Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts

Monday, March 31, 2014

Love Chicken...Tenders!

Tim's grandson Paxton, LOVES chicken!!  Usually when he visits on a weeknight, we have some form of noodles, also a favorite of his.  When he stayed with us a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to make something besides noodles.  After reading a few recipes for Chicken Fingers, I came up with my own version.  Alongside these Mac & Cheese Cupcakes, a perfect kids meal!



Chicken Tenders
1/3 cup pancake batter
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 egg
1 lb chicken tenders
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix together pancake mix, breadcrumbs, cheese,  garlic salt and oregano leaves. Pour on large plate.

In shallow dish, beat egg slightly. Dip the chicken tenders in egg and then dredge in bread crumb mixture.

Place chicken tenders on the cookie sheet.  Lightly spray chicken with cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Pecan and Goat Cheese Crusted Chicken

It's Secret Recipe Club time again. For those of you who aren't familiar with the group, you can find the details here. As soon as I receive my assigned blogger for the month, I check out their blog. It's fun to get to know a little bit about the blogger and read through their recipes.

This month I was assigned Fallon's Cucina. She's a fitness guru who enjoys sharing her recipes with friends and family. Fallon has lots of delicious recipes on her blog, it was hard to choose just one. Since I belong to a couple of baking groups, I try to choose a savory recipe for SRC. I'm always looking for new chicken recipes, especially those that are a little "dressed up".

My husband doesn't really care for mustard so I left it off of his piece of chicken. I didn't think the mustard flavor was very strong but I know he would have picked it out! I loved this recipe. I could just eat the topping. The tang of the goat cheese mixed with the sweetness of the honey and the crunch of the pecans is delicious.

If you're looking for a new chicken recipe for a weeknight dinner or weekend dinner party, give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.



Pecan and Goat Cheese Crusted Chicken
Adapted from The Foodie and The Family courtesy of Fallon's Cucina

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1-2 tablespoons grainy mustard
2 teaspoons clover honey
1 cup raw pecans, crushed
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the honey, crushed pecans, goat cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Put the chicken breast onto a baking sheet that has been oiled with olive oil or use a nonstick foil/parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper on both sides and brush the chicken breast with mustard. Press the pecan/goat cheese mixture onto the top of the chicken breasts. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday!


Monday, October 17, 2011

Sticky Chicken Wings - Secret Recipe Club

When I received my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment for the month, I immediately checked out her blog. Lavender and Lime is a lovely blog and one I have browsed on several occasions before! There's a lot going on here at Little Bit of Everything, so I needed a recipe I could make quickly and have ready in plenty of time for today's posting date.

It's football season and a few Sunday's ago there was a game between my KC Chiefs and Tim's Minnesota Vikings. Neither one of these teams had won a game yet this year, so this was a big event in more than one way. What foods do you think of when you hear football? Chicken Wings, Nachos and Dip are the first that come to my mind. I found a recipe for Sticky Chicken Wings on Tandy's blog. Perfect! Normally I make these wings, much more spicy than sticky.



I cooked these in the oven for about 30 minutes and then finished them on the grill. Tim enjoyed the wings a lot more than the outcome of the game. KC Chiefs 22 - Minnesota Vikings 17.

STICKY CHICKEN WINGS

ingredients:

8 chicken wings

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon wasabi sauce

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

method:

preheat the oven to 180°Celsius

make a marinade out of the lime, soy, ginger, oil, honey, wasabi and garlic

massage the marinade into the chicken and leave to marinade for 20 minutes

place the chicken and the marinade into an oven proof dish

season and cook for 25 minutes

grill for a further 2 minutes

Note: I grilled these for about 20 minutes. I didn't find these to be done after 20 minutes in the oven.




Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Beer Braised Chicken Thighs

White meat or dark meat? For years I have been a white meat and only white meat eater. Lately, I've started eating chicken thighs, too. They're a lot more moist and you can't beat the price. I've watched a few episodes of Rachael Ray's new show, Week in A Day. This recipe caught my eye. I love the depth of flavor the beer brings to the chicken. This make a great weeknight meal. You can make the recipe ahead and just reheat for serving!!!.


Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs

TOTAL TIME:2 hr 5 min
Prep:20 min
Inactive Prep:1 hr 0 min
Cook:45 min
YIELD:4 servings
LEVEL:Easy

Ingredients

  • 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 link andouille sausage, casing removed and chopped, or 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 (12-ounce) bottle lager beer
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles or stewed tomatoes
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce
  • Scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, for garnish
  • Warm baguette, for mopping

Directions

Pat the chicken thighs dry, and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the chicken and brown on both sides in 2 batches.

Remove the chicken to a plate and spoon out 1/2 the drippings, and add the andouille sausage. Brown for 2 minutes and then add the onion, celery, pepper, garlic, and thyme, and cook to soften, for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the flour, stir 1 to 2 minutes, and then pour in the beer and let the foam subside. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, and hot sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit, and then slide the chicken into the pot and simmer to cook through. Serve with warm crusty bread, or cool and store for make-ahead meal.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Beer Can Chicken

How do you prepare a whole chicken? In the winter, there’s nothing better than the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven. In summer, I don’t want to have the oven on 400 for over an hour to roast a chicken. My kitchen is warm enough in the summer without turning on the oven. Our go to recipe for whole chicken in the summer is Beer Can Chicken. There are so many possibilities, different types of beer, spices or a rub can give the chicken it’s own flair. On this particular night, we used an IPA from a local brewery that we love, Lucky Bucket. We used the cajun rub our friends Rat and Julie from New Orleans sent us for Christmas last year. The flavors were delicious and the chicken was so moist. The secret to a moist chicken is to let it rest before carving!



Beer Can Chicken
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
1 can beer
Directions
Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub. Set aside.

Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of the grate, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod.

Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

I am linking this to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's, Tasty Tuesday's and Tuesday's at the Table.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Root Beer Chicken

We eat a lot of chicken at our house. For me, the challenge is finding new and different recipes. I found this recipe at Monster Mama through Foodie Friday's quite a few weeks ago. If you've never been to Foodie Friday, check it out. There's so many awesome recipes and Michael's site is amazing!

I've made Dr.Pepper Flank Steak but never anything with Root Beer. I don't drink much soda or pop, as we call it here in the midwest. As a kid, Root Beer was my favorite.

I am giving you the recipe as written on Monster Mama's site. I decided to make this a slow cooker recipe. I doubled the sauce and cooked it on low for about 5 hours. It didn't have the same thick glazed finish as Monster Mama's did but it was delicious nontheless. You could put it under the broiler for a few mintues to carmalize the glaze. This one goes in my make again file.

Root Beer Chicken
Recipe Courtesy of Monster Mama
1/2 bottle of root beer (about 1 cup)
1/2 c dark brown sugar,packed
1/2 c of ketchup
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
2 tbsp pepper jelly or other jam/jelly
1 tsp spicy mustard (I used Dijon)
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into halves
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced and thickened. Hold over a very low heat until needed. Separate the sauce into two bowls (one for brushing on raw chicken and one for serving with your chicken on the side)
Preheat oven to 350ยบ and line cookie sheet with foil or spray with non-stick spray.
Season your chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder on both sides. Place on baking sheet and brush them with the root beer sauce. Bake about 10 minutes then turn over and brush with more root beer sauce and continue baking in oven until they are done how you like them and thoroughly cooked through - about 15 minutes more.


I am linking this to Tuesday's at the Table, Tasty Tuesday's and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Pacific Rim Chicken

Do you participate in the Tuesday blog party, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's? If you don't, you should check it out. Not only is it a great way to showcase your blog, you can find all sorts of great recipes to try!

A couple of weeks ago Lisa posted a recipe for Pacific Rim Chicken. The flavors in this recipe are some of my favorites and as a bonus this recipe goes in the crock pot. I've mentioned before the crock pot is my friend. Especially on a Monday or any other day when I know I may not feel like cooking after work.

I prepared this recipe with chicken thighs. Until recently, I never cared much for chicken thighs. Besides their nice flavor, they're so reasonably priced. I just bought a large package at Costco for .99 cents a pound. Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that!!!

I served this with brown rice. One of the challenges with brown rice is the cooking time. I've read recently if you soak brown rice prior to cooking, it cooks much faster. After soaking mine for four hours, it cooked in about 25 minutes in the rice cooker.




Pacific Rim Chicken

1- large onion, finely chopped
1-large green bell pepper, chopped
4-5 large chicken breast halves, skin and fat removed (about 3 1/2 lbs)
1- 8oz can crushed pineapple, including juice
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry (I used Mirin)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/3 cup long-grain white rice, cooked according to package directions (I used brown rice)

In large crock pot, combine onion and green pepper. Arrange chicken over vegetables. In medium bowl, combine pineapple and juice, broth, sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, salt, if desired, and black pepper. Stir to mix. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to low, stir chicken into sauce, and cook an additional 5-6 hours or until chicken is done.

Remove and reserve chicken in medium bowl. Transfer liquid and vegetables to saucepan. Quickly boil down sauce, stirring frequently, to thicken slightly. Meanwhile, slice chicken meat. Arrange rice on serving platter. Arrange chicken slices over rice. Pour sauce over all.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Chicken With Beer

Is there a help group for cookbook addiction? If so, I think I need to join. I haven’t done a cookbook count lately but I know I have over 100. I started blogging so I would use recipes from my library of cookbooks. So what do I do? I just keep buying more cookbooks. I really like my recent cookbook purchase, Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker. I’ve made three recipes from this book and they’ve all been a hit. Beef Stew, which I liked and Tim thought was okay. A wonderful Chicken with Beans which I forgot to photograph. Sometimes we’re so focused on eating, we forget the camera until it’s too late. We forgot to photograph this recipe as well but snapped a quick shot of the one leftover thigh. Not the best picture but you get the idea.

I made a few changes to this recipe. Because it was cooking all day, I wanted to have plenty of liquid. I added a little more beer and some chicken stock. I also added potatoes and would have added carrots but I didn’t have time to peel before work. I found this recipe interesting because it used Herbs de Provence. I wasn’t sure exactly what that was so I did some reading. I found several recipes, some with lavender and some without. I like to cook with lavender but I wasn’t convinced the floral flavor was what I wanted for this chicken. My spice drawer contained everything except the savory, so I made my own version of the herbs. This chicken was delicious. It has a nice hint of beer and a beautiful herb flavor.





Chicken with Beer
Recipe adapted from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

About 1/2 cup flour
4 boneless chicken breast halves, with skin on
(I used 2 breasts and 4 thighs)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspooon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence
2 bay leaves, broken in half

Put the flour on shallow plate or a pie plate. One piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour, coating both sides and shaking off any excess.

Drizzle the olive oil into a large skillet over medium high heat. When it begins to sizzle, add the chicken, skin side down and cook until deep golden brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker. Add the beer and chicken broth to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. Pout over the chicken. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Tuck the bay leaves among the chicken pieces. Cover and cook on HIGH 8 to 9 hours.

Herbes de Provence
3 tablespoons oregano leaves
3 tablespoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon basil leaves
1 teaspoon sage leaf
3 tablespoons savory
2 tablespoons lavender flowers
1 teaspoon rosemary
Combine and mix well. Store in a cool, dry place.

I am linking this to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday , Tuesday's at the Table and Tasty Tuesday's.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Red Wine Balsamic Grilled Chicken

I am always looking for new ways to grill chicken. A few weeks ago, I spotted this recipe over at Good Things Catered and bookmarked it for future grilling. Katie's recipe called for chicken breasts. I used skin on chicken thighs. This is a quick and easy recipe to put together. The balsamic vinegar and honey give the chicken a wonderful flavor.



Red Wine Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 3 lbs
(I used chicken thighs)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
Juice of 1/2 a sweet lemon (or orange)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried mined onion
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:
-Pound chicken breasts down to uniform thickness throughout (about 1-inch thickness throughout)
-Place in large, deep dish and top with remaining ingredients.
-With tongs, flip chicken and move around to coat evenly.
-Cover and place in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
-When ready to cook, remove chicken from fridge and place on sideboard to remove chill while starting grill.
-Preheat gas grill on high for 10 full minutes.
-Clear grates, turn heat to medium-low and place chicken on grates n a diagonal.
-Cover and cook untouched until nice grill marks form, about 5 minutes.
-Flip and continue cooking until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
-Flip one more time, on opposite diagonal, 2 minutes before cooking is complete to obtain grill cross-marks, if desired.
-Remove from heat and let meat rest, covered, on cutting board for 3-5 mins before cutting and serving.

I am linking this to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's, Tasty Tuesday's and Tuesday's at the Table.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Cedric's Ranch Wings - Foodie Friday

I love to thumb though magazines for recipes, hints, ideas and stories. I have file folders and accordian folders of those clippings. Those folders inspired me to begin blogging. Not sure I've shared as many of these as I'd planned. I keep buying cookbooks and subscribing to new magazines. Have you seen all of the magazine deals lately? Tim was thumbing through my Food Network Magazine and found this recipe. We always have wings in the freezer, so we decided to give these a try. These are a nice change from traditional spicy chicken wings.



Cedric's Ranch Wings
Recipe Courtesy of Food Network Magazine

2 pounds chicken Wings
3 1 ounce packets ranch dressing mix
1 1/3 cup flour
Freshly ground pepper
3 large eggs
Vegetable Oil for frying
1/4 cup hot sauce (Frank's is my favorite)
1/4 cup honey

Toss the wings with 1 packet dressing mix in a large bowl and refrigerate at least one hour or up to four hours.

Whisk the flour, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 packet dressing mix in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, 2 tablespoons water and the remaining packet dressing mix. Dredge the wings a few at a time in the seasoned flour, then dip into the egg mixture and return to the flour mixture, turning to coat. Transfer to a rack.

Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until a deep fry thermometer registers 350. (I used a deep fryer.)Fry the wings in batches until crisp and golden brown 5 -6minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Whisk the hot sauce and honey in a bowl. Serve with the wings.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Foodie Friday - Chicken Enchiladas Suiza

Do you sometimes feel like you're in a rut when it comes to dinner? I know I do. I have those old stand by recipes that we have a lot. We love Mexican food but don't make it very often at home. When I saw this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Suiza at Always Eat On The Good China, I decided to give it a try.

An easy way to have chicken ready to use when you get home is to cook the chicken in the crock pot while you are at work. I used chicken thighs and they worked great.

Chicken Enchilda Suiza

•2 pounds boneless chicken breasts (or bone in if your prefer)
•1 teaspoon garlic salt
•1 teaspoon white pepper
•1/2 cup sour cream +
•1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles, drained
•1 bunch green onions, chopped
•1 can Rotel mild original tomatoes with green chiles, drained
•1 14 oz. can mild enchilada sauce, green
•2 cups finely shredded jack and cheddar cheese
•tortillas

Place chicken in stock pot with enough water to cover, salt and pepper. Bring to a low rolling boil until chicken is cooked through. Cool, de-bone if necessary and cut into bite sized pieces, preferably shredded.

In a large bowl mix together the chicken pieces, Rotel tomatoes, green chiles, 1 cup of the cheese and 1/4 cup of the sour cream. Mix well.

I like to slice off the major portion of the arc of the tortilla so I have a large rectangle to work with. Lightly spread a thin layer of sour cream on each tortilla. Divide the chicken mixture amongst all the tortillas and roll them securely. Place each one seam side down, side by side in a lightly sprayed rectangular baking dish. Pour the sauce evenly over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake foil covered for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes until cheese is melted and crisp.




I am linking this to Foodie Friday. If you haven't been to Michael's blog, Designs by Gollum, take time to visit. Her blog is amazing.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Roast Chicken

I've made Roast Chicken several times recently but I've forgotton to photograph until after we'd carved it. Roast Chicken is a wonderful Sunday dinner.

As with all roasting, this chicken is cooked at a high temperature. The last couple of times I've made this, we've had to turn off the smoke detector, open the doors and windows because of all the smoke it created. I did some reading and discovered there are a couple of things you can do to prevent this. One, which I used this time, is to line the bottom with vegetables. The other way is to put water or chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. This worked perfectly, no smoke at all and the oven is so much cleaner.

Roast Chicken is a perfect Sunday dinner. The great thing about Roast Chicken is you can cook once and have at least two more meals from one chicken. I use the leftover chicken for chicken salad or chicken quesadillas and I make chicken broth from the bones.

Do you have a favorite roast chicken recipe?




Roast Chicken
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
4 - 5 potatoes cut into chunks
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and potatoes. Toss with salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh or a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday, is there any other event where the hype is what it is for the Super Bowl? I had the endless hours of pregame coverage on, if nothing else as background noise while I was baking and doing laundry.

What's up with The Who as the halftime entertainment? Can you imagine how many people are watching saying "Who are The Who anyway?". The lightshow was awesome, the vocals...well what can I say?

Of course, there's the commercials. Amazing how many people watch for the commercials. What were your favorite commercials? I thought there were a lot of funny ones, no one in particular stood out.

A few that I liked were the Dog Collar Doritos, Mom's Date Doritos, Casual Friday Careeer Builder, Plane Crash Bud Light and Sock Monkey Kia.

Our Super Bowl snack....



Hooter's Buffalo Chicken Wings
Recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes

1/4 c butter
1/4 c Frank's Red Hot Cayenne Sauce
1/2 c flour
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t salt
10 chicken wing pieces

On the side

Blue cheese dressing
Celery Stick

Combine flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt in a small bowl. Put the wings into a large bowl and sprinkle the flour mixture over them, coating wings evenly. Put the wings in the refrigerator for 60 - 90 minutes. This will help the breading to stick to the wings when fried.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Combine the butter, hot sauce and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Heat until the butter is melted and all ingredients are well blended. Put the wings in the hot oil and fry for 8 - 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the oil to a paper towel to drain. Quickly put the wings into a large bowl. Add the hot sauce and stir, coating all wings evenly.

Serve with blue cheese and celery sticks on the side.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Apricot Chicken

My husband was telling me about an Apricot Chicken dish he remembered having a child. All he could really remember was it had apricot jelly. I decided it probably had apricot preserves. The internet is such a great thing, hard to remember life without it. I did some searching and the recipe that kept coming up was one with just three ingredients, apricot preserves, onion soup and russian dressing. How simple is that? I decided to make it even easier and use my slow cooker. I work full time and the slow cooker is my friend! There's nothing better than coming home and having dinner ready.

Apricot Chicken

1 1/2 cups russian dressing
1 envelope onion soup
1/2 cup apricot preserves
6 pieces of chicken

Combine and pour over chicken. Cook in the slow cooker 8 hours. Remove the chicken from the the slow cooker, strain the sauce and use a fat separator to drain the grease. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water. In a saucepan, combine sauce and cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thickened. Place chicken in serving dish, cover with sauce. Serve over rice.



My notes on this recipe: I thought this was good but a little bland. I want to experiment with the ratio of dressing to preserves. I think the addition of some herbs or spices would help as well.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

License To Grill Cookbook


This morning, dressed in a jacket and the wide brimmed gardening hat my son gave me for Christmas last year, I avoided the very large yellowjackets and successfully pruned the overgrown basil plant. The nights are going to start getting cooler next week and I know the days for fresh basil are numbered.

Little Bit of Everything's featured cookbook this week is License To Grill by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. I believe I purchased this book when we had our lake house. We were in a grilling rut and I was always looking for new grilling recipes.

Basil - Garlic Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
4 whole boneless chicken breasts
In a small bowl, combine the basil, garlic and olive oil and mix well. Rub the chicken breasts with this mixutre. Sprinkle with sale and pepper. Grill over a medium fire, skin side down, until the skin is crispy 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the breasts over and grill for another 6 minutes. Grill until the chicken registers an internal tempeature of 170.
My notes on this recipe: I used both chicken breasts and thighs.






Friday, August 21, 2009

What's in a Name?

My husband's sisters name is Rosemary. Since rosemary seems to be the theme of many of my recipes of late, I wondered what Rosemary means. The name Rosemary comes from the Latin, word ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". For centuries rosemary has been a symbol of friendship and rembrance, often used in wedding bouquets.

Our neighbors, Greg and Amy brought us the most scrumptious dinner on my second night home from the hospital. Greg said the chicken dish was nothing fancy but a dish that everyone really likes. I think it's fancy enough and he was so right, we loved it. When Tim returned the dishes, I asked him to ask for the recipe. The recipe from Canadian Living's Country Cooking magazine, Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon. The notes on the recipe describe it perfectly, "Although this recipe seems very simple, the combined flavors are sophisticated and intriguing".




Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

6 chicken breasts
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced

Pat chicken dry. Place in a shallow glass bowl or plastic bag. I use a tupperware container I've had this container for years and it works so well for marinating. The design of the container allows you to turn it over to marinate all sides.

Whisk together all of the ingredients, pour over chicken, turning to coat all sides. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Arrange chicken pieces on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes of until chicken is no longer pink inside. Alternatively, grill over medium heat until chicken is cooked to a temperature of 170 degrees.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Grilled Chicken with Cherry Sauce




I picked up a pint of cherries at the Farmers Market on Saturday. Not really enough for a pie or cobbler. I decided to try a cherry sauce for grilled chicken.

So these cherries have pits!! My kitchen is full of gadgets but not a cherry pitter. Normally when I see how you can take an ordinary item and make something else useful out of it, I always think what a great idea but never seem have a need for it. Who knew a paper clip would made a great cherry pitter?
This is my adaptation of several recipes for cherry sauce and cherry barbeque sauce. You could use this sauce on pork or even fish. It's slightly sweet with a little tang.


Cherry Sauce
1/3 cup apple juice
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tbs orange juice
¼ tsp grated orange rind
2¼ cups pitted quartered sweet cherries (about 1 pound)
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp water

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cherries and bring to a boil over medium low heat. Cook 10 - 15 minutes, stirring often. Strain the mixture and return to the pan. Combine the cornstarch and water. Stir into the sauce and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.

Brush on chicken breasts during the last few minutes of cooking. Watch carefully, since the sauce is sweet, it will burn easily.