Category: POULTRY

HOMEMADE CHICKEN BROTH & STOCK UP TIPS

At this time of year, I’m usually stocking up for winter in the wild and snowy north.  I start with LARGE bulk packs of meat.  I then break them down by size and meat right down to cutting certain recipes into bite sized pieces.  Then I wrap them in freezer paper because I really hate freezer burn!  And I package them into pre-labeled ziploc bags for the freezer.

I didn’t get a secondary picture, but I then wrap the center of each one with a strip of duct tape.  Yep, you read that right, duct tape.  Just a small strip.  Enough so when they’re stacked in the back of the freezer you can identify the meat.  I buy it in colors – red for beef, green for chicken and blue for pork.  It makes it soooooooo much easier when you’re searching in the freezer for the right meat.
Many times this prep includes rotisserie chickens.  My market at home has buy one, get one free on Tuesdays.  Can you figure out when I did my shopping? By the time I get home and put away the groceries, the rotisserie chickens are cool enough to pick off the bone.  The bowl below is the skin, congealed juices and bones I collected as I stripped 2 birds.
I think Martha (MM) and I met over some post about buying in bulk and we found a common ground – saving money!  Talk to your butcher.  Many times you can save even more than the advertised sale prices.  For example, recently my local market was running a sale on chuck roast.  None of the roasts were as large as I really needed for company so I asked the butcher if they had one the size I wanted and instead she offered up a manager’s daily sale (in the bulk section just a few feet away from the ones I was looking at) where I could buy twice as much for half as much saving me $8 over what I intended to spend and gave me enough for 3 meals.  I made ALL the chuck roast as Pot Roast & Veggies for company and then used the leftovers to make Ortega Chile Bake and Beef Chili.
I then use a large stock pot and cover the “debris” with water.  I set it to simmer on a low temp and let it go for an hour or so.  I don’t add any seasonings since I’ve normally bought mesquite broiled or lemon herb, but adjust according to your tastes.

 Then I drain it into my large 8 cup measuring cup and allow it to cool.

I have several of these containers that I bought just for chicken stock in the freezer.  I haven’t bought chicken stock in over 10 years now.  It’s just so easy to make your own.  Even if I start with raw chicken and poach it for a recipe I add seasonings and by the time the chicken is done, there is several cups of broth ready for the freezer.

Today’s flavor was Mesquite broiled so it left us with a spicy red color also.

So what do you do to get ready for winter?  Have I motivated you to stock up?

Fire Day Friday: Grilled Chicken with Orange Chipotle Glaze

I have a love affair with chipotles.  It’s true.  I don’t know if Chris knows about it or not, but I’m thinking he does not, as he never seems to question the numerous times chipotle shows up for dinner.  Either way, it’s not a love affair I am ready to give up yet, so let’s just keep this between us… ok?

At least I am willing to share my love with you all 🙂

The orange chipotle glaze was pretty spectacular.  The citrus and the smokiness of the chipotles blended so wonderfully together that I would swear they were meant to be together…. but I know that isn’t true as chipotle was meant for me ….and you of course!

Grilled Chicken with Orange Chipotle Glaze
Adapted from Cooking.com
– Serves 2 –
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
1/2 of a whole chicken
3 cups water
1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tablespoons chipotle puree
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon molasses

Directions:
Place the chicken in a large resealable bag or bowl.  Mix together the water, salt, sugar, pepper, and garlic until the sugar and salt has dissolved.  Pour mixture over chicken and allow to brine for at least 2 hours.  Remove chicken from brine and rinse thoroughly.  Pat dry with paper towel.

In a small bowl, mix together the orange juice concentrate, chipotle puree, balsamic, Dijon, and molasses until well combined.  Pour half of the glaze over the chicken and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Preheat grill to 375 degrees F.  Oil grill grates.  Place the chicken, skin side down directly over the fire.  Grill for 10 minutes.  Move the chicken to indirect heat (no longer directly over the fire), and continue to grill another 10 minutes.  Move chicken back to direct heat and flip over.  Baste skin side of chicken with some of the remaining glaze and allow to grill for 10 minutes.  Baste again with any remaining glaze and continue grilling until the chicken is cooked through – 160F in the breast and 180F in the deep thigh.  Enjoy!

ITALIAN BAKED CHICKEN

ITALIAN BAKED CHICKEN Serves 8

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut in halves)
salt and pepper to taste
provolone cheese slices
prosciutto slices
1 large bunch green onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
fresh basil
1 cup white wine (I used zinfandel)
3 tablespoons butter

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Generously salt and pepper each piece of chicken.
  • In a large skillet melt butter until frothy.
  • Add chicken pieces, searing each side quickly.  Drain on a paper towel. Do not discard butter.
  • Warp each piece of chicken in a slice of prosciutto and then lay a slice of provolone on top.  
  • Arrange chicken pieces in a baking dish.
  • In the skillet add the garlic and green onions, sauteing until soft and fragrant.
  • Add the wine and lemon juice, simmering until starts to thicken.
  • Pour sauce over and around chicken pieces.
  • Bake 30 minutes.
  • Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

CHICKEN PUFFS

I’m not quite sure where I originally found this recipe, but we fell in love with it and it makes a wonderful presentation for company.  The pictures are from when I originally made it with whole chicken breasts, but I have since changed it to using bite sized pieces.  Using chicken tenders works best.  It bakes better and is much easier to eat!
CHICKEN PUFFS
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
4 Pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets, defrosted
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 pound bacon, cut into quarters
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 handful flat leaf parsley
sea salt and white pepper to taste
1 large egg, beaten
PURE
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Add cream cheese, green onions, parsley, salt and pepper to a small food processor and process until well blended.  Set aside.
  • Cook bacon until crisp.  Drain on paper towels.
  • Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
  • In a large bowl, toss chicken pieces with cream cheese mixture until well coated.
  • On a large jelly roll pan that has been sprayed with PURE, lay out your puff pastry pieces and seal any stray seams.
  • Divide chicken evenly among the 4 sheets.
  • Top evenly with the bacon.
  • Pull up all four corners and give them a little twist in the center.
  • Brush with beaten egg.
  • Bake 30 minutes until golden brown.
  • Serve immediately.

Fire Day Friday: Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Manchalapeno sauce

Never heard of Manchapeno sauce before?

Me either until I made it up the other day when I made up this summery grilled chicken sandwich inspired by the Kentucky Hot Brown. Manchapeno sauce is a white sauce powered by a fire roasted jalapeno pepper and the salty nutty taste of manchego cheese.

The result was decadent. If it wasn’t for the sound of the crispy bacon as I bit into this, I think I would have been able to hear my taste buds sing.
Open Faced Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Manchapeno Sauce
3 large chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
Chicken Rub (see recipe)
3 sliced Italian bread
2 ea roma tomatoes, sliced in 1/4” pieces
6 slices bacon, cooked
Manchapeno Sauce (see recipe)
NMT Basic Chicken Rub
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp turbinado sugar
Manchapeno Sauce
1 Tbsp butter, unsalted
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp flour, all purpose
1 cup milk
1 cup manchego cheese
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 jalapeno (red if possible), fire roasted, peeled and seeded
2 Tbsp parsley, finely diced
Season chicken with the chicken rub. Feel free to substitute a purchased chicken rub if you have it on hand.
Make the “manchapeno sauce”. Melt the butter and saute garlic over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the flour and stir until well blended in (2-3 minutes), starting to form a roux.
Add in the milk and lightly simmer for 5-6 minutes. Stir in the cheese in small batches until all blended. Stir in the salt, pepper, jalapeno, and parsley. Keep warm on low, stirring occasionally.
Grill chicken over direct heat at 400f for 4 minutes. Flip can cook another 4 minutes.
Boneless thighs are thin and cook quick, keep an eye on them.
Flip again and cook 1-2 minutes. Flip last time and cook 1-2 minutes until chicken is an internal temp of 160f.
Toast both sides of the bread over the flames. 
Top each piece of bread with a piece of chicken, slices of tomato, and 2 slices of bacon. Then ladle the sauce over the sandwich and serve immediately.
Note: I used a red jalapeno from our front yard. Fire roasting the pepper gives it a smokiness like a “quickie chipotle”. Feel free to use a regular jalapeno or any other fire roasted chili. If you don’t like heat, you could use a roasted red bell pepper instead.

Fire Day Friday: Sparkling Barbecue Chicken

Last year, I won a copy of Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue! and it has become one of my favorite cookbooks… or grill-books I should say 🙂  Either way you say it, I love it.


Now, I have not made as many things out of this book as I would like, but I’ll get there, I just need time and patience.

Of all the recipes I have tried, though, this one is definitely the easiest.  It was a quick way to put together a tasty meal with very little effort.  And, I thought it was an interesting little spin on the standard barbecue chicken.

So what makes it sparkling?  Lemon-lime soda, of course.  The great thing is, this barbecue sauce truly did sparkle.  And the soda brought a bit of a sweet flavor to the barbecue sauce.  It was delicious!

Sparkling Barbecue Chicken

Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (like 7up or Sprite)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (recipe for homemade bbq sauce)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix together all the ingredients except for the chicken, in a bowl until well combined.  Reserve 3-4 tablespoons of the sauce.  Put chicken in a resealable bag and pour the remaining sauce of the chicken.  Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours (you can really get away with 2, but the longer it marinates the more flavorful it will be).

Preheat grill to 375 degrees F.  Brush oil on the grill grates.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place directly over the fire.  Grill for 8-10 minutes per side or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.  You can use the reserved sauce for basting in the last 5 minutes of grill time or you can serve it along side – heck, do both, I dare you 🙂  Enjoy!

YUCATAN CHICKEN ~ ACHIOTE PASTE – YUCATAN STYLE SAUCE

YUCATAN CHICKEN 

1/2 cup achiote paste
2 tablespoons chopped chipotle chile pepper
1 ripe banana
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons kosher salt
10 large boneless chicken breasts

  • Blend marinade ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is thick. 
  • Pour into a sealable plastic bag, add the chicken and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. 
  • Barbeque with marinade on chicken, being careful not to burn the chicken as it cooks. 
  • Watch closely. The finished chicken will have nice orange red color. 

RASPBERRY GLAZED ROSEMARY CHICKEN BREASTS

Don’t you just love all the things you can do with chicken?  I love trying new toppings and glazes.  It just seems fun to be able to dress up a chicken in different ways.

The rosemary was the predominant flavor on this. If you love rosemary, you will love these. The raspberry preserves resulted in a very nice sweetness that wasn’t overpoweringly tasting like raspberry. They really were well flavored and sweetened. I would make these again for sure.Raspberry Glazed Rosemary Chicken Breasts1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (I used 3 – 6 oz. breasts)
1 tablespoon crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 teaspoon honey mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I left this out)

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, stir together crushed rosemary, sage and oregano. Rub each side of the breasts with herb mixture. Place chicken in a baking dish and pour broth over chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes. Place raspberry preserves in microwave and heat for 20 – 30 seconds to soften. Stir in honey mustard and fresh rosemary. Spread preserve mixture evenly over each breast. Bake about 10 minutes more or until chicken is done.

Total calories for 18 oz. of chicken = 902
3 servings = 301 calories per chicken breast

CHICKEN FLAUTAS

I used to have a favorite lunch haunt called simply ‘Nachos’. It started as a hole in the wall, literally!, with ‘mama’ making her own tortillas and sauces. Mama couldn’t speak a word of English, but her traditional Mexican fare spoke volumes for her. She prepared the best Mexican food! At work we used to all pool together, call in a big order, send someone to pick it up and then truly pig out when the food arrived back at work! Their Nachos were truly awe inspiring ~ crisp and gooey all at the same time.
One of my very favorite meals that she made was her Chicken Flautas! Now that we’re here in the North Woods, where honestly they wouldn’t know Mexican food if it bit them on the butt, I crave those Chicken Flautas and have been working to replicate them. I tried boiling chickens with various seasoning combinations, none of which were correct and then finally settled on this recipe. It’s actually easier and tastes perfect too.

1 lemon herb rotisserie chicken (lemon & herb works best)
1 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Juice of 1 lime
sea salt
1 bunch green onions, finely minced
1 package tortillas
sour cream
Fresh Guacamole
Garden Tomato Salsa
1 cup or so Safflower oil for frying

  • Remove chicken pieces from the bone and finely shred the meat.
  • Toss the chicken pieces with the green onions, lime juice and salt.
  • Warm tortillas so they are soft and pliable.
  • Distribute the chicken and cheese mixture evenly amongst the tortillas.
  • Sprinkle onions over top.
  • Sprinkle with sea salt and lime juice.
  • Roll each tortilla up jelly roll style.
  • This works best with deep frying, but I found a cast iron pan works well as long as the oil goes at least half way up the side.
  • Fry each Flauta until golden. (Don’t crowd them in the pan)
  • Drain on a paper towel.
  • Serve with sour cream, Fresh Guacamole & Garden Tomato Salsa for dipping.

Fire Day Friday: Grilled Chicken with Oregano, Lemon, and Feta Cheese

If you follow my blog (Jenn’s Food Journey), then you may have heard me mention that I used to be a personal chef.  Well, I tried to be a personal chef.  It didn’t work out the way I had hoped, but that’s ok.  At the time, it worked out for the best.  I just wasn’t truly ready for that task and I was trying to work a full time job on top of it.  What I did learn was that although I love to cook, I did not love to cook for 8 hours straight…two or more days a row.  It just wasn’t for me.  I started to really dislike cooking and I knew that was not what I wanted.  So, I packed up my short lived career and was completely ok with it.  What’s nice, is I have learned so much since then and, well, I can always go back to it if I ever choose to 🙂

I tell this story because this recipe was actually a recipe that one of my clients requested as one of their “fresh” meals…. i.e… not a meal that I would freeze for him.  It, of course, was called for baking the chicken and it’s good that way.  But, if you know me at all, you know I would rather grill than bake any day… but especially when it’s over 100 degrees!!
This is a perfect recipe to make on a busy week night when you have little time to actually spend in the kitchen (or by the grill) yet want a delicious and almost elegant meal.  Ok, it’s at least delicious!

Grilled Chicken with Oregano, Lemon, and Feta Cheese
Adapted from Cooking.com
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (I only used about 1/4 cup cause the chicken breasts were on the smaller side)

Directions:
Mix together the mayo, lemon juice, oregano, and garlic clove.  Rinse of the chicken and pat dray.  Slather the mayo mixture on both sides of each piece of chicken and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat your grill to 370 degrees.  Oil the grill grates.  Place the chicken directly over the fire and grill for 8-10 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked through.  In the last 2 minutes, top with feta cheese, close the lid, and allow the cheese to melt or soften just a bit.  Remove from grill and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting into it.  Enjoy!

PAN SEARED CHICKEN with BROWNED PARSLEY BUTTER

PAN SEARED CHICKEN with BROWNED PARSLEY BUTTER
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
flour for dredging
4 tablespoons butter
1 large green onion, sliced thin
salt, pepper and paprika to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime

  • Place chicken between the folds of a clean cheesecloth towel.  
  • Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thick.
  • Cut each breast in half.
  • Generously season both sides of chicken breasts.
  • Dredge chicken in flour.
  • In a large skillet melt butter over medium high heat.
  • When butter is sizzling, but not browning, add onions and chicken pieces.
  • Generously season AGAIN!
  • Cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side.
  • Plate chicken and keep warm.
  • Add parsley, lemon and lime juices, cooking until browned. 
  • Pour over chicken pieces.
  • Garnish with parsely.

CHICKEN POT PIE, the HEALTHY WAY

When I was growing up, we ate a few too many Swanson frozen chicken pot pies.  For years and years, I wouldn’t eat the stuff.  No way, no how.  But, not too long ago, I asked a co-worker what she was eating, and she gave me a taste, and it was delicious!  It was nothing like that frozen stuff I had growing up.  So, I got to thinking how I could make it taste good and healthy at the same time.  The solution was simple!

CHICKEN POT PIE
2 12-oz cans of white meat chicken (this is the only thing I will eat with canned chicken)
1 can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 bag (10-12 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
salt and pepper to taste

Mix chicken, soups, and vegetables in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour in a baking dish.  Unroll the crescent dough.  Place on top of the chicken mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until center is no longer doughy.
This is such an easy recipe.  It served my family of 5 with a serving left over.  Dividing this recipe by 6 servings, each serving has 12 grams of fat and 340 calories.  Enjoy!