Category Archives: Main Dishes

November 2, 2009 · 10:46 am

Prize-Winning Shredded Chicken & Black Bean Chili

Friday night I came home with First Prize in a Chili Cook-Off!

Okay, so it was only the annual church Halloween Trunk-or-Treat and Chili Cook-Off, and this was my big prize, but isn’t he cute!

I actually tried a new recipe, created on the fly that same day, so I am glad that it turned out edible!

Earlier in the week I had cooked a bunch of chicken in my crock-pot for some enchiladas that I wanted to make. And if I’m going to go to the trouble to shred chicken, I’m going to shred A LOT of it. Freezer bags are my best friend! So I had lots of extra shredded chicken on hand. (This would also be a great meal for leftover chopped Thanksgiving turkey)

Since I knew I was going to use the chicken in Mexican dishes, I filled my crock pot with trimmed chicken breasts and poured on about one cup of salsa. Then turned it on low and forgot about it for the rest of the day.

Perfect shredded chicken by early afternoon!

I used several different kinds of hot peppers in this chili: jalapeno, hot banana peppers, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The jalapeno and banana peppers I roasted first. I love the flavor of chipotle peppers, but I never use a full can.

So thanks to my friends the freezer bags, I have more on hand for another day.

Other than that, it is a standard tomato based chili recipe using chicken and black beans (plus some extra flavor items like chocolate, lime juice, and cilantro!).

Hope you like it as well as the hungry trunk-or-treaters!

Little J and Little A

Aren’t my little trunk-or-treaters cute!

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RECIPE:

Shredded Chicken & Black Bean Chili

Servings: 10-12
Print

2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 large onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow pepper, chopped
2-3 assorted hot peppers, roasted and chopped
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 small can mild diced chilies (optional)
1 Tbs adobo sauce (from chipotle pepper can)
2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs dried oregano
2 tsp cocoa powder (or 1 oz dark chocolate)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (use more or less as desired)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2-3 Tbs)
3-4 cups shredded chicken (or leftover chicken/turkey, chopped)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (use more if desired)

Shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, and/or sour cream for garnish (optional)

Place diced tomatoes in the bottom of a large (5-6 quart) crock-pot. If desired, use a potato masher to slightly mash tomatoes. Add remaining ingredients (except **chicken, cilantro, and garnishes). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Taste and adjust spices to desired heat. Stir in chicken. Cook an additional 30 minutes. If the chili is too thick, add a little water or chicken broth. Stir in cilantro just before serving. Garnish with cheese, chopped green onions, and/or sour cream.

**NOTE: Since the chicken is pre-cooked, don’t cook it with the rest of the chili all day. It will make the chicken disintegrate into tiny shreds. Add the chicken at the end of the cooking time, and heat through.

NoEmptyChairs.me

3 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes, Soups/Stews/Curries

Tagged as black beans, chili, chipotle, cilantro, leftover turkey, prize winning, roasted peppers, shredded chicken, turkey

October 30, 2009 · 7:48 am

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

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Having lived as a family in Japan for 6 years, we have developed quite a taste for Asian food. When asked about their favorite foods, four out of five of our kids will choose an Asian dish (Big A will go with meatloaf first). When we feel brave enough to venture out as a family for dinner, the top three choices are always Chinese, Japanese and Indian. Little J thinks I should serve more sushi at home (but she won’t touch a piece of cooked fish).

So I am again grateful for Costco, that sells soy sauce by the gallon and sticky rice in 25 lb bags.

My Asian-inspired cooking is by no means, however, authentic. Using standard flavors like soy sauce, ginger and garlic (and chili paste – this is my favorite ingredient!), I throw together a wide range of dishes- often giving the answer of “stir-fry” to the ever-present question of “What’s for dinner, Mom?”

This dish is a little different than the standard stir-fry, but has become very popular lately as it is served in several chain Chinese restaurants. Often made with finely diced chicken, I use ground turkey as a base. I don’t have the time to dice chicken that fine! And ground turkey can be a very economical meat to cook with.

These lettuce wraps are basically a well-seasoned filling of ground turkey, served in a piece of lettuce topped with ground peanuts and additional sauce. You can add hot steamed rice to your wraps, or eat it on the side.

Start by browning and draining your ground turkey. Add finely chopped onions, either green onions that have been sliced, or red/yellow onions that have been finely chopped (I use a food processor).

Add your seasonings and some finely chopped water chestnuts; simmer 10-15 minutes. Stir in some sesame oil and chopped cilantro and your filling is done.

We like these with some additional sauce to add at the table. The sauce is a slightly thickened soy sauce-based sauce with as much “spice” as your family likes.

This is one of the few recipes that I use Chinese mustard in, but I really like the taste that it adds to the sauce. Always looking for a way to save a few pennies and also save room in my fridge (how do those condiment shelves fill up so quickly?), I save the little hot mustard packs that come with take-out Chinese (we always end up with more than we use).

Also, a word on chili paste. There are several different kinds of chili paste on the market, and you can experiment to find which ones you like the most. The two that I use for cooking most are a concentrated chili paste called Sambal Oelek or a garlic-chili paste. The main provider of these (outside of an Asian market) is Huy Fong Foods, and they can be found in most grocery stores. We like our food on the spicy side, so adjust the chili paste to your family’s taste.

RECIPE:

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Servings: 10-12
Print

3 lb lean ground turkey
1 bunch green onions (or 1 yellow/red onion), finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1 can water chestnuts, minced
½ cup soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1-2 Tbs chili paste (or chili-garlic sauce)
2 Tbs sesame oil
½ bunch cilantro, chopped

SAUCE:
¾ cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tsp sugar (or 5 drops liquid stevia)
1-2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp chili paste (or chili-garlic sauce)
¼ – ½ tsp hot Chinese mustard
½ tsp sesame oil

Iceberg, Bibb, or Butter Lettuce
1 cup chopped peanuts

Brown turkey in large skillet; drain. Add onions, garlic, and ginger; cook 3-4 minutes. Stir in water chestnuts, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Stir in cilantro and sesame oil.

Combine sauce ingredients (except sesame oil) in small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook until clear and just barely thickened. Stir in sesame oil. Sauce will thicken a little more as it cools, but it should not be thick.

Serve turkey mixture in lettuce leaves with sauce and chopped peanuts. Serve with rice, if desired.

**For a less-intense flavor, layer hot steamed rice in lettuce leaves with meat mixture. You can also adjust the amount of chili paste to make it more or less spicy.

NoEmptyChairs.me

3 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as Asian, Chinese, ground turkey, lettuce wraps, soy sauce, turkey

October 19, 2009 · 1:19 pm

Pizza with Roasted Zucchini Pomodoro Topping

Copy of DSC01851 Last week the weather turned cold, and it was time to bring in all of the remaining vegetables and herbs. Some of these things will be dried or frozen, but I took the opportunity to use some of the last of our oregano and thyme to make this pizza topping.

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This recipe came my way from a good friend Amelia, who had given it to my daughter, Middle K. M-K was working on a project where she had to plan and prepare all of the meals for our family for two weeks. I was surprised that she chose such a healthy pizza option as one of her dinners, but I am so glad that she did. We have made it several times in the last month since her project finished. We modified the recipe quite a lot, roasting the vegetables instead of sautéing them and changing up the spices.

I have followed the Grow Your Own event for some time now, and I am excited (as a new blogger) to now submit my own garden harvest recipe. I love seeing how other people use the fresh produce from their gardens. For all of the Grow Your Own recipes this month,visit host Andrea Meyers.

Slice fresh zucchini and tomatoes and place them on an olive oil brushed roasting pan.

Brush the veges again with additional olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast at 450°F for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile chop your herbs of choice- we used oregano and thyme (basil would also be good) and stir in some chopped garlic. Top zucchini and tomato slices with herb/garlic mixture. Roast again for another 10 minutes.

While the zucchini and tomatoes are roasting again, prepare your pizza crust. Instead of a regular pizza crust, we used sliced French bread and some whole wheat tortillas. I loved how the tortillas turned out. The flavor of the toppings really dominated the dish! It did require a fork for eating, however!

We also used a Basil Pesto for sauce instead of a tomato based sauce. It was fabulous-highly recommended.

Add a layer of cheese to your pesto-topped crust and then arrange roasted tomatoes and zucchini over the cheese. I would have liked for these to have had even more of the toppings, but we didn’t have quite enough for all of our pizzas. Next time I will roast lots more zucchini and tomatoes.

Cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve with crushed red peppers, if desired.

RECIPE:

Pizza with Roasted Zucchini Pomodoro Topping

Topping:
1 lb fresh plum tomatoes, cut in half (or any variety, thickly sliced)
2 zucchini, cut into slices
2 Tbs olive oil
salt & fresh ground pepper
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1-2 Tbs chopped fresh oregano
1-2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme or basil

Pizza Crust
Pizza Sauce/Pesto Sauce
Cheese (try mozzarella, shredded or fresh, goat cheese, Parmesan)
Crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a broiler pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray.

Arrange tomato and zucchini slices on the pan. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.

Combine garlic, oregano, and thyme (or basil). Sprinkle over partially cooked vegetables and return pan to oven. Cook an additional 10 minutes.

Spread crust with pizza sauce, pesto sauce, or use no sauce. Add a layer of cheese and then the roasted tomatoes and zucchini. Bake until cheese melts. Serve with crushed red pepper flakes.

NoEmptyChairs.me

3 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as fresh herbs, grow your own, oregano, pesto, pizza, roasted vegetables, thyme, tomatoes, zucchini

October 14, 2009 · 5:52 am

Pesto Stuffed Chicken

We have been trying all sorts of new recipes with the Basil Pesto that we made this summer. One of our favorites has been this Pesto Stuffed Chicken, adapted from Kayln’s Kitchen. Everyone loves it except BigA, who hates cheese in all of its varieties. But I make a cheese-less version for her, and while I think her version seems pretty dry, she is happy with it. This can be prepared with either homemade or purchased pesto. If you do buy it from a store, I recommend draining off some of the oil on top before using it.

The following recipe is for 6 large chicken breasts, but it can easily be adapted for fewer (or more) servings. To begin, the chicken breasts need to be thin so that they will be easier to roll and will cook evenly. The 4 chicken breasts that I used were extremely large, so I just cut through them cross-wise, giving me 8 pieces of chicken. With normal-sized chicken breasts, I flatten them in a large ziploc bag. Place the chicken (one at a time) in the bag; leave the zipper end open (so your bag doesn’t explode) and pound the chicken with a mallet on the back side until it is uniformly thin.

The pesto stuffing is a mix of prepared pesto, sour cream, and grated cheese (mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and Swiss all work well).

Spread pesto mix on the ragged side of the pounded chicken breasts. Roll up each piece, beginning at the widest end. Secure each chicken roll with a toothpick or two. Place chicken rolls in a greased 9×13″ pan or a large casserole dish.

This recipe has a simple Parmesan cheese coating. It is too much work for me to individually dip each chicken roll in egg and then cheese, and I have found that it doesn’t really make it any tastier (or prettier), and I often end up wasting cheese. So now I just brush the chicken rolls (while they are in the pan) with an egg wash and then sprinkle shredded Parmesan over each one. And add a little Parsley for color.

Pour a small amount of chicken broth (about ½ cup) in the bottom of the pan. I try to use a low-sodium chicken broth, or else it ends up overly salty with all of the Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Then increase temperature to 425°F, uncover, and bake 15-20 minutes longer, until nicely browned and cooked through.

You can strain the drippings and make a sauce, but we prefer to just spoon the cheese and pesto laden drippings over our chicken (and vegetables and rice/couscous/noodles).

RECIPE:

Pesto Stuffed Chicken

Servings: 6
Print

6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup prepared pesto
1 cup grated cheese (Mozzarella, Swiss or Monterey Jack)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg + 1 tsp water, mixed
about 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs chopped parsley
½ cup chicken broth (low sodium, or slightly diluted with water)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Pound chicken into thin, flat pieces: Place the chicken breasts (one at a time) in a large Ziploc bag; leave the zipper end open (so your bag doesn’t explode) and pound the chicken with a mallet on the back side until it is uniformly thin. If your chicken breasts are really large, you can cut them in half crosswise and then pound, if necessary.

In a small bowl combine pesto, sour cream, and mozzarella (or Swiss or Monterey Jack) cheese. Spread each chicken breast with about 2 Tbs of the pesto mixture. Roll up each piece of chicken, beginning with the widest end. Secure with toothpicks. Place chicken rolls in a greased 9×13″ pan or casserole dish.

Mix egg and water. Brush over chicken rolls. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the pan (but not over the chicken rolls). Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 425°F, uncover chicken and bake 15-20 minutes longer, until chicken is nicely browned and cooked through.

Serve with drippings from the bottom of the pan.

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

NoEmptyChairs.me

4 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as cheese, chicken, pesto

October 12, 2009 · 7:23 pm

Sweet & Sour Pork Stir-Fry

Tonight was one of those “Oh no, what I am going to make for dinner tonight!?” nights. You would think that after 20 years of marriage, dinnertime would not come as such a shock to me. But, alas, sometimes it does. I try to be organized and have a list of meals and available ingredients so that dinner preparation is a little easier. However, there are many a night when 5 o’clock rolls around and I have yet to even consider what we are going to eat for dinner. When those nights happen, one of my favorite fall-back recipes is a stir-fry. I can usually scrounge up enough ingredients, fresh or frozen, to pull something together in a fairly short amount of time.

Tonight, the meat of choice was pork. I had a nice pork tenderloin in the freezer that would not take too long to thaw in the microwave. Vegetables included fresh onions, carrots and celery, frozen broccoli (I wish it had been fresh, but it still worked out fine) and a can of water chestnuts. The sauce: sweet & sour (not too sweet, however: I do not enjoy overly sweet stir-frys).

If you are tackling this last minute like me, put the pork in the microwave to thaw and start chopping vegetables. Put the yellow onions, carrots and celery in a bowl, and have your water chestnuts and broccoli handy. If you have green onions, place these in a separate small bowl. They are added at the very end.

Stir together sauce ingredients and set aside.

When the pork is thaw, cut it into bite-sized thin strips. Once everything is chopped, it is time to start cooking. Don’t try to cook and chop at the same time when making a stir-fry. It is easy to overcook the vegetables and end up with a really soggy stir-fry. It is worth the small wait to have all of your ingredients cut before you start cooking.

Heat 1 Tbs peanut or coconut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add yellow onions, carrots and celery. If you have fresh broccoli, add it now too. Or any other fresh vegetable you have with a slightly longer cooking time: like red or green peppers, mushrooms, green beans, Chinese cabbage. Wait until later to add quick-cooking vegetables like green onions, snow peas. When vegetables are crisp-tender, remove them from the wok and place them in a bowl.

Add one additional tablespoon of oil to the wok and add your pork. Stir-fry on high heat until pork is cooked through and begins to brown.

Pork tenderloin is often a high water content meat, so if you have a large amount of liquid in the bottom of your pan, drain it off. You want to stir-fry the meat, not boil it.

When meat is cooked through, add the sauce with any frozen vegetables you are using and cook 3-4 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken and vegetables are crisp-tender. Return onion/celery mixture to pan along with water chestnuts and green onions (and any other quick-cooking vegetable you are using). Heat through.

Serve with white or brown rice.

RECIPE:

Sweet & Sour Pork Stir-Fry

Servings: 6
Print

2 Tbs oil (peanut or coconut), divided
2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1 red or green pepper, diced (I used broccoli instead this time)
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup julienned carrots
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1″ slices

Sauce:
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup rice vinegar (unsweetened)
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbs toasted sesame oil
½ Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs sugar or agave nectar
1 Tbs cornstarch

Combine sauce ingredients; set aside. Chop vegetables and pork. Heat 1 Tbs oil in wok or skillet. Add vegetables (except water chestnuts and green onion); cook until crisp-tender. Remove from pan. Add additional 1 Tbs oil to pan. Add pork and cook until pork begins to brown. Add sauce to pan and cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in cooked vegetables, water chestnuts and green onions. Heat through. Serve with white or brown rice.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs

Welcome to No Empty Chairs.

I have been a long time food blog reader, and have finally decided to join the throng! My goal with this blog is to share a little bit of our home (via the family dinner table) with anyone who loves the combination of family, friends and food. So pull up a chair and join me around our family’s table: I want no empty chairs when dinner’s served.

As I prepared to begin this blog journey, I wrestled with where to start. Should my first post be a signature dish? Gourmet fare? A family favorite? In the end, I decided to just begin right where we were: on an ordinary Tuesday evening; with whatever I was planning to cook that night for dinner. Tonight, as the fall weather still has a bit of warmth in it, I decided to uncover the grill, maybe for the last time this season, but I hope not. I still have several grill recipes that I am hoping to try out before winter sets in for good.

So, on the menu tonight is Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs. I slightly adapted the recipe from Andrea Meyers, choosing to cook thighs instead of breasts (and altering the seasonings just a little). I love cooking boneless chicken thighs, especially on the grill. They are moist and flavorful, and they are very forgiving to those of us who are constantly being paged by demanding children. “M-o-m!! I need you!” seems to punctuate the air at least every 5 minutes, and twice as often while I am either cooking or talking on the phone. So my grill does not always get the attention it deserves.

I love this recipe for many reasons: mostly because there is so little clean up. Also because it is so versatile in terms of how many it will feed. The amount of marinade is suitable for just a few pieces of chicken, or a large amount. It is also great to freeze. I will usually make up a double batch: one to eat that night, and the other to stick in the freezer for a night I need to be able to just pull something out to cook with minimal preparation.

In a Ziploc bag, combine the chicken thighs with all of the marinade ingredients. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight, if possible, but at least a couple of hours.

If you can remember, take the chicken out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you begin cooking. This will help the chicken cook more evenly on the grill.

Remove chicken from the marinade and place on a hot grill. Go help your daughter with her math homework (hoping you can still remember how to graph a trigonometric function), enlist someone else to set the table, and start your side dishes. Tonight we had grilled asparagus (which I will post next time) and a rice pilaf.

Make your way back outside to turn the chicken over (and start your asparagus, if that is on the menu). Total cooking time for the chicken should be about 15-20 minutes, depending on the temperature of your grill (or if, like me, you have to keep rearranging the chicken to compensate for the hot & cold spots on the grill).

Everyone in our family really enjoys this meal. I love it because it is so simple, and the rest of the family loves it because it is so flavorful and tender.

RECIPE:

Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs

Servings: 6-8
Print

1/3 cup soy sauce
Juice & zest from one fresh lime (about 3 Tbs lime juice and ½ tsp zest)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp dried oregano (or 1-2 Tbs fresh)
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
9-12 boneless chicken thighs
Lime wedges

In a Ziploc bag, combine marinade ingredients. Add chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator 8-24 hours.

Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before you plan to begin cooking. Preheat grill. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and place on the hot grill. Cook about 10 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Squeeze lime wedges over chicken and serve.

NoEmptyChairs.me