Chicken Marsala

An Italian favorite.  My husband's step mother made us Chicken Marsala when we went to visit her this past year.  I didn't realize it really was so easy.  The hardest part for me was finding the Marsala wine!  After a visit to my local Safeway - yes you locals know this trip was useless...I visited World Market of all places.  They truly are worldly at World Market.  I did not want to drown out the flavor of the dish by serving it with too much.  I served the chicken with buttered noodles, but I think next time I might try a carbonara.  This has definitely joined the regular rotation at my house!

Recipe adapted from: BJ's Monthly magazine

Ingredients:
  
4 Chicken boneless skinless half-breasts; (pounded to even thickness)
1/3 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
4 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoon Butter
1 clove Garlic
1 cup sliced cremini/bella mushrooms (fresh, sliced)
1/2 cup Marsala wine
Italian parsley for garnish

Directions:

1.  Combine flour, salt, and oregano in a shallow bowl.
2.  Heat the oil, butter, and garlic in a skillet. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and place in skillet.
3.  Saute the chicken on medium heat for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly brown. Flip the breasts and add the mushrooms around the chicken pieces. Saute chicken until cooked completely .
Remove chicken from skillet and place on serving plate(s).
4.  Add the wine to the mushrooms and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper.
5.  Spoon mushrooms and sauce over chicken, garnish with Italian parsley and serve.  Serve with buttered angel hair.

Spicy Chicken & White Bean Chili

Football means football food.  I have made various types of chili in the past... Cincinnati chili, Turkey chili.  I have never tired chicken chili.  This recipe appealed to me recently because it clearly uses the dark meat of a chicken.  I really do think white meat chicken might make the chili kind of dry.  The other reason this recipe appealed to me is that it didn't have to stew and cook all day to get flavor.  I was able to use my Vitamix twice while making the chili which is a win-win in my books!  I upped the chilpotles in this recipe to 3.  The heat is nice although it might make you sweat if you don't have a beer handy to wash it down!  In case you are wondering this might not be a kid-friendly meal if you kick up the heat!

Adapted from: Fine Cooking

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, cut in a medium dice
1 large white onion, finely diced
Juice of 2 limes, about 6 Tbs.
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes
3 chipotles, plus 2 Tbs. adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
1-1/2 lb. boneless, skiness chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat, or 3-1/2 cups shredded
store-roasted chicken
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 cup lager beer, such as Corona
Additional toppings: Sour cream
Serve with Cornbread

Directions:
1.  Make the topping by toss the avocado, about one-quarter of the onion, 2-1/2 Tbs. of the lime juice, and 2 Tbs. of the cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and put aside for garnishing later.
2.  In a food processor/Vitamix, combine 1 cup of the beans, the tomatoes and their juice, the chipotles,
and adobo sauce and process until smooth. Set aside.
3.  Season the chicken with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it's shimmering hot. Add the chicken (the thighs
should just fit, evenly spaced) and sear without touching until golden brown, 3 to 4
minutes. Flip and cook the other side until also golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and let rest for 10 minutes.
4.  Take the pot off the heat and set aside. When the chicken has rested, shred it by hand or chop
it coarsely.
5.  Return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the remaining onion to the pot and cook, stirring,
until the onion begins to brown and soften, about 3 minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin
and stir for 20 seconds.
6.  Add the beer and cook, scraping the dutch oven with a wooden spoon to incorporate any browned bits, until it almost completely reduces, 3 to 4 minutes.
7.  Add the remaining white beans and the puréed bean mixture and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken
along with any accumulated juices on the bottom of the plate.
8.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes so the chicken finishes cooking and the flavors mix and meld. Stir in 1-1/4 cup of the cilantro and the remaining lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
9.  Ladle into large bowls and serve immediately with a generous spoonful of the avocado
mixture, a dollop of sour cream (if using), and a sprinkling of the remaining cilantro.

Serve with cornbread.

New Year and New Resolutions?

Although I planned to post more in 2012 it seems that life got in the way. I had lots of highlights in 2012 including a ton of trips like Venice, FL, Palm Desert, CA, Nassau, Bahamas, Bowen Lake, WA, Rhehobeth Beach, DE, St. George & Las Vegas, NV, and lastly our girls trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. (I know poor me) Somewhere in between there, I worked and spent loads of time planning social activities at the neighborhood pool. I think my husband is glad my duties will soon be over at our our pool so we can get back to enjoying time at the pool instead of working it. In 2012 I also was able to take a few cooking classes to expand my knowledge base. LivingSocial's 918 F Street is so convenient to take a class and I loved each one of them - Sushi with Sticky Rice, Sausage Making with Kyle Bailey from Birch and Barley, Pie making with Dangerously Delicious Pies were my favorites! Thanks @floridagirlindc for being my cooking class buddy.

So back to where we are...looking forward to 2013. Yes I am recommitting to the blog. The very first step is to make it easier to post to the blog. In my wealth of iDevices I have yet to successfully post through one of them. I've done my research and am trialing an app on my iPad mini called DraftCraft. Let me know if you know of better apps cause I need all the help i can get- including an excuse to get a wireless keyboard for my iPad mini as I type this!!! -forgive the mispellings.

2013 has motivated me to recommit to my love of food. Cooking and eating. Additionally I am thinking I need to expand my repertoire of cocktails I drink - even though I have been enjoying my pear martinis. Lastly my rededication to being healthy...my mommy bought me a VITAMIX....whooo hoo. Yes be prepared for smoothie recipes. I will continue to enjoy my various shades of green smoothie in the AM and frozen cocktails to start the evening then a homemade sherbert for dessert!!!

Anyway, motivation is something I am sharing also with my friend. I hope that my one friend will be launching her blog imminently AND when she does I will share and give her proper credit on this recipe. In the mean time I will share a recipe she taught me and my family enjoyed yesterday pre-Redskin loss.

Garlic Chicken Bacon Sandwich

Recipe from: my Gluten free Dairy free Carnivore friend

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast
8 slices of bacon
6 french rolls warmed
8 cloves of garlic minced
Lettuce or another green veggie

Directions:
1. Slice the chicken breast horizontally in half. Then pound each chicken piece to be more tender. Cut each breast half in half vertically. You should have 6 pieces of chicken now.
2. Cook the bacon to your desired tenderness. Crispy works well for the sandwich.
3. Place bacon on a paper towel to drain off the oil. Keep the baconfat goodness in the pan.
4. Over medium-high heat cook the chicken through on both sides. Then remove from the pan.
5. In the remaiing bacon fat goodness, saute garlic until browned.
6. To assemble the sandwich, in each roll place garlic, chicken, lettuce and bacon.

Tip: You might not want to go out on a date after this sandwich. If you do....bring your date a sandwich!!!

Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup

Yummy goodness

It was a soup kind of day.  Long weekend in January with the wind blowing everywhere today making it feel much colder than it really was.  The truth be told...I made this soup on Saturday AM for the Rising Hope crowd.  My fearless Rising Hope captain pulled this recipe out of his book and I was salivating by the end of making the meal.  I had no choice, but to go home and make my own!  I made some changes based on what I knew my family liked and I read the reviews on epicurious.  Even my one year old ate the noodles (that isn't the surprise), the chicken, the vegetables and drained the bowl to the last drop of soup. Mo soup Mo soup she screamed.

adapted from: Bon Appétit

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup diced carrots (about 2 medium)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 TBSP herbes de provence
1 tsp sage
1/2 rotisserie chicken shredded
1 cup ditalini pasta
1 cup of peas
1.5cups half and half
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
 
Directions:
1.  Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots and onion. Cook until celery and onion are tender, about 5 minutes.
2.  Add flour and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually mix in chicken stock. Bring soup to simmer, stirring frequently.
3.  Add half and half and herbs and simmer 5 minutes. Add shredded and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
4.  Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta.
5.  Bring chicken soup to simmer. Mix in cooked pasta and peas and simmer 5 minutes.
6.  Mix in lemon juice; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yummy Chicken Wings

Santa brought me a fryer this year. Maybe not the fryer I researched and ask for, but a fryer nevertheless. Not complaining - anymore. For New Years Day we were going to watch some football, and I thought what better to go with football than wings! Sad to say I was in such a hurry to eat the wings we did not get a great picture. Don't worry. I'll post the picture when I make the wings again NEXT week!!!

My husband says that wings always talk back to him. I think that is because the spicier the Wong the more it talks back. I've learned in the many years we have been together that spicy is not his thing. This recipe is anything but spicy. It is a sweet sauce really. I think I might dial up the heat with some cayenne next time to get the sweet but tingling lips after eating the wings. I adapted the recipe from Sierra's Grandma's Secret Buffalo Wing Sauce a winner on the Food Network All American Festivals show. These wings will go fast. Be sure to double the recipe. Also I served it with Helluva Good Dip Buffalo Wing Dip - YUM!!


Ingredients:
1 gallon of oil
10 whole, fresh chicken wings, cut in pieces (20 wing pieces)
1 stick butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
5 tablespoons tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano, fresh or dried
Dash beer
1 TBSP hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Hot Sauce)
1 TBSP chipotle Tabasco sauce

Directions:

1. Pat dry the wings. The drier they are the less they will splash.
2. Heat the oil to 350 degrees.
3. Fill you basket 1/2 full. The more they overlap the less even they will cook. I did two batches in my 1 gallon of oil.
4. Launch the wing basket into the oil. I covered for the first couple minutes to minimize the splatter. Then I took the cover off to ensure I had proper crispness. Cook for 15 mins
5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small sauce pan with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Once the wings are done, let them rest on s one newspaper. The newspaper will absorb the oil.
7. After both batches are done. Put the wings in a bowl and toss the sauce in them. Ensure all t he wings are covered and have absorbed the yummy goodness.
8. Serve with the buffalo wing dip from Hellauva Good Dip.

Enjoy

Chicken Curry Casserole

This is a fabulous casserole.  I had a whole rotisserie chicken to work with so I made two and gave one to a friend. I made some changes to add more vegetables and swapped out the mayo for sour cream to lighten it up.  The original recipe is linked below.  The curry gives it a little something special :)  Once a Month Mom also gives directions below on how to freeze this for a future dinner.

Adapted from: Once a Month Mom

Chicken Curry Casserole

Ingredients:
10 ounces cream of celery soup
1/4 cups onion, diced
1/4 cups low fat sour cream
1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon curry
2 cups rotisserie chicken, pulled
1 cup cooked broccoli, drained & chopped
1 cup chopped carrot 1/2"
1 cup diced potato 3/4"
1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces flaky refrigerated biscuits


Topping
1/4 cups sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon celery salt
.5 teaspooons salt


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Par boil the carrots, broccoli and potato until semisoft.  In a deep dish 8×8 pan combine chicken, broccoli, soup, onion, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and curry. Mix well. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Separate biscuits and each in half (see pictures). Arrange biscuit halves around edge of hot casserole, cut side down (see pictures). Place topping over biscuits. Bake at 375 degrees for an additional 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Freezing Directions:In a deep dish 8×8 pan combine chicken, broccoli, soup, onion, salad dressing, Worcestershire sauce and curry. Mix well. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. (DO NOT BAKE as you do above.) Separate biscuits and each in half (see pictures). Arrange biscuit halves around edge of casserole, cut side down (see pictures). Place topping over biscuits. Cover and freeze. To serve: Do NOT thaw. Bake covered with foil at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until biscuits are cooked and golden brown.

Spicy Tex-Mex Chicken Cobbler

Spicy Tex-Mex Chicken Cobbler

Going through the recipes I made this past month to post.  I realized a few things. 1. I made a lot of casseroles 2. I cooked a lot with rotisserie chicken 3. I cooked but had no time to post!


This casserole was delish!  It is definitely not the normal casserole.  It is the casserole with Flavah.  The topping tasted like a cheddar bread. This is one recipe that will definitely find its way back to the table again soon.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and onions with lime juice and cilantro
1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
2 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 large egg
2/3 cup milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded extra-sharp Cheddar, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided
2 avocados, sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice
Sour cream
1 can of corn drained

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Saute onion in hot oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in beans and next 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Combine baking mix, egg, and milk in a medium bowl, stirring until smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 cup cilantro; pour over simmering chicken mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in topping comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Sprinkle avocado slices with lime juice, and arrange over cobbler. Serve with sour cream.

Chicken and rice soup with baby bella mushrooms

I was so good this week with bringing lunch and making dinner.  Then today we went to the school to watch the rescheduled band concert....we ended up with take out pizza- bleh.  Oh well. I need to redeem myself with a good recipe to share.  

So during Christmas week, my husband and I were sick.  I think we've been eating every type of soup around. My sister made some great turkey soup from the turkey breast I made after thanksgiving.  I was looking for a soup that was different than the norm.  This soup is chowder like with fantastic flavor. I took a picture of the soup but it looks like white mush in a bowl.  I need to improve my food picture taking skills.

Adapted from Recipes Straight from the Kowboys Home
Chicken and Rice Soup with Baby Bella Mushrooms
2 cups shredded chicken 
6 cups home made broth
1 onion, chopped
1 cup rice
8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/4 cup cooking sherry (I used chinese cooking wine)
1 1/2 tsp Adobo seasoning


Combine flour and 1 cup milk, stirring until no lumps appear, set aside. Saute onion and mushrooms in butter until onions are translucent. Add chicken, broth and rice. Cover and cook for the directed time on rice (15-20 min) . Once rice is done, add flour mixture and the additional 2 cups of milk along with sherry, stirring until well blended. Season to taste with Adobo. Cook on medium until it bubbles and thickens then turn off and serve. 

Note: You should serve this immediately otherwise it will be too thick.  If you are making this ahead of time, make sure you have some extra broth to thin this out when you reheat it.

White chicken enchiladas with green chile sour cream sauce

My family loves tex-mex food. The family loves tacos, fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, tex-mex stew, guacamole, salsa...must I go on?  Typically when I do enchiladas they are covered in a red enchilada and salsa like sauce.  This enchilada recipe intrigued me because there is no enchilada sauce or salsa; it's a white enchilada.  My favorite enchiladas when I go out are at Rosa Mexicano's in DC. Rosa's chicken enchiladas come with a green/vert sauce.  I think this recipe might top Rosa's enchiladas!

This is a perfect weeknight meal.  It took about 5 minutes to assemble and 25 minutes to cook.  I was going to serve it with a salad, but there was no time.  We will have double the vegetables tomorrow!

Adapted From: Home Cooking with Sonya
8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (Monterey Jack or Cheddar)
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
Cilantro for garnish, if desired

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together 1 cup of the cheese and the chicken. Place an equal amount of the mixture into each tortilla, roll up and place seam side down into a 9 x 13-inch pan.

• In a skillet or saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and green chilies. Pour over the top of the enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. 

• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.