CHICKEN WITH FRUIT AND RICE

My wife Judy whipped this little ditty up the other day and no time, and it had a unique taste combination that we loved.

The most time consuming part of this meal was the shucking and pulling the whiskers off the yellow and white corn she bought. The corn-on-the-cob was wonderful with this meal. Around these parts we call them “rosin ears” (short for roasting ears)! Momma never hollered for me to run to the garden for some corn, or corn-on-the-cob, it was usually “James Paul, go pick me ‘bout six ‘rosin ears’ for supper!"

Judy first fried some chicken tenderloin, about 8 pieces, in olive oil and garlic, season with salt and pepper.

She sat the chicken aside to cool, before she chopped it all up in bite sizes, and then worked on washing, peeling, and cutting up a mango and some kiwi in to cubes and/or pieces. She then cut up some green onions (you can use shallots) and dumped it and on top of the bowl of fruit, which included a handful of washed seedless grapes.

All the while, Judy was cooking the brown rice according to the box directions. She timed this to be done when the dicing and slicing was all over.

She then dumped the chicken cubes and rice into the same skillet she used to cook the chicken in, and dumped in the bowl of mixed fruit and onions. She then blended in some low-fat plain yogurt, and about a 1/3 cup of fresh orange juice! What a combo of wonderful taste.

She then reached up and pushed start on the microwave, and start again for 6 minutes on the timer, and cooked the ‘rosin ears’ that were wrapped in wet paper towels. Yes, just 6 minutes!

This dish is best enjoyed either cool/cold or at room temperature with the hot buttered and salted corn-on-the-cob. It’s yummy and good for you!

WIENERS, RICE AND BEANS

Being retired means you try and make everything as easy as possible, without sacrificing good taste!

Judy and wanted something quick, delicious, and we promised to eat only one serving. It's our way of trying to cut back - put a normal portion on the plate and put anything left over up for next time! Seems more logical than doing without the foods you really like...doesn't it?

Anyway, as Baylee girl looked on, hoping I dropped something, I prepared wieners and onions for cooking.

Judy busied herself in measuring and cooking the right amount of brown rice, and opened a can of black beans.

I chopped a small onion into slivers and set them aside.

I cut the wieners in half length wise, then each half into quarters. I cooked the sliced wieners in a little EVOO, then poured my famous half Heinz 57/honey sauce over them. At the same time, I added the onions over the top and mixed it all up.

After adding the onions, I watched for them to start to get translucent, and then supper was ready!

You can tell the difference in our eating habits by looking at the different servings. Judy likes to compartmentalize, while I pile everything on! After all, it wall winds up in the same place...as my dad used to say!

Now if we weren't trying to cut back a little, we would have served this meal with some cornbread on the side! Man, that would have been great too!

Sorry Baylee...Daddy Dog was just too hungry!