Honey Mustard Ginger Chicken With Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half, lengthwise
3 scallions, chopped (including the dark green stock)
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 knob ( about 2 inches) of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Ginger powder
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp honey Dijon mustard
1 cup water or chicken stock

2 small sweet potatoes washed and cubed

Instructions:

Season both sides of chicken with salt pepper garlic powder and ginger powder.

Cover iron skillet or Dutch oven with 2 tablespoons of olive oil get pan nice and hot.

Pan sear chicken for about 3 minutes on both sides. In the last-minute add your garlic and ginger slices. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.

Mix honey, mustard, two tablespoons of olive oil and 1/2 – 1 cup of hot water deglaze your pan with the mixture add chicken and sweet potatoes bring to a simmer and then place in the oven for 40 minutes covered.

Serve chicken with sweet potatoes on the side drizzle with the sauce or if you’re not doing paleo go ahead and serve it over a nice dish of white rice.

Mommy’s Juicy Chicken Recipe

This dish is totally delicious and juicy, just like it’s name.  The secret is in the basting.   Gigi used to say, “Yeah, its mommy’s juicy chicken for dinner!” and that’s how it got it’s name.  Back then I took the whole chicken and cut it into parts and that added an additional hour to my work.  Now my kids are big enough to eat half a chicken each, so no need to do all that carving of raw chicken – unless I’m catering for a friend’s kid birthday party, then it tends to look more like this:

Ingredients:

• • 1 tablespoon each of fresh rosemary, sage, thyme and basil, chopped
  • juice of two lemons (save the skins for the cavity of the chicken)
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • half a stick of butter cut into tablespoons
  • 1 large clove of garlic or 3 small cloves
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • sea salt and black crushed pepper
  • ½ yellow onion
  • 1 celery stalk cut into quarters

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper chicken and cover in the refrigerator for about an hour while mixing marinade.
2. Mix all herbs and spices with olive oil, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of butter in glass bowl or measuring cup. Let melt to room temperature or melt in the microwave a few seconds.  Let stand.
3. Roast garlic in a wrap of tin foil at 400 in the oven with a dash of olive oil. Add to the olive oil, herb mixture and smash.  Take chicken out of the refrigerator and pour marinade over chicken.
4. Take the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and insert under the skin of the chicken breast.
5. Take onion, celery and the lemon halves and stuff inside the cavity of the chicken.
6. Cover in plastic and return to fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

 

High heat method (this creates a crispy, darker skin):

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and cook whole (thawed) chicken for 10-15 minutes.
2. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and roast for 20 minutes per pound.  Today’s chicken is 7 pounds!

Here are some little personal preferences I do:

1. I usually cover my chicken with aluminum foil and baste every 20-30 minutes for extra juicy chicken but then you’re doing a dance between crispy and not crispy enough skin.
2. If you cover your chicken during cooking, remove foil for the last hour (at least) and turn the broiler on at the end and cook for about 3-5 minutes, keeping a careful eye on it.  Also, you can never baste too much, in my opinion.

Other tips for my girls I snagged from the All Recipe’s website Roast Chicken Tips:

How to Tell When Your Chicken Is Done

Regardless of the method used, a whole chicken is ready when a meat thermometer inserted into the inner thigh (close to but not touching the thigh bone) reads at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

• The temperature of the meat will continue to rise slightly when you pull it out of the oven (this is called “carryover cooking”), so if the thermometer shows a few degrees below the target, give it a few minutes–the internal temperature might still rise to at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• When you remove the chicken from the oven, cover it loosely with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. This redistributes the juices and results in moister chicken.

Now that my chicken is done, I’m going to head out to the airport and pick that little girl in an adolescence body up from the airport.  She’s home for the holidays after a stressful two weeks of finals at BU!  I hope she still loves “Mommy’s Juicy Chicken!”

What Do You Get When You Cook With a Portuguese Girl Who Loves Italian Food? Chicken Cacciatore with Sweet White Yams!

While Jason and a friend watched movies on Netflix and my sixteen-year-old busied herself in her usual way, texting and taking photos, I sought my own solitude by cooking Chicken Cacciatore in the kitchen.

This dish was absolutely one of our favorites in 2014.  My only regret is that I didn’t make it more.  But hey, better late than never.  I love the colors of fresh green herbs and red bell pepper glistening in the Greek extra virgin olive oil, and their aroma, along with the garlic and Greek Oregano filled the air.  (Jason’s brother-in-law from Greece brought us the oregano and oil.  It is to die for)!

I prepared the Cacciatore in my Le Creuset French Oven – slow cooking it of course; set it on top of the stove and when it was done, family and friends were invited to serve themselves. The chicken was so tender and juicy; no knife was needed.

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken  breasts, halved crosswise
2 large white yams, halved crosswise then quartered
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 celary stock (optional)
8 baby carrots, halved (optional)
3/4 cup dry white wine (or 50/50 water to apple cider vinegar)
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (I had to substitue flat-leaf parsley this time)
1 sprig of thyme

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly. I do this by using a large vegatable plastic bag from the grocery store. Just add the chicken, salt, pepper and flour and shake!

In a large heavy sauté pan, (again I used the 9 1/2 Ct Le Creuset Oval French Oven) heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and sauté just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, sauté it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic and white yams to the same pan and sauté over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, include any juice resting in the plate, and turn them to coat in the sauce. Add the sprig of thyme.  Bring the sauce to a simmer.

Stop.   Wait!  Here is where I change it up.  Because I started cooking in the morning, rather than simmer for 30 minutes as the directions say to do, I turned the oven to 250 degrees and let the stew cook for approximately two hours.

Now, if you need this dish to be ready in 30-40 minutes, just pretend I didn’t say the above and follow accordingly:

Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Kale, Chicken and Lentil Soup: Highly nutritious and warming in cold, winter weather

Kale, Chicken and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olivie Oil

1/2 Cup Chopped Celery

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup coarsely chopped carrots

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I made mine from scratch)

1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed (or other leafy herb, such as Italian flat-leaf parsley)

4 cups coarsely chopped fresh kale (about 8 ounces)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken (about 8 ounces)

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup dry red lentils (I used one 15 oz can of Westbrae Natural Organic Lentils)

Directions:

Coat a large saucepan (I prefer my Le Creuset round French oven) with extra virgin olive oil (non-stick spray works too). Preheat over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic to saucepan. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables are nearly tender, stirring occasionally.

Add *chicken broth and dried basil (if using) to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in kale, salt, and pepper. Return to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Stir in chicken, tomato, red lentils, and fresh basil (if using). Cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more or until kale and lentils are tender.

Makes 6 servings.

*I made my chicken broth by boiling the 8 ounces of uncooked chicken breast in 6 1/2 cups of salted water.  Then used the chicken in the soup.

Leftovers Divine!

After a long and fun day of appointments, when I arrived home, I was famished. This little sandwich, with all it’s little goodies, hit the spot. With just a little chicken breast leftover from last night, a handful of fresh arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and avocado, wrapped in a Mediterranean flat bread, I made this #DelishDish for my late lunch. To make it zing I topped it with freshly ground #SeaSalt and black pepper.

This #DelishDishbyDena was #Divine!

#BeInspired !