Tag Archives: Chicken

Five-Herb Grilled Chicken

24 Aug

John and I wanted to get together for a potluck fun summer dinner in mid-June. I agreed to make appetizers and bring the meat. Since John doesn’t have a grill, I wanted to grill something so we can all have a summer taste.

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I saw this recipe in Food and Wine and knew it was the perfect thing right away. It had all of my requirements for a perfect recipe – simple and fresh ingredients, simple steps, and delicious, clean taste.

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This recipe is also perfect because almost all of the ingredients come from my garden! Nothing like eating REALLY local 🙂

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It couldn’t be easier than putting everything into the food processor and pressing “on”. It came together in NO time at all.

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The chicken is definitely a bit off-putting all bright green…..It looks a bit funky.

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The aioli tastes delicious accompanying the chicken. I recommend making a bit more than the recipe calls for since everyone will want lots of it.  IMG_1469

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This is really amazing. It tastes perfectly bright and fresh. It would pair great with a grain salad and some sliced red tomatoes with some balsamic on the side to make a really healthy, light summer dinner.

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Okay. Go outside to your herb garden and collect all the ingredients and make this chicken NOW for your next BBQ or get-together. This stuff is off the HOOK!!!!! Everyone will want more. Okay – just a couple more pics first……this recipe is worth it.

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After making this 3 times this summer, I can DEFINITELY say you will adore this chicken like we do.

Five-Herb Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

  • Three 3.5-4 pound bone-in chicken parts (thighs, legs, breasts, etc)
  • ½ cup packed flat-leaf parsley
  • ½ cup packed basil leaves
  • ½ cup snipped chives
  • 2 tblsp minced jalapeno
  • 1 tblsp minced thyme
  • 1 tblsp minced rosemary
  • 1 tblsp minced garlic
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1.5 tblsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, score each piece of chicken a couple times through the skin so that the marinade can penetrate. Put chicken in a large bowl and set aside.

In a food processor, combine the parsley, basil, chives, rosemary, jalapeno, thyme, garlic, and 1 tblsp salt. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine on, add the 1 cup of olive oil in a steady stream.

Pour all but ½ cup of the marinade over the chicken and turn to coat. Rub the marinade into the gashes of the chicken. Refrigerate the chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight (I prefer to marinate overnight for maximum flavor).

Add the mayonnaise and lemon juice to the remaining marinade in the processor and pulse until bright green. Scrape the green aioli into a small bowl and refrigerate.

When chicken is marinated and you are ready to make dinner, light a grill and oil the grates. Grill the chicken over medium heat, turning occasionally until lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer reads about 168 – about 35 minutes.

If you don’t have a grill or prefer not to grill, you can also preheat the broiler in your oven and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Then arrange the chicken skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for about 40 minutes, turning occasionally.

*Note – You can use boneless and/or boneless/skinless chicken as well – but the cooking time will be much less (about 12 minutes).

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Perfect Basic Chicken

24 Mar

This recipe is a base for chicken dishes. Once you do this, you will never boil chicken for your casseroles and soups again. Unless you need the stock!

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This is so easy – and the flavor and moistness you gain from preparing the chicken this way is hands above anything else. I use this chicken to make casseroles, soups, enchiladas, salads, and appetizers.

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The olive oil, salt, and pepper add a lovely flavor note to the chicken – it is absolutely delicious. I would just eat this chicken alone as a straight-up meal.

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You MUST use a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast. The chicken gets a deeper flavor from the bone and skin while it cooks. And also the bone and skin contribute to the moisture level of the chicken.IMG_1423

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Trust me – you will make chicken this way FOREVER. Screw getting a pre-made roaster (AKA salt stick with chicken meat attached) at the supermarket……this is cheap, easy, and delicious!!!! And you can make it ahead and freeze it once you chop up all the meat. I do not advocate buying chicken roasters from the supermarket – not when it can be this easy and flavorful!!!

Perfect Basic Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (or however much you are cooking at one time)
  • Olive Oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Arrange chicken pieces on rimmed baking sheet with the skin side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on both the front and back of each piece. Rub each piece all over to ensure that the oil, salt and pepper are well distributed. (I usually do this step in a large bowl so that everything is contained and I can really rub it all together – prior to placing on baking sheet)
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until internal temperature at thickest part of chicken is 165 degrees.
Let rest and cool for 30 minutes to allow juices to settle. Remove and discard the skin and bones. Chop or shred chicken as desired.
To Freeze: measure chicken in 1-2 cup quantities into pint or quart size freezer bags. Squeeze as much air as possible from bags, seal, and flatten the contents to make a thin, even layer of chicken throughout the bag. (This facilitates even thawing and reheating of chicken.) Freeze flat until frozen solid. Then bags may be stacked or stored upright in freezer.

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Chicken Mole

1 Dec

When people talk about complicated Mexican dishes,  you always hear about Mole Sauces. All my life I’ve heard how hard a mole sauce is.

In planning for Mexican Supper Club, I knew I had to make a mole sauce to challenge myself and find out just how hard this sauce is to make. The question was, where to find a recipe that was good but yet not too ridiculous with the ingredient list.

BINGO: Cooks Illustrated Mexican Edition!! You cant go wrong with Cooks Illustrated. And if you are a serious cook, I HIGHLY recommend getting a subscription to this bi-monthly magazine.

This recipe could not have been any easier, or any more delicious.

The hardest part about the recipe (and it wasnt even that hard) was roasting the chilis and dicing them up and removing their seeds. And remembering to wear rubber gloves when doing this step 😉

Honestly, this dish was out of this world. It wasnt that spicy (you could certainly modify your spice level with the amount of peppers/seeds you use). And one of the keys is ALMOND BUTTER. Dont skimp and think that peanut butter would substitute……The almond butter totally makes this dish what it is.

It’s a month and a half after I made it, and I can still taste the multi-layered flavor palette in my mouth. It was like something I’ve never had before. I will absolutely be making this again. Bueno!!

Chicken Mole

Ingredients:

  • 2 dried ancho chiles (sub 2 tblsp dried ancho chile powder if possible)
  • ½ dried chipotle chile(sub ground chipotle chile powder / ½ tsp minced canned chipotle in adobe sauce)
  • 3 tblsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion chopped fine
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 ounce bittersweet, chopped coarse
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • One 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • ¼ cup almond butter
  • 2 tblsp sesame seeds, toasted plus extra for garnish
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sugar
  • 3.5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces, skin removed and trimmed

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 350 degrees. Place anchos and chipotle on baking sheet and toast until fragrant and puffed, 6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard seeds and stems, then break into small pieces.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in toasted chile pieces, cinnamon, cloves, and chocolate and cook until spices are fragrant and chocolate is melted and bubbly, 2 minutes.

Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, at least 30 seconds. Stir in broth, tomatoes, raisins, almond butter, and sesame seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Transfer mixture to blender (or food processor) and process until smooth, about 20 seconds, season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

Adjust oven temperature to 400 degrees. Pat chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in baking dish in single layer. Cover with mole sauce, turning chicken to coat evenly. Bake uncovered, until breast registers 160 degrees, about 35-45 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven, cover loosely with foil and let rest in sauce 5-10 minutes. Transfer to large platter and spoon sauce over top and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

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Chicken Pot Pie

11 Nov

The first chilly weekend came earlier this fall and I decided it was time to make some Chicken Pot Pie. I cant believe I’ve never made it before. I was definitely surprised to find out how easy it was. Duh….why wasnt I doing this for the past few years?

I went onto AllRecipes.com and did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews….and picked what sounded like the best recipe – “Chicken Pot Pie IX”. Robb and I both wanted a recipe that would not be too watery or too complicated.

And neither of us wanted to use potatoes either since we try to limit our carbs as much as possible. So we made sure our recipe did not include potatoes. And I used fresh mushrooms from the farmers market and sauteed them up prior to adding so they added to the flavor.

I roasted my own chicken in the oven (more on simple oven-roasted chicken later….) instead of boiling or buying a pre-roasted chicken. I wanted the flavor of the chicken to be perfect. I also wanted to make my own pie crust, since I know that it tastes the best 🙂

The filling was so easy to make. It came out nice and thick and had a stellar taste.

I put the top on the pie and couldnt resist using extra dough to make a goofy shape to put on top of the pie…..just like my mom does. Although my mom’s decorations on her pies are outstanding. And mine just looks…….really pathetic! hahaha I believe I thought I was putting a chicken on top of the chicken pot pie. Get it?????? 🙂

And look at how it came out after it baked its little heart out…….

It was so good. I will now let you look at some of the pictures of deliciousness……..

This chicken pot pie recipe is the BOMB. It’s simple enough where you can add in a lot of your favorite ingredients/vegetables (I added corn and sauteed mushrooms) and customize to your liking. Dont fear the pie crust – you can use storebought if you like and that is perfectly allright.

This dish tastes hearty and delicious and is perfect for that chilly sunday dinner.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cubed
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 1/2 cupsliced celery
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup chopped onion
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
  • 2/3 cup milk
  •  2 (9 inch)unbaked pie crusts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)

In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. (Or you can roast your chicken in the oven to cook and then cube into pieces, which is what I did – just make sure to cook the veggies!)

In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. Combine with chicken, carrots, peas, and celery.

Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Basic Breaded Chicken Cutlets

29 Apr

This “recipe” is so basic it’s not even funny. But I figured there are some people who didnt grow up eating this chicken so I wanted to share. This was a basic chicken recipe my mom would start with and then maybe make a mushroom and wine/sherry sauce for the top. Hers always tasted great and was nice and moist.

This is also the base for some of the more popular, yummy italian chicken dishes: parmigiana, francaise, scallopini, etc.

Ingredients

Flour, egg wash, breadcrumb station

The key is dipping thin pieces of chicken into egg wash, then flour, then egg wash, then bread crumbs or panko. I prefer bread crumbs (Robbb prefers panko)iugoyp.pp.

Yes, butter AND olive oil

Since you are using thin cuts of chicken, it wont take long to sautee. When you sautee, remember to use butter AND olive oil for a richer taste.

Raw breaded cutlets

Cutlets sauteeing

This is an easy weeknight meal. You can do a number of things to make this meal as basic or as lavish as you want. We tend to keep it basic. Robbb enjoys either plain or sometimes with ketchup (gross). I prefer mine with a lot of lemon juice on top. Tastes fresh!

Yummy plate o'chicken

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Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of chicken breasts, pounded thin (or buy the pre-pounded package)
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1-2 cups flour
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs (more if needed)
  • butter and olive oil

Directions:

Put flour, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag (or dish). Beat eggs in a wide bowl. And put breadcrumbs in casserole dish or plate. Put butter and olive oil in a large sautee pan.

Take chicken and dip into egg wash, then place into flour mixture and mix well. Then dip back into egg wash quickly, and then dip into the breadcrumbs and coat well.

Place chicken in hot sautee pan and cook well on both sides on medium heat. Top – or finish as you like.

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