chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes

this was one of those meals that i'm sooo glad made a ton of leftovers. because i've been eating on this rice mix for the past two days now! when husband asked if i was making anything good for dinner, and i brought out the enameled dutch oven, he got excited-- and said that anything that comes from that pot is wonderful.

and it's true.

here's to another pinterest recipe!

martha stewart's chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes:

• 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces i used a mix of thighs, breasts, and legs. some with skin, some without


• Coarse salt and ground pepper


• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil


• 1 small yellow onion, diced medium


• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped


• 1 small green bell pepper, diced medium my yellow and orange had to go first, so i used one and a half peppers, any color you want


• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest i didn't have, so i didn't use.


• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano


• added fresh rosemary, the chopped leaves from one sprig


• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice


• 3 cups frozen corn (from a 16-ounce bag)


• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips


• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water use the chicken broth. it's worth it.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lower third. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until golden and crisp, 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until browned, 6 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.


2. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, and bell pepper to pot. Cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until onion is translucent, 4 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, oregano, cayenne, and rice and cook 1 minute.


3. Add corn, tomatoes, and broth and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken, skin side up, on top of rice mixture. Bring to a boil, cover pot, and place in oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through and liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

it makes a ton, so it's great for if you have guests over. or, if you're like me and make it just for you and one other person, then you get to eat it for lunch and dinner the next day! perfect-o!

using what you have

have you been to the kraft recipes site? it's super convenient when you're sitting on your lunch break wondering what you're going to do with the chicken that is thawing, and hoping you can use at least one of the five cans of black beans you have in your pantry. but really, who has five cans of black beans? it's one of those items i buy all the time (like canned tomatoes) but don't use often (unlike canned tomatoes). all you do is input what ingredients you have, and it brings up some recipe options.

so, i went to the site and it gave me this great idea for a mexican chicken dish over rice.

i cooked two chicken breasts that i'd cut into bite-size pieces, and added about half of a diced onion. when it's all done, i added a can of rinsed black beans, a cup of salsa (or, if you're low on salsa, some salsa mixed with the leftover rotel that's in your fridge), and about a cup of frozen corn (or a can of corn, drained. i didn't have a can).

serve over rice (which was cooking in your rice cooker the whole time you were cooking the chicken), and be prepared to enjoy a delicious supper! i like mine a little spicier, so i added some red pepper flakes. but really, other than that, i didn't add any seasonings at all. the rotel/salsa mix had just what it needed. oh, and the chicken was marinated, but i don't think that made much of a difference.

stuffed chicken with bacon

well, talk about a hint!
i was cleaning the house with my husband, and he set out a new cookbook on the stand, open to the dish he hoped i'd make next. it just happened to be this delicious meal, which is extremely unhealthy, and also one of our new favorites. quite the dilemma.



here's the quick how-to:
cut a slit in the chicken breast and fill with goat cheese (per the recipe) or brie (what i did). sprinkle the outside with italian seasoning, then wrap with two or three slices of bacon, depending on the size of the chicken, and tuck the ends under. using the dutch oven with a little oil in it, cook the chicken just until the bacon is browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

for one of them, i turned it before the bacon was cooked, and it started to fall off. no big deal, just serve it all together once it's done with the oven cooking. 

add thick slices of tomato (grape tomatoes would be good, too), garlic, and a sprinkle of olive oil, then move the dish to the oven (350 degrees) for 30-ish minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. serve with a side salad.



see, easy! and, well, it's BACON so your house smells amazing while it's cooking. i'd recommend serving it with some crusty bread, cause there's an amazing sauce in the pan that you'll surely want to soak up!

cashew chicken

so. about the delay in posts-- so sorry about all of this! we have both been superbly busy. i was finishing my semester of school (which was exhausting. so exhausting.), and miss erica is getting ready to go out of town for the holidays. i sure hope she starts to blog again-- i don't know about you, but i miss her writing style~!

for the first time evah i cooked my chicken perfectly! i almost always overdo it and it's tough. and if it's tough it ruins the dish. if it's cooked perfectly, the dish is perfect.

take some chicken. cut it into bite size pieces. in a bag, put some cornstarch, then toss the chicken in it. over a pretty hot skillet, cook the chicken. cook it with a bit of soy sauce and some ginger (have you noticed that we're all about "a bit" and "some" instead of measurements? usually...).

once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan. put it in a bowl, then store it in the microwave just to keep it warm. in the same pan, cook just until tender crisp some red pepper that is chopped as big (or as small) as you want it. add some green onions for a touch of spice, more soy sauce, more ginger, and some cashews.

mix it all together, serve it up, top with some more cashews and green onions, and enjoy! it's definitely a keeper recipe.

i love recipes like this that are so simple, so easy to make, and don't have a ton of seasonings.
enjoy!

amazing roasted chicken

this is one of my favorite fall-back meals. super easy, very moist, and impressive for guests on a sunday evening.

oh, it's cheap, too.

so, here's all you do.

buy a chicken. you can get the fryer or roaster kind. it does not matter one bit. plus, it's like, less than $5.
open it. clean out the inside (they sometimes keep the, um, organs? in there). rinse it. drain it.
separate the skin from the breasts, carefully. add a few thin pats of butter between the meat and the skin.
tie up the legs if they are spread too far. aka, if your chicken is a floozy. joke. but seriously, tie those babies up.
cut into big bit-size pieces some onion, carrots, potatoes. celery if you want. add that all to the space around the chicken.
sprinkle the whole thing with seasoning. whatever kind you want. i think i used a sort of parmesan herb seasoning? use anything.

put in a 400 oven for an hour. maybe an hour and a half. depends on the size of your bird.
sorry i don't have an "after" photo.

it's done when you poke the breast with a toothpick and clear juice runs out.
more specific? stick a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and if it says the temp is good for chicken, it's cooked through. i don't know the temp. my meat thermometer says that on the holder.

weekday enchiladas!

i know, i know. the blog has been way neglected. i hope to make up for it this minute.

let's get right to it:

these enchiladas are super simple, and VERY good. nothing too fancy here, folks. i do think that you will add these to your list of recipes after trying them though.

you will need:
 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts- cooked and shredded/chopped
tortillas (medium)
medium jar of Pace Picante sauce
8 or so oz of sour cream (depending on how concerned you are at the moment about weight- i like to use about 10/12 oz)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups of mexican or mon-jack shredded cheese
1 medium onion-diced
chilli powder
+/- cayenne pepper

some of the ingredients you will need

topping:
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
black olives- sliced
green onion-sliced


how to: salt and pepper chicken breasts, place in lightly oiled skillet and cook over medium heat until done- i leave it for about 10 minutes or so- lid on, flip once. no need to mess with it more than that.

while the chicken is cooking, prepare the filling:

mix the following:
1/2- entire jar of picante. (i use whole jar)
at least 8 oz of sour cream (more if using all picante)
can on cream of chx
1/2 tbsp chilli powder (or more to taste)
cayenne pepper to taste

after mixing these ingredients- put 1-1.5 cups to the side

in the remainder of the sauce, add the cooked chicken, onion and 1 cup of the cheese

a kitchenaid mixer makes mixing SO much more exciting!

fill each tortilla with this chicken/cheese filling. fill generously. i can usually fill 8 tortillas.

lay tortillas seam down in glass baking dish, pour reserved mix over top. add remaining shredded cheese.

cover dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil for last 5 minutes.

when done, sprinkle tomatoes, olives and green onion over top!

YUM!

 chow!

ch-ch-ch-chicken paprikash.

i feel like i am on an episode of sesame street. i apparently have an affinity for sounding out my recipes. p-p-p-pot roast. ch-ch-ch-chicken paprikash.

st-st-st-strange.

anyway, i made chicken paprikash a new way last night. normally i make it in the crocky- it consists of shredded chicken, hungarian paprika, onions, sour cream and dumplings. this recipe holds basically the same ingredients, add green bell pepper, subtract dumplings, add egg noodles, unshred chicken. i was nervous because he grew up with the crockpot version- and loves it but i dont care for the dumplings but i love the flavor- so i thought i'd try something a little different.....

ingredients:

1 tbsp evoo (i just pulled a rachel ray)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
(i am sure you could use dark meat here- thighs maybe, but i am anti.)
1 medium onion- sliced
1 bell peper-sliced
2 cloves (ish) chopped garlic
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (i used whole and just crushed them with my hands- messy, but i think better)
salt
black pepper
1 tbsp paprika (i use hungarian paprika)
sour cream
fresh dill
egg noodles

method:

let the oil heat up in large, deep skillet or pot

salt and pepper both sides of each chicken breast

brown chicken breasts about 4-5 min each side, remove from skillet, set aside

keep drippings from chicken in pan (if it is an excessive amount, only keep about 2 tbsp)

add onion, bell pepper and garlic- stir until tender (about 4-5 minutes)

add crushed tomatoes (you can add some of the juice, but don't add all of it)

add paprika, about 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt- mix

bring ingredients to a boil over medium heat

when boiling, nestle chicken in the mixture and then simmer partially UNcovered for about 20 minutes or until chicken is done




nestled chicken



while chicken is cooking, boil egg noodles (i like the wheaty- whole grainy ones, but to be traditional, use, well, the traditional ones)

place chicken and pepper/onion/tomato mix over noodles

top with a dollop of daisy (sour cream) and a sprig or two of fresh dill

*the dill really compliments the meal. next time i will mince it and add it to pan near the end of cooking

tastes as good as it looks!


this was a success, as my paprikash snob really liked it too! however, that does not eliminate the crockpot version. stay tuned for that recipe down the road.

chow!

posole with recipe

i got a recipe for posole from gerri after she shared hers with me last week. if i would have died after tasting the delicious yumminess that was this bowl of posole, i would have died happy.
(slight exaggeration. i'm a newlywed. i don't want to die after eating posole.)

posole can be made green. or red. with chicken. or pork. the details are up to you.
i edited gerri's recipe a little, so will share with you my version. i really only changed amounts of the ingredients.

POSOLE
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
8 cups (two containers) chicken stock. or broth. whichever.
2 cans green chili, chopped or diced
2 cups tomatillo sauce
italian seasoning
bay leaf
1 large and 1 small can white hominy
3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, sliced in half longways.
garnish

in stock pot, sautee onion and garlic with a little olive oil until soft, about 15 minutes, with a little salt and pepper. add the chicken broth, chili, tomatillo sauce, and seasonings, then simmer for about an hour. or an hour and a half. whatever. take the chicken that has been sliced in half, and season it with cumin, salt, and pepper about 15 minutes before adding to the stock. then add the hominy (drained) and the chicken. poach the chicken in the stock for about 25 minutes. or 35 if you forget about it. take the chicken out and shred it with your fingers or with two forks, then add it back to the pot. warm it all up, and serve.
garnish with chopped cabbage. other garnishes are: chopped turnips, avocado, sour cream, or whatever you want. serve with a flour tortilla.

it is sooo good.