Your Favorite Recipes (Only the cheap, simple and quick ones please)

In My Humble Opinion
41

Chicken like you’ve never had

(I made this for my friends–they took the leftovers home to their boyfriends, who then insisted they learn the recipe)

This is a totally “slop it together, it don’t really matter” recipe. I mostly made it up with stuff in the fridge, so feel free to change amounts, substitute, etc… Also, you begin this recipe the night before, and eat it the next day.
[ul]
[li]Go and buy a bag of frozen chicken breasts or breast tenders, (noticing a theme with that one?)[/li][li]Bottle of low-sodium soy sauce (I use Kikkoman–not the big one, for size comparisons)[/li][li]Bulb of garlic[/li][li]Thingy of ginger (they look like scary roots, you don’t need a lot, tho)[/li][li]Jar of orange marmalade[/li][li]Box of big Ziploc bags[/li][li]Olive oil[/li][li]Corn Starch[/li][/ul]
I’m gonna assume you have cooking pans and such.

Take apart the garlic and peel 3-4 cloves. For the cooking-impaired, you take a big butcher-type knife and lay it flat on the clove so the blade is parallel to the cutting board (very important). With your other hand, whack the knife right above the clove. Now, cut off the end of the clove where it connected to the rest of the bulb and peel off the husk.

Chop the cloves coarsely, in hunks about the size of peas. Throw in a pan with a little olive oil and cook on medium heat, stirring often. When they get just a little brown and flexible, not really brown and crispy, turn off the heat and set on a cool burner.

While you’re cooking the garlic, dump the bottle of soy sauce in a bowl. (This may take a while because of that bastard slit top. You may want to remove it) Throw in about three big spoonfuls of the marmalade. (Don’t use the little, coffee-stirring spoons, use the big, "I gotta eat me some cereal now"spoons)

Shred up a pile of ginger about the size of a half-dollar. If you don’t have a little shredder with itty-bitty holes, you can use a big one, or just chop the ginger all small with a knife. You just want to use a little more. Oh, and don’t worry about the bark on the ginger, it won’t kill you. If it really oogs you out, you can peel it with a knife.

Throw the ginger in with the soy sauce and marmalade, and then toss in the garlic. Stir, stir, stir, stir until the marmalade gets dissolved. Don’t worry, there will be chunks–those are the goodies.

Now, get one of the Ziploc bags and throw in some chicken bits, you will have plenty marinade for 4, maybe 6 servings. Dump the marinade on top, then close up the bag. I like to leave a little bit open and suck out the air. Rinse out the bowl and then throw the bag in and moosh it around so all the chicken is covered. Throw it in the fridge, then forget about it overnight. Ok, maybe come back in a few hours and moosh it again for good measure, but that’s all!

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The next day–
Cook the chicken. I like to use a George Forman Grill, but you have to check it quick so the chicken doesn’t dry out. To see if it’s done, just cut halfway through a thick part of the chicken. If it’s still that oogy clear-pink color, it’s not done. If it’s solid white all the way through, it’s done!

If you want to make a sauce out of the marinade to put on the chicken or some rice or something, here’s the plan:

Drain the marinade from the bag into a pan. If you can’t handle the chunks, you can squeeze the bag closed as you drain, but I just leave them in. Cook the juice on med/high until it gets really bubbly (simmers). You have to get it this hot for a few minutes to kill all the beasties that may have been in the raw chicken.

Then, in a little cup, mix a spoonful of cornstarch and a little water. Slowly, while stirring the sauce, add the cornstarch and water. Let it cook a bit and thicken up. Don’t let it thicken all the way, when you let it cool it will thicken more. Let it cool and pour it into a little cup or gravy boat or whatever.

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If you want rice, throw in a chicken bullion cube per cup of water used. It will be yum-a-licious!

Wow, that was way longer than I had intended…oops

42

A great thing about roast chicken is that you can make soup out of the carcass that otherwise you would just throw away.

After the good parts have been eatem (legs, breasts, and wings), take whatever remains (minus stuffing) and put it in a pot. Add a chopped onion, a chopped celery stick, and a chopped carrot (use the big tough cheap ones for this). You can also add a bay leaf or two and some thyme and peppercors or whatever you like. Tie the herbs up in a square of cheesecloth so ytou can remove them later. Add enough water to barely cover the carcass (about 6 cups), bring to the boil, cover and simmer on low for 1 hour.

Take the carcass out, pull the meat off it, and return the bones to the pot. Let it simmer for an additional hour or more. Then remove the bones and the bag of herbs.

Chop up the meat and (optionally) some parsley or basil, and add them to the pot along with some short pieces of pasta (about 1/2 cup) and continue to simmer long enough to cook the pasta (about 10 minutes) and you’re done. OH wait don’t forget to salt it (to taste).

43

Yes Manduck!!!

I completely forgot! Can’t forget chicken soup from roast chicken!

Also, I do not believe in buying chicken breast filets and the such. There are several reasons. Breast (bone-in) tastes better when roasted with the skin. The skin is half the fun, if not most. For the diet and fat conscious. Fine. Toss out the skin. Filet the thing yourself (it’s not hard, you can be sloppy) and save the bones and whatever bits of meat you have left in a big ziplock bag in the freezer. When it fills up with several pieces of chicken, you can make a stock or soup out of it. Or, what I like to do, is buy a whole chicken, use the breast, thighs and legs in whatever recipe I’m making (like a curry or paprikash or other stew-like dish) and save the left over chicken bits (the back, the wings, the neck, the giblets) for soup. It works out much more economically that way.

And I find it a shame that the thigh usually gets the shaft in recipes, as it’s more flavorful and moister than the breast.

44

Stir fry recipes are generally inexpensive and quick and easy to make.
Nam Sod
is one I like a lot. If you haven’t tried That food, find a restaurant and try a couple dishes first to get an idea if/what you like. Then look up the recipe on the web.
Oh fyi, the fish oil gives the dish a rather strong and less pleasant smell (imo) but it tastes wonderful.

45

pulykamell and Manduck–yes! I just recently taught a friend of mine how to make chicken soup this way. He shared it with a friend of his and they both loved it.

The important thing, of course, is to always leave the skin and bones on while preparing the stock–that’s what gives it the flavor.

46

Cabbage with Sausage:
Cut 1/2 lb of Polish sausage into disks, and saute until it starts to brown. Add one package of preshredded cole slaw (12 or 16 oz). Saute until the cabbage is somewhat wilted. Add plenty of salt, pepper, and thyme. Makes two generous portions.

Mexican casserole:
Cook 1 lb of taco meat according to the directions on a taco seasoning packet, but use only about half the water. Stir in a bag of preshredded cole slaw and cook until the coleslaw is hot. Meanwhile, in a casserole dish, beat together an egg, a splash of milk or cream, and a cup of shredded cheese. Pack down in bottom of casserole. Pour meat and cabbage mixture on top and pack down lightly. Top with another cup of shredded cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 (until cheese on top is starting to brown). Serve with plenty of salsa and sour cream. Serves 4-6. (You can make this arbitrarily large - I like to bring it to potlucks).

“Improved” chicken soup:
Either poach a chicken breast (see below), or otherwise obtain some cooked chicken. Fix a can of cream of chicken soup, diluting either with milk or with the water you used to poach the chicken breast in, and add shredded chicken. Serve with bread. Serves 2.

Poaching a chicken breast:
This gives a very firm, flavorful meat. Fill a 3-qt (or more) saucepan at least 2/3 full of water, and bring to a rolling boil. Drop in a (completely thawed) chicken breast, and turn off the heat. Let sit for at least 30 minutes (I’ve left it overnight and haven’t died yet). You just have to be sure to use at least a couple of quarts of water so there’s enough heat capacity in the water to fully cook the chicken.
All of the above draw on the cheaper sort of convenience foods, and will have you in and out of the kitchen fast. You can buy a head of cabbage and shred it yourself cheaper than you can buy a bag of cole slaw, but the difference is only a buck or so, and it’s much faster. You can make your own taco seasoning from ground spices, but the stuff in the little paper packet tastes fine, and costs $0.59. Campbells’ Cream of Chicken Soup is yummy, and it comes in multiple “flavors” now (plain, with herbs, or with mustard). All are good, and adding the cooked chicken makes it stick with you better if it’s all you’re eating.