What's your culinary specialty? (page 3)

Frannie Banannie

Chicken Felicidad Corn tortillas 2 1/2 lb whole chicken or 2 lbs. chicken tenders or breasts 3 qts water 2 1 lb. cans of Ranch Style Beans 1 family-sized can of Cream of Chicken soup 2 sm or 1 large can of Rotel tomatoes w/chilies 1 bell pepper chopped 1 small onion, diced 2 Tbsps. cooking oil 1 can jumbo black olives, drained and cut in half Shredded Colby/Jack Cheese Cooking spray Place chicken and water in large stewing pot and heat over medium heat to boiling. Boil chicken until done (approx. 50 mins. if whole chicken, 30 mins. if tenders).
Remove chicken from broth in stewing pot and set aside to cool, reserving broth in stewing pot. Debone and cut into cubes or whatever. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In small skillet, saute chopped bell pepper and onion in cooking oil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onion is transparent and pepper is soft. Spray large roasting pan with cooking spray and set aside. Reheat chicken broth till it's steaming, if it's cooled. Using tongs, dip individual corn tortillas in steaming broth for a few seconds just to make them limber and use the tortillas to line the insides and bottom of the roasting pan. In large mixing bowl, place cut up chicken, Ranch Style Beans, Rotel tomatoes, cream of chicken soup, sauteed bell peppers and onion, and olive halves. Stir until well-blended, then pour mixture into tortilla-lined roasting pan. Top with shredded cheese and place in preheated oven for 45 mins. to an hour or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Cool and serve.

Frannie Banannie

This is Tex-Mex cooking and it's yummy! Chicken TNT Ingredients: 6 chicken breasts (cubed, if you like) 3 cans Rotel tomatoes w/gr. chillies, cilantro & lime 1 Rotel can of water (after the tomatoes have been emptied from it) 1 cup sour cream 2 cups shredded Colby/Jack cheese 1 pkg. McCormack Taco Seasoning 1 envelope onion soup mix Place chicken breasts, tomatoes, water, sour cream, Taco seasoning and onion soup mix in large stewing pot and stir until blended somewhat. Heat over medium heat until mixture comes to boil, cover with lid and lower heat and simmer for approx. 20 mins., stirring occasionally. Turn heat to "low" setting and add cheese, stirring occasionally until cheese is thoroughly melted and blended in. Serve over rice.

alotlikemay

oh man, these posts have got me hungry!

I'm not a recipe person at all - I create food according to my mood and never measure or weigh ingredients.

love cajun chicken, prawn curry (curry is such a Brit dish these days!) and massive caesar salads

i'm looking for a good thai dish that's do-able at home, if anyone can give me any ideas - love thai food

Frannie Banannie

Chicken Mole' Ole' Boil & debone 2 1/2 to 3 lb. chicken, reserving 6 cups
broth.

In blender:

1 cup chicken broth (cooled)
1 sm. can tomato paste
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper cored, seeded and chopped
1 sm. box raisins
1/4 c slivered almonds or peanuts if you're not allergic
1/4 c cocoa (or more for chocoholics...yeah, go ahead 'n add another 1/4 cup)
1/4 c chili powder (the dark brown kind)
2 Tbsps. sesame seeds
1 tsp. anise

Blend ingredients until they form a fairly smooth mixture.

salt to taste, should be a tad on the salty side, as the rice cuts the saltiness...(very important, as too little makes the sauce taste like green ka-ka)

Add blended ingredients to 4 cups chicken broth in 4
to 5 qt. pot and simmer for 30 mins., adding deboned
chicken during last 10 mins. The 1 cup broth in
blender, plus the 4 cups broth added to the blended
ingredients make a perfect consistency sauce, so
reserve the extra cup of broth for those who like
theirs thinner. Salt to taste. Serve over rice. Garnish with lime slices & sliced almonds. (optional) Bueno Appetito!

Watch out for tha chocoholics drinking this sauce from the ladle!

restrangled

Frannie,

Thank you, I am going to be busy the next couple of weeks trying these recipes! How about the all purpose Wild Sicilian Spaghetti sauce with eggplant?

The difference with getting recipes from real people instead of the internet is that they are tried and true from home cooks.

I have had wild success and failure with internet recipes, even the cooking shows. I think they have to produce so many new dishes that most are just so--so and the majority I would never make again. I have 2 dishes I make over and over, from cooking shows but the rest of mine are old, true and tested Family favorites. I have owned over 50 cooking books and most yield one or 2 really good recipes each.

So thank you once again for giving out your favorites!

r.

Hortensia

yes, how about the wild Sicilian spaghetti sauce? Also, how about a thread on recipes you like to make but would be embarassed to admit to? Like my two ingredient fideo - angel hair pasta and half a jar of salsa plus water to cover. Would never take that to a party or serve it to guests, but it is a great good-tasting one person supper with some grated cheese.

restrangled

If you love greek food, following are some of my family favorites....a little time consuming but you'll get nothing but compliments also served at many a party:

Stuffed Grape Leaves

1/2 cup olive oil, 1 large onion finely chopped, 4 green onions sliced, 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1/2 cup pine nuts 1 cup long grained rice uncooked, 4 cans chicken stock, 2 T. fresh chopped dill, 1/4 cup parsley salt and pepper to taste, 2 lemons juiced, 1 tsp. allspice and 2 jars grape leaves rinsed and drained.....(available in the pickle aisle of your local grocery)

To make the filling, coat a large saute pan with 1/4 cup of the oil and place over medum heat. Add the onion and lemon juice and stir until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the pine nuts and rice, saute for 2 minutes stirring to coat. Pour in 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and lower the heat. Simmer until the lquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 10 minutes. Scrape the parboiled rice misture into a bowl and add the dill, allspice and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool. Now on to the grape leaves.

Rinse leaves and trim off any stems. Pat dry with paper towls.

To assemble dolmades, lay a grape leaf on a work surface shiney side down. The veins will be more prominent facing you. Put 2 T. of the rice filling or less depending on the size of the leaf near the stem end of the leaf. Fold the stem end over the filling. Then fold both sides toward the middle, and roll up into a cigar- it should be snug but not overly tight because the rice will swell once it is fully coooked. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.

Hint: Sometimes you may need two leaves if they are too flimsy, small or ripped. Just place one on top of another and follow above directions

Place any left over grape leaves in the bottom of a large dutch oven. Arrange the Dolmades seam side down in a single layer. Continue layering the same.....You will probably have several layers.

Pour the remaining broth, lemon juice, and olive oil over the top. Add enough water to reach just enough to cover all.

Place a plate over the Dolmades and place wieght over the plate such has cans etc. to keep all in place while cooking. Simmer over low heat uncovered at least one hour. I find it usually takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. Continue to add liquid as it evaporates to keep dolmades covered.

Drain and cool. They can be served hot, warm, room temp, or cold with the following dipping sauce.

1 large cucumber Peeled and shredded. Add 1 tsp. sea salt and let drain for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Frannie Banannie

I've been looking everywhere for that Wild Sicilian All-Purpose Spaghetti Sauce (Updated), but can't find it, so i guess I'll just hafta "wing it."

Wild Sicilian All-Purpose Spaghetti Sauce (Updated)

1 lb. lean gr. beef or gr. turkey (for non-beef eaters)

1 lb. Italian sausage, sliced in 1 inch pieces OR substitute one lb. Jimmy Dean sausage with 2 TBSPs. Fennel seeds

(I also throw in any leftover pork roast or chops for flavor, too)

1 bell pepper, cored and diced

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 tsp. each of oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, dill weed

1 dash of ground cloves

1 Bay leaf

2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed

1 TBSP Kitchen Bouquet

8 ozs. sliced mushrooms

1 can of pitted jumbo ripe olives, drained and sliced in half

2 envelopes of onion soup mix (saves chopping onions and adds flavor, sans adding salt)

1 or 2 cups Hearty Burgundy (absolutely only kind to use, I think Gallo makes it)

3 sm. cans of Contadina tomato paste or 2 lg cans

4 TBSPs of olive oil

1 and 1/2 to 2 qts of water (depends on how much of that Hearty Burgundy you use)

In skillet over medium heat, add gr. meat, sausage and garlic to 2 TBSP of olive oil and stir occasionally until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and set aside to drain on paper towels.

In same skillet, add tomato paste to 2 TBSPs. olive oil and stir over med. heat until paste is almost scorched.

Place ALL ingredients in large stewing pot and stir together over med to med-low heat with the lid on and, stirring occasionally, allow to simmer for approx. 3 to 4 hrs. OR you can put it all in a large crock pot and let it cook on high for 8 hrs.

You can serve this over pasta OR you can use it to make a pizza (topped with mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan), OR you can use it to build a scrumptious lasagna or make Manicotti.

TIP: When making lasagna or Manicotti, you actually don't have to pre-cook the noodles or pasta tubes. You can build them more easily by using the uncooked lasagna noodles or Manicotti tubes, as they come out of the package. Then cover your casserole dish with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hrs. The pasta comes out "al dente."

Gosh I hope I remembered everything!

restrangled

This posted without letting me finish the dipping sauce...

Once the shredded cucumber is drained add to 1 container sour cream. Add 1 T. lemon juice, 2 to 3 cloves garlic minced, a couple dashes off hot sauce and lots of fresh dill chopped. Salt and pepper to taste.

Do not make this dip too far in advance......maybe an hour or two and make sure it is well chilled.!

r.

pmouse

Go for it Hortensia!

Hey, by the way, a really simple and quick potato side dish - get the fingerling potatoes, boil with salt for 20 minutes until tender, then drain in a colander - dump back in pan or in colander and sprinkle with McCormick's Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning.

The trick is not to cover them or the seasoning turns to mush and falls off the potatoes. The skins tighten back up, and you get a slight snap when you bite one. Combined with the buttery flavor of the fingerling and the kick of the seasoning, these make a great potato side dish.

Keep 'em coming! I'm going to try some of these. Frannie.....Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmm!!!!

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