Category: PROTEINS

SPICY LEMON CHICKEN

  • 4 to 6 pieces of chicken (breasts and legs)
  • 1 (6 oz.) can frozen lemonade, thawed
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp. ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. APPLE CIDER vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp. cold water

Preparation:

Arrange chicken pieces in slow cooker. Combine lemonade concentrate, brown sugar, ketchup and vinegar; mix well. Pour lemonade mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from crockpot and cover to keep hot. Transfer liquid to saucepan over medium-low heat. Skim fat; combine cornstarch and cold water and add slowly to liquid, while stirring. When thickened, serve with chicken along with hot cooked rice.
Serves 4 to 6.

or

  • 1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh mint or 1/4 teaspoon dried mint
  • 4 pounds bone-in chicken breast halves (8 ounces each)
  • In a large resealable bag, combine the first five ingredients. Remove half of the marinade to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate. Add chicken to the bag; seal and turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.
  • Drain and discard marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes on each side, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Grill 5-10 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear; basting and turning several times.

OR

aprons 3

Fire Day Friday: Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I had a great time at Kingsford University in Las Vegas two weekends ago.  I learned a lot, got to meet old blog friends in real life, and met a bunch of new friends. 

One of the things Chris Lilly stressed was “grill once, eat twice”.  So last night I grilled an extra chicken to use for dinner tonight.

But I learned much from my fellow students too.  On the last night six of us were having dinner at Mesa Grill and we talked about how recent changes to how Google searches and presents results for recipes.  Previously, bloggers had a fair chance at showing up high in results for a specific recipe.  But NOW if your recipe posts do not contain “metadata” or “microformatting”, they will NOT show up in Google recipe searches.  Only the big sites like FoodNetwork, Allrecipes, Cooks, etc show up.

My new friend from last week, Meathead Goldwyn of AmazingRibs.com shared what he had found out about this in THIS POST.   John Dawson of PatioDaddio shared THIS USEFUL WEB SITE that will let you enter a recipe and then generate the appropriate Google Recipe SEO friendly format.  I tried it out tonight and here is the result.


Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

  • 1 ea
    small onion, chopped
  • 2 tsp
    butter
  • 3 cups
    cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
  • 2 ea
    chipotle, seeded and diced
  • 1/4 cup
    cilantro, chopped
  • 1 14.5 oz can
    diced tomatoes
  • 10 oz
    Philadelphia Sante Fe Blend Cooking Creme
  • 2 cups
    baby spinach, chopped
  • 2 cloves
    garlic, minced
  • 1 cup
    cheese, shredded (I used 1/2 of smoked cheddar and monterey jack)
  • 1/4 cup
    half and half
  • 10 ea
    flour tortiallas (6″ size)

Cooking Directions

  1. Preheat a saute pan and then melt the butter. Saute the onions for 5 minutes until tender.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the chicken, chipotle, cilantro, spinach, tomatoes and garlic. Add 3/4 cup of the Philly Sante Fe blend Cooking Creme and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Top with the hot onions and let sit for a minute. Toss all of this together until well blended.
  3. Spoon the mixture evenly among the tortillas, about 1/3 cup each. Roll up and place seam side down in a greased 13 x 9 casserole dish. We ended up having to use another small dish too.
  4. Top with the rest of the cheese. Mix the rest of the Sante Fe Creme and the half & half. Spoon over the enchiladas.
  5. Bake at 350f for 25 minutes.
  6. Serve with Mexican rice and tortilla chips.

Ok, so I’m not crazy about the layout that it generates. So how do you choose between “how your recipes appear on your site” or “how your site appears on Google”, tough one, right?  I guess we will be seeing a lot more tools to help us little guys compete with the big sites.  

Are you planning to change how you post your recipes relative to the Google changes?

GARLIC HERB ROAST CHICKEN with ROASTED ORANGES & RED ONIONS

GARLIC HERB ROAST CHICKEN with ROASTED ORANGES and RED ONIONS
1 chicken, 4-5 pounds
2 navel oranges, sliced in thick slices or wedges
2 red onions, sliced or wedged (zest one orange)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter, softened + 2 tablespoons butter, cubed or thinly sliced
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 + 1 teaspoons fresh thyme
pepper to taste

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Mash garlic and 1 teaspoon salt into a paste.
  • Combine garlic paste, 2 teaspoons thyme, butter and zest until well blended.
  • Gently separate the skin from the chicken and rub one half of the butter mixture all over.
  • Season the outside with the remaining salt and some pepper.
  • Fill the cavity with a few of the orange slices, onion wedges and remaining thyme.
  • Place chicken, breast side up on a rimmed baking sheet with the wings folded in and legs banded together.
  • Scatter the remaining orange and onion pieces around the chicken.
  • Dot onions and oranges with the 2 tablespoons of butter pieces.
  • Roast for 30 minutes. At this point I added some potatoes also.
  • Brush chicken with remaining garlic butter mixture.
  • Flip oranges and onions.
  • Rotate the baking sheet and roast 15 minutes more.
  • Remove the onions and oranges if caramelized.
  • Roast chicken 15 minutes more or until juices run clear.
  • Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Linking to: 

CHICKEN STROGANOFF ~ CLASSIC GOOD EATS

CHICKEN STROGANOFF
2-3 slices bacon, diced
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/3+ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon flour
egg noodles

  • In a large skillet brown bacon.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
  • Add onions and garlic, saute for a few minutes.
  • Add Chicken pieces.
  • Saute’ 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add spices and blend well.
  • Add chicken broth and bring JUST to a boil.
  • Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes JUST until liquid is absorbed.  Boil your noodles at this point.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream and flour.
  • Add sour cream mixture to chicken mixture along with the bacon pieces. Blend well and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until heated through.  Sauce will become creamier and thicken at this time.
  • Serve over hot noodles.
To make this meal quicker for a weeknight you can use rotisserie chicken and save time.

CHICKEN PASTA IN GARLIC CREAM SUN-DRIED TOMATO SAUCE

Hi, Tamy here filling in for our MIA Tuesday girl, Liz. I thought I’d bring you a quick and easy, yet flavorful pasta.  While this sounds like a complicated recipe, it’s an easy and quick weeknight recipe when you use the rotisserie chicken.  I buy rotisserie chickens often and when I get home from the store and they are relatively cool, I de-bone the chicken and portion out the pieces for week night recipes.  I then take the remaining bones and skin and simmer for about an hour to create stock.  I then freeze the stock in 2 cup portions for use in those same week night recipes.  Tonight I had some asparagus that needed using so I tossed that in too.

Chicken Pasta in Garlic Cream Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
1 pack vermicelli noodles or pasta of your choice
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 chicken breasts or 2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
1 cup milk or heavy cream
2-3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons classico sun dried tomato pesto
1/2 large white Vidalia onion, diced
4 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons flour
salt
pepper
olive oil
fresh grated Parmesan cheese

  • Boil pasta in large pot.
  • While pasta boiling preheat large deep skillet to medium low.
  • Cube chicken to bite size pieces if using raw chicken.
  • Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add chicken, salt and pepper to taste.
  • Cook until chicken is JUST done. Remove to a warm plate.
  • Add remaining butter.
  • When melted, add flour to center of pan, whisk until mixture turns golden in color, creating a roux.
  • Add in the first cup of chicken stock raising heat to medium high, stirring until sauce thickens. Sauce will be very thick.
  • Whisk in second cup of stock until desired consistency.
  • Taste sauce at this point and add in more salt and pepper to taste. Heavy pepper is good in this dish.
  • Add chicken pieces.
  • Add in sun dried tomato pesto, reduce heat to low and allow sauce to continue cooking and thickening.
  • At the very end add in your milk or cream starting with just half to begin with.
  • Drain pasta and add to sauce, coating pasta with chicken and cream sauce.
  • Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy.
  • If sauce gets too thick it is better to add more stock then milk, as milk or cream will make the dish to rich and take away from the flavor. If your sauce is not thick enough turn up the heat and quickly whisk in more flour.

STUFFED PAN SEARED CHICKEN BREASTS with CHILI GARLIC CARROTS

When I went grocery shopping this week, Philadelphia cream cheese had a special going.  By buying my orange juice I received one of their new cooking creams free to try.  So, try we did and it’s 2 thumbs up around here!

STUFFED PAN SEARED CHICKEN BREASTS with CHILI GARLIC CARROTS
4 chicken breasts,
4 green onions, sliced thin
2 cups halved baby carrots
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons herbs de provence
1 small can chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup Philadelphia Cream Cheese Garlic Sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
2 + 2 tablespoons butter
sea salt and white pepper

  • Carefully slice open a pocket area of each chicken breast.
  • Combine sugar, chili powder and herbs de provence in a mortar and grind fine with pestle.
  • In a small food processor combine green chiles and goat cheese until well blended. Add 1/2 of herb mix and blend again.
  • In a small skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat.  Add onions and garlic, sauteing until soft.  Add carrots and saute until tender.
  • Add remaining spice mixture to carrots while sauteing.
  • In a medium skillet melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat.
  • Fill the pocket in chicken breast with the green chili mixture.  Add to skillet.  Salt and pepper chicken generously.  Cook until cooked through and browned on both sides.
  • Pour lemon juice over the chicken and simmer a few minutes.
  • Stir cream cheese sauce into the carrots.
  • Plate chicken breasts.
  • Add carrots to chicken pan and blend sauces together.
  • Serve immediately.

    Speedy Sweet and Sour Chicken ~ Simply Delicious Sunday

    Speedy Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe: from BetterRecipes.com
    2 teaspoons vegetable oil
    1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
    1 medium onion cut into 1/2-inch strips
    1 red sweet pepper cut into 1/2-inch strips
    1 Tablespoon cornstarch
    1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained, reserving juice
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
    1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
    1/2 cup tomato sauce
    Rice or soba (buckwheat) noodles

    Directions: Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet, add chicken, onion and pepper strips, and stir-fry about 5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Mix cornstarch, pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and tomato sauce in a small bowl; add to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens. Add chicken mixture back to pan; add pineapple chunks and heat through. Serve over rice or soba noodles.

    Here’s what you’ll need:
    Slice up a medium onion.
    Slice up a red bell pepper.
    Cut up 2 chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
    Measure out all of the rest of the ingredients and put them into a separate small bowl. Measure out 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
    Drain the juice of a can of pineapples into a bowl.  

    Add the brown sugar.
    Soy Sauce.
    Rice wine vinegar.
    1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
    Heat a wok or skillet until it is really hot.
    Cover the bottom with 3-4T of olive oil and then throw in the chicken.
    Add the peppers and onions with the chicken for about 5-6 minutes.
    The chicken, onions and pepper were pulled out and the sauce mixture went in.

    Cook the sauce mixture until it is thickened up a bit and then the chicken, onions and peppers go back in.

    Finally, the pineapple chunks go into the wok and cook for 5-6 minutes.

    **While all of this was going on, I also made some Uncle Ben’s rice according to the directions on the box.
    Here’s what you’ll end up with:

    This dish is pretty sweet so you may think about adding some type of pepper to spice it up a bit.  Also, I think next time I will keep the rice and mixture separate until it is time to serve.  You may want to let the sauce cook a little longer, too, to thicken up a bit but this dish was so good that these little things didn’t really matter a whole lot!

    Overall, this has been the best stir fry or Chinese type food that I have tried. I think that I will make it again but I will definitely give it a little spicy kick.

    CHICKEN SALAD STUFFED AVOCADO with LEMON GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

    CHICKEN SALAD STUFFED AVOCADO with LEMON GARLIC VINAIGRETTE
    2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
    4 green onions, sliced thin
    1 stalk celery, minced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    Juice of 1 lemon
    1 tablespoon blood orange vinegar*
    1 tablespoon canola oil
    1 tablespoon sugar
    salt and pepper to taste
    1 avocado or tomato per person

    • Combine chicken and celery in mixing bowl.  
    • Salt and pepper generously.
    • In a small food processor blend garlic, green onions, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and sugar until well mixed.
    • Pour vinegar mix into mixing bowl and toss well.
    • If using tomatoes carve out centers with sharp knife.  Slice insides onto plate.  Salt and pepper generously.
    • If using avocados carefully scoop out of shell with a large spoon and arrange on plate with tomato slices.  Salt and pepper generously.
    • Fill centers with chicken salad.
    • Serve with garlic toast points.

    *or flavor of your choice

    Fire Day Friday: Mustard Crusted Top Sirloin

    All I have to say is… oh my god this was good!!

    Ok.. I really do have more to say then that, but still… oh my god this was good!!!

    I knew I had created something special when I overheard Chris in the other room, as I was taking pictures, exclaim:  “Wow, the potatoes are really good.”  2 clicks of the camera later, I hear – “Oh, man, these green beans are good too.”  2 clicks of the camera later, I hear – “Oh my god the steak is amazing, and so tender!  Mmmmmmmm!!!”

    (YAY!!)  I love hearing that!!!  Nothing better then being patted on the back for something you created in the kitchen… or in this case… on the grill!!  Honestly, the steak was so good, there was no need for any type of seasoning or sauce after it hit our plates.  I didn’t get as great of a sear on the outside as I would have liked – a better sear would have gave me more of the crust I was looking for – but it was cooked perfectly otherwise!!  And Chris was right, it was really tender and very flavorful!
    Mustard Crusted Top Sirloin
    Printable Recipe 
    Ingredients:
    1 lb top sirloin steaks (I had one really big piece that I cut into two smaller pieces) (oh, and you can use any cut of beef, by the way)
    3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
    1 Tablespoon olive oil
    1 teaspoon lemon juice
    1 Tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary
    1 Tablespoon freshly chopped thyme
    Salt and Pepper

    Directions:

    In a small bowl, mix together the Dijon, olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, and thyme until well combined.  Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper.  Slather the sauce over both sides of the meat and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours.
    Remove the steak from the refrigerator.  Preheat the grill to 400-425 degrees.  Place the steaks over the heat and grill about 4-8 minutes per side (depending on desired doneness).  Remove from the grill and allow to stand for 4 minutes before cutting into it.  Enjoy!

    CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET ~ CLASSIC GOOD EATS

    CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET
    3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
    1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
    1 pound fat sausages of choice, cut into bite sized pieces
    3 tablespoons butter
    1 large Vidalia onion, diced
    4 garlic cloves, minced
    4 carrots, sliced
    1/2 pound snap peas, washed and deveined
    1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
    1 14-ounce can petit diced tomatoes, basil, garlic & oregano
    1 tablespoon Classico sun-dried tomato puree
    1/2 teaspoon dried sage
    1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried
    2 +/- cups chicken stock
    2 cups seasoned bread crumbs**
    salt and ground black pepper

    •  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
    • Brown the bacon until browned and crumbly in Dutch oven casserole dish.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
    • Add chicken and sausages and brown on all sides. Remove from fat and set aside. 
    • Add the onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. 
    • Add the carrots, snap peas and parsley, sauteing 3-4 more minutes.
    • Add tomatoes, tomato puree, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
    • Add meat back in.
    • Add enough of the stock to just cover the meat and veggies, you don’t want things swimming around too much.  You can always add more stock during the cooking if needed. 
    • Cover dish and cook 1 hour.
    • Add more stock if necessary. Spread crumbs over the top and cook uncovered for 40 more minutes or until browned. 
    • Try adding other vegetables such as broccoli or white beans for variety.  

      **I used crushed ritz crackers today and they worked reallllllllllllllly well as a substitute!

        STUFFED PORK LOIN ~ FORK TENDER

        OOPS wrong adage, but the try, try again really fits.  I like to succeed, but I also LOVE to experiment.  My dear friend Jenn and hubby both gave yesterday’s Bleu cheese spread for the DANISH CUBE STEAK REVISITED two thumbs up, but I couldn’t stop there – I still had spread left!  I also had a fresh pork loin and had just read Martha’s STUFFED FLANK STEAK recipe and voile’ just like Melanie Griffith, er Tess McGill in Working Girl combining Trask and radio to succeed, I had an idea! I combined pork roast, our new favorite Bleu cheese spread and Martha’s flank steak style with superb results – true success!

        STUFFED PORK LOIN – serves 4

        1 small pork roast, cut in half
        1 1/2 ounces Bleu cheese crumbles
        1/4 cup mayonnaise
        1/8 cup minced green onions
        • In a small food processor blend together the mayonnaise, bleu cheese crumbles and green onions until smooth.
        • Cut volcano shaped slice out of the center of each pork half.  Next time I will buy a large roast and have it butterflied, but today I worked with what I had.
        • Fill with bleu cheese mixture.
        • Salt and pepper generously.
        • Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour- 1 1/4 hours.
         

        Now nothing goes to waste at our house.  We use it until it can be used NO more.  If it’s a sauce, it may become a dressing for hubby’s salads by adding flavored vinegars or oils or a filling for a casserole, but it gets used.  I had  a tiny bit of BBQ sauce left and it is one of our favorites, but it wasn’t enough to do much with, so I used it as a rub on the baked potatoes and then mixed the last couple of tablespoons with some butter and sour cream and darned if it wasn’t super yummy and flavorful too!

        Grown Up Mac & Cheese with updated Danish Cube Steak

        GROWN UP MAC & CHEESE
        12 ounce package pasta
        3 tablespoons flour
        3 tablespoons butter
        2 cups whole milk
        1/2 teaspoon sea salt
        1 teaspoon Frank’s hot sauce
        3/4 cup sharp white cheddar cheese
        3 ounces bleu cheese crumbles
        1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

        • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
        • Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain Well.
        • Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add salt.
        • In a small food processor pulse bleu cheese crumbles until fine.  Set aside.
        • Add flour and whisk constantly over medium heat until smooth.
        • Gradually add milk, whisking constantly.  
        • Add hot sauce.  Bring to a slow boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
        • Remove from heat and whisk in all cheeses, salt and pepper to taste until smooth.
        • Mix pasta and cheese mixture together until well blended.
        • Scoop into a casserole or ramekins.
        • Bake 15-20 minutes.
        • Top with chopped chives.

        DANISH CUBE STEAK REVISITED
        3 ounces bleu cheese crumbles
        3/4 cup mayonnaise
        1/4 cup minced green onions
        6 pork cube steaks
        1/2 cup panko crumbs
        2 tablespoons butter

        • In a small food processor blend together the mayonnaise, bleu cheese crumbles and green onions until smooth.
        • Coat steaks on both sides with mayonnaise mixture.
        • Dredge through panko crumbs.
        • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
        • Add cube steaks and brown on both sides.