Garlic Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 tablespoons sriracha hot sauce
2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 cup water or chicken stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons stir fry oil or veg oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1.5 pounds chicken cut into pieces

2 heads of broccoli cut into large florets

steam broccoli until bright green but still very crisp

heat  wok to hot and stir fry the chicken in batches small enough so that the chicken does not release so much water that it will not brown.  Cook long enough to just get the chicken cooked.  Once all the chicken put the broccoli chicken and sauce in the wok and stir fry to coat and  heat the chicken and broccoli and the sauce to thicken.

Serve with rice.

Photo will come the next time I make this

White Lasagna

I saw a photo, while surfing the web, of what was titled white lasagna.  I thought it looked good; however, there was not a recipe.  I studied the photo and decided to try to make it like this...

White Sauce

2 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
1.5 - 2 cups milk
2  tablespoons cornstarch mixed with water to make slurry
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan melt the butter, then add the flour and cook a little to get the raw flour taste out.  add the wine, stir a little, add the milk.  cook, stirring contently, until it is bubbling a little, if the sauce is too thin add the slurry and continue to cook for a few minutes.  turn off the heat and add the rest of the sauce ingredients, mixing them all in well.

Other layers:

-left over chicken pulled apart or cut into cubes.  I had 2 left over baked chicken breast so I cut that into cubes.
-spinach, fresh or frozen.  if fresh cook down and ring out water or if frozen, thaw and ring out water.
-cooked lasagna noodles, follow box directions
-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

layer in a casserole a small amount of sauce then lasagna noodles, 1/3rd of the chicken, 1/3rd of the spinach and 1/4th of the sauce.  repeat layers ending with a layer of the sauce on top and top with mozzarella.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Poule au Pot - Boiled Chicken

The other day my son and I were looking trough Tastespotting and he saw some boiled chicken and asked if I had ever had it.  I told him yes but it has been years since I have made it.  He then asked if I would make it and I thought this meal was a great idea.  I had forgotten how easy this is to make and how yummy it is.  Thank you  DS for the suggestion!

~ Boiled Chicken ~

1 Whole Chicken
1 Onion cut into quarters through the root with skin removed
a bunch of peeled, whole carrots
a few potatoes.  I cut them into quarters because they were kind of big.
2 large bay leaves
a tablespoon of peppercorns
salt and/or soup seasoning with salt
cold water

Wash the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken to a large pot along with all the other ingredients and cover all with cold water.   Place on stove over low medium heat and cook for about an hour or until chicken is 170 degrees.  while the chicken is cooking skim off any or the foam that floats to the top of the water.  Once chicken is cooked remove it from the pot leaving the potatoes and carrots in the pot because they most likely will not be done yet.  Turn the heat up to medium high and cook the potatoes and carrots until they are tender, about 10 minutes.  While the potatoes and carrots are cooking remove the skin from the chicken and get it ready to serve.

I love meals that only require dumping everything in a pot and letting it simmer for a while so you can go do other things like study.

Puttanesca - Inspired by Klaus, Violet and Sunny Bouldalare.

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon pepper flacks

1 cup katamala olives

1/2 jar capers (about 1/4 cup)

1 28 oz can chunk tomatoes

1 package whole grain angle hair spaghetti

1 teaspoon oregano

a large bunch fresh basil, cut into ribbons

salt and pepper

**Note: if not careful the dish can get over powered with salt so be sure to rinse the oloves before cutting them up and the capers.

Chicken and Mushroom Cream Pasta

This is a dish I made with what I needed to use up in the fridge. Fresh peas, crimini mushrooms and chicken combined with garlic cream sauce and whole grain pasta make a nicely rounded meal.

This dish can easily be made into a vegetarian meal by simply omitting the chicken

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks


• 1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced


• 1to 2 tablespoons butter


• garlic, minced


• 1 cup fresh peas


• 1 cup cream


• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 box whole grain pasta


• 1 cup pasta water, reserved from cooking the pasta.


• fresh herbs such as basil


• pepper


• salt

Cook the pasta following the directions on the box. While the pasta is cooking brown the chicken in a pan with a little butter. Once chicken is brown place the chicken pieces in a bowl and set aside. In the same pan add the rest of the butter and the mushrooms, cook the mushrooms until soft and a little browned.

Place the chicken back in the pan with the mushrooms and garlic. stir the garlic through the dish and then add the peas and pasta. stir a little and then add the cream and if needed a little pasta water and 1/3 cup of the cheese.

Stir until all is well mixed and bubbly. turn off the heat and add the herbs. season with salt and pepper if needed. top with the rest of the cheese

Sundried Tomato and Basil Chicken Roll

I just went through a group of pictures I took and noticed that I have not been taking very pretty pictures of my food lately and I will have to start focusing on that here now that I am adjusted to being back home. Until the new photographer is discovered in myself I will have to post some beauties like the one above.

I am sure you can tell by the photo on this meal I got distracted and over steamed the broccoli which is why it has this olive green color and not the bright spring green color of perfect tender crisp broccoli, but that is how life is now isn't it.

This is one of the meals I had the first week on my weight watching diet. it is sun dried basil stuffed chicken breast with half a baked potato and broccoli. I will have to go back and look at how many zucchinis this added up to but it was not too many and it was a filling meal.

thin chicken breast at about 4 oz piece per person.
1 to 2 sun dried tomatoes per person, chopped
3 or 4 large basil leaves per person, cut into ribbons
a little cheese, about an ounce per person
salt and pepper

roll all inside the chicken sear all sides in hot pan and roast in 400F oven for 15 minutes or until done.

meal is 7 points with the overcooked broccoil

General Tso's Chicken

My husband loved General Tso's Chicken. After about a year in Mexico he was really missing General Tso's chicken, we were just unable to find it in Mexico City so I thought it would be nice to make it for him. One of the issue with making it for him was I had never eaten General Tso's Chicken so I really had no idea what I was doing or what it should end up tasting like. I had however seen it on his plate many times and I had smelled it before so I set out to read up on the dish and what people (including my husband) said it tasted like and what the texture of the sauce was like and reading many online recipes on it I moved forward with the following.
3 eggs
1/2 cup cornstarch

minced garlic
minced ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
6 to 10 hot peppers
1 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 to 2 pounds chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
oil for frying

heat the oil in a pan for deep frying. mix the 1/2 cup corn start with 3 beaten eggs. dip the chicken pieces into the batter and deep fry in batches, drain on a paper towel lined plate.

mix together the soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, honey, brown sugar, and rice vinegar.

add 1 tablespoon peanut oil with sesame oil to a hot wok with the chili peppers then add the garlic and ginger, mix into the oil then add the sauce. Cook the sauce until it is thick, then, and this is the tricky part you can add the chicken to the sauce and stir to coat or put the thickened sauce into dipping bowls and dip the chicken into it, that way the breading on the chicken does not get soggy.

My Hubby said that I got the sauce spot on for flavor but the chicken breading did get soggy.

Chicken in a Cream Wine Sauce over Fettuccine

Chicken breasts, thin. get scallopini at the store or cut it yourself.
flour
salt
pepper
oil
mixed mushrooms (portobello , oyster, and button)
good white wine
cream
1 clove minced garlic
parsley
fettuccine

clean and slice mushrooms, set aside. mix a good amount of salt and pepper in a cup of flour. Set a large pan of water to boil for pasta.

Once water is boiling add pasta.

Heat a frying pan (I use cast iron) with vegetable oil. Dredge the chicken in the flour and when oil is hot (looks like it ripples in the pan) lay the floured chicken in the oil. As you lay the chicken in the oik place the chicken in the edge of the pan closest to you and and down away from you to avoid getting burned.

Brown the chicken on both sides (being sure it is done through but not over cooked). set the cooked chicken on a plate and set aside.

Drain the oil from the pan but do not clean off all the drippings in the pan. add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan and the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms the way you like them, personally I like them browned. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add them to the chicken.

pour 1 cup wine in the hot pan and let it cook down while scrapping the bits up into the sauce. If sauce is looking too dry add more wine or water but you have to be sure the wine cooks a little to get the alcohol taste out. add the cream a half cup to a cut, you be the judge.

Once sauce comes up to just a boil add in the mushrooms and chicken to coat and heat up, finish with chopped parsley and serve with fettuccine.

Chicken Flautas

These were one of the first big hits with the kids after we moved to Mexico. Flautas are very common here and they are also fairly easy to make, that is if you pick up the fresh corn tortillas from the store that is. Trust me 8 pesos for 50 warm tortillas is a steal.You will need:
1 chicken breast
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
cumin
salt and pepper
corn tortillas
vegetable oil
sour cream
salsa Verde
lettuce
Chilies (optional)

To make the chicken filling:
in a medium sauce pan add chicken and enough water to cover and boil chicken until done, about 25 minutes. lay chicken on a cutting board and shred into little pieces with to forks. Set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat saute onions in 1 tablespoon oil until translucent. add in reserved chicken and diced tomatoes and cook until tomatoes break down, add in the cumin salt and pepper. If you like spicy or your not feeding little ones feel free to add some chillies or jalapenos the chicken mixture. Set mixture aside.

in a large deep skillet fill half way with oil and heat.

The Tortilla:
To be able to roll the tortillas they need to be heated or they will break and crack on you. I heat a pan of water and put my spatter cover over the pan and set the tortillas on that so they heat enough to roll but no too hot or too wet. I have read that you can put the tortillas in the hot oil for a few minutes to heat them but I feel that why add another step of oil to the meal and I would rather not mess with hot oil that much with kids around. I mean I am already deep frying them as it is.

Wrap and Fry:
take a warm tortilla and add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in and wrap as tight as you can into a cigar. place the cigar in the hot oil seam side down so that it will not unroll. when that side is done I turn with a pair of tongs and cook the other side. I give each side 2 to 3 minutes or until they are nice a crisp and light brown.

once the flautas are done they can be covered in either salsa verde and lettuce, sour cream and lettuce or just go crazy and cover with all of it, that is how I like it.

these are now one of the foods that we have to make about once a week and I make a large batch of filling and freeze it so that it is super quick and easy to make.

Baked Chicken with Chili BBQ Sauce...This one is for you Jen

Homemade Chili Sauce

10-15 Tomatoes (I lean toward 15), skinned* and chopped
4 Large Onions, chopped
3 green bell peppers, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2.5 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground clove (be very careful too much clove and it takes over)
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee
salt and pepper


Cut up and mix all together and boil slowly until it thickens (3 1/2 hours). Put in hot jars and seal.

*to skin tomatoes cut an X just through the skin at the bottom of the tomato. Put the tomato in boiling water for 30 second, then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking and cool enough to handle (to tell the truth I did not do this) and peel the skin, it comes right off.

For the Chicken...

1 whole chicken parted into peices (about 3 pounds)
1 tablespoon chili powder
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cups Chili sauce*
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange chicken peices in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Rub all over with chili powder; season generously with salt and pepper. Bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.


Meanwhile, make barbecue sauce: In a small saucepan, whisk together chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, and mustard. Bring to a boil; reduce to medium-low, and simmer 2 minutes. Divide sauce between two bowls: one for brushing and basting, and one for dipping. If sauce is a little too chunky feel free to blend with a stick blender.


Remove chicken from oven, and brush generously with sauce. Return to oven; bake, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Brush chicken with any leftover pan juices. Serve with reserved dipping sauce.

*my homemade chili sauce is very chunky so for this batch of bbq Chicken I blended the chili sauce so the end result is a smooth BBQ sauce to cover the chicken; however, it is good chunky too.

Poule Au Pot

1 - 3 to 4 pound whole free range chicken

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk pf celery, chopped

1 clove garlic

handful of parsley

2 bay leaves

peppercorns

salt
pepper

1 cup white wine

carrots

potatoes

leeks

turnips

parsnips

season the chicken with salt and pepper. Wrap the chicken in muslin* and place in a large soup pot. place the chopped carrots, celery, onion, garlic and herbs on another piece of muslin and place that in the pot. Add the wind and cover the chicken with cold water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 40 minutes. add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another 25 minutes, longer for vegetable if they are not tender yet. Remove the chicken from the pot and let it drain on a rack over a serving dish to save the liquid. Remove the muslin and skin from the chicken and place on a serving platter with the vegetables. Save the broth and left over chicken and vegetables for soup the next day.

* Maybe you already know this but I just found out a few months ago that you can buy muslin dirt cheap at Jo-Anns. They keep it behind the cutting counter so you have to ask for it but they so have it. So if you ar in need of a supply of muslin for your kitchen they have it here.

Buffalo Basted Wings on the Barbi

Wing Marinade:

2 dozen Chicken wings

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

1/2 t Cayenne

1 T. paprika

Buffalo Basting Sauce:

1/2 stick Margarine

2 T. Honey

3 shakes Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup Franks RedHot

2 T brown sugar

1 to 3 shakes Louisiana Hot Sauce (optional)

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

To prepare the wings cut them at the joints. The tips can be place in the freezer for stock later on.

Start the charcoal on the grill in a chimney coal starter so that it will be ready when you are.

In a bowl place the meaty portions of the wings with the marinade of olive oil, vinegar, and seasoning and let marinade for about 30 minutes.

In a sauce pan combine the sauce ingredients and heat until all is melted and combined.

Pour the coals under 1/2 of the grill grates and close lid so that it heats up nice and hot.

Place the wings around the coals on the grill so that they will cook without burning. Once the first side of the wings start to brown up (about 5 minutes) turn them and spoon some of the sauce over each of the wings. Cook for about 5 minutes and turn again and spoon more buffalo sauce over each wing and cook for another 5 minutes. At this time if some of the wings are still a little light in color start moving them over the heat of the coals until they get nicely browned. Be sure to watch at this point because with the sugar int he sauce the wings can burn easily, this should take another 5 minutes or more. Spoon a little more sauce over each wing as you remove them from the grill.