Chicken
Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce
What:
Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce
The Recipe:
NOTE: This recipe can be used with either chicken or steak. I used chicken.
BBQ Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
- Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan
- Stir until all the ingredients are incorporated ans the mixture is smooth
- Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes
Chicken or Steak:
Ingredients:
- 4 pieces of any combination of breast or leg-and-thigh pieces or 4 pieces of New York strip or Club strip steak (I used 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill
- Season the meat with salt and pepper
- Lightly coat meat with some of the BBQ sauce using a pastry brush
- Place meat on the grill
- Place the remaining BBQ sauce, still in the pan, over low heat or on the edge of the grill and allow to gently simmer while meat cooks
- Cook chicken about 8 minutes per side. Cook steak about 4 minutes per side until desired temperature
- Continually brush meat with the BBQ sauce every few minutes
- Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes
- Serve with the heated BBQ sauce alongside
- Enjoy!
Review:
My wife and I both loved this recipe! The sauce had a pretty strong vinegary taste and it was pretty tangy, but it was very good. I’m not sure if I brushed the chicken on the grill too many times, because I didn’t really need any more BBQ sauce on the side. The chicken was very juicy and the BBQ sauce held to the chicken nicely. If you want to try a simple, homemade BBQ sauce, give this one a try!
Hopefully you found this recipe easy to follow and understand. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on this recipe. Keep cooking with courage!
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Chicken Enchiladas
What:
Chicken Enchiladas
Recipe By:
teppij
Why:
Chicken enchiladas are a lighter version of beef enchiladas while having great flavor!
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast meat (about 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
- 6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
- 1/4 cup milk
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the green onion until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes
- Add the garlic powder, then stir in the green chiles, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream
- Mix well
- Reserve 3/4 (about 1 1/2 cups) of the sauce and set aside
- To the remaining 1/4 of the sauce in the sauce pan, add the chicken and 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- Stir together
- Fill each flour tortilla with the chicken mixture
- Roll up tortillas
- Place, seam side down, in the prepared baking pan
- In a small bowl, combine the reserved sauce with the milk
- Spoon mixture over the rolled tortillas and top with remaining cheese
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly
- Let stand for a few minutes
- Enjoy!
Variations:
If you’d like a lower fat alternative (which is what I opted for) I used low fat sour cream, which reduced the overall fat content slightly. Using this change didn’t seem to affect the flavor at all. I also used yellow onions instead of green onions as my wife and I don’t really care for green onions. Another change I made was to use minced garlic, I like to, as much as I can, use non-powdered spices, since it seems better to me for some reason. I don’t have any science to back that up, just a personal preference. To reduce the fat and sodium even more, you could also use the low fat/low sodium cream of mushroom soup. I’m not sure how much that would affect the flavor or the consistency of the sauce, as fat makes the sauce smoother, but it’s worth a try!
Review:
I really like this recipe a lot! I thought it was very easy to prepare and it came out exactly how I thought it would. I also thought the flavor was very rich and the sauce was creamy and cheesy, without being spicy at all. The tortilla might be a bit much, but I really like bread, so it didn’t bother me that much. You could use the medium sized flour tortilla shells to reduce the amount of bread/carbs, if that is a concern. As I was making the enchiladas, it didn’t seem at first like there would be enough filling, especially when I scooped the filling into the shells and there really didn’t seem like it would very substantial. To my surprise though, it was the perfect amount and one enchilada was very filling. If you want a simple, quick, and great tasting alternative to beef enchiladas, give this one a try!
Hopefully you found this recipe easy to follow and understand. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on this recipe. Keep cooking with courage!
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Quick Tip #1 – Cutting Up Raw, Boneless Chicken Breasts
What:
Cutting Boneless Chicken Breasts
Why:
Because raw chicken breasts can be a little tricky to cut sometimes
The Tip:
If the chicken breasts are fresh (not frozen), put them in the freezer for 15-30 minutes. This will firm the chicken breasts up a little bit and make them more manageable to cut up.
If they are frozen, thaw them out most of the way.
Chicken Pot Pie
What:
Chicken Pot Pie
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/detail.aspx
Why:
I love chicken pot pie. It is one of the ultimate comfort foods, it has chicken, vegetables, a rich, creamy sauce, and a flaky crust! You can’t go wrong with that!
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cubed
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1/2 cup sliced celery
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- In a sauce pan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery
- Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes
- Remove from heat, drain, and set aside
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, saute butter and onions until onions are soft and translucent
- Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed
- Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk
- Simmer over medium heat until thick
- Remove from heat and set aside
- Place one crust in a 9-inch pie pan
- Place chicken mixture into bottom crust
- Pour hot liquid mixture over that
- Cover with top crust and tightly seal the two crusts together, cut away excess dough if needed
- Make a few slits in top crust to allow steam to escape
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly
- Let cool before 10 minutes before serving
- Enjoy!
Review:
This pot pie was amazing! I’ve made pot pies before, using basically a bag of mixed vegetables and a can of cream of potato soup. This was far superior, it was nice to use fresh ingredients and a homemade cream sauce. I was a little wary of the idea of using both celery and celery seed in the sauce, since I thought the celery would overpower the other flavors, but I was surprised to find that it wasn’t bad at all. I think the next time I make this recipe, I will maybe put a little more and different vegetables in the mix, like green beans or corn. The recipe is great by itself however and no changes really need to be made.
Final Thoughts:
I am for sure going to make this again. I would highly recommend you give this recipe a try. It’s very easy to make and the flavor is rich and delicious!
Hopefully you found this recipe easy to follow and understand. Please feel free to leave a comment and keep cooking with courage!
Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Baby Carrots
What:
Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Baby Carrots
Recipe By:
America’s Test Kitchen
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 4 bone-in split chicken breasts
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pound baby carrots
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
Instructions:
- Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season them with salt and pepper
- Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking
- Add the chicken and brown well on the skin side, about 5 minutes
- While the chicken is browning, toss the carrots with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a microwave safe bowl
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap
- Microwave on high until the carrots begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Shaking the bowl (without removing the plastic) to toss the carrots halfway through
- Transfer the chicken, skin side up, to a baking dish
- Bake until the thickest part registers 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes
- While the chicken bakes, pour off any grease in the skillet
- Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and return to medium heat, until melted
- Drain the microwaved carrots, then add to the skillet with the sugar
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes
- Microwave the remaining 4 tablespoons butter with the shallot, on 50% power until butter is melted and shallots are softened, 30 to 60 seconds
- Stir in the tarragon
- Drizzle the butter mixture over the chicken and carrots before serving
- Enjoy!
My Variations/Tips:
Firstly, I didn’t use skin-on chicken breasts, I just used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I put the breasts in a brine (made with 6 cups water, 1/8 cup salt, and 1/8 cup sugar). This helped make the chick breasts juicy and flavorful, to make up for the lack of skin and bones.
Secondly, I didn’t use the shallots, since my wife nor I don’t really care for them. Personal preference only.
Finally, I used dried tarragon and microwaved it with the butter to softened them up. It still tasted great!
I accidentally overcooked the carrots, so they had a kind of skin on them and they were kind of mushy. This was because I went right for the longest time, rather than starting at the shortest time and going from there. Other than that, they did have a good flavor.
Review:
We loved this recipe. The chicken, with the sauce had a restaurant quality flavor. The carrots, though overcooked, were a great complement to the chicken. The sauce was definitely different than what we were used to, but it added a deep richness to the chicken and created a really nice texture to the chicken. I will definitely be making this again, though my cookbook has a couple variations of the same chicken recipe, but with different vegetables. I think if you do make this recipe with the bone-in, skin-on chicken, it would be that much better!
Final Thoughts:
Give this recipe a try! If followed by the directions, the chicken will cook fully through and the carrots will have a nice texture and flavor. I would serve this especially if you have a dinner party or some guests over. They’ll think it came from a highly trained chef!
Hopefully you found this recipe easy to follow and understand. Please feel free to leave a comment and keep cooking with courage!
Chicken Noodle Soup
What:
Chicken Noodle Soup
Why:
This is a very simple, great tasting soup. It makes a lot, so it is a good thing to make and freeze for when you get a little sick and need some good, old fashioned, comfort food.
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 4 cups chopped, cooked chicken breasts
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup butter
- 8 oz. egg noodles
- 12 cups water
- 9 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
Directions:
In a large stock pot, sauté celery and onion in butter
Add chicken, carrots, water, bouillon cubes, marjoram, black pepper, bay leaf, and parsley
Simmer for 30 minutes
Add noodles
Simmer for 10 minutes
Review and Variations:
I pretty much follow this recipe to the letter. I really like noodles, so sometimes I’ll add a couple more ounces of noodles in the recipe, though this does make the soup thicker. I will also sometimes add a little more carrots because I love the flavor of carrots. This is a really good soup, it has a lot of flavor, a really good balance of vegetables to noodles to chicken, so you never really feel like you are getting a lot of any particular thing. It goes great with bread or crackers, or just eat it by itself! This is a good “starter” soup if you want to try something a little more simple for your first go at making soup, as this is a very forgiving recipe. Enjoy!
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
What:
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Recipe by: I can’t remember…
Why:
It’s a surprisingly easy, really, really, good soup! It makes a lot, so it’s a good thing to make on those cold, hot, or perfect temperature days when you have some company over or if you are hungry.
The Recipe:
Ingredients
2 boxes of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix Original recipe, prepare according to box instructions
6 boneless skinless cooked chicken breasts cut up (Another option instead of chicken breasts is to buy a precooked rotisserie chicken you usually can find near the deli section of the super market)
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 small onions, diced
8 – 10 chicken bouillon cubes (I always go with ten)
Directions
In about 8 tbsp. of butter (1/2 cup), sauté the carrots, celery, and onion until the onions are tender.
Add about 8 cups of water and the bouillon cubes
Simmer until carrots are tender
Add cooked rice and cut up cooked chicken. If you think there is too much rice, don’t add as much (I usually add all of it)
Prepare a white sauce
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
8 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. salt
4 cups of milk (any type will do, skim, 2%, or even 1/2 and 1/2, using 1/2 and 1/2 will make the soup richer)
Directions
Melt the butter in a sauce pan
Once melted, gradually stir in flour and salt
Constantly stir for about 1 minute
Gradually add the 4 cups milk
Stirring constantly, cook until sauce is thickened
Pour sauce into the soup and heat through
Cost:
This recipe is a little pricey, but it really does make a lot of soup. Where I shop, the rotisserie chicken was $6.50, the Uncle Ben’s rice was around $2 a box, the celery and carrots are always pretty cheap, the milk, and everything else I already had. If you had to buy all of it, I would price this soup around $20, but if you already have some of the ingredients, obviously that price would drop significantly. Definitely worth the cost!
Variations and suggestions:
For the vegetables, I almost always hand chop them. If you have a food processor that can slice vegetables, that would make that process much faster, but for me, there is something about using a good old fashioned knife and cutting them up. I have more control over how thick the vegetables are and it also helps me improve my chopping skills. I would suggest doing it this way so that you become more comfortable with knife handling and chopping.
Review:
Everyone I have made this soup for have raved about it and get excited when I mention I am making it. It is a great soup and goes well with dinner rolls or, my wife and I use the Hawaiian sweet rolls. It’s a pretty filling soup too, so it lasts a while. I would put this meal in my top five favorite meals that I have made so far.
Chicken Fricassee
What:
Chicken Fricassee
Recipe by: America’s Test Kitchen
URL to recipe: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/login.asp?docid=26295
My Rating: 5/5
Why:
I really enjoy the show “America’s Test Kitchen”, which airs on PBS. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a show that takes a recipe, in this case Chicken Fricassee, and tries to make the best recipe through trial and error. The best recipe is then shown on the episode. It also has great tips on what the best kitchen equipment is and taste testings to show what the best brand of whatever they are tasting is. Anyway, I was watching the show and the two recipes were Chicken Fricassee and Roasted Chicken. They both looked amazingly good and both were simple to make. I asked my wife what she would rather try and she chose Chicken Fricassee. So that’s why I ended up making it. I will be making the Roasted Chicken eventually, so stay tuned.
The Recipe:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound cremini mushrooms
1 medium onion
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 medium garlic clove
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon (or parsley)
- Use paper towels to dry chicken pieces. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper.
- Place a 12″skillet over medium-high burner and heat 1 tablespoon butter and oil. After the foaming has subsided, add chicken to the skillet and cook for 4 minutes; until browned.
- Flip and cook the second side for 4 more minutes; until browned. Remove chicken to a large plate.
- Meanwhile, Trim the mushroom stems and wipe the caps clean. Slice into 1/4″ slices. Chop onion fine, which should yield about 1 cup.
- Add mushroom slices, minced onion, and wine to the skillet. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes until the mushrooms have browned. Add flour and press garlic directly into pan. Saute for 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth and bring up to a boil. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond.
- Add back the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Reduce burner to medium-low, and gently simmer, covered, for until 5 to 10 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 160-degrees for breasts and 175-degrees for thighs.
- Remove chicken to a clean serving platter. Tent with aluminum foil.
- Meanwhile in medium bowl, wisk together sour cream and egg yolk together. Slowly stir in 1/2-cup of sauce into sour cream mixture; stirring constantly. Then slowly add sour cream mixture into simmering skillet. Add nutmeg, lemon juice, and tarragon, and bring back up to a simmer.
- Season according to taste with salt and pepper. Top the chicken with some sauce and serve with remainig sauce on the side.
My Thoughts/Variations:
This recipe was very easy to make. I don’t know that there was a “hard” part of this recipe as it’s pretty straight forward. I guess the only thing I ran into was that my chicken breasts took a little longer to get to 160 degrees than I had anticipated. There were three changes I made to this recipe. The first was that I substituted the wine (because I didn’t have any) with chicken stock and the meal still ended up very good and flavorful. The second was that I cut the chicken into strips before putting the sauce on. I did this because neither my wife, nor myself, like to have a big hunk of chicken. Of course, this is purely personal preference. The last change I made was I used regular, pre-sliced white button mushrooms, instead of the Cremini Mushrooms. This was not by choice, but out of necessity since my grocery store didn’t have Cremini’s. If they did, I completely missed them. Though, the dish was still very good with the mushrooms I used. All in all, the meal took roughly an hour to make, even with my slow onion chopping. So this is a great meal to make during a weeknight.
Sides:
I paired this dish with some baked asparagus and some artisan bread with oil to dip into as the starch of the meal. How I made the asparagus can be found under the “Sides” section of my blog.
Cost:
For the chicken dish itself the cost for me was around $15. This was because I had to buy the chicken, the fresh tarragon, and the mushrooms.
The side dishes combined was around $7. I decided to go with a good bread, which generally costs a little bit more, but well worth it.
Total: $22
This dish is well worth the cost and will last my wife and I several more meals.
Review:
This was an excellent meal. If I were to explain the flavor of the sauce, I’d say it was a lighter tasting beef stroganoff, but for chicken. The chicken itself was pretty tender and juicy and my wife and I appreciated the smaller cut up portions of meat. There was plenty of leftovers and the pairing of the bread and asparagus went very well with this dish. A great beginners dish and one that I think most would enjoy!
Culinary Courage 