Hatch Chile Chicken Stew

I've made this twice now, and have almost used up my frozen supply of roasted hatch chiles...will be so sad to see them gone. Still pretending it's Fall around here...
This is a great stew, and even though I was too lazy to post the first time I made it, The Monster made me write down what went into it...he wanted be sure he'd get to eat it again. :-)

Hatch Chili Chicken Stew:

1+ lb organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-3 pieces each
2-3 Tbs whole spelt flour (or sub another flour)
1.5 tsp each salt and black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
a few good shakes of garlic powder
~2 Tb olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
3/4 bottle of beer (first time I used Dogfish ale and the second time I used a Real Ale Oktoberfest lager)
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Qt. reduced salt chicken broth
~1.5 cups chopped roasted, peeled and seeded hatch chiles (I used a mix of hot and mild chiles)
~4 medium small potatoes, quartered (I used purple potatoes this time, but the first time I made this with 1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed...just use whatever strikes your fancy)
1 ears worth of fresh, corn cut off the cob
~1/4 of a large head of green cabbage, sliced thinly
handful of chopped cilantro (ok, so I was out of this the second time I made it...oops)
squeeze of lime
grated pepper jack cheese, if desired (reallllly good...ate it with this the next day)
salt and pepper to taste

Add 2+ Tb spelt flour, salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder to a gallon sized Ziplock bag.
Dredge chicken by adding in several batches to the flour mixture and shaking well.
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven, and sear chicken for 5 min total, turning mid-way.
Remove chicken from the pot and set aside.
Add the chopped onion to the pot with a touch more oil and saute for about 5 min.
You might want to add a little beer to deglaze and keep the onions and flour residue from burning.
Add in chopped garlic and cook for 1 min more.
Add in about 3/4 of a bottle of beer, cook on high for about 2 minutes, then add 1 Qt. chicken broth, the seared chicken, the quartered potatoes (if using beans instead, wait 10 minutes then add) and the diced hot and mild hatch chiles, bring to a simmer then cook covered for 10 min.

After 10 minutes, add in green cabbage and the corn (If using white beans instead of potatoes add now), cover and simmer another 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and toss in a handful of chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice...adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Top individual bowls with grated pepper-jack cheese if desired.

Ina Garten's Chicken Noodle Soup

A simple soup. Great to have in the freezer for a day you feel like cooking. Infinitely variable...I used roasted skinless thigh meat instead of chicken breasts, and some fresh thyme because I had it in the fridge. Other than that, followed the recipe...as I have many, many times.
Whip up a batch of the Savory Scallion Biscuits to go with these and you'll be glad you did.

Chicken Noodle Soup:
(Barefoot Contessa at Home)

1 whole (2 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts homemade chicken stock (I'm usually bad and use boxed organic)
1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
1 cup medium diced carrots (3 carrots)
2 cups wide egg noodles (I used Tinkyada's brown rice elbows)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breast on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred or dice the chicken meat.
Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large pot and add celery, carrots, and noodles. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the noodles are cooked. Add the cooked chicken meat and parsley and heat through.
Season to taste and serve.

If you're roasting chicken thighs instead, just roast til they hit 170 degrees.

Kitchen Sink Pasta

As in it's got a little bit of everything except...
Fridge cleaner meal here, and super tasty to boot, if a little homely in the picture. I had more than half a tub of ricotta left from the omelet cannelloni, so decided to use it up in a pasta dish. I'm afraid the amounts are going to be kind of wishy washy on this one...but basically if it sounds like it might be good in your pasta toss it in!

Kitchen Sink Pasta:

1 preternaturally large chicken breast, pounded to ~1/4", salted and peppered, pan sauteed in a little olive oil, and cut into ~1" pieces
~10 oz ricotta cheese
freshly grated Parmesan
freshly grated nutmeg
~10 oz fresh spinach, washed but not dried
2 zucchini, cubed and roasted with a little olive oil and salt at 400 til done.
2 roma tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each, then roasted at 400 til they start to collapse.
~1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 large jarred roasted red pepper, chopped
brown rice elbows, or pasta of your choice
a bowl of the pasta water reserved
~1/4 cup packed torn fresh basil

After all your ingredients have been prepped, cook your pasta as per package instructions, making sure to reserve some of the cooking water.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and some Parm, freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
In the same (still chickeny) pan you cooked the chicken in, add the still damp spinach and cover, cooking ~3-4 minutes, or until tender, then remove from heat.
Add ricotta mixture to spinach in the pan stirring to combine.
You can start to thin with some of the pasta water at this point.
Add the rest of the ingredients including the now cooked noodles until heated through.
Add more water until it's a consistency you're pleased with, adjust seasonings if needed, then enjoy the cheesy goodness.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette and Chicken with Lime Sauce

In an effort to prevent any sudden outbreak of scurvy, we dosed ourselves heavily with lime juice last night. The acorn squash recipe was gleaned from a blog I read called traveler's lunchbox. Who in turn found it in Gourmet Magazine. Tasty way to prepare acorn squash and I don't know if we were supposed to, but we ate the skins right along with the squash (so make sure you wash them well). I halved the recipe, using only one squash, but made up almost the full amount of the vinaigrette (with less oil)...using the remainder on our salad.

The chicken is just sauteed up then finished with an easy pan sauce. A Cooking Light recipe that calls for using chicken breasts that have been pounded to 1/4" thickness, I used chicken tenders to cut that step out. I usually serve the chicken with cumin roasted potatoes and it's a great combo. Guess I'd better post about those sometime! I just looked at the comments on the chicken recipe at Cooking Light's site and found that people that weren't as into acidic sauces had a problem with the sauce, but others looooved it. So, judge for yourself. Me and tart are good friends...

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette:
(found on travelerslunchbox's blog...Source: adapted from Gourmet, October 2006)

2 large (1 1/2-1 3/4-lb/650-800g) acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil (probably used less)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds (I used a serrano pepper)
small handful chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Halve each squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scrape out the seeds and cut the squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Toss the squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons (30ml) oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, on the baking sheets. Roast the squash, switching the position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

While the squash roasts, mash the garlic finely with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar (or side of your knife on your cutting board). Transfer the paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, honey, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining oil until combined. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice as needed. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Chicken with Lime Sauce:
(Cooking Light)

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I can fit a whole package of tenders in one pan, but when I use pounded chicken breasts I have to cook only 2 at a time.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar, or sucanat
3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch (I usually use more, but forgot last night...a little thicker sauce is much nicer)
1 tablespoon butter

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap (or ziplock bag); pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add chicken broth, sugar, 2 tablespoons juice, and mustard to pan; cook over medium heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan; simmer 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Melt-in-your-mouth Braised and Barbequed Chicken

Another Southern Living Cook-Off recipe found it's way to our table last night. This one garnered an $11,000 prize and amazingly didn't include condensed mushroom soup, Kraft Italian dressing or any other nasty unsubbable ingredients. :-) Hard to find in a middle America cookbook, seemingly.
The only change I made to this one was in using agave nectar in lieu of brown sugar. And using brown rice instead of boil-in-bag white rice. A decent recipe that's easy to make...I did like last night's (that didn't win any cash prize) better though. :-)
Served this with steamed broccoli.

Melt-in-your-mouth Braised and Barbequed Chicken:
(adapted from Carol Dagger's recipe in Southern Living Cook-Off)

2 Tbs canola oil
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned (about 2 lbs)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 Tbs cornstarch, or a little less arrowroot
1/3 cup soy sauce
-1/4 cup agave nectar (called for 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed)
2 Tbs minced fresh ginger
3 Tbs cider vinegar
3 Tbs ketchup (look for organic ketchup since it won't have HFCS in it, or make your own)
1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Start a pot of brown rice. I just use a rice cooker...the only way I manage to not screw up cooking brown rice!
Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken, and saute 6 minutes, turning once.
Combine fruit juices in a large bowl. Stir together cornstarch and 1 Tbs juice mixture until smooth; set aside.
Stir soy sauce and next 6 ingredients (thru garlic) into remaining juice mixture; pour over chicken.
Bring mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes, turning chicken after 20 minutes.
Uncover chicken and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Spoon rice onto platter; top with chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Coconut-Curry Chicken Soup

Alright, all these Christmas goodies are starting to get to me. I've been going on and on about what a sugar fiend my father is and was on his recent visit, when really, I'm just as much of one!!! Maybe I thought I could deflect some of the attention from my own sugar monster tendencies if I went on and on about how taking my sweet foddah to a store that just happened to have candy/cookies/ice cream there was like trying to drag a non-reasonable 4 year old through the most candy laden checkout line at a grocery store all the while saying "no, no, no". Alas, tis my cross to bear too. If it's in the house, I want it. This soup might help. Unfortunately, the original recipe from Cooking Light falls short in the flavor department. Not a problem if you're up for adding a pinch of this and a splash of that though! Only problem is that I don't have any amounts to list...just the extra ingredients.
All just as well in any regard, since we all like different levels of spice, sour, sweet, etc. anyway.
The monster really dug this one after said tweaking of the recipe had occured, so I'm posting it.
If only to be one of the few food blogs I read that doesn't have cookies, etc. posted AGAIN.
Plus it's been ages and my buddy James is way over seeing the teff pancakes post. :-)

Coconut-Curry Chicken Soup:
(Adapted from Cooking Light)

4 cups water
3 cups fresh spinach leaves (I used more than 3 cups)
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 (5 3/4-ounce) package pad thai noodles; wide rice stick noodles (I use the equivalent weight of Tinkyada's Brown Rice Fettuccini noodles...they're just fabulous!)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
7 lime wedges
I added some rice wine vinegar, more fish sauce, and some sirachi chili sauce, more lime, and probably more salt. Just keep adding and tasting til you're happy with it. :-) Oooh, add lemongrass if you've got it! That's what it was missing!

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach and peas to pan; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes (or if using the brown rice noodles as per package instructions). Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.

Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar, and fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl. Stir in cilantro and chiles. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with lime wedges (I added some lime juice into the soup before even serving).

Chicken Stew with Lemon and Olives

This is a really wonderful new recipe that I'd printed out from Cooking Light ages ago and finally got around to making. It will go into our regular rotation of recipes for sure. Very comforting meal served with a simple arugula, orange and avocado salad.

Chicken Stew with Lemon and Olives:
(Cooking Light magazine)

1 pound boned, organic skinned chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I use brown rice flour or whole spelt flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon capers, drained and minced
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 pound organic Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 3/4-in. cubes
package (8 oz.) thawed frozen artichoke hearts, quartered if large (used one can of plain quartered artichoke hearts, drained)
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup pitted medium green olives (I'd use less next time...too much of a good thing with the capers. Maybe measure out 1/2 a cup, then cut them in half)
Lemon wedges (was perky enough for our tastes without additional lemon)

Cut each chicken thigh into 2 or 3 chunks. In a resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Add chicken, seal, and shake to coat.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken (discard excess flour) in a single layer and cook, turning once, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, capers, and lemon zest and stir just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and simmer, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, and chicken and return to a simmer. Lower heat slightly to maintain simmer, cover, and cook 10 minutes.


Add artichokes to pot and stir. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, lemon juice to taste, and olives.

If necessary, season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, with lemon wedges on the side.

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas with Salsa Verde

I came home from a visit to my aunt's dairy in Colorado with 2 large bags full of her homegrown fresh veggies. Besides being inspired to start some kind of produce garden myself, I had to make sure I used every last veggie in something wonderful! One night we roasted the "fake out" peppers (look like jalapenos, but no heat) just like my Aunt Susan made them for me. Split in half, deseeded, broiled, then cheesed with a pepper jack and broiled some more. So yummy!
I roasted the baby eggplant too...again quite delicious. But the killer recipe was to follow when needing a use for her tomatillos and zucchini. I made Cooking Light's recipe for chicken, corn and zuke tostadas that called for store bought green salsa and instead used Simply Recipes' green salsa recipe.
I cooked up a batch of black beans and made a quick salad for a wonderful meal.
This was my first time (I think...) making green salsa and it was really easy.
At first the salsa as made was incredibly spicy, but it mellowed by the next day in the fridge to just the right heat level for us. I'd make it the day before next time, since I ended up putting less than the amount called for in the tostada mixture so as to not overwhelm the flavors of the veggies with heat.

The best part about making this recipe is that the next morning you get to eat migas with the leftovers! Just gently reheat the chicken veggie mix in a skillet and then add as many eggs as you want (I used 2 whole eggs and 3 whites). Then melt in as much pepper jack cheese as you want and serve with the leftover tortillas and beans. Topped of course with more of your fab green salsa!
I also had some leftover boiled red potatoes so I smashed them gently and fried them up in a skillet until golden brown on both sides. So make sure you have some just sitting in your fridge from a couple nights before too!

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas:
(Cooking Light)

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
12 ounces organic chicken breast tenders
1 cup chopped red onion (about 1)
fresh corn kernels from 2 ears of corn
1 cup (or more) diced zucchini
1/2 cup green salsa (I used only ~1/4 since it was so spicy when first made...recipe follows)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas (we used Central Market's multigrain tortillas)
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (we used a pre-shredded Mexican cheese blend)

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

If you're only cooking for 2 then you'll have plenty of chicken/veg mixture left for your morning migas! :-) It's hatch chile season around here, so I chopped 3 roasted chiles to add to the mix too.



Tomatillo Salsa Verde:
(Simply Recipes)

If you like a milder salsa, you might just add one of your cooked serranos at a time when you blend the salsa. Keeping in mind that it does seem to mellow out quite a bit after a day in the fridge.

1 1/2 lbs of tomatillos, papery outer leaves removed, washed and left whole.
3 serrano chiles, top cut off to expose interior and to remove stems, but otherwise whole
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (packed)
1 tsp salt or to taste

Put the tomatillos and 3 serrano chile peppers in a sauce pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.

Simmer until the tomatillos are cooked, and have changed color, but are not mushy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatillos and serranos to a blender. Add 1/2 cup of the tomatillo cooking liquid to the blender, as well as 2 cloves of garlic, chopped onion, and cilantro and 1 tsp salt.
Purée until completely blended, 15 to 30 seconds.
Taste and add more salt if necessary. Pour sauce into a skillet, bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat.

Chicken with Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

I made this about a month ago for the first time and tried to remember what I'd put in it to make it again this time. Realizing THIS is why I'd started this blog in the first place! Alas...the summer haitus. I did replicate it pretty well though. Very yummy one skillet meal that provided us with dinner for 2 nights and a lunch due to a larger than I thought package of chicken tenders.
Writing it down now...lest I forget it in the next 5 seconds!

Chicken with Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes:

1 package organic chicken tenders
brown rice flour, or regular ap flour
olive oil
salt and pepper
~1/2 of a large onion, sliced or diced or whatevah
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (with the liquid)
1 15 oz. can quatered artichoke hearts, drained (not the marinated ones)
~6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
reduced sodium organic chicken broth
a glug or two of white wine
fresh basil, torn (some cooked with chicken and some for garnish)
commercial pesto (I used about 1/2 of a pretty small jar...probably ~2 Tbs.)
freshly grated Parmesan Reggianno
Italian parsley for garnish (optional)

Heat a large non-stick skillet.
Salt and pepper the chicken tenders then roll in flour, shaking off the excess flour.
Add a little olive oil to the pan and when it's hot, add chicken to pan.
Sear the chicken for about 2 minutes each side on high heat, just til golden.
Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.
Add a touch more olive oil to pan and saute onions until translucent.
Add chopped garlic and cook for ~1-2 minutes more.
Add whole can of tomatoes with the liquid, cooking until most of the liquid is gone.
Now add the drained artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and as much basil as you'd like (I probably used ~1-2 Tbs. chopped), stir, then nestle the chicken back in the pan in a single layer.
Pour in a couple glugs of white wine, then add chicken broth until it comes about 1/2-3/4 up the chicken.
Cover and reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Check the chicken to see if it's done. When done, remove from heat and add a couple dollops of pesto and delicately stir through.
Serve topped with Parmesan, some more torn basil and maybe some Italian parsley. Yum!
We ate this with a green salad and some steamed cauliflower.

Turkish Zucchini Pancakes and Turkish-Style Grilled Chicken

I found this recipe for Turkish Zucchini Pancakes on a fellow blogger's site and had high hopes for them. I even sought out a Turkish chicken recipe that I thought might compliment it. Maybe it's because I used about the half the cheese the pancakes called for but they seemed like a lot of work for an ok end product.
And if you're having to buy your herbs it can get spendy. I felt the zucchini didn't really come through and wonder if maybe it'd be worth trying again, without salting the squash first. I guess I'm a weirdo for wanting to be able to taste my veggies? :-) There wasn't a salt amount given in the original recipe and I don't think I put enough in...thinking the feta and the salted then rinsed zuke would have added their own saltiness. This could be streamlined and improved, so I might have another whack at it and republish the recipe as I've changed it. The Monster just walked in and commented that he'd make them less dilly too, so use your own judgment on that.

The chicken thighs were good, but I don't think they merited having to wash the food processor to make the marinade. We just like the Cardamom Chicken so much better and it's easy peasy.
If you do try it and don't feel like grilling, you can just roast them like I did on a sheet pan at 400 for 30-35 minutes (or until they reach ~170). I halved the marinade recipe for 5 largish thighs and marinated overnight.

Turkish Zucchini Pancakes (Mucver):
(from Seasonal Ontario Food's blog)

450 grams (1 pound) zucchini (1 large or 2 medium)
2 to 4 green onions, minced
1/3 cup minced fresh dillweed
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil and/or mint
salt and pepper
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup soft unbleached flour
150 grams feta cheese (I used about 80g?)
1/4 cup grapeseed, sunflower, or canola oil

Wash and grate the zucchini. Put it in a colander in layers, sprinkling salt between each layer. Set it aside to drain as you prepare the remaining ingredients. (total pain to try to get the zuke off the paper toweling and a waste of paper towels...I'd try to figure something else out)

Wash, trim and mince the green onions, the dill, parsley, basil and/or mint. Put them in a large mixing bowl, and season with the salt and pepper. Beat in the eggs.

Rinse the zucchini and drain well. Then, take it by handfuls and squeeze it thoroughly, into a little ball, being sure to get out as much moisture as possible. Once each handful of zucchini is squeezed dry, add it to the herbs and eggs. It is really important to do this; they will cook much more quickly and evenly. When the zucchini is all in, mix in the flour and the feta cheese, crumbled.

The batter can be made ahead, kept refrigerated and covered until wanted (the same day.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to scoop out the batter. Place them in the hot oil, then press down to form neat 1/2" thick pancakes with the pancake lifter.

They will cook fairly quickly, about 5 minutes per side. They should be a good dark golden brown. As they cook, put them on a plate padded with paper towel in the oven to keep warm. Serve them hot, with yogurt or light sour cream with garlic mixed into it if you like.

Turkish-style Grilled Chicken with Yogurt and Cumin (Tavuk Izgara):
(From The Mediterranean Kitchen by Joyce Goldstein)

Plan ahead to let chicken marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

* 2 Tablespoons cumin seeds
* 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
* 4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
* 1 Tablespoon paprika
* Juice of 1 lemon
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 12 boneless chicken thighs, about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds, or 4 half broilers
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Lemon wedges for serving (oops, I forgot these)

Preparation:
Toast the cumin seeds in a small saute pan over medium heat until the seeds are fragrant and start to pop in the pan. Remove from the heat and grind in a spice grinder5.

Place the cumin, onion, garlic, paprika, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and pulse to liquify. Add the yogurt and pulse just until blended.

Put the chicken thighs in a shallow non-aluminum baking dish or bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the broiler to make a charcoal fire. Thread the thighs if using on 4 skewers. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Broil or grill until the juices run clear, about 6 minutes each side. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 servings

Cardamom Roasted Chicken Thighs

I thought this recipe was worth revisiting since it was from my very first post and I hadn't taken a photo then. It's easy. It's yummy. Enough said.
I toss in a couple of small sweet potatoes (each wrapped in foil) to roast on a foil lined baking sheet about 30-35 minutes before the chicken goes in. Then, place the chicken on the sheet with the potatoes and continue cooking both together. The potatoes should be done in about an hour total depending on their size.

Scottie's favorite Cardamom Roasted Chicken Thighs:

4 cloves garlic, smashed whole cloves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I grind the pods in a spice grinder so it’s nice and fresh)
1 package boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and cardamom in a resealable plastic bag. Place chicken thighs (I trim off as much fat as I can first) in the bag, and squeeze to coat. Press out most of the air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Remove the chicken from the marinade, and discard the marinade. Place chicken on a broiling pan or baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil). Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3. Roast in the oven for ~25-35 minutes (depending on how large they are), or until chicken is browned and a thermometer registers 160.  Remove from sheet pan, cover with foil and let rest for about 5-10 minutes.

Sage Chicken with Lemon Sauce

Back before we had "Sage-zilla" taking over the rest of the herb garden, I used to buy those pre-packaged herbs from the grocery store at $2.20 a pop. I'd bought a packet of sage for a different recipe, but had plenty left. This recipe was printed on the package, so I thought I'd try it out. Last night, I had a carton of whipping cream that hadn't gotten used for our anniversary dessert, so it was time to make this again. Although I didn't have the energy to play with this last night, I do plan on making it healthier so we can eat it more often. It's a nice dish that I'll try subbing Greek yogurt for cream in next time. I won't use the full 2 Tbs of butter either. Just enough to brown the chicken a bit.

Sage Chicken with Lemon Sauce:

6 boneless chicken breast halves (my pan will only hold about 3 flattened breasts, but I still make the whole amount of sauce)
2 tablespoons flour (I used brown rice flour)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter (I used less, but will use even less next time)
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 sage leaves
1 lemon, sliced in rounds
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup whipping cream

Pound chicken breasts to ~1/4" thickness.
Put flour on a plate.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
Dredge chicken breasts in flour, then set aside.
Melt butter and oil in skillet large enough to hold chicken breasts without crowding.
Add sage leaves, saute for a few minutes, then remove and set aside.
Add chicken breasts and saute on both sides until lightly colored (about 2 minutes per side?)
Add broth, lower heat to a simmer and cook chicken on both sides until its slightly underdone about 4-5 minutes.
Remove chicken and set aside.
Add vermouth and lemon slices to pan and boil for 3 minutes, scraping up bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan.
Remove lemon slices.
Add cream and sage leaves and simmer for a minute, stirring constantly, until cream is warm and sauce has thickened.
Return chicken to pan and simmer on low for 1-2 minutes to warm back through.
Divide lemon slices and sage among the pieces. Top each serving with a spoonful of sauce.

Chicken Pot Pie...Sans Pie

I'd planned on making the Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie again last night, but got lazy (kind of).
Why not just make the filling and serve over brown rice? Great comfort food and I was able to throw extra veggies in that I had hanging out in the fridge and pantry since I wasn't working under the constraints of a 9" pie pan. What was left of the freakishly-large-head of cauliflower, a random red potato, and some frozen baby lima beans joined the carrots, onion and frozen peas called for in the original recipe. I bumped up the amounts of all of the spices, threw in a few dried apricots with the golden raisins, and added some extra low sodium chicken broth to make it a little saucier for the rice. The brown rice was cooked in a rice cooker with nothing more than a nice carroty veggie broth and a little extra water. Best part is...there are plenty of leftovers to keep munching on.
This can be a great fridge cleaner meal. Really, just use any vegetable combo that appeals to you. If you wanted to save even more time, I think they sell a frozen mix of veggies specifically for pot pie type recipes.
I made our standard Braised Greens recipe with collards to round out the meal.


Moroccan Spiced Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

First I brought a 3-quart pot of salted water to the boil to which I added the baby lima beans. Cooked them for 6 minutes, then added diced red potato and cauliflower florettes. Cooked the whole thing for about 3 more minutes, then drained and set aside.

In a large oven safe pot, cook the onions, carrots, olives, raisins (and apricots if using) as per the original recipe for about 6-7 minutes. I salt this mixture with some Kosher salt.

Continue following the original recipe, adding the veggies you've set aside at the same time as the chicken broth.


Cover the pot and put the whole works into the oven for about 25-28 minutes. The original recipe calls for a 425 degree oven, but I set mine at 400 this time because the knob on the lid of my enamel pot would not have cared for the extra 25 degrees. :-)

Mango Chicken with Red Pepper and Mint Raita

We really enjoyed this chicken dish...other than prep work it went together pretty quickly. I think I was just trying to do too many other things at once. I won't type up a recipe for the greens...they needed work, but the raita was nice and cooling alongside the spicier chicken dish. This can obviously be made with as much heat as you choose to add, but we liked it as it's written below!

Mango Chicken with Red Peppers:
(Adapted from Hooked On Heat)
Prep time: 10 min (she must have mad prep skilz that I don't possess!) Cooking time: 20 min Serves: 4

2 whole boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (CM's come 2 whole breasts to a pack usually)
2 large mangoes, diced into cubes
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
2 red chillies, finely chopped (I only had serranos and I seeded and deribbed them...)
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste (subbed 1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger and 1 large clove of fresh garlic, minced)
1/4 cup chicken stock/water
~1/2 tsp turmeric powder
~3/4 tsp ground red pepper
3/4 tsp cumin powder
3/4 tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp canola or grapeseed oil
salt, to taste (I used 1 tsp+ Kosher salt)
fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped for garnish
I added the following that the recipe didn't call for:
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Siracha chili sauce (a couple good turns of the pan)
a little agave nectar (it just wouldn't be Erinafied if I didn't use this! My mangos were just a little on the tart side, you may find you don't need it)

Heat oil in a large non-stick wok and saute chopped chillies, ginger-garlic paste and onions till lightly browned.

Add in chicken pieces, peppers and spices and salt, and stir-fry till chicken is cooked through. Try not to cook on too high a heat or your chicken will toughen up. Stir in chicken stock and mango, and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Add the lemon juice, Siracha chili sauce, and agave (if needed) and adjust salt if necessary.
Serve with over brown basmati rice and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

Mint Raita:
(Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking)

1 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat, but use whatever floats your boat)
1 (~1/2 lb) English cucumber, shredded (calls for peeled, but I didn't and I only needed 1/2 of one large cuke)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set in the refrigerator for ~1-2 hours to let the flavors marry.

Curried Chicken Salad and Jicama Stix

This recipe is by special request from my friend Marenka! It's really easy to do and is so tasty for a weekend lunch or light dinner. We often serve it in half of an avocado nestled in a pile of shredded romaine lettuce, but it would be awesome on whole grain bread or a good croissant (if you're in Paris!) for a meal on the go.
We packed it for a picnic in Pedernales State Park on Memorial Day and ate it scooped right out of the container with tortilla chips. I also made veggie sticks out of half of the beautiful tailed jicama from our expedition to the Asian market on Saturday. A light and delicious snack served Mexican style with cilantro, lime and chili powder.
Thanks Marenka for asking for a recipe for chickie salad! Somehow it had fallen out of the rotation and we'd forgotten how good it is! :-)

Curried Cashew Chicken Salad:

2 bone-in, skin on chicken breasts
1/2 Tbs real mayonnaise (don't use the light stuff, it's full of gross stuff. You can leave it out altogether if you want)
a nice big spoonful of 2% greek yogurt (use non-fat, 2%, or full fat...whatever you'd like)
~1/2-3/4 tsp mild curry powder
1 Tbs minced green onions
~1/4 cup diced celery
~1/3 cup chopped cilantro
zest of 1/2 a lemon and a squeeze of it's juice
~1/4+ cup roasted cashews (if you don't plan on eating the chicken salad soon, leave the cashews out and just add before you eat, so they don't go mushy on you)
~1/4-1/3 cup dried fruit such as good dried apricots, cranberries, or golden raisins...I used chopped apricots and they were delish!
Kosher salt and pepper

Set oven to 350.
Place chicken breasts (the better the layer of skin covers the breast the better they'll turn out) on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Rub them with olive oil.
Salt and pepper liberally.

Roast for 35-40 minutes...or until temperature taken at the thickest part of the breast reaches 170 degrees.
Remove from oven and let cool until you're able to handle them. I usually wrap them in the foil they baked on and just set them to the back of the counter until I'm ready for them.
Prep all of your other ingredients.

When cool, remove the skin from the chicken (I usually turn the top over and rub it on the meat to get some of the salt and pepper onto the actual meat), then pull all the meat from the bone.
Cube the chicken and put in a medium bowl.

Add the green onions, celery, cilantro, apricots and cashews to the chicken and stir to combine.
Now add the yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, zest, curry powder. Stir and taste.
Add the salt and fresh gound black pepper, give it one last light stir and taste...if you're happy with the flavor, cover and chill in the fridge until you're ready to eat.


Jicama Stix:

as much jicama as you plan on eating, peeled, and sliced into sticks
lime juice (for 1/2 a good sized jicama I think I used 1-1 1/2 limes worth)
chili powder to taste
a good handful of chopped cilantro
a touch of Kosher salt
Mix all of the ingredients together and let marinate in the fridge for 2 or more hours, then enjoy!

Hoisin Cashew Chicken Noodles

I've got 2 chicken breasts left from last night's meal, so we'll go with another Asian inspired meal tonight. Some organic broccoli is also residing in our fridge, and I've got some angel hair spelt pasta in the pantry. Just need a sauce to bring it all together. The cashew hoisin dipping sauce from the spring rolls we made went over really well with both the Monster and myself, so I think I'll make up a batch of that and thin it with some of the pasta water. I've got another batch of green onions that I'll lightly saute and toss in with the whole works and call that dinner.

ABORT, ABORT, ABORT!!! The organic broccoli was riddled with buggies that I could NOT wash out! Ick! Organic good, bug infested that you can't wash out, baaaaaad. Not up for that extra protein tonight...sorry.

Alright let's revisit the fridge. Looks like it's going to be those green onions, a weenie bit of red pepper, and a bunch of fresh basil. There's a cucumber and carrots that can pass as a salad. Ok, crisis averted.
Onward!

Hoisin Cashew Chicken Noodles:

~1-2 tsp canola oil
cubed cooked marinated chicken (2 breasts from last night)
a bunch of green onions, sliced in ~2 inch lengths on the diagonal
~1/2 red pepper, diced
spelt angel hair pasta (or chinese egg noodles)
hoisin cashew sauce (recipe follows)
3 ladles full of reserved pasta water, save more than you think you'd need
generous handful of rough chopped basil
lime wedges

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
When water is boiling, heat canola oil in a non-stick skillet over med.-high heat.
Drop noodles (the spelt only takes 4 minutes), and saute red pepper and onions for a couple minutes. Add diced chicken and warm though. Drain noodles, and toss into skillet with as much sauce as you'd like, a couple ladles of water...until you're happy with the consistency and toss with basil. Remove from heat and serve with a wedge of lime.

Hoisin Cashew Sauce:
(slightly adapted version of Steamy Kitchen's recipe)

This is great to have on hand. Quick to whip up and saves well for about a week in the fridge.
I end up finding all kinds of uses for it.

1 Tbs canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup hoisin sauce (if you're in Texas, Central Market has a great organic one)
a small squeeze of agave nectar
juice of 1/2 a lime
1+ Tbs chili garlic sauce (I use more than 1 T)
3 Tbs roasted cashew butter (look for it in the bulk section of your grocery store)
1/4 cup+ water (you'll need more than the quarter cup)

Heat oil in small sauce pan. Saute garlic until it starts to turn golden, then add
the hoisin, chili garlic sauce, agave nectar, lime juice, and cashew butter and whisk til creamy. Add water to thin, remove from heat, cover and set aside until ready to use.

Carrot and Cucumber Salad:

rice vinegar
a spoonful of chili garlic sauce
salt
pepper
a squeeze of agave nectar
a few drops of toasted sesame oil
quartered and sliced English cucumber, peel on
shredded carrots (I just put a hopperfull of baby carrots into my food processor and shredded using the grating plate)
a couple Tbs of chopped cilantro

Mix rice vinegar through sesame oil in the bowl you'll serve the salad in. Then add carrots, cuke, and cilantro and toss.

Asian Marinated Chicken over Arugula with Green Onion and Sesame Potato Patties

I took a different turn with last night's meal than I'd originally planned. I had chicken breasts that I'd intended to make another chicken pot pie with, given I have another piece of buttermilk crust in the freezer. Only we had a beautiful box of baby arugula that had been languishing in the fridge for too long and how to use enough of that with a big ol' chickie pot pie sitting on our plates?? Another salad seemed to be in order. The leftover mashed potatoes morphed into what I thought might pass for Asian-esque patties. If you make this, just make sure to marinate your chicken about mid-day, so it'll be ready for you at dinner. Or, you could just make the chicken the day before and eat it cold to save time. Just don't slice it until you're ready to make the salad.

Asian Chicken Marinade:

Durn...I guess I should have written down amounts when I made this! I just threw a bunch of stuff into a big ziplock bag as a marinade without measuring. If it sounded like it'd be good, it got tossed in! I'd love to be able to replicate it to some degree though, so I'll try to write up a semi-recipe for the marinade.

~5 Tbs soy sauce
~2-3 Tbs dry sherry
2 glugs (that's a measurement!) of organic hoisin sauce
2 spoonfuls of chili garlic sauce
3 whole smashed cloves of garlic
~2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
a squeeze of agave nectar
~1 tsp toasted sesame oil
lime juice
~1" of ginger, grated (it looked like about 1-2 tsp?)

Place all ingredients in a bag with 4 skinless boneless (and natural if you can get it) chicken breast halves and marinate for ~4 hrs., turning the bag periodically. When you remove the chicken to cook it, pour the marinade into a small sauce pan.

Sauce made from marinade:

~1/2 tsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
more agave nectar

Bring the marinade up to a boil and cook for at least 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pass the marinade through a sieve to remove the solids. Return the marinade to the sauce pan and whisk in about 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder (or 3/4 tsp cornstarch) and another squeeze of agave. Simmer to thicken then set aside. You'll brush a little of this on one side of the chicken while cooking and use the rest to drizzle over the sliced chicken.

Cooking the chicken:

You could either grill these, or use a skillet like I did. I lightly oiled a non-stick skillet and heated over med.-high. Cooked the chicken breasts for ~6 min. on the first side, then flipped, brushed with some sauce made from the marinade, covered the skillet, and turned down the heat a bit. The marinade will tend to burn onto the pan and cooking it in a more moist environment helps a lot. I even added a bit of water at the end so that I could continue cooking the chicken to an internal temp. of ~165. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover for ~10 min.

Prepping the Green Onion Black Sesame Potato Patties:

Cold mashed potatoes
Green onions cut into thin lengthwise strips
~1-2 tsp black sesame seeds (got these in the bulk spice aisle at CM, just for fun one day)
one egg
Panko bread crumbs
canola oil
canola non-stick spray

This recipe assumes you have cold leftover mashed potatoes in your fridge that need to GO. :-)
The potatoes were already adequately seasoned, so all I did was saute up the green onions in a little toasted sesame oil on lowish heat and mix them into the taters. Mix in the sesame seeds too. Now set up a potato station...
Your bowl of mashers is the first stop. Then, in a medium bowl, mix the egg and a little water to make an egg wash for your second stop.
Now place a thick even layer of Panko crumbs on a medium sized plate for the third stop.
You won't cook these until you've plated your salad.

Plating the salad:

organic baby arugula
slices of ripe avocado
slices of orange
rice wine vinegar
toasted sesame oil
kosher salt and black pepper

Pile up some arugula on each plate. Sprinkle with a little rice wine vinegar, a couple drops of toasted sesame oil and toss.
Arrange alternating slices of orange and avocado on top half of salad. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the whole plate and a little more sesame oil on fruit. Fan out chicken breast just below the fruit. Now cook the potato patties if your making them.

Cooking the Potato Patties:

Heat a little canola oil in a non-stick skillet over med.-high heat.
Scoop up some of the tater mixture and form about a 3 inch patty. Dip into your egg wash, then
dredge it in the Panko crumbs.
Place the patties as you make them into the heated skillet. Spray the tops with a little canola spray. Turn when browned on first side, and continue cooking until 2nd side is browned.
Plate the patties just below the chicken and garnish with a little toasted sesame oil, sliced green onion and more black sesame seeds.
Drizzle your sauce made from the marinade over the chicken and sprinkle with more sesame seeds.

Whew! You're done! And you don't even need to wait for a damn photo to be taken to eat it! :-)
We liked this a lot. Next time I'd use a stiffer mashed potato mixture and I'm going to try just coating the patties in a dusting of brown rice flour, without the egg and panko. It was a fun morph of our Sunday mashed taters in any case!

Morrocan Chicken Pot Pie

For this Moroccan(ish) chickie pot pie, I doubled the spices, adding turmeric, cayenne pepper and some more veggies (carrots, green peas and chickpeas) to the original recipe I found on Epicurious. It'd be good with some diced potato in it too. Just make sure you have enough room in your 9" pie pan for the amendments. The dough recipe I used was really good and leaves us with another piece for the freezer. Next time I'm going to make individual pot pies, just cause they're fun.
I served this with some nice steamed broccoli sprinkled with lemon juice...and fought the urge to make another strawberry crisp for dessert.


Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie:
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless natural or organic chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tsp paprika
~2 tsp ground cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 lemon
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup organic baby carrots cut in half, or just coarsely chopped
3/4-1 cup imported green olives, pitted, then coarsely chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins
~1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed
~1/2 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup low-salt chicken broth (mine only had ~50mg salt per carton serving)
1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package) or, half of buttermilk pie crust recipe.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix chicken cubes with paprika, cumin, and cinnamon in large bowl to coat. Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper. Cut lemon in half; remove seeds. Using small spoon, scoop out enough pulp and juice from between membranes to measure 2 tablespoons. Add to chicken mixture; stir to blend.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, olives, and raisins. Sauté until onion is almost tender, about 6 minutes. Add chicken mixture and stir 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add broth and chickpeas and frozen green peas and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Transfer filling to 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish.

Place pie crust over dish and seal dough edges to rim of dish. Using small paring knife, cut several slits in pie crust. I put an old scruffy round baking sheet in on the rack below to catch drips it was needed. Bake pot pie until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling thickly, about 22-24 minutes. Watch as the edges of the crust browned much faster than I expected.
I'll leave a thicker edge next time.


Buttermilk Pie Crust:
Bob's Red Mill Baking Book


1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 Tbs Sucanat (or sugar)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated veggie shortening, chilled and diced
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs buttermilk

Place the flours, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend. Sprinkle the butter over the mixture. Pulse until just incorporated, then add the shortening and pulse until the texture resembles crumbs.

Pour this mixture into a chilled bowl, add 1/4 cup of buttermilk, and stir with a spatula until the dough comes together, adding more buttermilk as needed (mine needed more). Divide the dough into 2 balls, flatten each piece into a disk, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling.

Chicken Pizza with Gingered BBQ Snauce

This is my very first homemade pizza crust and it was a resounding success! I was a little worried that the recipe called for only a 20 minute rise time, but it worked out great. Just meant it took that much less time to make the dough. I froze half the dough and also the extra chicken mixed with bbq sauce for a future pizza. The recipe makes enough for two 12" pizzas.
I built the pizza on a rimless baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal hoping to slide it off onto the hot pizza stone, but that did not work. I ended up awkwardly lifting my heavily topped pizza from sheet to stone. I see a pizza peel purchase in my future...


Chicken Pizza with Gingered BBQ Snauce:

1 recipe for pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded, or sliced
~3/4 cup Ginger bbq sauce, divided (if short on time, just buy a good store bought sauce, but the recipe that follows was really good)
red, sweet or green onions, sliced thinly
red bell pepper, thinly sliced
fresh or frozen corn (spray with a little oil, then broil on a sheet pan)
Monterey Jack, Mozzerella, or other cheese, shredded (I used pepper jack)
cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven with pizza stone if using to 425 for about 20 minutes. If you're using a baking sheet, dust it with a little cornmeal, then place the circle of dough on top.

Toss the chicken with about a third of the bbq sauce. Spread the remaining sauce across the dough, leaving a 1/2" border. Top the pizza with onion, pepper, and the chicken, then top with cheese.

If using a baking sheet, place the pizza in the oven. If you're using a baking stone, carefully remove it from the oven and sprinkle it with cornmeal. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust is brown. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving, if desired.


Whole Wheat Cornmeal Pizza Dough:

I'll just link to the recipe I used from Bob's Red Mill Recipe site in the interest of making this post a little shorter. The only change I made was using agave nectar in place of the honey.
I hope you'll try this recipe, since it really wasn't very hard to do at all and you get a 5-8 minute workout kneading the dough. :-)

Bbq Snauce:
I made this the day before...

1 Tbs canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs fresh ginger, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
a couple good squeezes of ketchup
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs cider vinegar
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8+ tsp ground cayenne pepper
a pinch of salt

Saute onions in skillet on medium in canola oil until soft. About 4-5 min.
Add garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds more.
Puree onion mixture in a food processor until smoothish.
Put onion mixture back in skillet and add the rest of the ingredients.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for about 20 minutes, or until you think it's done to your liking.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls and (Chickenless) Asian Salad

These are great to make when you've got an extra hand for slicin' and dicin'. The Monster was up to the task, so off we went. They take a little practice to roll, but you'll get the hang of it by about the second to last one. ;-) Good news is they'll taste really great no matter what. My first one tonight was the prettiest one of all...my rolling skills seemed to go downhill with each successive spring roll. This recipe for Vietnamese Summer Rolls comes from Jaden at Steamy Kitchen. The sauce is delicious, and it's highly tweakable. I added the juice of one lime, used agave nectar in place of the sugar, and added more garlic chili sauce for extra heat. I also found that it needed to be thinned with more water than called for. You might look for the cashew butter in the bulk section of your grocery store instead of buying a whole jar of it. If you don't feel up to making the rolls, the sauce is still a winner that would be awesome tossed simply with cooked Chinese egg noodles, quick sauteed green onions and cilantro.


I served the rolls with an Asian chicken salad we like sans chicken. :-) If you'd like to make a meal of just that, you can add the diced meat of two roasted chicken breasts, or cubed extra firm tofu. The original recipe comes from The World's Healthiest Foods recipe file.


Asian Chicken Salad:

5+ cups Chinese cabbage, sliced thin (I add more veggies since I think the recipe calls for a little too much chicken)
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on and bone in
~ 1 cup shredded carrot
~1/4 cup minced scallion
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds or instead, I use this great stuff by Eden Organic called Seaweed Gomasio that I'm sure you could find at Whole Foods. The original recipe called for hijiki seaweed, but I found out online that it has really high amounts of inorganic arsenic in it!! It's great on stir-fries too.)

Optional (I added these because I had the ingredients from making the spring rolls and thought they'd be tasty in the salad too):
2-3 Tbs chopped fresh mint
~ 2-3 tsp. lemongrass, grated on a microplane.

Dressing:
2 TBS extra olive oil
2 TBS soy sauce (I used a little less)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 TBS agave nectar, or honey
pinch red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste (I don't add much salt, since the gomasio has sea salt in it)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place chicken breasts on baking sheet covered with foil. Spray or rub with canola oil, then salt and pepper generously.
3. Bake until ~35-40 min., or until a meat thermometer reads 170. When done and cool enough to touch, remove skin, and cut into bite size pieces.
4. Thinly slice head of cabbage, and shred carrot. Carrot is easily shredded in a food processor with shredding blade. Otherwise you can shred it by hand, or slice thin. Chop cilantro and scallion and add to, cabbage and carrot.
5. Whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Toss with cabbage mixture and chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or Eden Organic seaweed gomasio which has lots of toasted sesame seeds in it. I add the almonds to each individual serving, so that if there are leftovers they don't get all soggy in the dressing.

Serves 4