Indonesian Chicken Tidbits

I have a large assortment of family recipes and every once in awhile I'll be thumbing through them to see if there's anything interesting and different to make for dinner.

I came across this recipe that had the name "Ray" written at the top of it. The whole recipe was actually handwritten and the writing looks very familiar but I'm not sure who, in my family, that it belongs to quite yet. But that's what I love, a hand written recipe, a name to attach to it and the stories just start to formulate in my mind as to when, where and how this recipe came to be in the file! Uncle Ray was my Mom's brother and he died many years ago. I love that I have this recipe to remember him by!

Indonesian Chicken Tidbits has an assortment of ingredients that sound very intriguing put together:  peanut butter, curry, honey, milk and the most shocking to me.... MAYO!?!?!

But I was game, especially with how easy it was to throw together and get this... you cook it in the house, in the oven, under the broiler in about 20 minutes!

The boys and I enjoyed this recipe and I hope you'll be adventurous and it give it a try as well! If you want to make it a bit more fancy/party presentable, thread the chicken onto skewers AFTER it's cooked and serve on a bed of rice.

Indonesian Chicken Tidbits

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts; cut into pieces (about 1 1/2 in)

1/3 c creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp curry powder

dash or so of salt

2 Tbs honey

2/3 cup mayo

1/4 cup milk

Blend together all the ingredients except the chicken.

Line one large or 2 medium jellyroll pans with foil and spray with non-stick spray.

Add the PB mixture TO THE chicken pieces (not all of it, as you can save some of the sauce to dip the chicken into after it is cooked) and stir to coat.

Separate the chicken out onto the pan and broil for 10 minutes on one side. Watch closely, it may be a minute or two more or less depending on the strength of your broiler!

Take the pan out, flip the chicken pieces and then broil again for about 8-10 minutes- if you think they need it, you could brush more of the sauce onto the chicken before popping them back into the oven.

Serve on skewers or just like this!

We had ours with shelled edamame and pineapple.

Mary's Baked Fruit ~ 12.18.11

Mary's Baked Fruit is one of my favorite recipes from home. We have this at many a holiday celebration and it always makes me think of Christmas (well, and Easter, too). It contains a very unique ingredient that doesn't quite taste the way you expect it to taste: curry! Whenever I tell someone it's in there the response is quite often, "I don't really like curry and stay away from anything with it in it!" And then they try this recipe and are sold.

In our family, the peaches and pineapples are the first to go. Poor pears! So, we usually increase the amounts of those in the recipe. I've even increased the fruit in this recipes WITHOUT increasing the "sauce" ingredients.

I will give you one caveat before you proceed, the sauce in this stains. It's ruined a few shirts, but again, it's well worth it and I just give lots of warnings about that fact. My kids LOVE this recipe and it will be around for many years to come. I'm including some photos of my fruit draining process. My mom always used paper towels, but I was trying to be a bit more "green" ;)

Mary's Baked Fruit


Best made the day before or several... the flavors marry together and it gets better!
Increase/decrease fruit amts. per preference

1 lg can cling peach halves (the pics show slices as that was what I had on hand at the time)
1 lg can pineapple slices
1 lg can pear halves
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2-4 tsp. curry powder (we use 2)

1. Drain fruit and dry on paper towels- or use towels (see photos above). Absorb as much moisture as possible.
2. Arrange fruit in casserole dish.
3. Melt butter, then add brown sugar and curry. Spoon over the fruit.
4. Bake 1 hour in 325-350 degree oven.

Serves 4-6--- of course you can double/ triple the recipe! you can also freeze the leftovers.

Pumpkin & Pecan Pie ~ 11. 29.10

(all the pies lined up and waiting for little fingers to poke them)

When my Aunt Lynn passed away a few years ago, I was dubbed the "Pie maker" at our Thanksgiving celebrations. A role I take quite seriously. I only make one version of pumpkin pie- Libby's recipe off the can! Are you surprised? Hope not,it is as easy as, well, pie to make! After the crust, it literally takes just minutes to throw a pumpkin pie together and the aroma that fills your house is well worth that time!

The last time I made pie crust, the recipe made 2 rounds, so I took one and formed it into my pie pan and threw it in a zippy bag and popped it in the freezer. That made my Thanksgiving morning pie prep super easy this year! It was an ALL butter crust! WHOA baby. I needed to try something a little different for my pecan pie.

I had clipped a pie crust recipe from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette a few months back and decided to give it a go. It was an all shortening pie crust and was so supposed to be very easy to make and didn't need to chill before being rolled out into crust. I was game for a simple recipe like that. I used the pie crust recipe for my pecan pie.

Speaking of pecan pie, how about another simple pie to make? I mean these two are really quite easy. Good pecans can be quite expensive but we are talking about the holidays and it's hard to have Thanksgiving or Christmas without pumpkin and pecan pie! Holidays are meant to be special and a bit indulgent anyway.

Enjoy our pie traditions!

(I love how pumpkin pie cracks in the middle after you knife test it- makes it feel all homemade)

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
2 large eggs
15 oz 100% pure pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 unbaked deep dish pie crust

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Beat eggs in a large bowl.
Stir pumpkin and sugar and spice mixture.
Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell- always place your pie tin on a baking sheet just in case of overflow!

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Reduce temp to 350 degrees and bake 40-50 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Cool 2 hours. serve immediately or refrigerate.

(My aunt advised not to freeze this pie as the crust and filling will separate.)

Miriam Parker's Pie Crust
clipped from the Pgh Post Gazette
makes a double crust pie 9-inch

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
7 Tbs cold water (I add ice)

I combined the first 3 ingredients right in my food processor. Pulsed to combine- until shortening was incorporated into crumbles. Then through the shoot, I added the water, one at a time until the dough came together nicely. Alternately, you can combine the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl using 2 knives to cut the shortening into the flour. Sprinkle 2 Tbs of water and toss with a fork until you've incorporated all 7 Tbs. Form into a ball.

Divide the dough in half- put some flour on your work surface and rolling pin- and roll out the dough from the center to the edge to create the crust. Repeat for the top crust.

No need to refrigerate this dough as it's so easy to roll out and very flaky once baked!**see note

Now that you have your pie dough all ready to go, make this delicious pecan pie!

(was trying to get a little artsy with my acorns made out of extra pie dough)

Aunt Lynnie's Pecan Pie

2/3 cup karo syrup
1 cup dark brown sugar (I use light cause that's what I always have on hand)
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above ingredients well, then add:

3 whole eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup peans- heaping cup - mix with above and pour into your pie crust

If you think it needs a few more pecans, go ahead and add them- I often do. You can leave them whole or chop them roughly. Your call!

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-55 minutes. It should be 200 degrees in the center of the pie. You'll know when it's done just by looking at it, right? I never take it's temperature, but it was part of the family recipe so I wrote it down!

**While Miriam's dough was tremendously easy, I was not loving how it didn't brown at all. I'm going to have to listen to my mum and just make her pie dough recipe. Why it's taken me sooooo long to listen, I don't know!

Cranberry Jello Salad- a family fave

My Godmother, Deanna, made this recipe for years and its been a longstanding family tradition to have it at the Thanksgiving and Christmas tables. My kids love it and I've taken to making it throughout the year for picnics or as a fun side dish alongside pork or chicken. In fact, I'm so fond of making it that I always have the ingredients for this on hand for when I need a quick side dish- I keep them all together on the pantry shelf so that I know if I'm missing one of them or need to restock on whole cranberry sauce! Good tip.


I often leave out the walnuts when I bring it to a large group event as I'm fearful of nut allergies- so know that it tastes just as good without them as it does with them included.



Cranberry Jello Salad

1 large cherry jello (big package- or two small)
1 can Ocean Spray whole cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple, drained, but not all the way
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2- 1 cup walnut pieces

Boil 1/2 cup of water; Dissolve jello with water in large bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Let sit overnight in fridge.



As I was typing this up, I noticed I taped an alternate version of this recipe to the back of my recipe card. I'm thinking I cut it out of a magazine or the coupon section of the paper. I'll post that here as it does sound interesting and the kids might really enjoy it! Let me know if you try it.