Chicken and Rice X2

The "silence is golden" announcement always stands out to me when I go to the movies. I cringe at the representation of all of the annoying ways we can distract one another from the film. As technology advances, there is an increasing number of ways people can interrupt the movie. From ringtones to glowing touchscreens, crying babies to squealing preteens, the possibilities are endless.

 
It makes me wonder why there are fewer and fewer drive-in theaters in the world. How could people not prefer enjoying films in the privacy of their own cars; where they can control the volume of the film and the people around them? Not only that, but drive-ins almost always offer double features. Double features are always a bonus.

Today's post is also a double feature. For week 33 of the cooking challenge, challengers were asked to "turn something boring into something great." With two packs of chicken thighs stowed away, I decided to turn chicken and rice into two very different dinners.

First up:  
Arroz con Pollo
Chicken and Rice in Español

Ingredients
3 to 4 lbs chicken parts (boneless/skinless thighs), seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 oz. smoked ham, diced
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon loosely packed saffron threads
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup pimento-stuffed green (queen) olives, cut in half

Directions
Pour the two tablespoons of vegetable oil into a large heavy pan and set the heat to medium-high. When the oil is heated and shimmery, add the chicken pieces in a single layer and brown well on both sides, (about 5 minutes per side). I cooked mine in two batches, set aside pieces when browned.

Scale down the heat to medium-low and add the chopped onions, diced bell pepper, and diced ham.

Stir every now and then, and cook until the onions become tender, (about 8 minutes). Add the cups of white rice and combine well. Stir rice around, and cook for about a minute before adding the minced garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir around and cook for another minute. 

When the seasoning is well dispersed, add the 3 cups of chicken stock, dried oregano and saffron threads. Set heat up to high and bring mixture to a boil. Stir mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to unstick any browned bits. Nestle chicken pieces into the rice and pour in all of the juices. Cover pan with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

Stir in the peas and olive halves. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the rice is tender. If cooking with a very large pot, make sure to distribute the heat well among the bottom of your pan in order to cook the rice evenly. Let rice sit, with the lid on, for at least 15 uninterrupted minutes before serving. Enjoy alone, or with a side salad.

Chicken and Rice #2:
Chicken Cacciatore
with Zucchini Rice Gratin

Ingredients
3 to 4 lbs chicken parts, (boneless/skinless thighs), seasoned with salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice 
3/4 cup chicken stock
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

Directions
Heat olive oil over medium-high in a large, heavy skillet. When the oil is shimmery and fragrant, add the seasoned chicken pieces, (in small batches), arranged in a single layer. Brown chicken on all sides, (about 5 minutes per side), and set aside on a plate when done.

Lower to medium heat and add the chopped onions, bay leaf, dried rosemary and sage. Stir frequently and cook until the onions are golden brown, (about 5 minutes). Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Place chicken pieces back in skillet and add the white wine.

Cook mixture over medium-high heat, turning the chicken and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When the wine is almost all evaporated, add the diced tomatoes, and chicken stock. Turn heat down to low, simmer gently for 25 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, covered, for 10 more minutes. Add additional seasoning to taste.

Serve with Zucchini Rice Gratin by Smitten Kitchen.

Butter Sage Chicken

 

I love the smell of melted butter. It has such great associations, too. Melted butter on my mom's fresh flour tortillas, melted butter over pancakes, or on the side of a steaming plate of clams and lobster. The smell of melted butter means something great is about to be had.

I was having dinner a feast at a friend's place the other night, and she made some amazing dishes. Our main course being Butter Sage Chicken. Beautifully cooked, with lots of butter sage sauce; the smell of butter was intoxicating. Biting in to it, though, was almost like an entirely different dish. My taste buds were punched in their hypothetical faces by a very prominent lemon flavor. It was delicious. 

So, less than a week later, I find myself in the kitchen, with a pack of chicken breasts, ready to punch my taste buds again.

Lining up the ingredients. Each chicken piece gets a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and coated in flour.

Chicken pieces go into a pre-heated pan. Cooked on each side for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Cooked chicken is set aside to make way for the butter sage sauce.

Butter and herbs first, followed by onions, followed by lemon juice. Bring chicken back into the pan and coat the pieces in the sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Butter Sage Chicken
adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half width-wise
sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 medium-sized sweet onion, diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 a medium-large lemon)

Directions
Season each of the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat a large skillet, set at medium high, and prepare with cooking spray.

In a shallow dish/bowl, measure out the 1/2 cup of flour. One at a time, coat both sides of the chicken pieces.

Without overcrowding the pan, add a few pieces of chicken and cook for about 6 minutes per side, or until cooked through. When fully cooked, remove chicken from pan and rest on a plate. You may have to cook the chicken in batches.

When all the chicken is cooked, add the butter, sage, and thyme to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the herbs are fragrant and just as the butter begins to browns. Add diced onions and cook until edges brown. Combine with lemon juice and reincorporate the chicken pieces to bring them back to desired temperature.

Remove from heat, and serve with your favorite sides.

Tandoori-Spiced Chicken Thighs

I never tried Indian food until after I started college. When I finally had it, I felt wronged. "Culinarily"-deprived. (I can't find a better phrase for it, so why not make one up?). I could not believe all of the delicious foods I had been missing out on. For years. Years! Naan, alone, was enough to make me feel like I never needed another cuisine.

A few more years of dining hall meal plans, and then I was out on my own. Off to fend for myself in the kitchen. It took me so long before I approached Indian recipes.

B's sister gifted him/us a cookbook, and as excited as I was, the ingredient lists felt overwhelming. Then, one fortunately lazy afternoon, I took a peek at B's mom's Gourmet Cookbook and fell upon a recipe for Tandoori Chicken Thighs. I immediately swooned for the bright red, bone-in, chicken that arrives at your table sizzling on a skillet.

It had to be done.

A couple of surprises when making this recipe. As you can see, the chicken isn't bright red! Turns out this recipe lacks the red spices (cayenne, kashmiri red chili powder, etc) that result in the typical red hue. I assume that Gourmet was looking for a more mild-spiced version to appeal to a variety of pallets. (They forgot about folks like me, the spicier the better!)

The next surprise, the spices were easy to come by. Unlike cardamom, which I can NEVER find. But that's a different story.


Tandoori Spiced Chicken Thighs
adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
Serves 5-6

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
6 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions
 In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt with the lemon juice and all of the spices.

Trim the excess fat off the chicken thighs and stir into the yogurt mixture, making sure to coat all sides of the chicken.

Put chicken and spiced-yogurt mixture into a large heavy-duty sized plastic seal-able bag. Close bag tightly and ensure that chicken is well-coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, and up to 12 hours. (Mine marinated overnight.)

Preheat broiler, set on high. Line the broiler pan with foil and spread out chicken in a single layer. Broil chicken, about 5-6 inches from the flame, until they are cooked through (about 16 - 20 minutes). Make sure to turn once during the cook time. (Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to cook the chicken thighs in multiple batches)

Serve with basmati rice, and/or your other favorite sides, and enjoy!

A super special thanks to Lindy at Whiskful Thinking for thinking of me! I love how much you've committed to your baking! I hope we cross paths again, soon!

Back from Vacationland!

The problem with Vacationland is that it makes Normal-land seem so... normal. My summer break is half over and I've loved every minute.

I went to the Vacationland where the churches are domed, and the statues are perfect. There was not a shortage of walled cities overlooking rolling hills. These were some of the most beautiful places I've ever set my eyes on, and I am already aching to go back.

As soon as I returned, I spent a week at a fantastic classroom management workshop. It felt like Vacationland for teachers, and it was fabulous.

Then, I got the chance to spend a week in the ACTUAL Vacationland, where you spend all day swimming and where boyfriends set the table. (What? Candles?!)

Obviously, when you're at Vacationland, you have to have lobster. And when we have lobsters, we do it right. Paired with a big bowl of steamers, and a small bowl of melted butter. This is what I look forward to throughout the entire school-year.

Steamers and Lobsters. It's how to do summer right.

Cranberry Chicken Salad

When I was younger, I had a passion for mayonnaise. I used to eat mayonnaise sandwiches as a child. I just enjoyed the taste, and especially on warm toasted bread. I think my mom's chicken salad sandwiched had a similar effect, except this time there was actual food between my bread.

So even though my mom made me shred chicken, and even though she put mixed vegetables in her chicken salad, (gah, Lima beans!!), she made up for it by adding rotini, or other short spiral pasta. Mmm.... pasta sandwiches, I had greatly advanced from my mayo days.
 

These days, I'm not putting pasta in my chicken salad. I don't put pasta between bread and call it a sandwich, either. Sometimes, I add fruit to my chicken salad instead of veggies.

Call me crazy, but sometimes change can be refreshing, delicious, and when walnuts are involved, there's a nice crunch too. Salad or sandwich, this one's a winner.

Cranberry Chicken Salad
adapted slightly from AllRecipes

Ingredients
2 cooked chicken breast halves, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 green apple, diced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Shred the 2 chicken breasts into a medium mixing bowl. Add the 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and the 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts. Cut 1/2 of a tart green apple into small square pieces and add to the chicken mixture, stir well.

Measure out the 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and add to the chicken, stirring together so that the mixture gets coated evenly. Crack fresh pepper and salt onto the chicken. Add the 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill. Stir until well combined.

Serve over a bed of shredded lettuce, or enjoy in a sandwich.

Pancakes

It's finally summer break.

No more waking up at 6 am.

No more commute.

...and more time for things that really matter.

Sleep.

Breakfast.

Pancakes.

Fluffy Pancakes
adapted from Kris

Ingredients
3 oz. heavy cream
3 oz. water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup AP flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 3 ounces of heavy cream with the 3 ounces of water and the 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Let sit for at least 5 minutes to thicken and sour.

In a medium mixing bowl sift together the cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, the teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.Whisk ingredients together.

Beat the egg into the cream mixture. Add the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and stir together. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine well.

Heat large skillet and coat with cooking spray. Heap large tablespoonfuls of pancake batter onto the hot skillet. Cook until the surface bubbles, flip and cook until both sides are browned.

Chicken and Eggs

Chicken for dinner, eggs for dinner, it's all fair game.






Curry Spiced Chicken
Was my lazy take on Gourmet's Tandoori Chicken. I took thai red curry paste and combined it with Greek yogurt to create a marinade for the chicken thighs. After marinating for 2 hours, I broiled the chicken for about 20 min.

 


Chicken Tacos
I poached the chicken similarly to my enchiladas. Assembled the tacos by layering shredded pepper jack, chicken, lettuce and diced tomato inside the shells.








Fry your taco shells at home for crispy perfection.

Eggs Benedict

Made Alton's Hollandaise Sauce. Definitely worth the work!
Invite friends over, serve brunch as dinner, have a great time.

 
And, if you need dessert, you can try these Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys from Smitten Kitchen

Mr. Crunch

It seems as though sandwiches are always getting ragged on. Like when you turn down every restaurant in Atlantic City, even though your BFF is starving, because you "don't feel like a sandwich". (Sorry, Shu.)

Or, as I was shopping for this recipe, the boyfriend (who never complains about sandwiches), turns and says to me, ever so disdainfully, "...you mean, we're just having a ham and cheese sandwich for dinner?" 

Just a ham and cheese sandwich?  

JUST a ham and cheese sandwich? 

Oh, no.  

No, no, no. 

This is much better than a ham and cheese sandwich. This is a roll-your-eyes-into-the-back-of-your-head-amazeballs-sandwich. Otherwise known as a Croque Monsieur, (a crunchy Mister).

Croque-Monsieur

serves 4

adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

pinch of nutmeg

1 small bay leaf (or half of a large bay leaf)

salt and pepper

8 slices sourdough bread

8 oz. thin sliced Black Forest ham

8 oz grated Gouda, divided

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

In a small sauce pan, melt the two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Whisk together with two tablespoons of flour, cook the flour for about a minute. Slowly whisk in the cup of heavy cream. Add the pinch of nutmeg and the bay leaf. Turn up the heat to about medium-high in attempt to reach a boil. Whisk the mixture often, for about 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens. It's going to get really thick, and it will seem like it happens all of a sudden. Don't freak out. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Preheat broiler. On a foil-covered baking sheet, place 4 slices of bread. Distribute the ham equally among the 4 sandwiches-to-be. Top the ham with 6 oz of grated Gouda, saving the remaining 2 oz for later. Top each sandwich half with the remaining four slices of bread. 

Top the 4 sandwiches with half of the melted butter. Cook, buttered-side-down, on a skillet until golden brown, (about 2 minutes). Spread the remaining melted butter on the tops of the sandwiches before cooking the remaining side. When both sides are golden brown, return the sandwiches to the baking sheet. Top the sandwiches with the remaining 2 oz. of grated Gouda, and large spoonfuls of the cream sauce. Broil until the cheese/sauce begins to brown, about 3 minutes.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

I've previously shared my love/fascination/appreciation for rice kripsy treats. At the rate we're going, they could be their very own food trend. Move over cupcakes, cake pops, and mini pies, rice krispy treats are going to rule this town.

Think about it! You have either plain, chocolate, or fruity rice cereal; the marshmallows come in all sorts of colors/flavors! Then, there's all the other flavors you could mix in: chocolate, peanut butter, mint, dulce de leche...

The krispy revolution has the potential to be amazing.

Here's one step closer to taking over the dessert world with crispy rice cereal treats, and all you need is 5 ingredients!

Yes, crispy...with a C. When this revolution starts picking up speed, we want to avoid lawsuits.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

10 oz. package of mini marshmallows

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

Prepare a 9x13 glass pan with nonstick spray.

In a large pot, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. When the butter is almost completely melted, add the 10 oz of marshmallows. Using a spatula, coat marshmallows with hot melted butter to help speed the melting process. Occasionally remove pot from heat to avoid burning the bottom.

When the marshmallows begin to lose their shape, add the 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter. Continue to heat, stir, and remove from heat as necessary. Marshmallow mixture will begin to look sticky and stringy. Continue stirring together until just combined.

Remove pot from heat completely, stir in the 6 cups of cereal. Add the cup of butterscotch chips, and combine well. Scrape contents of the pot into the prepared pan. Use your spatula to flatten cereal mixture into desired shape.

Cool completely before cutting.