BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Okay, so this recipe is pretty straight forward. Take some cooked chicken and coat it in BBQ sauce. I used chicken breast, but it could be chicken from a rotisserie chicken, drumsticks, thighs, or whatever your preference/available chicken parts is. For BBQ sauce, I used KC Masterpiece, but again, feel free to use whatever you have/like. (Or super brave/not-quite-so-lazy-as-me people can make their OWN BBQ sauce. Ingenious!)



For the buns, I used wheat rolls from the Wal-Mart bakery. I was going to just buy some regular wheat hamburger buns, but everything I found had HFC in it. And while I'm not super-duper-anti-HFC (I mean, hell, I'm addicted to Mtn Dew and HFC is the second ingredient listed) but it's something that I might, in the future, look to avoid in foods. So I figure I'll start keeping track now. Anyway, the rolls worked just like tiny buns, which made these sammiches a lot of fun to eat. Served with seasoned fries and cooked carrots (nom!).

Veg Burgers!

In my quest to transition to a more veg-oriented diet, I decided to try making my own veg burgers. I suppose I could take the easy way out and just by Boca burgers, but they're prolly gross. Not to mention the fact that they're packaged with how many layers? A cardboard box plus plastic wrapper, most likely.

Ingredients:
1/2 a green pepper
1/4 (or more if you like onion, which I really don't) small onion
1 can black beans
1 can chick peas



Finely chop the green pepper.



And the same for the onion.



Rinse the beans and put them in a bowl to dry. Apparently this makes them stick better?



While the beans are drying, saute the pepper and onion with a little butter.



Throw the pepper and onions into the beans, and mash with a fork! This was hard work, and it sooo does not look delicious.

After everything is mashed into oblivion (or mostly into oblivion, like mine), form into patties. Then you can either grill (for an undetermined amount of time?) or bake at 350 for 10 minutes on each side.



I ate mine with a side of seasoned fries (I'm so addicted to those things) and sauteed zucchini (butter + zucchini + Lowry's seasoning salt). I also toasted the bun. I should have had some lettuce and whatnot on there too, but someone(me) forgot to buy it when grocery shopping. Oops!

All in all, I thought they were a little bland. Lettuce and tomato on top might make all the difference, though. Next time I make these, I'm going to try adding in some spices to the mix, or maybe liquid smoke or Worcestershire sauce or something along those lines. I know it will never taste like a delicious, grease filled hamburger, but I'd like it to taste like something! Aside from the blandness, though, the texture was not at all bad; actually, it was pretty close to a normal hamburger texture, since I didn't completely mash up the beans.

This recipe made 6 burgers, and four of them got frozen. Hopefully they'll cook alright after being frozen. Guess we'll see!!

Cashew Chicken (kinda)

I adore Chinese food. And I usually make some sort of stir fry/Chinese-inspired dish a week. One of my favourite Chinese foods is cashew chicken, but I've never gotten around to trying to make it. (Although I have used the Wanchai Ferry boxed cashew chicken dinner before, and that is delicious!) So when I came across this recipe I figured it was about time to give it a try (with a few changes, of course).



So, I decided to add some veggies. Chopped up a double handful of carrots and two stalks of celery.



Sauteed them in some oil. When they were partially done, I emptied them out of the pan, and put the chicken (I only used one small breast, as opposed to the 1.5 pounds called for in the recipe, and I also, obviously, decided to forgo breading the chicken, though maybe I'll try that if I make this again) in to cook.



When the chicken was cooked, I put the carrots and celery back in and added some broccoli.



Then I added the sauce, which I halved from what was called for in the recipe. I didn't realise it when I was writing down the recipe, but these sauce ingredients are exactly what I usually put in my stir fries, just with less soy sauce, and more oyster sauce and sugar. Interesting!



Finished product! Oh, yeah. I didn't have any cashews, so this was just cashew chicken (sans cashews). haha!

I think if I had breaded the chicken and hadn't added the veggies, this would have tasted exactly like the cashew chicken I remember getting from restaurants when growing up. (Places here in the 'ville have cashew chicken closer to what I made: unbreaded chicken, carrots, celery, and water chestnuts.) So if I was going for a meat-filled dish, that would have been perfect... But I like my veggies! Regardless, though, I liked the balance of the flavors in the sauce, so I might start using these proportions as opposed to my other ones... So many choices!

Nanny Noodles!

When I was a kid I looked forward to family reunions for one reason and one reason alone. The food!! Yes, even as a child the grumblies had me firmly in their grasp! And among the many many dishes cooked by my family, my favourite was what I called "Nanny Noodles". Nanny was my dad's mother, and she was an AMAZING cook. Well, she was amazing at everything she did; I wish I had gotten to know her better. Anyway, her noodles were chicken and (egg) noodles, made from scratch. If you've never eaten egg noodles made from scratch, you are MISSING OUT!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to master the art of making egg noodles (my dad says they're just eggs, flour, and salt. But surely it's harder than that?) so I use store bought ones. (Don't tell!! But go for the frozen ones or the dried ones that are really thick-looking, not the "extra wide" egg noodles that look like flattened spaghetti.) My dish never tastes like hers, but I've made a few changes: store-bought noodles and vegetables. lol

Nanny Noodles

(I don't have actual measurements on ANY of this. Sorry!)
Chicken-Depending on how many people you're feeding, use a whole chicken, or just bits of one. Bone-in is best, for that added flavor, as is a piece with some dark meat. (For myself and Camden, I used two bone-in chicken breasts. More than enough)
Carrots
Celery
Bay leaf
Salt and Pepper
Noodles! (I used Ream's frozen)



Chop up your carrots and celery (use as many or as few as you like) and put in a pot. Add your chicken. Throw in a bay leaf or two, and season with the salt and pepper.
Cover with water; then bring to boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until chicken is cooked.



Once the chicken is cooked pluck it out. Now's a good time to take the bay leaf/leaves out. Because, seriously, if you don't, some unlucky soul will get it on their plate. And, just so you know, it will ALWAYS be the SAME PERSON. Every time. Whatever the dish; if there's a bay leaf used to cook it, THAT PERSON will get the leaf. Guess who that person was in MY family? Yep, me.

Bring the water to a boil, and add the noodles. Cook according to package directions.

While the noodles are softening, you should dissect the chicken. Use two forks and break the chicken up. If you're smart, you can do this when the chicken has cooled off. If you're like me, you can just jump right in and start pulling it apart. Really, though, the choice is up to you!

When the noodles are finally cooked, throw the chicken back into the pot and mix it up!



I like mine over mashed potatoes. Yep that's a lot of carbs. But I normally only make this in the winter, so it's okay. (This recipe also works well with leftover Thanksgiving/Christmas turkey.)

Mashed potato enchiladas and Spanish rice

I first started making these enchiladas about two years ago when I was trying to add more vegetarian dishes to my diet. These quickly became my favourite vegetarian dish, and when combined with Spanish rice (I like my carbs, what can I say?) and refried beans, it becomes a delicious meal.

Mashed potato enchiladas
Ingredients:
a portion of mashed potatoes (1-2 cups)
1 8.5 oz can of corn
1 14.5 oz can of black beans, rinsed
shredded cheese
seasoning of choice (I use plain ol' taco seasoning, but feel free to use your own combination of spices like chili and cumin)
flour or corn tortillas
1 10oz can enchilada sauce

For the mashed potatoes, you can either use the left overs from last night (or two days ago; I don't judge) or make some new. If you like, feel free to add some sour cream to the potatoes.

In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, corn, beans, cheese, and seasoning. Pour enough enchilada sauce into a baking dish (I used an 8x8 for four enchiladas) to just cover the bottom. Spoon potato mixture onto tortillas, roll, and place into baking dish seam side down. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over enchiladas; sprinkle more cheese over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

(Side note: if you have left-over filling, it freezes fairly well. The only issue I've had with it is when it thaws it's a bit runnier than it should be. A few flakes of instant potatoes work to thicken it up though--just don't add too many)

Spanish rice
If you don't want to use a Spanish rice box mix, or if you happened to forget it when you went shopping, here's an easy alternative.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked rice (I used boil-in-bag brown rice)
1 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes with green chilis
Chili and cumin seasonings to taste

Saute the onion and pepper in a medium frying pan until soft. Add rice, tomatoes, and seasonings. Heat until toasty.