Poached chicken

Poaching a a great way to keep meat really moist.  The trick is to keep the temperature very low and put a barrier above the meat to keep the liquid from evaporating.

Poached Chicken

Canola oil
4 - 5 cloves of garlic
2 - 3 leeks, cut into 5 inch pieces
3 carrots, cut into 3 inch pieces
8 whole peppercorns
5 - 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 boneless half-breasts of chicken
Enough stock to just cover chicken
Salt

In your stockpot or dutch oven, gook the vegetables for a few minutes to soften.  Add the spices, chicken, and enough stock to just cover.  Bring the broth to a simmer and immediately reduce the heat to the lowest setting (avoid simmering again).  Cover the chicken with a circle of parchment paper and cover with the lid.  After about 10 minutes, turn the chicken over.  Poach for about 5 to 10 more minutes until chicken is done.    

Hot tomato basil soup

Hot as in temperature, not as in overly spicy.  This creamy but low-fat soup has garlic for a bit of heat, but otherwise it's very mild.  You can dress it up with crushed red pepper flakes when it's served though ;-)

Tomato Basil Soup

Olive oil
Sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Carrot, chopped
1 can (28 oz) whole or crushed tomatoes with juice
2 c vegetable broth
1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
Black pepper to taste
2 T fresh basil, finely chopped
1 c fat-free buttermilk
Optional: crushed red pepper

In a large saucepan, cook the onion, garlic, and carrot in oil over medium low heat until everything is softened.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, broth, salt sugar, and black pepper.  Break up the tomatoes if using whole.  Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes.  Use an immersion blender (or food processor) to puree the soup, leaving some chunky if you'd like.  Stir in the basil and buttermilk, and serve with red pepper if desired.  To reheat, do not boil.  It can also be served cold.

Stuffed green peppers

I've never been a real fan of traditional stuffed peppers, with the ground beef, rice, and jarred spaghetti sauce.  But recently I tried an experiment and mixed some ingredients together that I thought would be tasty, and we were very pleased with the results.

Stuffed Green Peppers

4 large peppers
1 can (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil (or 1 T fresh)
1/2 t cumin seeds, ground
1/4 t cinnamon
1 T red wine vinegar
1 lb ground chicken
2 c cubed butternut squash
3/4 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4 c raisins (optional)

Cut off the tops and clean out the peppers.  In a large bowl, mix the crushed tomatoes through the vinegar.  Spoon about 1 to 1-1/2 c of the mixture into the bottom of a covered casserole.  Add the chicken through the raisins to the remaining tomato mixture and stir well.  Spoon most of the mixture into the peppers and replace their tops.  Spoon any remaining mixture around the bottom.  Cover the casserole and cook at 350 for about an hour.  They can also be cooked in a crock pot on low for about 5 hours.  Make sure the chicken mixture reaches 160 F.  

Cherry chutney

I love chutneys, especially deep-flavored spicy ones, and this one definitely qualifies. It was great with salmon, but I think we'd like it with roasted chicken or pork too.

Cherry Chutney

Olive oil
Onion, diced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 c grated carrot
1 T brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t mustard seeds
1/8 t ground coves
1/3 c apple juice or cider
3/4 c dried tart cherries

Cook the onion in oil until softened in a medium saucepan.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 40 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed.

Chicken piccata sauce

 

Yes, I have found yet another way to serve Brussels Sprouts, but these are not really integral to the recipe...I used the crock pot method for preparing the Piccata Sauce and added the sprouts right to the pot. 

You can make Chicken Piccata in a large skillet and have it ready as a thirty minute meal, or you can stick it into a crock pot and allow the flavors to develop more fully over a few hours.  I decreased the broth amount slightly for the crock pot.

Chicken Piccata Sauce

1/2 c flour
1 lb chicken, tenders or sliced breast
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-1/4 c chicken broth (reduce slightly if planning on using a crock pot)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c dry white wine
1/2 c Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 T fresh sage, chopped
3 T capers
1 T butter
Pasta (penne is good)

Put the flour into a plastic bag and add the chicken pieces, shaking to coat.  In a large skillet, cook the chicken in a single layer until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side over medium heat.  Remove the cooked chicken from the pan.  Drain off excess fat and add the liquids, deglazing the pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes until juices are slightly reduced.


Pan method: Return chicken to the pan along with the herbs and capers.  Cook for a few more minutes, stir in the butter and serve over pasta.

Crock pot method: Pour the juices into a crock pot, adding the chicken, herbs, and capers.  Cook on medium low for a hours, adding vegetables to the pot too if you'd like.  Stir in the butter just before serving over pasta.

Chicken divan

This is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken or turkey.  Doesn't everyone have a version of divan that they particularly like?  We have moved away from using a mornay sauce (bechamel sauce with cheese added) and have settled on mixing our sharp cheese into more cheese...a mild ricotta.  The recipe is easy to half (as shown above) if you've only got a few to feed.

Chicken (or Turkey) Divan

2 heads of broccoli, chopped
1-1/2 c part-skim ricotta cheese
1 c grated sharp cheddar or Gruyere cheese
1 T lemon juice
2 eggs
4 c cooked chicken
1/2 c fresh basil, chopped
1-1/2 c breadcrumbs (we like Panko)
1/2 c grated fresh Romano cheese
2 T olive oil

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with oil and preheat the oven to 450.  Steam or microwave the broccoli pieces until they are soft and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese through the eggs.  Stir in the chicken, the broccoli, and the basil.  Place mixture in the casserole dish.

In the bowl, mix the breadcrumbs through the oil by hand and spread it over the chicken mixture.  Bake until the casserole is heated through, probably not more than about 15 to 20 minutes.  Let it set up for about 5 minutes and serve.

Beer can chicken with fig and black olive sauce

Martha Stewart knows a fabulous thing to do with a can of Guinness...you stick it up a chicken's butt!  The great thing about the Guinness can as opposed to some other beer cans is that it's tall, so the chicken has a better chance of not falling over!

I used Martha's recipe, except that I added vegetables to my cast iron skillet to cook in the chicken schmaltz (so good!), and I changed up the sauce recipe a bit, adding 1/2 c chopped dried figs and 1/4 c chopped black kalamata olives.