What? Chicken again? Some great ideas for what to do with the BORING white meat!

11/6/08 Maggie's Chicken Enchiladas

A "tweaked" version of my friend Maggie's beef enchilada recipe

Ingredients:

For the Rice
1 tbsp butter
1 c brown rice
2 c water
2 packets "Sazon" by Goya
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice

For the Meat
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 1/3 lbs small diced, ground or shredded chicken
1 1/2 packets taco seasoning
1 4.25 oz can diced green chiles, drained

To Make Enchiladas
12 Whole wheat wraps
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup canned enchilada sauce

Melt butter in a large non stick pan over medium heat. Add rice and toast until light brown. Slowly add water and bring to a boil. Add Sazon packets, cover and reduce to simmer. Once most of water is absorbed, add the canned tomatoes and return to simmer until rice is done. Remove rice mixture from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat, add onion and and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned. Mix taco seasoning packets with water until dissolved and pour over chicken mixture. Add the chiles and stir to coat evenly. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly:

Combine chicken and rice mixtures together. Scoop 2-3 spoonfuls of the mixture into the center of a wrap, sprinkle with a pinch of shredded cheese. Roll the wrap up and place seam side down in a 13x9x2 casserole dish (coated in non stick spray).

Continue assembling enchiladas to fill casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top and drizzle with enchilada sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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9/11/08 Mesquite Grilled Chicken Burger with Kickin' Mayo

My own recipe; a juicy grilled burger with a southwestern kick, beats a boring old burger any time!



Ingredients:

For Burgers
1 1/3 pounds of ground chicken breast
1 shallot, diced finely
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tsp mesquite grill seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp Adobo seasoning

For Mayonnaise
3/4 c mayonnaise
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves
juice of 1 lime

Burger Toppings
fresh sliced avocado
vine ripe tomato sliced thin
green leaf lettuce
2 slices cooked bacon per burger
Whole wheat bulky rolls

Combine all burger ingredients, mix well and chill in fridge for 1/2 hour.

Next, combine all mayonnaise ingredients into a your food processor, mini chopper or blender and process until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate for 1/2 hour to allow flavors to blend.

Preheat your grill and remove burger mixture from fridge. Form into 4 patties and drizzle both sides with oil to prevent sticking and encourage browning. Cook burgers for 5 minutes on each side, remove from heat. Add to rolls with selected condiments, add mayo and serve!

To make a complete meal, I recommend Alexia brand julienned sweet potato fries and fresh pineapple chunks. Wow, what a treat!

Serves 4 adults

Active Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

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8/23/08 Baked Chicken and Penne Casserole

My own recipe; a twist on traditional baked ziti. Short and sweet meal for any night of the week! (This will also help you stretch your food budget since you don't need a ton of chicken to feed a crowd!)



Ingredients:
3 Boneless Chicken Breasts, cubed
1 box (13.25oz) Penne Rigate Pasta
(1) 26oz jar of your favorite red pasta sauce
(1) 15oz container whole milk ricotta
(1) 8oz bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp butter
1/4 c white wine
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1-2 tbsp olive oil (just enough to coat your pan)
garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

Set a 6 qt pot of water on to boil and cook pasta according to package directions for AL DENTE (the pasta will cook a bit more once we put it in the oven and we don't want it to get mushy!).

Preheat olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken to the preheated pan, cook until golden brown. Add garlic powder and salt(to taste) and half of your chopped parsley. Add white wine to the chicken and DEGLAZE the bottom of the pan. Dot the chicken with butter and allow the wine to reduce by half then add your jarred sauce, reduce heat to low and warm sauce for 2-3 minutes.

While sauce and chicken are simmering, strain your pasta then empty it back into the pot. Add to the pasta your ricotta and half (4 ounces) of your shredded mozzarella. Stir together until cheese begins to melt.

Carefully add the chicken and sauce mixture the the pasta and stir until well combined. Empty the whole pot into a 13x9x2 casserole dish (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray). Sprinkle remaining 4 oz of mozzarella on top. Set in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes until cheese is melted, golden and bubbly. Garnish with remaining parsley and add a sprinkle of romano or parmesan cheese.

Serve with a tossed green salad and fresh Italian bread! Yum!
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3/29/08 Shepherd's Pot Pie

My own recipe; sort of a hybrid between chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie. A quick and easy dinner for week nights!



Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups mixed frozen veggies
2 packets of your favorite instant mashed potatoes
2-3 tbsp flour
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c white wine
2 tsp whole grain mustard
1 good handful fresh parsley, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves- removed from stem and chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preheat olive oil and butter in a large, oven safe skillet over medium heat. Dice chicken breasts into small, bite sized pieces. Add chicken and flour to a large mixing bowl and lightly toss to dust in flour. Bang off excess flour before cooking. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until golden brown.

While chicken is cooking, use a seperate pot and cook instant potatoes according to package directions then set them aside.

Add white wine, mustard, salt and pepper to the skillet of chicken and stir to coat. Add frozen veggies and cook 1-2 minutes (just to take the chill off) then add cream of chicken soup, fresh thyme and 1/2 the fresh parsley. Stir well, cooking 2-3 more minutes and then smooth the mixture evenly around the skillet. Remove from heat and top with mashed potatoes.

Put under high broiler 5-6 minutes until potatoes begin to brown. Remove from oven and garnish with rest of parsley. Serve immediately.

Prep/Stove top time: 20 minutes
Oven time: 5-6 minutes
Feeds: A hungry family of 5
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To view archived recipes from this lens, please visit my blog, What?! Chicken Again?

Everyone's got a favorite. For some it's buffalo, others love teriyaki and still others vote for barbeque. No matter what flavor the sauce, there are some basic steps for preparing wings before they get dressed in their sauces.


Prep:

1. Be sure you are working on a clean prep surface and have everything you need at arm's length. You don't want to be rummaging around for a knife or touching seasoning jars when dealing with raw meat!
2. When you purchase wings from the grocery store, you can either buy precut or whole and do the cutting yourself. For the purpose of keeping things cheap, let's go with whole pieces. To cut the wings into two parts, start by holding the wing at the base upright. Spread it out a bit and with a sharp knife or kitchen sheers, slice gently in between the bones. If you softly move the knife around you'll find the easiest way through. This way you don't splinter the bones.
3. Now, assuming you're not marinating your wings first (which does not add much flavor to wings. Other cuts of meat yes, but not wings)we're ready to cook!

Cooking:

4. Deciding between the grill and frying. Either will yeild a good result, our aim is crispness on the outside, juiciness inside. There's nothing worse than biting into a great looking wing only to get a mouthful of rubbery skin! (EWWW!) So whichever method you choose, watch them closely so you don't under or over cook them!
5. Method #1- GRILLING: preheat your grill to medium high heat and lightly brush the wings with oil (this controls the oil better than just randomly coating your grates with it). Lay the wings out onto the grill evenly and let them alone for around 6-8 minutes. Chicken will lift easily from the grates when it's ready to be turned, if you're tugging and it's resisting, it's not ready for flipping! When the wing lifts easily with a pair of tongs, flip it to the other side for an additional 4-5 minutes. Continue cooking another 15 minutes or so (flipping as necessary to keep browning controlled). When all the wings are cooked, put them into a large mixing bowl and prepare for saucing!
6. Method #2- FRYING: You can use either a fryolator or deep pan for frying your wings. For the purpose of this lens I will discuss pan frying. First, preheat your oil to about 375 degrees. Next, season some flour with salt and pepper and lightly toss the wings in it. Bang off any excess flour. The purpose of the flour is to get a nice golden finish, not taste like the wings have been battered. Fry the wings in batches; add too many and the wings will take too long to cook and will not cook evenly. Each batch will take around 6-8 minutes to finish. As you remove them from the oil, place them on a platter covered with something absorbent to get soak up excess oil. I like using brown grocery bags but you can also use paper towels or absorbent paper plates.
7. With either method of cooking, once the wings are cooled, put them into a large mixing bowl and pour your desired sauce over them. Toss them around until coated evenly.
8. You can stop here and dig in if you and your guests like super saucy wings. Myself, I like to add one additional step-
9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slide the wings onto a large baking sheet covered in aluminum foiil for easy clean up and bake uncovered for about 15 minutes. If the wings are too crowded on the pan, they will not crisp up, they will steam which will result in a bizarre soggy/crispy wing that is overcooked. So again, work with the batch method if making large quantities.
10. Remove wings from the oven and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Okay, so I'm a dork. I'm also a wing fanatic. About 6 years ago one of my childhood friends was marrying his college sweetheart in her hometown of Pittsburg, PA... Road trip!



About 8 of us piled into a friend's 1984 Dodge conversion van (complete with mini blinds and plush velour seats- just to set the mood for ya) and we were off for a 10 hour drive to the wedding. By the time we got there, the pre-wedding festivities were underway and feeling sore, cranky and hungry from the drive, I wanted nothing less than to sit, drink tea and make idle praddle with the women folk. So I joined the boys for some pitchers of beer and wings. Much more my kind of celebration!

Having gone to college in the area, my friend (and my hubby) were pretty familiar with our destination: Quaker Steak and Lube! Like a Hard Rock Cafe for wing lovers, this joint has muscle cars hanging from the ceiling, antique gas station paraphenelia and a wing sauce that's so hot, they warn you must sign a release form before trying it! Oh, and did I mention they've won the respected title of "Best Wings USA" as well as over 100 local, national and international awards for their sauce recipes.

I'm not so much about heat as I am about flavor, though I do love me my buffalo sauce! Hubby on the other hand, well being a dude- with his dude buddies- they of course had to order the atomic wings. LOL I have never seen so many shades of fire flash across their faces! From red to purple to blue to ghostly white- as they grabbed for whole pitchers of beer to wash it down and napkins to wipe their running eyes and noses! One of the funniest things I've ever witnessed!

Seriously, though, this place is spotlessly clean, the service is fast and super friendly and the wings are phenomenal! We've driven back out to the Pittsburg Location more than once, just because we were dying to get a taste of those delicious wings. We've gotten smart now and we stock up on bottles of their sauce (yes they now have The Lube Shop so you can buy all sorts of goodies online or right there in the restaurant) and that holds us over until we get the itch so bad again that another road trip is in order. I think they're up to around 30 locations in 11 states. Check them out and see if there's one near you!

Oh, and for all you Nascar fans, did I mention that both Tony Stewart and his teammate Bobby Labonte have driven the #47 Chevy All Star Silverado in the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series?- sponsored in part by QSL (Stewart at the 2005 Quaker Steak and Lube 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway) Pretty cool!