Coping with Loss of Place and Finding Resilience during COVID

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hope-resilience/202104/coping-loss-place-and-finding-resilience-during-covid

Cowboy Chicken

It has been a long time since I have posted a recipe on here. I am still cooking and have a stockpile of pictures food I have made on my phone. Hopefully, I can remember how I made each dish when I get around to posting. I am going to start backwards with the most recent recipes.

I am going to attempt posting a recipe a day while in quarantine. I have soooo much grading to do, though. Remind me to assign less writing assignments next semester.

I do not like chicken that much. It find it dry and flavorless unless it is fried, and even then, not everybody's fried chicken is actually good. I like Popeye's chicken if I have to eat chicken. I do not like all the breading and often peel off the breading on most chicken nuggets and chicken tenders.

Anyway, if the chicken is flavorful, I will tolerate it. It is still not my favorite food, but I will eat it.

Here is a super easy chicken recipe. I like mine with spicy salsa. (I like everything spicy.)

Cowboy Chicken (6 servings)

• 6 chicken breast halves, no skin
• 1 jar (about 2 cups) of your favorite salsa
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard or Dijon mustard (I used Zatarain's Creole Mustard.)

Place chicken in slow cooker or a casserole dish.

Mix all other ingredients in bowl and pour over chicken.

Cook in slow cooker on low for about 6 hours or bake in 375° F oven for about 1 hour.

The sauce is great over rice. You can also eat it with tortilla chips or even put over steamed vegetables. We ate ours with Spanish rice. 

Enjoy! 

King Cake Crack(er) Candy

One thing that makes me really excited about moving back to my home region is getting to celebrate Mardi Gras again.  I am all about it.

I love king cake. Those of you that went to my wedding might recall that we had a king cake wedding cake.

This is a different take on the king cake, but it is utterly delicious.

There is this slight mix of sweet and salty that I love. I am not sure this will last long in our fridge.

Note: I tried to make my own colored sugar. The purple ended up looking more black, but it still tasted just fine. I will mix the colored sugar differently next time.

Ingredients:
40-42 saltine crackers
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. white chocolate chips
green decorative sugar
yellow decorative sugar
purple decorative sugar

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. Place saltine crackers side by side on the cookie sheet. Set aside.

3. Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

4.  Pour the mixture evenly over the crackers. (Be careful that your crackers do not move all around on the sheet.  Rearrange as necessary.)

5.  Bake for 5 minutes.

6. Remove from oven. Top with 12 oz. white chocolate chips. Let rest 5 minutes. Use a spoon to spread the melted white chocolate evenly over the crackers.

7. Decorate the top with green, yellow and purple decorative sugars. 

8. Cool in the freezer for 30 minutes.

9.  Break into pieces, removing from the sheet. (I used a wooden spoon to go under the candy and pull up to break.) Store in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag or airtight container.

Orange Rosemary Chicken

I love the seasoning on this chicken.

When given the chance, I will always use orange marmalade. I try to keep a jar of it in the fridge always.

This was some good chicken.

I know this is the second chicken recipe of the day, but I am trying to catch up on recipe posting. I have been behind since late summer. The chance to catch up is in sight if I post a lot the next few days.

Ingredients:
2 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 12 ounces each), skin removed, trimmed
1/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, divided
3 tbsp. orange marmalade
2 tbsp. sherry vinegar, malt vinegar or cider vinegar
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Coat a 9 X 13 inch or similar small roasting pan with cooking spray.

2.  Cut each chicken breast in half on the diagonal to get 4 portions about equal in weight. (Two will be smaller but thicker. The other two larger ones will be thinner.) Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and place, bone-side up, in the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp. rosemary.

3.  Bake the chicken for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 tsp. rosemary, marmalade, vinegar, and oil in a small bowl.

4.  Turn the chicken pieces over and top with the marmalade mixture.  Bake until the  chicken is no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes more.  (Check after 10 minutes.) Serve immediately, spooning the sauce from the pan over the chicken.

4 servings (about 181 calories each)

Salsa Salmon

salsa + salmon = a winning combination

This is a delicious low-calorie recipe (146 calories per serving).

I enjoy any recipe with salsa in it.

And what is really cool about this recipe is that you can make your own salsa. I enjoyed the process. 

If you have a favorite salsa and are not too keen on making your own, you can just dump your favorite salsa on top instead.

Ingredients:

2 medium plum tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (Make sure you use gloves when you handle it.)

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

2-4 dashes hot sauce (I used more.)

1 1/2 pounds wild salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 6 pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2.  Place tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno, vinegar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and hot sauce to taste in a food processor; process until finely diced and uniform.

3.  Place salmon in a large roasting pan; spoon the salsa on top.  Roast until the salmon is flaky on the outside but still pink inside, about 15 minutes.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Chicken, as I have said before in this blog, is not my favorite protein. However, I keep chicken on hand in the freezer because it is versatile.

Here is a way to make BBQ chicken without a grill or having to work with the meat a long time.

Ingredients:
1 c. canned tomato sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved
optional: red pepper flakes (I always add the spice unless I have little children eating with me.)

Instructions:
1.  In a crock pot, mix all ingredients except chicken.  Add chicken and stir to coat.

2.  Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 or 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.

3.  Transfer chicken to a large bowl.   Shred with two forks - one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across and shred it.  Return shredded chicken to the crock pot and mix well.

makes 7 servings

Fake-Baked Beans

I liked baked beans. Bush's are my favorite from a can. I love to try other people's baked beans at potlucks. My grandfather made a good pan of baked beans.

These are more tangy than I like.

I am a fan of the sweeter variety of baked beans.

These are worth trying if you like to try different varieties of baked beans.

What is your favorite baked bean recipe? Comment below.

Ingredients:
one 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
one 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
one 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
one 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 c. finely chopped onion
2 c. finely chopped red bell pepper
1 c. finely chopped Fuji apple

Instructions:
1.  In a medium bowl, combine tomato paste, molasses, vinegar, mustard, garlic, and salt.  Mix thoroughly.

2.  Place all remaining ingredients in a crock pot.  Add the tomato paste mixture and toss to coat.

3.  Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

4. Stir well and serve.

makes 10 servings