mom's chicken and rice

 i am going to add a bunch of old recipes i have on yellowing paper to preserve them in an easily accessible format, and many i will not have made alterations to yet. this is one of them. i plan to attempt it at some point, because i loved this growing up. the lipton soup mix is the hard thing to sub. 

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

6ish pieces of boneless chicken

1 cup rice

2 soup cans of milk

1 pack dry lipton's onion soup mix

combine all but chicken and soup mix in a 9x13 pan. add chicken. sprinkle dry soup mix on top, making sure chicken pieces get some on them. cook @ 350 for 1.75-2 hours, or until brown on top.

corn pudding or casserole

 this was an experiment in making it gluten and dairy free. so.  attempt 1:

1 pack king arthur gf honey cornbread

2 cans creamed corn

2 cans corn, drained (i used the short, sort of dry pack shoepeg corn)

12ish oz of df sour cream or plain yogurt. I used almond yogurt, and am a little dubious but we'll see

3 eggs, beaten

6 T df margarine (earth balance is an excellent sub)

mix, pour into ungreased 9x13 pan and bake @350 for 1 hour

cole slaw

 6 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded carrot

 1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. mix well. best if left to rest in the fridge for at least a couple hours. 

Single serve fried rice

 Margarine as needed

1/3 c frozen mixed veg 

1 large egg

1 cup leftover rice 

1 T gluten free soy sauce

S&P to taste

Heat nonstick pan over medium-high heat, melt ~1 T margarine, and add veg and s&p to taste. Once the veg has thawed and started to soften a bit, add a little more margarine(~1tsp) and the egg and stir it up to scramble it.  Stir while the egg cooks.  Add rice and a little more margarine (~1 tsp).  Stir well and break up the clumps of rice. Keep stirring until the rice is separate and softened.  Add ~ 1 T of gluten free soy sauce and stir well.  Taste, and adjust s&p or soy sauce if you need a little more for your preference. 

GK’s notes:

Ok, first, I improvised this dish, so I’m  estimating the amounts of margarine, veg and soy sauce I used. I didn’t actually measure them. The rice was from an 8 oz to go container from a restaurant. And I used margarine because I had some. I would prefer butter. 

But this can be made dairy free easily if you use earth balance margarine. And soy free if you use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Omit the egg for egg allergies, but that will affect the amounts of sauce and seasoning you need, so bear that in mind. 

Spanish rice casserole

I started with a box of Lundberg Spanish style Quinoa and rice, but I am a big fan of one-pot meals, so I just wanted to add stuff to the box mix and have a dinner.  Kind of like a kludged hamburger helper.
So I added zucchini, onion, tomato, black beans and additional seasonings and made this casserole style dish!  It turned out great!

1box Lundberg Spanish style Quinoa and rice
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T minced garlic
2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp oregano
1tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T bouillon
Juice from tomatoes plus enough water to make the 1 3/4 c of liquid called for on the box of rice and quinoa
3 T butter or margarine

Sautée the chopped onions and zucchini in butter  or margarine till they are translucent (or mostly so)
Add garlic and cook a few more minutes.  Add the beans, tomatoes and seasonings, and let the temp come back up.  Add the liquid and rice box packets, stir and mush the box seasonings (they likely clumped in the box).  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to let the rice and quinoa cook.
Taste and adjust s&p as needed.


I added extra seasonings on top of the stuff from the box because i figured I added a lot more mass, it would overwhelm the seasonings.  And I added bouillon just because I usually do when this kind of recipe calls for water--it has more depth of flavor.

Orange pudding cupcakes

This recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  

It is one if my favorite things in the world.  

Pudding ingredients:

3/4 c plain soy milk

1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice

3 T tapioca, corn or arrowroot starch

1/4 c plus 2T granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp turmeric for color, optional

1 tsp finely grated orange zest

Cupcake ingredients:

1/3 c canola oil

1 egg (optional, see below)

3/4 c granulated sugar

3/4 c plain *milk

1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 c ap flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1T finely grated orange zest

Directions:

Pudding:

1. Whisk together the soy milk, orange juice, tapioca starch, sugar, vanilla, and turmeric in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the mixture is warm and steamy, whisking occasionally.  When the mixture is warm, you will need to reduce the heat to low and stir continuously for 5 minutes as the mixture thickens.  Use a fork at this point, because the pudding will be too thick for a whisk.  When mixture is sufficiently thick and pudding-like, turn the heat off and fold in the orange zest, mixing for another minute.

2.  Transfer pudding to a bowl and let cool off the stove for 10 minutes, until it stops steaming.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.  It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Cupcakes:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin tin.

2.  In a large bowl, combine oil, egg, if using, sugar, *milk, juice and vanilla, plus 1 T of the flour to help emulsify the liquid ingredients.  Mix until combined.

3.  In a separate bowl, sift together remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing well after each addition, until smooth.  Fold in the orange zest and mix to distribute.

4.  Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 of the way.  Bake for 20-22 minutes; the tops should spring back when touched.  

5.  Cool completely before filling with pudding.

To assemble: 

1  Fit a pastry bag with a wide piping tip. Fill the bag with pudding.  

2. Use a finger (or butt end of a chopstick) to poke holes in the top of each cupcake.  Fill each cupcake with as much pudding as you can (without causing a cakequake).  Use your finger or a knife to remove any excess pudding from the tops of the cakes.

Orange buttercream frosting:

Ingredients:

1/4 c shortening

1/4 c margarine, softened

2 c confectioner's sugar

2 T orange juice 

1 T finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small bowl, cream the shortening and margarine until well combined.  Add confectioner's sugar in roughly 1/2 c additions.  After each addition of sugar, add a splash of orange juice and beat well with a mixer on medium speed.  Add vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes until smooth, creamy and fluffy.  Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

GK's notes:

I no longer need to be egg free, and while I have always had good luck making great cakes with these recipes, I tried adding an egg with the liquid ingredients.  I like it much better!  The cakes get taller and have a better crumb.  

And of course, any shortening, margarine or butter will work fine for any buttercream recipe.  The authors of the book are vegan, and use nonhydrogenated  shortening and dairy-free Earth Balance margarine.  But butter and Crisco will be the same, or all butter, or all shortening.  Honestly, it makes little difference.  And if you want truly WHITE icing, so your little bits of zest show, try all shortening and clear, artificial vanilla.  

The original recipe calls for orange marmalade and chocolate ganache for a topping.  I loathe orange/chocolate combo, so I refuse to do this.  If you like it, you can find your own chocolate ganache recipe.  :P  

And I tried to make a sweetened version of marmalade, a sort of marmalade glaze, and it was still kind of gross.  I just don't think marmalade is sweet enough for this recipe.  Previously, I made orange buttercream icing, and that makes this one of the most amazing and special desserts ever, so I'm giving you that recipe instead.  Please don't bother with the marmalade.  Yuck.

For the pudding, you can use soy or cow's milk, but other milks won't set up right.  But for the cupcake, any milk that is safe for you will work, though thicker ones are better.  Soy, cow's, hemp, flax.  These will work better than rice or almond.  But rice or almond will also do just fine.  

Lime Curd Cupcakes:

I was just given a recipe for homemade lime curd, which makes me want to try a lime version of this.  

I haven't done it yet, but it seems simple enough:  just replace every instance of "orange" in the recipe with "lime", use the lime curd recipe instead of the orange pudding recipe, and the lime buttercream recipe below, instead of the orange one.  I think it's gonna be great!

So here's the curd link:  http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/07/lime-curd/

And here's a lime buttercream icing recipe from VCTOTW.

Lime Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c margarine

3 1/2 c confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 c lime juice

1 tsp finely grated lime zest

Directions:

Beat the shortening and margarine until well combined and fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.  Add the vanilla and lime juice, beat for another 5-7 minutes or so until fluffy.  Add the zest and mix to distribute.  Chill until ready to use.  

Tater tot casserole

1 lb ground meat
Onion
Red pepper
1/2 box imagine brand sweet pea soup (or any soup that suits you!)
1 1/2 c frozen chopped broccoli
1 package Daiya pepper jack shredded vegan cheese
Most of a package of tater tots
Mrs dash
Salt

Put meat, onion, and red pepper in a pan and sauté until meat is browned and veggies soft.  Add frozen broccoli (give it a minute or two on the stove to melt the broccoli), mrs dash, salt and 1/2 box of sweet pea soup.

Put mixture in 9x13 pan.  Spread out.  Cover in cheese.  Put tots on top of cheese in a single layer.  

Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees.