Paprika Braised Chicken

Here’s a “pantry” dinner idea that also serves as an excellent comfort dish. I find that generally I always have all the ingredients on hand with the exception of the peppers and herbs for garnishing. You’d expect a meal made from all pantry items to be relatively uneventful and basic, but I don’t make boring food. Duh.

So start digging through your cupboards and check out your freezer for this quick’n’delicious dinner. Serve over orzo (whole wheat orzo preferably).

Chicken Tip: I tend to buy whole chickens and either cut them into 8 pieces or have the guys behind the meat counter do it for me. Once cut into pieces I generally separate the parts into different freezer bags for dinner uses. One bag for wings (in case it’s football season), one for breasts, one for backs (for making stock) and one for thighs and drums. Since a lot of recipes don’t call for drums and thighs I like to reserve these pieces for this dish, maybe coq au vin or other one pot dishes.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken pieces, (thighs, drumsticks and/or breasts)
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cups finely diced onions
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley, dill and/or chives

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper
2. Heat oil and butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are very soft and light brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Stir in bell peppers, tomato paste, paprika and crushed red pepper. Add the chicken and stir it gently into the onion mixture. Sprinkle with marjoram and add broth. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over medium-low heat until the chicken is very tender, about 50 minutes.
4. Just before the chicken is done, whisk sour cream, flour and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until smooth.
5. When the chicken is done, remove it to a plate. Stir the sour cream mixture into the sauce; return to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce coats the spoon. Reduce heat to low, return the chicken to the sauce and reheat, about 1 minute. Serve garnished with parsley, dill and/or chives, if desired.

Chicken w/ Mexican Green Tomatoes

Thanks to a recent skiing trip I got a recommendation for this new and delicious dish. I was only cooking for two, which means there was leftover sauce and I’m pretty excited about that (check out my black bean tacos).

The Mexican Green Tomatoes are obviously Tomatillos, but I jokingly call them Green Tomatoes since that’s what they look like. In reality they’re more closely related to a Gooseberry, which ironically looks like a cherry tomato… What are they doing south of the border?

Anyway, if you can find these at your local farmers market or grocery store they are a lot of fun to cook with. I made this dish with chicken, but I also think pork would pair really well. The tomatillos matched with the serranos and cilantro made for a really flavorful and healthy meal, you will actually be surprised there is no citrus in this one.

For the pumpkin seeds I already had seasoned ones I’d made in the house. They aren’t essential to the recipe but they do add a nice crunch. If you want you can make some freshies for this dish. Just crisp them up in a cast iron and season with salt and any other desired spices.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husked*
• 3 serrano chiles, stemmed
• 2 whole skinless chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 pounds), halved
• 1 tbls olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
• 1 tsp salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tbls pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Place tomatillos and chiles on a rimmed baking sheet; broil until soft and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes. Turn; broil other side 5 minutes.
2. Remove from broiler and transfer to a food processor or blender; puree/blend.
3. Place chicken on same baking sheet and season with salt. Broil chicken until browned, about 9 minutes. Turn; broil other side 9 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a large saucepan over low heat; cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes.
5. Add pureed tomatillos and chiles; simmer uncovered, 2 minutes. Add cilantro and 1 teaspoon salt.
6. Gently place chicken in sauce. Simmer, covered, until meat is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
7. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and cilantro

*If you have never cooked with tomatillos before, here are some helpful tips to make sure you’re doing it right.

• Good tomatillos are firm, have no soft spots and are generally fully covered or nearly fully covered by their husk.
• Husk the tomatillos under running water, there is a sap like substance under the husk that you’ll feel on your fingers. It’s fine, just wash it off.
• You don’t need to core or cut up tomatillos before you cook with them, just throw them in the oven whole.
• If baking with your tomatillos produces a juice in the baking pan, use it.

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is one of those things your parents could whip up really quick when you were a kid. It’s simple and most ingredients are pantry fresh and easy to keep on hand. Although this dish wasn’t part of my childhood menu, it was part of my husband’s and he “modified” it to become the meal we make today.

I can’t clearly remember the first time I had this, but it may have been a dorm kitchen specialty. Back in college, when I had no idea how to cook, Erik would prepare full meals out of the dorm’s common kitchen. This dish might have been one of those meals, but I can’t say for sure.

So, things to always keep on hand for this that aren’t typical are capers and frozen artichokes. If you have a chicken on hand and cook frequently those two ingredients are piccata enablers. This is definitely something you could make for company.

Ingredients

• 4 4oz boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt + Fresh Ground Pepper
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 1/2 tsp finely grated Lemon Zest
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tbls Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup dry White Wine
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium Chicken Broth
• 1-2 cups Artichoke Hearts, cut in half
• 1/4 cup drained Capers

Preparation

1. In seal-able plastic bag, pound chicken with rolling pin until 1/4″-1/2″ thick.
2. Remove chicken from bag and season with salt and pepper.
3. Combine flour, lemon zest, paprika, garlic powder in the same plastic bag.
4. Return chicken to bag and coat with flour mixture. Shake off excess.
5. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and saute 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.
6. Add lemon juice, wine and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer
7. Simmer 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens.
8. Add artichoke heats and capers and continue to simmer until artichokes are heated through.

My Thai Salad

I really enjoy making homemade salad dressings for a number of reasons, like avoiding preservatives, using fresh ingredients, and to continuously try new flavors. You can also only enjoy Italian dressing so many times when you eat salad as much as we do.

So it seems very fitting to start this blog with what I consider to be the Holy Grail of salad dressings (the salad is good too). I made this for the first time about 7 months ago and then lost the recipe. It was a horrible one to lose not only because I was addicted to it, but because my husband Erik was too. Although I looked I couldn’t figure out where I got this recipe from or recall all the ingredients and of course I had tweaked the original recipe to my liking. Thankfully, half a year later, I FOUND IT. Time to document so I never lose it again.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Dressing

• 3  tablespoons  water
• 2  tablespoons  rice wine vinegar (but you can use rice vinegar)
• 1  tablespoon  chopped green onions
• 1  tablespoon  reduced-fat peanut butter
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1  teaspoon  Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong) – I use Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce
• 1  teaspoon  dark sesame oil
• 2  teaspoons  dry-roasted peanuts

Salad

• 2  cups  mixed baby salad greens
• 1/2  cup  fresh bean sprouts
• 2  tablespoons  vertically sliced red onion
• 3  tablespoons  fresh cilantro leaves
• 6  baby carrots, peeled
• 6  cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 grilled chicken breast (bone-in or no bone) or a meaty white fish like Mahi Mahi

Preperation

1. To prepare dressing, combine the first 8 ingredients in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Add peanuts; process 10 seconds.
2. To prepare salad, divide greens and remaining ingredients evenly between 2 serving plates. Drizzle each salad with 1/4 cup dressing.
3. Top with grilled chicken or fish as desired

PS I still have no idea where it came from in the first place.