Cyndi’s Yummy Chicken and Rice

An easy fix for dinner ... I’m lovin’ it!

When you have several in the family to feed and you’re on the go a lot, it’s so nice to find recipes that are easy to make and taste delicious. My co-worker Cheryl Jessup shared this one with me after she tried it during a recent trip visiting family.

If you don't have as many to feed this recipe could be halved - or just put some aside in the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner.

I made this at home and loved it. I had to make a couple adjustments since I was ready to make it, but didn’t have honey in the pantry. I mixed brown sugar with the melted butter. (I used Smart Balance and less than what was called for, to lower the fat content.)

I used basmati rice and vegetables that I had on hand: broccoli, chopped bell pepper, chopped mushrooms, and freeze-dried onion and garlic, sauteed with some olive oil. I also used Madras curry powder which my friend Nicole Towers shared with me.

The flavor is wonderful! I’d like to try it again with honey next time.

For two of my children who aren’t adventurous when it comes to spices - like curry and mustard - I made a tamer version on the side with the vegetables and with cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 C. of milk. I mixed that in and topped it with cheese - other cream soups would also work.

My 10-year-old rated it 4 out of 5, and since he’s on the picky side, that’s pretty good!

I rate the curry version a 5 out of 5. It's warm, sweet and hearty.

This recipe is for a 13 x 9 pan and feeds 8 easily.
Ingredients:
2 C. uncooked rice, brown or white
2 C. cooked chicken, cubed
1 C. chopped, steamed broccoli or veggie of choice
1 C. honey
1/2 C. yellow mustard
1 C. melted butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. curry spice

Instructions:
Make rice according to package instructions.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine/stir together well, melted butter, honey, mustard, salt, curry spice.
Spread rice on bottom of pan.
Mix together chicken and veggies.
Spread chicken/veggie mix on top of rice.
Pour sauce over chicken/veggie/rice.
Heat in oven for 15 minutes, if all ingredients are hot to begin with this may not be necessary.

Breakfast fit for a king

A recent session of Friday Academy at Humbolt Elementary had young students measuring, whisking and cooking in a Kids Cuisine class taught by Sherry Feiger of John Day.

Sherry, who is now retired, taught at Humbolt for many years. My oldest son thought the world of her when she was his first grade teacher several years ago.

It was nice to see her back at the school teaching children some kitchen basics: wash hands before you start, measure correctly and avoid licking those fingers!

I had the opportunity to come in a couple of times to help, as my youngest son was taking the class. Marissa Williams, publisher of the Blue Mountain Eagle, also lent a hand.

One of the most delicious moments for the class came when they whipped up a breakfast fit for a king. They made French Toast, sausage, fruit kabobs and Orange Julius.

Sherry shared a couple of her recipes. These are so good and so easy! Thank you Sherry!

Orange Julius

1 6 oz. can frozen OJ concentrate (still frozen)
1 C. milk
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 C. sugar
8-10 ice cubes

Place all ingredients and blender. Mix until ice is crushed and mixture is slushy.

French Toast

2 eggs
2/3 C. milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
thick slices of bread
butter
syrup or other toppings

Beat eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in bowl. Dip bread slices in mixture and place on buttered griddle. Be sure griddle or pan is hot enough to cook the toast but not burn it. Serve with syrup, peanut butter and jelly or lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Makes about 7 pieces of French Toast.

Sherry says, “Most of the ingredients can be added according to taste. As a kid, I remember when my mom made it for us she never used enough milk. We would end up with a thin layer of fried egg on each side.”

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe comes from the kitchen of John Day resident Cammie Haney. She said it was easy to make and delicious.

You can't go wrong with pulled pork sandwiches in my family - yum! Thank you for the contribution Cammie!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 C. ketchup
1/3 C. cider vinegar
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 lbs. boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls


Directions

1.In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce. 2.Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender. 3.With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly. 4.While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary. 5.Spoon pork mixture onto sandwich buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.

Cammie's notes:
I cooked it on High for about 4 hours and it was great. The sauce didn't really cook down a lot in the time it took to shred the pork so I poured it into a large sauce pan and did it that way. Then I put it all back in the cooker on low. I felt like it was missing just a little something so I put in a little bit of BBQ sauce (about 1/8 cup) I just used regular sesame seed hamburger buns. The longer it sits on low, the better it gets.

Angel's tips: For more flavor try adding 1-2 crushed garlic cloves. A teaspoon of liquid smoke would also add a nice flavor (use sparingly).