Making the Most of Chicken in 30 Minutes

"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Ones:

Welcome to my cooking blog. I am so enjoying sharing my divinely intuited recipes with all my friends and colleagues. I know you've been cooking up Heaven! We can all cook. That is a Reality, because there is nothing God cannot do through us. Take a leap of faith everyday and just say..."I can!" and start shaking that seasoning on and have fun!

So...in regards to what Emerson said above...Cooking is a good way to spend 30 minutes. And, the results are better than standing in a fast food line. Even when I'm my most busy, I do not resort to fast food. Instead I turn to   recipes like this one: easy, quick, delicious, low in calorie and healthy.
 

Once Upon a Busy Night, Rita looked at her watch and some chicken thighs and asked, "Oh, what can I make in 30 minutes? I've got to get to class."
She looked in her cupboard and spied a jar of soy sauce.

She always had garlic on hand and there were some onions. "Hmmm...yellow ones will do," she thought. And so the beginnings of SOY CHICKEN were born with...

• Chicken thighs
• Soy Sauce
• Garlic
• Onions
• olive oil
• And any other seasonings that your senses intuit...

Veggies that can be added: Any type you like, or none. I like broccoli or string beans or even peas or all three. Mushrooms are great.

Put some of your favorite rice on to cook, while you are making this.

Now...

• Put some oil in a nice sized skillet

• Add chicken and brown

• Throw in garlic, onions seasoning and a good deal of soy sauce.

• Turn down to medium low and cook

• Add your veggies at a time that will cook them to your likening...raw, crunchy or soft.

• Add soy sauce if it gets dry. 

• Serve over rice

Here's a Divinely Intuited version of this recipe. 

Love and Light,
Rita Andriello RScP 

________________________________

DIVINE COOKING CORNER

Are these girls or boys? See below.

In response to my Eggplant Parmesan Recipe from Randy, a professional chef, event planner and more. He's been cooking as God for a long, long time...
I had suggested these could be done as individuals as a first coarse just changing it up by dipping the eggplant in egg and then the breadcrumbs and a little of the Parmesan and frying till golden and then using a slice of mozzerella then saucing it sprinkle with he rest of the Parmesan and baking at your 375 till golden and garnish with fresh basil leaf. Great first coarse to your wonderful meal with love.
from Randy
_________________________________

Affirm:
I am in-tuned with the Divine Cook within me.
Everything I cook is delicious!

_____________________________________

Don't ever say you can't cook again!
Call or write Rita about
ONE POT! ONE POWER! COOKING...
an easy way to learn to cook quick, healthy meals.
323-969-4761
younmeprods@sbcglobal.net

________________________________________

The first person to write Rita with the correct answer to the question about the eggplants (who lives in the L.A. area) wins a pot of  JJM's Kick Ass Chicken Soup

I THINK I Can and I Make Eggplant Parmesan!

"Each is drawing from Life what HE THINKS INTO IT. TO LEARN HOW TO THINK IS TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE, for our thoughts go into a Medium that is Infinite in Its ability to do and to be." Ernest Holmes

Dear Ones:
What if  before you tried the recipe below, you thought and believed, "I am a fabulous cook. Whatever I make is delicious!" Take a chance. Think it. I guarantee your success because this recipe for Eggplant Parmesan is the best ever and with what you think into it, it's destined for even more success. 

Affirm: 

I think I can; therefore, I make mouth-watering Eggplant Parmesan!

Check it out! It's a girl

Once upon a girl eggplant, Nonna made the best Eggplant Parmesan ever...

Did you know there were girl eggplants and boy eggplants? I didn't until I found out from my Nonna that girl eggplants have a round slit at their base and boy eggplants have a straight-line slit. Sounds crazy? Go to the grocery store and look. 

I can't swear if this is actually how to tell the gender of an eggplant, or whether or not an eggplant has a gender, but since it is done unto you as you believe, and Nonna believed this, and thought girl eggplants were superior to boy eggplants in the Parmesan, and I believed what Nonna thought about eggplants, I choose to use girl eggplants for my Eggplant Parmesan. But, don't believe me. Think for yourself, and go to the store and get 2 to 3 eggplants...

Here's what else you'll need:

• Rita's Tomato Sauce which you now have your own version of and have named after yourself. (Check Blog: God is the Sauce of Life!)

• Sea salt (Remember what I told you, it's just the kind I like to use. Any salt will do.) 

• Eggs (lightly beaten)

• Olive Oil

• Parmesan Cheese

• Mozzarella Cheese

• Seasoned Breadcrumbs

Now wash your hands, say the affirmation above three times and put on some great music. I like a good Puccini opera when I'm cooking this. It connects me in Mind to Nonna. Here we go.

• Cut your eggplants into 1/4 inch circles. Salt them and lay the in a strainer for about an hour (Now, you can skip this if you want. I do if I'm in a rush. My own mom used to drain them overnight. She said the salt and the draining took any bitter taste from the eggplants. Frankly, I've never experienced a bitter eggplant.)
• Cover the bottom of a large frying pan with olive oil and turn the burner heat on medium low (I usually get a couple of pans going to save time. Also, you are going to have to find the right temperature for your burner so that you find the balance between burning the eggplants and cooking them too slow.)
• Dip your eggplants in beaten eggs and put them in the pan to cook. (Put as many eggplants as you can fit comfortably in the pan side-by-side.)
• Cook on one side until golden and then flip to the other side. (Just don't burn them. Definitely there is no useful creativity in burning. It's the wrong use of the Law; otherwise known as a sin. However, all sins are immediately absolved by starting over in any moment.)

  

  The fried eggplants should look like this.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

• It's good to drain your fried eggplants on a paper towel to get the excess grease off. (Again, this is a matter of taste.)
• Now it's time to start layering:Using your eggplants, cheeses, bread crumbs and sauce, layer them in a 9" x 15" baking pan. This is my order:

• Sauce on the bottom of the pan, eggplants, breadcrumbs, sauce, cheeses, eggplants, breadcrumbs, sauce, cheeses, and so on. It's a pattern. It repeats itself until you reach the top of the pan. End with the sauce.

• Cook your Eggplant Parmesan at 375 degrees until it is bubbling hot. Add cheese to the top layer when it's almost done, so you don't burn the cheese. (See consequences of burning, above). 

Your thought has become a delicious thing!

PS. Don't leave out the breadcrumbs. They do something magical to the olive oil in the fried eggplants. But don't take my word for it. Spirit knows, so check in for sure.

Love and Light, 
Rita Andriello RScP
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The Divine Cooking Corner:
In response to my Portabello Mushroom recipe, I got this:

More on Portabello mushrooms from Francesca:

I slice huge Portabella's  into thinner "patties" and cook like

burgers (maybe with a drop of Olive oil in the pan, 
 and eat  with little ketchup (unsweetened from Whole Foods)
and mustard,  with a side of grilled veggies.  

Affirm:
I am in-tuned with the Divine Cook within me.
Everything I cook is delicious!

_______________________

Don't ever say you can't cook again!
Call or write Rita about
ONE POT! ONE POWER! COOKING...
an easy way to learn to cook quick, healthy meals.
323-969-4761 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              323-969-4761      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
younmeprods@sbcglobal.net  

No Mushroom is Too Big to the Soul That Maketh All!

There is no great and no small

To the Soul that maketh all:
And where it cometh, all things are;

And it cometh everywhere. Ralph Waldo Emerson


The Soul that Emerson is talking about is just another word for the Over-abiding Presence or God, the Infinite Power of the Universe. He lets us know that it does not know size, time or space. It is present everywhere at all times. That means It is present in us in all Its glory in all Its Intelligence! It doesn't comprehend size, but  we do, and we can experience only as much of this Power as we can embody. We've got to develop a really BIG appetite. We can heal ourselves of all conditions by revealing this Presence within ourselves. Many have, including Emerson himself. It is done by getting in touch with and communing with the Infinite continually until it is your first nature.



Cooking is an easy simple place to start this communion...So let's get onto the recipe and see what God can do with mushrooms. 

Two Portabello Mushrooms and a Tomato

A Saturday Afternoon  Ménage à trois

Once upon two Portabello Mushrooms, something delicious happened for Saturday lunch...


There I found them, forgotten at the bottom of my fridge on Saturday at about 1PM...two Portabello Mushrooms that I'd bought from Trader Joe's. 

I took them out and stared at them. "I've never cooked a Portabello Mushroom before. Why did I buy these? My husband doesn't even like them. Forgetting what I've been preaching in this blog, I ran to computer and googled, Portabello Mushroom. I was accosted by thousands of recipes. Overwhelmed, I ran back to the kitchen and stared at the mushrooms again. "What would Spirit do?" finally I was sane again. My eyes were drawn to the tomatoes on my counter top, I picked one tomato up and here's what happened in about 15 minutes with one tomato and:


Two Portabello Mushrooms
Two cloves of garlic
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil
My trusty friend (Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute)
sea salt (Don't get stuck on this if you don't have it. For some reason sea salt makes me feel rich, so keep it around all the time as a reminder.)
About a cup of pasta (I eat brown rice pasta, but any pasta will do.)


I put the water for the pasta on to boil. (I add a little salt to the water.)


I sliced the Portabello Mushrooms (I sliced them diagonally, but I'm sure the mushroom didn't care.)
I chopped the garlic and the basil.
I cut up the tomato.
I threw it all in a pan with the olive oil and the seasonings.


By now my water was boiling, so I threw about a cup of pasta in.


In the meantime, I cooked all the mushroom and goodies in my pan until they were tender, but not over cooked. (How did I know? I tasted them. Overcooked has many meanings and depending on who you are.)


The pasta was done. I threw my cooked Portabellos over the pasta and sprinkled it with Parmesan cheese. I ate it. There was a left over, which I ate later.

That's it. Portabello Mushrooms are very, very big. They can look threatening, but not to God. Remember what Emerson said above. Go for it! Make it your own and let me know how it went. Please.


Love, Rita

Affirm:
I am in-tuned with the Divine Cook within me.
Everything I cook is delicious!

_______________________

Don't ever say you can't cook again!
Call or write Rita about
ONE POT! ONE POWER! COOKING...
an easy way to learn to cook quick, healthy meals.
323-969-4761
younmeprods@sbcglobal.net 

God is the Sauce of Life!

GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL

"God makes things  through the direct act of becoming the things which It creates. This is what we do, for our thought becomes the thing thought of. The thought and the thing are one reality." Ernest Holmes (Science of Mind)

Dear Ones:

Welcome to my Divinely Intuited Cooking Blog calling out the Divine Cook in each and every one of us. You now have my JJM's Kick Ass Chicken Soup recipe. If you do not have it, please write me and I'll make sure you get a copy.

Today we are moving onto my Basic Tomato Sauce. I'm starting with this story so you can tune into your Divine senses.

MY GRANDMA COOKS WITH GOD

a story by Rita Andriello

I love to cook with Grandma, especially when we she makes tomato sauce. She makes the best tomato sauce. It's sweet and salty and taste good on spaghetti.

"Grandma," I asked one day, "Can you teach me how to make tomato sauce?

"It's easy, child," she said. "Just cook with God."

I didn't understand what she is saying, so I asked, "How do I cook with God. God is in heaven."

"Yes, God is in Heaven," said Grandma, "and Heaven is inside you. It is that feeling inside you that makes you want to do good things and tells you just how to do things the perfect way."

"How can God and Heaven be inside me?" I asked.  "God made the Earth and all the trees and the ocean."

"Yes, that is true, but God is the Earth and the trees and the ocean! God is all the things it makes. God is you!" she said, as she put a little more seasoning in the sauce.

"God is inside everything! Even in that sauce?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered, "Even in this sauce because I made it, and because God is in the tomatoes and all the seasonings. God is in everything!"

"Where is God inside me?" I asked.

"Look in the mirror! You'll find God!" she said, and she kept stirring her sauce.

I tried to look real hard in the mirror. "I don't see God," I said.

"I do," said Grandma. "I see you and God is you!" Grandma gave me a big smile. "And God is me, too!" she added with another smile. Then, she lifted the spoon to my mouth so I could taste the sauce. 

"Mmmm! It is delicious Grandma!" I shouted.

"God makes everything delicious!" she said with a smile, and then she put in a little more salt and pepper. "You, see, God knows just what to do and so do you," she said. "What do you want to do right now?"

"I want to give you a big hug, Grandma, because I love you so much."

"Yes, God is love," she said. "What else do you want to do?"

"I am happy when I am here with you cooking this delicious sauce!" I said.

"Yes, God is joy and happiness!" she smiled. "What else?"

"I want to tell you that you are the best tomato sauce maker in the world!" I shouted.

"Yes, God is perfect! And so are you and so am I!" she said.

"Grandma," I said, "I want to cook with God like you. Will I be able to make sauce as delicious as yours?"

"You will make your own special sauce, because you see, God is different in everyone." she said. "Just follow this recipe. Use your love in everything you do and always follow your heart. That is the ingredient and the recipe. You cannot fail."

"Yes, I can do it. I can make my own tomato sauce, but for now let's have some of yours, please!" I said with a smile.

And Grandma boiled some spaghetti and puts some sauce and cheese on it. We said a blessing and we had a delicious lunch!

And now every time, I wonder what to do, or how to do something, I think what would God do? What would love do? What would Grandma do? What would I do? I know I am cooking with God. God is me!

My Granddaughter Jade eating my Divinely Intuited Pancakes

Once upon a Sunday morning on an island called Long Island in the State of New York, Rita learned to make Nonna's Tomato Sauce...

There are two Sunday traditions in an Italian American home: one is that you go to Sunday Mass and the other is that no later than 2PM you must sit down to Sunday dinner which must include pasta with THE SAUCE.

My Italian Nonna lived with us when I was a little girl and rose very, very early on Sunday mornings to cook THE SAUCE. Her tomato sauce had pork and beef in it and it cooked all morning.

This recipe that I am sharing with you is basic marinara sauce. Marinara comes from a word meaning "the sea," but this sauce does not have any fish in it or meat. It doesn't take all morning to cook either. This sauce can be cooked slowly in about an hour and one half.

This is what you will need:

• 4 1 lb cans of whole Roma/Italian/Plum tomatoes crushed in the blender 

Make sure they are Roma/Italian/Plum tomatoes. They make the best sauce because they have less water in them and they are sweet. I like the type I get at Trader Joe's. Authentic Italian Nonna's swear by Marzano tomatoes. They come from a town in Italy called San Marzano that swears their tomatoes are the only Truth. Well, as we know, it is done unto you as you believe, so I am not going to argue with them.

• Garlic (Use as much as you like. I like a lot so I use about 5 cloves.)

• Fresh Basil (If you don't have fresh, you may use the dried type.)

• Salt (How much? You decide by tasting.)

• Oregano (I sprinkle a generous amount that lightly blankets the top of the sauce.)

• Olive Oil (You'll see below.)

Now here's what to do:

• First of all tune into your Divine Senses and know...What all Nonna's know, you also know. Why? Because you are one with the One Nonna and that One Nonna is intuiting through you. Breathe that in and now you are ready to start...

• Chop your garlic.
• Cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil.
• Saute the garlic until it is pearly white (I leave it in the sauce. Some people take it out. Why? I don't know.)
• Add your tomatoes and stir.
• Add your basil and stir.
• Cover the top with a light blanket of oregano and stir again.
• Bring the heat up until it starts to bubble a little, then turn your heat to low and let it simmer. That's pretty much it, besides stirring now and then, and of course tasting with your Divine taste buds.
• Add whatever you think it still needs, salt, etc. Some people like to add sugar to cut the acid. I don't, although sometimes I'll chop up a carrot and throw it in.

Serve THE SAUCE over what ever you want: pasta, chicken, rice, pizza. I sometimes just drink it if I really need a fix of sauce. Really! 

So now you know how to make a basic tomato sauce.  We'll be using this sauce in other recipes, so make sure to keep the recipe. Also, it tastes better the second day, the third and even the forth. It will stay good for about 5 days in your fridge. If you are not going to use it, freeze it.
love,
Rita

PS: I'd love to hear from you. Let me know how this recipe worked for you, and if you found something new and exciting to add to it.  

Affirm:
I am in-tuned with the Divine Cook within me.
Everything I cook is delicious!

My son Kenny and I tuning into our Divine taste buds!

Don't ever say you can't cook again!
Call or write Rita about
ONE POT! ONE POWER! COOKING...
an easy way to learn to cook quick, healthy meals.
323-969-4761
younmeprods@sbcglobal.net 

Cooking As God...And So IT is! (Introduction)

“A man should learn to detect that gleam of light that flashes across his mind from within more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Ones:
Cooking is one of my passions, and I have had the nudge to share this passion with you. This is my new blog and the beginning of a new cookbook called Cooking as God…And so IT is! (a Divinely Intuited Cookbook).

Although we will mince and chop lots of food within this blog, I do not choose to mince words.

So, first, I want to dispel any religious trepidation surrounding the word God, and instead infuse it with its spiritual meaning.  God, to me, is the Divine Presence that permeates all Creation. Ralph Waldo Emerson called it the “Oversoul.” George Lucas called it “The Force.” It has been called many names: Energy, Infinite Wisdom, Source, Power are a few. Ultimately, Its name is “Love!”

My granddaughter Jade using her Divine Taste Buds

God is the essence of who we are. When we are awakened to its Presence within us, It inspires us in magnificent ways. The purpose of my blog is to inspire you to infuse your cooking with this inspiration, to let your Divine Cook out. We will find It is the most integral ingredient to all recipes. It will lift the recipe off the page and turn it into a delicious celebration.

So, with this in mind, all my recipes are meant to be a jumping off point. They are meant to be contemplated, meditated upon, experimented with and infused with your own inspiration.

So, let’s start cooking.
Love and Light,
Rita

Once Upon a Chicken, during a dark night of the soul…
JJM’s Kick Ass Chicken Soup was created…

It is appropriate that JJM’s Kick Ass Chicken Soup should be the first recipe I am passing on, because it was most definitely divinely inspired.

I bless this chicken that gave its life

A friend of mine was ill. A Divine whisper within me urged me to start making him chicken soup. I started with the recipe I thought I knew, but the soup evolved into something quite extraordinary. Each time I made it, I was prompted from within to change the ingredients or do something different. I listened! I tasted! I knew! After the about the third batch, the recipe below was born…
Ingredients:

• one whole chicken
• sea salt (Don’t get stuck on this. You can use regular salt)
• Trader Joe’s 21 Season Salute (If you can’t find this seasoning, find a natural all purpose seasoning, or just use pepper or whatever seasoning you like. Let Spirit guide the way. It will. I know.)
• as many cloves of garlic as you like (I use 6.)
• celery …you intuit the the number of stalks (I use 5.)
• carrots …do you like carrots? (I use 3 large ones.)
• a little vegetable broth (It’s not necessary, but I use it)
• water
• 1/2 pound of your favorite noodles (I use Fettuccini noodles because that is what my friend liked.)

Now you’ll need about 1 1/2 hours for this recipe, but you can do other things while it is cooking. I usually take a 50 minute jog, which is another one of my passions.

Here is what to do with the ingredients:

• Chop up the celery, carrots and garlic and put them aside.

• Take the skin off the chicken (This really makes a better soup. It is not greasy and you don’t have to go through all that trouble of getting the fat out of the broth. I gently wrestle with the chicken to remove as much skin as I can.)

• Take out all those organs that are stuffed inside the chicken’s cavity. I bless them, but I don’t use them.

• Take the sea salt and massage the chicken inside and out.

• Give the chicken a good dose of the seasoning inside and out.

• Saute the chicken in a nice size cooking pot until it is light brown. It takes about 5 – 7 minutes to do this. Easy does it.

• Saute the garlic and all the vegetables with the chicken. Make sure that you put some of these inside the chicken’s cavity, too.

• Now if you are going to use the vegetable broth, add it to the mix.

• Saute for about another 5 minutes.

• Now add your water. The trick is not to add too much water. Leave the top of the chicken breast exposed.

• Cover the pot, and bring it to a boil.

• Turn the heat down to low, and cook for approximately 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

• Remove the chicken from the broth, take it off the bones and throw the meat back in the broth. Do whatever you want with the bones. I bless them and throw them away.

• You are done.

• If you want noodles, cook them on the side and add them to the broth. Do not cook them in the broth or leave them in the broth. Guess why? Pasta soaks up all the broth. You’ll end up with a great pasta dish, but not chicken soup.  I usually just leave the noodles on the side and then put them in when I am serving the soup. You can also use rice the same way. It’s up to you.

All the mystics throughout the ages have taught , “It is done unto us as we believe.” Many people believe that chicken soup has a healing quality to it. And so it does!

I am grateful for all the chickens that have given their lives and continue to give their lives to nourish and strengthen our bodies. We are one!

That’s it… JJM’s Kick Ass Chicken Soup will kick whatever is ailing you to the curb. Just ask JJM. He KNOWS. You can see him live and kicking at www.nohonewthought.com

love,
Rita

PS: I’d love to hear from you. Let me know how this recipe worked for you, and if you found something new and exciting to add to it.

Don’t ever say you can’t cook again!
Call or write Rita about
ONE POT! ONE POWER! COOKING…
an easy way to learn to cook quick, healthy meals.
323-969-4761
younmeprods@sbcglobal.net

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