Chiles Rellenos Recipe

This is the second recipe I tried from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook hubby's granny gave me, it being the second recipe that caught my eye.  One of my favorite meals ever is at a local place, Agave.  It is a seafood filled poblano pepper with a light, creamy sauce.  I adore the poblano; fresh, slightly sweet, slightly smokey with the perfect amount of heat.  Mmmmmm.  So when I saw this recipe,  I imagined heaven.  The tastiness of chiles rellenos without having to bread and fry? I'm in.

Now the recipe is for a side dish; it's poblano, sprinkled with cheese, topped with a light, eggy batter.  I wanted to thicken it up a bit and make it the main coarse, so I added shredded chicken and a few other things.  It was a great start to a dish I foresee being very versatile. 

Chiles Rellenos Casserole
(modified from Better Homes and Gardens: Our Best Recipes, pg 60)

• 3 large poblano peppers, halved
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 3/4  cup Oaxaca cheese, diced (a semi-soft Mexican cheese used in queso)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Chacheres or Seasoned Salt
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450.  Grease a baking dish just large enough to fit your peppers side by side.  

Bring a large pot of water to a boil;  add the peppers and boil for 3 minutes, attempting to keep the peppers completely submerged.  After 3 minutes, remove from water and place cut side down to drain.
 
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, Oaxac, 1/2 tsp cumin, and Chacheres.  

Place the peppers in prepared pan, keeping them as close together as possible, alternating tip to end if needed.  Try to leave no extra empty space. 

Fill the peppers with the chicken/cheese mixture, making sure to fill them completely before spreading any remaining mixture across the top.  Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly on top.

In the bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs until well combined.  In a small, separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Whisk into wet ingredients.  Pour over the chicken and cheese filled poblanos.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.  It should be easy enough to differentiate where one pepper ends and the other begins.

 Goes deliciously with sour cream on top!

Chicken Parmesan

(Yay a Wednesday post!) 

Hubby and I both independently had the idea to make chicken parmesan for dinner.  We combined our skills (his perfect marinara and my ability to bread chicken) and set off on an impromptu cooking experience.   It was really quite easy and does not in fact (regardless of my previous statements) require much skill.  And it was tasty to boot!

Chicken Parmesan

Breaded Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts (you can modify this to meet your needs, of course)
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
  
•  1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp water

Marina Sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 4 oz tomato paste
• 4 oz water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

For Serving

• Pasta, prepared per the instructions (spaghetti or angel hair works well)
  
• Mozzarella   

For the chicken:  Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a baking dish with pam.  In a large, shallow bowl or dish (pie pans work well) combine the breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder,  salt, and pepper.  Place the flour into another shallow dish. In yet another dish, beat together the eggs and water.   

It's easiest to set up an assembly line.  First, your chicken, then the flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs with the baking dish at the end.  Dredge a chicken breast in the flour, making sure it is well coated but removing any excess.  Dredge the chicken in the egg mixture, then through the breadcrumb mixture.  Go back to the egg mixture and dip it again, making sure to shake off any excess.  Dredge once again in the breadcrumbs and place in the baking dish.  This is what you're doing:

 Flour -> Egg -> Breadcrumbs -> Egg -> Breadcrumbs

 Repeat for each piece of chicken.  Bake 35 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. 

Once the chicken has been baking for 15 minutes or so, combine the marina ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  After it begins to boil, reduce to a simmer.   

To serve: Place chicken atop a bed of pasta, then ladle some sauce on top. Sprinkle with Mozzarella and enjoy.

Chicken Kiev

Since moving in with my dad, I've gotten him hooked on cooking shows.  In particular, he's become fascinated, some may even say infatuated, with Alton Brown. Really, who can blame him? Alton's shows are fun and informative, like that awesome teacher you had in high school who had the perfect way of explaining things.  The other day, we watched an episode of Brown's Good Eats that focused on pounding meat into various thin slices. One featured dish was chicken kiev, which reminded me that 1) I love chicken kiev, 2) it's fun to make, and 3) it's been entirely too long since I've made it. 

Please notice that I said it's fun to make; it isn't particularly easy, though it isn't particularly difficult either.  It just takes a bit longer and some skill not required by your standard baked chicken dish. It's worth it though.  The delighted shock you'll receive upon diner's cutting into the meat to find delicious butter and herbs inside is priceless. 

Chicken Kiev

(Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, pg 464)

• 1 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 tbsp snipped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 - 1/4 pound stick of butter, chilled [1 stick of butter will suffice]
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine dry bread  crumbs
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

In a small bowl, combine the green onion, parsley, and garlic; set aside.  Cut chilled butter into four 2 1/2 x 1/2 inch sticks [I cut the stick of butter lengthwise, then cut those long, fat strips in half lengthwise, then cut the four resulting sticks  in half.]

In a shallow bowl, stir together egg and water. Place flour in a second shallow bowl.  Place bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl. Set all three bowls aside.

Place each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound chicken lightly into rectangles about 1/8 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

[At this point, it's good to set up an assembly line, laid out in this order: herbs, butter, flour, egg mixture, breadcrumbs, baking dish]. Place a quarter of  the onion mixture in the center of a breast; place a butter stick atop the herbs.  Fold in the side edges, then roll up from the bottom edge. Coat the chicken rolls with flour. Dip in egg mixture; coat with bread crumbs, coating the ends well to seal in the butter. Repeat for each breast.

Place coated chicken rolls in a rectangular baking dish. Cover and chill for 1 to 24 hours.

In a large skillet melt 1 tbsp butter over medium high heat; add oil.  Add chilled chicken rolls. Cook about 5 minutes or until golden brown, turning to brown all sides.  Return rolls to the baking dish, and bake, uncovered, in a 400F oven for 15-18 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.

Spiced Lemon Chicken

Growing up, I ate ALOT of chicken, which resulted in my not being a fan of the meat. I refuse to order it at restaurants and rarely tend to cook it at home. So, when I craved some chicken, I decided I should probably make some. I know I'm giving the bird a bad rep; it isn't all dry and tasteless.. I even have a bunch of recipes stockpiled to showcase chicken. So yesterday afternoon, I tried this recipe, which looked rather simple and seemed to have potential. I served it with some delicious fresh green beans and the delicious chive parsley potatoes.


While the meal was pleasant, the chicken didn't particularly wow us. After some tweaking of the marinade, I'd probably serve it again. Hubby (Mr. Spicey-hot Food Man) felt it didn't have enough flavor; I felt it was a bit too lemony.

Spiced Lemon Chicken

• 1 - 2 lbs chicken breasts
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 head of garlic, peeled with cloves intact
• 1 tsp ground cardamom, or 10 crushed cardamon seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander, or 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
• 6 tbsp olive oil

Using a fork, poke holes in the chicken. Place in a tupperware container or gallon baggy.

Prepare marinade by combining lemon juice and zest, garlic, cardamom, coriander, chili flakes, tumeric, and olive oil. Pour over chicken. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 475F. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Roast Chicken

Happy Bunny Day! I've been wanting to roast a chicken lately, so I decided today would be a good day to do so. A long time ago, I was mesmerized by the photos in this blog entry; the citrus and pomegranate with the variety of herbs just looked so beautiful. And of course, tasty. So that was my inspiration.


For my aromatics, I used:
a bunch of flat leaf parsley
pearl onions
lemons, quartered
orange, quartered
garlic cloves
sage
rosemary
thyme
White wine
chicken broth

After rinsing the chicken and removing the gizzards and whatnot, I patted it dry. I placed it on top of the aromatics and stuffed one or two of each ingredient inside. Then I gently separated the skin from the breast meat. I stuffed garlic cloves and nibs of butter between the skin and meat. After seasoning it with salt and pepper, I placed a few pats of butter on top of the skin, poured in the broth and wine, and covered it. Then I baked it on 375F for about 2 hours. For the last 45 minutes or so, I uncovered it.

Now, my chicken had one of those little red pop up things that tells you when it's done. Except, when hubby went to carve the chicken, it was not done. So we had to let it cook a little while longer.



Nice and golden. I'll definitely be using butter again the next time I roast a bird. For some reason, roasting a bird makes me feel accomplished. Especially when it is as delicious as this one was. All of the flavors incorporated really well into the meat, creating moist, flavorful bites.

I served this with some simple potatoes, which I'll post in a minute.


Such a tasty, delicious meal!

Smothered Chicken

Today we had my mom's smothered chicken. I loved this as a kid, though I generally ignored the chicken and just ate the rice drenched in sauce. What can I say? I wasn't fond of meat as a child. All that changed with a steak... but that's a story for another time.

I debated putting up the picture; it isn't all that appealing. But, 1) it's a chicken breast and how attractive can it really be, and 2) sometimes there just isn't time for snazzing up a meal. We know this; let's embrace it.

I've decided from here on out, I'm going to use chicken tenders more than chicken breasts, or I'm going to stab the bejesus out of the breasts before cooking. The ones I get here are so HUGE that it's just about impossible to get tasty flavorfulness into the entirety of the meat. They are just too large. Grr.


Smothered Chicken:

3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
oil
1 onion, chopped
1 can soup (Mom uses cream of chicken; I decided to spice it up with some Nacho Cheese soup I accidentally bought eons ago)
Salt & Pepper

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet (one with a lid). Saute the onions until clear. Remove from the pan.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add a bit more oil to the skillet, then brown the chicken. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Stir up the soup a bit, then add it to the pan. Pour in some water; I used about 1/2 a cans worth. Stir until well combined and return the chicken and onions to the pan. You want enough liquid to come up around the meat, but don't dilute the soup too much.

Let simmer for at least an hour.

Best served with rice.

Honey Dijon Chicken

See my little smashed potato there? So delicious! Also, that green thing is an attempt at a lettuce wedge. I didn't quite succeed, which is okay because I didn't try too hard. But, neither of those things are the point of those post, are they?

I am intrigued by the idea of baking a whole chicken. I don't know why. It's not like I've never had baked chicken before. It's just something I think about.. alot. I came across this recipe which seemed nice and it came to mind when I was pondering what to serve with those potatoes for dinner. Well, I didn't have time to cook a whole chicken. I took forever trying to decide what cut of chicken to use: breasts? thighs? drumsticks? I decided tenders would cook quickly and would have a nice sauce to meat ratio, which is highly important to us.

Honey Dijon Chicken:
1 lb chicken (I used strips of breast meat)
olive oil
salt and pepper
approximately 2 tbsp dijon mustard
approximately 2 tbsp honey
parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Season the tenders with the salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a skillet; brown the chicken.
Remove the tenders from the skillet and place into a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
While the strips are baking, mix together the honey and dijon. The exact measurements don't really matter, but you do need to have equal parts of the two ingredients.
After 10 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and spoon the sauce over each tender. Return them to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, sprinkle the tenders with parmesan and let bake for another minute or two.

"Black Lacquer" Chicken

So my chicken didn't really turn out black and lacquered, but it was still pretty damn delicious. The sauce is sweet with a hint of savory. The meat itself was so tender, it was falling apart. To boot, this dish was quite easy to make.

Black Lacquer Chicken
4 lbs chicken thighs and drumsticks (4 pounds seems like a lot, but don't forget the weight of the bones. I probably ended up with 3.5 lbs. I just got a standard pack each of thighs and drumsticks)
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup finely minced ginger, either fresh or candied (I used fresh)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a roasting pan (or glass baking dish) with foil and arrange chicken in a single layer.
Mix the ingredients, other than the chicken obviously, until they are well combined.
Pour the mixture over the chicken and bake for one hour. I had a little sauce left over; it's okay.
After an hour, raise the heat to 450F. Turn the pieces over and baste with the sauce. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Caution, check your meat during this final stage to make sure it doesn't burn.

Voila! You have delicious, sweet, (american) asian chicken. I served it with plain rice and steamed broccoli and onions since I expected the sauce to be really strong. It wasn't so much, but it was still good to eat the rice with a bit of sauce and chicken. And who doesn't like steamed veggies?

Ras-el-hanout and Cottage-fried potatoes

I am back, still with a bajillion things I want to try. Two new foods tonight, though one won't be posted right now. But anyhoo... I at some point and for some unknown reason decided to cook chicken and turned to TasteSpotting for inspiration. I came across this man's recipe for (previously unheard of) ras-el-hanout. It sounded like a tasty spice combination and I've never tried anything Moroccan before. I too chose to rub the ras-el-hanout on chicken thighs, which I have never cooked with before.. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'd had a chicken thigh before tonight; I'm a breast girl. At the grocery store and driving home, I had all sorts of ambitious plans, but after prepping tea eggs (more on these later) and the chicken, I decided to go with an old favorite from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook we got for the wedding - cottage-fried potatoes. They are simple and easy, but I find potatoes don't need a lot of pizazz to taste delicious.

Cottage-Fried Potatoes:
3 medium potatoes, thinly sliced. (peeled or unpeeled... I leave them with the peel)
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion
3 tbsp butter

Melt the butter in a large skillet; add garlic and heat for 15 seconds. Layer the potatoes and onions in the pan, add salt and pepper every few layers.


Pretty layers, right? I usually cut the onion into thin rings, but for some reason did not this time. It doesn't matter. Cook, covered, over medium heat, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY. Not only do you not want the bottom to burn, but you also want to make sure all potatoes have a wee bit of butter and that they cook evenly. After 8 minutes of covered cooking, uncover and cook for 15 minutes or until all of the potatoes look thoroughly cooked. Some of the potato slices will crumble. That's alright; it adds variety. And extra deliciousness.


Ready for the chicken? I bet you are...

Ras-el-hanout
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I would advise using less - like 1/4 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 chicken thighs or whatever else you want to spread the mix on.

Combine all the spices in a bowl. You can keep the skin on the chicken or remove it. I removed the skin from 2 thighs and left skin on the other two. Hubby ate the skin; I did not. Rub the mix onto your meat; I probably rubbed in a bit too much. Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes. Tada! It's super easy.


The chicken received mixed reactions. Hubby loved it; I thought the cayenne dominated the flavor and prevented me from tasting anything. I feel like some activating ingredient is missing that would really bring out all of the flavors that went into the rub. I'm not sure what could do that though. Sad. I'll probably make this again, tweaking the recipe.

Tea eggs coming soon!