Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Fruit Dip

This recipe is inspired by the one here.  

1/2 small jar of marshmallow creme
1 container lemon yogurt
1 container strawberry cream cheese

Blend!  Serve with fruit (e.g. apples).  If you are using a softer fruit, don't add as much cream cheese or marshmallow creme.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Poultry Spice Rub

1/2 lb salt
2oz chili powder
2oz garlic powder
2oz crushed red pepper
2oz black pepper
2oz MSG (Sold under the label "Accent")-- omit if desired
1oz sage

Use as a dry rub on poultry or pork roast.  

This should last you like 3 years, so you may want to reduce the amount you make...


Declaration

I hereby declare today the first day I have attempted to cook a whole animal.  In my case, a very small Cornish Hen.  She was beautiful.  I made her in my countertop rotisserie oven, which I love.  I did, however, undercook her because I did not realize where her thigh was and determined her temperature at her calf (drumstick).  She is now in the oven getting fully cooked and her carcass is in a pot (hopefully) making stock for use with the dressing at Thanksgiving.  I will have to post the recipe of the rub I used on my chicken soon, but wanted to document this momentous occasion.  

P.S.  Her hip joint is (was) super cool looking!
P.P.S.  You may be suprised that I have not previously done the frugal thing of cooking a whole animal, but seriously... chicken breasts were 90cents per pound last week...

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Chicken Salad

This is inspired by Arby's Chicken Salad.

Use the following ratios (I don't measure):
2 parts - Chicken (I prefer not to used canned), cut into small pieces
2 parts - Apples, cut into small pieces
2 parts - Grapes, halved
1 part - Craisins
1 part - Pecans, chopped

Coat with equal parts plain yogurt & mayo (or miracle whip).

Season with Curry Powder to taste (don't skip!).

Serve with lettuce in wraps....

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Cream Cheese Chicken (variation)

So, I was inspired by Holly's Cream Cheese Chicken. Here is exactly how I made it. It was too salty for my taste, but I'm not sure which ingredient was the culprit since I used homemade versions of some ingredients and it was my first time doing so.

Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken Breasts cut into small pieces (Italian Dressing Mix)
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 'can' Cream of Chicken Soup
2 Broccoli Crowns, cut into bite size pieces
4 oz. Sundried tomatoes in oil, drained
(I think I'd do the non-oil kind if I put tomatoes in again. They sure did give it a nice color!)

Directions:
Gently cook the chicken on the stovetop with Butter & Italian Dressing Mix. Add remaining ingredients and slowly simmer until broccoli is tender. Serve over rice.

Note: I'm exploring the Cream of Chicken Soup mix (see link above). I will definitely let you know if it works for all applications because it was EXTREMELY cost effective compared to buying it. I am mostly concerned about time & consistency. I think I should have used half the amt of water to make it more 'condensed'. I forgot that the recipe's end result was supposed to be the actual soup and not the 'condensed' version.

Note:  I made this again recently in the crock pot as suggested by Holly & it worked even better than sauteeing.  However, I think 1 block of cream cheese is too much unless you have at least 4 breasts.  Adding broccoli when you add the cream cheese works out great, you just have to leave the lid on!!

Scrambled Eggs

Okay, so it's not a new recipe, but rather a new way to make scrambled eggs that makes for easier cleanup.  

Get some sort of bowl (I like my corningware or stoneware) and spray a splash of PAM.
Crack eggs in bowl (add desired extras, like bacon!) and whip.
Microwave for 20 seconds and stir.  Repeat until cooked.

YAY!

If you just use one egg & you only stir like once, you can end up with a good "egg round" for putting on a bagel....