Chicken-and-Rice Recipe

Sometimes, I get tired of the usual dish I serve on the dining table. So, for a change, I tried this chicken-and-rice dinner recipe from Campbell's Kitchen. It is easy to prepare and cook; all you need is 15 minutes and presto, you already have your sumptuous dinner.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups uncooked instant white rice*
2 cups fresh OR frozen broccoli flowerets


Directions:

1. HEAT oil in skillet. Cook chicken 10 min. or until browned. Remove chicken.
2. ADD soup, water, paprika and pepper. Heat to a boil.
3. STIR in rice and broccoli. Return chicken to pan. Sprinkle additional paprika and pepper over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat 5 min. or until chicken is done.

TIP: *For creamier dish, use 1 1/2 cups rice.

I modified this recipe, though. Here's my version:

1. I first boiled the chicken (pre-cut into bite sizes) to ensure they are well-cooked. I've also added a teaspoon of Japanese sake to make the chicken flavorful.
2. I used the chicken stock (from boiling) instead of plain water.
3. I didn't put in paprika (because I don't have one in my cupboard).
4. Instead of instant rice, I used steamed rice left over from today's lunch.
5. I used pumpkin instead of broccoli. The latter doesn't appeal to my son's palate. I put the bite-sized pumpkin slices in the pan first before the rice. (tip: intermittently peel the pumpkin and bevel its edges so as to avoid scorching)
6. And oh, I used butter in place of vegetable oil.

That's it. Easy ... and heavy! ;)

Chow!

The Golden Temple in Kyoto, Japan

click on the image for a larger view

It's really made of gold. Too bad, can't get close enough to scrape some and bring home. ;) This is the closest we could get, amidst a downpour of not only rain but also of tourists, gaijins and natives alike, wanting to see this historic place, which dates back in 1397.

More stories here.

Hokkaido foodie photos

As promised, here are some photos of our Hokkaido galore. Enjoy! ;)


Okunomiyaki and takoyaki are both trademarks of Kansai region, but we had the chance to munch them all in Hokkaido as our friend is of Kansai origin.

Check out sites about Genghis Khan and Hokkaido.


Note: Cross-posted in MY-GAIJIN-LIFE blogsite.

A glimpse of me in Hokkaido

Yeah, that's me in red hood and red jacket, happily waving my hands to catch some snow falling in front of me! (or for foto-ops)

And what is that place, you may ask? Well, that's the wonderful place where we take a good sooooooothing bath every night. They call it onsen in Japanese, or hot spring. It was my first to go to an onsen after an almost three years of stay in Japan.

Oh, did I say I was going to post my pictures inside the onsen? Ha,ha! You must be dreaming! ;) As an excuse, I couldn't get a nice shot because the steam from the 41-degree water was blocking the digicam from having a clear view of the site. ;)

They say that onsen has a therapeutic effect, and I find this very true. My back ache was gone (at least while we were there), and sleeping after a one-hour bath is nearly irristible.

Now that we are back in Tokyo, I oh-so long to have a hot bath. :-/

Belated...

I know, I know. I am four days late, but as they always say, better late than never. So, here's greeting you a prosperous 2007 and may all our wishes come true. ;)

Personally, I feel very optimistic for this year despite some uncertainties that await us in the coming months. With God's help and providence, I trust that circumstances will favor us in all our undertakings, be it here in Japan or back home.

And, may we all see and feel the peace that the world needs.

(Belated) Happy New Year to everyone! ;)

Am back!

Yup, that's right! And I'm alive, proudly proclaiming I survived the -10 or -11 degrees of brrrrrrrrr-y cold weather and snowstorm in Hokkaido as well as our (mis)adventures in the Kansai region enjoying local dishes and native delicacies.

But ...

I'll tell you more about our grand escapade (grand = expensive)later. We have just arrived a few hours ago and still needs to organize not just our stuff but most of all, our pictures which I'm pretty sure you all have been waiting for. And how'd you like the idea of me seeing bathing in the onsen (hot spring)? I mean that in a wholesome-nothing-fishy-just-for-the-sake-of-picture-taking way. ;)

So, please wait. Chotto matte kudasai.