Honey Mustard Harissa Chicken Breasts

I love easy chicken recipes, especially ones that can be made ahead and set aside for later. These chicken breasts are fantastic re-warmed on a hot late summer night, sliced and tossed into a salad, or tucked into a bun for a sandwich. The best part is the topping uses only 3 ingredients, so you can make it when you don't have much else in the house.  I love to have a little extra honey mustard sauce on the side at the table for dipping.

Ingredients: 

2 chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp of good dijon mustard ( you can sub some whole grain mustard if you want)
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 - 1/2 tsp harissa, or smoked paprika if you don't want a little heat. No harissa? Try a pinch of cayenne

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a small baking dish. Place the chicken breasts in your dish.

2. In a small bowl, stir together mustard, honey, and harissa. Pour evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.


3. Bake the chicken for about 20-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer in the center registers 165 F. make sure to check after about 10 or 15 minutes-if the sauce starts to get a little too browned in the pan, add about a tablespoon of water.Baste it once or twice while it's baking.

4. Once the chicken is cooked through, let cool in the pan for a few minutes before serving. Drizzle the pan juices over top and serve with a little extra honey mustard sauce at the table!

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Tomatillo White Bean Chicken Chili

Chock full of beans, spicy peppers and tender chicken, this chili is something spicy to brighten up your day. I have brought it to work often year round, and every time I heat it up in the microwave, people are inevitably drawn to the staff room by the smell.

“Oh my goodness,” they peer into the bowl and inhale deeply, “What ARE YOU EATING? It smells amazing!” Honestly it really does. I’d daresay I’m addicted to this chili, if I were to be completely truthful. I’ve made it more times last year than any other soup or stew. Besides the fact that it’s delicious, it also packs really well in a lunch box and stands up to the freezer, which is a must in my house.

Tomatillos, which were a mystery to me at the grocery store, can be found in the produce section. In Superstore I found them with their papery husks removed, encased in plastic film on a styrofoam tray. In Save on Foods, they are often in a basket with the paper husks still hiding the green fruit within.

What is a tomatillo, you ask? Check out this great article from What's Cooking America. They look like a green tomato once you peel off the husk, but they are actually related to a gooseberry.

You don’t have to do much with them in this recipe other than wash and the roast the tomatillos and a hot pepper in the oven before chopping and adding to the pot. They add some wonderful flavour and your tomato hating children may let mild (and yet tasty!) tomatillos pass without knowing what they are. Use this to your advantage!

A word about hot peppers while we are here; always start small. I usually use 1/2 of a seeded hot chile, and that’s enough for me. You can use more if you wish, and here is where you may want to experiment a little so that you can judge for yourself and your family how much heat is appropriate. Also, be sure to prick the pepper well with a knife before you roast it; otherwise, the little thing will explode all over your oven and you’ll have nothing left for your chili. Roasting the chile allows flavour without as much bite. If you choose to not roast the chile but instead saute it along with the onions (which I have done before when I forgot the roasting step), be sure to use caution. Not only are those hot pepper juices going to make your dish hotter than if you roasted it, but I’ve had long lasting burning sensations in my fingers just from handling hot peppers for chopping. Not to mention if you forget and rub your lips or eyes-ouch! Gloves would probably be a good idea. I remove the seeds of the chile, and therefore a good deal of the heat, but I’m finding that the chiles I’ve been using still have a good amount of bite even without the seeds.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients: 

1/2 -1 hot chile (I use the mixed hot Gusto ones from Windset Farms)
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 lb  to 1 lb of fresh tomatillos
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot starch, mixed w/ 2 Tbsp cold chicken broth OR 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
small can of green chiles
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups white beans (cannelli or white kidney beans, or other small white bean)
1 lime

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.


2. Score the bottom of each tomatillo with a knife in an X shape and give the hot pepper a good stab or two. If you don’t do this, they will explode in your oven as they roast.

3. Roast the tomatillos and peppers for about 15-20 minutes until they are softened and browned a little. Once they are cool enough to handle, chop the tomatillos and hot pepper. While you are waiting, chop the stems off the bunch of cilantro and set the leaves aside. Chop up the stems finely.

The roasted tomatillos become all browned and squidgy, just perfect to chop for a chili

4. In a large, deep skillet, saute the chicken thighs over medium heat with a bit of oil until browned on both sides; remove to a plate and set aside. Once they are cool enough to handle, chop into bite sized pieces.

5. Add the onions, sweet red pepper, garlic, hot chile, and cilantro stems to the pan. Stir and cook until softened and fragrant; about 3 – 4 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin, salt, pepper and coriander. Continue to saute about a minute longer.

6. Sprinkle flour (if using. If not, skip this step) over the vegetable mixture and continue to stir and cook another minute or so. Gently add the broth, stirring and loosening up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. If you are using arrowroot starch mixed with a little cold chicken broth as your thickener, add it here. Stir and heat through.The mixture will thicken slightly.

7. Add the beans, roasted tomatillos, roasted hot pepper, canned green chilies, and chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.

8. Before serving, zest the lime over the pot before cutting it in half and squeezing in the juice. Chop the cilantro leaves and add to the chili just before serving. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You can top the chili with crushed tortilla chips and/or avocado slices when serving, if you like.

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Chicken and Grape Salad with Orange Mint Dressing

 I love pasta. Smothered in cheese, a good meat sauce, whether it's baked or tossed, with garlic bread or not, who doesn't? Well, if you're like some people I know who have celiac disease, pasta is just a giant plate of "oh my goodness that's going to make me so sick."

Fortunately, Catelli has a great gluten free pasta out there so that all my friends who can't eat gluten can join in on the fun. Honestly, at first I wasn't sure if I even wanted to try this pasta. Most of the time, when I've tried gluten free things they've just been... not that good.

Would it be weird? Why should I even do gluten free? I can eat gluten.  The idea of having to create a recipe was intriguing though, especially when it's one that even my gluten free friends could eat. And honestly, this pasta is good. You'd never, ever know it's gluten free. It's tasty and tender and just like the regular stuff without being heavy. I love it!You can get a coupon for Catelli's gluten free pasta here.  If you have your own awesome gluten free pasta recipe, go to Catelli's Facebook page between May 4-31st and upload it. The three people who have the most likes will a year's worth of gluten free pasta!

Here's some fast facts about the pasta: 

• it's made from a blend of white rice, brown rice, corn and quinoa
• comes in spaghetti, fusilli, penne and macaroni
• it's certified by the Canadian Celiac Association's Gluten Free Certification program
• produced in a dedicated gluten free facility

This recipe has been a hit with my family, who practically inhaled it. Creamy dressing, sweet grapes, crunchy pecans and mint make it great. Today, as I walked through the school halls, a co-worker stopped and asked what exactly I was eating because it "smells amazing!" The combination of ingredients may seem a little interesting, but I promise-it's very well worth it.

Besides that, it's gluten free too!

Herbed Chicken: 
1 whole chicken breast
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
zest from 1 orange

Salad:
1 cup halved red grapes
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups uncooked gluten free fusilli pasta
2 tbsp minced chives (or green onion)

 Dressing:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp olive oil zest from 1 orange
2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

On a cutting board, lay a piece of parchment paper. Put the chicken breast halves on it, about 2 inches apart. Lay another piece of parchment paper over top. Using a rolling pin, meat mallet or other heavy object, pound the chicken until they are about 1/2 inch thick throughout.

Remove the top piece of parchment. Sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper, the thyme leaves, and orange zest. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.

Get a good skillet nice and hot over medium to medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, swirl it around, and then add the chicken breasts, plain side down. Let them sizzle and pop, cooking away until the meat is golden. At this point, get your spatula underneath a breast and flip it over so that the thyme/orange zest side is down. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until that side is golden as well.


Remove the chicken from the pan and let the meat rest until it’s room temperature before chopping into 1/2 inch cubes. As the chicken is cooling, cook the pasta according to package directions.

Drain well and let cool. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, halved grapes, chives, pecans, and chicken. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Pour over the pasta mixture and toss well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with more chopped fresh mint and a little orange zest.  Serve immediately!

Serves 4

Disclosure: to create this post, I was given a bunch of gluten free pasta. I was not compensated in another other monetary way. This recipe is actually an entry to a blogger contest, so we'll see how I do!

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Bacon Wrapped Spiced Beer Can Chicken

Sometimes I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't have a BBQ. This always posed a challenge when I wanted to make something like beer can chicken-and besides, trying to balance a chicken on a can just seemed like a bad idea.

A few months ago, I was invited to the premiere of the Chicken Squad trailer and was gifted a Master Chef beer chicken roaster, which makes the process so much easier (and safer!) to do. Well then. I can't NOT make beer can chicken, right? Fortunately it's pretty easy to make in your oven as well-and with a stand, also very safe. What makes the roaster thing so cool is that you can then make this kind of chicken year round and knowing our family, well... we eat a lot of BC Chicken.

I consulted my friend Cocktail Deeva about what kind of beer to use, and she suggested "something with a kick", so I picked up a can of Krombacher. Once I got cooking, I noticed that the can was far too large so we found an empty Lonetree cider can, filled it with the appropriate amount of beer, and proceeded with the recipe. The chicken did get some of the beer flavour in it, but it wasn't an overwhelming amount. Mostly the meat was just very, very tender.

Some time later I made the chicken again, but this time used Lonetree Cider because honestly, I'd so much rather drink the remaining cider than beer. Lonetree is my favourite! You could not taste any alcohol, but there was a slight flavour of the cider and the chicken was moist and delicious. This is a fun recipe to make, fairly easy, and elicits a happy dance from my family! I found this recipe on Food Network Canada and reduced the amount of bacon, mostly because I didn't want to waste it. The bacon cooked on top of the chicken is delectable in potatoes if you can resist just standing there in the kitchen and eating it by the handful.

Ingredients:

one 3 lb chicken
one 12 ounce can of beer or Lonetree apple cider ( I prefer Lonetree cider, since it's a great summer drink. The original is the one I used)
6 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic

Spice Rub:

1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp sage
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 450F. Cover a rimmed baking tray with foil and set a beer can chicken stand in the middle. Set aside. 


In a small bowl, stir together the spice rub ingredients until well mixed. Set aside. Pat the chicken down with paper towels all over so that the spices will coat the skin but not turn all wet from moister and stick to your hands..  Sprinkle the spice mixture all over the chicken, rubbing it into the skin. You can even loosen a bit of the skin on the breasts and spoon a bit of the spice mix inside so that it gets on the meat.


Pour out about 1/2 cup of the beer. Crush and peel the garlic cloves, then stick them in the beer can. Some people have expressed discomfort with making beer can chicken, citing that the cans are likely not food safe on the outside, and the ink in contact with meat may not be a good idea. To counter this, I cover my can with foil and punch out the hole in the top.


Place your can of beer or cider in your stand and then gently fit the spice rubbed chicken over top. I highly recommend purchasing a beer can chicken roaster, because it makes the chicken far more stable and easier to handle without the worry that the whole thing will tip. This is especially important when the chicken is finished cooking and you are trying to remove it from the oven when it's hot and has grease drippings in it.


Lay the bacon over the top of the chicken-my friend Jackie called this a "bacon comb over", Donald Trump style! Somehow I think this is the only acceptable kind of comb over (plus it's pretty darn tasty) Secure the bacon with toothpicks so that it doesn't curl up on the chicken while it bakes.


Place the whole thing in the bottom rack of your oven and bake for 15 minutes before turning the heat down to 350 F. and cooking for about another hour or so longer. You'll know the chicken is done when you insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast reads 185 F.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes. You can lift the bacon off and set it aside. I have found the best way to get the chicken off the rack and the beer can is to first. carve off the wings and set them aside on a platter. Next, carve off the legs. Once you have removed them it's easier to just grip the rest of the carcass with tongs and lift it right off the rack onto a cutting board. Carve the breast and place the pieces on a platter with the legs and wings. I like to also cut the bacon into bite sized pieces and add them on the platter to the chicken. If you want, if you are making potatoes as a side dish (mashed or boiled), you can chop up the bacon and toss it in there instead.


My family loved this chicken. It was great the first day, but leftovers were fantastic tossed into salad or made into sandwiches as well. I don't usually like chicken skin but the spice rub was so good that even I was ripping off pieces of skin and nibbling on them! This goes really well with roasted or mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and a green salad.

Or, you could be like me and just stand in your kitchen, fork in hand, shoving warm chicken in your mouth-it's that tasty!


Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are!

 Adapted from Food Network

Disclosure: This post wasn't sponsored by anyone-I did receive a chicken roaster from BC Chicken Farmers some time ago for a different promotion, but wasn't asked to write about it.

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Baked Chicken with Herbs and Shallots

Roast chicken is a huge hit in my house, but honestly sometimes I don't want to wrestle with a whole bird. On busy weeknights I also don't always have the time to roast a whole bird, and this recipe has come to my rescue a few times. It's so simple-just a bit of butter in a pan, herbs, garlic, shallots, and chicken. The butter makes the chicken skin go crispy, the shallots caramelize, and the herbs add tons of flavour to the meat. Served with pan drippings and roasted potatoes, it was a meal my family devoured and declared delicious. The meat comes out so full of flavour, and if there's leftovers we either turn it into sandwiches, chicken pot pie, or even soup. Yum.

Speaking of chicken, you need to enter this contest to win $100 gift card to Overwaitea with the Chicken Squad. If you head over to their site, you can also win a Weber BBQ and tickets to a really awesome barnyard bash. I'll be there, too!

Ingredients:

one 3 lb chicken, cut into pieces (you can buy them already cut up at the store)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 medium shallots, cut in half and peeled
8 large garlic cloves
leaves stripped from 10 sprigs of thyme
leaves from 8 sprigs of rosemary
coarse salt and pepper

Directions:

Turn the oven on to 425 F. Place the butter into a 9x13 inch pyrex baking dish and put it in the oven to melt, checking on it and swirling around the bottom of the pan. Put the shallots, garlic, rosemary and thyme in the pan and give it all a good swirl to coat. Swirl the chicken pieces in the buttery herbs, turning to coat. Leave them skin side up in the pan and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Bake the chicken for about 40-50 minutes, until cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear) remove the dish from the oven and let sit on the stovetop for a bit. Remove the pieces to a serving dish along with the shallots and garlic pieces. Skim the fat off the juices and serve alongside the chicken pieces to drizzle over top.


Adapted from Fine Cooking

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Lasagna for Two

Sometimes, you want lasagna but you don't want a giant pan of it. Whether you're a student living by yourself, or maybe a couple and the kids will eat something different anyway, it takes a little skill to take something that's normally quite large and pare down the recipe to get a nice little lasagna all your own.

With Kevin away for the week, it's taken a bit of adjusting to pare things from the usual 4-6 servings that I make down to 2-3 for just me and John. Sometimes it means cutting a recipe in half, other times you have to take it even further. A pyrex 9x5 loaf pan makes the perfect pan for a mini lasagna, baking it up nice and thick with just enough servings for three people, or two with some for leftovers.

We used ground turkey thighs in this recipe, but you could substitute beef and to make things even quicker, pick up your favourite good quality jarred pasta sauce. Some measurements are a little approximate because I figure you can use your own judgment-I love lots of cheese, so I usually eyeball it.

Ingredients:

6-8 lasagna noodles
798 ml jar of pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (more or less)

Cheesy Layer:
1 cup cottage cheese
3 oz spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (about 1/3 of a package of frozen spinach)
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh cracked pepper
1/4 tsp basil
3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Meaty Layer:

1/2 lb ground turkey or beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary (optional but nice with the turkey)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
1/3 cup onion, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 F

In boiling, salted water cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain well and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

In a medium frypan, saute the onion in a little olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic and rosemary, and continue to saute until fragrant. Add the turkey, breaking up with a spoon and cooking until no longer pink. Stir in the pepper, salt, oregano, and basil, cooking and stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add the sweet pepper and saute for a few minutes longer before stirring in about 2/3 cup of sauce, or just enough to coat the meat so it's a very thick, juicy sauce. You don't need to have a lot of liquid here. Set aside to cool.

Mix the cottage cheese, spinach, basil, pepper, and parmesan cheese together in a bowl. Set aside.

Spray the inside of a pyrex glass 9x5 inch loaf pan with non stick oil spray. Spoon about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce into the bottom, or enough to coat it well. Fit two noodles into the pan. I cut about 2 inches off the ends so that they would fit.

Top the noodles with 1/2 the meat mixture. Sprinkle with a handful of mozzarella cheese. Top with 1/2 of the cottage cheese and spinach mixture.

Next, layer 2 more noodles, the remaining meat mixture, another handful of mozzarella, then the rest of the cottage cheese mixture. Cover with yet 2 more noodles.

Lastly, spread about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sauce on the top-not tons, but enough to cover the noodles well. Sprinkle on another handful or two of mozzarella cheese.

Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non stick cooking spray and tent it over the lasagna, oiled side down. You need to make sure the foil has been sprayed well because you don't want it to stick to the cheese and take it all off when you remove it.

Place the lasagna in the middle of the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for about another 5-10 minutes longer, until bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Cut and serve. For us, the lasagna made enough for two dinners, but depending on appetites it can serve anywhere from 2-3 people.

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How to Make Great Chicken Gravy

It took me years to figure out how to make decent gravy. I had watched my Mom make it for years, but never could seem to nail it and always ended up with lumpy, tasteless, runny gravy. In short, my gravy was gross. It was so frustrating, because no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to crack it.

Finally, after some research and with practice, I nailed it. Now, my gravy is smooth, tasty and amazing EVERY single time. Yours can be too!

Ingredients:

Drippings and vegetables from your roasted chicken
2 cups chicken broth
scant 1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Once you transfer your bird to a cutting board to rest, dump all the vegetables and drippings into a pot. If there's a lot of oil, skim that off. Bring the drippings to a boil.

Using a potato masher, mash the veggies into a pulp as best you can. The onions won't mash, but celery and carrot will. Add the flour and mix until you get a kind of paste. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly while it bubbles.

Add 1/2 cup of broth and stir well. Continue adding the broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring.

Bring the gravy to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium low, letting it simmer and thicken up. It doesn't need long. I usually let it simmer for 5 minutes or so. As it cools, the gravy will thicken up a little more.

Strain your gravy by pouring it into a wire mesh sieve, pushing the liquid through all those mashed veggies to get as much flavour out as possible. You can continue to cook your gravy over low heat, stirring, for a few more minutes.

Makes about 3 cups of gravy

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Roast Chicken With Herbed Garlic Butter

When the weather gets really cold, comfort food like a good roast chicken really does the trick.  I've tried all kinds of methods to make roast chicken, but this one has become my family's favourite and always results in moist, tasty meat. Sometimes I roast a chicken up just to strip off the meat to turn into something else. You can use the carcass to make soup, and with all the fixings a single bird should easily feed a family of 4.

Ingredients:

One 3-4 lb (1.5-2 kg) chicken
Olive oil
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary, plus a few stalks
1 tbsp finely chopped sage
cracked black pepper & salt
smoked paprika (if you don't have it, regular paprika is fine)
2 stalks celery
1 large carrot
1 onion
1 lemon

Directions:

Take your chicken out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.

In a small bowl, mash up the butter, garlic cloves, 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary, chopped sage, some cracked pepper, and zest from the rind of your lemon.

Dry your chicken off with paper towels. Using your fingers, loosen the skin around the breast and the legs, being careful not to tear it.

Tuck the butter under the skin about a tablespoon at a time, pushing it up as gently as you can and then, with your hand on the top of the skin, pushing the butter along the breast as far as it will go. Do the same with the legs, using up all the butter.  Wash your hands and set the chicken aside on a plate.

In a roasting pan, arrange your vegetables like a nest. Set the chicken right on top of them. The vegetables keep your chicken from boiling in it's own juices and add flavour to the gravy. As you can see, I don't have a traditional roasting pan but the glass dish that I use seems to work just fine.

Drizzle olive oil all over the chicken and with your hands, rub it all over. Wash your hands, and then sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika. Put a few stalks of rosemary and 1/2 a lemon inside the bird.

(*if you make roast potatoes, put the lemon in the water with the potatoes when you par boil them. Remove the lemon, pierce it a few times, and stick the hot lemon in the cavity of the chicken)

Using kitchen twine (you can find it at the grocery store in the kitchen gadgets aisle) tie up the legs together. I just twist one end around one leg, the other end around the other, and tie it up.

Once your chicken is trussed up, it's ready for the oven. Don't skip this step-trussing up the legs keeps all that butter you slathered on them in the bird instead of running out into the pan. Put about 1/2 cup water or white wine in the bottom of the pan.

Put the lid on (or tent the bird in foil if you have a pan like mine) and place the bird in the oven.  Roast it for about 1 hour 45 minutes - 2 hours, taking the foil off after 1 hr 15 minutes, so that the skin will brown. You don't want it to burn so if it gets too brown at any point, just put the foil back on. The chicken is cooked when a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 185 F.

Take the bird out of the oven. Place a cutting board inside a rimmed baking sheet (this works really well to catch juices)  and transfer the bird to the cutting board to rest.  Let it rest for a good 20 minutes while you finish up making the rest of the dinner, before you carve it.  This will help keep the juices in.

Meanwhile, make gravy!

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Cheesy Baked Chicken Fingers

Chicken Fingers have always been a favorite of mine, but I've never been a fan of the deep fried version. I love to make them at home for dinner, served with plum sauce, a good Caesar salad and some oven fries. They appeal so much to my family that they are always a hit. I've tried lots of different recipes, but settled on coming up with my own and my family declared it the best, so I'm sticking to it.

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp smoked paprika (you can use regular paprika if you want)
pinch garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
pinch salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 egg
3 half chicken breasts, cut into strips

Pre-heat the oven to 425 F  and spray a rimmed baking sheet with non stick oil spray.

In a pie plate, stir together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper together.  Set them aside.

Crack the eggs into a bowl. Working assembly style, dip the chicken strips first into the egg mixture, then roll in the bread crumbs. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and continue until you have coated all the chicken.

Bake for about 12-15  minutes, until browned and cooked through.

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Kid Friendly Turkey Spinach Sliders

Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of burger. Or three. Sliders can be a lot of fun as an appetizer, something for small kids, or if you want to make a few different kinds for people to sample all sorts of flavors at a party. These sliders are, as my 17 year old put it, "a great way to introduce little kids to spinach because they are so good you don't even realize you're eating spinach."

At first when I began making them I was a little concerned that the spinach seemed to completely outweigh the amount of turkey that was in the bowl. Seriously? This thing is all spinach? In reality, it's not so much -- the patties come together beautifully and have a lot of flavor. Just make sure to chop up the spinach well so you don't have any large pieces.

My family loved these things-John ate them cold without the buns, Kevin had three, and to make dinner easy I simply set out a cutting board with various toppings all laid out on it; tomatoes, red onion, a jar of mayo, mustard, the buns, etc. and let everyone top their own. With a really great salad, they turned out to be a fairly easy and mess free dinner.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped (about 1/2 bunch)

4 green onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb ground turkey

3/4 tsp ground cumin

3 tbsp olive oil

12 slide buns or small dinner rolls

mayonnaise, sliced red onions, pickles,

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, green onion, garlic, turkey, cumin, some fresh cracked pepper, and a bit of salt. Mix well with your hands. This is going to seem like you have a pile of spinach and no turkey, but trust me on this, it will work.  Squish it all together until it’s well mixed.

Shape the spinach and meat mixture into 12 small patties.

Heat the oil in a non stick skillet over medium heat and fry up the patties in batches until they are browned and cooked through. Set them out on the counter with split buns and the toppings, and allow people to create their own sliders.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes 12 sliders, or 4 servings of three each

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BBQ Pulled Chicken Wraps With Avocado Bacon Salsa

Sometimes when I don’t feel like cooking, I get creative with leftovers and the end result is a new recipe. It’s not like I set out to make something new, it just happens because I’m hungry and create something with what I have in the kitchen.

It’s all about being hungry and taking risks, you know. That’s why this kitchen is fearless. What's the worst that could happen? If it bombs there's still food around to eat, but if it's amazing then I have something great!

First of all, I made this slowcooker pulled BBQ chicken but instead of using Bullseye BBQ sauce, I made the sauce from these maple chipotle chicken thighs and used that instead. Holy smoky , delicious flavor! The meat was piled on salads, in buns, you name it-but we still had lots leftover.  What to with it?

I’ll tell you what to do-pile it into a tortilla and top it with smoky bacon avocado salsa, that’s what.

Ingredients

2 cups of saucy pulled BBQ chicken meat, warmed slightly

4 ten inch soft flour tortillas

1 ½ avocados, diced

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 lime

Salt and fresh cracked pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp minced red onion

In  a medium sized bowl, toss together the avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro, and bacon. Zest the lime over top, cut the lime in half, then squeeze the juice over top. Stir gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lay the tortillas out in front of you.  Divide the chicken between them in the center, and then pile on the avocado salsa on top of the meat. Fold the sides inwards, then fold the side closest to you up and over the filling, tucking it all in and the sides in as well. Roll the tortilla away from you. Slice the wrap in half and set it on a plate, seam side down.

 Makes 4 wraps

Want more fearless cooking? Check out my new blog on Yummy Mummy club and learn how to chop an onion, what Gordon Ramsay's new cookbook is like, and a recipe for coconut mango pancakes!

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Food Revolution Friday: Jamie Oliver's Chicken Rogan Josh

Rogan Josh is a spicy curry dish traditionally from the Kashmir region of India, usually consisting of lamb cooked in a gravy of onions, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, yogurt, and a chile that is similar in flavor to paprika. With lamb being quite expensive here, I substituted boneless skinless chicken thighs but you could even make this vegetarian by using squash, potatoes, and cauliflower (cook only 45 minutes). My usual brand of curry paste (Pataks) doesn't have their Rogan Josh paste available in Canada, so finding an alternative was really difficult. A few years ago I found one tucked away on the shelves of a tiny IGA Marketplace in Pender Harbour, BC.  When we moved to the Fraser Valley I didn't think I'd find it again but there it was, in another IGA Marketplace in Langley.



Minara's makes a fantastic Rogan Josh paste. You could, if you wanted, make your own but I don't really want to bother. Considering that it is dairy, nut, gluten free AND non gmo, this makes it even better. It also didn't have soy, as far as I could tell. If you can't find Rogan Josh paste, you could substitute another medium curry paste.

This curry is fantastic. Spicy but not so much so that you can't enjoy it, and with large meaty chunks to stir into rice, it's one of my favorite dinners. Make a pot to enjoy for dinner, and then have the leftovers for lunch the next day. They re-heat very well-in fact, you could even freeze them.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

1 3/4 lbs lamb leg steaks or boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium onion, chopped
1 fresh red chile, seeded and minced
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
small bunch of cilantro, stalks chopped and leaves set aside
vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
4 bay leaves
salt and pepper
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2-3 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup rogan josh curry paste
2 handfuls of red lentils
plain yogurt

In a large, deep frypan melt the butter and about 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the onion, chile, ginger, bay leaves and cilantro stalks. Cook, stirring, until the onions are cooked through and browned just a little. Add the lamb or chicken in batches, stirring and cooking until browned. When all the lamb or chicken is browned, add any chicken that you had to put aside back to the pan, along with the balsamic vinegar and cook another 2 minutes. Then stir in the tomatoes, curry paste, lentils, and about 2 cups of chicken broth.

Bring mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for about an hour. Check it periodically during that time to make sure that it's not burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan, and if you think it needs more liquid you can add some. I don't like my curry too soupy so for me, two cups was enough chicken broth but you can add more. Fish out the bay leaves when you're ready to serve. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the curry with rice, topped with a spoonful of yogurt, a little mango chutney if you wish, sprinkles of fresh chopped cilantro leaves, and naan bread.

Serves 4-6

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Lemon and Olive Chicken Tagine

 Preserved lemons are common in African or Moroccan food, and while you can make them at home yourself, it's possible to also buy them.  The jar in the photo above was given to me last fall and while I wasn't so sure what to make with it, I kept it until I found just the right recipe.  A little salty, a bit tart, but still with a lemony flavour, they are really very interesting.  Still, I reduced the amount used in this recipe to one since my guys aren't that adventurous with their food.

While the resulting dish wasn't that pretty (below), the flavor was incredible!  There isn't a lot of sauce but the chicken breaks down into tender pieces, and spooned over rice, this was a dinner to remember.  I took the leftovers to lunch the next day and they were even better. 

Adapted from 10 Dollar Dinners

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or bone in, skinless thighs)

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp cinnamon

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

¼ cup dry white wine (optional-you could use chicken broth)

¼ cup chicken broth

1 store bought or home made preserved lemons, sliced into wedges

½ cup pitted olives, either black or green, smashed gently with a knife

In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, warm the butter and oil together until the butter is melted and bubbly.   Add the chicken thighs, rounded side down, and cook until browned.  Flip over and brown the other side.   Remove chicken pieces to a plate and set aside.

Using the same skillet, sauté the onion and ginger together until translucent.  Add the turmeric and cinnamon, stirring for another minute to let the flavors develop.  Stir in garlic, parsley, and cilantro.  Cook, stirring around, for a bit until you can smell the garlic cooking.  Watch carefully because you don’t want the garlic or bits on the bottom of the pan to burn.  If it starts to Stir in the wine, moving it around to scrape up the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the chicken broth and give it a good stir before adding the chicken thighs back to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down to low and cover. Simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes (45 for bone in thighs), until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir in the preserved lemon and olives and bring up to a bubble once again until warmed through.  

Serve with rice, spooning juices over top.

Serves 4

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Un-fried Fried Chicken

I'm going to admit straight out-when I first saw this recipe, I was completely skeptical.  Breaded and baked chicken can be tricky-some recipes can turn out dry and sandy, and others leave you with a soggy breading.  I hate trying new recipes with the risk of failure, but most from John Bishop turn out amazing, so I gave it a go.  Not content with just plain breadcrumbs, I couldn't resist adapting by adding a bunch of spices.

Drumsticks were on sale at the store this week; buy 1 package, get one free, which meant our chicken legs were only $.50 each.  A steal!  You can leave the skin on here if you like that, but I don't and always remove it.  These babies baked up super moist with a tasty crunchy coating, and we scarfed down every last bit while licking our fingers and exclaiming about how downright delicious they were.  Try having them cold the next day in your lunch, with some potato salad, and you have a picnic!  Kevin declared these to be "just like Shake N Bake, but SO MUCH better!".  Well, then! A great home made alternative?

12 chicken drumsticks (skin removed if desired)
1 cup fine dried breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the mustard and oil. Set aside.  In another shallow bowl or pie plate, stir together the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, and oregano.

Dip each drumstick in the mustard mixture, coating well.  Roll in breadcrumbs and set on the baking sheet.  Continue with each drumstick until all are coated.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning the chicken pieces half way through.  Make sure to use a spatula/flipper instead of tongs so that you can lift each piece and keep the coating intact.  Tongs tend to allow some of the coating to stick to the pan and come off.

Once the drumsticks are cooked through, remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, and serve.

Makes 12 pieces

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Chicken Corn Chowder with Bacon and Cheddar

I've always liked corn chowder. There's something about a creamy, hearty, thick soup with bits of bacon and vegetables that is really tasty after a long motorcycle ride. John and I went out today and wound our way along the Sunshine Coast Highway, drinking in views of the ocean in the crisp spring air. Once back home, I whipped this up and we ate it with thick slices of baguette to dip in the sauce. You could fry up a little extra bacon to use as a garnish, but I admit I ate the extra piece. This soup is a great way to use up any leftover chicken or turkey you could have hanging around, as well as home made stock. I didn't have any, so I used pre-made stock and poached a bit of chicken.

Adapted from Spilling the Beans

3 slices bacon, chopped 

1 onion, finely chopped 

1 stalk celery, chopped 

2 Tbsp flour 

1 tsp cumin 

4 cups chicken stock 

1 red skinned potato, diced 

2 cups white beans, rinsed and drained 

12 oz (341 ml) can of corn (or you can use 1 ½ cups of frozen/ fresh corn cut right off some cobs 

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken 

½ cup whipping cream 

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese 

 In a large soup pot, fry up the bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels and blot. 

 In the same pot using the bacon grease, sauté the onion and celery until tender. Stir in the flour and cumin for about a minute, then add the stock, potato, and beans. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then turn down to medium low and simmer until the potato is tender, about 10-15 minutes. 

Taste your bits of potato to make sure they are as tender as you like. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cream, bacon, corn, cheese, and chicken. Stir well and put back on the heat to warm through, but don’t let it boil. 

Makes 6 servings

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Turkey Meatballs with Scallions and Soy Ginger Glaze

Meatballs are a great party food, but we also like them for dinner.  Sometimes when you make them with turkey they can be a bit dry and tasteless, but these ones are full of flavour.  We had them with coconut rice and brocollini, but you can also try serving them at a party with the glaze on the side.  If you are feeling adventurous, try slipping them into tiny bins and use the glaze as a sauce, while you add a bit of thinly sliced veggies.  There is quite a bit of sauce in this recipe, and I'd likely double the amount of meatballs while leaving the sauce as it is.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin (Japanese rice wine, found in Asian or Japanese markets)
3 tbsp peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
4 black peppercorns

In a medium sized pot, combine the water and sugar over medium high heat until the sugar melts.  Stir in the soy sauce, mirin, ginger, coriander, and peppercorns. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down and allow it to simmer for about 30-45 minutes until the mixture is reduced by half and syrup-like.  While it bubbles on the stove, make your meatballs!

Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey
4-6 green onions, chopped finely
1/2 cup coriander, chopped finely ( you could substitute flat leaf parsley if you like)
1 large egg
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil (regular is fine)
2 tbsp soy sauce
fresh cracked black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Put a skillet over medium high heat and add a little oil before measuring out the mixture in tablespoon sized portions.  Roll into balls-although the mixture is fairly wet, so it's a bit hard to do.  Don't worry about getting them perfect.  Brown in a skillet, being careful not to have too many in the pan at once. They should take about 8 minutes to brown and cook through.

When you serve the meatballs, drizzle cooled glaze over top.  You can serve these with rice and a vegetable for dinner, or as an appetizer if you wish.

Serves 4

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Chicken Provencal

Awhile back when I visited Alexis to go an event in Vancouver, I walked into her apartment to the smell of something absolutely amazing. While I didn't get to eat the amazing dish because we were going out for dinner, Alexis did point me in the direction of the great recipe. I wasn't surprised at all to see it was in my friend Emma's book "Whining and Dining" and promptly made it for my own family.

The result? It's so delicious. Don't let anchovies scare you off, they don't taste fish and meld right into the dish. Make sure to buy really good tomatoes (I like Cortina) and the best black olives you can find. It's worth it, trust me on that one. Alexis recommended I double the anchovies and garlic. Mmm...she's right!

Adapted from Whining and Dining

3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup flour
1 salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (or you could use breasts, just don't cook as long)
1 cup chopped onion
4 anchovy filets
one 19 oz can italian plum tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup pitted black olives
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Stir the flour with a little salt and pepper in a pie plate and set aside. Get your dutch oven or a deep fry pan heated up on the stove with the olive oil, then dredge the chicken in the flour and add to the pan. You might have to work in batches, but you want to brown up the chicken so it gets some color. Set browned pieces aside on a clean plate as you go.

Add a little more oil to the pan and turn the heat down to medium low. Stir in the onions and anchovies, stirring and moving them around to keep from burning or sticking. They will get nice and soft. When they are, add the garlic and cook about a minute or so longer. Add the tomatoes and their juices, breaking them up with a spoon. Stir in the thyme, stock, and bay leaf before you bring to a bubble.

Return the chicken to the pan along with the olives. Make sure the chicken is covered with sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked through. Make sure to turn it now and then so all sides are cooked evenly.  Taste and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it.

Top with parsley and serve with some delicious crusty bread!

Makes 4 servings.

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Apple Cider Glazed Chicken and Fennel Salad

Adapted from Bon Appetit

1/2 Granny Smith apple
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, divided
3/4 tsp English mustard powder
5 tbsp grapeseed oil
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tbsp unsalted butter
4cups mixed greens
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thinly

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 3/4 pounds).

Cut a small slice from the apple and mince. Mix in a bowl with the shallot, then stir in 2 tbsp of the apple cider vinegar and English mustard. Let it sit for a few minutes before whisking in about 3 tbsp oil. Add a little salt and pepper to taste, then set aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

In a skillet, heat up the rest of the oil and add the chicken. Brown both sides of the breasts before transferring the pan into the oven for them to cook through.  If you pan has a plastic handle, make sure to cover it with foil to protect it.  When the breasts are cooked (about 12-14 minutes) remove from the pan and set aside to rest, about 10 minutes.

Putting the skillet over medium high heat, add the rest of the cider and boil until the juice is reduced by half.  Add the rest of the vinegar, then whisk in the butter until melted. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with some of the vinaigrette and then divide among four plates, topping with thin slices of apple and shaved fennel.  Top with slices of chicken and then drizzle some of the apple cider sauce over top.

Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

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Spicy Chicken and Tiny Beans

Last summer, when we were in Rapid City I ordered the best white chicken chili at the Firehouse Restaurant. Spicy, creamy, and delicious, I needed to recreate it's tasty goodness once I arrived home. The thing is, re-creating a dish is a bit tricky and it doesn't always capture the tasty goodness that we had in the restaurant. This chili isn't very spicy, as we didn't want to scare the non-spicy eaters of the house. It's a very mild dish, but feel free to bump up the flavors however you need to. I suggest adding some chopped pickled jalapeno peppers, which I'm sure will add some amazing flavor!  For this recipe you can use any white beans, but I used Great Northern ones.

3 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 fresh  jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cans (they are small-maybe a 4 oz size?) of chopped green chiles
2 cans (19 oz each)  of white beans, or 4 cups of cooked white beans.
4-5 cups of unsalted chicken broth
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
salt and pepper
lime
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp cornmeal
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
Chopped fresh cilantro

In a large saucepan, saute the onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, and fresh jalapeno in a little bit of oil until soft and translucent.  Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside on a plate, briefly.  Make sure you have a little oil in the pan and toss in your cubed chicken thighs. Over medium heat, stir them around until they are browned.  Add the vegetables back into the pan along with the cumin, paprika, a little cayenne if you wish, salt, and pepper, stirring and cooking about a minute or so more to bring out the flavor of the spices.

Pour in about 4 cups of chicken broth, beans, and canned chiles. Give it a good stir and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and cornmeal.  Stir into the chili along with the thawed corn,  and continue to heat until warmed through.  If you need more liquid, add the remaining cup of chicken broth. Zest the lime right into the pot, then cut it in half and squeeze the juice in.  Taste and correct for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if you feel you need it.

Serve topped with fresh cilantro, crushed tortilla chips, and shredded Pepper Jack cheese.

Makes about 6 servings

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Asian Style Turkey Salad

Some time ago, I found some videos of a Jamie Oliver Christmas special on You Tube and found this great one where he makes a fantastic salad using leftover turkey. Inspired to make my own, I found the recipe on his site and served it for Christmas Eve.

Since I didn't have any leftover turkey meat, instead I poached some chicken thighs in a little water with peppercorns, a bay leaf, some fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage, along with a slice of lemon peel.  The meat worked very well and the salad was absolutely amazing.  What a great way to use up leftovers!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver.com

2 large handfuls of brown turkey meat
1 large handful of unsalted cashews
1 handful of dried cranberries
2 tsp 5 spice powder
a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked off
bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked off
4 large handfuls of mixed greens-I used arugula, and green leaf lettuce, but you can also use spinach and watercress
1 tbsp honey
1fresh chile, seeded and chopped (optional)

Dressing:

juice of a clementine
juice of a lime
1 pomegranate, halved
1/2 red onion, grated
extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated

In a dry pan over medium heat, combine the turkey meat, cashews, dried cranberries, and 5 spice powder, give it a good stir and then allow it to brown and crisp up while you assemble the other ingredients.

Toss the mint, coriander, and greens together in a bowl.  Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the clementine and lime juices.  Holding one of the pomegranate halves over the bowl, give it a squeeze to get some juice out. Make sure to hold your hand under the half so that none of the seeds will fall into your dressing.  Stir in the grated onion, then some olive oil.  This is where you get to judge where you like it best-I preferred about half of the juice and half oil, but Jamie recommended more than that. I say maybe you should just try it and if you want more oil, add some. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, then get your grated ginger and squeeze it over top so the juice drips into the bowl as well.  Give it a good whisk.

Toss the greens with some of the dressing, adding a little more oil, soy, or lime juice if you wish.

Give the meat a good stir, and then add the honey, moving it all around in the pan to get it coated and crispy.  Put some of the greens on each plate, then top with the hot meat.  Top with some pomegranate seeds from the reserved half and serve immediately with the leftover dressing so that people can add more if they like.

Serves 4.

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