chicken

Chicken Soup

~ nancyruth ~ 2 Comments

Hubby was sick with a prolonged cold, not Covid, thank you for asking. He has not been sick for years, actually since he had Covid three years ago. But this was not Covid, no fever, no sore throat. He tried researching and decided it was allergies. We had recently been to the regional agricultural fair and had wandered around the animal barns with horses, cows, sheep, goats, and hay. He recalled that he may have had an allergy to hay in his childhood. But antihistamines did not clear this up, so he went back to cold medicine. Lo and behold, he got better on the 11th day, so his cold ran just over the 7 to 10 day course.

What to feed a cold? Or is it starve a cold, feed a fever? Either way soup is the answer. Now soup is just liquid with bits of food floating about in it. I have read and followed recipes for soups but unless it uses specialized ingredients is a recipe really necessary?

Liquid: broths and stocks of multiple varieties: chicken, beef, vegetable are the most popular. Milk and cream are possibilities as well.

Bits of food: vegetables of all sorts, meats of all sorts, and combinations of the two. I don’t know of any meat soup that does not use veggies as well. Pasta and grains are a nice addition as well as canned beans. One of my favorite things is to throw open packages of frozen vegetables in the soup. This uses up the veggies and adds variety to the soup.

I made a chicken noodle soup. I had a quart of chicken broth and a package of two boneless chicken thighs. This would be the easiest. After thawing the chicken I put it in a pan of water to poach. The advantage to this is that it makes an additional chicken broth!

The key to good soup is to sauté the mire poix. My usual is finely diced celery, carrots, and onions. For a different flavor profile one could use red and green peppers and garlic with the onions. Sautéing makes these bits of vegetables more flavorful and less bland when swallowed up in pots of broth.

Notes on pasta and rice: I cooked the egg noodles separately and did not add them to the soup itself. We put noodles in the serving bowls and ladled the soup over. This way the noodles don’t keep absorbing the liquid and become mush.  I suppose if that happened one could put it all in a blender and make cream of noodles soup!

From liquids to solids…

~ nancyruth ~ Leave a comment

Two weeks after starting the ketotic diet I had surgery. The post-op diet was full liquids. Initially this was fine as I was not all that hungry after surgery but when I began feeling better/ more normal after four or so days it got very tedious.

I am so tired of all things vanilla! My meals have consisted of vanilla protein shakes, vanilla yogurt, vanilla pudding, vanilla ice cream with an occasional fruit popsicle and butterscotch pudding. When on solid food I will not be able to have chocolate or fresh fruits or vegetables but more flavors and tastes will be allowed. Then in two weeks I can resume my regular diet. But I’ll start slow because my stomach will not be used to eating as much as was normal.

I began dreaming about meals to make and eat after my two weeks of full liquid diet. I will have to grind or shred meats and eat them in a gravy sauce. I must have very cooked vegetables like green beans, beets, and carrots and must avoid gas producing ones such as broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, onions, and cabbages. I’m dreaming of a soft scrambled egg and piece of toast. Interestingly one can have toast but not plain bread.

The solid food comes with a caveat that it must be easily chewed to baby food consistency. For my first breakfast I had a softly scrambled egg with a piece of toast smeared with a smidgen of butter. This sat in my chest for a while. I had tea to wash it down over the course of the morning. In the early afternoon I had lunch comprised by one half can of tuna, one teaspoon of mayonnaise, and four saltine crackers. This seemed to go down more easily than the morning’s meal. At this rate of calorie consumption I may continue to lose weight.  I do not feel hungry but eat because I know one must have nutrients to keep the body and mind healthy.

Thoughts on day one of solid food: my planned meal of roast chicken, finely chopped with gravy did not go down well but I did enjoy my sweet potato and baby green peas. The grape flavored Popsicle made with real fruit was savored slowly like a fine glass of wine.

No Halloween candy for me this year. For day two I prepared a beef stew in the crockpot with stew beef, potatoes, baby carrots and green beans cooked with beef broth. I shredded my portion of beef with the immersion blender and this went down nicely. it was also quite tasty for such a simply prepared stew. I am eating more slowly than usual but this is a good thing. Today’s supper will be leftover beef stew and then the leftover roast chicken.  I will mush the chicken in its gravy so that I can swallow it more easily than the first time. Then I will make hamburger gravy which is a dish my mother made when we were growing up as a means to extend the meat to a family of six. But for me I added chopped spinach for a vegetable.

This is what my meals will consist of for two weeks. I am beginning to adjust to the lesser food amounts. However I am starting to crave the restless and mindless eating while watching TV in the evenings. I need to pick up my embroidery projects while watching the TV to occupy my hands and thoughts.

Orzo Casserole, my way

~ nancyruth ~ 1 Comment

I cooked! I read a recipe in the New York Times cooking section and thought “I could make that!” Mind you, I did not have all the ingredients but “what the hey!” Here is the original: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024402-one-pan-zucchini-pesto-orzo?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page&region=all&rank=0

So I had no zucchini nor mozzarella cheese nor mint nor a lemon nor parmesan. What I did have was orzo pasta, I thought I had a jar of pesto, and my neighbor’s garden fresh tomatoes. What I did: I substituted fresh basil for the mint, jarred lemon juice for the lemon juice and zest, the little bit of homemade pesto for the pesto, and Feta for the mozzarella. And cooked chicken for some protein.

  • about one cup chopped cooked chicken; this was the meat from two thighs
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • olive oil for the skillet
  • sprinkle of red pepper flakes
  • pinch of fine sea salt
  • 1 3/4 cups chicken stock, homemade and previously frozen
  • 1 cup orzo
  • scant 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
  • 4 ounces of crumbled Feta cheese
  • handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped, and one sprig of fresh oregano leaves removed from the stem
  • grated Romano cheese, about 1/4 cup
  • about 1/4 cup pesto from previously frozen homemade

In a large skillet I sautéed the onion in olive oil with the red pepper flakes and a bit of salt until slightly browned and then added the chicken. Then I stirred in the stock and brought to simmer, added the orzo and lemon juice and another pinch of salt. Covered this and let cook for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small bowl I tossed together the tomatoes, fresh herbs, another pinch of salt, and another shake of red pepper flakes with a drizzle of olive oil. This marinated while the orzo cooked.

When the orzo was done, I added the Romano cheese and the pesto. Stirred this and let cook one more minute with the lid on the pan.

To serve top with the tomato mixture and more Romano cheese.

This was very tasty. It could have served three people but we had not had lunch that day so Hubby and I ate it all.

Chicken Tikka Masala

~ nancyruth ~ 3 Comments

This is an adaptation of the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated October 2007 magazine. I had recently pulled out the season’s past issues and chose a few recipes to try. This is something I order if eating out so I thought I would give it a try. The ingredients are basic except for the Garam Masala but I have that spice mixture in my pantry. However, I found that I did not have ground cumin. And not being sure of what is an appropriate substitute I used a shake of Garam Masala. I also used chicken thighs instead of skinless chicken breasts, and left the thighs whole when serving. Serve over rice.

For the chicken:

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • about 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 7 chicken thighs
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Mix the first 4 ingredients and press into the chicken thighs. Refrigerate this for 30 minutes. Whisk the last four ingredients in a bowl large enough for dipping the chicken pieces.

Heat oven to broil. Put shelf about 6 inches from broiler. Prepare a foil-lined baking pan with wire rack. I sprayed the rack with cooking spray to help prevent sticking. With tongs dip each piece of chicken in the yogurt mixture and arrange on the rack. Yogurt should thickly cover both sides of chicken. Broil chicken for 10 minutes on each side until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F. There will be nicely charred spots on the chicken. I had thick thighs (ha ha!) so turned the chicken an additional time for about 5-10 minutes.

For the sauce:

  • 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
  • 1 small dried red chile, seeds removed, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 Tablespoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • 2/3 cup half-and-half

The sauce can be prepared while the chicken broils. Heat oil and cook onion about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. I simmered this until my chicken was done. Then add half-and-half and return to simmer. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.

For serving: Add hot chicken to sauce. I had to spoon the sauce on top of the chicken to cover. Put heaping scoop of rice on plate. Place chicken with sauce on top.

My thoughts: This recipe has a lot of ingredients and is a bit fussier than usual for me. But this made three meals for Hubby and me so was worth the time and fussiness. I have in the past bought a jar of masala sauce and poured it over chicken to bake. This homemade sauce is much tastier than that was. Plan at least one-and-a-half to 2 hours to make this dish.

Not just another lemon chicken

~ nancyruth ~ Leave a comment

Hubby has been retired for a couple years now and has “taken over my kitchen!” He does most of the grocery shopping and cooking of weekday meals. At times I miss the planning and prepping for our meals but am also grateful that it does not all fall on me when I come home from work. I am still in charge of the baking and desserts but it is summer and usually much too hot to bake.

This recipe is adapted, but not too much, from Eating Well via my local newspaper’s Flavor section that comes weekly wrapped around all the ads for the grocery stores and more. I look through this for any interesting tidbits about food, wine, and cooking. I read this recipe and realized I had the ingredients, mostly, and chose a weekend day to cook. And had fun doing so.

First gather the ingredients. And chop and mince as directed. And cook the rice.

  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil and more
  • 8 chicken thighs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or thereabouts
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • generous pinch of saffron
  • 1/2 bag of frozen spinach
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice; I used Jasmine rice.
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice and more

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 8×8-inch baking pans with oil or cooking spray. One of these will be frozen. Two meals are gotten out of this cooking episode.

Put oil in a skillet and brown the chicken on both sides. Put on plate and set aside. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan.

Add a little bit of oil and the onions with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook until golden and soft. Stir in spices and cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring. Put on a plate and set aside.

Add spinach to pan and cook until no longer frozen. Then add lemon juice, the remaining salt, and half the onions. Oh, and add the rice and cook and stir until rice is completely coated, about 5 minutes. This has a wonderful aroma and beautiful color.

Divide the rice mixture between the two prepared pans. Top each half with 4 chicken thighs and then the rest of the onions. You will cover one pan with foil and freeze and the other also with foil but to bake.

So at this point I looked at the chicken and was concerned that I did not brown them sufficiently. So I added a touch of oil back into the skillet and browned the chicken again. Then there were nice browned bits on the pan so I deglazed the skillet with additional lemon juice and then poured this “lemon gravy” on top of the chicken in the square pans. Then wrapped one in foil and stuck it in the freezer to be used within one month or so. At that time it is to be thawed overnight in the refrigerator and about 10 minutes added to the baking time.

Bake the other pan at 375 for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer. A thermometer stuck in the chicken should register 165 degrees F.

Reviewing this recipe makes me realize it is more fussy with the various “setting asides” and the numerous spices, than I usually go for but this was absolutely delicious and worth it.

One Pan Chicken Dinner

~ nancyruth ~ 6 Comments

I don’t think the title is original. I have seen and read many postings for one pan dinners lately. This is my version. I have taken inspiration from various postings, too many to list, so if one of them is you, thank you! The primary inspiration is here.

I have a bunch of lemons leftover from the latest lemon meringue pie birthday. Hubby and I just went grocery shopping and he picked out some small red potatoes. I wanted to do something a little different than the lemon chicken recipes I usually make. So I add paprika. My Anheuser Busch cookbook has a nice crockpot Paprika Chicken recipe but I’m roasting this in the oven.

  • 4 small/medium sized chicken breasts
  • 8 medium sized red potatoes
  • 4 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 orange bell pepper
  • 2 plum tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • scant 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon paprika
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic (from a jar)
  • dried thyme, a few shakes from a shaker jar
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste at serving

I mixed the juice, oil, and spices in a large bowl while Hubby chopped the vegetables. He cut the carrots into “pennies” which I thought would be too small but turned out perfectly. The other veggies were cut into one inch chunks. Put these into the bowl with the juice and mix to coat.

Oil the roasting pan and distribute the vegetables in it. Reserve the juice. Now put the chicken breasts in the juice to coat them. It will not be a thick coating as the juice mixture is very thin. Nestle the chicken in among the vegetables. Sprinkle with thyme and distribute the lemon slices on top. Hubby suggested pouring the juice on top of this before baking, so I did.

Here is the before baking/roasting picture and then the served dish.

I bake this at 350 degrees F for one hour. The chicken is done. I remove the chicken and Hubby helps pour the juice onto the chicken. I cover this to keep warm while I raise the oven temperature to 450 F and roast the vegetables for another 15-20 minutes.

This was a nice dinner. It had good flavor and not just lemon. The chicken was moist and not overcooked. I think using the juice in the first baking kept the chicken from drying out.

Chicken in Orange Sauce

~ nancyruth ~ 5 Comments

This is a recipe from Eating Well Magazine Spring 2004. I was browsing through the magazines for interesting recipes. I have chicken and I have orange juice, so that is close enough. The manner of making the orange sauce is something different that just thickening juice with cornstarch. And of course just a few of the ingredients change. Actually the amount of the liquids were changed. I just thought 4 cups of liquid would make too much sauce.

  • 8 chicken thighs, skin removed
  • cooking spray to coat the pan and to spray on the chicken
  • salt and pepper to season the chicken

Place chicken thighs in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lightly oiled. Spray the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile make the sauce.

  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Put the sugar and the vinegar in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Do not stir, but swirl the pan from time to time until the sugar melts and turns a nice deep amber color. This should take 6-8 minutes. Add the broth and juice and bring to a boil. The caramel will harden but do not worry about that. It does soften as the cooking continues. This should be cooked 30-35 minutes until it is reduced and lightly coats a spoon. It smells wonderful at this point.

After the chicken has cooked its initial 35 minutes, pour the sauce on top. Turn the pieces so they are nicely coated. This is a thin coat. Bake 10-15 more minutes. I baked them until Hubby came home so that was just over 15 minutes.

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I served this with a tri-color quinoa and green beans. I am trying to have us sit at the kitchen table to eat our dinner. This is to prevent our backsides from becoming one with the sofa too early in the evening! We are binge watching the Inspector Lewis series from Masterpiece Theater from a few years back. Love that Sergeant Hathaway!

 

 

Chicken Cooked in Wine with Caramelized Onions

~ nancyruth ~ 3 Comments

This is an adaptation of a recipe from a “diet book” with the theme of eating the same primary flavor throughout the day. Supposedly this will keep you satisfied and encourage less eating and encourages weight loss. I only tried this theme day once years ago so I have no idea if it would work or not. But this recipe I kept because it sounded good anyway.

We have been trying not to overspend on groceries so my cupboard is sort of bare. Not as bare as Mother Hubbard’s though. Remember that nursery rhyme? I have lots of pantry staples of beans, rice, more beans, pasta, canned tomatoes, more beans. I only had two onions remaining and that is all that this recipe required. And in the freezer I have one of those 5 pound bags of individually frozen chicken breasts. These are great. I pulled two out and put in the fridge to thaw during the day while I went to work.

  • 2 nice sized chicken breasts
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 cup broth (I used vegetable broth; chicken broth would be preferred)
  • scant 1/2 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
  • 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers
  • 2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary (I had dried this herb from my summer herb pot and used a mortar and pestle to crush the leaves.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts into a pan. I used a 10 x 7 inch pan which fit the two breasts just fine. Place in oven.

Meanwhile heat the oil and butter in a skillet and add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. They will be soft but not yet caramelized. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Pour this over the chicken in the pan in the oven. Bake for one hour. The sauce thickens and becomes a glaze.

IMG_0877

 

Sorry about the picture. It doesn’t really show case the chicken. We were half way through our meal when it occurred to me to take a picture. I served this with peas and carrots and a quinoa/rice mix.

 

 

 

Thoughts:

  • if using two chicken breasts, use half the amount of liquids.
  • one could use up to 6 chicken breasts for the amount of sauce the recipe makes. Just use a bigger baking dish.
  • the chicken was very moist and flavorful as was the sauce.

 

Chicken Vegetable Casserole

~ nancyruth ~ 3 Comments

Greetings my dear readers! This is an updated version of a casserole I used to make when I first started a family many years ago. I am not sure where I got this but it is one of those canned soup recipes. And back then I used canned soups. I don’t anymore and haven’t for a long time. I have learned how to make my own cream sauce. I thought I would share this with you all. I had thawed chicken thighs and didn’t want to do another lemon chicken recipe. So here is what’s for dinner.

Original recipe: 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 1 pound large cut vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, shredded cheese if desired, and one cut up chicken.

Here’s my update:

  • 8-10 medium sized chicken thighs; I wanted to be “healthy” so took the skins off.
  • 1/2 super large bag of frozen Normandy style vegetables: zucchini and yellow squash, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower; use at least two pounds of large cut vegetables. You could cut fresh vegetables for this as well.
  • (I could have added about  4 ounces of mushrooms but the ones I had smelled too earthy for my liking.)
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • generous sprinkling of seasonings of your choice; I used Herbs de Provence; it is my new go-to herb mixture
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt; I threw this in at the last minute to add a creamy “healthiness”
  • 1 cup shredded cheese; I used a mixture of cheddar.

Super simple to make: heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray, or oil it if you prefer. Place your vegetables in here. Place your chicken on top of the vegetables. Make your sauce.

Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan. Add broth. Sprinkle on your seasoning or herbs. Mix the cornstarch with the half-and-half. Add to pan and bring just to boil. This will not be thick but on the verge of thickening. Pour the sauce on top of the chicken. This looked thin to me so I smeared the yogurt on top of the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over this.

Bake for at least one hour. Test chicken for done-ness with meat thermometer: 165-175 for thighs.  Dinner is served. This has your vegetables and your protein. Rice or egg noodles could be a side which would be nice with the sauce.

Enjoy!

Provencal Chicken

~ nancyruth ~ 7 Comments

I have completely adapted a recipe that called itself Provencal Chicken Saute. It did not use Herbs de Provence so I don’t know why it called itself Provencal. What follows is my version. And it is not a saute, but a bake.

IMG_0734
Ready to go back into the oven for the finishing touch

  • 8-10 chicken thighs, skin off
  • a bit of olive oil
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • 2-3 minced cloves garlic
  • 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • Herbs de Provence
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives

Spray a roasting pan and put in the chicken. Sprinkle this liberally with Herbs de Provence. Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile put a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Heat on medium and add the garlic and diced onion. Stir and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the can of tomatoes and basil and broth. Bring this to boil and let reduce slightly. This took about 5-8 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir in the olives. Spoon this on top of the chicken at the 30 minute bake mark. Put back in oven and bake another 10 minutes.

I served this with egg noodles and a salad. The olives give this a nice saltiness and the tomatoes give a bit of sweetness.

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