27Mar / 2015

Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole

When I saw this recipe on a blog, I knew I had to make it. I was really craving some good mexican type rice dish and this fit the bill! The ingredients were simple and the pictures looked amazing, I deviated from the recipe a bit because mainly because of the price of chicken breast. Don Quijote only had organic chicken breast and it cost an arm and a leg! So much for being supportive of the organic movement huh? Well, I did buy the chicken – my recipe just had much less chicken and much more rice. I had to budget my budget (points to those who get that joke).

YUM!

Shredded Chicken in Enchilada Sauce

Basmati Rice! I bought it special just for this recipe. It was worth it!

Corn and Cheese sprinkled on top and ready to bake!

Yes, it was good.

Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS

3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded (I used 2)
2 cups dry Basmati rice (I used 3)
2 cans (10 oz each) Enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso)
1 can (16 oz) refried beans (I used Old El Paso)
1 cup white cheddar, shredded
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 can (11 oz) corn kernel
cilantro for garnish (didn’t have, didn’t use)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the rice. I cooked it with 4 cups of water and ¼ cup of butter.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
Mix the 2 cheeses together.
In a large bowl mix the shredded chicken with the enchilada sauce, refried beans and half of the cheese. Add rice, season with salt and pepper if needed, and mix well. Pour rice mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with corn then with remainder of cheese.
Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese melts and is bubbly.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm.

Jenny’s notes:
1) I cooked the rice in a rice cooker and threw the butter in with it.
2) I used 3 cups instead of 2 cups or rice which definitely made the dish more ricey, not as saucy. I’m fine with that but I think people prefer it saucier.

Recipe from jo cooks.

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02Jan / 2015

Recipe: Madeleines

Ask and you shall receive. Oh wait, you didn’t ask…but here it is anyway! Aren’t surprise gifts the best? My friend has an affinity for Madeleines so I decided to make him some homemade madeleines with his christmas gift this year! It was my first time making them and they require a special pan but it’s worth it! Homemade gifts are the best right? I have to be honest, I’m not a fan of madeleines. Actually, Kristian is the only person I personally know that likes madeleines…lol. I did taste one and thought it was okay? I did get some honest feedback from Kristian and I think I need to reduce the lemon zest and somehow make the madeleines a bit more airy. Not sure how yet…but I will share the recipe I used!

Packed and ready to go!

Eggs and Sugar

Sifted flour – it didn’t ask for sifting but I just do it for all recipes

The madeleine pan!

Gosh, spooning them into the pan was the hardest part. As you can see…I wasn’t super consistent. You shouldn’t fill the shells all the way since it does rise..I think the bottom left corner would probably be the best amount to put in.

Fresh out of the oven, cooling on the rack.

I found these cute boxes at Islands Marketing! Have you ever been to this place before? It’s located in Kalihi and they sell the cutest packaging! Hidden gem they are. Unfortunately they are only open during weekdays so I can’t really get out to them unless I have a special day off.

Classic French Madeleines
Recipe from: Madeleines: Elegant French Tea Cakes to Bake and Share by Barbara Feldman Morse

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus 2 tbsp. melted for pans (optional)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat two 12-shell pans with baking spray or brush with melted butter.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Place 8 tbsp. butter in another bowl and microwave on low power for 1 minute or until melted. Cool. In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, beat together eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla and zest and beat for another minute. Fold in flour mixture until just blended, then drizzle cooled butter over the batter and incorporate completely.

3. Pour into shell molds until almost full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until madeleines puff up and are golden brown. Let cool on wire rack for 2 to 3 minutes. Then remove madeleines from pans and cool completely on rack.

Makes: 24
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 to 12 minutes

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03Dec / 2014

Recipe: Baked Chicken Tenders

This past thanksgiving, I made chicken tenders. I didn’t go anywhere near turkey! I decided that I should make something the boys would eat, and boy did they enjoy it. I found a recipe that called for chicken breast and it’s baked in the oven. Super healthy! I’ll share some pictures of the process, the recipe with my notes and of course the original recipe source! Here goes!

Finished product, looks pretty good ah?

Such a easy recipe. First step? Marinate the sliced chicken in buttermilk for 2 hours or overnight (I went for overnight).

When you’re ready to go, you just have to combine the rice crispies, salt, white pepper and paprika together. My first batch was a bit poor, I thought I was supposed to keep the rice crispies more whole. I learned that I had to crush them much more to get a proper breading of the chicken.

I bought wire racks for this recipe, what a great investment. I’ll be able to use this a lot more in the future I’m sure!

Can you tell my first batch to my second? lol, I put way too much paprika in the first batch. The paprika is really more for color, not at all spicy.

Make sure you spray the wire rack with cooking spray to keep the chicken from sticking. You have to cook the chicken for 11 minutes on each side. When you turn it, just spray the chicken with a bit more cooking spray. The cooking spray will help it crisp up.

Another picture of the finished product! So good and so easy to make…I would definitely recommend this!

The honey sriracha honey mustard sauce – not my thing. I’m not a fan of the strong dijon mustard taste, if you like dijon mustard – you will love it.

Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders with Sriracha Honey Mustard

Recipe Credit: Domesticate Me

Yield: about 10 chicken tenders

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenders/tenderloins
1 cup fat-free buttermilk (I used low fat)
3 cups crispy brown rice cereal (I couldn’t find crispy brown rice cereal so I just used regular Rice Krispies)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used the Costco salt grinder – cranked it about 8-10 times)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I put in about 2-3 dashes)
Cooking spray

For the Sriracha Honey Mustard:

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1½ teaspoons Sriracha (I used a whole tablespoon because I love spicy food!)

Instructions

Place the chicken tenders in a shallow baking dish. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken tenders and make sure that they are well coated in the liquid. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Feel free to let them marinate overnight if you’re a planner!)
Once your tenders have marinated, remove them from the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a wire rack with cooking spray, place it on top of a baking sheet and set aside. (Note: Depending on the size of your rack, you may need to use two, or bake the chicken tenders in batches.)
Pour the crispy rice cereal into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Use your hands to lightly crush the cereal. You don’t want to pulverize the rice, but you do want to break it up into smaller pieces so that it will stick to the chicken more easily. Add the paprika, salt and white pepper to the cereal and mix to combine.
Now it’s time to coat your chicken fingers. I like to form an assembly line by placing the chicken tenders/buttermilk dish next to the crispy rice mixture, followed by the prepared wire rack.
Remove the tenderloins from the buttermilk one at a time, shaking lightly to remove any excess liquid. Place each tender in the crispy rice mixture and use your hands to press the cereal onto the chicken. You want each tender to be thoroughly coated, people.
Place the coated tenders on a wire rack and mist with cooking spray. (I like to use an olive oil spray, but any old spray will work.)
Transfer the chicken tenders to the oven and bake for 11 minutes. Carefully remove the tray from the oven, flip the chicken fingers over and mist again with cooking spray. Return them to the oven and bake for another 11 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the tenders are golden brown.
While your chicken fingers are cooking, prepare your fancy dipping sauce. Place all the ingredient for the Sriracha Honey Mustard in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Serve your crispy chicken tenders hot alongside Sriracha Honey Mustard.

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27Nov / 2014

Happy Thanksgiving Guacamole!

Not much of a title. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Eat your fill today. This is a post on a quick guacamole I whipped up recently. Homemade fresh salsa is so insanely delicious and easy to make that I wonder why more people don’t make it. Don’t buy that jar stuff! Make your own! It takes a bit of chopping but the end result is so worth it. How do I make my guacamole? It’s basically my salsa recipe with avocado mixed in – that’s really what guacamole is right??

I’ll share some pictures of the guacamole shaping up…and the recipe will follow.

HUGE avocado means plenty guacamole.

Here are most of the ingredients chopped and ready to go. If I had the resources, I would have flash rinsed the onion and garlic with boiling water. It helps to cut down the strong flavors that might overpower the salsa/guacamole.

Perfect avocado…

Ah yes…ready for all the tortilla chips…

Salsa/Guacamole** Recipe

3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 maui onion, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves picked and chopped (don’t use too much of the stalks)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1-2 limes, juiced (according to your taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1 large avocado, diced (if you’re making guacamole)**

After dicing onion and garlic, place in a hand-held mesh strainer and pour boiling hot water over it. Combine all ingredients together and add salt and pepper to your taste.

**Guacamole, add avocado and mash in with the rest of the ingredients (with your hands of course!) and then you have guacamole!

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06Jul / 2014

Recipe: Strawberry Poke Cake with Lemon Whipped Topping

Long name for a recipe huh? I didn’t want to call it a lemon frosting because I feel like frosting makes it sound so sweet when it was my goal to make a not so sweet topping. So here is what I came up with! It was my brother’s birthday and I wanted to make him a cake – it was a success! His brothers enjoyed the cake more than him but eh…as long as it was being eaten, it’s fine! Let me share some pictures and the recipe!

I was running out of icing to write the words so excuse the messy handwriting. Admire the fresh fruit. 🙂

My recipe makes a lot of whipped topping! So I think you could make a layered cake but it’s hard to do that with this cake…since there’s jello in it. I guess you could do it after the jello sets!

Strawberry Poke Cake with Lemon Whipped Topping

Cake:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix (I used this one)

1 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

Lemon Whipped Topping:

1 tub (12 oz) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed

3 lemons worth of squeezed juice

2/3 can of condensed milk (7 oz. can)

Decorations:

1 6 oz. container of blueberries

1 16 oz. container of strawberries

Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 13×9-inch pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

Add boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; pour over cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Gently combine lemon whipped topping ingredients in a bowl and frost cake in the pan. Decorate cake with sliced strawberries and blueberries as desired. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Notes:
– The frosting has the perfect amount of lemon juice, the condensed milk adds a sweet touch. I really like the frosting because it complements the cake, doesn’t overpower it.
– The fruits should definitely be used, makes a big difference in the taste of the cake! Delicious.
– Strawberry Poke Cake recipe courtesy of Kraft Recipes, frosting by me! 🙂

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13Jun / 2014

Happy Friday the 13th!

Wowowow it’s been busy!! Wednesday was a day off for me but I spent the morning running errands…then the afternoon being all pissy. Well for part of it anyway. 🙂 I also cooked some awesome spaghetti for the boys and they loved it. I saw the technique on a blog a few weeks ago and decided to make it…what a great idea! Here is a picture of the before and after!

I used the Redondo’s red hot dogs and skewered them with angel hair pasta. I cooked it for about 6-7 minutes (really fast since the angel hair is so thin!), drained em…emptied a can of chili (beanless of course!) and threw the pasta back in and mixed it up a bit. I also added some mozzarella cheese which went great with it. As we were eating, I thought it was a bit dry so I added a small bit of ketchup. Boy did that help! The boys LOVED it. There’s not a lot of dishes that tempt kids to clean their plates but this is definitely one of them! Have a great Friday the 13th everyone! I wish you all the luck. 🙂

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07Jun / 2014

Recipe: Zucchini Squares

Thanks renee for requesting this recipe! Even though I mentioned how much I loved these, I didn’t even ask for the recipe myself! So now we both have the recipe! Thanks to my co-worker Arleen for sharing it!

Zucchini Squares

3 c. unpeeled zucchini, sliced thin

salt

1/2 c oil

1/2 c. onion, diced

1 c. biscuit mix

4 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

1 small love garlic, chopped

1/2 c.parmesan cheese

2c. parsley, chopped

Salt zucchini. Drain in colander 10-15 min. Mix all ingredients together. Place in greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 mins. or until lightly browned. Cut into squares.

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02May / 2014

Recipe: Cantonese Tomato Soup

Hi folks! Sorry for the lag in entries this week, it’s been pretty hectic! I thought things would slow down at work by now but it’s still busy. 🙁 There were a few requests for the tomato soup I shared in my other post so I decided to share out the recipe today. Not sure how authentic or common this dish is, it’s just something I grew up eating. Call me crazy but in this preparation, although it’s meatless – I feel like the soup has a real savory flavor to it…I just love it. I’ll share the same pictures to show you what it looks like.

Finished product on a bed of rice with a cameo from my teri tofu burger

Brown Sugar Blocks

Cantonese Tomato Soup

6 medium sized tomatoes, sliced (it can half moon slices, they will cook down – picture of them above was prepared for the soup)
1.5 brown sugar blocks
1 – 2 eggs, depending on your taste
3 – 4 cups of water, depending on your desired soup watery versus thick level

Pinch of salt
1.5 T of cooking oil

In a soup pot, heat up the oil over medium high heat. Throw in the brown sugar blocks and melt them down to an almost caramel sauce (this step can be dangerous as the sugar reacts with the oil – be careful!). Generally, the pan goes so nuts that I just let it pop for about 30 seconds before I just dump in all the tomatoes. Stir the mixture, cover and let it come to a boil. Add your desired amount of water, the water really depends on you. The tomatoes will definitely let out some liquid so I usually put in about 3 cups of water.

Let the mixture come to a boil and simmer it on medium for about 10-15 minutes (there’s really no overcooking this dish guys). Crack your eggs in right at the end and stir, make sure you break the yolk (we’re looking for the egg drop soup look). Right before you take it off the heat, taste the soup and add seasoning to your liking (i.e. more sugar if you like it sweeter). This sounds weird but I like to also add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness but generally I keep this soup more sweet than salty. Serve it over rice and enjoy!

Notes:
– I definitely like to have it over rice but with side dishes like any traditional Chinese meal.
– If you’re not a big fan of the tomato peel, feel free to slash a shallow X on all the tomatoes and throw them into boiling water for a few seconds, drain and ice them to help speed up the peeling process before slicing and putting them into this dish. The tomatoes definitely cook down in the soup and the skin kind of curls up and stays in the soup. I don’t mind either eating them or just taking them out. That’s how it was growing up. 🙂

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27Apr / 2014

Recipe: Teri Tofu Burgers

About a year ago, we had a pot-luck at work and my coworker made some amazing burgers. She told us they were called teri tofu burgers and I was amazed that they were tofu – okay, I was wrong. It’s actually meat mixed with tofu – but I guess it is healthier since you’re using less meat! Back me up here. 🙂 Anyhow, I finally got to make it the other week and they came out great! I love these burgers because they are so flavorful and moist, you can’t tell there is tofu in here. I’ll include the recipe and some tips after the pictures.

Ahh…wish I had some to eat right now!

Didn’t have too much preparation pictures. The recipe called for firm tofu, I used soft tofu and it worked great for me.

Here is the mixture right before forming and cooking. I think if you use soft tofu like me, you have to chill it before forming the patties. I cooked the patties about 4 at a time so I was able to chill, form and cook in intervals.

The tomatoes are not part of this recipe. Hehe, I made a traditional tomato soup to go with my rice and burger patties.

You folks ever use these? I don’t even know the English name of it, it’s like brown sugar blocks my family has always used to make this tomato soup.

Finished product. Rice, Chinese tomato soup (if anyone wants the recipe, feel free to comment and I will post it!) and the awesome tofu teri burger.

Teri Tofu Burgers

1 lb hamburger
1 blk tofu, drained well (I used soft tofu – firm tofu might make it less soft, depends on your taste)

1/4 C onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece ginger grated (1-2 tsp.)
1/4 C shoyu
2 T sugar
1T sesame seed (optional) – I didn’t use this
Dash of sesame oil

Cooking Oil

Heat up your frying pan and add about 1 T of oil each time you fry up some patties. The patties get pretty good color to them because of the shoyu and ground beef – I fry them up on medium high heat for about 2 minutes each side. Serve them up over rice, onolicious!

Notes:
– If using soft tofu – you may want to chill the mixture before forming patties. The soft tofu and ground beef makes for a very soft mixture and it’s hard to form patties if they are not cold.
– I used a weight on the tofu to try to drain as much water as I could from the tofu for a few hours in the fridge.

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20Apr / 2014

Garlic Noodles with Chicken Breast

This is going to be another bean thread vermicelli recipe post! This time I wasn’t that great at taking pictures of the steps but took a final picture…lol. It’s okay, I’ll post the recipe below after the pictures anyway!

Yes, another bulb of garlic. You really shouldn’t be surprised by now.

This time, I actually poached the garlic with my chicken breast. Once the chicken breast was done, I mashed up the now soft garlic in a bowl and added some salt and sesame oil.

Okay this picture might not look it, but this chicken breast is TENDER and MOIST. I used a method I watched on a youtube video, I’ll share the link below. He boils the water, then switches off the heat and throws the breast in and covers it with the lid. You let it sit for about 20 minutes and voila, they are done. Some may be worried it won’t cook through, but mine always does. As long as you don’t have to keep reheating this dish, the chicken breast will be so tender.

I gotta rewind! I mixed the chicken breast in the garlic mash and then threw it into my stir fry to incorporate. Then I added the rehydrated noodles to coat and voila!

Yummy noodles. This dish is actually pretty healthy for you! I added some chili sauce to kick it up a notch, that is option of course.

Garlic Noodles with Chicken Breast

1 package of Bean Thread Vermicelli (here is the one I buy – click here), rehydrated according to package directions. After I rehydrate the noodles, I get a pair of kitchen scissors and roughly cut through the noodles. If you don’t do this, the noodles will be LONG
1 bulb of garlic, peeled
1 bunch of garlic chives, sliced into 1 inch strips
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 t salt
1 T sesame oil

2 T of corn/canola/vegetable oil
2-3 T of oyster sauce
Hot Sauce to taste (optional of course and added when you eat!)

Set up a big pot of water ready to boil; about 8 cups of water. Throw in the peeled garlic and turn the heat on high. When the water comes to a boil; throw the chicken breasts in whole, put on the lid and turn off the heat. Let the chicken breast poach in the liquid for at least 18-20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken. Take the chicken breasts out to cool, shred by hand when chicken is cool enough to handle.

Remove the garlic from the water and mash it in a bowl with the salt and garlic. Once the mixture has been properly mixed, add the chicken breast strips and mix. Reserve at least 1/2 – 3/4 cup of the chicken broth for later.

Heat up oil in a wok/deep skillet. Add the cabbage and stir fry until a bit browned and a bit tender, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic chives and stir fry for another minute. Add the chicken mixture in and mix it all together. Add the noodles in and incorporate it all together. Add the oyster sauce and the reserved chicken broth if the noodles are too dry for your liking. Taste the noodles and add more oyster sauce to your liking. I find that this dish is mild in taste but in a good way. To me it’s not bland because of the flavors but it’s definitely not in your face (even if there is a bulb of garlic…hehe).

Chicken Breast Cooking Inspiration: runnyrunny999 – Cold Pasta with Sesame Dressing (skip to 2:20 if you only want to see chicken breast method)

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maybeitsjenny

Category Archives: Recipe

Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole

Recipe: Madeleines

Recipe: Baked Chicken Tenders

Happy Thanksgiving Guacamole!

Recipe: Strawberry Poke Cake with Lemon Whipped Topping

Happy Friday the 13th!

Recipe: Zucchini Squares

Recipe: Cantonese Tomato Soup

Recipe: Teri Tofu Burgers

Garlic Noodles with Chicken Breast