have a bit of tang to them
• 4 to 6 ounces of smoked Gouda cheese or some other mild white cheese that has brown edges (this indicates smoked - or at least I think it does).
• 1 can of whole kernel corn.  Be careful not to buy the creamed corn.  I can't tell you how many times I've made that mistake.
• 1 large, heaping tablespoon (the bigger of the two spoons) of sour cream.

Put the corn into the bowl.  Cut up the cheese and the apples so they are in chucks about the size of a kernel of corn.  Add them to the bowl.  Add the sour cream and stir.  You may need a little more sour cream to suit your taste.  It's best to start on the low end because sour cream is really hard to take off if you put too much in to begin with.

Eat and enjoy.

Pasta Dumplings

This is a multi-purpose food when only "bulk" will do.

There are lots of fancy recipes for making pasta.  You can spend a paycheck coming up with things that make long noddles and such.

Or you can do what I do.

What you will need:

A coffee cup
A large egg
1/4 cup of flour
Pinch of salt
Fork
And some sort of food that is more watery that you want it to be.


For this example, let's suppose you're making some soup.  You wanted to get the Hearty variety but accidentally got the regular.

Cook the soup in a pot on the stove (okay, I forgot to mention you will need a pot).  While it is heating up, put the egg, minus the shell, into a coffee cup. Add the flour and salt, then beat with a fork.  Do this with great vigor for about a minute or until the mixture turns yellow and creamy.

Once the soup is boiling, drip small clumps of the mixture from the cup.  It won't pour easily so you may have to help it.  A clump is about the size of a marble.  It wont be round because it's sort of runny but the volume of the marble is what you want.

The clumps will cook in the boiling soup to form pasta dumplings.  They take about 5 minutes to cook and you may want to taste to make sure they get done.

I just made the Chicken soup from this blog (a few posts back).  I decided it was too thin so I added the pasta dumplings with some peas and olives and it tastes great!

Happy eating and thanks for clicking on my sponsors as you leave.

Jim

Enchiladas

This has to be one of my favorite foods.

It's filling, cheap, easy to make and tastes great!

What you will need:

One of those big glass rectangular pans.  I suppose it doesn't need to be glass but mine is.
A pot

A package of flour tortillas.  These come in different sizes.  I use medium.  You will need at least 6-8.
A pound of hamburger
A small onion (size of lemon)
A can of olives (sliced or you can slice them yourself)
A can of tomato past (this is a little red can that comes in 6 oz containers)
A package of Enchilada seasoning (most stores have a section with packets of seasonings)
2 cups of shredded cheese.  Probably one of the orange varieties is best
Sour cream (optional)

Step 1:
Spray some Pam into the glass pan. Every man needs to have Pam in his kitchen.  It's either that or you will have to throw away all of your pots after you use them and then forget to clean them for a week.  Pam is like spray-on oil that makes cleaning a breeze.

Step 2:
Chop up the onion and cook over a medium heat with a bit of butter.  Once the onion turns glassy (about 5 minutes), add the hamburger.  Cook the hamburger until all the pink is gone.

Step 3:
Do this while you do Step 2.  Boil 2 cups of water.  Add the tomato paste and the seasoning.  Once it is all boiling, set to lowest heat for 5 minutes.

Step 4:
Add one cup of shredded cheese to the hamburger.  Add about a third of the water/seasoning mix to the hamburger.  Add the olives to the hamburger.  Stir.

Step 5:
Coat one tortilla with the water/seasoning mix.  Add some of the hamburger mix and roll up. This should be about an inch and a half in diameter.  Place in glass pan.  Repeat this until all of the hamburger is used up.

Step 6:
Pour extra sauce over the tortillas.  Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the tortilla.  Place in oven and cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Step 7:
Let cool.  Eat and Enjoy.  You can top with sour cream if you wish.

jim

Chicken Stew (or maybe it's soup)

Like most male-food, this is delicious, filling and easy to make.

What you will need:

A large frying pan with a cover
Something it stir with like a wooden spoon

• 1/4 teaspoon Marjoram (this is a spice like a mild version of oregano and may actually be interchangeable...but I'm not sure)
• 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg (this is apparently important even though you are only using a small amount)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• an onion the size of a lemon
• 3 skinned and boned chicken breasts (buy them that way and save yourself some heartache)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 3 tablespoons of Paprika (a red spice that is very important)
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 6 hardboiled eggs (optional)
• 1 cup of cheese salsa (optional)
• Some type of pasta (optional)
• 1 can of olives (optional)

Step 1
Cut the chicken into chunks small enough to fit through an "okay" sign (thumb and pointy finger)
Set aside

Step 2
Cut the onion into little bits, maybe a quarter inch or smaller.  Saute in butter until it its glassy.  To saute means to cook in butter.

Step 3
Add chicken and stir for about 4-5 minutes or until most of the chicken is not longer pink

Step 4
Add paprika, salt, Majoram and nutmeg.  Stir for a couple of minutes.

Step 5
Add enough hot water to just about cover the chicken.  If you add less water, this will end up thicker and we can call it stew.  If you add more water, it will be less thick and we can call it soup.

Step 6
Bring to boil, then turn heat to minimum.  Cover and let it cook for 35 minutes.

Timewise, the first 6 steps should take less than 10 minutes.

Step 7
Check the chicken to make sure its cooked all the way through.  Add the flour and sour cream.  Stir in and turn the heat to high while stirring.  When it boils, turn off.

You are now ready to eat.

I have found that boiled eggs, chopped into quarters and added at this point make the meal a little more interesting.

This is also great the next day, reheated.

For some of the options:

Spread over pasta (type up to you)
Add olives, cut roughly
Substitute Nachos salsa for sour cream

Eat and enjoy.

jim

Mustard Flat-Steak

Men like steak.

We barbecue big slabs of it and then eat it in giant bites, like a lion eating a carcass before the hyenas close in.

As withmost food, its the volume that counts.  Quality is nice but hey, if it was cooked on a grill, how bad can it be.

Today, we'll cook with spices.  Just a few so don't get overly concerned.

What you will need:

A hammer
A garlic press (more on this in a minute)
A frying pan

One steak
A tablespoon of mustard (any kind)
Two cloves of garlic (more on this in a minute)
Salt and pepper
Optional: Costco Monterey Steak seasoning (replaces salt and pepper)
A bit of flour
A tablespoon of butter

Step 1
Clean off your hammer.

Step 2
Use your hammer to pound the steak flat.  When you are done it should be about half as thick as it was when you started.  It will also be much wider.  There is a utensil for doing this but I don't see any reason for getting one since you will only make this occasionally.

Step 3
Spread the mustard generously (thickly) on both sides of the steak.

Step 4
Add either the salt and pepper or the Costco seasoning to both sides.

Step 5
Peel the outer skin off of three cloves of garlic.  A clove of garlic is similar to a slice of an orange.  The easiest way to get the skin off is to press down sharply on the clove with the base of your hand.  This will squish the clove and loosen the outer skin.  Place the cloves into a garlic press.  A garlic press looks sort of like a nutcraker.  It smooshes the garlic for you.  Spread the smooshed garlic on both sides of the steak.

Step 6
Sprinkle flour on each side of the steak

Step 7
Melt the butter in the frying pan with the heat set on high.

Step 8
Cook the steak in the frying pan.  I'd go with about 4-5 minutes a side.  This depends on how rare you want your steak and how thick it is.

Eat using big bites and enjoy.  I'd suggest small bites but you wouldn't listen anyway.  I know I wouldn't.

Jim

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