Amazing chicken stew

I usually make chicken soup, not chicken stew, but with winter dragging on into what's supposed to be spring, I couldn't help myself.  Last weekend, I set aside the three-plus hours it takes to make this incredible stew.  The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated, but of course they won't let you have it.  I'm perfectly happy to send you somewhere else that will: Best Chicken Stew

Trinidad chicken curry

Sometimes I go for long periods of time not remembering my slow cooker.  But recently I realized that I'd been neglecting it when it really could be a great help...especially when we were going to be eating at different times during the evening.  Not my favorite situation, but there you have it.  It happens occasionally!

I like the recipe for Trinidad Chicken Curry that I found in Hannaford's Fresh magazine, but the meat just has to be seared first.  With that caveat, I followed the recipe pretty closely otherwise.  It's a really nice mild curry because of the coconut milk.  

Cornbread dressing with dried fruit

We do not stuff our turkey, so instead of calling it stuffing, I usually end up calling it dressing.  But then it's harder to find in an index, because it gets lumped in with salad dressings.  Oh well.  Here it is anyway.  You can start with homemade cornbread, but this is an extra step that I usually just don't have time for.  I love to make (and eat) cornbread, and it just seems like a crime to crumble it all up!

Cornbread Dressing with Dried Fruit

Onion, chopped
Stalk of celery, chopped
Olive oil
A package of cornbread stuffing
Dried apricots, apples, and cranberries, chopped
Fresh sage leaves, chopped
Turkey stock, enough to moisten

Saute the onions and celery in oil.  Mix all ingredients together and moisten with hot stock just before serving.

Jerk chicken for a crowd

I needed to make a decent amount of Jamaican-style Jerk Chicken for a gathering recently, and using my grill was just out the question.  I suppose that I could have grilled it and then reheated on site, but it seemed like a better idea to just figure out how to cheat that wonderful herbal smoke flavor.

I'm sure you know that there are as many recipes for Jerk Chicken Marinade as there are cooks, and I certainly have my favorite, but I'm usually happy just as long as there is enough heat.  For most of my friends, one habenaro pepper per pound of chicken is just about right.  Maybe throw in one or two extra if you're making a lot.  Let the chicken soak up the marinade for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 6 hours or so.  Then the fun starts!

I made a flavor smoke packet and plopped it in the middle of my 6 quart electric skillet (All-Clad...I love it!). Two layers of foil filled with 1 cup of water-soaked hickory wood chips, a couple tablespoons each of allspice berries, dried thyme, and dried rosemary, also soaked in water ahead of time. Get the skillet hot and plop the flavor smoke packet in the middle, poking with a knife to make a few holes. As soon as it begins to smoke, turn down the heat, add the chicken, cover it, and cook on low until the chicken is completely cooked through. Near the end, you can up the heat to get the chicken more crusty. The time will vary depending upon what parts you use.

Really fast Pennsylvania Dutch corn and chicken soup

This soup cooks very quickly, which doesn't give a lot of time for flavors to develop.  However, when you're in a hurry, this is about as good as it gets, and at least the chicken stays very tender.  If you use homemade chicken stock, some of the great flavors will be there after all!

Pennsylvania Dutch Corn and Chicken Soup

3 c corn, fresh, canned, or frozen
6 to 8 c chicken stock
Butter
Onion, chopped
Celery stalk, chopped
2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, chopped to 1/2 inch
3 c wide egg noodles
Salt and pepper

Puree 2 c of the corn with 2 c of the stock; set aside.  Cook the onion, celery, and 1 c corn in butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat until onion is softened.  Stir in the rest of the stock, the corn puree, chicken, and noodles.  Bring to a boil; reduce and simmer until chicken and noodles are cooked, about 8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Grilling a whole naked chicken

There have been a plethora of wonderful chicken ideas coming from Cook's Illustrated, and even though this recipe came from the May/June 2013 issue, I only got around to trying it recently.  I used one of the same tricks as the Barbecued Chicken techniques that I shared with you earlier, namely aluminum pie pans full of water under the grate on the cool side of the grill.  But the biggest aha came from the directions to cut out the chicken's backbone and flatten it for grilling.  In order to stabilize it, you run skewers through the legs and body in a few spots.  Easy peasy to flip and move now!

See how the meat is slashed?  That's to allow a marinade of lemon, rosemary, Dijon mustard, and butter to penetrate deeply into the meat.  Yum.

Barbecued chicken

I learned some tricks from Cook's Illustrated over the summer, and they've definitely made my Barbecued Chicken better!

My favorite tip is this one: whether you are going to grill regular or skinless chicken parts, hit it with a rub at least 6 hours before grilling.  I like to wait until way into the grilling before beginning to add the sugary barbecue sauce since it will tend to burn if left on too long.  My new favorite rub is below.

Here's my other favorite tip: use a disposable aluminum pie pan or two, filled with water, underneath the grill grate on the cool end of the grill.  When you cook your chicken lower and slower at the cool end (after searing it for flavor on the hot end of course), covered by the grill top, the added moisture does wonders for the meat.

Rub for barbecued chicken:
2 T brown sugar
4 t coarse salt
1 1/2 t onion powder
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 1/2 t paprika
1/4 t ground cayenne pepper

Easiest to mix and apply in a plastic bag.  Then refrigerate for at least 6 hours (in the bag is fine).

Chicken Lucia

This dish packs big-time flavor into a minimally fussy package.  I've seen Chicken Lucia made with artichoke hearts instead of mushrooms, but I really like the Hannaford version best.  If you don't like mushrooms, think about making the substitution.  As for us, we'll stick with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach in a sherry-cream sauce!

Chicken with plum-cherry sauce

Quick, quick!  While there are still a few fresh cherries on the shelves...

If it's too late, please consider making this anyway, and use canned cherries packed in water...NOT in syrup!  You can really use any stone fruits for this dish, but I love the color that plums give it.  The recipe for Chicken with Plum-Cherry Sauce can be found in Hannaford's Fresh magazine.

Simple chicken salad

First, I used my Fast and Easy Method for cooking a chicken breast.  After the meat had cooled, it was a simple matter of layering thin slices of tomatoes and cukes with dark greens, chopped red pepper, crumbled goat cheese, and black olives, then topping with the shredded chicken and fresh thyme.  I made a balsamic vinaigrette with a bit of maple syrup and more thyme, and served it all with lemon wedges.  

Healthy chicken nuggets

I tried the Lean and Crunchy Chicken Nuggets from Hannaford's Fresh magazine, with a great deal of skepticism.  I've had baked nuggets before, and they either weren't crunchy, weren't tasty, or (worst) both.

These turned out to be a very nice surprise.  While you're never going to mistake them for deep fried (and frankly, I wouldn't want to), they are very very good.  We used regular chicken breasts and cut them up rather than buying the more expensive frozen tenderloins.  I didn't have flax seed on hand (shame on me), but I will next time!

Chicken and mango quesadilla pie

I've made Quesadilla Chicken Pie several times since I first started experimenting with it, and my most recent rendition involved mango salsa and feta cheese!

Quesadilla Mango and Chicken Pie

Extra large flour tortilla
Cooking spray

Vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts, chopped 
Large handful of arugula

1/2 c mango salsa plus more for serving
1 c crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder 
1/2 c milk
1 egg

Spray 10 inch deep dish pie pan and press tortilla into it.  Lightly spray the tortilla. 

Saute chicken until cooked thoroughly.  Add arugula and wilt.  Remove skillet from heat.

Spread mango salsa onto tortilla.  Top with the chicken mixture and add about 3/4 c of the cheese.  In a small bowl, mix the flour through the egg well and pour over the tortilla.  Top with the remaining cheese.  Cook at 450 for about 20 minutes.  Serve with more salsa.

Sesame linguine with chicken

There are many variations you can make on this dish, once you've mixed up the perfect sesame sauce.  We like it with chunks of chicken breast and rainbow chard, but asparagus is great too!

Sesame Linguine with Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped

Vegetable oil

1 lb linguine

Large bunch of rainbow chard or other greens, chopped

1/2 c peanut butter

5 T rice vinegar

2 T fish sauce

1 T chili-garlic sauce

2 t grated fresh ginger

2 T toasted sesame oil

Start the pasta water in a large pot.

Cook the chicken in oil in a large skillet and set aside. Mix the peanut butter through the sesame oil in a small bowl. Add up to 1/3 c of the pasta water later if needed to make it smooth enough.

When the linguine is almost done, about 8 minutes, add the chopped greens to the pot for the last few minutes. Drain well, reserving some of the pasta water if needed for the sauce. Mix the linguine, chicken, greens, and peanut butter mixture together in a pot and serve.  

Tuscan garlic chicken pasta

I found this recipe in an issue of Cook's Country, and chased it down online here at Food.com.  I made a few modifications, adding the lemon juice and the pasta water to the skillet in order to reclaim all the browned bits from the chicken.  Other than that, I followed it exactly!

French-style chicken in a pot

I've been a fan of slow-cooked, braised, or crock pot chicken for forever.  So when I saw Cook's Illustrated showing off how to stack everything for the whole meal into the Dutch oven properly for braising, I was sold.  Get this...the stuffing goes into parchment tubes that you roll and twist, and it gets cooked right along with everything else!

Make your favorite stuffing first and twist it up.  Set it aside.  Brown the chicken (I brined mine for 1 hour beforehand), and set it aside too.  Place your root vegetables and aromatics in the bottom of the pot.  Add enough broth to stop 1/2 inch short of the top of the vegetables.  Place the stuffing rolls and the chicken legs (if using...I didn't) in the next layer, and rest the chicken breasts on top.  Cover with foil and the lid and pop it into a 300 oven for 60 to 75 minutes.

CI has you using skin-on chicken and then discarding it just before serving.  I decided to pass on the skin, and that's one of the reasons I chose to brine my birds.  

Turkey soup with linguiça

We love this soup as an occasional change from our classic Basic Turkey Soup.  They both start the same way, with the rich homemade turkey stock.  But instead of re-adding the classic onions, celery, and carrots that you used for the stock to the finished soup, try potatoes instead!

Turkey Soup with Linguiça

Basic turkey soup stock
Reserved turkey meat from stock
Small red potatoes, halved
Linguiça sausage, sliced 1/4 inch
Kale, stems removed

Bring the stock to a boil and add the potatoes.  Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Mash the potatoes slightly with a hand masher.  Add the reserved turkey meat and the linguiça; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 more minutes.  Add kale and simmer just till tender. 

Turkey chili

I learned a pretty cool trick recently from Cook's Illustrated about how to improve the texture of your ground turkey in any chili recipe.  You know how sometimes it ends up being stringy?  Well, the secret is to go ahead and brown 1/2 of it as usual, but wait until you've added the tomatoes and broth before adding the rest.  Form the second half into a tight ball, and pinch off small teaspoon-sized pieces to drop into your simmering chili.  After cooking at a simmer for about 40 minutes, the broth is rich and thick, and the turkey is tender and perfect!  Clever. 

Chicken soup with wild rice

We love wild rice!  It's not really rice, which you may already know, but I just learned that a few years ago...it's a type of grass seed :-)

Chicken Soup with Wild Rice

1/2 c wild rice
2 c chicken stock
2 c water
Vegetable oil
1/2 lb chicken tenders
2 leeks, white and light green parts, sliced lengthwise and then in 1/4 inch cross slices
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms, minced
2 carrots, sliced
1 t fresh thyme
More water or stock if needed

Steam the rice ahead of time and set aside. 

Heat a cup of the stock in a Dutch oven and place in a crock pot.  Dry the Dutch oven and brown the chicken in oil.  Place it in the crock pot and let it heat through.   This can also be done ahead of time.

Brown the leeks, mushrooms, and carrots in oil, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Add the thyme.  Stir in the rest of the broth and the water, and deglaze the pot.  Heat to a boil; reduce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and vegetables are tender.  Chop the chicken and add it, along with the rest of the stock and juices.  Stir in the rice or add it to individual serving bowls. 

Quesadilla chicken pie

Tired of the same old quiche?  How about a quesadilla pie instead?


Quesadilla Chicken Pie

Extra large flour tortilla
Cooking spray
3 slices of bacon

Small onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

2 chicken breasts, chopped
Large handful of arugula

1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 c milk
1 egg

Spray 10 inch deep dish pie pan and press tortilla into it.  Lightly spray the tortilla.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp.  Drain most of grease and set bacon aside.  Saute onions and peppers in skillet until softened.  Saute chicken until cooked thoroughly.  Add arugula and wilt.  Remove skillet from heat.

Scrape chicken mixture into the prepared tortilla.  Crumble bacon on top and add about 3/4 c of the cheese.  In a small bowl, mix the flour through the egg well and pour over the tortilla.  Top with the remaining cheese.  Cook at 450 for about 20 minutes.   

Braised chicken thighs

Braised chicken thighs are one of the loveliest things about cold weather.  They almost make winter worth putting up with...almost!  They are so easy to do with root vegetables, but don't shy away from trying some more surprising accompaniments, like kumquats! 

Braised Chicken Thighs

Olive oil
4 skinless chicken thighs
Shallots, sliced thin
Root vegetables, very coarsely chopped
Kumquats, fresh cranberries (optional)
2 T orange juice
2 - 3 T cranberry mustard
1 T brown sugar


Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and brown the chicken thighs.  Remove and set aside.  Add the shallots and saute to golden brown.  Add the root vegetables and saute for a few minutes.  Add the orange juice and scrape up any browned bits.  Add the mustard and brown sugar and stir to mix.  Place chicken thighs on top of vegetables.

Cover the pot with foil and the lid.  Braise in oven at 300 for about 1 1/2 hours.  Dish out the chicken the chicken and vegetables; return pot with liquid to stove top.  Heat and stir; pour sauce over chicken.