Shredded Chicken Burritos

When we went to the capital a few weeks ago, I picked up some packages of pre-made tortillas, just for a quick and easy meal sometime.  It's always nice to have something like that around for manic days that get away from you. I was really craving a shredded chicken burrito, even though I've never made one before. It's one of my favorite things at restaurants. I looked for a recipe online, and not finding one that I thought sounded good, did my own thing.  Here's what ended up happening.  This will be a keeper for us! : )

Shredded Chicken Burritos

3 chicken breasts

3/4 c. uncooked rice

2 small onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper, choppped

1/2 yellow or red pepper, chopped

5 garlic cloves

3 T. butter

1/2 c. water

1/2 block (1 t.) chicken bullion

1 t. cumin

2 t. chili powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. oregano

6 10 inch flour tortillas

1/2 block Brittania cheddar, shredded

Toppings: cilantro, sour cream, salsa

Boil 1 1/2-2 c. water and cook the rice. 

In a skillet, melt 1 T. butter.  Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and saute, whole, in the skillet.  Once finished, remove to a plate. When cooled, shred the chicken using two forks to pull it apart.  

Add 1 T. butter to the same skillet.  Add onions, peppers, and garlic.  Saute until soft.  Add the cooked rice and stir to combine.  Add water, chicken buillion, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and oregano.  Stir to combine and cook until water is absorbed. Add the shredded chicken and stir to combine, coating chicken with seasonings.  Remove from heat.  

Spoon a heaping 1/2 c. into each tortilla.  Top with 2-3 T. cheese.  Fold both ends over, then roll the burrito up.  Place on a butter grill or skillet and grill until brown and golden on each side. (If you'd rather, you can bake them in the oven for a few minutes, or pop them into the microwave to get a more "taco bell" like feel to the tortilla. :)) Top with whatever you want!  

Make Your Own Croutons

We occasionally like to make spinach salads, and more and more, we've been able to find lettuce in our city. I even have a friend who's grown lettuce on her balcony in pots! When you love salad, there's not much you won't do. :)

But for a great salad, you must have croutons. They're so simple to make that I'll never buy them again, not even when we go back to the US.

Homemade Croutons

2 slices of bread

1/4 c. butter (or more, depending on how buttery you want them)

Cut the bread into one inch cubes. Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl. You can season it with garlic powder or roasted garlic, onion powder, pepper, ... Get creative!

Dip each piece of bread in the butter, then place on a baking tray, buttery side up. Toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until they're hardened but not burned.

These are so good! We all fight over the last ones!

Indian Lunch Ideas

I have a house helper who cooks lunch for us. I think this is an indispensable thing for me as I'm homeschooling, since there are no quick and easy lunches here besides PB&J and grilled cheese.  We want a little more variety than that. :)  

It has taken us some time, though, to figure out a good variety of Indian meals we all like that we can have for lunch.  Here's a list of some of our favorite meals to have our helper make for us! I usually do subji (veggies) and chapati (wheat flat bread) on M-W-F and Daal Chawal (lentils/beans and rice) on T-Th.  Just to change it up! :) 

Subji and Chapati:

-Bindi Masala: Sauteed okra with tomatoes and onions

-Aloo Shimla Mirch: Potatoes and green peppers sauteed with spices (We like it dry, no gravy)

-Aloo Gobi: Potatoes and cauliflower with onions and tomatoes

-Aloo Parantha: We like this just by itself.  Our helper made the best paranthas we've ever had. I can post the recipe if anyone wants it.

-Loki Masala: loki is a long pale gourd that looks kind of like a zucchini when it's cut, but cooks totally differently.  We like this with lots of onions, tomatoes, and dania powder.

-Kajar Mattar: carrots and peas sauteed in spices

-Bund Gobi Mattar: cabbage and peas

Daal/Chawal:

-Lobia Masala: black eyed peas in a tomato-y gravy

-Rajma Masala: kidney beans or pinto beans (or a mix) in a tomato gravy

-Channa Masala: chick peas (we like to eat this with Puris, deep fried wheat bread)

-Mixed Daal: pretty self explanatory.  

This is just off the top of my head. I'll come back and add to this if I think of anything else we really like.  I'll try to post the recipes for some of these things in the coming weeks as well.  

Cake Decorating Basics

I am by NO means an expert at this, and there are lots of websites and resources out there with all kinds of instructions and tips for making beautiful flawless cakes. But I thought I'd share what I've learned in the last couple of years anyway. :)

I started with a basic kit of supplies:

-Three Wilton piping bags, one extra large

-Two straight line tips in different sizes

-Two star tips in different sizes

-A grass tip

-Some kind of a wide flat attachment to the extra large bag for piping wide flat lines of frosting onto your cake to spread out as the base frosting layer

-Wilton food coloring box of 8 colors

-Frosting spatula

Preparing your cakes:

-When your cakes have cooled, the first thing I do is look at the tops. Usually they're uneven. This is due to my oven being uneven, or my counter top. Who knows. :) I usually take a long bread knife and get at eye level with the top of the cake, and then slowly shave off a little bit at a time until it looks more level with the edges all the way around.

-Then I place one cake on the serving platter, bottom down. Next, I put about two cups of frosting on that cake, and smooth it out with the frosting spatula. If my cake is still a little high in the middle, this means that I'll work hard to distribute the frosting to where it's thicker on the outside and thinner in the middle, in an attempt to level it out again.

-Next, I place the second cake, top down, on top of the frosting. I want the bottom on top so there is a nice smooth edge to the top of the cake. I'm not sure if you're "supposed" to do this, but it always works well for me. I pretty firmly but evenly push on the cake top to mash the frosting out to the edges evenly. If you don't get the frosting to fill in the full gap between the edges of the cake, it will sag and then the middle will be much higher than the edges. Add some frosting and fill it in if you need to.

Once you've got the cake stacked:

Brush the top and sides with your fingers lightly to remove any loose crumbs. You don't want them getting stuck in your frosting.(If they do anyway, you can pry them out with a toothpick). I put about 2 cups again of frosting on top of the cake. With the spatula, I smooth it out to the edges. You want to hold the spatula or knife at an angle and either push or pull the frosting so it's moving evenly and smoothing out. If you end up with too much on top, just push it down the side. Once the top is smooth and even, add some more to the sides if necessary. Take a glob (about 2 T?) and stick it to the side. Then hold the spatula, handle up, at an angle and pull it toward you as you turn the platter or cake base. This takes some practice. If the frosting is getting dry and difficult to smooth, grab a bowl of water and dip your spatula or knife into the water and start again. Keep dipping in water and scraping off the excess frosting on the edge of the bowl.

-If you're doing a design on the cake, I always take a tooth pick and kind of sketch it into the first layer of frosting, then pipe the border, then fill it in.

-Once you're done frosting, for a nice finished look, take a paper towel and fold it into a sharp point, and run it around the platter to pick up any frosting spills, make it clean, and give a nice edge to the bottom of the cake.

Confectioners Frosting

About two years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to decorate cakes, just in a basic way. Nothing too fancy, but I wanted to be able to make fun things for my kids birthdays. My sister-in-law is an amazing cake decorator and so she put together a beginner's kit for me of things I'd need. More on that in my next post on basic decorating techniques. But I had a hard time coming up with a frosting recipe that I could work with. Most buttercreams use a lot of shortening, and the dalda/vanaspati is NOT good for frostings. :) Fondant was out of the question because it uses marhsmallows. For a long time I've used a cream cheese buttercream. But recently I ran across this recipe, and it worked great for Kiryn's recent birthday cake. So much cheaper and easier than the cream cheese buttercream, plus I got my smoothest result yet! The amount of this recipe will fill and frost a 9 inch round two layer cake.

Confectioners Frosting

5 c. icing sugar

250 g. butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 t. vanilla

3-4 T. cream or milk

Beat the butter with an electric mixer til it's nice and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat til combined. With the mixer on a low speed, add the icing sugar, about a cup at a time, and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula often to keep it well mixed. Once you've added all the sugar, add about 2 T. of cream. Beat on high to combine. If the frosting looks dry, add another T. of cream and keep beating. You want it to be shiny, but to stand up on it's own and be a bit stiff. If you get it too wet, just add a little more icing sugar. Keep going back and forth until you get it right!

If you want to color your frosting, set aside the amount you want in a separate bowl, and add your color to it. Probably went without saying. :) Happy Baking!

*taken from joyofbaking.com*

Classic Birthday Cake

This week was Kiryn's birthday, and I had such a fun time making this cake for her! Here's a classic white cake recipe that makes one 9x13 or two 9 inch round cakes.

Classic Birthday Cake

2 ¾ c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

¼ t. salt

12 T. (or 1 1/2 sticks, 150 grams) butter, at room temperature

1 ¾ c. granulated sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 t. vanilla extract

1 ¼ c. buttermilk

Preheat an oven to 350˚. Lightly butter the bottoms of two 9 by 2 inch round cake pans and sprinkle with flour. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Set aside.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. (If you forgot to set out your butter like I always do, just pop it in the microwave for a minute or two until it just barely starts to melt). Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until well blended and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour, beating with each addition. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and spread it out evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake pan comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around the inside of each pan to loosen the cakes. Invert onto the rack and lift off the pans. Let the cake layers cool completely before frosting.

Pita Bread

So I had posted a recipe previously that I found on a blog somewhere that I'd been using for pita bread. But my success with it kept deteriorating to the point where I would maybe get one out of 8 or 10 to puff correctly. I decided to start over and figure out a new recipe. Here is what I came up with, that resulted in 100% puffing! :)

Pita Bread

3 c. flour

1 T. yeast

2 t. salt

2 t. sugar

1 1/4 c. water (110-115 degrees)

2 T. olive oil

Dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. While the yeast proofs, measure the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Once the yeast is nice and foamy, add it and the olive and stir with a wooden spoon until it gets combined and shaggy looking. Turn it out on to a floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes. Longer the better. Set it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat it with oil, to rise for 1 1/2 hours. (I always put a cup of warm water in my microwave, cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and shut it up in the microwave.)

Once dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it onto the floured surface. Divide into 8 portions by splitting it in half over and over. Keep them covered while you roll one out with a rolling pin. The pita needs to be about 6 inches in diameter and not too thin. Place each pita on a piece of foil (about 6x10 inches, so you can pick it up on each side and move it), and stack them on top of each other. When they’re all rolled and stacked, cover them with a towel for another 30 minutes. (Place them next to the oven to keep them warm and rising while the oven preheats!).

Preheat your oven to 250C while the pitas are rising. Place two at a time in the oven directly on the grill rack. Bake until they are fully puffed and just starting to brown. Remove them and peel the foil off the bottom and place them in a bowl lined with a towel or fabric and cover them to steam while the others cook.

Blackened Chicken

Blackened Chicken is something I often order in restaurants and never realized how easy it is to make at home. It's also easy to customize it to your tastes! Here's a simple recipe you can use over a salad, with fettuccine alfredo, or any number of other ways! If you don't have some of these spices, just substitute what you do have, or leave them out. The most important parts are the salt, pepper, and butter and oil.

Blackened Chicken

4 average sized chicken breasts

1 1/2 T. salt

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 t. black pepper

1 t. onion powder

1 t. cumin powder

1/4 t. ground cayenne (reduce or omit if you're afraid it will be too spicy)

1/2 t. paprika

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

Pound the chicken breasts until they're an even thickness, about 1/4-1/2 inch or so. Pat them dry with a paper towel on both sides. Combine all the spices. Rub the spice mixture hard into the chicken breast on top and bottom and both sides, covering all the surfaces. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a skillet. Wait till it's smokin' hot. Place the chicken breasts in the skillet for about 2 minutes, then turn to cook the other side for two minutes. Remove them to a baking dish and bake at 200C for about 10 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Daal Makhani

Here's another Indian recipe, daal makhani. This is my absolute favorite daal! Wonder why, with all the cream and butter! : )

Dal Makhani

1 cup black lentils (kaali sabut dal)

1/2 cup red kidney beans (rajma) (Pressure cook dals together for about 45 minutes)

2 T. ghee

1 t. cumin seeds

2 big onions, finely chopped

1 t. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder

1/2 t. turmeric powder

salt to taste

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped

¼ cup butter

1+ tsp garam masala powder

2-3 tbsp malai (fresh cream)

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Pre-heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add cumin seeds and let them saute for a minute or two. Add the chopped onions and sauté the onions till pink.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 mts. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt and combine.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-6 mts. Now add the pressure cooked dals along with a cup of water and mix well till they are well coated with the masala mixture. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add water if necessary to get the consistency you'd like.
Add butter, combine and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add malai and garam masala and mix well. Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken

I don't remember where I got this recipe, but it's been a part of our menu rotation for a long time! It's one of our favorite meals. I usually serve it with couscous and sauteed green beans.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken

1/2 c. olive oil

1/8 c. red wine vinegar

2 T. ground cumin

1 T. ground coriander

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. salt

1 t. sugar

¼ t. cayenne pepper

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

¼ cup minced fresh parsley, optional

Whisk first 8 ingredients in large glass baking dish. Add all chicken, turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill 4-6 hours.

Prepare barbecue over medium heat. Place marinade-coated chicken on barbecue. Grill chicken until just cooked through, occasionally brushing with any remaining marinade, about 10 minutes per side for breasts and about 12 minutes per side for leg and thigh pieces. Transfer chicken to platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

If you don't have a barbecue as most of us in South Asia don't, you can also cook this in the oven. I line the baking tray (that came with the oven) with foil, and place it in the bottom of the oven. Then I place the chicken on the wire rack in the center and cook them until they're done and juices run clear.

Paneer Butter Masala

Living in South Asia, I think it's a good idea to have a handle on at least a few traditional South Asian recipes. Friends and neighbors here are always so impressed that I'm even trying to make Indian food! Here's one of our favorite recipes... (I usually double this recipe to feed our family served with rice). You can also substitute chicken for the paneer if you'd like, just don't soak it in water after you cook it.

Paneer Butter Masala

250 g. paneer

2 big onions

1 T. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder (I usually do about 1/4 teaspoon)

3 big ripe tomatoes

1 t. coriander powder

Pinch of huldi (turmeric)

½ t. kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Garam masala powder(about 2-3 teaspoons?)

Salt to taste

3 T. butter

2 T. fresh cream

Cube and sauté paneer in a T. of ghee til golden brown. You want them to be nice and crispy, like this. If they loose water as they're cooking, just let it cook off... eventually they'll start to brown. Remove into a dish and add a cup of hoter water to the fried cubes and let them sit in it for 5 minutes. Then drain the water and keep aside.

Blanch the onions for ten minutes and then puree. Blanch tomatoes as well, remove skins and puree. I usually just do this together, throw them all in a big pot and boil for a few minutes to get the cooking started. Them remove and peel them all. Puree the onions first, then the tomatoes.

Heat 2 T. of butter in a pan, add the onion paste and sauté til brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for three minutes. Add chilli powder and combine, followed by the cashew paste and combine.

Add tomato puree, crushed kasuri methi, coriander powder, huldi, garam masala, and salt. Stir and let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the paneer and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or till you get the desired curry consistency. Remove from fire, stir in remaining butter and fresh cream.

Let the curry sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve hot with rotis, naan, paranthas or simple steamed white rice.

The Best Baked Beans Ever

I grew up eating these baked beans, they're my mom's recipe. They always get rave reviews, even leaving out a few of the key ingredients we can't get here. I'll post the whole recipe, so that when you are in the US you can try them and see how good they really are...

Baked Beans

½ lb. bacon, diced (obviously omitted in SA)

½ lb. sausage, crumbled (obviously omitted in SA)

1 lg. onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

6 cloves garlic or 2 t. garlic salt

3 16 oz cans Pork n Beans (I use either Heinz or American Garden, I think!)

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. liquid hickory smoke (if you don't have this, you can leave it out, but it's a great thing to bring over)

¼ t. cayenne pepper or lal mirch

¼ t. black pepper

2 T. mustard (like French's)

¼ c. brown sugar

3 oz. tomato paste or ketchup

Cook bacon and sausage. Saute onion and green pepper with meat. Add all other ingredients in a deep round dish. Bake 2-3 hours at 325ºF.

Guava Ice Cream Cups

Being inspired by the Masterchef finale last week, I bought some guavas at the market. They're in season right now and so cheap, about Rs. 25/kg. I've got a few things I want to try, but this was a quick dessert we had tonight...

Guava Ice Cream Cups

1 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. lemon juice

2 guavas

2 t. cornflour

Red food coloring

Vanilla Ice cream

Boil the water, sugar, and 1 t. of lemon juice. Cut the guavas in half and scoop out the seeds, making a bowl in the center. Place the guavas cut side down into the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the guava is tender and easily cut through. Remove the guava halves and chill them in the fridge.

Keep the water on the gas. Remove 1 T. of the water and dissolve the corn flour in it. Add the mixture back to the water, and add remaining lemon juice. Whisk until it forms a clear thick syrup that will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and add a bit of red food coloring, stirring to combine.

Place ice cream in the bowl of the guava and top with syrup.

Here's my husband feigning pretentiousness due to his sweater vest and eating a dessert like this out of a crystal bowl. :) We all really enjoyed it!

Double Chocolate Chews

This is like food therapy. Cookie love. Chocolate heaven. Just be warned: you'll want to eat the whole batch by yourself. They are not for the fainthearted. This is not an easy cookie recipe...

Double Chocolate Chews

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. sifted powdered sugar

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

2 1/4 t. baking powder

1/8 t. salt

1 c. semisweet chocolate pieces, chopped into 1/4 inch squares(like Bournville bars) (or mini chocolate chips)

3 T. vegetable oil

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 1/2 T. light colored corn syrup or golden syrup, or honey

1 T. water

2 1/2 t. vanilla extract

3 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 175C.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

3. Combine 3/4 c. chocolate morsels and oil in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Pour melted chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and cool 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla and egg whites to chocolate mixture; stir well. Stir in flour mixture and 1/4 c. chocolate morsels.

4. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 175C for 8 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cooies from pans; cool on wire racks. Yield 4 dozen. (Is it just me, or do cookie recipes never make as much as they say they do??)

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Copy Cat Recipe

Pizza is an easy dinner to make. Lots of places in India have delivery, for sure. But it's much cheaper (and healthier!) to make it at home!

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Pizza Crust

3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1-1/4 tsp. yeast (Solar brand works great, but keep it in the freezer between uses)
1 Tbs. sugar
2-1/4 cups bread flour (I always just use Maida)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil

Preparation for the Crust:

First prepare the dough for the crust. You might want to prepare the crust one day prior to baking the pizza. To get the best dough, you need to allow it to rise in the refrigerator overnight. This procedure will produce a great commercial-style crust.

Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup, and stir until the yeast and sugar have dissolved. Let the mixture set for approximately 5 minutes. Foam should begin building up on the surface. If it doesn't, either the water was too hot or the yeast was dead. Throw it out, and start again.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour, and pour in the yeast mixture. Add the olive oil. Use a fork to stir the liquid in the center of the flour. Slowly draw in more flour, a little at a time, until you have to use your hands to completely combine all the ingredients into a ball.

Dust a clean, flat surface with flour, and with the heel of your hands, knead the dough on this surface until it seems to have a smooth, consistent texture. This should take approximately 10 minutes.

Rub a light coating of oil on the dough, then put it into a tightly covered container and in a warm place to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size. When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down, put it back into the covered container and into the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time for that, you can use the crust at this point. Without the long rest, however, it won't have the same texture as the original.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

One box tomato puree
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf (called Tej Patta here)
dash onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 ball Amul pizza cheese or 2/3 package of Flanders Mozzarella

Preparation for the Sauce:

You can prepare the pizza sauce ahead of time as well, storing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pizza. Simply combine the tomato sauce with the spices and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes until it reaches the thickness you like. When the sauce has cooled, store it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

When ready to assemble, spread the dough out in the rectangle pan that came with your oven. You can grease the pan with butter, and if desired, throw a handful of sooji (which is semolina in the states) on the pan, which will make it taste a little bit like Uno Chicago Pizzeria pizza. Fork the dough after it's spread out a few times to prevent air bubbles. Spread sauce on top. Spread one ball of shredded Amul PIzza cheese on top. Top the pizza with whatever toppings you want!

Bake at 225 for 15-20 minutes, till crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.

(If you want a thicker crust, make the recipe using 1.5 times the ingredients, or double the recipe, and freeze half, wrapping it in plastic wrap and sealing in a Zip Pouch to use next time for a really quick and easy dinner!)

Recipe taken from Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken with Basmati Pilaf

Here is a recipe from a new contributor, StephanyW. Thanks so much for joining the fun, Stephany! We look forward to more of your recipes... this sounds delicious, and I'll be trying it this week!

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken with Pilaf

1 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed

2 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/8 t ground pepper

1 t minced garlic

1 T lemon juice

3 pomegranates

1 T + 2t olive oil

¾ t salt

2 bone in skinless chicken breast halves (Tricia used non bone breasts and it was quite a few, but maybe she doubled recipe. I am not sure.)

1 c finely chopped onion

¼ t ground cumin

¼ cup walnuts coarsely chopped

1 large scallion

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine rice, chicken broth, and bay leaf in medium pan. Season with 1/8 t ground pepper. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Discard leaf.

Preheat oven to 450. Put garlic and lemon juice into heatproof bowl, cut pomegranates in half. Remove seeds. Set ¾ cup of seeds aside. Extract juice from remaining 4 halves with a citrus juicer or reamer. Strain into small saucepan. (yield should be about 1 cup juice)

Cook pomegranate juice over med heat until syrupy and down to about ¼ cup about 10 minutes. Stir into lemon juice and garlic.

Brush 2 t oil over bottom of 9x13 dish. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Put chicken into dish; brush all over with glaze. Roast, brushing with glaze every 10 minutes. And add ¼ cup water if needed. Cook approximately 35 minutes.

Brush chicken with pan glaze.

Heat remaining T oil in skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent. Stir in cumin and cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring 5 minutes. Stir in nuts, cilantro, saved pomegranate seeds, and ¼ t salt. Remove from heat. Serve with chicken.

Hot Chocolate Mix

Here's a great recipe from DebbieM:

"We love Hot Chocolate this time of year. The kids really like those little packets but they are SO expensive here. So, I searched and tried many kinds of recipes. Most have powdered milk and creamer in them. Creamer is not always available and powdered milk like Everyday or Milkado have added sugar. (There is a kind without sugar called Anik Spray but it is not easy to get.) Here is an EASY recipe that passed my kids taste test! : )"

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons fine castor sugar (also called Bura)

¾ cup cocoa

1 tsp. salt

Mix together. Store.

Microwave or heat a cup of milk (about 1 to 2 minutes). Add two tablespoons of the mix and enjoy!

If you like the recipe, you can triple it:

3 ½ c. sugar

2 ¼ c. cocoa

1 Tablespoon salt