Poultry | onedadskitchen

With Michelle’s birthday this weekend, I have a lot of planning, prep work and regular work to do so I’ll be posting some great links for Thanksgiving ideas from some popular websites, such as this one:

It’s never too early to start planning out your Thanksgiving menu and Saveur magazine has you covered with lots of great recipes, tips, menus you can make, techniques to help you and videos to watch to help you with everything from gravy to carving the turkey to leftovers. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on November 7, 2014 in Cooking, Cooking Tips, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Gravy, Holidays, Leftovers, Potatoes, Poultry, Salad, Side Dishes, Turkey, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: Saveur, Saveur magazine, Saveur Thanksgiving recipes and tips, techniques to help with Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving ideas, Thanksgiving menu, Thanksgiving menus, Thanksgiving tips and recipes

Savor the Simple Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

04 Nov

We haven’t really had a lot of cool weather here in my part of New York just yet, though it is starting to get there with some nights down in the thirties. in any event, once the fall rolls around I start to think more about soups, stews and slow cooker meals because they just make you feel warm, make the house smell great and are easy to put together for a one pot meal. I decided I wanted to make something really easy and have a great soup and give some chicken and wild rice soup a try. This is a great options when you have some leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken and want to do something different with it. There are lots of different types of wild rice that you can get, so you could always get your favorite quick version or get a regular version that takes longer to cook but seems to have better flavor, in my opinion. In either case, this turns out a very tasty soup for the whole family. I used this recipe from Food.com to make my soup when I did it, but the soup as a whole is pretty easy to put together on its own.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup peeled and sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup wild rice, uncooked

1/3 cup sliced leeks (white and light green parts) or green onions

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup half-and-half or milk

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 carrot peeled into thin strips, for garnish (optional)

In a saucepan set over medium heat, mix the chicken broth, sliced carrot, sliced celery, uncooked wild rice, leek or green onions, dried thyme and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover the saucepan and allow the mixture to simmer until the rice is tender, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in the flour and then stir in the half-and-half or milk. Cook and stir the mixture until it is bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the half-and-half mixture to the rice mixture, stirring constantly to thicken the soup. Stir in the chicken and the dry sherry. Heat the soup and until the chicken is heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Divide the soup evenly among soup bowls and if desired, garnish the soup with the carrot peel strips.

This turned out to be a really great soup without a lot of work needed for it. You get great flavor from the wild rice and the stock thickens up nicely when you add the roux to it to make things even better, and the touch of dry sherry at the end really tops things off nicely. I could see adding different vegetables to this if you like, such as some broccoli or sliced mushrooms or really anything that you favor. The soup was even better the next day for lunch and we all really enjoyed the meal. I made some buttermilk biscuits to go along with the soup, but you could make any bread, rolls, biscuits or even just have crackers or a sandwich alongside of it and you have a great meal.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on November 4, 2014 in Biscuits, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Rice, Soups & Stews

Tags: chicken and wild rice soup, chicken soup, Food.com, one pot meals, wild rice soup

Fall Soups and Stews – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR

01 Nov

Fall Soups and Stews – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR.

It is definitely that time of year when my attention (and perhaps yours) turns to warm, comforting meals like soups and stews. These make great tasting, nourishing meals that are perfect for you to make any time, like on the weekend to get ready to have for lunches or dinner during the week. Saveur Magazine has put together 60 soup and stew recipes so you can try just about anything that you like. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on November 1, 2014 in Beans, Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Leftovers, Lunch, One Pot Meals, Pantry, Pasta, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Produce, Rice, Seafood, Slow Cooker Meals, Soups & Stews, Turkey, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: 60 soup and stew recipes, 60 soup and stew recipes for fall, Fall soups and stews, Saveur 60 fall soups and stews, Saveur magazine, soup and stew recipes for fall, soup recipes, stew recipes

Eat and Enjoy Herbed Chicken with Zesty Potato Salad

28 Oct

I’ve been working pretty hard the last few days and I haven’t had much time to blog so I will try to get to it early today so I can get a recipe up. I have made a bunch of different things over the last few weeks that I hope to get up here, including some different chicken dishes that give you a little something different to do with a tasty and more inexpensive option for your meal. To me chicken thighs are the best part of the chicken and even more versatile than the famous boneless chicken breast. You get much more flavor from the thighs and you can buy them boneless and skinless if you choose, though you get even more flavor from the boned version and you can easily remove the skin and bones on your own if you life and chicken thighs are very affordable. Most of the time I get them for about 99 cents a pound so you can do really well with them. This particular recipe I tried, from Williams-Sonoma. is a simple herbed chicken thigh recipe that you can do in the slow cooker with a warm zesty potato salad as a nice side dish.

Herbed Chicken with Zesty Potato Salad

3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, smashed

2 fresh thyme sprigs

2 fresh oregano sprigs

3 bay leaves

1/3 cup white wine

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1/3 cup chicken broth

For the Zesty Potato Salad:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 shallot, minced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

20 small red potatoes

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

For the chicken, pat the chicken thighs dry and season them generously all over with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. When the oil is hot, working in batches to avoid crowding in the pan, add the chicken, skin side down, and sear until the chicken pieces are a golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Do not turn the chicken. Transfer the chicken to paper towels briefly to drain then transfer the chicken thighs to the slow cooker.

Add the onion, garlic, thyme and oregano and bay leaves to the same frying pan used for the chicken and saute everything over medium-high heat until the vegetables are just beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and the white wine vinegar and stir the pan to scrape up and browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken broth, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of black pepper, then pour the contents of the frying pan over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook in the low setting for 4 hours until the chicken is very tender.

About 30 minutes before the chicken is done, make the potato salad. In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, shallot, red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until it has emulsified. Set the dressing aside.

Quarter the red potatoes and place them in a large saucepan with salted water to cover. Bring the potatoes to a gentle boil over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl, drizzle the potatoes with about 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette and toss to coat the potatoes. Taste the potato salad and more of the remaining vinaigrette if desired. Let the potato salad cool slightly, then add the cherry tomatoes and oregano. Toss the salad to combine everything.

When the chicken is done, transfer the chicken to a plate and keep it warm. Remove and discard the bay leaves and the thyme and oregano sprigs. Let the braising liquid stand for a few minutes then skim off the fat with a large spoon. Divide the chicken thighs among warm individual plates and drizzle the chicken with some of the braising liquid. Mound the potato salad alongside the chicken and serve.

It is a very easy meal to put together thanks to the slow cooker and you end up with very tender chicken that has great flavor from the braising liquid. It pairs very nicely with the zesty potato salad, which has some nice zing from the mustard and red wine vinegar and the tomatoes add a nice touch to the salad. The chicken was even better the next day as a leftover for lunch when the flavors had a chance to meld even more.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 28, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Poultry, Salad, Slow Cooker Meals

Tags: chicken thighs, herbed chicken in the slow cooker, herbed chicken with zesty potato salad, potato salad, slow cooker herbed chicken, williams-sonoma, zesty potato salad

Rainy Days are Perfect for This Chicken, Carrot and Sweet Potato Stew

23 Oct

It’s been pretty rainy and chilly here in our part of New York this week, so much so that the heat actually kicked in and came on the other morning, letting me know that the colder weather is rapidly approaching. It means I spend the early morning hours wearing my sweater around the house while I type away about various topics for my writing, covering everything from dental offices and travel tips to Thailand vacation spots and video gaming. Work has been busy lately and since the weather is cooler it is the perfect time to break out the slow cooker and make some soups or stews. This seemed like the perfect time to make this recipe from Cooking.com for chicken, carrot and sweet potato stew, a nice, thick, hearty stew that was easy to put together and has some great flavors to it.

Chicken, Carrot and Sweet Potato Stew

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1-2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 cup white wine

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, minced garlic, tomato paste, white wine, thyme and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Stir the ingredients to combine everything well. Cover the slow cooker and cook the ingredients on low for 5 hours or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the bay leaves and put the stew into a large bowl or serve right from the crock of the slow cooker.

Believe it or not, that’s all there is to this recipe. It is very simple to put together and gives you a nice stew with a great tomato-based broth. I added in a couple of diced and peeled parsnips that I had on hand to get a little bit of extra flavor in there as well and I think you could pretty much add any fall vegetables that you really like, such as some diced butternut or acorn squash, to go along with the meal. You could always use chicken broth or water in place of the white wine if you did not want to use the wine and I think you could even substitute skinless, boneless chicken thighs for the breast meat if you prefer the dark meat or even use some stew beef instead of the chicken if that is what you prefer. Whatever you decide, it is a nice and simple mix that you can put in the slow cooker early in the day, set about your business and then have a great stew for dinner. I served this with some of the not quite whole grain baguette that I had made and it was perfect.

That’s all I have for today’s recipe. Check back next time for another new recipe and see what’s cooking. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, stay dry, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 23, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Slow Cooker Meals, Soups & Stews

Tags: chicken carrot and sweet potato stew, chicken stew recipe, Cooking.com, Cooking.com chicken stew, one pot meals, slow cooker, slow cooker chicken stew, Sweet Potato Stew

Take a Try at Turkey Meatloaf

16 Oct

I have been using a lot of ground turkey lately for different things. The price has been right for it at the supermarket or at BJ’s where I can buy large packages of it and try different things. I have used it before in chili, turkey burgers, meatballs and even on nachos but I realized that I hadn’t given a turkey meatloaf a try. I am something of a meatloaf nut and love different meatloaf recipes so I was happy to take a look and see what I c ould find for turkey meatloaf, but to be honest I wasn’t bowled over by any one recipe that I saw anywhere. I then decided I would just do it on my own and see how it would come as far as flavor. To me ground turkey is one of those meats that needs seasoning and moisture, so I ended up putting a few things together and came up with this particular recipe of my own.

Turkey Meatloaf

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (about 2 pieces of white bread, crusts removed)

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon tomato paste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and heat the oil until it is shimmering. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the shallot has softened and is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

In a large bowl, add the bread crumbs and the milk and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Add the cooled vegetables, the egg, the ground turkey, the Worcestershire sauce, the 1/4 cup of ketchup, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix the ingredients together by hand until they are just blended. Form the mixture into a loaf and place the loaf in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Mix the remaining ketchup and tomato paste together in a small bowl and spread over the top of the meatloaf to coat it well. Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into the meatloaf registers 170 degrees. Remove the meatloaf from the pan to a platter and allow it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

As is the case with any meatloaf, you can always add different ingredients that you like to give it some extra flavor. If you are going for something leaner, you could certainly add different vegetables, like grated carrots and onions. If you want a different flavor, try topping it with bacon or putting crumbled up cooked bacon into the meatloaf. You could also add a cup of mushrooms you have processed in the food processor to give the meatloaf another layer of flavor. There are a lot of things you can do, but this one was pretty basic and came out with really good flavor. We even made a little gravy out of some chicken stock and had it with the turkey and mashed potatoes. Of course, the turkey meatloaf is great for meatloaf sandwiches for lunch or dinner in the following days.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 16, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Turkey

Tags: ground turkey, meat loaf recipes, meatloaf, meatloaf recipes, turkey meat loaf, turkey meatloaf

Got Leftovers? Make This Chicken and Rice Casserole with Lemon and Parmesan

07 Oct

More often than not we have one meal a week that I just call Leftovers Night. The night is either a hodgepodge of different things that have been leftover from various meals re-heated separately or, if the ingredients go well together, some type of stir fry, hash or casserole for dinner. When we had some leftover vegetables and a rotisserie chicken in the fridge the other day, it seemed to be crying out to be made into some type of casserole and I had seen this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for a chicken and rice casserole recently and found this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

Chicken and Rice Casserole with Lemon and Parmesan

2 tablespoons butter

2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin

1 onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1/2 bunch asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves

25 Ritz crackers, crushed to coarse crumbs (about 1 cup) or crunchy bread crumbs

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat until the foaming subsides. Add the carrots and the onions and cook until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir until the rice is evenly coated. Add the water, chicken stock, heavy cream, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low, cover the skillet and cook, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is just tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Stir in the cooked chicken, the asparagus, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and the tarragon and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish and sprinkle the Ritz cracker crumbs over the top to coat the top of the casserole. Bake the casserole until the topping is browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the casserole to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe makes great use of all kinds of leftovers and comes together nicely to form a one pot dish filled with chicken, rice and vegetables. The chicken stock and heavy cream create a nice sauce that goes throughout the dish and you get a hint of the lemon and the cheese in each bite. I really liked using the Ritz crackers as topping as well and it gave some added buttery flavor and crunch to the dish. This would work well with any type of leftover chicken or turkey and you can put it all together in under 40 minutes, making it great for a weeknight and for easy clean up.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 7, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Leftovers, One Pot Meals, Poultry

Tags: America's Test Kitchen chicken and rice casserole with lemon and Parmesan, americas test kitchen, chicken and rice casserole, chicken and rice casserole with lemon and Parmesan, chicken casserole, leftover vegetables, one pot meals, Ritz crackers, rotisserie chicken

Best Chicken Wing Recipes : Buffalo, Honey & More : Cooking Channel

05 Oct

Best Chicken Wing Recipes : Buffalo, Honey & More : Cooking Channel.

It’s Sunday and you know what that means! Fall and Football season means tailgates and get-togethers at home or out at the stadium or a friend’s home to watch the games, so you naturally need some great snacks to go along with the game. I love chicken wings and they are perfect for any party, especially when watching the game. Cooking Channel has put together 21 great chicken wing recipes for you so you can choose from all types and flavors and sauces to suit your wants and needs. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on October 5, 2014 in Appetizers, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Grilling, Picnic Fare, Poultry, Sauce, Snacks, Spices

Tags: 21 chicken wing recipes, chicken wing recipes, Cooking Channel, Cooking Channel 21 chicken wing recipes, recipes for tailgating, recipes for watching football, wing recipes

Take on Thursday with Turkey in a Pot with Gravy

02 Oct

Sean has been asking me to make turkey for weeks, but until recently unless you bought a whole turkey around here you couldn’t really get anything at the price of turkey when the holidays are not coming around can be really high so I have been putting it off for a few weeks. Last week when I was shopping I noticed our Stop and Shop and a few turkey breast halves at a really reasonable price. They were about 3 pounds each and one of them easily provided enough for a meal for just the three of us, so I picked up two (one went right into the freezer for later use) and knew I would be able to satisfy Sean’s urge for turkey. As luck would have, the latest issue of Cook’s Country has an interesting recipe for turkey breast that I wanted to try that is called turkey in a pot with gravy.This recipe promises a moist bird with some really good gravy, so it was certainly worth a shot. The original recipe uses a whole turkey breast and I adjusted it down since I was only making a half, but I have posted the original recipe here if you want to try a whole one.

Turkey in a Pot with Gravy

1 (7-pound) bone-in whole turkey breast, wings discarded, trimmed

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken broth

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Using kitchen shears, trim any rib bones that extend beyond the underside of the turkey breast. If any backbone pieces are still attached to the underside of the turkey, remove them as well. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels and season it all over with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat until the oil is just smoking. Add the turkey, skin side down, and cook until the breast is well browned, about 12 to 16 minutes, rolling it from side to side as needed to make for even browning. Transfer the turkey to a plate and set it aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leaf to the pot and cook until the vegetables are well browned, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Return the turkey and any accumulated juices to the pot, skin side up. Off the heat, place a large sheet of aluminum foil over the pot and press the edges to seal the foil, then cover the pot tightly with the lid. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the thickest part of the turkey breast registers 155 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the turkey, about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.

Remove the pot from the oven and heat the broiler. Uncover the pot (be careful, the handles will be very hot as well as the lid) and brush the turkey with the melted butter. When the broiler is heated, return the pot to the oven and broil the turkey until the skin is golden brown, about 8 to 15 minutes, rotating the pot as needed for even browning. Remove the pot from the oven. Transfer the turkey to a carving board, tent the turkey loosely with foil, and allow it to rest while making the gravy.

Place the pot over medium-high heat, bring the contents to a boil and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 to 15 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until it is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook at a strong simmer, stirring often, until the gravy is thickened and measures about 2 cups, about 15 to 18 minutes. Strain the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium saucepan; discard the solids. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste. Carve the turkey and re-warm the gravy, if needed, and serve it with the turkey.

Cooking the turkey at the low temperature in the oven after browning helps to ensure that you get a moister turkey in the end and then putting it under the broiler for a bit for some additional browning gives you great, crispy skin as well. The gravy had great flavor as well thanks to the concentration you get from letting all the liquid evaporate before you make your roux. Everything about it was perfect and of course we had some stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables for our little mini pre-Thanksgiving meal. There were even some leftovers after just making the half breast so we could have turkey sandwiches for lunch the next day (always a favorite of mine). I may do this again with the other half breast I have in the freezer.

That’s all I have for today, check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 2, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Poultry, Turkey

Tags: Cook's Country, Cook's Country turkey in a pot, turkey breast, turkey in a pot, turkey in a pot with gravy

27 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Recipes – Bon Appétit

28 Sep

27 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Recipes – Bon Appétit.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a staple in just about every home as part of a weekly meal. The problem is that they can get rather boring if you simply bake or saute them time after time and they may not have a lot of flavor to them. That’s why you can try to jazz things up a little bit so that you can have tasty, flavorful and not overcooked chicken each time you make it. Bon Appetit has put together 27 boneless, skinless chicken breast recipes that can give you all kinds of great ideas for weeknight meals or weekends. Check it out!