Chicken Pot pie

Home made Chicken Potpie 

This was made with chopped up chicken breast made with Harryzpices Herb Rub (http://www.harryzspices.com/) but one can use store bought left over roasted chicken.  You will need:

Crust

1 refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box, whisked egg white (

Filling

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 easpoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Juice of ½ lime

2 cups chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

1/2 cup milk

2 1/4 cups diced cooked chicken with Harryzspice’s Herb Rub

1 ½ cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and micro waved for 1 mins

Follow Steps: 

·         Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.

·         In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and peppers until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

·         Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust and brush whisked egg white.

·         Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

IT CAN BE MADE VEGETARIAN BY REPLACING CHICKEN BROTH WITH VEGETABLE BROTH OR WATER AND CHICKEN WITH SMALL DICED AND PARTIALLY COOKED POTATOES OR OTHER VEGETABLES. 

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Green Soup: Full of Antioxidants

Green Soup 

Green Soup: 
I am writing this recipe for health conscious friends who want to have lots of greens full of antioxidants but they can’t, simply because they turn out too watery or don’t taste right.  Throwing away water from greens is like parting with minerals, vitamins and other nutrients.  This soup is not only rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals but comes with high fiber content in both forms i.e. soluble and unsoluble forms.  Soup in picture is made from Kale and this is how it was made:

2 large bunches of greens (any one or any combination of Kale, Mustard greens, Collard green, Spinach, Turnip greens, and Swiss chard.)

32-36 oz (1 L) of Chicken or any kind of broth (if not just use water) and 16-18 Oz water (0.5 L).

One large Onion (any kind).

2 table spoons vegetable, canola or light olive oil.

2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Juice of 1 lime or lemon.

3-4 table spoons or one fist full of rice (any kind will do).

Salt.

Add finely chopped onion in a big pot with 2 table spoons of vegetable, canola or light olive oil.  Cook on a slow heat for 5-10 minutes with occasional stirring and cover it with the lid.  Let it cook with lid on for another 15-20 minutes on low heat till onions are golden brown (almost like brown jelly).  Wash greens and remove hard veins while onions are cooking.  After onions are done pour all liquids in the pot with onion, add rice and greens. Cover the lid and let it cook on medium heat till all leaves are wilted (10-15 mins).  Open lid and press all greens to the liquid, cover lid and let it cook for another 30-40 minutes.  Let it cool down a bit, blend everything in batches (liquid, green and rice) in a blender.  Mix all blended soup in a container, add lemon or lime juice and extra virgin olive oil and mix well, while mixing adjust salt to your taste.  Your soup is ready …enjoy.  This can be stored in a refrigerator up to a week. 

 OUR EGG FRITTATA 

Our Egg Frittata is not a rigid recipe rather it is flexible in use of vegetables or herbs. Simple changes from one herb to another such as basil to cilantro can make our Frittata very different. Starting point is here but rest all is your culinary imagination. For what you see in picture I have used the following….enjoy.

8 medium Chicken Eggs,  2 tbs tap water,  2 tbs spoon butter, 1 large potato peeled and ¼ inch cubed.  ¼ finely chopped onion,  ¼ small cubed Red bell Pepper,  ¼ small cubed Yellow bell Pepper, ¼ small cubed Green bell Pepper, 1 cubed Roma tomato, ¼ cup chiffonade Thai Basil, ½ cup grated cheddar and of course ¼ tsp freshly crushed black pepper. Add salt to your taste.

Spray potatoes with vegetable oil spray (to avoid sticking) and microwave them with a lid on for for 5 mins at high heat or till they are tender.  Separate them and let them rest.  Whisk 8 eggs with a whisk, stick blender, fork or any means that you can get.  During whisking add little bit of water (2-4 tbs).  After whisking add all the ingredients, mix well, check salt.  While you are doing last steps, take a 9’ pan (non stick is better but I don’t like so used regular pan) melt butter and spray some vegetable oil spray (it will help egg not to stick on pan due to soy lecithin which is part of natural lipids and is good for you).   Set oven to 400^o F and turn it on.   Pour all the mix in pan on the stove and let it cook for 3-4 mins with lid on.  Place pan with lid in oven and let it cook for about 20 mins (top will be firm) with lid on, for final 5 mins remove lid.  When it appear nice and very light brownish take it out and let it rest.   After resting you can cut egg in pan itself and serve to enjoy or you can release bottom and side carefully with a thin spatula and flip it on a plate.  After flipping bottom side will be up, place another plate on top and flip it again to bring correct side up.   Cut it like a pie and ….enjoy !!

Dieting without Dieting ? Sure You Can ! ...2nd aricle for the series.

This is my second article for this category; the first one was on “why we crave rich foods”. Once we understand why we crave food, it is much easier to realize why conventional or modern dieting doesn’t work for everyone. Conventional approaches rely on external controls such as counting calories, excluding carbs, avoiding sweets, having special diets; we can go on and on. All these work for short time but at the end we give up and return to our old self because of our evolutionary make up and inherent reasons dictated by our own physiology. Focusing on external methods of controlling calories requires lot of self-discipline and sacrifice.  For some it works but majority of us end up in vicious cycle of trying, succeeding for some time, crashing, feeling bad about ourselves, giving up or starting over again.

It is very simple and easy to bring permanent change but in no way instant gratification. All one need to do is

·        Enjoy everything you like:  Don’t devoid yourself of your favorite foods rather enjoy them; don’t be in a hurry to consume it.  Have you honestly analyzed what you eat while you are eating, how taste changes while you eat, can you feel symphony of every component of what you are eating and how it is so different than individual component?  Simply, can you honestly focus on food while eating to get all what it has to offer?  We all have heard about gourmet food but I want you to be “gourmet eater” and that means practicing “mindful eating”.  It is not as simple as it sounds but it easy enough that everyone can practice.  It is not simple because we are always mentally multitasking (really?) our attention is most of the time divided. Very first step of successful end result is never to eat in a hurry, that is take your time, second step is to love what you eat and last step is to stop when you are little bit less than full, give yourself an hour and if you are still hungry then eat again same way.

Eating is as important as sleep or any other essential life function and it deserves full attention. If you are short of time then wait to eat till you can find that time.  You can always find this time no matter how short time you have in your daily routine.  It is an attitude that we all can have. Never eat unless you really feel like eating. Give yourself few months and see for yourself how your attitude towards food is changed and how you are getting healthier. Without even realizing you will make an everlasting change in your life style.

This approach has a very scientific basis and it works.  Personally I had gained more than 50 pounds over my healthy weight at one time. It took me few months to practice this approach and ever since then I have never gained that weight.  For over 20 years my weight never fluctuated more than few pounds. In next article I will be writing on the scientific reasoning why this approach works.  Please visit us at http://www.harryzspices.com/index.htm

Why do we crave rich foods?

Why do we crave rich foods?

I am writing this article for a sub category “Low Calorie”.  In order to address calories in our diet we must look at our food cravings from an evolutionary point of view and understand why we crave such foods.  Basic understanding of ourselves can lead us to permanent changes in our lifestyle to bring desired changes.

We all know little bit about human evolution and present foot habits.  We are primates, a group of animals that includes a variety of monkeys spread all over the globe and us the HUMANS.  Many monkeys are vegetarians living in tropical forests with abundance of fruits and vegetables; however few of them such as chimpanzees also consume meat and hunt smaller animals.  Fruits and vegetable are full of carbohydrates (simple and complex sugars) and fibers whereas meats are mostly protein and fats beside minerals and vitamins.  

What caused fruit and vegetable eating primates to include meat and fat it their diet?  There are two reasons:

(1)    Evolution of primates resulted in larger brain and more intelligence.  Brain needs constant supply of energy and it can consume 12-18 times energy as compared to muscles.  Primate had to include meat and fats in order to meet this physiological need because meats and fats store lot more energy as compared to carbohydrates and indigestible fibers.  This is one of the reasons why herbivore primates became omnivores.

(2)    The other reason is migration.  Year round constant supply of fruits and vegetables was lost as primates moved from tropical forests to other climates during the course of evolution.  As a result of migration primates had to adapt and evolve to include other kind of foods in their diets. 

This evolution is ongoing natural process tracing back to millions of years.  Humans are evolving for at least last one million years.  We can clearly see that our craving for fatty and rich food is nothing but natural.   Majority of population around the globe consume animal protein and fat in some or other form.  Even vegetarians include animal fats and proteins in their diets, surprised? Think of milk, butter, clarified butter, cream, cheese (and list can go on and on) etc. that is normally considered vegetarian.  This is natural and a physiological need to sustain healthy body and mind.  Present day issue is not rich and fatty foods but how much and how do we consume it, our lack of clear understanding of physiological needs, and to some extent abundance of food in some societies.  We will continue this discussion in future articles.  Please visit us at www.harryzspices.com.

Mediterranean Chicken Sausage



Mediterranean Chicken Sausage or Sausage Patties with Salad

Mediterranean Chicken Sausage or Sausage Patties: I have blended a wonderful spice mix to create Mediterranean Chicken Sausage or sausage pattie. This blend works very well all fowl meats for example it can be used to Turkey, Duck, sausage or sausage patties. This unique blend consists of Californian sage, rosemary, garlic, Tellichery black pepper corns, kosher salt and all natural soy and milk protein based meat binder.

These instructions are written for 5 Lbs. (2.27) sausage mix preparation. You will need meat grinder or food processor, sausage stuffer (not needed if you are making patties) refrigerator, sausage casing (not needed if making patties), 3.4 lbs. (1.54 Kg) boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast meat, 0.75 lbs. (0.34 Kg) feta cheese, 0.75 lbs. (0.34 Kg) beef fat (ask butcher shop to save it for you, if you cant get it, add 1 lbs or ~450 gm of feta cheese). Finally you will also need one pack Harryz Mediterranean Chicken Sausage Spice Mix.

 

Cut meat and fat in uniform size that can be taken by your grinder or food processor and place it in a mixing bowl.

• Cover and chill it in refrigerator for few hours.

• Mix 1 pack of spice mix by hand tossing meat with spices (wash hand before), and let it season in fridge for few hours (this will season and chill the meat and fat).

• Hand toss pre-chilled crumbled feta cheese and medium grind in meat grinder, or food processor. If you are using meat grinding and sausage making equipment then load it with washed Hog or sheep casing and start filling sausage. If not then grind meat and chill again for ½ hrs. or so. This can be filled in hog or sheep casing or made in to patties. Sausages can be air dried before refrigeration. Patties can be stacked between wax sheets for refrigeration. If desired freeze them first before vacuum sealing for longer term storage.

• These can be grilled or pan sautéed or oven baked to attain at least 170 F (~ 77C) internal temperature.

• Enjoy on fresh salad with fruity dressing, as such, with nice chilled white wine, or make pizza with it.  You will find many uses of this sausage to surprise yourself and dazzle your guests.

Harryz North Indian Chicken Curry





North Indian Chicken with Rice

I have blended all North Indian Curry spices and provide it as a pack with easy to follow instrctions. Each pack comes with sufficient spice mix to make enough North Indian Curry for four to six people. This spice mix works very well with Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Goat and mixed vegetable with potato. You can also create North Indian egg curry (6-8 eggs) using this special blend. Its aromatic flavor results from careful blending of clove, black pepper, black and green cardamoms, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, mace, turmeric and bay leaves.  



http://www.harryzspices.com/curry.html

 

You will need: 1 Pack of Spice mix, 1” (2.5 cm, ½ Oz or 12.5 gm) fresh ginger, 1 medium onion (8Oz, 225g), 6-8 clove of garlic, 2-3 table spoon (1-1 ½ oz, or 30-45 ml ) vegetable, canola, or light olive oil (not extra virgin olive oil), one 12 Oz can of diced tomato (1 ½ cup or 330g)  and 2-2.5 lbs. meat of your choice (1Kg, chicken, beef, lamb or goat ), or 6-8 hard boiled and peeled eggs (for egg curry) or 2-3 lbs. mixed vegetables half of which should be potatoes. 

·         Cut approximately 2-2.5 lbs (1 Kg) meat, vegetable pieces in approximately 1”(2.5 Cm) and keep it in a mixing bowl.  If it is fowl, chicken, or any other bird remove skin before cutting it. If making egg curry then peel 6-8 hardboiled eggs.

o   For best results:  combine onion, garlic, ginger and puree it.  If you don’t have blender then:

·         Chop one medium onion (1 Cup, 8Oz, 225g).

·         Mince 3-4 cloves of peeled garlic.

·         Fine chop or grate 1” (2.5 cm, ½ Oz or 12.5 gm) of peeled fresh ginger.

·         Heat 2-3 table spoon oil (1-1 ½ oz, or 30-45 ml) in a pan on medium hot stove to medium hot temperature (carefully look and you will see moving lines or striation on surface of oil)

·         Add whole spices to hot oil in pan, stir and wait till you get nice aroma of spices (10-25 seconds depending on heat, be careful not to char spices).  Add onion, ginger and garlic to spices and oil in the pan.  Scrape pan with wooden or metal spatula, move simmering mix not allowing it to burn at bottom.

·         Wait till you can see reappearance of oil in the pan with onion, garlic, ginger and spices. If you using chopped onions then wait onion gets little translucent.

·         Add approximately ½ of fine spices to fried onion, ginger and garlic in pan.  Mix it well with spatula.

·         Add meat, vegetable or eggs and about ½ teaspoon of salt, mix well and let it cook for 5 minutes with occasional stirring.

·         Add 1 can (12 Oz, 1 ½ cup or 330g) of diced tomato.  Stir contents to mix it well.  Cover the pot with lid and let it simmer on low heat.  Stir the contents occasionally. 

·         Taste test by dipping a spoon and tasting the sauce before meat is completely cooked but after sufficient cooking (time will depend on the type of meat, important not to taste test before sufficient cooking). Adjust salt to your taste and add rest of the fine spices. 

·        Simmer till meat or vegetables are tender, in case of egg curry simmer for 15-20 minute.  Garnish with fresh Mint or Cilantro leaves and serve to enjoy with white bread, pita bread or cooked rice.  Curry, rice with Vegan vegetable curry and Raita (Check Raita on this blog) makes a typical North Indian meal.