Chicken Divan

This recipe is from Barbara Dreffer.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large chicken breasts, cooked
• 2 packages or bags of frozen broccoli, cooked
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp curry

For the top:

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• grated cheese

Combine chicken, broccoli, soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry and put in a casserole dish. 

Combine butter and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the chicken mixture. Add cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Butter Chicken from Chrissy Teigen

Please check out Chrissy's site, she really has a lot of amazing recipes out there. Also, her kids are really cute and I love how much she shares all the various moments of her life with her family. The recipe can be found here: Butter Chicken - Chrissy Teigen.

Ingredients:

1 lime

1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt

5 cloves of garlic, minced, divided in half

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter) (I can't always get my hands on ghee so I just used butter)

2 teaspoons salt

1 med onion, diced (I can't digest onions well so I use a shallot cut in to small pieces)

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (and fresh really is better than powdered)

1 1/2 tablespoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon cayanne pepper

1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish

Directions:

Zest the lime into a large bowl, save the zested lime. Add the yogurt, half the garlic, and the turmeric to the bowl and whisk to incorporate. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours and up to 24.

Heat half the ghee (or 3 tablespoons of butter and a little oil) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions (or shallots), stirring, until softened and translucent, about 8-9 minutes. Add the rest of the garlic and the ginger, Garam masala, and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the marinated chicken (discard any remaining marinade) and cook flipping midway through until seared and golden (about 3 min per side). Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring until the liquid is reduced slightly, 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining ghee (or 3 more tablespoons of butter) along with the cream and cook, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, 10-15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt to taste. Slice the zested lime into wedges and serve with the chicken. Garnish with more cilantro.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken

This is not my recipe, this is another great one from Chef John over at Food Wishes. Go here for his recipe and video! This is just my take on his recipe.

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 thin slices of prosciutto
Salt and pepper to taste
Kitchen twine

For the stuffing:
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used plain in a can from the store)
1/3 cup craisins, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh oregano, minced
1 glove of garlic, minced (I put mine through the garlic press)
1 rounded tblsp finely grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
2 tsp olive oil
1 egg yolk
Cayenne, just a pinch
Salt and pepper to taste

For the pan sauce (optional):
3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used 2)
1 tblsp cold butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the stuffing, mix gently with a fork. It won't be dry, but it won't be wet. You should be able to make a ball out of it and have it mostly stay together.

Prepare the chicken. For this, I would recommend watching Chef John's video. He had you cut a "flap" (45 degree angle about an inch deep-you don't want to cut all the way through) in the thick side of the chicken to help it lay more flat for when you pound it. I don't know how to describe it. Pound your chicken to about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Put 1/2 of the stuffing mixture in each flattened breast and gently pat it down to help it stay in place while you roll. Gently, but tightly roll the breast going slowly to keep it tight and not lose any of the yummy stuffing. Chef John used plastic wrap to help this process and it worked well. Next you are going to lay out two pieces of prosciutto pre breast. You want them to be about the same length as your rolled breast. Gently roll this around your chicken (again using plastic wrap helped). Next you will want 4 pieces of kitchen twine per piece of chicken. You are going to tie it up-not too tight, but enough to help hold your roll together. You can either get them in the oven, or you can wrap them back up and put them in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

To cook your chicken, put them in a lightly oiled oven safe pan in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. You want the internal temperature to be 155 degrees. When they are done, remove from the oven and rest them on a plate lightly covered with foil. If you want to make a pan sauce you can, or you can go with out.

To make a pan sauce: In the pan you cooked the chicken (blot out a little of the oil) pour in the chicken stock and vinegar and reduce by half over high heat. When it has been reduced turn off the heat and add the cold butter. When it's melted and stirred in your pan sauce is done. Spoon over your sliced chicken and enjoy!

Stuffing and Swiss Cheese over Chicken

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4-6 slices or 2 cups grated Swiss cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ cup milk or white wine

1 – 6 oz pkg. chicken flavored stuffing mix

4 Tablsp. Melted butter

Spray 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Arrange chicken breasts in pan. Cover with Swiss cheese (1 slice over each breast). Mix cream of chicken soup with ½ cup milk or white wine. Pour over chicken & cheese. Combine dry stuffing with the seasoning packet in mix. Spread stuffing evenly over soup mixture. Melt 4 tablsp. Butter & pour over stuffing. (Cover with foil & bake 375 degrees for 50 minutes.

Poultry Casserole

1 – 7 oz. pkg. herb seasoned bread stuffing

1 – Stick butter

¾ tsp. salt

1 cup water

2 eggs

3 cups chopped, cooked (chicken, turkey)

½ cup onion

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup diced celery

½ cup mayonnaise

Grated cheese to cover top

Mix bread stuffing, melted butter & water together. Spread ½ of this mixture in a 9x12 buttered pan. Beat the eggs, add milk, cooked poultry meat, onion, celery, chives or onion tops, mayonnaise & salt. Pour on top of stuffing mixture. Spread other ½ of stuffing mixture on this & cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator one hour before baking. Spread 1 can mushroom soup on top. Bake 350 degree for 40 min. uncovered. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and put back in oven until melted.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

2-10 oz. pkg. frozen broccoli, cooked & drained

3 – whole chicken breast – boiled & boned

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ tsp curry powder

½ cup soft bread crumbs

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ cup shredded (Sharp American cheese)

1 tbsp butter

Place cooked broccoli on greased dish 11x7. Place breast of chicken on broccoli. (I break it into small pieces). Combine chicken  soup, mayonnaise, juice, curry & pour over the chicken. Cover this w/the shredded cheese. Mix the butter w/the bread crumbs & put this over chicken. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Beer Can Chicken

2 Chickens, about 3 ½ lbs. each

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons salt

3 cans beer, 12 oz. each

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat grill. Combine paprika, sugar, salt & cayenne pepper in small dish. Season chickens inside & out with spice mixture.

Rinse outside of 2 beer cans; open & punch 2 additional holes in top of each can. Holding each chicken upright, place over can so that can goes into main cavity. Pull legs forward to form a tripod, allowing chicken to stand upright over can.

Surround disposable foil drip pan with hot coals. Pour remaining can of beer in pan; add ½ cup water.

Keeping cans upright, place chickens on rack, directly above the drip pan. Close cover & grill 1 hour or until chicken is done (180 degree F) To remove cans, lift chicken by inserting large fork into neck; remove hot can using thick cooking mitt.

Croissant Casserole

3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced

3 cups chopped celery

1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts

1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of chicken soup

½ cup light mayonnaise

½ cup light sour cream

cooking spray

1 (8-roll) can of refrigerated Crescent rolls

1 tablsp. Light butter, melted

2 tablsp. Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put chicken, celery, water chestnuts, soup, mayonnaise & sour cream in a large bowl & mix. Put mixture in a 9x13 baking dish coated with spray. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tender.

Remove casserole, unroll croissant dough into flat pieces & cover chicken mixture. Brush with butter & bake 10-12 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven & sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes more. Let stand before serving.

15 Minute Chicken & Rice Dinner

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 can (10 ¾ oz) cream of chicken soup

1 ½ cups water

¼ tsp. each paprika & pepper

2 cups Minute white rice, uncooked

2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets

Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken; cook until browned. Remove chicken.

Add soup, water, paprika & pepper; stir. Heat to a boil.

Stir in rice & broccoli. Top with chicken. Season chicken w/additional paprika & pepper; cover. Cook on low heat 5 min. or until cooked through.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

2 cups cooked, diced chicken

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 ½ soup cans of chicken broth

1 small onion, diced

½ pound grated American cheese

Mix all ingredients together & put in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Cover & refrigerate overnight. Before  baking, put butter bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Chicken Casserole (2 ways)

Way 1:

3-4 Chicken breast – cooked & cut up

¾ cup celery –chopped fine

½ cup mayonnaise

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can drained mushrooms

1 can water chestnuts-drained & cut

½ pkg stove top bread stuffing-chicken flavor

1 stick butter

Mix first 6 ingredients. Place in 2 quart dish. Mix stuffing as is with butter & put over top of mixture. Bake 30-40 minutes in medium (350 degree) oven.


Way 2:

4 cups cooked chicken, diced

1 (16 oz.) sour cream

1 (10 oz.) can mushroom soup

1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

½ cup butter, melted

2 cups stuffing mix

Put chicken in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Mix sour cream, soup, water chestnuts, celery, and onion. Pour over chicken. Mix butter & stuffing mix & spread over top. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Oven-Baked Chicken

1 tablespoon margarine or butter
2/3 cup Bisquick
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound cut up chicken

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Melt margarine or butter in 13x9x2 baking dish.

Mix Bisquick, paprika, salt and pepper; coat chicken. Place skin side down in dish (dish and margarine/butter should be hot).

Bake for 35 minutes; turn chicken. Bake about 15 minutes longer or until juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Recipe from Bisquick

Empanadas

This is a recipe I clipped from a Martha Stewart magazine a zillion years ago (May 2003). I changed the filling based off a recipe from Pampered Chef, but I liked Martha's dough recipe and steps in making the empanadas. I'm putting it up here so I can find it again.

For the filling (recipe based off Pampered Chef):

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies (undrained)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon southwestern/Mexican seasoning

2/3 crushed corn chips

Combine the above together to make the filling

You need a batch of Empanada Dough.

Assembling the Empanada:

Break off 1 1/2 inch ball of dough. On a clean work surface, roll dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick.

Place about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Moisten the edges of the dough with water; fold dough over to seal, pressing gently. Crimp the edges with a fork; set aside. Repeat until you have used all your dough.

Cook in about 2 inches of vegetable oil. Fry until golden brown, turning once, about 1 minute.

Chicken and Dumplings

This is a meal I love to make when it's cold and drizzly out. There is something comforting about the smell of the chicken cooking, and then biting into the tender fluffy dumpling. I'm giving you two dumpling recipes at the end-they are both good!

For the "soup"

2 tbls olive oil

4 uncooked chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup butter, unsalted

1/2 cup celery, small diced

1/2 cup yellow onion, small diced (I dislike onions, so I use a lot of onion powder instead)

1/2 cup carrot, small diced

6 tbls flour

2 cups chicken broth (more if needed)

1/2 cup frozen peas

In large dutch oven or heavy stock pot, preheat the olive oil on medium high heat. Dice the chicken breast into medium sized pieces and slowly add them to the oil. Add the thyme, salt, pepper,  and garlic powder. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through, but not brown. Remove and set aside.

To the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the celery, onions and carrots to the butter. Stir occasionally for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are slightly translucent (since I don't add onions I just cook it for 4-5 minutes, and make sure the carrots are starting to get tender). Next, add the flour and stir for 1 minute until the flour has completely absorbed the butter. Stir in the cooked chicken and slowly add the chicken stock. Make sure you stir while adding the stock to prevent the flour from causing lumps. Add the frozen peas.

In a separate bowl make your dumplings from one of the two recipes below, follow the steps for the dumpling of choice to finish your meal:

Bisquick Dumplings:

1 1/2 cup Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

Mix until well incorporated. Bring the soup to a boil, this is important for the dumplings to steam properly. Drop large tablespoons full of the dumpling batter into the boiling broth. Continue to boil for 10 minutes, uncovered. Cover the soup and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for an additional 10 minutes covered. Then, enjoy!

Thyme Creme Fraiche "Dumplins" from Food Wishes with Chef John:

1/2 cup Creme Fraiche (I used sour cream)

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tsp fresh chopped thyme leaves

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp fine table salt

Mix the creme fraiche, milk and eggs together, add the thyme. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the wet mixture and combine just until mixed. Do not over mix. It's okay to have some loose flour in the bowl. 

Drop in simmering soup mixture. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Versatile Marinade for Barbecued Meats

We've had a new grill for a while--a Big Green Egg--and since we purchased it, I've been experimenting with marinades. I've settled on one that works really well with pork, chicken and beef.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. light soy
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp good italian seasoning
1 tbsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh-pressed if you prefer)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp sea salt

Mix everything up into a slurry and pour into a large zip-lock bag containing 1 to 1.5 pounds of your favorite barbecuing fare. Seal well, and then gently massage the bag. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, turning it every hour (or so) to make sure all of the contents are getting a good soak. Grill to your liking.

~David

Broccoli Beef (or Chicken)

This is a recipe David found on www.yancancook.com that he has modified to our liking.  It's one of my favorites.

Ingredients:
4 tsps dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
2 tsps soy sauce
2 tsps cornstarch
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 lb flank steak or chicken, thinly sliced across the grain
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 tbsps oyster sauce
2 tbsps Chinese rice wine or dry cherry
2 tbsps dark soy sauce
2 crowns broccoli, separated into florets
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 tsps chopped garlic
1 tsps cornstarch dissolved in 4 tsps of water

Cooking:
Marinate the beef (or chicken):  Stir in the rice wine, soy sauce cornstarch, and ginger together in a medium bowl until the cornstarch is dissolved.  Stir the beef (or chicken) in the marinade until coated.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Prepare the sauce:  stir the chicken stock, oyster sauce, rice wine and soy sauce together in a bowl.

Cook the broccoli and carrots together in a small pot of boiling water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.  Drain thoroughly.

Heat a wok over high heat until hot.  Add the oil and swirl to coat the sides.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the beef (or chicken) and stir-fry until no longer pink, about 2 minutes.  Add the sauce, broccoli and carrots, and bring to a boil.  Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds to a 1 minute.

Enjoy!  Makes about 4 servings.

~Emily

Fresh Chicken Stock

Stocks, in general, are pretty easy to make. Sadly, most people don't make them because they think they have to devote a whole day to the task. That's certainly true for beef stock, which takes many hours (two days is best) to extract the maximum amount of flavor from its ingredients. Simple chicken stock, however, only takes about an hour (two at most) and is really simple to put together.

You'll need:

1 fresh, whole chicken
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek cut in half lengthwise and then into 1 inch pieces
1 large (fat) carrot cut into half lengthwise and then into 1 inch pieces
2 celery ribs cut into 1 inch pieces
1 handful of fresh parsley and stems
10 (or so) sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 whole head of garlic cut in half
1 1/2 tsp. peppercorns, crushed
1 Tbsp. sea salt (if desired; not necessary)

Begin by butchering your chicken. Separate the legs/thighs and wings from the carcass. Then (carefully) cut the breasts from the carcass. Cut any excess fat off and make sure to pull the back skin off. Put the carcass in the pot.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and the cover with cold water until the carcass is submerged by one or two inches. The water must be cold!

Bring to a boil as quickly as possible and then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about an hour. As soon as the stock begins to boil, you'll have to skim the insoluble particulate (grey scum) from the top of the pot a few times, so keep an eye on it. Add hot water if the volume drops to much. One hour is sufficient to make a clear and beautifully fragrant stock. If you want a darker stock, then that's another process which I'll blog about in the future.

Once cooked, cool the stock as quickly as possible (I put the pot into an ice bath to about 1/4 from the top to cool it quickly. Then strain and use or freeze in quart-sized containers for future use. The batch will yield 4 - 6 quarts, but YMMV.

You can get more volume by simply doubling (or even tripling) the ingredients, but you'll need a bigger pot and the stock will take more time. Rule of thumb is about an hour per chicken carcass.

~David

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

1 whole chicken (3-3 1/2 pounds)
1 onion
1 lemon
1 head of garlic
1 sprig of fresh rosemary (you can use dried)
1/2 cup chicken broth
soft butter or extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Preheat oven to 425

Cut the onion into quarters.  Put 1 quarter in the chicken and the rest in the pot.

Cut the lemon into quarters.  Put 1 quarter in the chicken and the rest in the pot.

Cut the head of garlic in half.  Put half in the chicken and half in the pot.

Cut the sprig of rosemary into thirds.  Put 1 third in the chicken and the rest in the pot.

Salt and pepper the chicken.

Massage the chicken with the soft butter to coat.

With kitchen twine, tie the chicken legs together (to keep the good stuff from escaping).  Put the buttered, trussed bird into the pot.  Add chicken broth.

Roast, uncovered, in oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Enjoy!