Chicken Gumbo, Rice, and Crackers  01-15-2013

I combined a light roux (water and browned flour) with the BAKED chicken breast and BAKED chicken sausage in the slow cooker. Turned on high for about 2 hours. I don’t make roux with oil and I don’t make it as dark as most Southern people do.

I baked the FROZEN chicken breast, FROZEN chicken sausage,  chopped celery, and chopped onion in the Nuwave oven. I placed everything in one drip pan and placed on bottom rack in Nuwave. Baked at 350 for 10 minutes, turned everything over and continued to bake for 10 to 15 minutes more. Then, added all to slow cooker.

I placed a cup of rice with 2 cups water in rice cooker. Done in about 20 minutes.

Very informal with whole wheat crackers on the side.  Delicious on a cold Louisiana day.

I cook light compared to the really great cooks. I also cook easy! If this blog encourages someone that may not be cooking often or is eating very little—then that is great. You will never see my meals in Food Beautiful (LOL) that’s not my intent. I realize my choice of food or cooking methods are not for everyone. LOL

April 26, 2012

Ground Turkey,Rice, Veggie—Stuffed Bell Peppers, Carrot and Tiny Bit of cabbage Slaw, and Sliced Tomatoes.

I like to avoid as much fat as I can. I use drip pan with Nuwave oven to allow meat to cook but not have the fat, etc.

Ground Turkey, (I made two patties)
Black ground pepper or seasoning of your choice)
Place patties on drip pan, bake about 10 minutes, flip patties, bake for about 10 minutes more. Test for doneness. This was fresh ground turkey, not frozen as I frequently do.

While cooking Ground Turkey, cook rice in rice cooker
1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4-1/2 onion, chopped (amount depends on your taste)
Small amount black ground pepper
Cook all of this in rice cooker together. I just put rice in, water, and put the chopped veggies on top of that and turned the cooker on. LOL

When rice is done and ground turkey patties are done, crumble patties into the rice mixture and stir.

2 bellpeppers, washed and cored
Stuff bellpeppers with cooked rice, veggie, and meat mixture. Bake on drip pan of Nuwave for about 15 minutes. When done, add to plate with sliced tomatoes, and carrot slaw. I added a small amount of prepared, low fat dressing to my serving of carrot salad.

2 large carrots
1/4 head cabbage (if desired)
Process with food processor.

I enjoyed this very much. It was actually fast, easy, and healthy. Thanks for your interest in my blog about “My Food Diary”—kept for medical reasons—my choice. :)

April 09, 2012

Chicken in Orange Sauce, Triple Succotash, and Rice

I’ve been on a three day fast so there has been nothing to post. LOL Today I knew what I was wanting to have and believe me it tasted great. I did make a mistake in the photo. I should have put the rice in the center of the plate. I was in somewhat of a hurry so I didn’t. Oh, well, next time.

1 chicken quarter (mine was frozen)
3 oranges, (Squeeze for juice)
1/2 cup water
Black pepper
3 whole cloves
Cinnamon (I just sprinkled in the juice and on the chicken)
Place juice, whole cloves, and water in the small cake pan
Add chicken,
Sprinkle juice and chicken with cinnamon (I just looked and did not measure)

Place in Nuwave Oven (I placed fleshy part down)
Bake for 10-15 minutes
Turn chicken over, add more black pepper, cinnamon, and chopped green onions.
Bake addition 15 minutes, or until done.

Cook 1 cup rice with 2 cups water, in rice cooker (Cook rice while the chicken is baking. It takes around the same time to do rice in the rice cooker as it takes for chicken to bake)

Open can of Triple Succotash and drain, Place serving on plate. Place in microwave for about 1 minute or so to get it hot.

I’m trying to use everything out of the freezer. I declare, every time I get a package out of there, I think it multiplies.Not complaining but you know how that can be. If I wasn’t trying to use everything, it wold probably be bare. Ok, for the easy, simple instructions. I believe in healthy, easy, and simple!

I usually use only chicken breasts but I did find this chicken quarter and decided to use it.

I used Nuwave Oven. The recipe I saw did all of this in a skillet. I just like using the Nuwave and this chicken was frozen when I started baking it. One of the great wonders of using Nuwave! I used smaller cake pan to hold chicken since there was a sauce involved. Usually I just put the chicken in drip pan.

Add chicken and rice to plate with the Triple Succotash and enjoy. Believe me, I did enjoy it. Thank you for looking at my blog.

Chicken Sausage and Veggie Soup with Rice

3 links chicken sausage (mine was frozen)

1 can mixed veggies, drained

Water

Black pepper

Italian Seasonings (and or other seasonings of your choice)

Couple of tablespoons browned flour (browned as for roux for a gumbo—I do mine in microwave, without grease,  and store for things like this)

Bake chicken sausage in Nuwave Oven for about 15 or so minutes, in drip pan so grease can drip out. (or boil it to get grease out)

Remove the skin from sausage and slice. Put in slow cooker.  Add can of mixed veggies, drained.  Add water to cover. Add browned flour that’s mixed with water—enough water to make sure it’s not lumpy. (whisk the flour and water to keep it from lumping). Cook for as long as you want to just so long as meat and veggies are thoroughly heated since the meat is already cooked.

1 cup rice

2 cups water

Cook in rice cooker.  Should be done in about 20 minutes.

Easy, fast, healthy, delicious. I have leftovers, too!

March 24, 2012

My daughter cooked for friends and I was invited.  I wasn’t hungry when the meal was ready so I did a bring home plate which I ate a couple of days later.  It certainly was good.  I didn’t cook this so I can’t tell you how it was cooked. 

I do know it had veggies, roast beef, and garlic bread and it was delicious!

March 21, 2012

Stuffed Bell Pepper with Applesauce and Whole Wheat Crackers

1 cup raw rice, add two cups liquid, place in rice cooker, turn on rice cooker. Takes about 20 minutes to cook.  My liquid was 1/4 apple juice, 1/4 cup salsa, and 1 1/2 cups water.

Bake bell peppers in Nuwave Oven, 1 inch rack, for about 10 minutes, turn pan and continue to bake for 5 minutes or until done

Saute mushrooms in very small amount of olive oil (very, very small amount) add chopped onions and chopped celery.  Saute all while the peppers and rice are cooking.  I did this on stovetop burner. I added a sprinkle of black pepper and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. I did not add salt to anything.

When rice is done, add it to the skillet with the mushrooms, onion, and celery. Stuff bell pepper with this mixture and add to a plate.  Place about 1/2 cup applesauce next to the stuffed pepper and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Add about 5 whole wheat crackers.  Your meal is done!  Should be healthy, filling, and salt free. Enjoy!

These dishes could be done with conventional oven, stove top, microwave, as well as the appliances I like to work with, which I named.

I am keeping more or less a journal of some of the things I prepare.  Some will be repeats or a variation, depending on the ingredients I have on hand. I love BellPeppers baked.  Last time I did those, I did not use meat.  Today, I used ground turkey.

I cooked the rice in the rice cooker. Before I turned on the rice cooker,   I added chopped celery, chopped onion, even a little chopped bellpepper, chopped green onion (in addition to yellow onion), I also used one-half apple juice for the liquid and the other half was water.

I put about 1/4 pound of FROZEN ground turkey in a drip pan.  Placed drip pan on one inch rack in the Nuwave Oven.  I placed an aluminum pan beneath the rack and added about one-half cup water to the aluminum pan.  I baked the ground turkey for about ten minutes, turned it and baked it for about five more minutes.  This was baking as the rice cooked in the rice cooker.

When the rice mixture and ground turkey were cooked, I added the ground turkey to the rice mixture.  I cut the bellpeppers in half, stuffed with the rice/ground turkey mixture, added ground black pepper and more chopped green onions. The stuffed peppers were in a cake pan.  I placed the green beans in center of the pan and let that cook with the peppers.  Baked the stuffed peppers for about ten minutes on one in rack, in the Nuwave Oven.

Opened a can of mixed fruit cocktail, drained.  I did not eat bread with this.

Delicious, healthy, quick, and simple.  The ingredients are added according to availability.  There is no set amount of anything except the rice.  Say 1 cup rice and 2 cups liquid.

I like simplicity and uncomplicated meals. Save the complicated stuff for the professionals—when you go out to eat!

Easy Chicken, Rice, and Veggies with Mandarins

Uncomplicated, easy meal—just what I like! (photo included)

*Photo for this is near bottom of this recipe.  I’ve learned to put the photos at the top now.
2 frozen chicken breasts (sprayed with a little olive oil)
Place on a small oven-proof tray, fleshy part down)
Sprinkle with pepper.  (Add any seasonings of your choice)
Add a few chopped green onions as I did or you may add chopped white onion.
Place tray in Nuwave oven. Set timer for 13 minutes on high.

While chicken is baking, cook rice in rice cooker
 1 cup rice
Add  1/2 to 3/4 cups frozen mixed veggies
Add two cups liquid.  You may use water, broth, or do as I did.  I used one cup apple juice and one cup water. The timer will go off for this amount of rice in about 20 minutes.

The 13 minutes should be up with the chicken.
Turn chicken pieces over.
Sprinkle more green onions on top.
Set timer on Nuwave  for about 15 additional  minutes.

I did not add gravy or butter to the rice.

I opened a can of mandarins and drained them.  I thought that would be a way to get fruit and color!  Enjoy! Photo included of one plate.

I only had to wash one small pan  the chicken was cooked on in the Nuwave, rice cooker, plate and utensils.

*I did two chicken breasts (bone in, cheaper) but you can do more than 2 in the Nuwave.