Six Recipes from Someone Who HATES to Cook

My twin won't die her hair.  Here she is with her grandkids.

My twin sister is bugging me to post about the meals I am making on our new holistic diet. She is having the same psoriasis outbreaks that I get from sugar and wheat.  Imagine that.  Twins.  Anyway...I will post some of them to get her started. 

The first one that was a great success with my husband was the Chicken Divan.  I always start any chicken dish by cooking boneless chicken breasts in the crock pot.  Then I pull apart the meat to shred it.  I have a steamer pot...the kind with the holes in the bottom of the inner pot.  I LOVE this pot.  The lid has the small air release hole in it.  So, step two is to steam enough broccoli heads to fill up the bottom of a 9X 13" rectangular baking dish.  Then, drain the broccoli when it is still BRIGHT GREEN and put it in the bottom of the dish.  Most of the work is done now.  The hard part was making a wholesome white sauce.   I start out with 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil.  I grate/slice (with my mini mandolin from William Sonoma) one onion.  I add two TABLESPOONS or more of minced garlic from a jar.  Once the onions are clear, I add 2 Tablespoons of flour (any rice or nut brand flour will do) and 2 cups chicken broth. I generously sprinkle in curry powder.  When the sauce has thickened,  I  add heavy cream.  Then I throw in mushrooms and the chicken.  (I know...the casein in the cream is bad for chemo, but some exceptions must be made).  Spread this sauce on top of the broccoli. Grate two types of white hard cheese.   Soft cheeses are a no-no on any healthy diet. Add whole grain bread crumbs (I found mine at Whole Foods) on top.  Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes. 

The next meal is a pork roast.  Costco and most grocery stores sell these.  Find the ones that are already marinated.  If not, make sure you have a selection of meat rubs in your pantry.  Doing this has saved my cooking life.  I cut my roast in half and put it in a crock pot.  I've added 2 cups of orange juice or chicken broth and cooked it for 6 hours.  It was yummy and done to perfection.  Serve it with mashed potatoes and a green side dish.  So...you don't want to boil and mash potatoes.  Cut small red ones in quarters.  Put them on a cookie tray with olive oil and Italian Spice mix (it comes in a jar).  Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes.  You can tell when they are roasted.  Or run the peeled potatoes through a french fry cutter (check Amazon.com).  Prepare them the same way as the red potatoes.  Serve with a green side dish.

The third meal is Salmon with Wild Rice.  Get your panini pan out.  Put olive oil in it.  Cook the salmon right under that lid on the stove top for about 10 minutes on each side.  When the middle is no longer pink, it's ready.  Easy peasy.   Before you've done this, you've put the rice only from an Uncle Ben's Wild Rice box in your electric rice cooker with the water amount from the box.  Soak it for 30 minutes, then hit start.  Don't touch it until the green light comes on.  Seriously.  It cooks it to perfection.  Add the spice packet at the end.  You can even throw the fish (or chicken) in a frying pan, add cooked peas and carrots, onions, green peppers, etc. to make Fried Rice.

The fourth meal is meatloaf cupcakes. You are going to make up your favorite meatloaf recipe.  Mine is simply hamburger meat (organic, low fat), 2 eggs, celery, onion, bread crumbs or whole grain ones, ketchup, and spices.  I just use that Italian blend.  Instead of greasing a meatloaf pan, grease your larger cupcake pan and add the mixture.  Freeze half and eat the other half.  Or use them individually.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done.

Next to last for today is Fajittas. Chemo people can't eat charcoal cooked food.  So smoke your meat, or cook it on a gas grill.  Slice it thinly.  Put it aside.  Cut up an onion, and green peppers and red peppers.  Fry them in Olive Oil.  Make it simple. Add vegetable or chicken stock to make a sauce and throw in a McCormick or Spice Fajitta packet.  Add the meat.  Get your panini pan out and slightly (1 minute on each side) fry up (no olive oil in this pan) your  whole wheat tortillas.  Cut up green leafy lettuce and tomatoes.  Serve with white shredded cheese (from a solid block) and sour cream if you must.  Buy some guacamole or make your own with avocado and lemon juice.  

Sixth, and last for today, is Chicken Curry.  Go back up to the Chicken Divan recipe.  Follow the same directions for making a white sauce, only use a whole stick of butter and even more chicken stock and double the flour.  Use LOTS of curry powder.  I would use 1/8 cup, but that's me.  Instead of putting the chicken sauce over broccoli,  you are going to put it over RICE--that you've made in your rice cooker.