Experimenting in the kitchen can be very freeing as well as inspiring. I sometimes feel very creative in other areas after making a great meal from scratch. For me, “from scratch” doesn’t necessarily mean a two-to-three-hour production. In the third photo below, the rice I used was Minute Rice. Both dishes can be made with leftover chicken. I used baby potatoes, but you could easily take the larger russets or reds and cut them into the smaller pieces, and again it’s a great way to finish your bag of potatoes.

Both meals used one pan and one metal bowl, and the second meal used a pot to make the Minute Rice. As I finished cooking something on its own, I moved it to the metal bowl until the next item was cooked and then everything was combined and simmered for a short time.

The first one was a chicken stir fry with potatoes instead of the typical rice. Since the chicken were tenders and was further cut into pieces, I cooked the potatoes first.

I used a non-stick wok and heated about one tablespoon of olive oil and half a stick of butter. This can be done without the oil if you prefer. When the butter was about half melted, I tossed in the potatoes, and sprinkled salt, freshly ground four peppercorn mix, and powdered garlic. I tossed them a bit in the butter and oil with the spices, then covered the wok and let it simmer for about ten minutes. I stirred the potatoes with a wooden spatula and then let them simmer for another ten minutes. I repeated this until the potatoes were soft to a fork. I poured the potatoes into a metal bowl, and added the chicken into whatever was in the pan to get the flavors of the potatoes. Once the chicken was browned, I added the frozen stir fry mixture of vegetables until they were warm. I added about two tablespoons of hoisin sauce and let it simmer. I added more hoisin sauce, added the potatoes, and let it simmer for ten minutes and then served.

This was very well received by the family.

The second stir fry was put together at the last minute.

The chicken was cooked first in a large non-stick frying pan, hot with olive oil and cracked rosemary. When the chicken was cooked, I put it into the metal bowl to wait.

I scraped the chicken bits in the pan as if I would make gravy, but instead added a half stick of butter and then poured in a can of Cracker Barrel fried apples. I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and arrowroot (for thickening). I let that cook for five or so minutes and decided that I wanted to make a fried rice with eggs. I scrambled the eggs right in the pan. When the eggs were firm, I moved them next to the apples and added the rice. I did not use soy or teriyaki sauce since the apples had enough sauce to keep the rice from drying. I used a folding method to blend all those ingredients until they were evenly mixed. I added peas warmed in the microwave and then added the chicken and mixed again.

Even my daughter who is not a fan of fried rice, ate it and enjoyed it.

Potato Stir Fry Ingredients
Bag of Small Yellow Potatoes
Olive Oil
Half stick of butter (I use unsalted)
Salt, Pepper, Garlic
Package of Chicken Tenders
Package of Frozen Stir Fry Vegetables
Hoisin Sauce (can be found in the Asian section of the supermarket or use whatever flavor sauce you like)

Chicken Fried Rice
Package of chicken tenders
Cracked Rosemary
2-3 cups of cooked rice
Can of Cracker Barrel fried apples
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Arrowroot or flour (for thickening)
2 large eggs
Package of Frozen peas