World's Easiest Chicken Cacciatore in the Rice Cooker

Good flavor, good color

Good flavor, good aroma. The chicken comes out about like baked chicken, a bit drier than fried chicken but good. This takes about 2.5 hours to cook in the rice cooker. Diabetic friendly, lower carb.

Tools needed:

1. micom rice cooker
2. can opener

ingredients:

photo lineup of ingredients

1. 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
2. 4 oz can of mushrooms
3. 2 frozen chicken breasts
4. 1 Tbsp Oregano
5. 4 oz (112 g) Dreamfield's Penne Rigate Pasta

Directions:

1. Add pasta to rice cooker bowl
2. Add tomatoes and mushrooms, including liquid
3. Add oregano
4. Add chicken breasts




ready for the rice cooker


5. Cook on white rice setting
6. Check it occassionally

Sweet Cornbread Breakfast Muffins with Raspberries and Cheese

they don't even need butter

These slightly-sweet muffins are quick to make and contain fruit and cheese for good nutrition.

Tools needed:

1. cupcake pan
2. bowl, spoon
3. oven

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup (180 grams) cornmeal
2. 1 cup (120 grams) baking mix
3. 1/2 cup sugar
4. 1/2 beer or champagne




The batter should look like this


5. 1 egg
6. milk
7. 1 cup shreeded cheese
8. 1 cup frozen raspberries





Directions:


1. preheat oven (325F if convection, 350F if not)
2. mix eggs and beer/champagne
3. add sugar, cornmeal and baking mix
4. if needed, add milk to give the batter a not-quite-pourable consistency




the muffins ready for the oven


5. mix in shredded cheese
6. fold in raspberries
7. scoop/spoon into cupcake cups
8. bake for 20 minutes at 325F if convection, 350F if not






the muffins ready for the table



Raspberry Breakfast Bread Pudding (energy-saving make-ahead technique)

Wake up to breakfast already made. In this method, there is no preheating of the oven. The dish cooks for 30 minutes, then remains in the still-hot oven to finish. Extremely energy efficient.

Delicate but hearty

Tools needed:

1. small non-stick saucepan
2. an oven with a timed-bake function

Ingredients:

1. 1 egg
2. 1/2 cup milk
3. 1/2 cup bread crumbs (crouton sized)
4. 1/2 shredded cheese
5. 1/2 almond flour
6. 2 tbsp sugar
7. 3/4 cup frozen raspberries

Directions

photo lineup of ingredients

one half cup of bread crumbs

1. combine egg and milk in saucepan
2. add the breadcrumbs; they will soak up much of the liquid
3. add the almond flour, sugar and cheese
4. fold in the raspberries
5. put the saucepan in the oven, turn the heat to 350F and set for a timed bake of 30 minutes

Some tips to make this speedier:

1. use a food scale
2. 1/2 cup milk weighs 122 g
3. 1/2 bread crumbs weighs 30 g
4. 1/2 shredded cheese weighs 60 g
5. 3/4 cup raspberries weighs 140 g

Gourmet Mac and Cheese: a fast and flexible one-dish meal

The broccoli retains its rich color but otherwise melts away

Gourmet Mac and Cheese with Langoustino and Broccoli

Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: about an hour

Tools needed:

1. micom rice cooker (it might work in a simple on/off rice cooker, but I haven't tested it yet)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Dreamfield's Penne Regata pasta
2. 1 cup chicken broth
3. 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or cheese blend
4. 1 cup frozen broccoli florets
5. 1 cup langoustino (aka crawdads, aka crayfish)
6. 1/4 cup milk (optional)

photo line-up of ingredients

Directions:

1. Put chicken broth and pasta into rice cooker bowl
2. put the broccoli on top of them and the langoustino on top of the broccoli
3. cook on white rice setting
4. There are two ways to finish this dish. A) If you happen to check your cooking before the cycle ends and find the pasta is done and there is still liquid left, mix in the cheddar cheese and you're done. B) If you let the cycle end and all the liquid is gone, add 1/4 cup milk along with the cheese and start another white rice cycle to warm the meal until the cheese melts

Ingredients are ready for the rice cooker

Some speedy measuring tips:

1 cup Dreamfields pasta weighs 112 grams. It's about four "fistfuls," once you calibrate your fist
1 cup chicken broth weighs 223 grams
1 cup shredded cheese weighs 84 grams
1 cup broccoli florets weighs 85 grams. It's about 2 and a half fistfuls.
1 cup langoustino weighs 170 grams

5 Minute One-Dish/One-Spoon Buttermilk Cake

Tools needed:


1. oven
2. saucepan with non-stick surface
3. kitchen scale (if you use the kitchen scale, you won't have to wash any measuring spoons or cups)

Ingredients:


1. 1 egg
2. 152 grams = 2/3 cup buttermilk
3. 110 grams = 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
4. 2 cups baking mix/pancake mix/Bisquick
5. 4 grams = 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions:



1. Heat oven to 375F
2. Mix the ingredients in your non-stick saucepan using a spoon that won't scratch it
3. Bake for about 20 minutes with convection, or around 25 minutes in a regular oven. Check for doneness (a fork pushed into the center doesn't come out with batter on it)
4. Loosen the cake using something that won't scratch the non-stick coating
5. Turn over the pot and dump out the cake
6. Using a towel to protect your hands from the heat, put the cake upright
7. Sprinkle with brown sugar
8. Helpful hint: if you ever cook a cake too long and it gets dry, you can always pour a mixture of sprits (rum, whiskey, brandy) and sugar over it to moisten it

Corsican Anchoiade with Figs



Anchovies? That's so crazy, it just might work

It's like a tapenade, except instead of "tapen" it's made with "anchoa" which are....anchovies! It sounds crazy, but the spread is excellent. The anchovy and garlic give it a lovely, grown-up piquancy and balance the sweetness of the figs. I got this recipe from The Traveler's Lunchbox and modified it to use a food scale and more commonly-available ingredients. If you happen to have a bag of dried figs, garlic and a tube of anchovy paste handy, take it as a sign that you should try this recipe.

Tools needed:

1. Blender


2. Food scale

Ingredients:

1. 120 grams dried figs (about one cup)
2. 2 grams anchovy paste (about two inches as you squirt it out of the tube) or 1 anchovy
3. one quarter of a garlic clove or 2 drops garlic oil
4. Enough hot water so that the blender will work

Directions:

1. Blend the ingredients

 

Super-fast Italian bread in the breadmaker

Hello. My top is pale because someone opened the machine and peeked.

This is super-fast because you use the food scale. If you don't have a food scale, you can find the fairly-fast version of the recipe using traditional measurements at the end of this post.

Tools needed:

1. breadmaker
2. food scale

Prep time: 2 minutes

Directions:

1. Get out your ingredients:
1. water
2. olive oil
3. sugar
4. salt
5. instant dry yeast
6. flour
7. optional: 1 tbsp dill or oregano (they are too light to measure well on the scale)
2. Put your loaf pan on the food scale, set it for grams, and zero it (hit the TARE button)
3. Follow the chart

   slowly add....	until your scale says....
   slightly warm water	364g
   olive oil	400g
   sugar	410g
   salt	420g
   flour	930g
   yeast	938g

   
   
4. Add 1 tablespoon of dill or oregano if desired
5. Set breadmaker for 2 lb loaf, French bread setting

 Traditional measurement recipe:

Combine the following in the breadmaker:

1. 1 and 1/2 cup slightly warm water
2. Another 1 tablespoon water
3. 3 tablespoons olive oil
4. 2 teaspoons sugar
5. 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 4 1/4 cup flour (Spoon into the measuring cup and level it. Do not scoop or you'll compress the flour and end up with too much.)
7. 2 1/4 teaspoon yeast

                  

Lemon Chicken with Cream Sauce

If you've got a dishwasher full of clean dishes and a sink full of dirty ones, this is the perfect dish to make. Just get it started and by the time you're done cleaning the kitchen, it'll be about ready.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: around 25 minutes


The finished dish has good color and a fresh spring taste from the lemon


 Tools needed:

1. Electric skillet

               or

1. A regular pan and a laser temperature gun

Ingredients:

1. 2 tbsp butter
2. around 12 ounces Chicken breasts
3. 3 oz pasta by weight or about 3/4 to 1 cup depending on the type of pasta. It doesn't have to be exact.
4. 1 cup half and half
5. 2 handfuls (160g) frozen peppers
6. 1 cup chicken broth




Halfway through the cooking process, it didn't look good. Have faith

7. 3 anchovy filets (optional)

8. the juice of one lemon

Directions:







1. Heat the butter over a medium flame. You want it to be as close as possible to 350 F but no hotter
2. Put in the chicken; this will immediately cool the pan, so turn up the heat
3. Monitor the heat as you brown the chicken. Try to keep it between 285F (where browning can occur) and 350F (where butter starts to burn). The hotter the better.
4. After the chicken has browned, add the rest of the ingredients. The lemon juice will curdle the half and half. Don't worry.
5. Cook until the pasta is done. About the time the sauce has been reduced, the pasta should be ready, but if not, you can add more chicken broth.

Q & A:

Q: Oh, I left my laser temperature gun on my spaceship. Seriously, why do I need a gun to cook a meal?

A: It's to protect your right to "keep and bear" nicely browned chicken. If the temperature is too low, it'll "infringe" on the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars that results in succulently brown turkey skin, Peking duck, smoky  ribs, or, in this case, decently brown chicken. The reaction only occurs above around 300F. OTOH, the smoke alarm starts going off when butter gets to around 350F. So you either need a fancy thermometer gun or an electric skillet to keep the temperature "well regulated."

Q: Uh...anchovies?

A: You might have heard of "umami," the fifth taste. There is salty, sweet, bitter, sour and umami is number five. Anchovies are high in umami. Happily, the anchovies will disintergrate, imparting their umami goodness to the sauce while leaving nary a trace of their true identity, which is good because the best anchovy is the anchovy you can't tell is there. At least that's what I think, but here's a link to someone who is far more anchovy-oriented. Anchovy & Fig Recipe. I think I'm going to try that recipe.

Q: So how many dishes will I need to wash?

A: The skillet (no lid needed), a one-cup measure, a knife for cutting the lemon and the chicken (if you opted to cut it into pieces), a spoon to stir your creation and maybe a fork to "fish" the anchovies out of their little tin. You can probably use the same fork to get your 2-tablespoon hunk of butter...You might want to get the butter first.



Nutritional info:

amt	ingredient	fat grams	carbohydrate grams	protein grams	total calories
12 oz	chicken breast	14		44	341
1 cup	half and half	28	11	7	315
3 oz	Dreamfields Pasta	2	7	9	285
160 gr (two handfuls)	frozen sweet bell peppers		24	3	90
28 g = 2 tbsp	butter	22			200
	3 anchovies				negligable
	juice of one lemon				negligable
	chicken broth				negligable
total		66	42	63
per serving (3 servings)		22	14	21	410

A simple, hot breakfast of sticky rice, sweet potato and almonds

The finished product in a very small bowl

Tools needed:

1. Micom rice cooker
2. knife/cutting board

Ingredients:

1. Sticky rice
2. slivered or sliced almonds
3. sweet potato

Directions:

Here's what it looked like in the rice cooker

1. Rinse one rice cooker cup of sticky rice
2. Fill bowl with water to the one-cup line (sweet rice cooks like white rice)
3. Chop sweet potatoes into chunks of any size
4. Add a handful of almonds
5. Cook on white rice setting. Use timer if desired to have it ready for breakfast
6. Top with sweetened condensed milk or milk and sugar if desired

Three Minute Jambalaya and Rice in the Rice Cooker

Time: 3 minutes prep, 1 hour cooking

Tools needed: rice cooker (any type), latex gloves, knife (any size)

Ingredients:

1. white rice
2. sundried tomatoes in oil
3. chicken broth
4. frozen shrimp
5. Italian sausage
6. frozen bell peppers

Directions:

1. wash and drain the rice
2. use chicken broth to fill to the one-cup line in the rice cooker bowl
3. put on, rinse and dry your latex gloves
4. fish a few sundried tomatoes out of the jar and put them in the bowl
5. use the knife to open up one Italian sausage, crumble it into the bowl
6. mix the ingredients with your gloved hand, you can throw away the gloves now
7. drop a few frozen prawns in to the bowl
8. drop a handful of frozen peppers on top of the shrimp
9. cook on white rice setting (if you have a simple rice cooker, just press the button)

10 minute Chicken Cacciatore using a pan and rice cooker

Prep time: 10 minutes, cook time 1 hour

Yield: 1-2 servings

Use the bag to pick up the chicken

tools needed:

1. frying pan
2. rice cooker
3. ziplock bag
4. heavy knife

Ingredients:

This is how you "batter" chicken

1. Oil
2. One chicken breast
3. One 14.5 can stewed tomatoes
4. chicken broth
5. Around 3 tablespoons Bisquick or other baking or pancake mix
6. salt and pepper
7. mushrooms (save time and buy the pre-sliced)
8. cherry tomatoes or frozen (or fresh) bell peppers
9. pasta

Directions:

No need to get out the strainer

The steam will cook the pasta

1. Put two tbsp oil in the pan and set over a medium flame ( around 450 degrees F)
2. Put around 3 tablespoons of baking mix, a couple shakes of salt and a couple shakes of pepper into a ziplock bag
3. put your hand around the bag and use it to pick up one chicken breast (no need to get raw chicken on your hands)
4. seal the bag and whack it with the back of a heavy knife to tenderize it
5. massage the bag to coat the chicken with the baking mix
6. start the chicken browning (ideally, the inside of the pan will be around 320 degrees F)
7. while the chicken is browning, pour one can stewed tomatoes into rice cooker bowl
8. add enough chicken broth to bring it to the one-cup line
9. add a handful of mushrooms and a handful of cherry tomatoes or frozen bell peppers
10. add one tablespoon of Oregano 
11. mix in 175 grams of pasta 
12. once the chicken is browned, put it on top in the rice cooker and cook on white rice setting