My Tia Lico taught me to make this. Hers is so much better. When I go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, my favorite is the rice.
4 pieces of chicken, boiled, skinned, boned
1 Tablespoon oil
2 Cups rice
1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 cups water
1 avocado

Boil chicken for about 30 minutes, remove skin and bones. Set aside. Brown dry rice in saucepan with oil. Stir in onion, tomatoes, and spices. Place chicken on top of rice and add water. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or just until the water is absorbed. Serve with cold slices of avocado.

 

BREAKFAST QUICHE
(given to Amelia by her Visiting Teacher when she first moved to Gonzales)

My children grew up with this recipe. Every birthday they were told they could request any dishes for their meals. The usual answer for breakfast was “quiche and fruit frosties.” Fruit frosties was our name for smoothies.
 

9 slices of bread
½ lb cheddar cheese
1 lb bacon
6 eggs
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt and pepper

Trim crusts. Line bottom of 9×13 inch buttered casserole with bread. Crumble any extra bread and sprinkle on top. Crisply fry bacon and crumble on top. Sprinkle grated cheese over bacon. Beat eggs with milk, adding salt and pepper. Pour over casserole. May let stand in refrigerator over night. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with fruit

Now when I make quiche I make a pie crust first. While it bakes, I cut up and fry bacon, drain most of the grease. In the same pan, I saute 1/2 of a large onion, 2 cups of fresh spinach, 5 large mushrooms (sliced), and sprinkle generously with cayenne pepper (red pepper). I place this at the bottom of the baked pie crust and then pour the egg mixture over it and top with cheese.BROCCOLI BEEF RAMEN NOODLES

1 pkg Ramen noodles
1 lb ground beef or stew meat sliced thin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 florets broccoli
1 onion
1 cup water
2 beef bullion cubes
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salad oil

 

Cook noodles, meanwhile brown meat with garlic powder, pieces of broccoli, diced onion. Drain noodles and set aside. Lower heat on meat. Boil bullion in 1 cup water. In small bowl, thoroughly mix another cup of water with cornstarch. Add bullion and cornstarch to meat, bring to boil. Toss with noodles and serve. 

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

3 lbs chicken
2 slices onion
2 tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon Tabasco
½ teaspoon rosemary
1 sliced green pepper
mushrooms
½ Cup flour
salt and pepperBoil chicken at a high boil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine in separate pan onion, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, Tabasco, rosemary, green pepper, and mushrooms. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot. Skin and bone chicken. Coat chicken pieces with a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper by placing in a paper lunch bag and shaking. Brown chicken in sauce pan. Pour over tomato mixture over chicken and serve.

CHICKEN CANTONESE

2 lbs chicken
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 onion
2 sliced green peppers
1 Cup celery
½ Cup water
1 chicken bullion cube
½ Cup cold water
2 Tbl. cornstarch
3 Tbl. soy sauce
2 sliced tomatoes

Boil chicken at a high boil for 30 minutes. Combine in separate pan heat ingredients listed in order up to bullion. Add skinned and boned chicken pieces. Cover and simmer. Blend cold water with cornstarch and soy sauce in teacup. Stir into chicken mixture. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes more or until thickened slightly. Serve over rice.CHICKEN COCONUT KORMA
(Nicole and I ate this at an East Indian Restaurant one time when I went to visit her.)

1 oz Cardamom
4 Chicken Breast
16 oz coconut milk
2-3 piece Cinnamon
3 tsp Cumin Powder
3-4 clove Garlic
50 grams Ginger
2 Onions
1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (optional)
1-2 tsp Salt
1 Tomato
3/4 tsp Tumeric powderRemove the skin from the chicken then wash it thoroughly four to five times and cut it into bite size pieces. Peel the skin off the onions and finely chop them. Shred the garlic into very fine pieces and mash or cut the ginger. Grind the whole cinnamon and cardamom (with shells) together to a coarse powder.

Pour enough oil to just cover the base of a dry medium to large saucepan and heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and the onions to the oil . Fry until the onions brown. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand.

Place all the spices (tumeric, cumin powder and chilli powder) into a small cereal bowel. Add about half a cup of water and mix. Pour the spice mixture into the onions. Fry on a medium heat until most of the water evaporates but ensure that the spice mixture does not burn. Add the chicken and stir until all the chicken is coated. Reduce to low heat. Add the salt, tomato and ginger, coconut milk and cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Then add enough water to just cover the chicken. Place a lid on the saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked. Add the cadamom / cinnamon powder 5 minutes before the chicken is served. Chicken curry is ready to be served straight away but tastes even better the next day!

CHICKEN CURRY RICE

(Aunt Betty’s recipe that she prepared one day when she was visiting us)

3 large chicken breasts
1 cup rice
1 Tablespoon oil
2 celery stalks
2 sliced of onion
1 chicken bullion cube
2 Cups water
1 can cream of chicken
½ Cup sour cream
3 Tbl. curry powder

Saute chicken breast pieces in oil for 5 minutes, (I sprinkle generously with garlic powder and lightly with red cayenne pepper),  until chicken is no longer pink. Add celery and onion and cook for another 10 minutes. (I add a cup or so of broccoli at this point.) Stir in rice, bullion, and water. Mix curry, sour cream, and condensed cream of chicken soup together. Add to chicken mixture. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.CHICKEN OR TURKEY POT PIE

1 cup water
½ cup mixed vegetables
2 bouillon cubes
2 ½ Tbls cornstarch
1 cup milk
1 cup cooked turkey OR chicken
½ cup cheddar
2 teaspoons parsley
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon pepper
2 pie shellsBring water, vegetables bouillon to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 3-5 minutes. Combine cornstarch and milk. Add gradually to vegetable mixtures. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Add turkey, shredded cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour into 8 inch pie shell. Cover with 2nd pie shell and cut slits in top. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

 

CHICKEN SUPREME

½ cup dry bread crumbs
½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 egg whites
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup sliced almonds

Combine first 5 ingredients. In another bowl beat egg whites. Dip chicken in egg whites and coat with crumb mixture. Place in 13 x 9 inch greased baking dish. Sprinkle almonds over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

 

CHILE RELLENOS
I remember helping Mama make chile rellenos for family gathering when I was a teenager. Now they are Mama’s favorite. We had them for her 80th birthday celebration.

3 eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon salt
cream of tartar
Green chilies
Monterey Jack cheese
1 Cup cornmeal or flour
fat for frying

 Separate eggs. Beat egg whites until foamy, Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating until white and stiff. Heat fat in saucepan to medium high heat for frying. Carefully and slowly (so the whites don’t fall) stir in egg yolks into egg whites. Stuff chili with cheese, roll in flour or cornmeal, dip in egg white mixture. Place in hot fat; fry until slightly brown, turn over once to complete cooking. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

 

 

ENCHILADAS (chicken or beef)

3 lbs chicken
½ onion
16 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp. salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 lb Monterey Jack cheese
1 lb cheddar cheese

Boil chicken at a high boil for 30 minutes. Skin, bone, and shred with fork. If using beef, brown ground beef, drain fat. Combine meat with onion. Heat tomato sauce and spices. Grate and combine cheeses. Heat tortilla, fill with 2 tablespoon filling and some cheese. If too much filling is used, they don’t stay rolled. Roll and place in 9×13 casserole. Pour tomato sauce on top and additional cheese. Garnish with black olives. Bake for 30 min, at 350 covered with foil.

ENCHILADAS A LA BLANCA NIEVES (Snow White Enchiladas from the kitchen of Nicole Miles)

1 onion
1 can diced green chilies (drained)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or any other cream soup)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
10 large white flour tortillas
cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
Shredded chicken

Chop onions and sauté in a pan with butter and green chiles. Add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and milk. After it is well mixed, take half of it out and set it aside (for the top and bottom of the casserole dish). Coat the bottom of the pan with the sauce. Add chicken to the remaining sauce in the pan. Heat tortillas and roll cheese and chicken sauce into the enchiladas. Pour the remaining sauce onto the top and add cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the over at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

FAJITAS4 chicken breasts
OR 1 lb steak
1 onion
1 Tbl garlic powder
¼ Cup oil
1 Cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
red cayenne pepper

Marinate chicken or steak pieces in listed ingredients overnight in sealed container. Sauté meat on high for 10 minutes. Serve immediately with hot flour tortillas accompanied with sour cream, cheddar cheese, jalapeños, black olives, shredded lettuce, guacamole.

 

FISH by Justina Baza

A recipe that she shared with me when we lived in Gonzales

2 Tablespoons butter
½ onion
2 celery stalks
½ tsp. garlic powder
red cayenne pepper
1 tomato
1 Tablespoon hot salsa
Pacific red snapper

 Sauté onion and celery in butter. Stir in spices. Cook fish on top 15-20 minutes on low, covered. Serve with mixture spooned on top.