Coq Au Vin

Coq Au Vin

from Everyday Food Magazine
I made this for our Valentine Dinner Party and it was easy and incredible! I cooked it on low for about 3 hours so everything was tender and ready when guests arrived.  I also made cracked potatoes on the side.
Ingredients:
3 fresh thyme sprigs
5 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
3 slices bacon, cut into pieces
12 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 pounds total)
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large onion, chopped
6 medium carrots, sliced crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups dry red wine, such as a Pinot Noir or French Burgundy
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth

Directions:
Using cotton kitchen twine, tie thyme, parsley, and bay leaf into a bundle; set aside.

Heat a Dutch oven or 5-quart heavy pot with a lid over medium-low. Add bacon; cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain (leave bacon fat in pot).

Raise heat to medium-high. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Working in three batches to avoid crowding, brown chicken about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

Add onion, carrots, and garlic to pot. Cook until onion softens, about 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and flour; cook 1 minute. Add wine, broth, chicken, and herb bundle. Bring to a boil; cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes; uncover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove and discard herb bundle; stir in bacon.

Kabobs & Flatbread

This is a summertime favorite for us!

For the kabobs:
Steak or chicken cut into even sized cubes
Any vegetables that you like. We used onions, zucchini, and mushrooms
Marinade:
(quantity depends on the amount of meat you are marinating. This is for 4 steaks, cubed)
1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
2 cloves of garlic crushed
Zest and juice from 1 small lemon
About 5 Tbsp. olive oil
Coarse salt
Fresh cracked black pepper

Cut up the meat and place in a re-sealable bag with the marinade, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to marinate all day or over night. Skewer the meat with pieces of onion in between each piece. Sometimes I skewer the vegetables separately because they don’t cook as long. For the vegetable kabobs, I drizzle olive oil on them and salt and pepper – simple. Grill everything. Grill the flatbread and place on a platter. Take all the meat and vegetables off the skewers and place right on top of the meat so all the juices run into the bread. So delicious!

Grammie’s Doctored Up Fried Chicken

Adapted from an everyday food recipe
1 ¼ c. flour
2/3 c. corn starch
Course salt and pepper
Tabasco hot sauce
Chicken Grill Seasoning
1 qt. buttermilk (Grammie used powdered buttermilk so you can make exactly how much you need
1 chicken cut into 10 pieces (Grammie used 2 breasts cut in half and 7 thighs, all boneless and skinless)
Vegetable oil for frying

1. mix together flour, corn starch, and some salt and pepper. Take out 1 ¼ c. and set aside. In a separate bowl mix buttermilk, more salt and pepper, about 10-12 shakes of Tabasco, ½ tsp. Chicken Grill Seasoning. Dredge the chicken in flour mixture, then submerge in buttermilk mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

2. Prepare a baking sheet lined with paper towel or paper grocery bags, topped with a wire rack. Heat about 1 inch oil in a cast iron skillet to 350 degrees. Take chicken out of buttermilk mixture and dredge in the remaining flour mixture that was set aside.

3. Fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through. About 16-20 minutes per batch, flipping once. Cook in batches so the chicken isn’t touching and can brown on all sides. Transfer to the baking sheet to drain and enj oy! (Perfect for Father's Day!)

Orecchiette With Spring Vegetables

1/2 lb. Orecchiette pasta

1/2 c. Peas
Asparagus
Zucchini
1 cooked chicken breast
Zest from half a lemon
Juice from half a lemon
2 T. olive oil (plus more for sautéing)
Fresh parmesan

Boil ½ lb. orecchiette pasta
Sautee sliced zucchini and asparagus (cut into 2 inch spears) with some olive oil and salt and pepper
Put 1/2c. frozen peas in your strainer and when you drain the boiling pasta over the peas, they defrost! Add the sliced cooked chicken, pasta and peas into the sauté pan with the zucchini and asparagus. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and toss to coat. Top with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper!

Creamy Pappardelle with Chicken

As usual, I don’t follow recipes too well!  But I modified this one to my own liking and it was wonderful!

2 chicken breasts

16 oz pappardelle pasta

2 T. olive oil

¼ c. minced onion

1 clove of crushed garlic

1 ½ c. heavy cream

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for topping)

Directions: Salt & pepper the chicken. Brown up the chicken in a pan. When done, set aside. Add olive oil and onion into pan. Season with salt & pepper. Sautee until slightly brown and add garlic clove. Sautee another minute and add the cream. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to thicken. Chop up the chicken and add to the sauce. When pasta is done cooking add directly to the pan with the sauce, add the Parmesan cheese and toss to coat. Serve with more Parmesan on top.

Denise's Fa-heets

My neighbor made us these fajitas of love and used chicken instead of flank steak. Super yummy!!

• 1 flank steak (1 pound)
• 1 Spanish onion (about 9 ounces), sliced
• 1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
• 1 clovegarlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cupfresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoonolive oil
• 1 tablespoonbalsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoonschopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoonground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoonsalt
• 8 flour tortillas (8-inch), warmed
• Pico de gallo (optional)

Combine all ingredients (not the tortillas!) and let marinade for a couple of hours. Cook up the meat and peppers and serve in warm tortillas with salsa, sour cream, cheese… Deliciouso!

Almond Chicken Dijon

Seriously, my friend Allison should write a cook book!

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
2 T Kraft Mayo Light Mayonnaise
2 T Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
¼ c Slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

Preheat overn to 375 degrees.
Place chicken in lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish; set aside.
Mix mayo and mustard until well blended. Spread the top of each chicken breast half with 1T of mayo mixture; sprinkle evenly with almonds.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken in cooked through.

Hillary's Pasta

Hillary’s Pasta
(this is the new name I’ve given the dish although I know she got the recipe from another friend!)
Bow Tie Pasta
Shredded cooked chicken
Pine nuts
Chopped tomatoes
Julienned basil
Lemon zest and juice
Grated parmesan cheese
Heat some butter and olive oil, S&P on low and toss with everything.
Can be served hot, room temp or cold – it’s amazing!!
Also, check out Hillary's blog - it's one of my favorites!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Such a fun variation on regular pizza!
Make homemade dough or get some already made from Trader Joes. Use BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce and top with cooked chicken, slivered red onion, motzarella cheese, and the kicker is fresh cilantro! Bake on a cookie sheet with corn meal scattered on it to keep the pizza from sticking, on the bottom rack of your oven at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Chicken Saltimboca

This is really easy to prep ahead of time and it's always a show stopper! One of my favorite meals to serve guests.
6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Directions:
Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet.
Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.
Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.

Rotisserie Chicken Tacos

When our daughters were first born someone brought us a meal that consisted of:
a rotisserie chicken
tortillas
shredded cheese
sour cream
salsa
Brilliant! No one had to cook and the meal was delicious and rather affordable I might add! We just revisited this meal and it did not disappoint in flavor or ease!!

Chicken Sweet Potato Hand Pies

I’m not going to lie to you – my family was not a big fan of these, but I loved them and my neighbors (who I took them to since my family wouldn’t eat them!) loved them too!
I used store bought pie cruse instead of puff pastry and I made them into little rectangle pies.
Here is the full recipe
Super yummy, give them a try!

Roasted Chicken Soup

I woke up to rain (after 108 degrees last week, no wonder everyone is sick!!) so that calls for soup!.
I roasted 2 chicken breasts bone in, skin on, covered with olive oil, s&p, fresh thyme sprigs, fresh rosemary from my garden and some onions at 450 for ½ hour. I sautéed onions, carrots and some celery in my "magic pot" (dutch oven), deglazed with chicken stock, then added spices to taste with more stock, a little water, some frozen corn and of course the shredded roasted chicken. A little cooked egg noodles or cooked rice can be added for texture.
I will be serving this tonight with some hot crusty french bread!

Nach Dinner

This is one of my all-time favorites and easy go-to meals. Place tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, drop spoonfuls of refried beans on them, scatter either cooked ground beef or chicken with taco seasoning, corn, black beans, top with cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly. Set up a little topping bar of sour cream, salsa, guacamole and some olives and let everyone make their own. It’s the best!!!

Taragon Curry Chicken Salad

Cook chicken breasts and finely chop them up when they are cooled.
Add in mayo, chopped golden raisins, fresh tarragon, sliced almonds, s&p, and a dash of curry. Serve on small, light rolls (today I served this to friends and made the mistake of getting thick rolls and it was too much bread for the salad) with lettuce. Light, cool and yummy!

Tom Kha Gai (Coconut Lemongrass Soup)

My friend Marcy passed this along and I can’t wait to try it!
Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 can (14 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
6 quarter size slices fresh ginger
1 stalk fresh lemongrass
1 lb boned, skinned chicken breast (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp Thai chili paste
1 tbsp fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp cilantro
red/orange/yellow peppers

What to do:
In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, chicken brother, fresh ginger. Cut lemongrass stalk into 1 inch pieces and add to pan. Bring to boil over high heat. Add chicken, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chili paste. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is firm and opaque, 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish each serving with fresh basil leaves and cilantro. Discard lemongrass. Serves 4.
**this only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. For added flavor allow it to sit on low for an hour to let spices set in. I add red pepper flakes which makes it spicier. :) Then I also add a few chunks of multi colored peppers about 15 minutes before serving to add some color. Then they aren't too mushy.

Lyric's Chicken 2 Ways

I love my friend Lyric and am so sad that she moved across the country so I can’t benefit from her culinary genius as often!
Buy a rotisserie chicken and pick it clean. Split it in half. One night, make it into a BBQ chicken pizza (I make my dough and actually cook it in just a few minutes on my stone out on the grill, then put toppings on and finish it in the oven). The second night, put the remainder of the chicken into this Ina recipe Orzo with Roasted Vegetables.
It's HEAVENLY, makes an abundance and is loved by all, even the little guys learning to eat.

Peachy Chickeen

Last night my neighbor and I made peach jam from the bounty on her tree! Tonight I browned up some chicken on the stove and just before it was finished cooking I spooned some of the peach jam on top and let it caramelize. It was delicious!
I served it with Jacques Pepin’s potatoes corn on the cob and a peach crisp for dessert because we still had peaches left over!

Grilled Chicken Tacos

I lightly sprinkle some (not a whole envelope) taco seasoning on boneless, skinless chicken breasts and throw them on a hot grill. 6 minutes a side is usually perfect. After they rest, I cut them on an angle and squeeze a fresh lime over them. Then I crisp up flour tortillas over an open flame and assemble the tacos with all our favorite toppings.

Arroz Con Pollo

Our dear friend Gretchen made this meal for us and it is amazing! I recommend using leftovers for burritos.

1 cup uncooked rice
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn (1 cup frozen)
6 (4oz each) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
½ cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 cup marinara sauce
½ cup red bell pepper, sliced
½ cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup shredded cheese

Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Spread the rice over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer the beans, corn, and chicken over the rice and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Poor chicken broth over mixture. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients minus the cheese. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.

For dinner tonight... Preheat the oven to 350 F (175C). Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
If you make a double and want to freeze half... Before baking, cover the dish with foil. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking as directed above.