Chicken and Black Bean Soup

My brother, bless his heart, sometimes needs help in the gift giving department. Usually, if there is a girlfriend in the picture around Christmas and birthday months, things go pretty smoothly.  And there are other times when, left to his own devices, things turn out less so.  I don't want too sound ungrateful here, but I must say that there was a Christmas where gifts were wrapped in brown paper and duct tape.  I realize that is almost too prime-time-sitcom to believe, but it is the truth.  

I had been craving a Crock Pot ever since I had moved out on my own.  It seemed too perfect not to own one, yummy meals ready upon your arrival home.  After a few years of being on my Christmas list, I was lucky enough to have one show up on my doorstep a few days before the big holiday, courtesy of my brother.  Excited, I opened it up immediately. However, within seconds afterwards, I was on the phone with my mother upset.  He had bought me a refurbished crock pot.  I didn't even know you could buy refurbished crock pots, but somehow he had managed it.  I sat there, cross legged on my shag brown carpet, on the phone with my mother, upset and sadly rocking the lid back and forth on my refurbished crock pot.  It wasn't supposed to rock that much.

After a few failed attempts and a good amount of phone-bitching to Ben, he has just about convinced me to send the crock pot to Goodwill and simply buy a new one, when the lucky boy proposed.  I then promptly talked myself out of Goodwill/buy a new one plan, content to wait for the glorious days of wedding registry and gifts.  However, that left me with several months without one.  And I'm not about to give up on yummy, convenience dreams.  Enter, tinfoil, stage right.  A few extra minutes in the morning, along with a few choice words, and I have a somewhat tight seal on my crock pot.  Those few strips of tinfoil is what I plan on getting me through the next months.  Not that that will spare poor Ben from a few annoyed phone calls, but hey, he knew what he was getting into.

PS - My brother does now have a wonderful girlfriend who he is living with, whom we all adore.  Basically, we're waiting for her to officially join the family, hint, hint, wink, wink...

Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Adapted from: A Year of Slow Cooking

As is the theme as of late, this was a quick and easy dinner (inherent to crock pot meals).  Simple, yummy and it makes great left overs.  Extras go great in the freezer and make for some additional quick and easy lunches later on (tried and true).

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

4 c. chicken broth

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 c. frozen corn

1 jar (16 oz) prepared salsa (I used Pace Medium)

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

Toppings: 

Plain Greek Yogurt

Cheese (sharp cheddar or pepper jack)

Cooked quinoa

Layer black beans in the bottom of the crock pot.  Lay chicken breasts on top.  Pour remaining ingredients over top, making sure chicken is submerged in liquid.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

Once done, remove chicken from soup.  Shred chicken into bite size pieces.  Using immersion blender, blend soup into desired thickness.  Return shredded chicken back to soup.

I found the best way to serve this was to place some cooked quinoa in the bottom of a bowl and ladle a good amount of soup over top.  Garnish with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of cheese.  Enjoy!

Avgolemono

Hi... it's me.  Remember me?  It's ok if you don't.  I sort of ran away and hid for awhile.  Things were falling and I didn't bother to take the time to pick them back up.  I did come back once simply to tell you I was alive.  Does that count for something?

I hope you haven't completely written me out of your book yet.  I have new things to share, I promise.  Are any of them recipes, you may ask.  Which is a fair question, seeing as this is some sort of an excuse for a cooking blog.  And I'm hear to tell you that at least one of them is!  And it's perfect for right now, when all of us are fighting one type of sickness or another.  Soup.  The only kind of soup you want when you're feeling achy and cold and you have an elephant sitting on your chest.  There is an elephant sitting on your chest too, right?  Or is that just me?

It is chicken soup.  Chicken soup made creamy by the slow addition of an egg and almost impossibly bright by the swirl of fresh lemon.  It is chicken soup that is easy to make, requiring nothing out of the ordinary and no extra work, especially if you have a bag of shredded rotisserie chicken in your freezer.  It is chicken soup that will calm your nerves, warm your tummy, and if we are lucky, help beat up all this icky sickness around us.

This is the way that we're starting a new year.  With a new soup and an easy addition to my big green cookbook.  Oh, and with some other exciting news.  There happens to be this very shiny, very, very pretty ring thingy hanging out on my left hand.  It's a little strange and I'm not quite used to it yet, but it puts a huge smile on my face every time I look at it.  Yes folks, we're engaged.  Things are about to get all sorts of real.

Avgolemono
Adapted from Cooking Light, January 2012

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 1/2 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. uncooked long-grain rice
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice (~ 2 lemons, depending on their size)
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 large egg
2 c. (8 oz) chicken breast, shredded

In a Dutch oven over medium high heat, add oil and heat until it begins to shimmer.  Add chopped onions and garlic.  Saute 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.  Add chicken stock and bring mixture to a boil.  Add in rice and reduce soup to a simmer.  Summer for 16 minutes, or until rice is just a few minutes before done.

Meanwhile, combine lemon juice, cornstarch, salt, pepper and egg.  Whisk together well.  Once soup/rice mixture is ready, very slowly pour lemon juice mixture into soup, gently whisking the entire time.  Be patient and careful, you want the egg to incorporate, not scramble!  Add in chicken and stir.  Let lightly simmer until soup thickens and rice is done, about 305 minutes more.

Lemon and Olive Chicken

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Everybody Loves Raymond.  My love of the reruns is well documented both here and basically every weekday night of my life.  Even typing this, miles away from Ben, I can hear his loudly resounding "duh".  I like to think my love of Everybody Loves Raymond is one of the quality he loves about me...

So when I decided to try this lemon chicken recipe from this year's January Cooking Light issue, I sort of, kind of had a secret day dream that I was making lemon chicken just like Deb.  For those of you not caught up on Everybody Loves Raymond reruns (might I add, what is wrong with you??), the first dish Debra cooked for Ray was lemon chicken.  In fact, really the only dish Deb could really cook was lemon chicken.  I got sort of excited that maybe, just maybe, I had found my version of lemon chicken.

More than likely, what Deb was cooking did not have a Mediterranean riff on it.  I suppose we'll never know.  But mine did, with shallots, olives, rosemary and oregano.  It was yummy.  Ben liked it, thought it was a switch up from a normal baked chicken meal.  I enjoyed it too.  It came together pretty quick, baked while I cleaned up the kitchen and the leftovers heated up fantastically.  Not a keeper though, which may be my fault for not using fresh herbs.  Just a good, solid Wednesday night meal.

Lemon and Olive Chicken
Adapted from CL Jan. 2012

2 tsp. lemon zest (~1 lemon) 
1/4 c. lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried rosemary
15 oil-cured olives, pitted
1 large shallot, sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper, olive oil to grease

In large bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice, olive oil and garlic.  Add chicken, flipping to coat.  Let marinade for 15 minutes, occasionally flipping chicken around in marinade.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Thinly slice shallot and lemon.  Halve olives (or pit them, I usually end up halving when I pit anyways...)  Very lightly grease ceramic baking dish (9x13) with olive oil.  Lay chicken in single layer across bottom.  Pour any remaining marinade over top.  Season with salt, pepper, oregano and rosemary.  Spread lemon slices, shallots and olives evenly over top.

Bake 30 minutes, until chicken is just before done.  Remove from oven and preheat broiler.  Broiler chicken for 5-7 minutes until chicken is browned and cooked through.

We served on a bed of orzo with a side of steamed green beans!

White Chicken Chili

It has started.  Did you notice?  It doesn't exactly sneak up on you, so I assume so.  Football season.  It is here.  It's starting.  Today!  Well, I guess college already started with a bang, my Fighting Irish taking care of Navy.  We won by quite the margin, even if I don't quite remember the end of the game, as might be expected by an 8 am kickoff time and an all you can drink special.  (Know what I do remember?  Hang overs that start at 6 pm are not fun).  And tonight?  The first NFL game of the season is tonight.

Are you ready?  Have you had your fantasy football draft?  And if so, do you have any clever left over fantasy football team names that maybe I could use?  Most importantly, are you stocked up on soup, chili and game-watching snack recipes?  Cause that is what football is.  A pot of chili on the stove, chips and salsa, and some beer cooling in the fridge.  Football season, here we come.

White Chicken Chili

This would be great for a Sunday afternoon football watching marathon.  It comes together quickly and the longer it sits, gently bubbling away, the happier your taste buds are going to be.  My mom has been making this ever since one day in the supermarket I peeled off on of those free recipes hanging up in the spice aisle.  The paper has long since been lost, but the recipe most certainly has not.

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
¼ c. chopped onion
1 c. chicken broth
2 cans (4oz) chopped green chilies (I use 1 mild, 1 hot)
2 cans (19oz) white kidney beans (cannelloni), undrained (I've also used chickpeas)
2 green onions, slices, to top
Monterrey Jack cheese, to top

Southwest Spice Blend:
1½  tsp. Garlic Powder
1 ½ tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Oregano Leaves
1/8 tsp. Ground Rep Pepper (or more depending on your heat tolerance)

In dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add chicken and onions and cook until chicken is done, about 5 minutes.  Add broth, green chilies and spice blend.  Bring to a simmer for at least 5 minutes.  Stir in beans and return soup to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and tops with cheese and onions.

Honey Mustard Beer Chicken

I wanted to call this saucy chicken, simply because that is the best explanation.  Delicious, pan-saucy chicken.  But if I did that, then you might not be aware of the whole honey mustard beer party that is going on it that pan.  True, there is soy sauce too, but it got voted off the island because honey mustard soy sauce chicken is more an ingredient list, not a recipe title.

Few times have I made a pan sauce, although I'm not quite sure why, because I get it.  You take all those stuck on crunchy bits, all the juice that steeped out while the meat was resting, all that flavor, heat it up, cook it down and then just barely refrain from pouring it straight into your mouth.  I get that.  It works.  Ben, on the other hand, asks why I can just grill or bake the chicken for dinner at the first sign of a little smoke coming from the stove top.  Don't be Ben.  It'll be ok.  Pan-fry the chicken.  Make the pan sauce.  And if you sneak a spoonful or two while plating up, it'll be our little secret.

**UPDATE 3/13/13**   I made this again a few nights ago, the first time since I wrote the post.  I did double the sauce, and Ben and I were still wishing for more.  We served it on top of a bed of quinoa, ladling the sauce over top.  I am taking the liberty of updating the recipe below to reflect the doubled sauce.  It's by far the way to go!

Honey Mustard Beer Chicken
Adapted from CL September 2012

I served this with brown rice.  The sauce I was marveling about upstairs, pour it over the rice too.  Or if you're not concerned with silly things like picture taking before you eat (patience is never quite tested until you can't eat before getting a good picture...), go like this: rice, chicken, lot-o-sauce.  It'll make your rice ever-so-happy.  Trust me.  Speaking of, I plan on 1.5x or 2x the sauce on my next go round.  The sauce makes the dish.  Just in case that hasn't been clear enough...

2 tsp.canola oil
4 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
black pepper & salt to season
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 c. beer (used Leinenkugels)
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. honey

In large skillet over medium high heat, heat oil until it shimmers.  Season chicken liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.  Add to hot skillet and pan fry until chicken is cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes per side.  Remove from skillet and tent with foil to keep warm.

Add shallot to pan and saute until translucent, about 1 minute.  In small bowl, whisk together remaining 4 ingredients that form the sauce.  Make sure honey has dissolved into the sauce.  Add to pan and turn up heat to high.  Using a wooden spatula, scrap bottom of pan to loosen brown bits.  Add any accumulated juices from chicken to pan.  Bring sauce to a boil and maintain heat until sauce has reduced and thickened.

Add chicken back to pan and turn several times in sauce, to coat and warm.  Serve over rice or whatever can use a good soak in some yummy sauce!

Asian Sesame Chicken Drumsticks

If you've been reading for awhile, you know I'm a "bring your lunch to work" kind of girl.  A lot of it is because I live alone and almost always have leftovers.  And the fact that I make good food.  Another reason is that I'm cheap.  Guess which reason my family will tell you is the prevailing one?  Personally, I'm sticking with the tasty leftover line.  Because seriously, if you had to decide between these and a weekly dose of taco bell hard tacos, does price really come into the picture?

This recipe has me reconsidering my every day lunches.  I made half a dozen chicken wings on Saturday night, ate 2 immediately because they were dang tasty, and threw the other 4 into a bag in the fridge.  Which gave me a week of solid work lunches.  Chicken on top of salad, chicken on top of sauced egg noodles, chicken with a side of roasted potatoes.  It was one good week.  One good, easy week.  It was almost too easy.

I am so close to becoming one of these people that roasts a whole chicken over the weekend and then eats it all week long.  I think I'm ok with this.  Just imagine the possibilities: chicken salad, chicken soup, chicken tacos!  Seriously, I give it till the fall before there is a whole roasted chicken post up here.  And only that far out because I can't imagine roasting an entire chicken in my oven when it's 95 and humid outside.  Not complaining, just saying...

Asian Sesame Chicken Drumsticks
adapted from theendlessmeal.com

6 chicken drumsticks
1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Using a paper towel, pat chicken dry.  Place in large bowl and drizzle with sesame oil.

Thoroughly combine remaining ingredients.  Mix well and sprinkle over chicken.  Toss everything until chicken is well coated.  Move chicken to prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Spring Chicken Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Hello Spring!  Hello fresh veggies, you lovely green things!  And radishes, I have not forgotten about you, crisp and all full of bite, hello!

I'm sorry, was that a little too chirpy for you?  It's ok, I understand.  You see, spring teased me with sunshine and green grass, but yet it's still only a high of 50 today and I'm a little grouchy that I still have to wear my jacket when leaving work.  But then, you see, I see that picture above and really it just happens again:

Hello Spring!  I am so glad you are back.  Please don't ever leave me again.

This salad (loosely adapted from CL's April issue) is wonderful for spring.  With the purchase of a rotisserie chicken, no ovens get turned on, no stoves are ignited (well, unless you blanch, but then there's also a tub of ice water, so it all evens out, right?).  And those veggies, those wonderfully spring veggies?  Just put whatever you want in there, whatever you have.  If it's pretty and makes you happily burst out in "Hello Springs!", it goes in there.  Chop, dump, whisk, pour, toss, bam.  Dinner.


Spring Chicken Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Adapted from April 2012's Cooking Light

If you know a place to get good rotisserie chicken, make sure you take advantage of it!  Dinner's so easy when all you have to do is shred!  I used half a chicken, shredded the rest and put it in the freezer, ready for another quick meal on some other way too busy day.  And seriously, put whatever vegetables you have laying around or that catch your eye.  I had been craving radishes, that's how they ended up in here!

Salad:
1/2 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1-2 c. green beans, trimmed, blanched
4-5 medium radishes, thinly sliced
2-3 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 handful fresh chives, chopped

Mustard Vinaigrette:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 Tbsp. whole grain Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Crusty bread, to serve

Assemble salad ingredients in large bowl.  Whisk together vinaigrette.  Pour over salad, toss.  Season with more salt and pepper as needed.  Eat with crusty bread.

Did I mention this was ridiculously easy???

Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Romaine Hearts

I never once had a doubt about this chicken.  What was there to worry about?  Chicken baked with a Parmesan Panko crust?  Yes please.  And so what if it called for fresh parsley?  What else do I have a spice cabinet full of bottles for if not to avoid having to use not so yummy stuff like parsley?  This chicken, as far as I was concerned was going to be good - easy, peasy, lemon squeezey.  (What a truly horrible phrase...)

As not to be too much of a tease, I will start right off by saying, I was right.  It was terribly delicious.  A simple sub-in of 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence and bam.  Exactly what I expected.  What I did not expect was to be so utterly enthralled by the player occupying the other half of my cookie sheet.

 I was very close to not even bothering with the roasted romaine.  I was pretty sure it would be strange and weird and something I would end up eating simply to not waste food.  But then I remembered the whole "try new things!  blog!"  thing I've been trying to pull off for almost a year now, and decided to go for it.  (I did chicken out on the chopped anchovy toppings.  One hurdle at a time...)

And it was good.  Crunchy, flavorful, so simple to make.  Even after heating up my leftovers the next day for lunch, a task I was sure would yield soggy lettuce leaves amidst my chicken and potatoes, I remained pleasantly surprised.  It still had some crisp, some crunch to it.  It was shockingly exciting.  I never would have guessed that throwing romaine hearts in the oven would get me so excited, so pumped, but here we are.  I have gone and spent the majority of this post raving about lettuce.  Who would have known?

 The star of this dish is really the Parmesan chicken, but there was never really any doubt about that.  And even if it's not brimming with originality, it is still very good.  Which might just make it the perfect partner for an exciting new discovery like roasted romaine....

Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Romaine Hearts
Adapted from Bon Appetit March 2012

My grocery store had skinless chicken breasts on sale cheap, but they were not boneless.  A fact I did not discover until I was home and about ready to pat some topping on them.  They worked, but required additional cooking time.  Boneless would work much better and would probably let you eat leftovers at work a bit more civilized.  I listed BA's cooking time, because mine was thrown off by the bone-in breasts.  If you don't have herbs de Provence, any dried spice would do nicely... rosemary, oregano, whatever you got hanging out in your spice cabinet.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to season
1 1/2 oz (~1/2 c.) grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. herbs de Provence
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
2 large romaine hearts

Preheat oven to 450.  Line large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Season chicken breasts thoroughly on both sides with salt and pepper.  Place on baking sheet.

In small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, panko, 2 tablespoons olive oil, herbs and 1 garlic cloves.  Mix to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.  Pat mixture onto top side of chicken breasts.  Put chicken in oven and bake until topping begins to turn golden, about 10 minutes.

Halve romaine hearts length wise.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle evenly with remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Sprinkle with remaining clove of minced garlic.  Remove chicken from oven (once breadcrumb mixture has turned golden).  Add romaine halves to sheet and return to oven.  Continue to roast until chicken is thoroughly cooked and romaine had browned around the edges, about 5 minutes more.  Enjoy!

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Green Apple Salsa

I am moving a little slow today.  It's not that I didn't like the dish or that I feel bad I don't have anything better to share with you.  No, that's not the case at all.  Actually, this should be like the poster child recipe of what I wanted this blog to be.  I have been looking for an excuse to make this ever since I got my January (January!) Bon Appetit, but something always came up.  Ben wanted fish, or I didn't want to cook and wanted Chinese instead.  And when I finally made it last Wednesday, we both fell in love with it.  It was one of those dinners where I was continually saying in between large, unlady-like mouthfuls (sorry Mom), "This is good, this is like really good, don't you think this is good??"  Heck, I even got some half decent pictures, although natural light is something I won't see on a weekday night for another few months.  It is without a doubt going into the big green cookbook.  So why am I not chomping at the bit to share this deliciousness with you?  Because I'm just feeling a little sluggish when it comes to blogging today.  Sorry.

So of course, the only thing that I am really worried about is that this will deter you from trying this.  If that is the case, I'm going to feel guilty.  This is a fantastic, everything there kind of meal.  It is delicious and smoky, mysterious (with cumin seeds...), and then there is this incredibly brightness and crunch from the apple salsa.  Whatever you do, don't skimp on the salsa, and if no other changes, I would make extra of the green apple salsa.  It is what ties the chicken, beans and rice all together.  And with the quick squeeze of a lime wedge over it all before you dive in?  Really, it is dinner perfection.  Filling and comforting, it is rice and beans, for crying out loud and please, please, just make this?  Ignore my ho-hum mood and make this.  Don't wait two months like I did either, because this is the perfect February-and-I'm-still-freezing-my-ass-off, stick to your ribs kind of dinner.  So, go, make, and be happy.

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Green Apple Salsa
Adapted hardly from Bon Appetit's January 2012 issue

If you can get your hands on a good rotisserie chicken, this is the time and place for it.  I had a few chicken breasts in the freezer, so I baked them up in the oven and used them instead.  Ben and I both agreed though, rotisserie would be the way to go.  Make sure to rinse your beans before you add them too, you get rid of a lot of the added sodium that way.  And go heavy on the apple salsa, it's delicious.

Oh, also.  I was able to get the salsa made while the beans were simmering away.  It was only hectic one or two times.  If you have the time, prep it before so you can pay attention and not have any "oh shit" moments.  But to save time, you can make during without too much trouble.

1 medium Granny Smith apple

1/3 c. cilantro
1/3-1/2 c. very diced red onion, divided
1-2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 of medium bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp. Canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. cumin seeds
3 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Kosher salt and pepper
Cooked brown or white rice
Shredded rotisserie chicken
Lime wedges

Over medium heat, heat oil in large skillet.  Once hot, add bell pepper and onion, reserving 2 tablespoons of onion for the salsa.  Cook until completely soft, about 7 minutes, stirring often.  Once soft, add garlic, chili powder, coriander and cumin seeds to pan.  "Toast" spices until fragrant about 2 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning.  Pour in broth and beans, scrapping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Turn heat to medium high and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer beans briskly for 8-10 minutes.  Stir often and smash some beans with the back of the spoon to help thicken sauce.

Meanwhile, chop apple and cilantro.  In small bowl, combine apple, cilantro and reserved red onions, pouring lime juice over top.  Toss to coat and add more lime juice as needed.  Set aside.

Once beans have thickened (beans will have some liquid still, which helps make the rice even better), season to taste with salt, pepper and lime juice, if desired. 

To serve, mound rice and beans next to each other on the plate, just extra liquid from the beans to moisten the rice.  Top with shredded chicken and a generous helping of apple salsa.  Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro (optional).  Enjoy!

Pecan Chicken

 Well, the good news is, I am getting much better at this pan-frying thing.  The bad news is, I don’t think I’m using yummy enough recipes.  I love watching the oil bubble up around the chicken when I first put it in the cast iron.  I love the sizzle that carries on even after I’ve put it in the oven to finish up.  I love that my coating stuck this time around.

The end result was just nothing to love though.  It was good.  But it’s also something I wouldn’t make again, there was just nothing to bring you back.  I applied some lessons learned from the oatmeal chicken: less flour and more seasoning (cumin and cayenne this time) in the coating.  Less time face down in the medium hot cast iron pan.  Only 6 minutes in a 425 degree oven and it came out more juicy. 

I am going to be sad to see the pretty island cookie picture go from the top of my blog.  I guess it can’t be the first picture forever.  Instead, I tried my best to get the bubbling oil around the edges of my chicken.  Does the chicken frying all happy like in my pretty cast iron remind you of schnitzel too?  Because that is all I thought while cooking it.  Too bad it wasn’t schnitzel.  I could go for some schnitzel right now…

Pecan Chicken. 

adapted from Cooking Light Jan./Feb. 2011 edition

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 c. whole buttermilk

1 egg

Salt and Pepper, to season

¾ c. flour

¾ c. finely ground pecans

Additional spices as wanted (cayenne and cumin is a good start).

Combine buttermilk, egg and chicken breasts in Ziploc bag.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 425.  Heat large oven-proof skillet over medium to medium high heat with 2 tablespoons of canola oil.  Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. 

Combine flour, ground pecans and any additional spice in shallow.  Dredge chicken in mixture, shake off excess.  Add chicken to hot pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned.  Turn chicken over and place skillet in oven.  Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes or until done. 

Oatmeal Crusted Chicken

 I got to break in my new cast iron skillet today.  I have officially paid in full one of my student loans and to celebrate I bought a heavy cast iron skillet.  Well that, and I wanted one, and I will use just about any excuse to buy something new that I want for my kitchen.  Tiny or not.  And because my kitchen is tiny, the skillet will evidently be living on my stovetop. 


So, we pan fried some oatmeal crusted chicken, a very simple recipe from Cooking Light's Jan/Feb edition.  The chicken breasts chilled out in some egg and buttermilk this afternoon while I ran some errands.  I then seasoned it with some salt and cayenne pepper, a small deviation from the original recipe, which I was afraid might be too bland.  Finally, it was crusted in an oatmeal and flour mixture and pan fried in my new skillet.  After I flipped it, it went in to a 425 degree oven to finish cooking. 

One thing I really need to start conditioning myself to do is to stop relying on recipes for times.  Just because the recipe said to saute on one side for 4 minutes doesn't necessarily mean that after 4 minutes in a medium high heat skillet, when I flip the chicken, the oatmeal coating will be in fact a pretty golden crisp.  Like today, when it wasn't and was a rather black burnt color instead. 

I learned my lesson with the second half of the recipe and decided to check the chicken 8 minutes into the prescribed 10 minute baking time.  Which was just about perfect, if not 30 seconds too long.  I am learning!

Overall, the chicken was good.  It wasn't a YUM, but it was much better than just ok.  Even with a burnt top coating and a bottom coating that stuck mostly to the pan.  It's a good recipe, and all the little flaws it had I think could be easily made up for in the next go round.  More cayenne pepper, or some other seasoning, would be great, maybe in the actual coating and not just on the chicken.  Maybe some Parmesan cheese or fresh herbs mixed in with the oatmeal.  That and me actually cooking, not just following the recipe minute for minute like a dummy.  I think it deserves a spot in my big green cookbook, just with a little post-it note to remind me of lessons learned. 

My little side salad was made from some ripe tomatoes that have been sitting in my fridge all red and pretty since I bought them last week at the grocery store where they seduced me, sitting all red and pretty.  I added the left over scallions I had and mixed them both up with some salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.  Very simple, and probably my favorite thing on my plate tonight.  But just wait until I give this chicken a proper second go round.

Oatmeal Crusted Chicken
adapted from Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2011 Edition

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. buttermilk
1 large egg
salt
cayenne pepper
2/3 c. flour
1/2 c. oatmeal (ground oats preferred)


Combine buttermilk and egg and whisk well.  Place chicken in mixture.  Marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours or so.


Preheat oven to 425.  Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.  Sprinkle breasts on each side well with salt and cayenne pepper.  


Combine flour and oatmeal.  Dredge chicken in mixture.


Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in large overproof skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken and saute for 3-4 minutes until coating is golden.  Flip over and put skillet in oven.  Bake at 425  for 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Tandoori-Spiced Chicken

Yesterday was Tandoori-Spiced Chicken.  Today, and above, is left over Tandoori-Spiced chicken.  With one bite taken out of it, because I always forget that I'm supposed to take pictures of my food before I eat it.  I also forget I'm supposed to take pictures of the food while I'm preparing it...  this food blogging thing is hard.

Tandoori chicken has its roots in Indian cuisine.  It is named after the oven in which the chicken is cooked, a tandoor, and is usually orange in color.  A quick look at my pictures will show that I didn't quite get there.  The marinade was a pleasing light yellow in color, like the yolk part of good deviled eggs.  Which I thought was pretty and yummy-looking, until I realized that Tandoori chicken is supposed to be orange.  Oops?  The color derives from the turmeric and cayenne pepper I would assume and the lack of color easily translated into a lack of spice.  Needless to say, this is an Indian chicken played way down in attempts to be easier on our palettes.  To which I say "phooey", give me something with some kick.  For all who try this recipe, I boldly suggest... give the chicken a little more turmeric and cayenne pepper loving.

This recipe proved to be an adventure from start to finish.  First, you marinate the chicken.  This takes two hours, so don't do what I normally do and forget that this recipe will take an additional two hours to make.  The marinade is mostly Greek yogurt (Yum!) and spices.  Which they suggest you throw in a zip-loc bag.  This becomes difficult when you start out with the Greek yogurt.  This becomes messy.  And difficult to mix.  Then you have to grate an onion.  Does any one have an idea how to grate an onion, because it is a skill that completely escapes me.  I tried my micro-planer (one of my utmost favorite kitchen utensils EVER).  No dice, but lots of juice.  Then I tried the box grater Ben got me for Christmas last year, little less juice, little more flesh, but still a big mess.  I eventually got the 1 tablespoon I needed, but it took some effort and nearly a quarter of an onion.  Then, once everything else was in the bag,I tried to start mixing.  That pretty yellow color I was talking about earlier took at least 7 minutes to achieve.  This is too long to mix something in a plastic bag.

The next step, after the marinating, is broiling on a broiling pan.  And then I remembered, I don't have a broiling pan.  I then figured that since chicken is a lot fatter than fish, it could possible cause a problem under the broiler, so my normal solution wouldn't work.  Shit.  And then I remembered, I am an engineer!  Things like this don't stop me, because I am an engineer!  And with that pep talk still ringing in the air, I made my own broiler pan.  Not quite a tandoor oven, but you make due with what you got.

I broiled the chicken 7 minutes.  I flipped it and broiled again 8 minutes.  It came out a little dry but a pretty yellow.  It needs sauce and probably a little less time under the broiler.  And LOTS more spice.  And a fantastic side.  Like, may I suggest broccoli sauteed up with some left over wheat spaghetti, Korean barbeque sauce and some crushed red pepper flakes?  Now that deserves a post all to itself... 

Tandoori-Spiced Chicken

Adapted from Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2010

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. grated onion
1 Tbsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. salt
Cooking spray


Combine first 8 ingredients in a heavy-duty zip-loc plastic bag (or maybe mix first in a bowl and transfer!!)  Add chicken and seal.  Marinate in refridgerator for 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Place a small roasting pan in oven and preheat broiler to high.  Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and place on preheated pan, coated with cooking spray.  Broil in lower third of oven for 15 minutes, or until done.  Turn after 7 minutes.

Chicken with Cherry Tomato Sauce

Today I finally dived into my Cooking Light magazines and came out making a recipe.  This wasn't the one I had originally wanted to make tonight and to be honest, it wasn't even one I had post-it noted to try.  Coconut Chicken Fingers was the one I had been searching for.  But since I am still playing catch-up with my fridge and the coconut recipe would have required a special trip to the Publix store down the street for some buttermilk, it was a no-go.  I flipped a couple of pages backwards in my Cooking Light  January/February edition and found this one instead.  I had all the ingredients on hand and BONUS... it would use some of the cherry tomatoes that had been sitting in my fridge for awhile. 

After yesterday's experiments and the thought that maybe I'm not always as intuitive about cooking as I like to think I am, I decided to stick to the recipe, even if I wanted to change it here and there.  It was less than half way through the recipe that I wondered if that was a mistake.  At about the half way point, I started to worry that I was going to have to write about how sometimes it isn't safer to stick to a pre-printed recipe.  But then, magically, the tomatoes started bursting and releasing their pretty liquid and the garlic really became fragrant and my worry faded.  I made a mental note to remind myself that cooking should really lessen my worry, not add to it.  So reminder: cook more, worry less.

It's not a very elegant dinner, and my poor, old digital camera does even less to capture how it looked.  The hardest part was pounding the chicken, a cooking method I still don't quite understand, but that could just be a result of me probably not doing it right.  Making it again, I would likely season the chicken with more than just salt and pepper (some basil or oregano probably) but that's about it.  Unless I was going to add some fresh oregano or basil to the sauce, then I would do that instead.  Half way through, I topped it with some Parmesan cheese.  It seemed natural, tomatoes, chicken, Parmesan chess.  That was also the time I realized I should take a picture of it... hence the mostly eaten chicken breast.  Oh, and be careful when the tomatoes start popping.  A few will more than likely decide they want to pop and squirt your tummy and/or forearm with their pretty, yet very hot, liquid.  This hurts and should be avoided.

All in all, the recipe was really simple, pretty light and yummy, and nothing special.  So it made a very good Tuesday, eating at 7:30 after 10 hours of work, kind of meal.  I would say it's earned a spot in my big green cookbook.  The poultry section is a little skimpy...


Chicken with Cherry Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light, January/February ed. 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to season
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 pt. cherry tomatoes
1/3 c. low-sodium chicken broth

Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap.  Pound each breast until it is 1/2 inch thick.  Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper (and whatever else you choose!)

Heat a large skilled over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil.  Add chicken and saute for 3 minutes on each side until cooked thoroughly.  Remove chicken from pan.

Add chopped garlic to pan (with a bit more oil if necessary)  Saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add cherry tomatoes and chicken broth.  Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have popped and sauce has thickened slightly.  Pour over chicken.