Jambalaya Salad

This is no ordinary salad. I stumbled across this recipe while trying to find pasta salad recipes.
It is a great addition to a potluck or even great as a meal, all by itself.

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cups water
2/3 cup long grain white rice
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 oz. salad shrimp
1/2 cup cubed ham
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomato

3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

In a 2 quart pan, bring the water to a boil.
Add the rice and turn down to medium low. Cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed into the rice.
Fluff and turn out into bowl to cool.
Chop all your vegetables and ham.
If you don't have celery or don't like it, use 1 cup green pepper for the 1/2 cup celery and 1/2 cup green pepper. Still is great that way.
Add the crumbled bacon, shrimp, ham, and vegetables to the bowl with the rice.
In another bowl whisk the Italian dressing, thyme, salt, chili powder, and garlic together.
Pour over the rice mixture.
Stir to coat.
Chill until serving.

Serves 6 as a main dish.

Potatoes O'Brien

Potatoes O'Brien are fried potatoes with peppers and onions.

I don't really like fried potatoes and onions, but add in the peppers and I just love them.

Ingredients:

4 medium size potatoes, chopped. I prefer Yukon Gold or Russet.

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 Tablespoons cooking oil

Peel the potatoes before chopping if you want.

In a 10" or 12" skillet heat the oil over medium high heat.

Add the potatoes, onions, and peppers to the skillet.

Season.

Sauté and stir frequently until potatoes are done.

Turn the heat down if needed so potatoes don't burn.

If red pepper is not available, use all green.

Cheesy Chicken Breast with Onions and Peppers

This reminds me of food you can get when out to eat. It is very simple and very delicious.I came up with this one year when I had so many bell peppers I didn't know what to do with them all.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves
1/2 cup cheddar or Monterey jack cheese or a mix of the two
1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium size onion, halved and sliced
garlic powder
salt
pepper

In a bowl mix the peppers and onion strips and set to the side. On a baking sheet, lay out the chicken breasts and season lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and put the bell pepper and onion strips on the tops of the chicken breasts. Do the same with the cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Take out and serve.

Serves 4.

Works best with flatter chicken breasts.