Chicken Yum Yum Casserole

This comforting recipe was shared by Deloris, my mother-in-law.  It is tasty comfort food.  You can serve it with a green beans, fresh fruit and a lettuce salad for a complete meal.

2 cups diced cooked chicken (white meat)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

2 cups cooked rice

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 can water chestnuts, sliced thin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1 cup finely diced celery

Shredded cheese--enough to cover top of casserole

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Pour into a casserole dish.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Garnish with shredded cheese, if desired (you desire, trust me!).

Dolsot Bibimbap

This photo shows bibimbap made with chicken but we love it most made with thinly sliced sirloin steak.  Bibimbap is like glorified fried rice and it is soooo yummy!

4 cups white rice, cooked

4 cups zucchini, sliced thinly

4 cups spinach

2 cups bean sprouts

12 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 cups carrots, julienned thinly

4 fried eggs

Sesame oil

1 serving beef bulgogi (see recipe below)

Bibimibap sauce to taste (see recipe below)

Kimchi

Pre-heat the stone bowl upside down in 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.  Put bowls in the oven when it is cold (sudden temperature changes aren't good for the bowl).

Cook the rice, according to package directions.

Stir-fry each of the vegetables separately.  I like to start with those that take longer to cook--mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, spinach, and bean sprouts.  Fry eggs so the whites are cooked and the yolks are runny and soft (don't worry . . . they'll finish cooking in the hot bowls).

Remove the hot bowls from the oven and coat inside of bowls with a layer of sesame oil.

Spoon rice into the bowl, spread it up the sides and flatten it against the bowl.  Spoon the veggies on the rice along with the bulgogi beef or chicken in a decorative manner.  Top it with the egg.

Serve with bibimbap sauce (pour on as much as you'd like) and kimchi. Each person should stir the egg into the rice and mix everything up in their individual bowl.  The egg will continue cooking.  Eat and enjoy!

Beef Bulgogi

1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced

5 tablespoons soy sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 cup chopped green onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place the beef in a shallow bowl or large ziploc bag.  Combine other ingredients and pour over beef.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Grill beef on hot grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Bibimbap Sauce

2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Serve with bibimbap.

Makes 4 servings.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

This cake recipe is from distant cousins, John and Alison White in England.  They are related through LaVee's mother's lineage.  Alison is a fantastic cook and John wanted to share this recipe as she says it is very easy to make and John says it is delicious!  He has mentioned it several times in emails!  I hope all of you have a scale to weigh the ingredients so it will be a success for you!  (Lemon cake is on the right in the picture above.)

This is one of the simplest cakes to make, but also one of the most irresistible, for it is very lemony.  All the ingredients for the cake mixture are mixed together at the same time -- this is sometimes called an all-in-one cake method -- and the lemon juice and sugar topping is spooned on to the cake straight after baking.  It's important for a smooth mixture that the butter is very soft, but not runny, and that the eggs and milk are at room temperature.  Look out for unwaxed lemons for the very best flavour.

Cake Mixture:

200 grams unsalted butter, very soft, but not runny

250 grams caster sugar (granulated sugar)

3 medium eggs, at room temperature, beaten

finely grated zest of 2 medium unwaxed lemons

250 grams self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

100 ml milk, at room temperature

Topping:

100 g caster sugar (granulated sugar)

juice of 2 medium unwaxed lemons

finely grated zest of 1 medium unwaxed lemon

Prepare a 20 cm springclip tin or deep round tin, greased with butter and lined with grease proof paper.  Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.  Put the soft butter, sugar, eggs, and lemon zest into a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric food mixer.  Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl, then pour in the milk.  Beat with a wood spoon, or an electric whisk or food mixer on medium speed, until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and completely smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread evenly.  Bake in the heated oven until the cake is good golden brown and firm and a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean -- 50 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping.  Mix the sugar with the lemon juice and zest to make a runny glaze.  As soon as the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven, and stand the tin on a wire cooling rack.  Prick the top of the cake all over with a cocktail stick, then quickly spoon the lemon topping over so that is trickles down into the holes.  Leave to cool completely before removing the cake from the tin and discarding the lining paper.  Serve cut into thick slices.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Rice Burrito Bowl

 I tried a new recipe yesterday.  Here is the website where I got it:

https://www.thecountrycook.net/crock-pot-chicken-and-rice-burrito-bowl/

But. . . last time I linked to one of these recipe's the recipe address changed and I wasn't able to find the recipe again.  So I thought I'd go ahead and post what I did here.  Yeah. . . I changed things just slightly.  The original recipe said to serve in a bowl with desired toppings.  I thought it would taste yummy in a flour tortilla with lettuce.  And it was.  I also didn't use as much cheese.  I just made the shredded cheese a possible topping, so people could add their desired amount of cheese.  I also used the brown rice and didn't hear any complaints.  :)

The original recipe said it would serve 6.  I think we only ate about 1/2 of it, so it's probably closer to at least 10 servings.  Oh, and Seth even liked it enough that he took leftovers in his school lunch today. 

2 pounds chicken breasts (about 3 chicken breast halves)

1 onion, diced

2 1/2 cups salsa

3 cups chicken broth

1 package taco seasoning

1 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper (optional, to taste)

2 3/4 cups instant rice, brown or white

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese

Toppings:  sliced olives, sliced green onion, sour cream, more salsa, lettuce

Directions:  Place chicken and diced onion in slow cooker and add broth, salsa, taco seasoning and cumin.  Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours or until chicken is cooked to 165°F.

Remove cooked chicken and shred with two forks.  Add chicken back to slow cooker.

Turn slow cooker to High and add instant rice and beans.  Stir.  Cover and cook for about 40 minutes until rice is tender and liquid reduced.  Top with shredded cheese, cover and cook for a few minutes longer until cheese is melted. 

Serve in a bowl with desired toppings.