ChiChi’s Potato Chip Oven-Fried Chicken

Couple of days ago, I had a conversation with my colleagues about what to make for dinner.  We came up with this fun idea of adding potato chips on the chicken for a crunchy feel. Yes,… More

ChiChi’s Garlic-Lemon Pepper Chicken Wangs

Here’s my simple recipe for garlic-lemon pepper wings.  It’s a fan favorite amongst my friends and family. You can pair it with a hearty salad, rice or steamed veggies.  It is all up to you. If… More

ChiChi’s African Yam with Fish

INGREDIENTS TO BOIL YAM: African Yam 1 table-spoon Salt 2-3 cups of water INGREDIENTS FOR THE FISH SAUCE: Fish (of your choice, I choose catfish to make the meal in the picture) 4 roma tomatoes… More

ChiChi’s Curry Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs
• 2 tspns olive oil
• 1 sweet onion ( cut in thin wedges)
• 1 cup unsweetned coconut milk (I use Goya brand)
• 1/4 cup mild or hot curry powder
• 1 1/2 cup of spinach
• 2 gloves garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 in fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup of portabello mushrooms, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the onion and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until slightly tender.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, curry powder, and cumin and sauté for another 2 minutes.
5. Pour the broth into the pan and stir, making sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan because they have a lot of flavor. Stir in the coconut milk.
6. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and spinach. Simmer until tomatoes and spinach reach desired tenderness.
7. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
8. Serve with rice.

 

ChiChi’s Nigerian Jollof Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 cup rice (parboiled rice or long grain)
• 2 scotch bonnet peppers (also called habanero peppers)
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 red bell pepper (roughly chopped)
• 1 red onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (as per taste)
• 1/4 tspn thyme
• 1 Knorr stock cube
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 roma tomatoes (roughly chopped)
• 1 carrot,cubed
• 1/2 cup each of chopped beans and peas (I used frozen hence added last. If using fresh cook it along with the rice)
• salt to taste
• cilantro or parsley to garnish

Directions:

1. Blend your tomatoes, red pepper, scotch bonnet peppers in a food processor or blender for about 45 seconds, make sure that everything is blended well.
2. In a medium-sized pot, heat your oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated add the onions and fry. Once the onions, have softened up add the tomato paste and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then add the blended tomato mixture (reserve about ¼ cup and set aside) and fry the mixture with the onions and tomato paste for about 30 minutes. Make sure you stir consistently so that the tomato mixture does not burn.
3. After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to medium, and add the chicken stock. Mix and add your seasonings (salt, curry powder, and the Knorr stock cube). Continue to boil for 10 minutes.
4. Add the parboiled rice to the pot. Mix it very well with the tomato stew. At this point if you need to add water so that the rice is level with the tomato mixture/chicken stock go ahead and do so. Add the bay leaves, cover the pot, and cook on medium to low heat for 15-30 minutes.
5. When the liquid has almost dried up add the remaining tomato stew, eal the top of the pot with foil, and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes heat until the liquid has completely dried up. Turn off the heat, mix thoroughly, and your Jollof Rice is ready to be eaten! 

#FearlessFriday

Loving Right

“A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together.  It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences”

—Unknown

 

How do you know if you married the right person?

The answer for this question is not etched in stone.  Every relationship has its own cycle.  In the beginning, you may have experienced long phone conversations, daily text messages asking how you are doing, always wanting them around you. But with time, phone calls became annoying, you wanted your space, that personality that you used to like now irritates you. At this point, maybe you and your partner are reminiscing about times where you were happy. Question comes up—“did I marry the right person?” Sometimes you might desire being with someone else, then the relationship begins to breakdown.

In my opinion it’s not about being with the right person; it’s about loving the person that you found. Often times, some people blame their partners for their unhappiness and seek fulfillment outside of the relationship. Infidelity is common.  There are times where people turn to working long hours, drinking, overeating, or hanging out with friends to cope. The answer to this question lies in your relationship. Just remember if you don’t fix what’s wrong in your current relationship it will contaminate the next one.

When I talk to my friends about relationship issues, the major thing I hear is “I’m tired of working.” Their tired of putting in the work to sustain their relationship. I wonder if their relationship was a job and they were able to receive monetary return on their investment how hard would they work? Think about it. No one ever said it will be easy. You don’t clock in and clock out. There are no paid time off to be alone. You have to work and put in overnight hours to make your relationSHIP doesn’t sink.  Apply wisdom and faith into it. I am positive you will receive a bountiful return on your investment.

It’s up to YOU to make the decision to put in work.

#letsgetit

 

God bless you

 

 

Excuses

Approximately two and half weeks ago, I accepted a fitness challenge at work. The challenge lasts for eight weeks.  The challenge consists of over 100 teams with at least 5-7 people on each team. Let me give you a little back story. In the past, I have joined challenges and for one reason or another I would quit. My excuses for quitting didn’t make any sense. I recall a time where I loss 28 pounds and gained half of it back because I became busy with deadlines at work. Looking back at it, this behavior resulted in nothing but failure. Consequently, the opportunity came around again to form teams and develop healthier practices so I jumped into it.

The first week was slowly dragging and I contemplated throwing in the towel. Last week, I came to a decision to   take control of my workout, eating portion, and making sure I was hydrated.  While working out this week, I had an aha moment. Everyone will not join you in YOUR journey. You will hear excuses and you just have to accept them. Leave the Keisha’s Doo Money, Felicia’s and Andre’s alone. Their not meant to be on your journey. Used to believe that you have to get the support of your friends and family to be able to start the journey. FORGET THAT!!!! Erkyah Badu said pack light. Friends and family are usually the LAST to support (this may not be the case for everyone).  Pack light and do this alone. You don’t need a cheering section to travel.  All you need is willpower and a faith that no matter the condition you will keep pushing. This was a tough breakthrough, but when you are spending your evenings in the gym by yourself–you find out who wants it more.

No excuses.

ChiChi’s Egusi Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground pumpkin (egusi) seed
• 1- 2 lb goat tripe or any desired meat of your choice
• 3 tbsp of ground dried crayfish
• 1 small bunch of ugwu or bitter leaves
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 oz of palm oil
• 2 seasoning cubes
• 1 red onion
• 4 large fresh tomatoes
•  2-4 habanero peppers (add more for extra spice)

Direction: 1. Cut the goat tripe into bite size pieces, season with 1 chopped onion and 1 seasoning cube. Add half a cup of water and boil for about 10 minutes or until tender. Set aside.

2 Mix the ground egusi in half a cup of water. Set aside. Also blend the tomatoes, red onion, red bell and habanero pepper. Set aside.

3. Heat the palm oil in another pot and add the egusi mixture. Stir well and allow the egusi to fry a little. Then add the blend and stir well. Add the ground crayfish, second seasoning cube and stockfish.

4. Add 2 cups of water and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Then add the boiled meat and stir. Turn heat down and simmer for a further 2 minutes.

5. Wash and finely slice the ugwu leaves. Add to the simmering soup and stir in. Continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes to allow the vegetables to soften.

Serve with eba or wheat.

Enjoy

Good bye January

Today marks the end of this month. I must say this month was challenging. Some decisions had to be made concerning my spiritual health that help me in the journey of strengthening my mental capacity. I was making choices that yielded negative results. Towards the end of 2015, I knew that my spiritual health was on verge of collapsing.

Luckily, I went to a three day prayer celebration at church and it was mindblowing. The prayers were geared towards divine acceleration.  If I wanted to experience changes in my life, then I had to do something different from the norm.  Be different than what your eyes see.

There seems to always be a guarantee in life that change will happen. Change is something we tend to fear and become anxious about because we do not feel in control of life. The good news is that God has a plan for your life to hope, future, and to prosper. If we trust in God and allow the change to grow us to become more like Jesus Christ in how we respond and act, then we are promised that all things will work together for good for those who love Him and keep His commandments! 

By constantly remembering his promises, I embarked on this journey towards change. I began changing what I posted on social media, what I chose to see on the internet, stopped listening to certain music artists, and deleted people who I believed would not aid in my new development. I am not going to say that these goals were easy.  When I tried to disconnect from some people, I found myself thinking of them more. This was tough! In this situation, I sought God’s direction and below are some scriptures which help me during this response:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. ~ Isaiah 43:19

Additional scriptures included:

Psalm 103:1-5
Lamentations 3: 21-23
Deuteronomy 31:6
Hebrews 6:19

Hello February.

Indomie

 

My close pals know that I have an undying love for indomie. I love it because it’s quick and simple to make. Each person has their own way of making this meal.  Today I will show you how I make my own.

These noodles are packed with all the necessary ingredients needed for preparation, but I like to add other vegetables because of their nutritional value.

Ingredients:

·1 pack indomie noodles

· 1/4 cup of sliced red onions

· 1/4 diced green onion

· 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables

· 1 tbsp vegetable oil

· 1 chopped habanero pepper for spice (optional)

1. Soak the indomie noodles in warm water and wait for them to soften up.
2. Slice onions to your desired taste.
3. Pour one tablespoon of cooking oil in the skillet.
4. When oil is hot, add onions and sprinkle a little curry powder on them.
5. Sieve the noodles and add noodles in the skillet.
6. Use the seasoning packets for flavor.
7. Add mixed vegetables and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy

Meet ChiChi Daniels

Hey guys!

Often times, I have been censored when I try to express myself. For some reason, I came to a realization that some people actually cannot handle the truth. Hmmmm…go figure! This page was created so I can be able to write and express my own thoughts concerning various issues from politics to what I made for dinner. I want to hear from you and have discussions. I look forward to reading from you.

Let’s laugh & grow together

Cleanliness

Few weeks ago, I was at work waiting for my meeting to start. Me and two other people were in the conference room waiting for the other members of the department to show up. As it got closer to time, my colleagues started flooding the room.  There was only one seat available. “Is this seat taken?” she said.  I said “no.” I moved by bag and then she sat down in the chair.  The meeting commenced.  While the meeting was going on, I perceived a foul smell. Funny enough, I didn’t think anything of it because I thought my sense of smell was playing tricks on me.  Maybe it was nothing to be concerned about.  My director requested for my researched findings, so I left my seat to give her the documents.  When I got back to my seat, the odor became worst.  After putting two and two together, I found out where the odor originated from. It was the woman next to me.  How do you tell someone that they smell?

I ended up not focusing on the meeting and just trying to figure out how to leave gentle hints for her. Unfortunately all my efforts did not work, so I decided to write about it on WordPress and offer solutions to cleanliness with hopes that this message gets read by her and others with this issue.  As much as I know you are expecting this issue to be only about cleaning your body, I believe it is more to it than that.

Yes, what you eat and drink affects how you smell/taste.  Consumption of fruits and vegetables make your body smell and taste better.  For women who smoke and eat lots of junk food, your body is likely to not smell good.

Here are a few tips to keep you smelling good:

1. Avoid using too much soap

Soaps can cause irritation.  Some think that the more soap you use then it will be cleaner.  Naturals soaps are preferable because they don’t contain perfumes.  There is a soap that I absolutely love.

2. Under garments

Wear clean under garments.  Your vagina will thank you. Make sure you are hand washing your under garments.

3. Eat a balanced meal

Incorporate more veggies and fruits into your meal plan. Try to reduce your intake of empty calories such as donuts, potato chips, and anything that is junk.

4. Check up

Don’t skip out on your yearly exams. Make it a habit to visit with your doctor and get proper examinations and treatment. Health is wealth.

 

Cleanliness is next to godliness.