Curried Chicken Thighs

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2½ pounds)

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped (½ cup)

1 clove garlic, minced

3 to 4 teaspoons curry powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup chicken broth

1 medium apple, cored and chopped

1 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups hot cooked rice - I like basmati or jasmine

Assorted condiments (optional): raisins, chopped hard-cooked egg, peanuts, chopped tomato, chopped green sweet pepper, toasted coconut, chutney, cut-up fruits

1 Rinse chicken; pat dry with paper towels. In a 10-inch skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat about 10 minutes or until lightly browned, turning to brown evenly. Remove chicken. If necessary, add 1 tablespoon additional cooking oil to skillet.

2 Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to skillet; cook until vegetables are tender. Add curry powder, salt and cinnamon; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and apple. Return chicken to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. cover and simmer about 5-10 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

3 transfer chicken to platter; keep warm. Stir the half-and-half, light cream or milk into the flour. Stir into pan juices. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Spoon some sauce over chicken. Pass remaining sauce. Serve with rice and, if desired, pass condiments.

Makes 4 servings

Granny Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¾ cup butter

2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Powdered sugar (optional)

1 Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and cloves; set aside.

2 In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add bananas, undrained pineapple, eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture. Beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Fold in pecans. Spread batter in prepared pan.

3 Bake in 325ºF oven for 70-75 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

4 If desired, decorate cake with a powdered-sugar design. Place a paper doily on top of cake. Sift powdered sugar over doily to fill cutout designs. Carefully remove doily.

Makes 12 servings

Bean, Gouda and Mandarin Salad

This easy salad is the perfect work or school lunch!
Bonus; it has all 4 food groups ...

1 - 19 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1½ cups cooked brown basmati rice

1 each medium-sized red and green bell pepper, diced

200 grams Gouda cheese, diced - I like spiced Gouda with caraway

1 - 10 ounce can mandarin oranges with its juice

½ cup each onion and celery chopped finely

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped

A drizzle of olive oil (optional)

1 Stir all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. That's it!

Serves 4

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts with Chile Cheese Sauce

A great southern taste!

8 slices bacon - I like thick slices

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in half lengthwise (making 8 long pieces)

1 10-0z can condensed Cheddar cheese soup

⅓ cup of whole milk

1 teaspoon bottled chipolte hot pepper sauce

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside.

2 Wrap a slice of bacon around each piece of chicken and place on baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from the oven. Preheat the broiler.

3 Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the soup, milk, chipolte pepper and Worcestershire to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off heat; cover to keep sauce warm.

4 Broil the chicken 5 to 5 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until the bacon is really sizzling. Serve chicken topped with the cheese sauce.

Makes 4 Servings