Chicken Fajitas

I love these chicken fajitas.  They are easy and fast and tasty.  AND  I can get all the ingredients in Japan.  I got the original recipe from my sister, Joan, but I may have altered it some through the years, but the marinade is the same.  It really makes for tasty chicken.

Chicken Fajitas
*2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up in thin strips or chunks
4 T. white vinegar
4 T. soy sauce
1 teaspoon crushed garlic or garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
Lemon Juice

Cut up the chicken.  Mix together the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, and lemon juice.  Put the chicken in the marinade while you prepare the other ingredients.

2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, cut into strips
Oil or butter for frying

Toppings: 
Tomatoes, cut up
Lettuce, sliced thin
Avocados or guacamole
Sour Cream
Tabasco sauce
Salsa

Soft flour tortillas

Put the oil in a large skillet.  Add the onions and bell peppers.  On medium heat, saute them until the vegetables are soft and golden.  It takes awhile.  Add the marinated chicken with just a little of the marinade.  Cook all together until the chicken is done and a bit caramelized and sizzling. 

On a tortilla, put some of the chicken mixture and then add whatever toppings you desire.

*They are also delicious made with beef or shrimp or a mixture of protein.  My favorite- chicken and shrimp together. 

Breakfast Burritos

One of our favorite things to have for breakfast here in Japan is Breakfast Burritos.  We were so excited when we found flour tortillas at Costco!  These are delicious for dinner an easy dinner, too. 

Breakfast Burritos
3 extra large eggs
Cheese, grated
Flour tortillas
Vegetables and Meats of choice- use any or all of the following to your taste.
1 onion, chopped
mushrooms, chopped
Green pepper, chopped
Ham, chopped
Green onion, chopped
Tomatoes, chopped
Garlic
Whatever other vegetables and meats that you want. 

In a bowl, scramble the eggs together and add salt and pepper.  Heat some oil in a large skillet.  Add the vegetables and fry until tender.  Add the eggs and plenty of grated cheese.  Cook until eggs are done.  Put the egg mixture in the middle of a flour tortilla.  Sprinkle with Tabasco sauce.  Roll up.  Serve with salsa, guacamole, and Tabasco sauce.  Yum! 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is easy and delicious and sure hits the spot on a cold winter day:

2 chicken breasts (best if they are on the bone, but boneless works, too)

2 quarts (or so) water

8 bouillon cubes (I prefer Better Than Bouillon, but it’s not available in Japan)

2 cups chopped celery with leaves

2 cups chopped carrots

1 onion, diced (In Japan, large green onions are used a lot and that's what I used for this soup)

1 small package frozen spinach, optional

Noodles

Salt, pepper, garlic granules (for seasoning- to taste)

In Japan, noodles are very much a part of the diet.  They sell these wonderful udon noodles frozen.  I got five of these blocks for less than a dollar.  They are just delicious. 

I put two of these blocks of noodles in the soup.  At home, I use about 3 oz. of noodles.  I pre-cook them, then add them.

Put the chicken  (you can put it in frozen) in a large pot with the water and bouillon.  Boil until chicken is tender.  Remove the chicken and add the vegetables.  When cool enough, chop up the chicken and put it back into the soup.  Let simmer for at least an hour.  Add the noodles.  Serve with crackers and cheese. 

Brownie Chip Cookies

This recipe is so easy and the cookies turn out soft and gooey and yummy.  It's one I can make in Japan because of Costco and brownie mixes!  I just made a big batch (double)  to take to the English class we teach. 

Brownie Chip Cookies
1 package brownie mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips (it can be a mixture of white chocolate and semi-sweet)
Heat oven to 350 (180 C)
Mix the eggs and oil in a bowl.  Add the brownie mix and stir.  The dough is kind of hard to stir because it is stiff.  Spoon onto a well-greased or lined cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Cookies should be soft and crackled.  Cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Okonomiyaki

When my husband served his first mission to Japan, he learned to love a dish called Okonomiyaki.  It's name literally means "what you want fried."  It is a savory Japanese pancake with whatever you want put in it.  It is a dish made all over Japan, but each region makes it differently.  This is a good, basic recipe to start with.  It is one of my favorite Japanese foods I've made here. 

Okonomiyaki
1 cup flour
2/3 cup water or chicken stock
2 eggs
4 cups finely chopped cabbage
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced (some people put much more than this in it)
1 cup or so of Meat of choice: chopped shrimp (my favorite), chopped chicken, thin-sliced beef or pork.  Japanese like to use pork belly (looks like bacon, but not cured), squid, and shrimp.
1/2 cup cooked noodles (optional)  The Japanese use either udon (very thick, round noodles) or soba(thinner noodles that look much like spaghetti)  Not everyone puts noodles in, but those are the crazy ones!
Toppings:
Okonomiyaki sauce (kind of like Worcestershire sauce, but sweeter and thicker.  I think you could sweeten Worcestershire sauce and it would work.
Kupi (Japanese mayonnaise)  It is sweeter than mayonnaise, but mayonnaise would work, I think
Bonito Flakes ( dried tuna flakes) optional They smell fishy, but really just add saltiness.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, water and eggs.  Add the cabbage, onions, meat and noodles.  Mix all  together.  On a hot lightly oiled griddle, spread some of the mixture in the shape and size of a large pancake.   Flatten the pancake with a spatula as it cooks.  When browned, turn it over and cook the other side.  Serve hot with the sauces.  This recipe makes two large okonomiyaki or three medium. 

To read about our mission experiences and our Okonomiyaki miracle, go here:  http://kenandkayhinton.blogspot.jp/2016/01/mission-miracle-okonomiyaki.html

Chicken Ole'

This is a delicious casserole that I've made for years at home, but find I can make it with just a few substitutions here in Japan as well.  In recent years, taco seasoning is sold in Japan, so I substituted that for the chili powder.  I substituted tomato paste with water for tomato sauce.  I can't find canned black beans here, but I did find some canned kidney beans.   I couldn't find canned green chilis, but I just added some salsa (from Costco) and that worked great!  It's fast and easy!

Chicken Ole'
2 chicken breasts, cut up in chunks
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic granules
1 teaspoon salt

1 large can tomato sauce
1 can green chilis (4 oz)
1 can black beans
1 can corn

Corn Chips or Tortilla Chips
1 cup or so of grated Monterey Jack Cheese
1 can black olives

Mix together the chili powder, garlic powder, and salt.  Sprinkle the mixture over the chicken and, using your hands, mix them together well.  Let sit for a couple of minutes, then fry the chicken in a large, sided skillet in olive oil.  When the chicken is done, add the tomato sauce, green chilis, corn, and black bean.  Heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve over crushed corn or tortilla chips.  Top with cheese and olives.  Dinner is ready in about 20 minutes!!

Omurice

Every Tuesday evening here, members of the branch at church gather for family home evening.  It’s kind of Japanese “Chopped” as two and sometimes a third always do the cooking.  Another lady in the branch donates vegetables, then these two ladies figure out what to make with them.  One goes shopping while the other starts chopping and cooking.  They come up with delicious meals.  One evening, this omurice was the delicious result.  It is easy, quick, and you have everything you need for it right now- probably.   Living here, we nearly always have leftover rice, but you may not.  But other than that, you’ve probably got everything.

This will make dinner for 4.  It’s easy to expand or reduce, depending on how many you need to feed.  It’s basically one cup of rice and one piece of meat person. 

Omurice

4 cups of cooked rice

1 onion, chopped

1 piece of meat per person, ie: chicken thigh cut up, 1 hot dog cut up, 1/3 lb. ground beef, bacon slices cut up, etc.  You can use as little or as much meat as you wish.  The one they served us just had a little bit of hot dog in it.

Oil (I use olive oil)

Salt and pepper

½ cup ketchup

½ cup frozen green peas

4 eggs

Heat some oil in a large fry pan. Add the meat and cook until done.  Add the onion and fry on medium heat until golden and translucent.

Add the cooked rice and stir and fry together for about 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Push the rice to the sides of the pan and pour the ketchup in the middle.  Spread the ketchup and cook just the ketchup alone for about 30 seconds, then stir the rice and ketchup together and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add the peas and cook for 2 more minutes.  Divide the rice mixture into 1/4ths.  Put each ¼ into a bowl or other mold.  Traditionally, omurice is a sort of oval shape.  Turn bowl upside down on a plate.

  Repeat for all four bowls of rice.  Beat 1 egg with some salt and pour it into a small fry pan and move it around like you were making a crepe.  You want a crepe-like thin round sheet of egg.  Cook on one side til done, then gently turn it over.  When done, put the cooked egg over the rice like a blanket.  Tuck in the sides.  Repeat for the other three.  Serve immediately.