Poultry | onedadskitchen

Face to (Open) Face With Leftovers

So I have some leftover turkey from a few nights ago and some leftover roast beef from the other night, so what to do with them? Well we decided a good option would be to make open-faced sandwiches for dinner tonight. We can use the turkey, use the roast beef, use the gravy, the stuffing and the mashed potatoes and get rid of all the leftovers in the fridge. There’s not much to these recipes so they are pretty easy to follow, but I think you could pretty much wing them if you wanted to.

Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups leftover au jus

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 slices bread (your choice as to what you like best)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (optional)

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (optional)

Leftover roast beef, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until slightly brown. Gradually whisk in the au jus until smooth. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer until thick, about 3 minutes.

Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Spread the mustard and horseradish, if using, on the toasts; place each on a plate. Pour some gravy over the toast; top with the roast beef and then more gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the sandwiches with the leftover mashed potatoes.

Some people like to melt some cheese over their sandwich; it’s not my thing, but hey, if you like it, go for it. put the cheese on top and place the sandwich under the broiler for a minute, and you’re all set.The open-faced turkey sandwiches are just as easy:

Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Leftover turkey meat, sliced

Leftover turkey gravy (if you don’t have any, you can make this quick gravy recipe)

Leftover stuffing (I have some leftover Stove Top I’ll be using; you can always make Stove Top quickly, or use your own recipe for stuffing if you have one. I haven’t posted one, but I will soon 🙂 )

Slices of bread (again, use what you like)

Salt and pepper

Heat the gravy in a large skillet until bubbly (if the gravy is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with some stock or water). Add pieces of sliced turkey to the gravy and heat through, about 1 minute. Re-heat the leftover stuffing in either a small saucepan or the microwave (I did it in the microwave for 1 minute). Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Remove the toast from the oven, place on a plate, and cover the toast with gravy. Place some turkey slices on top of the gravy. Scoop some stuffing on top of the turkey slices; cover on top with some more gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

With the sandwiches and the leftover mashed potatoes, you’re just about all set. If you have any leftover veggies (and we do, so I am using them) add them to the meal, or make some fresh veggies as a side dish, or make a small salad and you are all set. You’ll have used up the leftovers for the week, which is a beautiful thing.

I’m not sure what I am making for dinner tomorrow. I am heading over to Adams Farms in Newburgh to shop tomorrow, and to pick up a $50.00 gift card I won from them (it pays to follow places on Facebook and Twitter!), so I hope to find something there to make for dinner tomorrow night in the seafood department. Tune in tomorrow to see what I was able to get. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 19, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Leftovers, Potatoes, Poultry, Sandwiches, Turkey

Tags: gravy, leftover roast beef, leftovers, mashed potatoes, open faced roast beef sandwich, open faced turkey sandwich, roast beef sandwiches, using leftovers

A Nice Hot Day Seems Like a Good One For… Turkey??

16 Apr

I had actually planned to make a roast beef dinner tonight, but decided I wanted to slow roast it so it is covered in salt right now in the fridge for tomorrow’s dinner. So that left me to change things around again, which is kind of business as usual in this house anyway. I had bought a bone-in turkey breast at the store this weekend and hasn’t decided whether to freeze it or not, but it seemed like a good night to make it. It was a really good deal for a 3 pound turkey breast for under $3.00, and we’ll get several meals out of it. So tonight was Roasted Turkey Breast with Sage and Cayenne, Pan Roasted Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes.

Roasted Turkey Breast with Sage and Cayenne

1 6 pound bone-in turkey breast (I only had a 3 pound, so I cut the recipe in half)

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika

Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Combine the salt, sage, cayenne, cumin, and paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the turkey skin and let the turkey stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. Roast the turkey for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155-160 degrees, about 50 minutes longer. transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

A 90 degree day may not have been the best day to do this, but it came out really well and the crispy skin tasted great. I had also bought some asparagus this weekend (also on sale) so I decided to make that tonight as well, using a pan roasting method that I had seen in Cook’s Illustrated. Use thicker asparagus for this recipe as I think thinner spears may tend to burn or overcook.

Pan Roasted Asparagus with Toasted Garlic and Parmesan

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound thick asparagus spears, ends trimmed

Salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 lemon (optional)

Heat the olive oil and sliced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is crisp and golden but not dark brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the butter to the oil in the skillet. When the butter has melted, add half the asparagus to the skillet with the tips pointed in one direction; add the remaining spears with the tips pointed in the opposite direction. Using tongs, distribute the spears in an even layer (the spears will not quite fit into a single layer); cover and cook until the asparagus is bright green and still crisp, about 5 minutes.

Uncover the pan and increase the heat to high; season the asparagus with salt and pepper. Cook until the spears are tender and well browned along one side, about 5 to 7 minutes, using tongs occasionally to move the spears from the center of the pan to the edge of the pan to ensure all the spears are browned. Transfer the asparagus to a serving dish, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and toasted garlic slices, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, and, if desired, squeeze the lemon over the spears. Serve immediately.

I think they turned out great. I added some mashed potatoes to the meal, which I have made many times before and posted the recipe on here, and Michelle loves stuffing and I didn’t have time to make my own, so bless the fine people at Stove Top for their contribution to the meal.

Tomorrow I am really making the roast beef (I am committed now since it is in the salt), so I will be posting that recipe tomorrow. Until then, enjoy your evening (hopefully it’s not as warm where you are) and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 16, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: mashed potatoes, pan roasted asparagus, roast turkey, roast turkey with sage and cayenne

Flip Flopping Days & Making Roast Chicken

12 Apr

I had intended to make a pork loin for dinner tonight until I realized this morning that I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients for the stuffing, so I have flipped the pork loin until tomorrow and am making a roast chicken recipe instead. I have made roast chicken before, but this recipe is a little different. I got this one from Bon Appetit. They are running on article called 5 Dinners For Under $100 and this is the first dinner they mentioned. It’s a very inexpensive meal of roast chicken with a warm parsley sauce, oven glazed carrots and I am making some rice to go with it. The chicken itself only cost me $4.50 ($9.00 actually, since they were packaged as 2 whole chickens, about 3 pounds each), and everything else in the recipes I already had in the house, so it’s easy and cheap!

Roasted Chicken with Warm Parsley Sauce and Oven Glazed Carrots

1 whole 3-3 1/2 pounds chicken, giblets reserved for another use (think stock)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves, 1 halved, 1 minced

1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 teaspoon honey

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Generously season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, breast side up, and cook until the skin is brown, about 6-8 minutes. Tip the pan to one side to gather the accumulated fat and juices and baste the top of the chicken. Return the pan to the oven and cook the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, about 50-55 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a carving board, rib with the garlic halves, and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Pour off the fat and juices from the skillet, leaving the browned bits in the pan; set the skillet aside.

Meanwhile, combine the carrots, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, honey,and cayenne in a small bowl; toss to coat. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until the bottoms of the carrots are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir and cook until the carrots are tender and brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest in a small bowl. Heat the reserved skillet over medium heat. Pour in the parsley oil and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until heated through. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and swirl the pan to mix. Season the sauce to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve warm parsley sauce alongside of the chicken and carrots.

I added some rice to the dish to complete the meal, but it was very easy to make overall. Tomorrow night, I promise, is the Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin. It’s a little more labor intensive than tonight’s meal, but we have had it before and we loved it. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 12, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: oven glazed carrots, parsley sauce, roast chicken, roast chicken recipe

A Kid’s Delight – Chicken Fingers & Tater Tots, Homemade

27 Mar

Tonight’s recipes are a kid’s delight (well, my kid’s anyway). Sean likes to get chicken fingers when we got out, and adding tater tots to the meal is just icing on the cake for him. Chicken fingers themselves are pretty easy to make. Some recipes call for frying them, but I have decided to go with one that bakes the chicken to make it a little healthier. It’;s a very simple recipe with not many ingredients.

Chicken Fingers

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt

2 cups breadcrumbs

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch-wide strips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set a rack on a baking sheet and mist with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs, mustard and 1 teaspoon of salt in a shallow bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a second shallow bowl. Dip the chicken strips in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken on the rack and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

A few notes about the chicken fingers. Placing them on a rack over the baking sheet is key, since it lets air circulate around the whole piece of chicken, allowing it to crisp up all over. You can buy chicken tenders pre-cut already, but they seem to be more expensive than just buying boneless chicken and cutting it yourself. Lastly, you could use any breadcrumbs you choose for this recipe; I am using homemade breadcrumbs, but if I went for store-bought, I would use panko to give you a little extra crunch.

Now on to the tater tots. As I have said, I’ve never made these before. I looked at a bunch of recipes and each one seemed to have both good and bad results, so I wasn’t really sure which one to go for until I found this one from Cook’s Country. It seems simple, basic and looks like it will taste good, so let’s go for it!

Tater Tots

1 cup water

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

4 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil

In a small bowl, whisk the water and salt together until the salt dissolves. Transfer the salt water and potatoes to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until coarsely ground, 10 to 12 pulses, stirring occasionally.

Drain the potato mixture in a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the potatoes with a spoon until dry (the liquid should measure about 1½ cups); discard liquid. Transfer the potatoes to a microwave safe bowl and microwave, uncovered, until dry and sticky, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.

Stir the flour, black pepper and cayenne pepper into the potatoes. Spread the potato mixture into a thin layer over a large sheet of aluminum foil and let it cool for 10 minutes. Push the potatoes to the center of the foil and place the foil and potatoes in an 8-inch square baking pan. Push the foil into the corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing it flush to the pan. Press the potato mixture tightly and evenly into the pan. Freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat until 375 degrees. Using the foil overhang, lift potatoes from pan and cut into 1¼ by 1-inch pieces (6 cuts in 1 direction and 8 in other). Fry half of the potato tots, until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally once they begin to brown. Drain the prepared baking sheet, season to taste and place in oven. Bring the oil back to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining potato tots. Serve warm.

You could take the easy way out and just make a frozen bag of tater tots, but showing off to your kids that you can make them at home is pretty cool on its own :). I am just making some simple steamed broccoli as a vegetable, since it is Sean’s favorite vegetable and this is his meal.

That’s it for tonight. Follow the recipes and you’ll be the hero of the day for the kids. Tomorrow I’ll be making Meatloaf for dinner, which is one of my all time favorites. I have made it before, but it’s a family favorite and turns up on here once in a while. I may vary the recipe a little tomorrow, so check back and see how what’s up. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 27, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: broccoli, chicken fingers, homemade chicken fingers, homemade tater tots, tater tots

One-Pot Chicken Parm Rice | Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy Living Blog

22 Mar

This is a good recipe for a one pot meal, and for all my gluten-free friends out there, it’s a gluten free recipe. Check it out!

One-Pot Chicken Parm Rice | Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy Living Blog.

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Posted by MikeG on March 22, 2012 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: chicken parm rice, food network, one pot meal

Back to the Kitchen For Some Fried Chicken

22 Mar

Hectic schedules, homework, late work days, you name it and it has a way of interfering with life in general, including cooking dinner. We ended up having leftovers the last 2 nights because of crazy schedules, doctor’s appointments and everyday life, but today I am going to get back in the kitchen and I am going to make some fried chicken.

I don’t make fried chicken too often, and when I do I usually oven fry it to cut down on the mess and all the oil needed, but tonight I think I am going to really fry it. I could use the deep fryer, but I am going to do it on the stove this time, and I am going to try a different recipe tonight, one I got from America’s Test Kitchen.

Fried Chicken

1 quart buttermilk

3 tablespoons salt

4 pounds bone in chicken pieces (halved split breasts, thighs, and/or drumsticks)

5 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

5 to 6 cups vegetable oil

Whisk 3 1/4 cups of the buttermilk and the salt together in a large bowl until the salt dissolves. Add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (Don’t let the chicken soak much longer or it will become too salty).

Whisk the flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder together in a large bowl. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of buttermilk and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse wet sand. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk soak and then coat thoroughly with the flour mixture and lay it on a wire rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Pour 1 inch of the oil into a large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Add half of the chicken, skin-side down. Cover and cook until deep golden brown on the first side, about 10 minutes (After the first 4 minutes, re-arrange the pieces if some are browning faster than others).

Turn the chicken pieces over. Continue to fry, uncovered and maintaining an oil temperature of 315 degrees, until the chicken pieces are a deep golden on the second side, about 7 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain for 5 minutes, then lay on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Add additional oil to the pot as needed to maintain a depth of 1 inch and return it to 375 degrees before frying the remaining chicken.

With the fried chicken, I am going to serve mashed potatoes and gravy. I have made mashed potatoes many times in the meal plan, and if you would like to see the method I use for the potatoes, you can check an earlier blog posting here. You definitely need to have some gravy with this one as well. I have posted a quick chicken gravy recipe before, but since I don’t have any pan drippings to use, I am going to use the all purpose gravy recipe that I have used in the past.

All Purpose Gravy

3 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried

5 whole black peppercorns

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until softened and well browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20-25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer (or gravy separator) into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

I’ll be serving all this with some simple steamed green beans. It’s just a pound of green beans (stem ends trimmed) in a steaming rack in a large pot of boiling water just touching the rack. I cover and steam the green beans for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the beans are crisp-tender.

If there are any leftovers, there’s nothing like some cold fried chicken with some potato salad for a nice lunch or dinner the next day. Tomorrow is Friday, which means we’ll be having fish. I picked up some tilapia this morning so we’ll be having a nice simple baked tilapia with some brown rice and asparagus tomorrow. Check out the blog tomorrow so you can see how it goes. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 22, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: all purpose gravy, chicken, fried chicken, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes

A Slow Day Calls for Slow Cooking

19 Mar

It’s been a typical Monday, so I am glad I was cooking with the slow cooker today. Today I am using a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for Chicken and Dumplings. I’ve made this before on the stove top, but I decided to use the slow cooker method today.

Chicken and Dumplings

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 onions, minced

2 celery ribs, sliced 1/4 inch thick

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup dry sherry

4 1/2 cups chicken broth, plus extra if needed

4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 bay leaves

1 cup frozen peas

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

For the Dumplings:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter

Dry the chicken with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of the chicken lightly on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Repeat with 1 tablespoon more of the oil and the remaining chicken; transfer to a bowl.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, celery, garlic, tomato paste and thyme, and cook until the vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in 1 cup of broth, smoothing out any lumps; transfer to the slow cooker.

Stir in the remaining 3 1/2 cups of broth, carrots and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Nestle browned chicken with any accumulated juices into the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low setting.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, then shred into bite size pieces. Let the stew settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from the surface using a large spoon. Discard the bay leaves. Stir the shredded chicken, peas and parsley into the stew, and season with salt and pepper to taste (Adjust the stew consistency with additional broth if necessary). Cover and cook on high until simmering, or transfer to a Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

For the dumplings, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Microwave the milk and butter together until warm, about 1 minute, then whisk to melt the butter. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until just incorporated and smooth. Drop golf ball size dumplings on top of the simmering stew, leaving about 1/4 inch between each dumpling (you should have about 18 dumplings). Cover and cook until the dumplings double in size, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve.

It’s a delicious meal. The dumplings come out just right and the chicken just falls apart and tastes wonderful. Here’s a picture of how it looks when it’s done:

Tomorrow night’s meal will be the Spaghetti and Meatballs that I never got to last week. Work schedules and homework just got in the way last week, but this week we shouldn’t have any problems (fingers crossed). I have made spaghetti and meatballs before, and if you want to see the previous recipe, you can check it out here. I think I am going to try to vary it a little bit this time. Check back tomorrow and see how it looks. Until then, enjoy the last day of winter (it was 74 here in New York today) and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 19, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Slow Cooker Meals

Tags: chicken and dumplings, slow cooker chicken and dumplings, slow cooker meal, slow cooker recipe

A Few Good Articles and Stir Fry Chicken

14 Mar

I’ve been busy the last couple of days so I haven’t had time to post anything, but tonight I’ll write about a couple of good things I saw today and our dinner tonight, which was Stir Fry Chicken and Vegetables. The first article was one posted by the Food Network and was all about what should be in your pantry for every day use. I have written about this before myself, and if you want to read my post on it, you can check it out right here. The Food Network pantry has a few things in it that I don’t usually have in mine, but they are all good staples to have around. If you have all these things, you can pretty much make dinner on a moment’s notice for yourself, your family and any unexpected guests. If you want to see what they suggest, you can check out there article right here.

The second article I read today was in the New York Times today. It’s written by Julie Moskin and it is all about being a cookbook ghostwriter. She writes about how the days of the famous chefs sitting down to impart their cooking wisdom on everyone are over, and that most cookbooks may have the name of a famous chef on the jacket, but they are actually written by someone else who gets a lot less money and no recognition for their work. It’s a very interesting article to read. What she says makes sense in that today’s chefs with television shows and multiple restaurants couldn’t possibly crank out books as fast as people like Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray do in today’s marketplace. It’s nice to see the little guys get a little recognition for their work. If you’re interested in checking out the article, you can find it right here.

Lastly, tonight I made a simple stir fry chicken and vegetables with white rice, which I have made before and posted about on here. I’ll post the recipe again, and you can also check it out here if you want. The nice thing about stir fries is that you don’t really need any recipe at all to make one. You can add any kind of protein (or none at all), whatever vegetables you may have on hand or left over, make a little sauce, and you have a great meal pretty quickly. We eat a lot of stir fry dinners for these reasons.

Stir-Fried Chicken and Vegetables

2 cups broccoli or cauliflower florets and stems, cut into bite size pieces

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 pepper (any color), seeded and sliced into strips

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 medium onion, sliced

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/2 cup chicken stock, white wine or water (your choice, I am using stock)

Put a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add half the oil, swirl it around and immediately add half the garlic and ginger. Cook for 15 seconds, stirring, then add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and pepper and cook over high heat until the vegetables are tender but not at all mushy, about 5 minutes. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Turn the heat down to medium and remove the vegetables. Add the remaining oil to the pan, then the remaining garlic and ginger. Stir, then add the chicken. Raise the heat to high, stir the chicken once, then let it sit for 1 minute before stirring again. Cook stirring occasionally, until the chicken has lost its pink color, 3 to 5 minutes.

Return the vegetables to the pan and toss once or twice. Add the sugar, then the soy sauce; toss again. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the liquid. Raise the heat to high and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is reduced slightly and you’ve scraped up all the bits of chicken, about 30 seconds. Serve over rice.

So that’s all I have for today. Tomorrow is our meat-free meal of the week and I’ll be making Cream of Broccoli Soup for dinner. It promises to be very tasty. I’ll have to pick up some crunchy bread in the morning to go with it. Enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 14, 2012 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Pantry, Poultry

Tags: chicken stir fry, cookbook ghostwriter, food network, new york times, pantry essentials, stir fry, stir fry chicken

A Tuesday Trinidadian Chicken Stew

06 Mar

Today’s dinner is a simple, one pot dinner I saw on the Food Network. Giada De Laurentiis made this on her show, and it looked pretty tasty and very easy to make, so I thought I would give it a try. There aren’t a lot of ingredients to this one, so you might be able to make this with what you already have in the house.

Trinidadian Chicken Stew

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, halved

4 small, skinless bone-in chicken thighs

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

4 whole peeled canned tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups water

In a heavy bottomed 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally until very dark, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken pieces, ginger, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and break up with a wooden spoon. Add the thyme, 2 tablespoons of parsley, carrots, potatoes and hot water. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with the remaining parsley.

And that’s all there is to it. I can tell you it smells wonderful as it is cooking (it’s cooking right now actually). It also makes for easy clean up, which I love, and good leftovers for lunch the next day.

It’s a quick post today since it’s a quick dinner. Tomorrow I’ll be making hamburgers, at Sean’s request. I’ve made them before and posted my method for making them, but I’ll do it again. This time we are making some Oven Fries and Oven-Fried Onion Rings with the burgers, so check back tomorrow to see the recipes for everything. Until then, have a great evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 6, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Soups & Stews

Tags: boneless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, giada de laurentiis

Open Sesame (Chicken)

01 Mar

Tonight’s dinner is a take on one of my favorite take out dinners, Sesame Chicken. It’s one of my favorite from Chinese takeout and I have tried to duplicate it, but this recipe seems to do it the best. This recipe calls for deep-frying the chicken, but I put it in the oven instead and cook it to try it make it a little healthier. it comes out with just as good results as deep-frying, if you ask me.

Sesame Chicken

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 dash sesame oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cubed

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon chile paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 quart oil for frying

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Sift flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder into a bowl. Pour in low-sodium soy sauce, sherry, 2 tablespoons water, vegetable oil, and a dash of sesame oil; stir until smooth. Stir in chicken until coated with the batter, then cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste, and garlic to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Dissolve 1/4 cup cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water, and stir into boiling sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens and turns clear, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and keep sauce warm.

Heat olive oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to a temperature of 375 degrees. Drop in the battered chicken pieces, a few at a time, and fry until they turn golden brown and float to the top of the oil, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. To serve, place fried chicken pieces onto a serving platter, and pour the hot sauce over top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds to garnish.

If you want to bake the chicken instead of frying, follow all the steps of the recipe except when it comes time to put them in the oil, put them in a baking pan with all the marinade (which made for a nice breading), drizzle 1/4 cup of oil over top, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.Turn the chicken half way through baking so it crisps up all over.

I am serving this with fried rice, which I have made before and blogged about here. If you would like my method for making fried rice, you can check it out right here. I am also serving steamed broccoli with the meal, since it seems to go well and does come with a lot of Chinese take out meals.

That’s all there is to this meal. The cooking time is a little longer if you want to bake instead of fry, but I didn’t want all the fat from the oil in this meal so it was a good way to go for us. Tomorrow is Friday, so it will be a fish meal tomorrow night. I’ll have to see what looks good at the market in the morning, but I already have a really good idea of what I want to cook. There was a great recipe in the New York Times yesterday for Calamari with Herbs and Polenta, so I think that is what I am going to cook. You’ll have to check back tomorrow to see if that’s what I got. I am also going to show next week’s meal plan if you want to see what I’ll be making next week. If you want to use your own meal plan, you can click family_meal_planner to follow the sheet I use each week. Until then, have a great evening and enjoy your meal!