Tag Archives: chicken

June 12, 2010 · 10:11 am

Chicken in a Mustard Cream Sauce and a Quinoa Pilaf

This meal makes a quick but flavorful last-minute dinner.

Sauté a few chicken breasts (I like them pounded thin for faster, more even cooking), mix 4 ingredients for a tangy herb-infused cream sauce and serve with some fresh vegetables and/or this quick pilaf.

This pilaf uses the grain quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) which has a wonderful chewy, nutty flavor. It can often be substituted in rice dishes. It cooks quickly, about 15 minutes, and is full of nutritious fiber, protein and amino acids. As it is technically not a grain, but a seed, it is also gluten-free. We spent a few weeks eating gluten free as we were doing some food elimination allergy testing, and quinoa was one of my favorite new ingredients. We are back to eating wheat/gluten, but quinoa is here to stay!

RECIPES:

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

Servings: 4-6
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4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt, pepper and garlic powder
¼ cup white wine, or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2-3 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme or oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound chicken breasts until thin. (If the chicken breasts are especially large, cut breasts in half crosswise-through entire breast-before pounding) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Sauté until cooked through and nicely browned, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder again after turning. Transfer to a plate; keep warm.

Pour wine into hot skillet; cook, stirring, until almost completely reduced, about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in cream, mustard, and thyme. Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Return chicken (and any accumulated chicken juices) to skillet. Heat through. Right before serving, pour a little cream sauce on plate. Place chicken on top, and drizzle remaining sauce over chicken.

Adapted from Framed

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Quinoa Pilaf

Servings: 6-8
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2 Tbs butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine mesh strainer
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp Italian seasoning ( 1 Tbs chopped fresh herbs)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup chopped vegetables (asparagus, peas, carrots
——–mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, green onions, etc)

Heat butter in a saucepan. Add onion and garlic (and mushrooms or peppers, if using). Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa, broth, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add longer-cooking vegetables, like carrots or broccoli. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, adding shorter-cooking vegetables, like asparagus, peas, or green onions, 3-4 minutes before end of cooking time. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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Asian Chicken Salad and Scallion Pancakes

This chicken salad recipe comes from a good friend Heather. I love that it is both warm and cold. The cold, raw crunchy vegetables together with warm chicken and a warm soy dressing (that serves as both marinade and dressing) are fabulous! I served it this time with some homemade scallion pancakes, which my children ask me to make all the time.

I serve this “smorgasbord” style, lining up all of the ingredients on the counter and letting everyone make their own salad. This is mostly for a selfish reason, as I don’t have to wait for each person to pick around the vegetables they don’t like before the salad makes it way around the table to me (why is it that moms are always served last-or is it just in my house?)

We love these crunchy sesame sticks! They make a perfect topping.

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Below I have included Heather’s original recipe, with my slight modifications.

Scallion Pancakes

Scallion Pancakes are my children’s favorite Chinese restaurant appetizer (except for maybe gyoza- they love those too). When I finally decided to try them at home, I definitely won Mother of the Year in their eyes. That title lasted about as long as it took them to gobble down these treats and for me to enlist their help in cleaning up.

The following recipe makes a lot, maybe 12-15 full size pancakes, which are cut into wedges to eat. But it can easily be scaled back.

Little J is always my helper at the mixer. She is a great button-pusher (or turner in this case).

The scallion pancake dough is a simple non-yeast dough made from flour, salt & pepper, chopped scallions and sesame & olive oils. These ingredients are bound together with some boiling water. The boiling water helps to start cooking the dough before it even gets to the pan.

Roll the dough into thin circles, about 6-inches in diameter.

Cook, one at a time, in a small hot skillet with about 1 tsp of oil.

Cook over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Place on a paper-towel lined plate while cooking remaining pancakes.

Cut each pancake into 6-8 wedges and serve with this dipping sauce made from soy sauce and Mirin (a sweet Japanese vinegar). We like things a little spicy, so it also has some crushed red pepper flakes mixed in, but you can adjust those to taste. Sometimes I add a little grated ginger to the sauce, but I actually prefer it without the ginger. Mirin is available in most supermarkets in the Asian section. It may also be called “seasoned rice vinegar”.

RECIPES:

Asian Chicken Salad

Servings: 3-4
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Dressing/Marinade:
¼ cup brown or white sugar (I used a few drops of Stevia)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar or cider vinegar (I used the rice vinegar)
¼ cup canola oil (I used olive oil)
1 Tbs sesame oil
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
4 cloves minced garlic
½ tsp salt (I left this out)
½ Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs water

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salad:
2 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 carrots, peeled and grated (I used sliced baby carrots)
3 green onions, diced
1 cup sugar snap peas, chopped (I used snow peas)
½ cup salted peanuts
½ cup sesame sticks (we used a lot more than this)
**I also used some sliced mini-cucumbers and sliced celery

Cut chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.

Mix the remaining dressing ingredients (except cornstarch and water) in a large skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and boil just until the sugar is dissolved, whisking vigorously to combine the oil with the rest of the ingredients. Mix the cornstarch and water and add it to the skillet, stirring until the dressing is thickened.

Reserve ¾ cup of the dressing in a separate bowl (to be used as dressing on the salad).

Add the chicken to the remaining dressing in the skillet. Cook over medium-low heat until all of the liquid is evaporated and the chicken just starts to brown (this will take a while, up to 30 minutes).

While the chicken is cooking prepare the rest of the salad ingredients (chopping and assembling). You can mix all of the salad ingredients together, or serve them in separate bowls. Top salad with warm chicken and reserved dressing.

From friend Heather, modified slightly by Kelly

**NOTE: I doubled the dressing and chicken amounts and got about 6 servings.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Scallion Pancakes

Servings: 12-15
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4 ¼ – 4 ½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 Tbs sesame oil
3 Tbs olive oil
1 cup sliced scallions (green onions)
Peanut oil/olive oil/or coconut oil

Combine flour (start with 4 ¼ cups, add additional flour if needed to make a stiff, but workable dough), salt and pepper in a stand mixer. While mixer is running (with a dough hook), gradually add boiling water, sesame and olive oils. Continue mixing and add scallions. Mix until dough pulls away from the edge of the bowl and forms a smooth ball. Roll dough into small pancakes about 6” in diameter, keeping unused dough covered while you are rolling.

Heat 1-2 tsp oil in a small skillet. Cook pancakes over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. Add more oil to the pan as necessary.

Drain on a paper towel. Cut into wedges and serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce
1 Tbs Mirin (sweet rice vinegar)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp grated ginger (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Flavor will intensify the longer it sits.

Yield: 12-15 full-sized pancakes

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Appetizers, Breads, Main Dishes, Salads

Tagged as asian salad, chicken, chicken salad, Chinese, chinese salad, dipping sauce, green onions, scallion pancakes, scallions, warm chicken salad

January 25, 2010 · 7:59 am

Last Minute Dinners: Salsa Chicken (and a Mexican Coleslaw)

Looking for something quick, easy and delicious to throw together for a last-minute dinner? This Salsa Chicken has been the answer to many of my “Oh no! It’s 5 o’clock already! What am I going to cook tonight?” dilemmas.

Simply brown some chicken breasts (generously seasoning with garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder).

Mix together a jar of taco sauce or salsa with just a little cocoa powder and cinnamon and pour over your chicken. (since there is a lot of sauce with this dish, I use a mild or medium variety of taco sauce/salsa) Cover and cook about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in some chopped cilantro.

Top with cheese – Provolone is my favorite, but I also use Swiss, cheddar or Muenster if I don’t have any provolone.

Let the cheese melt and serve with rice. We like Vigo brand “Yellow Rice”, a mild saffron flavored Spanish rice.

And if you are organized enough to plan ahead for this dinner, this Mexican Lime & Cilantro Coleslaw goes really well with it:

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The coleslaw goes together really quickly if you use a prepackaged coleslaw mix. The pre-planning just comes in the grocery shopping part.

RECIPES:

Salsa Chicken

Servings: 4-6
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4-6 chicken breasts, trimmed
1 Tbs oil
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ cups taco sauce or salsa
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs (or more) chopped fresh cilantro
4-6 slices Provolone or Swiss cheese

Heat oil in skillet; add chicken. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder (I don’t usually measure these spices; I just sprinkle them on both sides of the chicken). Cook until chicken is browned on both sides. Combine salsa, cocoa, and cinnamon. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in cilantro.

Just before serving, top each chicken piece with a slice of cheese. Cover and let cheese just begin to melt. Serve over rice (our favorite is Vigo brand “Yellow Rice”, a Spanish saffron flavored rice).

NoEmptyChairs.me

Mexican Lime & Cilantro Coleslaw

Servings: 8
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1 bag coleslaw mix
5 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup mayonnaise
2 T fresh lime juice, (about half of a large lime)
red or green Tabasco sauce to taste (I use 5 “shakes”)
½ tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp fresh ground pepper (or to taste)

Combine coleslaw mix, green onions and cilantro.

In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Mix dressing into cabbage mixture.

Serve immediately, or chill for a few hours.

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

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1 Comment

Filed under Main Dishes, Side Dishes

Tagged as chicken, cilantro, coleslaw, last minute dinners, lime, quick meals, salsa chicken

January 21, 2010 · 11:02 am

Chicken Stir-Fry in Peanut Sauce

Stir-fries are a great way to use up small amounts of vegetables left in your crisper. That stray half of a bell pepper, or 6 lonely mushrooms starting to wilt. Such was the state of my refrigerator when I made this stir-fry. I had small amounts of broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, pea pods, and red pepper that needed to be used up or tossed out. And I just hate throwing food away.

The key to a good stir-fry (tender chicken and crisp vegetables) is to cut EVERYTHING before you start cooking. And get the sauce mixed ahead of time too. I am always tempted to save a few dishes by cutting and adding directly to the wok as I go, but this never ends well. Something always ends up mushy and overcooked.

Start by cutting your vegetables into bite-sized pieces and setting aside. You will need to add them separately to the wok, so you can either use separate bowls for them (which I avoid-again, the extra dishes) or one large bowl. If you are using one large bowl, add the vegetables to the bowl in the reverse order that you will add them to the wok: pea pods and cabbage first (as they will cook the quickest), carrots and broccoli last (as they will take longer to cook). Place a layer of plastic wrap or waxed paper in between your layers for easy removal of vegetables from the bowl to the skillet.

Cut chicken into very thin slices and set aside.

Stir together sauce mix and set aside.

Heat a little oil in the bottom of a wok or large skillet. Start with your longest cooking veges. I add the broccoli first, sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until bright green, then add about 2 Tbs water, put the lid on for about 2 minutes and let it steam. Remove to a serving bowl. Add a little more oil and start adding additional vegetables. If you are making a large amount, cook in small batches, removing cooked vegetables to the serving bowl when they are still crisp (just barely tender-a little under-cooked is best).

Once all of the vegetables are cooked and removed from the pan, add a little additional oil and cook chicken over high heat until tender. The chicken is mixed first with some curry paste (I like red) and ginger before cooking. Adjust heat or find a lid if the chicken splatters a lot.

Stir sauce mixture into chicken and cook until thickened slightly. This sauce has a soy and peanut butter base with some red curry paste.

Stir the vegetables back into the pan and cook just until heated through. Serve immediately over hot rice.

RECIPE:

Chicken Stir-Fry in Peanut Sauce

Servings: 6-8
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2-3 Tbs olive oil or coconut oil
2 cups broccoli florets
1 large red bell pepper, sliced thinly
2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Handful of snow pea pods
1 onion, diced
4 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2-3 tsp curry paste, hot or mild, to taste (I use red curry paste)
1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves of garlic, minced

Peanut Sauce:
1 cup hot chicken broth
¼ cup smooth natural peanut butter
¼ cup soy sauce
1 Tbs fresh lime juice (about half of a lime)
1 pkt Stevia (or 1 tsp sugar)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, adjust to taste
1 Tbs cornstarch + 2 Tbs water, mixed

**NOTE: Vegetable types are adjustable based on what you have on hand (or what your family will eat).

Mix together sauce ingredients. Set aside. Cut vegetables and chicken and set aside.

Heat 1 Tbs oil over high heat in a wok or large skillet. Cook the vegetables in small batches until crisp-tender (but slightly undercooked). Remove from pan and set aside.

Stir curry paste and ginger into sliced chicken. Add 1 Tbs additional oil to hot wok. Stir in chicken and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook 1 additional minute.

Add sauce mixture (stir first to incorporate cornstarch) to pan with the chicken. Cook until slightly thickened. Return vegetables to pan and heat through.

Serve over white or brown rice.

Adapted from Glutenfreegoddess

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Tagged as chicken, Chinese, curry paste, peanut butter, peanut sauce, stir fry

November 23, 2009 · 3:07 pm

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Shredded Chicken or Turkey

What to do with leftover turkey on Friday? Try this warm, creamy, cheesy broccoli soup. Perfect for leftover roast chicken or turkey.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Shredded Chicken

Servings: 10-12
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2 Tbs butter
1 large bunch broccoli, chopped
or 2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups cream
1 can broccoli cheese soup
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1-2 Tbs fresh chopped oregano or ½ tsp dried oregano
2 C cooked, diced chicken or turkey (or 2 cans chicken)
½ cup cheddar cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese (fresh grated)

Sauté broccoli, onion and garlic in butter (If using frozen broccoli, sauté onion and garlic first until tender; then add thawed broccoli). Add chicken broth and cook until broccoli is crisp/tender. Puree half of mixture in blender. Return to pot. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook until hot and thickened (about 15 minutes). Garnish with additional cheese, if desired.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Main Dishes, Soups/Stews/Curries

Tagged as broccoli, chicken, cream of broccoli soup, creamy soup, leftover turkey, shredded chicken, turkey

November 9, 2009 · 8:57 am

Shredded Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

I shredded a crock-pot full of chicken a while ago with the intention of making these enchiladas, but life got the better of me, and I didn’t get around to it until recently. Once you have chicken shredded, these enchiladas go together really quickly. My husband loves these because there are no filler ingredients (rice, beans, etc) just meat and wonderfully creamy cheese.

I cooked the chicken in the crock pot with about 1 cup of salsa. You could also use leftover roast chicken or turkey.

When the crock pot chicken was tender, I shredded it, using some of the chicken for a chili, some for a soup (details soon), and most of the rest for these enchiladas.

The filling for the enchiladas uses the chicken, shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, sauteed onions, garlic, some salsa, and cream cheese (this is what makes them so wonderfully creamy!). You can also add cilantro to the filling, but I didn’t this time. I just used it in the sauce.

To make the enchilada sauce, dump all of the sauce ingredients (see recipe below) into a blender, and blend until smooth.

Place a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ pan.

Roll about 1/3 – 1/2 cup of filling in a tortilla. I used flour tortillas, but you could also use softened corn tortillas.

Roll tortillas around filling and place in baking dish. I got 8 filled enchiladas in my pan, plus another 2 that I put in a smaller pan (these 2 extra enchiladas were terribly unappealing, having NO CHEESE in them-how could I possibly end up with a daughter that doesn’t like cheese?)

Cover and bake at 375°F for about 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. I love using non-stick foil for covering saucy or cheesy dishes. No sticking! Really.

Uncover and top with additional cheese, chopped green onions and sliced olives. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and additional salsa. We also like to have Mexican rice or refried beans on the side.

RECIPE:

Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Servings: 8-10
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4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 onion, chopped and lightly sauteed
2 cloves garlic, minced or ½ tsp garlic powder
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup salsa
1-2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
4 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
½ cup salsa
3 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs paprika (hot and/or sweet)
1 tsp chili powder
2-3 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

Tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese
Sliced black olives (optional)
Chopped green onions (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine filling ingredients. Blend sauce ingredients in blender until smooth. Place a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13” pan. Roll filling in tortillas. Place in pan, seam side down. Top with remaining sauce.

Bake, covered, at 375°F for 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through. Uncover.

Sprinkle with cheese, olives, and green onions. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole, if desired.

Makes 8-10 large enchiladas.

TO FREEZE: Prepare and fill enchiladas. Place on a waxed-paper lined cookie sheet and freeze. Place in freezer bag when enchiladas are completely frozen. Freeze sauce in a separate bag. Freeze cheese in small bag.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Thaw sauce and cheese. Place small amount of sauce in a 9×13” pan. Place enchiladas in pan (it is not necessary to thaw enchiladas). Top with sauce. Bake, covered, at 375°F for about 1 hour, or until cooked through. Remove foil and top with cheese, olives and green onion. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes longer.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as cheese, chicken, enchiladas, freezer, freezer meal, leftover turkey, Mexican, shredded chicken, turkey