Give Them Something Better

Tag: Rice

  • One Pot “Chicken” and Rice PLUS Gifts From The Kitchen

    One Pot “Chicken” and Rice PLUS Gifts From The Kitchen

    chicken and rice

    I like to give gifts. I like to make other people happy. I like to show people I appreciate what they do for me. I like to meet my neighbors. But I don’t like to shop and don’t really have the money to buy something for all of those people. So to solve my dilemma I do what I usually do and start cooking.

    I know you are thinking I don’t have time for all of that. But what if I helped you make time by cutting your dinner prep and clean up time in half by showing you how to make your meal all in one pot. For the December Supper Club we made two one pot entrees; one was a simple pasta dish and the other was a veggie filled rice dish.

    This was our menu:

    1. Company Salad
    2. Tomato and Basil Linguine (adapted)
    3. One Pot “Chicken” and Rice
    4. Italian Green Beans with Hazelnuts
    5. Fluffy Peanut Butter Cookies
    6. Amazing Fudge

    Despite the cold wintery weather that day we had a full house and I had a lot of feedback from the guests. The Linguine was a favorite of the ridzogirl, she had it in her lunch box two days in a row afterwards and I didn’t get a complaint. Besides the dessert I think my favorite was the rice, which is surprising because I don’t usually like rice dishes and the best part about it is it was full of really healthy veggies like Swiss chard, which I don’t get enough of.

    I showed 6 simple gifts to give to friends and neighbors:

    1. Paper Plates and Napkins (Our Christmas Gift to You..Less dishes to do?)
    2. Peppermint Hot Cocoa (using Truvia to reduce the sugar)
    3. Dinner in in a basket (One of our one pot wonders works great)
    4. Cookies or Fudge
    5. Cute mug with the 90-second brownie ingredients (great for single people)
    6. Cookbook (Give Them Something Better is a great choice)

    Here is my favorite recipe from the supper club, I made two versions so look at the note at the bottom of the recipe for the variation (I think I liked it the best!) if you would like to have the other recipes or more details about adaptations I made Sign up for the Supper Club Newsletter and you will get everything!

    One Pot “Chicken” and Rice

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 small yellow onion, diced
    • 2 medium carrots, diced
    • 2 stalks celery, diced
    • 1 cup mushrooms, diced
    • 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
    • 3-4 cups Swiss chard or other dark leafy green cut or torn into small pieces
    • 1 ½ cups soy curls, broken (you can use any meat substitute here)
    • 3 tablespoons chicken-style seasoning
    • 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus wedges for serving
    • 1 ½ cups Minute brown rice
    • 4 cups water
    1. Sauté onion, carrots and garlic until onions are translucent and lightly browned.
    2. Add remaining ingredients, except water cook and stir for 2 more minutes.
    3. Add water, mix and cover and reduce heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes or until water is evaporated.

    Brown Rice & Gluten Steak Method: Cut 6 gluten steaks into 2-inch cubes, dredge I flour and brown in a little oil. Remove gluten from pan and follow the directions above adding the browned gluten steaks instead of soy curls. Simmer covered for 1 hour.

  • General Chow’s Tofu Recipe

    General Chow’s Tofu Recipe

    general chow tofu 640roatated

    The most talked about meal at Emmanuel Institute so far.

    At Emmanuel Institute we follow the 5 week menu rotation that is in our cookbook and we are finishing up week five.  So at this point the students have tasted just about everything from the book.
    Yesterday we served General Chows Tofu, almost the last recipe on the list. Some of the students had tried it before, others just loved the pictures. Word got around, the anticipation swelled and they were not disappointed.
    The students absolutely loved it! I usually multiply the recipes times 4 for the class, but for General chows I did times twelve and there was not a scrap left! With the extra crispy tofu and the sweet and spicy sauce that is way better than anything you will ever taste from a bottle. It’s like having Chinese take out at home. The best part you know exactly what’s in it!
    Here is the recipe for you to try…let me know how your family liked it!

    General Chow’s Tofu

    SAUCE:

    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 1/4 cup onion, minced
    • 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
    • 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
    • 1 1/3 cups vegetable broth1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • dash cayenne pepper, or to taste
    • 2 tablespoons water
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

    TOFU:

    • 1 package (14 ounces) water-packed tofu, firm or extra-firm
    • 3/4 cup cornstarch
    • Oil, as needed for pan frying

    FINISH IT OFF:

    • 1 bunch broccoli

    for the SAUCE::

    1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
    2. Add onion, garlic, and ginger; cook about 4 minutes, until onions are softened.
    3. Add vegetable broth, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper; bring to a boil.
    4. Mix water with cornstarch in a small bowl; add to boiling sauce. Cook until thickened.

    for the TOFU:

    5. Drain excess water from tofu.
    6. Cut tofu into ½-inch cubes and toss with the cornstarch and a dash of salt until completely coated.
    7. Cover bottom of skillet with a generous layer of oil over medium heat.
    8. Add tofu to skillet; fry until browned. Turn tofu and brown the other side. Remove from pan and drain excess oil on paper towels.

    to FINISH IT OFF:

    9. Add broccoli to hot pan with a couple of tablespoons of water; cook until crisp-tender.
    10. Add tofu and sauce back to pan; mix well before serving.
    Makes 6 servings.

  • Meatless Monday – Indian Red Lentil Dhal

    Meatless Monday – Indian Red Lentil Dhal

    dhal 640 cropThe Emmanuel Class session began this week and I have been cooking two meals a day for forty people, with help of course! It can be a lot of fun, but the first week is always the hardest.  I have made several trips to the grocery store with multiple carts over flowing with food. One time a borrowed three extra boys from a friend just to help me push the four carts around the grocery store.  So between shopping and cooking I have done little else.
    We have mostly been making recipes from our cookbook but today I tried something new for out “Indian food day’ I made Aloo Gobi based in this recipe. But as usual I made a few adjustments.

    1. I replaced some the cauliflower with chickpeas.
    2. Added extra potatoes
    3. used some chili paste because I didn’t have any Serrano pepper.(somehow I lost my list on that crazy shopping excursion with 4 teenage boys!)

    I made the recipe times five, every bit of it was gone and people were asking for more.

    I also made Dhal from our book so I thought I would share the recipe with you. It has a light coconut taste and a little spice, it is a great way to give your family a taste of food from other countries. It is also perfect for meatless Monday because it is “Naturally Meat Free”.

     

    dhal detail 1

     

     

     

    Dhal (Indian Lentils)

    • 2 tablespoons oil
    • ½ medium onion, chopped
    • 2 teaspoons, rounded , garlic paste
    • 2 teaspoons, rounded , fresh grated gingerroot or ginger paste
    • 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
    • 2 teaspoons, rounded, mild curry paste
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 can (14 ounces) lite coconut milk
    • 1 cup dried red lentils
    • ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

    1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
    2. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring.
    3. Add tomato paste, curry paste, coriander, and cumin; cook 3 minute, stirring constantly to avoid burning.
    4. Add water, coconut milk, and lentils; stir to mix well.
    5. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until lentils are soft, 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed. Season with salt and serve.