Chicken, apple, and potato salad (Salpicão de frango)

This is the salad that shows up at every barbecue (or churrasco), just like we have potato salad. The sweetness and extra crunch of the apple is perfect complement to the chicken, and the creaminess created by the combination of mayonnaise and heavy cream sets this salad apart from its American counterpart.

If you can't find the shoestring potatoes, just crunch up some potato chips!

Chicken, apple, and potato salad (salpicão de frango)

Servings: 8

Prep time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken

2 lbs. Potatoes, diced

1 apple

1 t lime juice

3 oz. can green olives, sliced

1 C hearts of palm, diced

1 can corn

1 C mayonnaise

1 C heavy cream

1 t oregano

1 t cumin

1 t basil

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Shoestring potatoes 

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the potatoes ten minutes until soft but maintaining their shape.

2. Core the apple. Dice. Put in a large bowl and sprinkle the lime juice on top.

3. Remove the meat from the chicken and pull apart into small pieces or cut.

 4. Add all the ingredients to the apples except the shoestring potatoes.

5. Refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with the shoestring potatoes before serving.

6. Serve with a green salad and white rice.

Jicama and Chicken Saute

The jicama is an underused root vegetable. It has the consistency of an apple and the flavor of a potato. I received several in my food basket a few weeks ago, and they kept quite well in the fridge, seeing as how they are a root.

I got a bit impatient with all the recipes I found for them, though. There are salads galore. And a few dips. But nothing that really showcased the vegetable. So when I found this one, I was a bit hesitant to try it. It looked a little suspect. What if we didn't even like the vegetable, after all?

We were pleasantly surprised. Serve this with rice, and you'll enjoy the crisp flavor the jicama with chicken.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, defrosted and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp curry powder, divided

1/2 C chicken broth

2 green onions, sliced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 T olive oil

2 C jicama, cut into matchsticks

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 C dry roasted peanuts

Sprinkle the chicken cubes with salt and 1/2 tsp of the curry powder.

In a small bowl, combine the broth, onions, crushed red pepper flakes, and remaining curry powder. Set aside. In another bowl have your bell pepper and jicama ready to go.

In a wok, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook about 7 minutes or until browned. Add the jicama and bell pepper. Cook another three minutes, stirring often.

Add the broth mixture and cook three more minutes or until heated through.

Serve over rice and garnish with peanuts.

Tastefully,

Tamara 

Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

I am back! And I have a brief two weeks at home before the summer traveling resumes. My goal is to buy only as many groceries as I can use so that I'm not left giving away or freezing food when we travel again. It does make menu planning a little bit more challenging than usual, but we'll see what we come up with.

Yesterday was my son's birthday. One of our traditions is the birthday person gets to choose what they want for dinner. Anything they want, and I'll make it. My son chose Chicken-Noodle soup, with some prompting from my husband.

I'm not a huge fan of chicken-noodle soup. To me, the star character is the broth, and the rest of it is a distraction. I'm in the minority. My husband loves it stock full of noodles and meat, with the broth playing a minor note.

This recipe is an excellent compromise. It's got all the stuff my husband loves, and the broth is plentiful and flavorful for me. It also comes together super quick, which is an added bonus.

Ingredients:

2 qt. chicken broth

1 C onion, diced

1 C celery, sliced

1 C carrot, sliced

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 C or more of water

12 oz. egg noodles (such as Kluski)

2 12-oz cans canned chicken (undrained)

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients and bring to a boil in a large stockpan. Simmer 20-30 minutes until the veggies are soft. Add the 2 cups of water, the noodles, and the chicken. Cook another 10-12 minutes until the noodles are done, according to package directions.

The soup will thicken the longer it cooks. Serve it immediately or let is simmer, but have water on hand to thin it if necessary.

I love how the flavor of the broth shines through and think it needs no additional flavor, but feel free to add salt and pepper as you see fit. Enjoy with bread or crackers.

Tastefully,

Tamara 

Creamy Apples and Chicken

From time to time, I'll pick a country and we'll have food from there for a week. Last week was French week. So among several dishes I made was this amazing one, Creamy Apples and Chicken. The silky mushrooms combined with the cream and slightly sweet apples, served over rice, was an instant hit with my family. Win-win.

Ingredients:

flour, for dredging

salt and pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved (I halved these the long way to make the breasts skinnier so they would cook faster)

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

1 large apple or 2 small

1 medium onion, finely chopped

8 mushrooms

1/3 C chicken broth

2 T apple juice/cider

2/3 C heavy cream

Peel and dice the apple(s).

Clean the mushrooms with a paper towel.

Stem the mushrooms. Slice them and then cut them in half.

Season the flour with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken pieces dry and dredge in the flour.

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon each butter and oil. When the butter is melted, slip the chicken pieces into the pan. 

Cook for three minutes to brown, and then flip them over and cook another three minutes.

Add the rest of the butter and oil. Clear a spot in the pan and add the onions, apples, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Coat the fruit and veggies with the butter and oil until they are glossy.

Mix the additions with the chicken and cook for 1 minute.

Add the broth.When the broth bubbles, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat up again, add the apple cider, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the cream and keep the heat on until the cream reduces by about a fourth (about five minutes).

Serve with rice and vegetables!

Tastefully,

Tamara