Coconut Rice Pudding

Most of my life, I have pretty much hated coconut. However, it isn't the flavor I don't like, but rather the texture. The coconut milk has a light flavor and in this dish, the flavor is super subtle. Also, the coconut texture is not there. It is worth going out and getting; plus, this recipe is much easier than classic rice pudding with milk and eggs. I actually really enjoy cooking with coconut milk, which is a thick liquid made from pureeing the tender coconut closest to the shell with the coconut water from the middle. Many people think it is just the juice from the inside of the coconut, but that isn't correct.  Even though I find this pretty easily at the grocery store, I usually swing by the Asian food store to pick this up. It is always less expensive there.
This is a great dish to make for someone who has other food allergies since this dairy and egg free as well.

Serves 4 to 6
Prep time: none really!
Cook time: 30 minutes
Cost: $ 2.00 or $0.33 to $0.50 per serving


1 cup of uncooked rice
2 cups of water
1 can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda - equally as good here!)
Handful of cranberries, dates or raisins
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt
dash of cardamom (optional)

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add rice and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. (You know, make rice...)
While the rice is still steamy hot, add the coconut milk and butter. Stir on low for 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Cook for 5-7 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
This is best after it has sat for a few minutes, so I usually make it while I am making dinner so it can sit while we eat. So easy, so good!

Moroccan Chicken with rice

While I was living in Houston, I found this amazing Moroccan restaurant called Saffron. I went there several times and fell in love with this one chicken dish they had. After moving to Alabama, I realized there is nary a Moroccan dish to be found, so I had to make it my self. I did a little research on flavors and spices in Moroccan cuisine and after some trial and error, have come up with this one. I have to admit that I am seriously proud of it!  I made it this evening for the first time in months. Even though the taste is exotic and tingling on your taste buds, all of the ingredients are things that most people have in the house most of the time.   
I buy whole chickens and cut them up for this. It is tremendously less expensive and everyone can get what they like (I like dark meat, but my husband loves white meat, for instance). 


Makes 8 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes (or more if you need to cut up a chicken)
Cook time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cost: about $5.00 or $0.63 per serving

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

handful of dried cranberries

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 apple (I use gala since they cook down so nicely), cored, peeled and diced

1 can of LeSur Baby Peas, NOT drained

1 1/2 cups white rice

1 cup broth (I used beef because I had some open and it added a great flavor, very round)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of cardamon

2 tablespoons of honey

salt and pepper

1 whole chicken, cut up

Preheat oven to 375. Dissolve honey into the broth. Mix everything (except chicken) together. Lay chicken on top of rice mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake covered for 1 hour. Uncover and cook another 20 minutes.

The spices are pretty heavy in this dish, which is the way I like it. However, for a dish with a little less kick in the mouth, reduce the amount of spices by about 1/3 or increase the amount of rice and liquid. 

Chicken with bell peppers and rice, or "Yummy" Chicken

In search for a quick and easy dinner, I threw this together one night after having something similar at my sister's house. Bell peppers have been my favorite food since I was child, so I knew I would like it. Chicken with bell peppers and rice became an instant hit. My husband is not much of bell pepper fan, but he loves this dish. It is very easy to modify as well. For instance, I add BBQ sauce on top before I eat it just about every time. A splash of soy sauce (La Choy Lite is GF!) gives this an Asian flare. Add a touch of salsa for some yummy Tex Mex. But, it is wonderful plain like this, too!
I made this for a dear friend of mine who dubbed it "Yummy Chicken." She has dinner with us often; yummy chicken has become a staple in our meals together.
No ever thought something so simple could become a family favorite.

Makes about 6 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: about $6 or $1 a serving


3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 bell peppers (I like to use 1 yellow, 1 orange and 1 red), roughly cut
1 medium onion, roughly cut
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Tony's or salt and pepper
Rice

Over medium heat, brown the chicken. Add peppers, onion and garlic. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until peppers are cooked through and chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice.

Jambalaya and Spanish sheet cake with cinnamon mocha icing

In the spirit of the holiday season, my Sunday school class is getting together this evening for a night of frivolity and gluttony. Since we are Methodist, it is, of course, a pot luck. So, I am bringing the two dishes that people request the most with us this evening: good ole' Cajun jambalaya to honor our Louisiana background and Spanish sheet cake with cinnamon mocha icing. Both are the ultimate in comfort food for anyone!

Jambalaya
The jambalaya is a dish I make often in our house. It is my husband's favorite dish I make. Plus, even though it is a dish that takes some time to prepare correctly, each step is easy and allows you to do the prep work for the next time while things are simmering.
This is a modification of an amazing recipe found in The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John Folse. His uses more oil, bacon drippings, different sausage and less parsley. This recipe makes about 8 servings.

Prep time: about 30 minutes total, spread out
Cook time: 2 hours
Cost: approximately $1 a serving

3 chicken breasts with bones
olive oil
1 package turkey sausage
1 bell pepper
3 stalks celery
1 medium onion
6 cloves garlic
1/2 package of button mushrooms
2/3 a bunch of parsley
4 bunches of green onion
4 cups of water (or broth if you don't want to make your own)
2 1/2 cups of rice
Tony's (or salt, pepper and cayenne if you don't have it)

Start by taking as much meat off the bone as possible and cutting the chicken into bite sized bits. In a smaller pan, place chicken bones and water on to boil. Cover and allow to simmer until you need the broth. In a large pan, such as a dutch oven or extra large saute', lightly coat the bottom with olive oil. Brown chicken in the pan until it is reddish brown. This takes about 30 minutes and is what gives it the color and taste that is jambalaya, so don't skip it. In that time, slice the sausage and set aside. The veggies need to be divided into two groups after they are chopped: the onion, celery, garlic and bell peppers in one group and the mushroom, green onion and parsley in another.

When the chicken is browned, add the sausage and saute for about three minutes. Add the first group of veggies, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to caramelize for about five to ten minutes. Make sure all that brown goodness has lifted from the bottom on the pan. While the veggies are cooking, drain the broth into a measuring cup. Make sure you have four full cups, so you will most likely have to add a little water to it. Add the broth. Allow to simmer for a few minutes. Season to taste. I usually over season it since I am adding rice. Add the second group of veggies and rice. Reduce to low and stir every fifteen minutes until rice is cooked (usually takes 45 minutes).

Spanish sheet cake with cinnamon mocha icing 
This is a recipe that I adapted from one my mother has made my entire life. However, I am a little bit of a cheat because I am not making the icing from scratch like she always did. Everyone thinks this a "from scratch" cake because it really tastes like it. Really, it is just a cake mix that I modify.
This is one of the very few items that I buy that is specifically gluten free. I have been able to find the cake mix in every grocery store, though. Also, the mix is much cheaper than any of the others I have seen AND is the best tasting one. Makes ten servings.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 43 minutes
Cost: about $4.50 or $0.45 a serving

1 box Betty Crocker Gluten free chocolate cake mix
1 cup of left over coffee
1 tablespoon instant coffee (optional)
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 stick butter, softened
3 eggs
1 container chocolate frosting
cinnamon, 3 teaspoons, divided

Preheat the oven to 350.
Mix cake mix, coffee, butter, eggs, 1/2 the bag of chocolate chips, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon together. Blend well. In a 8x13 sheet cake pan, bake for 43 minutes.
Melt the remaining chocolate chips (microwave for 30 seconds, stir, repeat until blended smooth). Remove all the foil from the frosting container and microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Fold the warm icing and melted chocolate together with the remaining cinnamon and instant coffee.
Pour the icing over the cake while it is still hot from the oven. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Southern Style Chicken and Rice

Oh man! Who doesn't love a good homemade chicken and rice dish? This is a wonderful basic chicken stock recipe with rice added in to make it a meal. It is thick, hearty and dirt cheap to make. And let me just add, it is so good!
I made this last night for dinner because it was cold and cloudy outside - the perfect weather for this dish. When my husband came home from work, his eyes lit up as he inhaled the aromas. Not only is the dish awesome and easy, it also makes the entire house smell good for the night. Even though there are only three of us in the house, one of which is still too young for solid food, I make 8 to 10 servings at a time. It is less expensive, we can have it two nights in a row, and it freezes well.

Prep time: 15 minutes to start, 20 minutes in the middle.
Cook time: 2 hours, but you can walk away from it for most of the cooking time.
Cost: $0.70 to $0.90 per serving

1 whole frying chicken (I use the fryer because it is a little smaller and usually less per pound)
3 to 4 carrots, chopped
1 turnip, chopped (yeah, I know. But, it is a great flavor to add to most southern style chicken dishes. It is still pretty darn good without it in there.)
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups of water
salt and pepper
2 cups of rice
parsley (optional)

In a large stock pot, place the whole chicken (don't forget to remove the innards) with the carrots, turnip, celery, onion and garlic around it. Add enough water to cover the chicken, which is usually about 5 cups. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a low simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender enough to fall from the bones. Remove from the heat.
Remove the chicken and allow it cool until you can handle it. If it is cold outside, I put in a big bowl, cover it with a splatter screen so the heat can still get out but nothing can get in, and leave it outside on a table.  While the chicken is cooling, I start skimming some of the fat off the top of the broth. Then, debone the chicken. By the time the chicken is off the bone, you can get most of the fat from the broth. I do leave some, but not too much. Break the chicken up with you hands to bit sized bits and drop it back in the pot. Some people strain the broth and chop the veggies up smaller, but I am admittedly lazy and don't do that. Add salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that you are adding rice to it. Bring to a boil and add the rice. Reduce to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. It should be only slightly soupy when it is finished.
Oh man... this is making me hungry again. Good thing I still have this in my fridge.

Happy Eating!