Oriental Chicken

Another Campbell's recipe that's worth trying.

Oriental Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen green beans
2 green onions, chopped

Saute chicken in oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, heat to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Serve over rice.

*Try assorted oriental veggies or add carrots!

Campbell's Week: Citrus & Salsa Pork Roast

Citrus & Salsa Pork Roast

1 jar (11 oz.) chunky salsa
1 large can (11 oz.) Mandarin orange segments, drained
2 lbs. pork tenderloins (or chicken, if that's what you've got!)
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Heat over to 425. Stir salsa and oranges in a small bowl. Place meat in a shallow 3 quart pan. Rub meat with oil, pour on salsa mixture. Bake for 35 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Remove from pan and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime.

Try this with peach slices or pineapple chunks! Serve with rice.

On a budget? Check the manager's special section of the meat department for great deals on cuts you wouldn't normally buy.

Rice Pudding

This is a classic dessert that's a great way to use leftover rice. This one comes from my mom, which means it's tailored for a quick fix in the microwave!

Rice Pudding

2 cups cooked rice
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Raisins (optional)

Beat eggs and milk well. Add sugar and cinnamon, beat again. Stir in rice and raisins. Microwave covered on high for 15-20 minutes or until it's the texture you prefer!

Broccoli, Rice, & Chicken

This crockpot recipe received an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up!

Broccoli, Rice, & Chicken

2 lb. boneless chicken, cut in strips
1 1/4 cup uncooked rice
1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 can water
pepper and minced onion to taste

GREASE CROCKPOT WELL. Add rice. Sprinkle with onion and pepper. Top with chicken. Pour soup and 1 can water over chicken and rice. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

This recipe cooks the rice well and is moist without being runny. Would be great with extra veggies--simply add frozen veggies before pouring on the soup.

P.S. Don't forget to submit your recipes and vote in the poll!

PF Changs Lettuce Wraps

I think I have a new favorite recipe! I've been waiting to post this one until I tried it--and it really is THAT good.

Lettuce Wraps

4 chicken breast halves (boneless, skinless, frozen is okay)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. white wine (I used white vinegar, rice vinegar, and a pinch of sugar)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
garlic powder (or 5 chopped cloves)
dash of allspice

Put chicken in crockpot with onions and garlic powder. Mix everything else together and pour the sauce over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6, stirring occasionally. Shred chicken ~30 minutes before serving. Serve buffet style in lettuce wraps.

I added chow mein noodles for a bit of crunch and some stir-fry veggies and rice to balance out the meat. Add hoison or plum sauce if needed!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Tried and tested!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

4 lb. chicken
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. red vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix sauce, pour over chicken in crockpot. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. Serves 6.

I halved this for my smaller family. Can be shredded as it cooks. Best served over rice with steamed veggies. Add pineapple for extra zest!

One Easy, One Gourmet

Apologies for being so slow to update--I just got a new cookbook and I was waiting to test these out before I posted them!

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
1 pkg. Italian dressing seasoning mix
1/2 c. water
1 (8 oz) block cream chese

Place the chicken, italian seasoning, and water in the crock pot, cook on LOW for ~3 hours (longer if using frozen chicken). When chicken is fully cooked, use a fork to shred it, add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly. This makes a creamy chicken topping that is great over rice or noodles. Serves 6-8.

Wedding Chicken - a la Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 chicken breasts
6 slices of ham
6 slices of Swiss cheese
6 slices of bacon
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 c. sour cream

Lay chicken breasts flat in a large pan. Place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese on each, wrap with bacon and tuck the ends under. Mix together mushroom soup and sour cream, pour over the chicken. Let set overnight. Sprinkle with paprika before baking at 250 for four hours.

Actually a faster recipe than it seems, because you can make them in the evening, make room in the fridge, and then let your house smell wonderful while they bake the next day!


On a side note, I made a two-pan batch of Peanut Butter Fingers last night and they are WONDERFUL, as always. If you haven't tried this yet you're missing out!

Guest Recipes!

This week I'm featuring recipes submitted by the rest of you :o) Thanks for the help!

Sun-dried Tomato Chicken

Ingredients:
1/3-1/2 bottle Kraft's Sun-dried Tomato salad dressing
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken in the dressing for 2-3 hours. Bake at 425 for 15-17 minutes.

Great with baked potatoes and salad!

Crockpot Dip Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
8 oz cream cheese, soft
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
one packet zesty italian salad dressing mix.

put chicken in crockpot, cover with cream cheese mixture
cover and let cook 6-8 hours.
serve over rice or noodles.

you can use almost any dip mix! (use about 1 1/2-4 Tbsp)

Stir-fry in seconds...

So I'm a huge fan of variety and for that reason I LOVE "ethnic" food. I think by ethnic I mean something other than pasta, because that seems to be the cheapest and easiest for college student budgets.

There are tons of ways to make good stir fry and chinese food, but here are my quick suggestions.

1. Good sauce
2. Chinese veggies
3. Meat optional
4. Rice

Again, I love my rice cooker so I can't imagine living without it, but instant rice is not too bad either and takes about the same amount of time to stir fry.

There are lots of different kinds of veggies that work great for stir fry, I usually buy what is cheapest. In the frozen food section there is usually a bag of "chinese starters" or something like that that includes basics like mini-corn and water chestnuts. The type in a can tends to include more sprouts and such but they both work well.

If I have chicken or pork I add that, but if I don't have it or only have a little, I make up the difference with vegetables and it's still great.

There are lots of different sauces. If you have to pick simply one, I recommend a teriyaki merinade or sauce--it's a common flavor that everyone likes but it's not just salt like soy sauce. I also favor Hoison sauce if you're looking for a little more authentic.

Other than that, it's super easy. If you add a little sauce before adding meat you never have to add oil, which makes it healthier. Saute meat over med-high heat until brown, add veggies and more sauce, cook until medium soft (don't want mushy vegetables!) or until the rice is done. Works great as leftovers as well.

Also, if you check out the foreign food aisle of most grocery stores you will find sauce packets for a variety of chinese food that usually are pretty good. My favorites are sesame, hot & spicy, and honey teriyaki. The sweet and sour are generally NOT good, but I have an awesome quickie recipe for that if you're in the mood!

3 ingredient specials!

Ok, here are two of my favorite recipes, both of which had three ingredients (or less)!

Crock-pot Chicken Salsa
Ingredients:
crock-pot
chicken
salsa
(lemon slice or lemon juice if you REALLY feel domestic)

Instructions:
Spray crock-pot for easy clean up.
Add bite size pieces uncooked chicken
Cover with salsa (about 3/4 a jar for a few pounds of chicken)
Add lemon if you're feeling up to it/have it around
Cook on high 3-4 hours

Best served over rice. Salad is a good side if you have it. Serves groups large or small depending on how much chicken you add.

bonus: Makes the house smell fabulous! Also, very easy to remember by the descriptive title.

The other three ingredient special is also served over rice, so I sometimes make these in the same week and just make lots of rice the first time (I consider a rice-cooker an essential gadget).

Thai Peanut Chicken
Ingredients:
chicken, small breasts work best
peanut sauce mix (check the asian section of the grocery store)
1 can coconut milk (also in the asian section)

Instructions:
Preheat to 375
Place chicken in glass casserole dish
Whisk together peanut sauce (usually comes with 2 packets, I use one unless I'm in the mood for serious spice!) and coconut milk. Pour over chicken.
Cover with tin foil, bake for 1-1.5 hours.

Serving depends on amount of chicken, can go farther if you stir-fry or steam vegetables as well. Most gourmet when served with cooked carrots and dished over fresh spinach leaves (found by the salad-in-a-bag in any grocery store). Great for entertaining because it's Thai and different from traditional dinner.