rice with chicken, cashews and gloden raisins

• 2 cups white rice, cooked
• 1/4 cup chicken, torn into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup halved cashews
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• fresh curly parsley, chopped
• Mrs. Dash seasoning

Combine first five ingredients. We used leftover chicken and we nuked it in a little chicken stock because we had some of that left over. Season to taste with Mrs. Dash and fresh ground pepper and kosher salt.

The dish: Kim really believes that she can't cook, which is not the case, and as a result she's a little pensive in the red room. I was working late and we had some leftover chicken so we planned on her putting this dish together and it came out great- the mix of flavors really worked. We normally just buy rice from the local Chinese place, but she used Uncle Ben's enriched boil in the bag and the texture was perfect. I enjoyed it cold the next day for lunch- this was a great way to stretch a little left over chicken.

kale and friends winter soup

• 1 bunch of kale, torn into bite size pieces
• 1 cubed butternut squash
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cooked chicken, diced
• 4+ cups of high quality chicken broth
• assorted green herbs

combine all ingredients in large slow cooker (or "crock pot" if you just don't give a damn about trademarks), season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper, cover, cook on low for 8 hours. Add more broth if it appears to not have a soup-like consistency. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, but any will work. If using frozen squash, wait until the final 20 minutes of cooking to add.

The Dish: This is a hearty soup, great for those busy and freezing winter nights (of which we've had many this year). I've done it several times using both fresh and frozen squash and I've determined that fresh tastes better, it's just a pain in the ass to cut something the shape of Grimace into cubes. I had leftover rosemary and parsley on hand and they added nicely to it, but just about any green herb would work, although I'd avoid dill. Good chicken broth is key here, I had some frozen homemade stuff and I supplemented it with Rachel Ray's brand, the only stock with cleavage!! I have a 4.5 quart crock pot and this recipe makes plenty for us to have at least two meals. Great when served with hot garlic bread, or my favorite: Hannaford garlic toast, Texas style.