Mini Chicken Pot Pie by Lina

by Lina Espanola Jimenez-Guest Writer.

I was reading my FB page the other day. The mini pot pie of a fellow Barotacnon attracted my attention. I requested for the recipe and here it is. Enjoy and have fun!

Ingredients:

Vegetable cooking spray
11/2 cup cubed cooked chicken
1 can ( 10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's cream of chicken Soup
1/2 of 16 oz. package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed ( about 1 1/2 cup)
All purpose flour
1 package (12 oz.) refrigerated biscuit ( 10 biscuit).
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F . Spray muffin pan cups with cooking spray. Stir chicken soup and vegetables in a medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle flour on work surface. Roll or pat biscuit to flatten slightly. Press into the bottom and up the sides of muffin cups. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each biscuit cup. Lightly press chicken mixture so it's level. Top each with about 2 tsp. cheese.

3. Bake for 15 min. Or until biscuits are golden brown and cheese is melted. Let pot pies cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 min.

Note: I used the Grand biscuits and used 3 1/2 size muffin pans . I love cheese so I pile it up with cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

About Lina Espanola Jiminez: She retired from medical practice a few years ago, and now devote herself to gardening and experimenting with food.

What to Eat and not to Eat on New Years Day in the Philippines

Twelve kinds of round fruits should be in your table by midnight to bring good luck and prosperity to the Household

When I was growing up in the Philippines, my parents will tell us kids that on New Years Eve and Day, we should do the following for good luck. Doing these things will help insure that the coming year will be a happy and prosperous one. Many of these traditions and superstitions are of Chinese influence, I believe.

1. Turn on all lights so that the coming year will be bright.

2. Make as much noise as you can to scare away evil spirits.

3. Debts must be paid off. Fill you wallet with fresh peso bills.

4. Open all doors, windows, cabinets and drawers to let good fortune in.

5. Scatter coins around the house, on tabletops.... inside drawers...

6. Clean everything including your body by taking a long bath, the closets and the whole house.

7. Wear polka-dots, preferably black and white. Anything round signifies prosperity.

8. Jump twelve times at midnight to increase your height. (Observed by Filipino children.)

There are five things related to food that we must do for good luck as follows:

1. Prepare 12 round fruits, one for each month of the coming new year ( see photo above).

2. Have a very round grape in your mouth at the stroke of midnight.

3. Eat a native delicacy made from sticky rice to make good fortune stick in the new year.

4. Eat long noodles (pancit) for long life ( definitely of Chinese origin). We should eat pancit also during our birthday.

5. Don't eat any chicken or fish. They are associated with the scarcity of food.

Then on New Years Day we should not clean anything, otherwise we might sweep away the good fortune. In addition we should not spend money at all. Our being thrifty that day will help us manage our money very well for the whole year. Do you have any New Years Eve tradition in your family? Please share!

Happy 2015 to All of You, my dear readers and FaceBook Friends!

Three Recipes that are Easy and Simple

Chicken Adobo Sa Gata (Coconut Milk)

Now that the Dungeness crabs are in season and selling from $4.99 to $ 6.99 per lb, it is time to feast on this delicious seafood.

The following are three simple recipes that Merlet Perlas and my sister-in-law gave me during their last visit to my wife several months ago. At that time they brought with them two whole Dungeness Crabs. They also brought with them two other dishes, the chicken adobo sa gata and the Chicken Quesadilla dish. The recipe of the three dishes are as follows:

A.Dungeness Crabs in Oyster Sauce

1.Divide and Cracked whole steamed Dungeness Crabs into small portions. Save the Butter.

2.In a separate pan saute ginger, and garlic with vegetable or olive oil.

3.Place the cracked crabs into the pan, stir until it simmers.

4.Add the crab butter with enough water to transfer all the butter into the pan

5.Add 2 tbs of oyster sauce, then the scallions.

6.Continue stirring until it simmers. Serve Hot.

B. Chicken Adobo sa Gata

1. Chopped the whole chicken into small edible portions. Take out most of the skins and wash the meat

2. Saute garlic and onion in vegetable or olive oil in a pot. Put the chicken in the pot, stir and mix. Add a tsp of powdered black pepper. Boil the chicken for 10 minutes or until cooked without adding any water. Add about one tsp of tumeric powder* ( dilaw or yellow in Pilipino) and simmer another 10 minutes.

3. Add 1 can of coconut milk and simmer until the dish turn yellow. Then add ½ cup of vinegar, and mix. Add slices of green and red bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste. Serve Hot. Total time should be around 30 minutes.
* If you are rich, used safron instead of tumeric

C. Chicken Quesadilla ( Excellent for Left over Baked Chicken)

1. Shred the left over chicken. Place the chicken in a tortilla flour. Add Cheddar Cheese.( Any kind of cheese will do).

2.Close and flip the tortilla. Place in a hot skillet ( no oil). Invert tortilla and cook until the cheese melts. Add your favorite salsa( mild or hot) and sour cream. Bon Apetit!

Katague Recipe for Chicken Macaroni Salad

At our last year and this year Thanksgiving dinner in Walnut Creek at my son's residence (and every party in the David B Katague household), my wife and with my assistance prepared Chicken Macaroni salad. The recipe is a favorite of my four adult children and six grand children who all grew up here in the US. There are several Chicken Macaroni salad recipes that I know, but this version is the simplest one and my favorite.

2 cups elbow macaroni small, cooked
1 lb boneless chicken breast, boiled and cubed
1 ½ cup pineapple chunks or slices and chopped
1/2 cup Spanish, sweet onion ( Vidalia or equivalent), minced
1/2 cup raisins( optional)(sweetened and dried cranberries may be used)
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped( optional)
2 cups mayonnaise (can be 1 cup mayo and 1 cup miracle whip)
1 cup Cheddar cheese, cubed (optional)
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 red delicious apples chopped into small cubes
1/4 cup sweet relish

Cooking Preparation:

Cook the macaroni as directed in the package. Place the macaroni in a large container. Add the mayonnaise (and /or miracle whip) and mix well. Put in the minced onions and mix well. Place the cheddar cheese(optional) in and mix again

Now, add the cooked chicken breast and distribute evenly. Put-in the pineapple chunks or slices, boiled eggs(optional), and and apples (raisins optional) and mix well. Add the sweet relish and salt and pepper to taste. Chill inside the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve chilled.

Note: The popular Pinoy recipe has raisins but no apples. I love raisins, but my wife hates it. So in this recipe, I listed raisins as optional. Apples in the Philippines is very expensive. Another option that I enjoy is to use sweetened dried cranberries instead of raisins. Here in the US, the dried and sweetened cranberries are more expensive than the raisins.

My Recipe for Honey-Baked Ham and Potato Souffle

Instead of or besides turkey, our thanksgiving dinner menu always include honey-baked ham. My wife and I have a simple recipe for any left-over ham. Incidentally, one can now purchased one pound of slice honey baked ham ( without the bone) in our local honey-baked ham store. So you do not have to wait for left-over ham to cook the above recipe.

The following is our favorite ham and potato souffle recipe:

Ingredients

8 big potatoes-peeled and slice to 1 cm thin

1 lb sliced honey- baked ham

1 lb pasteurized sour cream

2 big onions slice to 1 cm thick

½ bunch of fresh parsley

½ cup of milk

¼ cup of flour

Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

Grease a deep pyrex dish with oil and add a dash of flour. Place a bed of slice potatoes, followed by slice of ham, then parsley, onions and garlic salt and pepper. Repeat the layering process two times Then pour the milk. Topped the pyrex dish with potatoes slices. Cover the Pyrex Dish.

Place the pyrex dish in a preheated 375 F oven. Bake for I hour. Serve the dish warm. Enjoy!

Feasting on Dungeness Crabs this Year, 2014

I purchased my first fresh Dungeness crabs yesterday for this year crab season. Raleys had a sale for only $5.99 per lb. I bought three medium-sized whole crabs costing me only $21.24. The price of Dungeness crab in the other stores in our area were at $6.99 per lb. or higher. Dungeness Crab personal fishing season started last November 1 in the Northern California Bay Areas, but the commercial crabbing started only a couple of days ago(November 15).

Needless to say Macrine, David III and I had a feast eating with our hands and fingers. The crab meat was delicious along with garlic bread and green salad with fresh avocado slices and honey mustard dressing. There was a left over crab (claws and 1/4 body) that I cleaned today and made into an omelet.

Here's my simple recipe for a crab omelet.



2 potatoes- peeled and slice into 1/4 inch cubes
1 onion-cut into small cubes
1/4 small cabbage shredded
3/4 cup crab meat
olive oil and garlic salt
6 eggs

Sauteed the onions in oil until cooked. Add the shredded cabbage and heat at low heat until cooked. Add the potato cubes and continue heating until the potatoes are cooked. Add the crab meat and mixed and then pour the beaten eggs into the pan. Cooked until the eggs are cooked. Invert the omelet in the pan and continue heating at low heat. Serve 6.

Baked Cauliflower with Garlic and Cheese

The other day while I was shopping at our local grocery store (Food Maxx), I saw that the cauliflower heads were on sale. The regular price for a large head of cauliflower is $3.49, but it was on sale for only $2.99. I have never cooked this vegetable before, so I did some research. I used the following very simple recipe to cook my first cauliflower dish. It turned out to be very delicious as well as nutritious. The recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.

2.Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve it along with chicken or pork adobo and steam rice and with green papaya pickles ( acharra) as a side dish. Good for 6.