Guy Fieri's Taj Maholla!

Finished dish on basmati rice

Are you looking for something new and different to do with chicken?  We eat a lot of chicken at our house and are always on the lookout for new taste sensations.  This chicken dish from Guy Fieri fills the bill.  I have made it a couple of times, so I naturally had to tweak it a little after the first try.

This recipe uses chicken thighs, so it is pretty economical.  Be warned, however, this is not a quick dish -- there are several steps involved -- but it is quite tasty.  Especially if you double the amount of spices as I do.  I use garam masala that I purchase at our local food co-op, so I can't vouch for Fieri's masala recipe. I serve the chicken over basmati rice for further Indian taste.

You can find the recipe here on the Food Network website.

Chicken thighs after baking, still on the bone

Boned and shredded chicken added to the sauce

1960s Working Mom Dinner

Mom in her working days

When I was growing up, my mother worked full time.  This was not quite as common in the 1960s as it is today.  We didn't suffer at all, however, by having a working mother.  When my brother and I were small, we had what today might be called a live-out nanny -- ladies who came to our house and stayed all day to take care of us.  When we were in school, the "nanny" was sort of a cross between a babysitter and a maid, as she had time during school hours to do some cleaning.

I don't remember our first sitter.  She came when my mother returned to work when I was a year old.  We lived in Germany then (my father was military), and her name was Krista, but everyone in our family called her Dee-da because that is how I pronounced her name.  All I really know about Krista was that a bow and arrow accident had left her with a glass eye.

The second sitter was Miss Murphy.  She took care of us for about five years,  during the time we lived in Clarksville, Tennessee.  Miss Murphy was the sweetest lady ever.  She was in her early-mid sixties.  She had never married and lived with her two brothers.  One brother was named Horace, and for many, many years I honestly thought his name was Horse.  Her other brother was Charlie.  He had a real sweet tooth and would mix sugar and water when there was no other dessert at their house.  Miss Murphy would let me sit in her lap during thunderstorms, and sometimes she would let me skip kindergarten if the other kids had been teasing me and I cried before school.  (This sometimes was the result of wearing a hooded raincoat and being called Little Red Riding Hood.) Miss Murphy was very protective of us.  In the summer, she would sit outside in a lawn chair, holding an umbrella for shade, while we "swam" in our little tiny wading pool.  I clearly remember her telling me, "You can drown in a teaspoonful of water."

When we moved to Georgia, Nelly became our maid.  She really was the one most like a maid.  After all, by then I was in third grade and my brother was in fifth.  She wore a white uniform.  Nelly, unlike Miss Murphy, could drive, so she would take us to music and swimming lessons.  She also taught us to play cards -- Fish and a game called Pat, which I can no longer remember.  She was a good cook and would often start supper by putting a roast in the oven.

Despite having this household help, my mother still had to prepare dinner most of the time after she came home.  In those days, a can of Campbell's soup was an easy way to make a sauce for dinner, and there were no foodie blogs or cable TV shows to make working and stay-at-home mothers feel guilty for taking this shortcut.  One of my mother's easy weekday meals was hamburger pie, a one-course meal that -- with a glass of milk -- covered all the bases for a balanced meal for the kids.

Hamburger pie is kind of a variant of shepherd's pie.  My mother always baked it in the oven and served it over mashed potatoes.  I am more flexible (and lazier).  I cook the whole thing in a non-stick skillet and serve it over rice or egg noodles when I am too rushed to make mashed potatoes.

Hamburger pie is not fancy; it won't impress your foodie friends.  In fact, I would never serve it to guests,  but I do make it occasionally when I want something easy and hearty, and I'll tell you a secret -- my family loves it.




Hamburger Pie

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck

1 medium onion, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cans (10 1/4 ounce) tomato soup

2 cans (14 1/2 ounce) cut green beans, drained

Break up ground chuck in non-stick skillet.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add chopped onion.  Brown meat and onion together until thoroughly cooked (no pink in the meat).

Spoon out as much fat as possible from the pan.  (If desired, you can remove the meat with a slotted spoon to another bowl and pour out the fat, then return the meat to the pan.)  Add soup and beans.  Combine and heat over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until bubbly hot.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.

Printable recipe

Meatless Monday Meal

Here is a great meal for a meatless Monday.  This bean and pasta bake recipe comes from Nikki & David Goldbeck's American Wholefoods Cuisine, published in 1983.  My sister-in-law gave me this cookbook, and I have used it for years.

This dish contains protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables.  All you need to add for a complete meal is a green salad. Note: The recipe calls for three cups of cooked black beans.  I have always used dried beans, but I suppose it would work with drained canned beans.  I expect the finished product would turn out a little mushier though.

Mexican Beans and Pasta Bake

from Nikki & David Goldbeck’s American Wholefoods Cuisine

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust amount to taste)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, cored and rough chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried cumin

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (can use whole wheat)

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

3 cups cooked black beans (preferably from dried beans)

1/3 cup sliced olives

1 – 1 1/2 cups broken corn tacos or chips

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oil in 2-quart pot over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic for 3 minutes to soften.   Add cayenne and chili powder and cook briefly.  Add tomatoes, oregano, and cumin, and bring to a boil.

Add pasta and corn and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes until pasta is just tender.  Stir in beans and olives.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Transfer bean mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.  Top with broken chips and cheese.  Bake for 10-15 minutes to melt cheese and heat through.  If casserole is assembled in advance and chilled, increase baking time to 20-25 minutes.

Printable recipe

Easy Fifties Chicken

I am trying to stick to my resolution to eat healthier.  (Pay no attention to that cheeseburger behind the curtain!)  So last night after a busy, snowy day, I fell back on this easy chicken recipe I use on those evenings when I want a healthy entree that doesn't require a lot of hand-holding.  It's quick to whip up, then you just stick it in the oven, put some brown rice on to steam, and come back in about half an hour or so to a tasty dinner.

When you mix it up, it may seem like a lot of extra sauce but, if served over rice, the sauce is absorbed by the rice and helps add flavor.

Fifties Chicken

Adapted from Eater’s Choice: Low Fat Cookbook by Dr. Ron Goor and Nancy Goor

¼ cup unbleached white flour

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

¾ cup orange-pineapple juice

1-2 large cloves garlic, crushed, or 3-4 small cloves, whole

2-3 shakes of Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute onion and green pepper in olive oil medium saucepan until tender.  Mix in orange-pineapple juice, garlic, Tabasco sauce, mustard, and soy sauce.  Heat over medium heat while flouring chicken.

Lightly flour chicken, covering both sides.  Place chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.  Cover with sauce.

Bake chicken for 30-45 minutes or until cooked through.  Serve over brown rice.

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