Sunday, March 30, 2008

Eggs!

Someone threw an easter egg at me. I ate it. Then sent one to someone else. The silly was strong in me.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Eat For A Week, Episode 11: Cumin Chicken Casserole

My secret ingredients were a box of garlic bagel chips, a can of fancy cut wax beans, and organic extra virgin olive oil. My bill for this one was about $11. I had to buy a can of corn, some half & half, noodles, and cheese. Talk about awesome.

TOOLS:

large pot
sauce pan
skillet
casserole dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb chicken tenders, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 can fancy cut wax beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
8 oz frozen peas & carrots
1 pint half & half
2 1/2 to 3 cups of chicken stock
3 Tbsp butter
cumin
garlic salt
onion salt
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb egg noodles
2 heaping Tbsps flour
1 box garlic bagel chips, crushed
1/2 lb swiss cheese, sliced

HOW TO:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Fill the large pot with well salted water and put over high heat to boil. When boiling, add egg noodles and cook according to directions on packaging. If noodles get done before everything else, just drain them into a large bowl and coat lightly with olive oil to keep them from sticking together. Covering the bowl with some foil can help them retain some heat.

Coat chicken pieces with 2 Tbsps cumin, salt, pepper, and dashes of garlic salt & onion salt. In skillet, heat about 2-3 Tbsp olive oil. When hot, add onion and garlic. Cook until lightly browned. Add the chicken and cook until done. (If you're not sure whether it's done, just cut open a piece with a knife. Still pink? Keep going.) Set aside while you work on the sauce.

Heat butter in the sauce pan over low to medium-low heat. When melted, add flour and mix well. Allow to cook until a golden color develops. Add chicken stock and mix until all lumps are gone. Add 1 tsp cumin and the half & half, allow to simmer until reduced by 1/4 to 1/3 in volume, stirring frequently. (You'll want to keep an eye on this... Once the dairy is added it can really foam up.) When reduced, add frozen peas & carrots and stir to warm them up.

In a large bowl, mix noodles, sauce, chicken/onion/garlic mixture, corn & beans until everything is evenly coated. Transfer to casserole dish. Top with swiss cheese and crushed bagel chips. Cover with foil and bake in 375° oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.


Music for this episode was "Everything Is A Toy" from The Hybiscus Journals' new record, "Playtime". If you like, you can visit http://www.myspace.com/thehybiscusjournals to purchase it. Also, visit http://www.archive.org/details/hybiscusqcon08 to download their other new record "Music For QuackerCon" free of charge.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Mystery Ingredient Reveal 3

garlic bagel chips, fancy cut wax beans, and organic extra virgin olive oil.