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Tag Archives: Chicken
Juicy free range/organic chicken tenders are coated with panko and coconut breading. Then lightly pan fried in peanut oil to make a flavorful kid friendly meal that even the adults will love. Served with a cool cucumber salad and a curry peanut sauce.
After drooling all over the computer screen a couple weeks ago, when I saw what Alice did with some chicken tenders, I knew I had to make them! She made this slightly sweetened tenders for her daughters’ birthday party, if a bunch of giggly 8 year olds love them, I knew we would, too. I loved that she used coconut in the breading; why, had I never thought of that? I decided to take her basic concept and spice it up a bit by adding red chilies and fresh basil to the seasoning as well I left out the orange juice. It was slightly spicy but not over the top, your kids will still like it. The peanut sauce was a great compliment to the sweet coconut and hot chilies. Serve with a cucumber salad and you have a perfect meal.
Recipe: Coconut Chicken Tenders
*recipe idea from Savory Sweet Life
1 lb chicken tenders, free range/organic
1 cup panko
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 red chilies, minced
fresh basil, handful, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper
peanut oil, for frying
Peanut Sauce
Wash the chicken and pat dry. Mix the egg and milk in a dish. Combine, the panko, coconut, chilies, basil, salt and pepper, mix well. Heat the peanut oil in a shallow frying pan, about 1/2 inch up the side. Dip a tender in the egg mixture, coat with panko mixture and gently pan fry in the peanut oil. Continue with all the tenders. When you remove the tender from the hot oil, lay the tenders on a paper towel, in a warm oven. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Peanut Sauce
1 can of coconut milk
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 teaspoons curry paste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Mix everything in a bowl until smooth.
Recipe: Cucumber Salad
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 carrot, grated
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Place the sugar, lime juice and vinegar in a non-metallic bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the cucumber, carrot, red onion and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Makes 2 cups.
Free Range Chicken Thighs are lightly seasoned with the basics (olive oil, sea salt and fresh pepper), then pan seared and finally baked with lemon, rosemary and black olives, to create a flavorful and easy dinner.
They say most guys are “breast” guys, well, my guy is all about the legs and thighs! We quit eating white meat, awhile back, after having an incredible chicken dinner of legs and thighs. Legs and thighs are so much more flavorful, not to mention moister than the dried out breast. Guess what? Those thighs are not bad for you. We are all told white meat is better, dark meat is too fatty. It is true chicken thighs contain twice the amount of fat of a boneless, skinless breast but it is only 11 grams of fat per 4 ounce serving, which is less than the same size serving of beef. As well as being “okay” to eat they are also more economical.
While I was pan searing these amazing little thighs the other night night, I was twittering with Nanette, of Gourmet Worrier, about olives. She was telling me about these amazing sounding stuffed olives. I was so intrigued, that my thighs set off the fire alarms at our house and this dish almost became the 3 alarm chicken, when the fire department showed up – oopss! (single readers, great way to meet a fireman, but I don’t recommend doing it too often or they might catch on) Lucky for me, I had a jar of black olives and after the fire department left, I decided to throw the olives along with some lemon and rosemary into the pan and bake the chicken. This dish was not the stuffed olives but it was amazing. it came out very moist, slightly salty and tart with a floral and slightly pungnet taste of rosemary; really a great dish not to mention very easy!
Recipe: Chicken with Olives
serves 4
8 chicken thighs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, mashed
1 jar black olives, drained
handful of fresh rosemary, lightly crushed (I just give a squeeze between my palms)
1 meyer lemon, quartered
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 425. Heat olive oil in a deep oven proof frying pan, add shallots and garlic, cook for about 3 – 5 minutes over low heat. Wash chicken thighs and pat dry, season with salt and pepper. Add legs to the frying pan and brown until golden on all sides, about 6 – 10 minutes total. Add olives, lemon and rosemary. Bake in the oven for about 35 – 40 minutes, until cooked through. Serve. Eat.
The Colonel would never agree with us, as we have found a healthy alternative to fried Chicken; Tortilla Chicken Drumsticks. Meaty organic drumsticks are coated with crusted tortilla chips that have been seasoned with cumin seeds and spicy paprika and then baked until crispy and golden. Served with a light salad of white corn, cherry tomatoes and parsley. A meal even your kids will love, after all, what kid does not want chips with their dinner?
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As soon as I read this recipe in Gourmet magazine, I knew two things 1) easy dinner and 2) kid friendly and I mean big kid friendly! We never have a bag of chips in the house unless it is here for a purpose; company coming and we are serving salsa, even then, I usually bake our own tortilla chips for this dish I picked up a big bag with the intentions of dinner and have some guilty pleasure laying around the house. This recipe is so easy and it is so tasty, not overly spicy, just right and the texture is great. Crunchy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. Your kids, young and old, will love it!
Ree, The Pioneer Woman, sent out a Twitter this week asking anyone to jump on board, for making something with left over corn. I have never really been a big corn fan, I blame it on wearing braces as a kid. Lenny, discovered white corn a few years ago, on a trip back from climbing in Yosemite and he loved that you could just gnaw it raw off of the cob, not over cooked corn that he remembered as a kid. I, too, have discovered the sweet and succulent White Corn and now, I love it as well. We eat it very often in the summer months – raw, grilled and steamed with butter. Anyhow, we have had 3 ears of white corn in the fridge and this was the perfect reason to do something with it. We wanted something refreshing to compliment the spiciness of the drumsticks, so we made a white corn salad. It is very simple and you can really use whatever you have on hand. We tossed in purple peppers, cherry tomatoes, parsley, red onion and the sweet white corn. Dressed up with simple olive oil and fresh lime juice – perfect summer salad! Thanks, Ree, for putting a little fire under us!
Recipe: Tortilla Chicken Legs
8 oz lightly salted corn tortilla chips
4 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1 large egg
8 chicken drumsticks, organic and/or cage free
lime wedges, for garnish
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Oil a large 4-sided sheet pan. Pulse chips, cumin and paprika in a food processor until coarsely ground, then transfer to a shallow dish. Whisk egg in a bowl. Dip chicken legs in egg, letting excess drip off, then coat with crumbs, pressing to help them adhere. Transfer to sheet pan. Bake, turning once, until cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes.
Recipe: White Corn Salad
3 ears of white corn, kernels removed
1 small purple pepper, or any color you like, roughly chopped
1/2 small red onion, medium dice
parsley, handful, roughly chopped
cherry tomatoes, 2 handfuls, cut in half
1 lime, squeezed
olive oil, a drizzle
sea salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper
Add all veggies to a salad bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh lime juice. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.
We cannot believe how much Chez Us has evolved. It is so much fun to look back and see how the site has grown. Not to mention all the fantastic readers we have, who comment and share the same passion! The relationships are really amazing and we talk about this often over at Chez Us. If it was not for the love of eating, cooking, drinking and food, none of us would have ever met! We thank you for being here and sharing your lives with us!
We decided on our first Blogiversary (we had more time then and even had a video to show you how) to recreate the orginal meal we had at the very beginning, which was Vegetarian Enchiladas washed down with Blood Orange Margaritas. This year we decided to change it around a bit by making Chicken Enchiladas. The recipe I use is really fantastic – chicken thighs (they have more flavor) that have been poached with bay leaves and garlic and then combined with lots of sour cream, mild green chilies and cheddar cheese, finally smothered with a chipotle pepper sauce. We served them with Spanish Rice and re-fried pinto beans, which I spice up with mild chilies, lime juice and cheese. A birthday celebration would not be a celebration without our famous Blood Orange Margaritas!
Here’s to another great year – we have some fun things planned and look forward to you being a part of it all! We will be making/adding a BIG announcement to this post in a day or two!! It is BIG & FUN!
Recipe: Perfect Blood Orange Margaritas
1 cocktail
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup fresh blood-orange juice (you can use regular oranges)
1 lime, squeezed
4 tablespoons tequila, we like silver, as well you can add more if you dare
1 tablespoon Cointreau
Lime slice, for garnish
Cracked ice
DIRECTIONS
Put the juices into a shaker, add the ginger, tequila and ice. Shake. Strain into a glass. Float Cointreau on the top. Garnish with lime. Serve. Sip don’t glup.
How do you make your children eat chicken? By making this fool proof kid friendly chicken recipe, it will have your children begging you for more. Your kids will love this!!! Simply bbq’d chicken is basted with a sweet but tart glaze until it is golden brown.
The story of MEM. I have never really told the story of MEM, though, I have spoke of them fondly and often. MEM stands for Max, Ella, and Maggie; otherwise known as, Monkey, Peanut, and Mags or Magalicious. So you ask yourself, who are these mystery children? No, they are not the secret children we keep hidden in our apartment! No, they are not our nieces and nephews – we do have 6 nephews and 2 nieces but they all live far from us. Read on to find out ….
About 8 years ago, I became restless. I was 35 and ready to move on with my life; no more roommates. At the same time the dot.com was starting to crash and people where losing their jobs left and right; mine was becoming very unstable and I was very unhappy, despite, actually liking what I did. After a fantastic winter of skiing and playing in Tahoe with friends, two of us decided to skip off to Bali for 3 fantastic weeks. It was there, that I realized I needed to make some major changes in my life. I even contemplated quitting my job and continuing my travels from there, but, then the logical part of me kicked in and I came home. Once home that journey of change began. Unfortunately, rents were still sky-high and no one was hiring ……. not even a waitress job that could get me out of my unhappy situation for awhile.
After 4 months of continuing the search and hitting interviews, I became pretty desperate at work one day. While scouring the ads on Craigslist, I came across one looking for someone to care for a couple’s 3 month year old son. Now, this was definitely not the field I was in (I was working for a start-up as a facility manager) but caring for a 3 month old could not be any more difficult then looking after an office of a bunch of 30 year olds that were equally as demanding. So, I polished up my corporate resume and sent it off. Not more then 30 minutes later, I got a reply, that they wanted to meet me – I am sure they just wanted to meet the insane person whose resume had no child experience; but, hey, I had babysat most of my teens, taken care of three younger sisters and occasionally watched (played) with friend’s kids and besides I was energetic and compassionate; I knew I would be perfect.
Long story short …. I liked them and they liked me and they had this bouncy bubbly baby boy who seemed to take to me. They also had a one bedroom cottage with a backyard and a deck, which could be mine. This was definitely the blessing I had been searching for.
It has been 8 years almost. Eight adventurous and wonderful years actually. So much as happened in those 8 years, from being able to be on my own, falling deep in love (with Laudalino), building new and exciting relationships (Will & Evelyn, et al), enjoying life more, being asked to be Mag’s godmother, and learning to live life through the eyes of a child (MEM). Now, don’t get me wrong, there were some ups and downs, especially after days of dirty diapers, if I wondered to myself, if I had lost my mind; but, then I would get a hug or a smile and it would all change. Then about three years ago, I found out, that I would not be having children of my own and it all kind of came together. There was a reason that I answered that ad. There was a reason that we were all introduced. And it was all starting to come together.
My role has evolved and changed the past couple of years. The kids grew up, started school and started becoming their own persons. I started craving being back out in the business world, so I came out from behind the scenes and started working with Lenny at his company and now I only spend two days with MEM, which is mostly time with little M. We try to sneak in special time whenever possible, as well Laudalino and I still live in the little cottage, which we have grown to love, and we keep an open door policy with MEM.
Now you are probably asking yourself what does this all have to do with ‘Candy Chicken‘. This past weekend, I stayed with MEM for three nights while W & E, took a long weekend. It is always fun for the four of us to have these “SUPER BIG SPECIAL NIGHTS” as it means lots of fun, games, playtime and cooking together (the girls loved peeling shrimp & making meatballs this time around) Unfortunately, we do have to schedule time to EAT! Evelyn as well as her mother, make this great grilled chicken. ‘Candy Chicken’. This is a great dish, that any child will love, young or old. It is moist, crispy, slightly tart and slightly sweet. We served it with steamed white corn and melted butter.
MEM is crazy for chocolate and not just any old chocolate, it has to be dark chocolate. I wanted to make something fun, so I thought a gooey LAVA cake would be perfect! I remembered one that I made a couple years ago, unfortunately, my recipes are packed away, so I went by memory on this recipe – it turned out great!
Recipe: Candy Chicken
1 cut up chicken, cleaned, patted dry
1/2 cup butter
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
kosher salt
Melt butter. Add sugar and lemon juice, stir over low heat, until sugar is melted. Stir in paprika and season with salt, to taste.
Lightly season chicken with salt. Heat bbq according to your directions. Grill chicken until almost cooked through. The last 15 minutes, lightly baste all sides of the chicken and continue grilling until golden. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Lava Cake
4 oz chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons flour
Heat oven to 375. Melt butter and chocolate over very low heat until melted. Beat eggs, egg yolks and sugar until light and slightly thickened. Add vanilla. Drizzle in chocolate mixture with mixer running, beat until mixed, about 3 minutes. Add flour and beat for another 3 minutes.
Butter and flour 5 ramekins. Divide the batter between ramekins. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and invert onto serving plates. Serve. Eat.
A light and refreshing salad of arugula, grilled chicken and zucchini with a tangy Meyer Lemon dressing. This is perfect for the first warm spring evening or even a summer night al fresco.
We have been craving a hearty salad for a couple weeks now. We keep talking about ones we love but have not gotten around to making any. I got the idea for this salad from a recipe in the April issue of Food & Wine magazine. I thought the combination of ingredients would make a nice spring or summertime salad. As always, I did change the recipe around to fit our tastes. The recipe calls for using raw zucchini but I thought it would be easier to eat if they were also grilled and I used extra Meyer Lemon juice, which gave it an extra tangy but still slightly sweet taste – very refreshing.
Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Salad
* serves 2
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Finely grated zest of 1 Meyer lemons, plus juice of 2 Meyer lemons
Sea Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 medium zucchini, cut into 3-by-1/2-inch sticks
1 large shallot, minced
1 chicken breast, halved, skinless and boneless
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 cups lightly packed baby arugula leaves
In a large nonreactive bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic, cumin, lemon zest, juice from one lemon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add the zucchini and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
In a large, shallow glass or ceramic dish, combine the minced shallot with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the remaining lemon juice. Add the chicken breast halves, turning to coat thoroughly with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning a few times.
In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, tossing a few times, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
In a large grill skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the zucchini in a single layer and grill until lightly browned but still slightly crisp. Remove from the pan and put back into the remaining zucchini marinade.
Remove the chicken breast halves from the marinade, and discard the marinade. Add the chicken to the grill skillet and cook over moderately high heat, turning a few times, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large, shallow serving bowl and let cool slightly. Before serving, thinly slice.
Add the marinated zucchini, toasted pine nuts, and arugula together and toss lightly. Lay the greens on a serving plate and top with the grilled chicken. Serve. Eat.
This easy dinner is an Italian version of Cordon Bleu – chicken thighs stuffed with parmesan cheese, wrapped with prosciutto and then lightly pan fried.
This dinner probably looks a lot like summer. I received the first magazine of the wonderful gift subscription of Donna Hay, that I received from MEM for Christmas. I love Donna. The photography throughout her books will have you drooling all over. Her easy and delicious recipes will amaze you every time.
Tonight I made a simple chicken thigh recipe. I followed Donna’s idea but changed how to do it a little. Instead of lightly rolling the thighs and sprinkling with Parmesan cheese on them; I pounded them until thin and the rolled Parmesan cheese in the middles before wrapping with Prosciutto and pan frying. The chicken came out very moist and really flavorful and slightly salty. This dish reminded me of an Italian version of Cordon Bleu. I served the chicken exactly as Donna suggested, with a tomato and basil salad.
Recipe
Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto
* serves 4
4 chicken thighs, trimmed
3/4 cup shaved Parmesan
4 slices of prosciutto
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 vine ripened tomatoes, sliced
1 cup basil leaves
olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt and cracked pepper
Place the chicken between 2 sheets of waxed paper and flatten by pounding. Put shavings of Parmesan cheese in the middle of the thigh and tightly make into a roll. Wrap with the prosciutto. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. cook the chicken 3 – 4 minutes each side or until cooked through. Place the tomato and basil in a bowl, drizzle with extra oil and vinegar and toss to combine. Serve. Eat.
We had a pretty busy weekend entertaining but I did find time to get a pot of chicken stock going on Sunday while we sipped wine all afternoon and made a fantastic meal. I made a batch of beef stock a couple weeks ago but the freezer has been missing chicken so it was definitely time. I don’t have any particular recipe, I just kind of wing it. Each time it comes out a little differently but still very good. If you don’t make stock you really should, it makes all the difference.
Tonight was a very rainy night, a night that was meant to be spent at home. I decided to make my fall back on Chicken Soup using some of the chicken stock. I sauteed some carrots, celery, onions and garlic with a little olive oil and then I added it to the chicken stock. I had saved the meat from the stock making and added it as well. While I let this simmer for about an hour, I tossed around the idea of adding rice or barley but then I remembered dumplings. I have a recipe I normally use, while they are good, they are not great. So tonight I decided to try the Butter Dumpling recipe in the Mark Bittman cookbook, How to Cook Everything. The difference between the two recipes was that his calls for butter, grated onion and some stock added into the dumpling mixture. This little morsels of sinful buttery goodness were a great addition to my basic chicken soup. Flavorful. Buttery (even left a nice layer of butter in the soup). Light and slightly eggy. We have definitely found our new favorite dumpling recipe!
Recipe: Basic Chicken Soup
- 6 cups of homemade chicken stock
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 4 ribs of celery diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup of chicken meat saved from making the stock
- salt
- pepper
Saute the veggies in the olive oil until soft. Add the chicken stock and the chicken meat. Reduce heat to a low simmer and let cook for about an hour to blend the flavors. Season with salt and pepper.
Recipe: Butter Dumplings
*from the How to Cook Everything cookbook
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup minced or grated onion
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
Cream the butter in a bowl with the back of a fork, then beat in the eggs. Stir in the flour, parsley, onion, salt and pepper blending well. Add heated stock 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the batter is soft; do not make it too loose or the dumplings will fall apart.
Drop the batter by the teaspoonful into the simmering broth. Cook until set and cooked through, about 10 minutes, removing the dumplings as they are done. Serve immediately in the soup.
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