Cheesy Chicken Potatoes

Twas the day before payday and the cupboards were bare, my hubby’s tummy was rumbling around in despair. But alas! We had chicken, potatoes and cheese; I thought to myself, “What in the world can I make out of these?”

Ok, horrible rhyming skills, I know, I know! But seriously, this was us 6 years ago; we had no money and little left in the fridge for a meal. I had those three things plus some red onion, so I quickly went to work, and it has since become a favorite in our house. 

Here's what you need:

6 small-medium red potatoes

1/4 of a red onion

2 chicken breasts

butter

salt

pepper

lemon pepper

garlic powder

mild cheddar cheese

extra virgin olive oil (or as Rachel Ray would say, "grab some E.V.O.O.")

First step is to cut up the chicken breasts into bite size pieces, then cook them in a pan with butter, salt, and pepper; stir frequently. Don't cook the chicken all the way, just until it all turns white...It will be going in the oven so you don't want the chicken to be too dry. Preheat your oven to 350*.

While the chicken is cooking, wash and chop up your potatoes.

Then, chop the onion into tiny pieces (or if you just want them for flavor, leave them in bigger chunks and pick out later).

Add the onions and chopped potatoes into a glass baking dish. Mine is 9x13. Drizzle on some olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and the garlic powder. Toss that around for a second.

Drain the cooked chicken and toss that in with the potatoes and onions.

Cover with foil and pop in the oven (center rack) for 45 minutes. Now get to grating some cheese! How much you grate really depends on how much you love cheesy goodness! We love cheese, so I usually grate about 1 1/2 cups to go on this. 

After 35 minutes, take the foil off and sprinkle the cheese on top. Place it back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes (uncovered). 

Once it's done, take it out of the oven and let it cool off for about 10-15 minutes. Then serve :) We didn't have anything to go along with this meal back then, but now I like to serve it with sauteed green beans. YUM!

So there you have it! The meal when there was none to be had. 

Enjoy!

Fully-Loaded Fried Rice

Being half-Japanese, we grew up eating a lot of Japanese dishes. When my dad cooked them, he would add his own spin on them, especially the fried rice. He kind of just pulled whatever leftovers there were in the fridge and threw them in the pan :) So here is my version of fried rice:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
4 slices bacon
3 hot links
a handful of chopped vidalia onion
1 cup frozen veggie mix (carrots, corn, peas)
soy sauce (we use the Kikoman Light brand to cut down on the salt)
3 eggs

Items you'll need:
Pot for the rice
Wok (or a deep pan if you don't own a wok)
Wooden spatula
Knife for cutting
Kitchen scissors (not necessary, but I find it's easier to cut up the bacon with them)
Cutting board
Measuring cup

Prep:
Cut bacon into small slices.
Chop up about 1/4 of the onion into small pieces (or leave them bigger if you prefer).
Cut the hot links into bite size pieces.

Cook the rice according to directions in the pot. While the rice is cooking, add the bacon into a hot wok (set on medium high at first, then turned down to medium while its cooking). Keep it covered, or you'll get splashed (that's the only thing I don't like about bacon)!

When the bacon is about half way cooked, add the chopped onions and hot links. Again, keep it covered throughout the whole cooking process unless otherwise directed!

After the bacon is pretty much crisp, add the frozen veggies and mix them in to coat them with the bacon grease.

 Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are no longer frozen. next, add the cooked rice and mix everything well. Let the rice sit in the mix for about 4 minutes to soak up the bacon grease (its important for the taste).

 Pour a little soy sauce over it. A little bit does go a long way, trust me! Let it cook with the soy sauce for about 2 minutes then make a "well" in the middle of your wok...this is where you'll crack your eggs into.

Scramble the eggs a little with your wooden spatula (I like my eggs to have a little white as well as yellow, but you can scramble them beforehand if you want) and stir frequently. when the eggs are thoroughly cooked, mix everything together. Cover the wok and let it cook for about 2 more minutes, then remove from heat. Let sit for a few minutes to make sure any uncooked egg gets, well, cooked! Serve alongside some fried pot stickers and you have a meal!

 

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