Chicken 'n Noodles

Nothing is as basic and simple as popping some chicken in a pan and making a skillet meal out of it. So basic in fact that it's hard to make a proper introduction to the meal. Yup. Quick and simple. Right then, let's get to it.

Ingredients:

Cleaned chicken breast halves

garlic powder

paprika 

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp dried basil

salt & pepper for taste

~2 cups frozen vegetables 

~2 cups egg noodles

Step 1: Coat chicken in a mix of paprika and garlic powder. Place in skillet and brown both sides.

Step 2: Add in broth, basil, salt and pepper, vegetables. I used a frozen fajita mix, but you can also try broccoli, carrots & peas, green beans.

Step 3: Bring to a boil.

Step 4: Stir in noodles. Try to submerge as many as possible.

Step 5: Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and let simmer for 10-15 minutes (until chicken and noodles are cooked)

Step 6: Serve. Claim this meal was more difficult than it was.

Mexican Helper!

Are you sick and tired of tacos, hamburgers, sloppy joes and basic ingredients for your ground beef? So was I. Don't get me wrong, I love taco night. I just would like to defrost my ground beef without a sense of resignation. As if it wasn't exciting enough, this is also a 1-pot dish. Rejoice! An easy cleanup!

Way tastier than it is photogenic...

Ingredients:

~l lb ground beef/turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup corn (frozen, canned, cobbed)
1/2 cup water
1 cup pasta of your choice (I chose shells)
Shredded cheese (I used taco cheese)
for taste:
chili powder
taco seasoning
oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
salt

Step 1: On a medium heat, cook the ground beef and onions in a large skillet until meat is browned and the onions are tender. Drain.
Step 2: Add tomatoes, corn, water and spices. Season to your liking. Bring to a boil.
Step 3: Add macaroni. Stir it in so it is all submerged by the mixture.
Step 4: Reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until noodles are cooked.
Step 5: Add cheese on top and let it melt.

A Simple Chicken Soup...

When I play the South, they say "y'all" in the South. They take out the "O" and the "U". So when I'm in the South I try to talk like that so people understand me. "Hello, can I have a bowl of chicken noodle s-p? Come on, I'm in the South, you understand. I mean I'm in the S-th, and I want some s-p! -Mitch Hedberg

This long posting pause was brought on by a move from the suburban sprawl of New Jersey to south of the Mason Dixon Line in North Carolina. I can't think of the south without thinking of the quote above, so I think my first southern recipe post will be some good ol' fashioned chicken sp. I mean soup.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 large box/2 cans chicken broth

1/2 cup water

cooked chicken breast

~1 1/2 cups egg noodles

for taste:

basil

oregano

salt

pepper

garlic powder

Step 1: In a large pot, melt butter and cook the onion and celery until they are a bit tender (about 8 minutes).

Step 2: Add chicken, broth, noodles, and carrots. Add spices until it is to your liking. Go easy on the oregano, that taste really comes out once the soup is cooked thoroughly.

Step 3: Bring everything to a boil, then lower the light and let everything simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Step 4: Serve. Enjoy. Let people praise you for this dish. Take bad and artsy pictures (see below) that don't look nearly as appetizing as they really are.

I really ought to learn how to make proper

food porn pictures...

Five Minute Guacamole

I never thought I'd get my favorite guacamole recipe from an elementary school recipe book, but lo and behold I did. Many years back, my brother came home and taught me this recipe. To this day, I have never tasted better guacamole. The only thing that came even remotely close was Chipotle's recipe, but that is still miles away.





Five Minute Guacamole: (Serves 2, Adjust ingredients as necessary.)
1 avocado
A liberal sprinkling of chili powder
Salsa (a ratio of about 1/5th the amount of avocado:salsa)

-Scoop out avocado and mash it into a pulp.
-Add a liberal amount of chili powder. I generally make the center of the bowl a red circle before I stop.
-Stir in salsa. I like to use chunky salsa as it gives the guacamole a different kind of texture, but most kinds work really well.
-Enjoy! That's it!


This dish is best served with chips and in a non-neon orange bowl that was made in the 50's.