Grandma’s Cuban Chicken Bake

Grandma’s Cuban Chicken Bake

I don’t think my grandmother ever cooked anything quite like this, nor is it particularly Cuban. It is my attempt to improve on a Cuban Chicken recipe that a friend found. (Sort of like a novel I read long ago where the main character is shown a boat called a “New England Whaler” because, he is told, they are not made in New England and they are not used for whaling.)

However, since she and my grandfather raised chickens during the depression and, when I was growing up, she cooked practically everything in bacon grease, I rather hope she would enjoy it.

At least, her ghost hasn’t shown up to complain about it. ;)

 

Cuban Chicken Bake

2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thin for stir-fry

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 zucchini, sliced and quartered

1 yellow onion, sliced and quartered

1 T minced garlic

2 T olive oil

1 bay leaf

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp seasoned salt

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground ginger

1 cup rice

2 cups water

1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1.       Preheat oven to 350F.

2.       Slice chicken breasts thinly for stir-fry and set aside in a bowl. Slice onion and zucchini thinly, then cut into quarters. Place the vegetables in separate bowls and set aside.

3.       Fry the bacon pieces over medium heat (about 5-6 on most electric ranges) in cast iron skillet until brown and mostly cooked but not quite hard.

4.       Combine rice and water in 1.5 quart pot and heat till boiling. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the water is just about all absorbed and the rice is almost done. It will absorb moisture from the chicken with sauce in the oven, so don't overcook it.

5.       Raise heat in skillet to high and add chicken slices. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until no longer pink. Remove chicken slices and set aside.

6.       Remove skillet from burner, set it aside for later, and replace with a 2.5 quart pot. Heat olive oil in pot. Add onions, garlic and spices and sauté the onions until translucent and slightly limp, about 4-5 minutes. Add the zucchini and stir fry for about 2 minutes.

7.       Add the chicken and diced tomatoes (and use a little water to rinse the can) to the onions and zucchini. Stir the chicken and vegetables together and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil slowly about 10-15 minutes to reduce the liquid by about half, until the rice is ready.

8.      Remove the pot from the heat and replace it with the cast iron skillet.

9.     Heat the skillet briefly, then add the rice and bacon pieces into the bacon fat in the skillet and stir quickly together until the rice is mixed with the bacon and grease.

10.   Spray a 9 x 13” baking pan with cooking spray. Transfer the chicken-rice-vegetable mixture to the baking pan and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

 

Celebration...10 pounds Down and 20 To Go

It's Friday night. Classes at CNM are over, though I still have projects to complete and turn in and a final next week.

But, what I'm really celebrating is the first major milestone on my weight loss program for this summer! On May 29, I set my self a goal of losing 30 pounds this year. I weighed in this morning at 191, so I've actually lost 11 pounds. I've got a lot more to go, but it's a major sign of progress.

I attribute this success to several factors:

1. Renewed commitment to exercise, in particular walking regularly. I've been getting out in the morning for extended walks (3 miles or 5 on Sundays) and walk about a half mile to and from classes in the evenings. This lets me burn off about 1800 calories a week. It also has my blood pressure and resting pulse down (my doctor was very happy to see this) and I also have more energy in my walk. Even after a morning walk, I feel like bouncing up on my toes when I walk just because I'm lighter and have more energy.

2. Getting more serious about diet changes. I've noted a few of my diet recipes on this blog and will post more in the future. An example is this recipe from Corinne Trang's Asian Flavors Diabetes Cookbook.

Coconut Rice Noodles With Shrimp and Peas

I made a couple changes, doing a half recipe, substituting vegetable for the grapeseed oil which I didn't have, and making a paste with 1/2 Tbsp of hot curry powder and 1 Tbsp of water since I didn't have the Red Thai Curry Paste either. Also, I had to heat it back to a boil after adding the liquid and rice noodles and boil it for about 4 minutes to thicken the liquid and let the uncooked noodles absorb the liquid.

Despite the warning on the recipe, my version didn't taste very salty at all and my honey concurred. The only significant sources of sodium are 180 mg from the fish sauce and whatever is in the shrimp.

It also cooked up very quickly with little preparation. And, it tasted good!

In general, I've been trying to eat more non-starchy vegetables and salads, as well as seafood. And, a big factor is just limiting portion size. Eat until you're not hungry, don't keep going until you're sated!

3. Willpower and commitment. I really want this so I make my self resist certain urges, like the feeling in my tummy right now saying "I want something". It's not acute and a healthy measured snack like the 10 cherries I had tonight while working on the computer helps control snacking on calorie rich foods like the Oreo cookies sitting on the counter.

4. Limit portion size. You can eat the healthiest foods in the world, but if you eat too much of them, you'll still gain weight. The dose makes the weight gain. The restaurant industry in particular has gradually trained us to think we need a 1/4 or 1/3 pound hamburger when a 3 ounce patty is fine. Or, how about an 8 ounce sirloin or a 16 ounce T-bone? I try to aim for a 3 ounce serving of the main protein food, like salmon or chicken or beef, and add more vegetables to the plate. Having a boiled dressing cole slaw (which keeps for days in the refrigerator) readily available is a big help.

5. Enjoy the improvements! A year ago, I was squeezing into 38 inch pants. Now, I can wear 34's or size 14 and they actually have room for my fingers inside!!! My apple has gone down from 44 to 43 inches and will probably need some serious ab work to reach the low 30's, but I know I can do it.

6. Look forward to the reward. I've promised myself a Super-Heroine costume for Halloween and want to look the part!

7. Also, don't agonize over minor up and down weight changes as long as you can see steady overall progress.

So, take care of yourself. You deserve it!

Joni's Basic 1-2-3 Macaroni and Cheese

One of my Facebook friend's, Christiane Marshall, posted a message about a fundraiser to help Darla Brannan, a disabled working mom with two children, raise money to purchase a van with special modifications to help her get to work and other locations.


Darla Brannan Fund on Facebook

My father was tied to a wheelchair or scooter for the last several years after a hip injury from a fall. On my last few visits to Kansas, I helped him get out of the assisted living facility where he lived until his death last month.

It was a joy to take him out to visit friends and see places, but even those little trips were a lot of work.

I don't know Darla personally, but if she is able to work and raise two children with a severe handicap, she has my great respect and admiration.

I encourage people to support this fund.

Here is a recipe I contributed to the cause.

Joni’s Basic 1-2-3 Macaroni and Cheese

This is at least very similar to the recipe that I have been cooking since I started helping my mother make it when I was a kid. I have adjusted and refined the numbers a few times and often add something different (like diced green bell pepper or ham) for variety. But, these ingredients seem to work pretty well for us.

It uses 1 onion and 1 stick of butter, 2 cups of milk and 2 (8 oz) bags of grated cheese and 3 cups of dry macaroni. Hence, the 1-2-3.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

1 stick (1/4 lb) of butter

2 Tbsp of flour

1 tsp of garlic (diced or powder)

¼ tsp of salt

¼ - ½ tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of basil (mostly to add color, it adds a bit more flavor if you grind it between your palms before adding it)

2 cups of milk

2 eight ounce packages of grated cheese (I usually use mild or medium cheddar)

3 cups dry macaroni

3-4 quarts of water

Preparation:

Cut off the ends of the onion and peel it. Then, cut off thin slices and chop them into small pieces. Set them aside in a small bowl. If you like, slice and dice half a green bell pepper and set aside. Also, you can cut 1 or 2 cups of ham into small cubes or just chop up a few sandwich ham slices.

Put the water in a pot and heat to a boil.

Melt the butter in a large pot (I like to use a 4 quart Corning ware pot which has plenty of room and can go directly into the oven) over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes till it becomes soft and translucent.

Add the 2T of flour to the butter and stir vigorously into a smooth mixture. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, and basil. Stir and cook for a minute or so. You can add the bell pepper or ham now if you wish.

Add the 2 cups of milk to the onion-butter mixture and stir thoroughly so that there are no lumps of flour left.

If the water reaches a boil first, turn the temperature down and keep it hot until you have added the milk.

Now, turn the temperature back up on the water and add the macaroni. Stir it to make sure none sticks to the pot and boil it on medium-high heat for about 9-10 minutes. When it is done (al dente, tender but not mushy), remove it from the heat and drain it.

Meanwhile, heat the milk-onion-butter mixture over medium heat while stirring often till it just starts to boil. 

Add the grated cheese and stir thoroughly to melt the cheese. Continue to heat the cheese sauce until it thickens and boils.

Turn off the heat and stir in the drained macaroni.

Put the macaroni and cheese in a glass or Corning ware pot and bake in a 350⁰ oven for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Green Chile Chicken Soup for my Soul!

I had a day off from both work and school today, so I fixed this chicken chile recipe for lunch. Honey and I both really liked it!

Chicken and White Bean Chile from Karen Harris

I used green chile powder that I bought at a local farmer's market and only added 1 teaspoon of cumin instead of the 2 in the recipe. I chopped up an avocado for garnish but we added lots of the avocado.
It took about 2 1/2 hours to finish with cooking the chicken and a couple interruptions, but we have a lot left for those late nights when I get home from school hungry.

I was in a hurry, so I didn't quite get down to mince size when I chopped the onion and red bell pepper, but I like the color of the red pepper chunks in the soup.

It had a definite chile taste, but it didn't overwhelm the flavor of the chicken.

Indian Veggie Sauce for Spaghetti Squash

It's been a busy day for studying today. So, when I got hungry at lunch time, I wanted something relatively quick and easy to prepare.

Fortunately, my honey had baked a spaghetti squash so I chopped up some vegetables and added some garam masala spice that I had already mixed up and cooked them up with diced tomatoes to make this sauce.

Indian Veggie Sauce on Spaghetti Squash

Sorry about the picture quality. My camera hadn't recovered from shooting a picture of the sauce in the pot.

Here is the recipe I used for the garam masala:

 

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix the spices together and store in a sealed container.

Ingredients:

 

1 spaghetti squash                         

1 green bell pepper

½ red onion

3 oz sliced mushrooms

2 Tbsp olive oil

 1 Tbsp minced garlic

28 oz  can petite diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

2-3 tsp garam masala 

 Technique:

 

     1.       Slice the bell pepper into lengthwise strips, then cut each strip into 3-4 sections.

     2.       Chop the onion.

     3.       Heat the olive oil in a 2 ½ quart pot.

     4.       Add the garlic powder and spices and stir into the oil

     5.       Add the chopped red onion and cook until slightly limp, about 5-10 minutes.

     6.       Add the mushrooms and green pepper and cook for 3 more minutes.

     7.       Stir in the diced tomatoes and heat to boiling. Boil for about 5 minutes.

     8.       Stir in the tomato sauce, reduce heat to medium low, about 3-4 on the dial. Cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.

     9.       Scrape the spaghetti squash out of the skin and spoon onto a plate.

     10. Ladle the veggie sauce over the squash, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Notes:

          1)      I recommend mild seasoning for this so you can enjoy the taste of the vegetables.

          2)      This makes more sauce than you need for one spaghetti squash. I suggest trying the extra sauce with cheese ravioli or over whole grain pasta like spaghetti or linguine.

          3)     A 1 cup serving of spaghetti squash has only 1/4 the carbohydrates of a 2 oz serving of whole grain spaghetti. It is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.