Cilantro Chicken Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of my favorite dishes to make with leftover chicken and rice because I usually have the rest of the ingredients on hand. I made this last night and my son says; "man, this is so good" and then he didn't say another word... The key to great fried rice is to hold back on the soy sauce so you taste the wonderful combination of flavors. PS, don't forget the Sriracha sauce!

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
2 cups cooked diced chicken breast
1/2 diced yellow onion
3 - 4 crushed garlic cloves
1-1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetable's (peas, carrots, green beans & corn)
1 bunch green onions.
1 bunch rough chopped cilantro
1 - 2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:
Cook the rice according to instructions, which is 1 cup rice, 2 cups water and some salt.

 

Take a 12" sauté pan and heat to medium. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic and cook on medium until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the frozen vegetables, chicken, mix well and cook for a couple of minutes. Dice half of the green onions and add to the pan. Add most of the chopped cilantro, reserving enough to garnish the plate. Fold in the rice, add the soy sauce and mix well. Cook on medium high for a couple of minutes and you're done.

 

To serve, place the cilantro chicken fried rice on a large serving plate and top with lot's of cilantro, diced green onions and a drizzle of Sriracha sauce.

Shredded Chicken Taco's

I love most Mexican food, but I haven't made shredded chicken taco's because I thought it was just to plain. Basically shredded chicken simmering in it's own broth, but boy was I wrong. This is so darn delicious that I'm making it again next week. The thing that takes it over the top is the fresh Pico de Gallo from O-Hana Salsa. O-Hana Salsa is a local company here in Bend and all of their salsa's that I've tried are amazing.     

 

Ingredients:

6" corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 large boneless chicken breasts
2 avocado's
2 tablespoons lite sour cream
1/2 cup fresh Pico de Gallo salsa
Chopped cilantro
1 lime cut into wedges

Preparation:

Take a 10" sauté pan and add 1 cup of water. Add the chicken breasts, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and let cool for 10 minutes. Take 2 forks and finally shred the chicken breasts. Please the chicken back into the sauté pan with broth.

 

To make the guacamole, take a medium bowl and add the flesh from the 2 avocado's. Add 2 tablespoon's lite sour cream, 2 tablespoons of the Pico de Gallo salsa and a little salt. Mix well and take one of the avocado pits and place into the guacamole which will keep the guacamole from turning brown.

 

To assemble your shredded chicken taco, heat the tortillas and place on a serving plate. Add some shredded cheese. shredded chicken, fresh chopped cilantro, guacamole, Pico de Gallo salsa. Serve with lime wedges and black beans.

 

Sesame Vegetables and Rice with Crispy Tofu

I've made a lot of different versions of this dish and each and every time it's so delicious. The key to making crispy tofu is to wrap the tofu block in paper towels to pull all the moisture out of the tofu. You might need to change the paper towels 5 or 6 times, but once moisture free the tofu with crisp up nicely while the inside stays soft and creamy. Secondly, add the sesame oil to the vegetables just before serving so you get the most flavor.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice

1 block extra firm tofu

1 large or 2 medium zucchini

1 head bok choy

1/2 red bell pepper

1 can sliced water chestnut

1/2 diced yellow onion

4 chopped garlic cloves

2 tablespoons sesame oil

Salt and pepper

 

Preparation:

Cook the rice according to instructions, which is 1 cup rice, 2 cups water and some salt. The rice will be done when you're done preparing the rest of the dish.

 

Remove the moisture from the tofu by wrapping in paper towels. Repeat the process until the moisture is removed from the tofu. Cut the tofu into 1-1/2" blocks. Heat a large skillet and add the canola oil. Cook the tofu until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.

Heat a 12" sauté pan to medium high. Add some canola oil and the diced yellow onion and cook for just a minute. Add the diced zucchini, chopped bok choy, bell pepper, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the vegetables start to soften up. Add the sliced water chestnuts and cook an additional 2 minutes. Lastly, check for proper seasoning, add salt and pepper if necessary and add the sesame oil. Toss to mix in the sesame oil and you're done.

 

To serve, place some rice on a serving plate and add portion of sesame vegetables and crispy tofu. Garnish the dish with chopped cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

 

Enchilada Pie

I always have a can of enchilada sauce laying around because when I have some leftover chicken, making enchilada's is one of my favorite meals. This is a quick and simple dish with loads of flavor.
 

Ingredients:
3 - 8" flour tortillas

1 - 12 ounce can red enchilada sauce

3 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken
1 diced medium yellow onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 cooked and diced zucchini
3 - 4 diced green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 cups shredded cheese
1 medium diced avocado
Lite sour cream

Preparation:

Prepare the filling by placing the chicken, yellow onion, garlic, zucchini, green onion and chopped cilantro in a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients well and add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Use a 9" glass pie pan or similar to cook the enchilada pie. Give a quick spray with some canola cooking spray and pour some enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pie pan so it covers the entire surface. Place a flour tortilla on top of the sauce, spread 1/2 of the filling mixture on the tortilla, add a thin layer of shredded cheese and top with a the second flour tortilla. Spread the rest of the filling on the tortilla, add a thin layer of shredded cheese and top with the last tortilla. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top and sides of the enchilada pie. 

 

Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. After 30 minutes, remove the aluminum foil, add a thin layer of shredded cheese and cook another 15 minutes.

 

To serve, place a portion of enchilada pie on a serving plate and top with chopped cilantro, diced avocado and sour cream.

Rosemary Thyme Potato's

 

What I like about new potato's is that they absorb flavor really well. Here I'm making an awesome potato dish where I put the rosemary, thyme and garlic in the sauté pan with the potato's and them cook together. When the potato's are done cooking, I discard the sprigs of rosemary and thyme, but the flavors stay with the potato's.     

 

Ingredients:

1 pound medium white new potato's
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 - 4 rough chop garlic cloves
1 tablespoon butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper


Preparation:
Take a 12" sauté pan and add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Wash the white new potato's and slice in half and add to the sauté pan. Add the rosemary, thyme, garlic, butter and a grind of salt and pepper. Bring the water in the sauté pan to just above a boil, partially cover with a lid and cook until all the water evaporates, about 15 minutes.

 

When the water is gone, the potato's are basically done cooking and now you just want to brown up the potato's. Remove the rosemary and thyme and add some olive oil. Turn up the heat to medium high and sauté until the potato's are nice and golden brown.
 

To serve, place the potato's on a serving plate and drizzle on some olive oil. Grind on a little fresh ground salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh thyme and a small sprig of rosemary.

Breast of Chicken Satey

Wow, this is really good! As good as it is though, I've named this Breast of Chicken Satey because I'm going to make this the next time exactly the same, but use chicken thighs. The breast meat tastes great, but doesn't have enough fat to char up nicely.

 

For the sauce, there's tons of different options, but I like this one; spicy coconut peanut sauce. I love the coconut milk and peanut butter combination, but it's the lime, soy, garlic, brown sugar, ginger and red pepper flakes that make the sauce amazing.

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
15 wood skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes
1 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lime sliced into eighth's

Preparation:

Combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger, garlic, soy and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Mix well and remove 1/4 of the sauce to a small serving bowl, cover in plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator.

 

Take the chicken breast's and slice into long strips. Place the sliced chicken breast into a large Ziploc bag. Add 3/4's of the spicy coconut peanut sauce to the chicken and let marinate for an hour.

 

After an hour take the chicken strips and place onto the wood skewers and place on a spray oiled broiler pan. Broil the chicken skewers for about 5 minutes. No need to turn the skewers.

 

To serve, use a small bowl as a mold for the rice and add to the plate. Place a couple lime wedges on the plate. Place 3 - 4 chicken skewers on the plate and top with the reserved spicy coconut peanut sauce, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions.

Caprese Pasta

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. The classic Caprese salad ingredients rolled into a pasta dish. The key to this dish is to cook the tomatoes to where they're just start breaking down creating a sauce and heating the mozzarella where it's really soft, but not melted.  

Ingredients:
1 pound Barilla spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 - 4 very rough chopped garlic
2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
2 cups fresh mini mozzarella balls sliced in half
1 cup chopped basil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Take a large stock pot and fill with water. Add 2 tablespoons salt and bring to boil. Cook the spaghetti according to directions, which is usually 9 - 10 minutes to al dente, which is firm to the bite. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water. 

 

Take your 12" sauté pan and heat to medium. Add the olive oil and garlic. Toss until the garlic has softened. Add the tomatoes and cook a few minutes until the tomatoes just start to wilt and break down.

 

Add the spaghetti to the sauté pan and toss. Add the basil reserving enough for garnish. Add the mozzarella and toss for a minute or two until the mozzarella softens. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water toss. Check for proper salt and pepper and you're done.

 

To serve, place a portion of spaghetti on a serving plate. Top the pasta with the reserved chopped basil, drizzle of olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper.