Rotisserie Chicken —> Chicken Curry with Vegetables

I've never bought a rotisserie chicken! 😯

I was hungry while shopping recently and kept smelling something WONDERFUL! I followed my nose right to it. I'd been looking at skinless-boneless chicken breasts that looked great, but really expensive. THIS was only $4.99!!! I was sure the sign was wrong and it would ring up at $4.99 / pound since that's about what those breasts cost and they were uncooked. At that point, I was prepared to pay it though, the scent was heavenly! Got it home and found it was a 5-Pound Chicken - for $4.99!

We had part of the chicken on Sunday, when I had my granddaughter and her family over after church. It was excellent, and there's still SO much left! Today I decided to turn some of this into curry. The bones, skin and cooking juices, that were inside the container it was sold in, will become bone broth and a simple Chicken Soup.

Slice or chop, then sauté the first group of vegetables, for 10 minutes. Add the next group and continue to simmer and stir over low-medium heat until the carrots start to soften, another 10-15 minutes. Keep covered between stirs.

2T coconut oil
2 sliced carrots
6oz. sliced celery
8oz. mixed mushrooms
~ (shown in a 1# container, but I only used half)

6 green onions

1 med. purple onion

4 colorful mini peppers

Add the curry, fruit and nuts, and chicken. Bring back to a simmer. Heat and stir 5 minutes, then add the coconut milk, stir, cover and turn off the heat.

18oz. red Thai curry sauce

1c craisins or dried fruit bits

1c honey roasted peanuts

8oz. chicken cut in 1" pieces

13.5oz. coconut milk

Ladle in a bowl, as is for sort of a curry stew. Or serve over rice or pasta. . .Lin

Fresh, Fruity Strawberries and Cream

This is a grab and assemble sort of thing.  I didn't create a recipe, since amounts, and even some ingredients, are for you to determine. But for sure, it has have really good strawberries! Fresh, juicy, bright red STRAWBERRIES! When you know how many servings you want, then decide how much of each of the following to add, following the directions below.

fresh lemon juice and zest

local organic honey

thin slices of candied ginger

little pieces of dried pineapple

a good shake of black pepper (!)

cashews, macadamias or blanched almonds

sour cream (really!)

Combine the first group in a medium bowl and microwave 30 seconds, stir to coat everything. This will rehydrate and soften the pineapple. Set this aside while you wash, core and chop the strawberries into quarters. Add them to the bowl, stir in the nuts and serve in individual bowls. Top each with a big dollop of sour cream, give everything a tiny, gentle stir to incorporate it just a little and blend the flavors. Mmmm, it's good! . .Lin

Loaded Sweet-Savory-Spicy Oat Cornbread

Healthy, grainy, quick breads made with interesting ingredients are so fun. I'm always playing around with cornbread ideas.

When I make it from scratch it's gluten free, made with cornflour and rolled oats. Mixes contain wheat flour. They're my go-to base, when there are a lot of other things happening in my kitchen.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients:

• 1 box or package cornbread-muffin mix
• 3/4c quick rolled oats
• 2T ground chia-flax seed 
• 1t baking powder
• 1/2t baking soda
• a sprinkle of Himalayan salt

Once that's blended, use the whisk to combine all this in another bowl:

• 1/3c finely chopped "Cuties" orange peel
• 2-3T chopped canned jalapeños
• 1/2c chopped walnuts
• 1/2c craisins 
• 2 lg. eggs
• 1T white vinegar
• 1t turbinado sugar
• 1/2c sour cream
• 1/3c EVOO

Pour this into the dry ingredients. Combine with a heavy wooden spoon, but don't over-mix. As soon as everything is incorporated,  pour it into a well-seasoned or buttered, pre-heated, 9" cast iron skillet and sprinkle with paprika or chili powder. Bake for 30 minutes. This is so good with vegetable soups, a pot of chili or curry and would also be a great breakfast bread.

Have fun with your cooking adventures! . . . Lin

Pecan Fruit Muffins

• 2c mixed chopped dried fruit
• 
  1c chopped pecans
• 1T pure Mexican vanilla
• 5.3oz. pineapple Greek yogurt
• 1/2c light olive oil
• 3 lg. eggs
• 1c light brown sugar
• 1/2c coconut sugar

• 2c unbleached all purpose flour
• 2/3c corn flour
• 3T ground chia and flax seed
• 1t each: baking powder, baking soda, and salt
• 1T pumpkin pie spice

Today I used golden raisins, craisins, apricots, and dates. Mix the first group together in a big bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients well to thoroughly blend. Preheat the oven to 350° and line two muffin pans with liners. Once the oven is preheated, add half the dry mix to the big bowl, repeat with the rest, mixing well with a big wooden spoon. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes. This recipe made 30 muffins. These are good for breakfast, a snack or dessert. . .Lin

A Sweet and Spicy Fruit Salad

• ½ lg. ripe mango
• ⅔c organic craisins
• ½ sm. ripe cantaloupe 
• 2c frozen strawberries, sweet & sour cherries, blueberries
• 1-2T jalapeño pepper jelly
• ⅓ lemon - juiced
• 1t± Orange Ginger spice blend

Cut the fruit the way you like it.  Gently mix the jelly and lemon juice in a medium glass bowl with the frozen cut fruit.  Microwave for 30 seconds, add the rest of the fruit, toss, let stand on the counter a half hour tossing several times, then serve.  This will 3 big or 6 smaller servings.  Today, with cottage cheese and Norweigan crisp bread, it's breakfast for me 😊

The mango seed is shown in the first picture, soaking in the little glass of water.  They're hard to get out of the fruit, but much easier when it's ripe.  It's incased in a hard fibers shell.  I split that open, and now, once it's soaked a while, I'll peel off the rest of that papery covering and plant it in hopes of getting a gorgeous plant.  They don't bear fruit, or maybe they will if you can keep them alive several years.  My daughter had a gorgeous mango plant many years ago.

I call it. . .Garbage Gardening 😁 Lin

Multi-Grain Fruit and Nut Muffins (gluten-free)

I've been reading about gluten again recently and have decided to try to eliminate wheat, rye, barley and certain oats from my diet.  With chemical additives, GMO's etc., these 'grains' hardly resemble what our grandparents consumed 50+ years ago.  I'm one of the fortunate ones who don't crave breads and most simple carbohydrates, so it's not too difficult to keep these grains out of my cooking and my diet.  The exceptions will be a couple soup recipes I make using barley.  White rice might work though.  Once in a while I start craving those grainy carbs, so I'm always trying to come up with healthy recipes for those times.  I realized about a week ago that I have a LOT of different flours in my refrigerator, so  thought I'd try coming up with a reasonably good option.

½ cup each:

~ corn flour

~ rolled oats

~ coconut flour

~ hazelnut flour
~ organic cane sugar

¼c ground flax seed mix

1t salt

1T baking powder
1-2t pumpkin pie spice

1c chopped dry fruit and nuts

2 eggs
½ c light oil
1t+ pure vanilla
1T white vinegar

½c half and half
½c liquid coconut coffee creamer

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large glass bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk the next group until smooth then combine quickly in the big bowl. Stir gently with a wooden spoon, only until everything is incorporated then spoon into paper-lined muffin tins.  Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.  Bake in preheated 350⁰ oven for 20 minutes.  This made 24 muffins. . .Lin

Fruity Almond Chicken With Rice

¾c Lundberg Wild Rice Blend

¾-1c craisins, raisins and dried fruit

1-2T local, organic honey

½c± Chardonnay or Rhine Wine

4-6oz Golden Berries - halved or quartered

8-12 oz. chunks of fresh chicken meat

1-2T organic, solid coconut oil

1½c sliced celery

1med. white onion - sliced

1-2lg. cloves minced garlic - optional

½c hickory smoked almonds

½-1t fresh ground black pepper*

Cook rice according to the package directions.  Put the next 3 ingredients into a glass container and microwave for 45-60 seconds.  Stir occasionally, then just let this sit, to absorb flavor until it's ready to join the party-in-the-pot 😊 While the rice cooks, and the fruit marinates and hydrates, sauté the next group of ingredients together, over medium-high heat, stirring often.

Turn down to medium, keep an eye on it, moving everything around so it doesn't scorch.  If the pan gets dry, you can add a bit of water or wine.  After about 10 minutes of cooking time, add fruit that's been soaking.  Stir and simmer on low another 10 minutes.  After 5 minutes, stir in the Golden Berries.  Thicken the juices with a cornstarch-cold water mix, starting with just a little at first so it doesn't get 'gloppy.'  Serve over the rice.  Makes 3-4 servings.  *After trying this, a little twist I wish I had thought of would be, cut back, just a bit on the black pepper and add a couple chunks of finely chopped candied ginger!  Ginger would blend so well with these flavors. . .Lin  

Fruit and Granola Muffins

3c small crumbly granola*
1c chopped dried fruit
1c chopped almonds

1c white & (brown sugar... 

...or coconut sugar) in a 3/1 ratio

3 eggs - beaten

1T pure vanilla
½c vegetable oil

2c buttermilk

1½c unbleached white flour

½c coconut flour

⅓c ground golden flax seed

2t pumpkin pie spice

2½t baking soda

1t salt

In a large bowl, combine the first group.  Whisk the next group together in another bowl.  Sift - strain the dry ingredients into another bowl and give them a good stir to be sure they're all blended.

Alternately add the liquids with the dry ingredients to the big bowl, stirring well with a heavy wooden spoon.  Put a scoop of the batter in paper-lined muffin tins.  This recipe makes about 3 dozen.  If you only want to bake a dozen or so, it will keep in the refrigerator a while, or can be put in a heavy zip-type bag and frozen. . .Lin

This is my total adulteration of an old recipe my mother-in-law used to make.  The 6-Week Buttermilk Bran Muffins.  That is also an excellent one, with nuts and chocolate chips.  *Any flavors.  Today I used 2c of an oats and dark chocolate granola, with 1c of mango-coconut granola.

Fruit, Nut, Corn & Oat Muffins—(Gluten Free)

1c chopped dried fruit
1c chopped pecans
1/2c chopped dates

2 eggs

2/3c brown sugar

2/3c solid coconut oil-liquified

1c half and half +

2T white vinegar

4t good cinnamon

2T ground orange peel

1t cardamom

1T baking powder

1t salt

2/3c ground flax seed

1/2c corn flour

1c oat flour

1c oat bran

In a medium size bowl, stir together the first group of ingredients with a wooden spoon.  Let this mixture stand to rehydrate the fruit a little.  Meanwhile, put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.  If the coconut oil solidifies these ingredients, microwave for 30 seconds.  Add the fruit mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl, stirring until just combined.  Spoon into a paper-lined muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with baker's sanding sugar.  Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.  Makes 30 muffins. . .Lin

Quinoa With Dried Fruit And Seeds

1/3c quinoa - any color

½c water

2 cubes of candied ginger - sliced thin

¼c roasted pumpkin seeds

¼c craisins

1t butter or coconut oil

a sprinkle of sea salt

Combine all the above and bring to a quiet simmer. Cook this way, covered, for 15 minutes or until water absorbs and quinoa sprouts little tails. Take off heat, keep covered, another 5 minutes. Makes 1 big serving. . .Lin

Almost Waldorf Chicken Salad

1 12.5oz. can chicken breast

2/3c dried cherries and golden raisins

3/4c chopped celery

1 med. onion

3/4c chopped walnuts

fresh ground pepper

mayonnaise

Drain and flake the chicken breast into a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients with just enough mayonnaise to hold everything together. If mixture seems too 'gloppy' add a little water, a tablespoon at a time. Serve over lettuce leaves or on bread as a sandwich. . .Lin

Nutty-Grainy Bread Pudding

8-10 large pieces of bread

~ crusts cut off and cubed

1c coconut

1c chopped walnuts or pecans

1½c milk

½t salt

1c raisins-craisins-dried sweet cherries

½c sugar, white or brown

1t cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

1-2T Balsamic vinegar

3 eggs

1 stick melted butter

In a buttered 9x13” glass pan, layer the bread cubes, coconut and nuts. In a medium bowl, combine milk, salt, raisins, sugar, spice and stir. 

Warm just a little in the microwave to plump up the raisins. Let these ingredients rest in the bowl half an hour. Then add vinegar, eggs and butter. Whisk together well, then pour over bread, coconut and nuts in the pan. Let stand again while preheating oven to 350°. Bake 35 minutes, covered with foil, then uncovered 5 minutes until mixture is set, lightly browned all over and a knife inserted half way to center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold for breakfast or dessert. . .Lin

Fruit & Nuts For Breakfast

Almonds —Craisins — Prunes — Cottage Cheese

Make up a bowl like the one pictured. Stir and let stand a little while to hydrate the dried fruit. Lots of protein and natural sugar in this, for when you need energy that will last a while. . .Lin