2 New Main Dishes - Chinese and Mexican

I've cleaned out all my ripped out magazine recipes, my online bookmarked recipes, and have gathered all my kids' requests for meals and have made quite a few lately.  I've shared a number of our latest recipes with you and now have 2 more dishes to share.

Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice

While Thomas was away on his mission trip I asked Brennan what he'd like to help me make for dinner one night. 

He said "shrimp stir fry" and began to write his own recipe (which he does often). 

Because his omitted quite a few ingredients, I decided to borrow one from Gina's Skinny Recipes. 

I modified it slightly for our family's tastes.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked brown rice

2 lbs. shrimp (peeled and deveined)

3 eggs

3 garlic cloves, chopped

5 scallions, sliced

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp crushed pepper flakes

1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

Seasonings for shrimp

Directions:

* Cook brown rice

* In large bowl marinate shrimp with cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.  (I used about a tsp of each - I rarely measure).

* Scramble eggs and season with salt and pepper.

* Heat your wok or frying pan.

* Saute garlic and red pepper flakes in hot sesame oil for about 2 minutes.

* Add shrimp and cook until done.

* Add rice, eggs, and soy sauce and mix well.

* Add scallion greens and serve.

Brennan loves snap peas so I steamed those in their bag and served alongside the Shrimp Stir Fry. 

David thought it was takeout.  He absolutely loved it.  Brennan and I did as well.  I will definitely make this again.  Good choice Brennan!

Poblano Chicken
We really like Mexican food, and I make black bean enchiladas quite often.
In my international cooking club we made this dish one day and I've been meaning for try it out for the family. 
It was not a huge hit (the boys aren't big on peppers and David isn't big on rich sauces), so I will modify it for next time. 
I, on the other hand, loved it.

Here is my modified recipe.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used tenders)
3 poblano peppers
1/2 carton Mexican cream
2 cups shredded Monterrey or other white cheese
1 Tbsp Chicken bouillon
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste
Olive Oil

Chicken:  Season chicken with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder.  Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add the chicken and brown on both sides.  Cook until chicken is almost done and remove.

Peppers:  Clean the peppers and remove the tops, seeds, and veins.  Slice the size of your chicken breasts.  Boil in hot water until soft then drain.  (An alternative is to grill the peppers and remove the skin.)

Sauce:  Combine cream, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 of a poblano pepper in the blender and blend until mixed well.  Heat over low heat on the stove top.  This will make a much less rich sauce than the original recipe.

Lay the chicken in a 9x13 dish.  Cover the chicken with 1/2 of the sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese and top with a pepper.  Cook at 375 for 15 minutes.

You'll notice I put the cheese on top of the peppers.  I'll have the peppers be on top so they're easy to remove (for non-pepper fans), leaving the cheese and sauce.

Serve the chicken with the remaining 1/2 sauce in a gravy boat on the table for those who want to add a little more.

Poblano peppers are available at the grocery store and give the chicken a wonderful taste.
You can use any white cheese that your family likes.  I always have Chihuahua on hand.  It's great for quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, etc.

Mexican cream can be found with the Mexican cheese in the dairy section.  It's thinner than sour cream and works well in Mexican dishes.

Enjoy!

And don't forget that the "What We're Reading" linky party will be on August 20th at Ricki Jill's blog.  Join us with your latest post on those great summer reads!