Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This is a total comfort food. Not super healthy (not extremely bad either), but sooo yummy and even better in a bread-bowl. My mom and I came up with it after having some at einstien's years ago and not being able to find a recipe to match it. I hope the recipe makes sense, I just wrote it from my head.

4 chicken breast halves or equivalent amount of tenders

1 box Long Grain and Wild Rice mix (Near East Brand is best but Uncle Ben's is easier to find)

1 quart chicken stock or broth

1 quart evaporated milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1.5 Tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

salt and pepper

cook the chicken in a tiny bit of olive oil over medium heat with 1/2 of the poultry seasoning and some salt sprinkled on it. Cover while cooking to avoid drying out. At the same time cook the rice according to the directions on the box. In a large pot melt butter. Add carrots and celery and pepper to taste and saute for about 10 minutes until tender. Add flour, cornstarch and the rest of the poultry seasoning and whisk together quickly (it will clump together and stick to the veggies). Add stock and milk whisking quickly as you pour. Cook over medium-low heat stirring often, until chicken and rice are finished. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and add to soup. Stir in cooked rice and serve!

p.s. this could easily be converted to a food storage recipe by using oil instead of butter and canned chicken as well as dehydrated or canned veggies

Coconut Chicken Curry

Coconut Chicken Curry
Oh wow, I'm in coconut curry heaven! This meal was so good. I'm definitely going to put it in our regular rotation.

Chicken Curry
slightly adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (substitute cayenne pepper if you like the heat)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 red potatoes, cut into small chunks
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
Jasmine rice (cooked)
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

Heat oil, curry powder, and paprika in a large skillet over medium-low heat for two minutes, until fragrant (but don't let it burn). Turn the heat up to medium and stir in onions and garlic and cook ten minutes more or until onions are very clear. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through. Add potatoes, then add coconut milk, tomatoes (I lightly crushed the stewed tomatoes with my fingers before adding), tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes or until sauce thickens. The sauce thickens upon standing, but is great served piping hot (and a bit thinner), too. Serve with Jasmine rice (or your favorite rice) and garnish with cilantro, if desired. .

Oh, So Yummy Meatballs!

We were introduced to this meal when Kara Nelson brought us dinner one night; of course, it was delicious! She gave us her recipe and we make it regularly. These are very yummy!

1 egg, beaten

5 oz. evaporated milk

1 c. quick oats

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 or 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 c. ketchup

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

rice

Mix the egg, evaporated milk, quick oats, onion, salt, chili powder, pepper and beef together in a mixing bowl. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls. Bake in a 9 x 13 ungreased pan, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the ketchup, brown sugar, and garlic powder to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour over the meatballs after they have cooked for 20 minutes, and cook again in the oven for 12 minutes more. Serve over rice.

Sweet Sour Chicken

This was a new recipe that we tried last night. We really enjoyed it! (by the way, I totally stole the picture from the website I got the recipe)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes (I only used 2 for my family, and it was plenty)

6 T. flour seasoned with 1/2 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

1/8 c. cornstarch

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. vinegar

1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits (reserve juice)

1/2 c. pineapple juice (use reserved juice)

1/2 c. chicken broth

1 T. soy sauce

1 red bell pepper, sliced (we also used a green pepper)

1/4 c. onion, sliced

Coat chicken in flour and fry in olive oil until browned. Drain and set aside. In same skillet, combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, brown sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, chicken broth and soy sauce. Cook and stir until boiling. Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes (mine reduced much faster, so I added about 1/2 c. water to make it more saucy). Add chicken, peppers, onions, and pineapple. Cook until heated through. Serve over rice. Enjoy!