Asian-Glazed Chicken Thighs

What was just a throw-together "Oh my god, dinner is coming up and I have no recipe!" moment turned into what Abe titled as One Of My Best Chicken Recipes, Ever.     Top 3, he said.  Sweet and slightly spicy and yum.

Hey, I'll let him think I carefully perused the recipes to find just the perfect one for him.  Sometimes, the best results come from accidents.

He had to stop himself from eating all 8 chicken thighs.  I had to pack them away for lunch, actually..lol.

I had to modify the recipe for what I had at home, so I'm going to post that recipe since it was the winner.

Base recipe found on www.allrecipes.com.

Asian-Glazed Chicken Thighs
Serves 4

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil

3 tablespoons Asian chili garlic sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic

Salt to taste

8 skinless chicken thighs

Whisk the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, garlic, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Pour half the marinade into a large plastic zipper bag; retain the other half of the sauce. Place the chicken thighs into the bag containing marinade, squeeze all the air out of the bag, and seal. Shake a few times to coat chicken; refrigerate for 1 hour, turning bag once or twice.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Pour the other half of the marinade into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, to thicken sauce. Remove the chicken from the bag; discard used marinade. Place chicken thighs into a 9x13-inch baking dish, and brush with 1/3 of the thickened marinade from the saucepan.

Bake 40 minutes, basting one more time after 10 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into a chicken thigh should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).

 

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

It was football day today and the little kids and I were going to join Abe to root their big brother on.  Which meant I wouldn't be home in time to cook.  Enter one of my 3 crockpots.  Yes, I have 3 and could easily see myself getting another soon.

My chicken thighs were frozen, so I set the crockpot at high for the first 2 hours to defrost them and then switched over to low.  If yours are defrosted, just stick to the low.

I didn't have the green pepper that the recipe called for, but the family loved it just the same.  So, don't feel pressure to run to the store just for the pepper.  I added some baby carrots to use them up and it seemed to go nicely, even though I don't think carrots are traditionally in cacciatore.

The house seemed like a fabulous Italian dinner when we got home.  Even this vegetarian thought it smelled yummy.

I tried to use the cornstarch and water slurry to thicken the liquid up, but the hungry crew staring at my back at the stove made me feel it best to hurry, so it was more like a delicious broth than a sauce.  If I had more time next time, I will give it the time it needs.

I served it over white rice, but egg noodles would be great too. 

Recipe adapted from Busycooks.about.com.

 Crockpot Chicken Caccitore
Serves 6

3 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
14 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. water

Place all ingredients except cornstarch and water in 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.

If you want a thicker sauce, combine cornstarch and water in small bowl and mix well. Stir into crockpot; cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes until thickened. Serve with hot cooked pasta, if desired. 6 servings

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The Best Chicken Marinade

Image courtesy of Google

I'm not much of a marinader (Not a real word, I am aware).  I know growing up, if your mom wanted to make a fancy meal for company, she's throw the chicken into bottled Italian dressing and call it gourmet.  Hell, that was gourmet cooking back in the era of Shake N Bake and soup can casseroles.  

So, when I started out cooking, I shunned most marinades as "too simple".  Plus, after so many years of doctored up proteins, Abe would give me some pretty serious puppy-dog-sad eyes when I'd do a simple chicken breast and get a "It was not bad" as a reward.  This girl needs more ego stroking than that!

But, alas, some days I am unprepared and don't have a recipe ready for dinner and have to scramble.  The other day I had very few ingredients and a hungry troop.  So, I decided to ask Chef Google what he thought I should do and "marinade those breasts" came up.

Chicken breasts... chicken breasts, people.

It seemed a weird combo, but I nervously presented it to the boys and then waited.  Abe took a bite.. and then another and then declared it delicious and moist and told me to make sure to add it to the regular rotation.   He mentioned it twice again, which is always a ringing enforcement of a recipe.

This recipe is cut in half.  People were recommending to make a big batch and keep it refrigerated for up to a week.  Reviews said they used it for chicken, pork and beef.  I might even try it on grilled mushrooms.

Perfect for the grilling season.  Recipe from Allrecipes.com.


Perfect Chicken Marinade
Makes 16 servings

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
3/4 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley

 In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have. 

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Courtesy of Witty in the City

Much like with Angry Chicken, I was compelled to make this dish solely on the name.  I mean, come on... I've got a man.... I'm trying to please him..... it appeared to be a no-brainer.  It didn't hurt that I was low on supplies and it had only 4 ingredients, all ones that I had.

Scary simple, just mix 3 ingredients together, pour over the chicken and bake.

Abe's reaction?  "Um, this chicken IS man-pleasing!"   And then proceeded to eat the extra I had made for the following day's lunch.

That's Man for Yummy.

I used bone-in thighs, but you can easily adjust to use boneless or breasts.  Just make sure to adjust your time down.  Use a meat-thermometer to check your temps.

I got this recipe from a blog called Witty in the City.

Man-Pleasing Chicken
Serves 3

1 1/2 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs
1/2 cup  dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)

Preheat oven to 450. Place chicken in a baking dish.  Combine the mustard, maple syrup and vinegar in a bowl and pour over chicken, flipping chicken to coat.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 180 degrees.

Let rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, if you feel so inclined.

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken

Photo courtesy of Nutmegnanny.com

I was a bit slow when it came to the whole Pinterest craze.  I mean, I was still trying to figure out the new layout of my Facebook and didn't have the bandwidth to try some new fangled site.  Not to mention, I have enough places to waste my time online.

Then Lent came and I decided to meet Jimi's challenge of "So, what are YOU going to give up for Lent?" with an actual answer this year..... my beloved internet message board that time-sucks much of my free time.  Sob.  So, not to go all Civil War era and give up internet all together, I figured I had more time to check out Pinterest.  And boy, what a gold mine for recipes (not to mention, how cool is it for me to find MY site pinned?)!

This recipe sounded yummy, even to a vegetarian like me.  Sweet and spicy.  Love the marriage.  It's so simple, not to mention uses ingredients you most likely have on hand, which is perfect for weeknights. Abe loved it, but Adam found it too spicy.

The recipe called for chicken thighs, but I used breasts.  Any cut will work.  If you are using bone-in, add 5-7 minutes to cook time.  Oh, and open a window because your smoke alarm might go off, like mine did. 

The recipe came from nutmegnanny.com.

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken
Serves 4

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 4 large boneless breasts)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Mix spices together and set aside.

Mix honey and cider vinegar and set aside.

Un-tuck chicken thighs so they are flat. Cover both sides in seasoning, set flat onto sheet pan. When all chicken as been seasoned put under broiler.

Cook for 5-7 minutes on one side and flip.  Cook for a 5-7 minutes on other side.  Flip again and then baste the chicken in honey/cider mixture.  Be sure to really get the chicken covered.  Add to oven again and let it cook under the broiler for a few minutes until the honey starts to thicken up and glaze.  Add an extra swipe of honey if you like your chicken nice and sticky.

Take chicken out of oven and let rest for a few minutes.


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Lemon Garlic Chicken

Photo courtesy of Ina Garten

No huge story behind this one.... simply, I was watching Barefoot Contessa and saw her make this and just knew that Abe would love it.  So, I ran to the computer... ok, who am I kidding, the computer is pretty much always nearby... and pinned this recipe on my recipe board.

And, as predicted, Abe loved it.  Jimi really liked it too.  It was so simple to make too... simple ingredients making simply delicious food.  As Ina Garten would say... can't beat that! 

The recipe called for boneless chicken breasts, but I felt like using up some bone-in chicken thighs.  It worked out perfectly.  I made sure to add 5 minutes to the cook time due to the bones. 

I served the chicken with rice to soak up the sauce and a mixed green salad.

Lemon Garlic Chicken
Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each) (or whichever cut of chicken you have)
1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 X 12-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas

Photo courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine

I typically am not a chicken salad kind of gal.  Nothing against them, but my family just doesn't beg for them, so they never come onto the menu.  After making this one, I definitely can see adding chicken salad sandwiches to my attempt to switch up the same-old , same-old lunch.

Abe really enjoyed this, while Jimi was so-so on it. It had the dreaded roasted pepper in it, so I'm surprised he even tried it (he did pick out every single pepper, just to let you know).

Pocketless pitas are different than pita bread, which is thinner and has a pocket (I know, I know, I'm such a smarty one, aren't I).  It's similar to a flat bread... thicker and fluffy.  Yumminess.  I find mine in the baking section of the grocery store.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas

4 pocketless pitas 
3 cups Pulled Chicken 
1 cup chopped Roasted Peppers, chopped 
1 large tomato, seeded and diced 
1 cucumber—peeled, seeded and diced 
1/4 cup minced red onion 
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar 
Salt and pepper 
4 romaine lettuce leaves

Place pitas in stack in 350° oven to warm. In large bowl, combine chicken, peppers, tomato, cucumber, onion, olive oil, vinegar and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Toss well. Top each pita with a lettuce leaf, fill with chicken salad and fold to enclose.

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup

Photo courtesy of rachelraymag.com

Boy, time slipped away from me (an entire month, to be exact!).  I've been doing the cooking part, but the sitting down to blog part has been evading me.  I do apologize!

I cooked this one up after Jimi's football practice when he was cold and wet.  He's not much of  soup kid, but he did like it.  Abe ate his portion (and the left overs from Jimi's bowl) and declared it to be a tasty treat. 

I'd say this would make an especially good lunch.  It seemed a bit light for a dinner, so if you make it, maybe pair it with a hearty salad or as a first course for your Mexican dinner.

I can see making this the day after you have any leftover chicken and some extra rice (I'm going to start freezing my extra rice for things like this).


Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup

1 qt. chicken broth 
1 cup tomato salsa 
1 1/2 cups Pulled Chicken 
3 cups Rice Pilaf 
1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack 
1/4 cup sour cream 
1 avocado, thinly sliced 
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus 4 lime wedges



In medium pot, bring broth, salsa and lime juice to boil. 

Divide chicken and pilaf among 4 bowls. Fill each bowl with hot broth. Top with cheese, sour cream, avocado and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Creamy Chicken with Soft Polenta

Photo courtesy of Rachel Ray Magazine

Another first in this household (who knew Rachel Ray would be introducing so many firsts to me?), I've never served polenta.  Well, I take that back.... I tried a long time ago, but the only polenta I could find was the kind in the tube that looks like cut and bake cookies.  It was... um, weird.  And I didn't even bother to serve it to the family because I knew they wouldn't touch it.  But I saw a cooking show once that talked about instant polenta (which is basically corn meal), so I thought I'd give that one a try.

It was so yummy that I'm hooked.  Granted, what made is so yummy, namely heavy cream and lots of cheese, isn't so figure-friendly, so I'm going to have to watch how often I serve it up.  But wow, it was delicious!  I even had the leftovers for my lunch today and served cold bits of it to Ava for breakfast.  She gobbled it up.

Abe really liked this recipe, polenta and all.  I suspect that it's very similar in flavor to a chicken pot pie, minus the crust.  Just creamy and yummy and good.  And like all of the 20 dinners, it came together in a snap.

The fontina can be found in the deli cheese area.  It melts down into a cream, so it's perfect for something like this.  It adds a wonderful flavor, too.

Creamy Chicken with Soft Polenta
  
1 onion, minced 
3 tbsp. butter 
10 oz. sliced cremini (or baby bella or button mushrooms)
2 tbsp. flour 
1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
2 cups Roasted Squash, chopped 
1 1/2 cups Pulled Chicken 
1 cup peas 
Salt and pepper 
1 cup instant polenta
1 cup fontina cheese, chopped

In 12-inch skillet, cook onion in 2 tbsp. butter. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in flour for 1 minute. Pour in 1 1/4 cups cream and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in squash, chicken and peas; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Cook polenta in 3 1/2 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until thickened, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup cream, 1 tbsp. butter and fontina until smooth. Serve chicken over polenta.

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Pasta with Chicken and Tomato Sauce

Onto dinner #3 with my 20-Dinner plan.  This time around, I wasn't nervous about Abe liking it..... I was nervous about Jimi eating it.  He, as many kids can be, tends to be a bit fussy.  He's not into "fancy eating" and doesn't like a list of things.  So, a lot of time, I save my food experiments for the days he's not with us.  Pasta would seem like a sure-fire winner, but it was the chicken that worried me.  I don't make pasta with meat, especially shredded chicken, so I wondered how he'd like it.

Both he and Abe loved it and ate 2 servings each.  I had managed to scoop out a bit before adding the chicken, so I can attest that it was tasty.  The sauce was delicious and the cheese added a nice yumminess to an already yummy dish.

I was supposed to use fusilli, but couldn't find it at the store, so I substituted rotini.  I accidentally used the monterey jack from another pending recipe in the dish... I threw in some of the mozzarella when I realized my mistake.  It still was tasty and we couldn't tell a difference at all.

Oh and excuse the horrible picture.  It was 9:30 at night and I was trying to get a pic quickly before the boys came up to devour their dinner.  I'll have to try to get a better picture the next time I make it.

Pasta with Chicken and Tomato Sauce

1 box (16 oz) pasta, like fusilli or rotini
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups Pulled Chicken
2 cups Tomato Sauce
6 oz. mozzarella
salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta until al dente.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.  Return pasta to pot, add butter and place over medium heat.  Add chicken and tomato sauce and toss well.  Add reserved pasta water and mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.  Top with parmesan and parsley.

Twenty Dinners, One Day- The Prep Work

When I saw this plan in my Rachael Ray magazine this month, the butterflies of excitement started welling up.  20 meals, all cooked in 1 day?  That's a month of weekday dinners!  Both insanity and thrilling at the same time.  Well, about as insane and thrilling as cooking can be. 

It's not technically 20 dinners exactly, but in one day you do the major prep work for 20 meals to be made later.  It's simple.... you make the "building blocks" in one day, freeze them in small servings and then use them in various recipes that month.  Sort of like the articles in Cosmo where the headline is "20 Outfits from 5 pieces!" and they show you how you can put Shirt A with Top E, add a belt and it looks completely different than Skirt A with Top C.

Do people even still read Cosmo anymore?  You get my point, though.....

Today I did the prep work and I will tell you, plan on having an entire Saturday or Sunday available.  You won't be working the entire time, but you need to be near the kitchen to monitor stuff.  It does take a bit of organization and doing one thing on the stove top while another thing is cooking in the oven.  But overall, the process was pretty easy.

I won't list the entire group of recipes, but they include many different cultural flavors... including Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean and Asian.  Each recipe is a simple combination of the Building Blocks you made in that one day, pulled from the freezer that morning, with some extras from your pantry (or, as in my house, the shelves by the dryer) or from the store.  Most recipes are supposed to take around 20 minutes to make.

Now, wouldn't 1 month's worth of dinners done in around 20 minutes (some even less!) make that one Sunday where you cooked all day, while listening to your favorite tunes and drinking your favorite wine (or again, in my house, listening to your toddler ask what you're doing and if they can have yet another snack and drinking cold coffee that you put down somewhere and forgot about it)?

How I'm going to do this is this entry will be the Building Block recipes and tips on how to do it efficiently.  Then I will blog each of the 20 recipes, unless they are horrendous and don't deserve mention on this blog.  Each Building Block recipe will be labeled with a number, for easier reference when cooking later.

Here is a list of the recipes that will be created with the building blocks:

Spanish Rice with Shrimp (#2, 3 & 5)
Mango, Pork and Watercress Salad (#1)
Fusilli with Chicken and Tomato Sauce (#2 & 4)
Pork and Avocado Tacos (#1)
Butternut Squash and Spinach Strata (#3)
Easy Brunswick Stew (#1 & 2)
Veggie Flatbreads with Hummus (#3)
Lemon Chicken Frittata (#4 & 5)
Pulled Pork and Slaw Sandwiches (#1)
Creamy Chicken with Soft Polenta (#3 & 4)
Pork and Ginger Noodle Soup (#1)
Cheesy Spinach and Pepper Calzones (#2 & 3)
Pork Fried Rice (#1 & 5)
Swiss Chard with Bacon and Eggs (#3)
Roast Pork with Veggie Burritos (#1, 3 & 5)
Warm Chicken Salad (#4)
Pork Chilaquiles (#1 & 2)
Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas (#3 & 4)
Rigatoni with Apple and Squash (#3)
Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup(#4 & 5)

For each Building Block, you will need plenty of resealable sandwich bags and 2-gallon freezer bags.

Building Block #1- Pulled Pork
Makes about 15 cups
Prep- 15 minutes (plus standing)   Roast- 2 1/2 hours

2 boneless pork shoulder roasts (about 5 lbs each), cut into 2-to-3 inch chunks and excessive fat discarded (I used pork shoulder blade roast and just pulled bone out at end)

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 lemons, zested

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup white wine (optional)

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.  Place all of the pork in a large roasting pan.  Sprinkle with the garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Toss well, massaging the garlic and zest into the meat.  Transfer half of the pork to a large rimmed baking sheet and place both the roasting pan and baking sheet in the oven.  Roast until the meat is browned on top, about 30 minutes.  Turn the pork chunks over and roast to brown the other side, 15 minutes.  Remove both pans from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

2. Using tongs, transfer the pork from the baking sheet to the pork in the roasting pan.  Pour the pan juices from the baking sheet over the pork and add the wine (if using).  Tightly cover the pan with foil.  Continue roasting the pork until nicely tender, about 1 hour, 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, wash and dry the baking sheet and set aside.

3. Let the pork cool for at least 15 minutes, then, using 2 forks, shred it a few pieces at at time.  As you work, transfer the shredded pork to the clean baking sheet and let cook completely.  Pour the juices into a bowl to cool.  Skim and discard the fat.

Freeze it!  Divide the pork into 1-cup portions and transfer to resealable sandwich bags.  Pour a bit of the pork juices into each, squeeze out the air and flatten.  Seal and store flat in 2-gallon freezer bags.


Building Block #2-  Tomato Sauce
Makes about 10 cups
Prep- 10 minutes  Cook- 2 1/2 hours

1/4 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped (optional)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup red wine (2 cups for a more intense sauce)
4 cans (28 oz. each) or 3 cans (35 oz. each) crushed tomatoes (the recipe called for san marzano tomatoes, but I couldn't stomach paying the extra price.  If you can, go for it)
Salt

1.  In a 5-to-6 qt. heavy dutch oven (or pot), combine the olive oil, garlic, anchovies (if using) and crushed red pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden and the anchovies fall apart, 3 to 4 minutes.  Pour in the wine, then add the tomatoes.  Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

2. Lower the heat, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and reduced by one-third, about 2 hours, 15 minutes.  Season with salt (and with a pinch of sugar if it needs some sweetness).  Let the sauce cool completely.

Freeze it!  Store in 1-and 2- cup containers. (You'll need at least two 1-cup containers)


Building Block #3- Roasted Vegetables
Makes about 16 cups
Prep- 25 minutes  Roast- 30 minutes

4 lbs. bell peppers (10-12 medium, in mixed colors), cut into 1-inch strips
2 large onions, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
5 tablespoon olive oil
1 large butternut squash (4 to 4 1/2 lbs.)- peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 8 cups)

1.  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.  Combine the bell peppers and onions on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Sprinkle the garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on top.  Toss with 3 tablespoon olive oil and spread evenly on the sheet.  Place in the lower third of the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, place the butternut squash on another baking sheet.  Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss and spread evenly in the pan.  Once the peppers and onions have cooked for 10 minutes, add the squash to the upper third of the oven and roast, along with the peppers and onions, until fork-tender, 15 minutes.  Let the vegetables cool completely on their pans.

Freeze it!  Divide into 1-cup portions, keeping the peppers-onion mixture and the squash separate.  Transfer to resealable plastic sandwich bags.  Squeeze out the air and flatten the bags.  Seal and store flat in 2-gallon freezer bags.

Building Block #4:  Pulled Chicken
Makes about 12 cups
Prep-  15 minutes   Roast- 50 minutes

4 lbs. skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts
4 lbs. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 lemons, cut into wedges
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment.  Place the chicken breasts on 1 sheet and the thighs on another.  Drizzle with the olive oil and squeeze the lemons on top (put squeezed lemons on sheet with chicken).  Sprinkle with the paprika and thyme and season with salt and pepper.  Roast until the skin is crisp and the juices run clear when the pieces are pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 45 to 50 minutes.  Let cool for 15 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken skin, then pull and cut the meat off of the bones.  Tear the meat into shreds.  (Save the bones, skin and juices to make a broth, if you want to.  My Rosemary Chicken recipe talks about how to make broth).

Freeze it!  Divide into 1 1/2 cup portions and transfer to resealable plastic sandwich bags.  Squeeze out the air and flatten the bags.  Seal and store flat in 2-gallon freezer bags.

Building Block #5-  Rice Pilaf
Makes 15 cups
Prep- 20 minutes  Cook- 50 minutes


3 tablespoon olive oil
3 onions, cut int 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 1/2 cups)
3 1/4 cups long-grain rice
2 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 bay leaves
16 ounce frozen peas

1.  In a 7- qt. pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden and translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2.  Add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Add 2 1/4 cups water, the broth, bay leaves, 2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil.  Stir, cover, lower the heat and simmer, undisturbed (really, don't peek!  You get sticky rice that way), until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.  Quickly scatter the peas on top, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover and let cool completely, tossing once or twice.  Discard the bay leaves.

Freeze it!-  Divide into 1-cup portions and transfer to resealable plastic sandwich bag.  Squeeze out the air and flatten the bags.  Seal and store flat in 2-gallon bags.


Timeline for Prep Day

Pork- Preheat the oven and get the meat going.

Tomato Sauce- While the pork is in the oven, start the sauce so it can simmer at the same time.

Veggies-   Next up, vegetable prep.  Arrange the cut veggies on the baking sheets and as soon as the pork is out of the oven, increase the oven temp and pop them in.

Chicken-  Have all the ingredients ready.  If you need the baking sheets the vegetables are on, scrap the veggies onto a platter or cutting board to cool.  Simply line the sheets with parchment and get roasting.

Rice-  While the chicken cooks, make the pilaf.

And now you're all ready to make a whole month's worth of dinners!  Phew!  Reward yourself with a bowl of ice cream and the left over wine. 

Stay tuned for the first recipe of the menu-  Spanish Rice with Shrimp, using Building Blocks #2, 3 and 5.

Chicken and Dumplings

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Holy heck.  How did so many months pass by without a blog update?  I blame it on work, a vegetarian Lent season and lots and lots of Jimi's baseball games, where Abe is the coach and therefore doesn't come home until well after dinnertime.  I do apologize (well, to the 2 of you who missed me.  Muah!  I love ya).

I got a request from a lady on the parenting message board that I practically live on.  She wanted a homemade and easy chicken and dumpling recipe to replace the store bought she had been using.  I've never made one and was pretty sure that Abe and Jimi hadn't eaten it, so what an adventure for all of us.  So, I went to my mainstay, Food Network (Rachel Ray) and found one that Abe deemed so worthy of company.  Jimi LOVED it.  I mean, loooooved it.  I think he might have licked the plate before putting it in the sink that night.

It's got a cheat- store bought biscuit dough.  I know, real foodies would scoff at using a boxed biscuit mix.  So, for those of you with tons of time on your hands, go knock yourself out your favorite biscuit dough recipe.  The rest of us will do fine with with Jiffy Mix.  It's not like real foodies are reading this blog anyway.

I plan on busting this out for my mom's 80th birthday dinner with the family.  

Chicken and Dumplings

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart chicken broth or stock
1 small box biscuit mix
1/2 cup warm water
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside.

Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.

Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve in shallow bowls.

Greek Chicken Casserole

I'm not much of a casserole girl.  I get images of my mom's version of the dish with cream of mushroom soup and some rice, which was very popular in the 70's.  I remember a friend of mine, who was newly married and feeling quite grown-up, making me dinner in her new apartment.  I was still living at home and was very impressed with my young friend's homemaking attempts.  Until I ate the dish, which was her attempt at recreating that famous dish.  Oh my.  Let's just say that I didn't feel well the rest of the night and she never made us dinner again.

This dish isn't really a traditional casserole, but has the same ease and one-pot wonderfulness.  You can go from oven to table, especially if you have a pretty Dutch oven or nice casserole dish.

The flavors were good and Abe really enjoyed it.  Jimi, much to be expected, liked everything except the tomatoes, and spent a good part of the meal making an impressive chopped tomatoes pile on his plate.  That boy, I can't sneak tomatoes into his diet to save my life.

I didn't have anchovy paste, so I used chopped olives instead.  The original recipe called for 1/4 cup of water added, but I found the recipe to have a lot of liquid at the end and didn't seem necessary.  Add it if you want, but if you don't, make sure you add the juice from the tomatoes
I got this recipe from Cookinglight.com.

Enjoy!

Greek Chicken Casserole
Serves 4 (serving size: 2 thighs and 2 cups potato mixture)

1  tablespoon  olive oil
2  cups  chopped onion (about 1 large)
2  tablespoons  dried thyme
1  to 2 teaspoons black pepper
10  garlic cloves, minced
6  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed red potato (about 2 pounds)
2  cups  (1-inch) cut green beans (about 1/2 pound)
2  tablespoons  anchovy paste or finely chopped olives
2  (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup water (optional)
8  skinned, boned chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potato; sauté 8 minutes or until potato begins to brown. Stir in green beans, anchovy paste, tomatoes and water, if using. Remove mixture from heat. Nestle chicken thighs into potato mixture. Top with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes.

Calories:  488 (23% from fat)
Fat:  12.6g (sat 4.2g,mono 4.9g,poly 2.1g)

Chicken with Chipotle Sauce

I'm a cookbook whore.  Harsh, I know, but it's true.  I just love them.  Love reading them.  Love buying them.  Love receiving them as gifts.  A good evening to me consists of me on a couch with the sales flier from the local grocery stores, a couple cookbooks and a pad of paper to plan out the week's meals.  Oh, all while Food Network or some trashy reality TV is on in the background. Ahhh........

Abe, on the other hand, feels that maybe I had too many (to which I laughed my butt off) and asked me to get rid of some.  The ones I could spare were mainly ones that he had gotten before we were married. One that he decided to keep was his old Mexican cookbook.  And today he asked me to make something from it. To be honest, I hadn't even looked at it.   I was sure I couldn't find anything in the old dusty book. 

But I was wrong. This is what I came up with.  Simple, but flavorful.  The boys really liked it.  It was, however, too spicy for Adam, who took one bite and stuck his tongue out and said "Too Picy!"

The sauce can be made ahead of time and put in the fridge.

I served it with a side of white rice with vermicelli and green beans.

Recipe adapted from one in Mexican by Jane Milton.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Chipotle Sauce
Serves 6

6 chipotle chilis (from can)
1 2/3 cup chicken stock
3 onions
6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  Place chipotle chilis and chicken stock in blender or food processor.  Process on high until smooth. 

Peel the onions.  Cut in half, cut them in half, then slice them thinly.  Separate the rings.

Heat oil in large frying pan, add onions and cook over low to medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they have softened but not colored, stirring occasionally.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onion slices to a casserole that is large enough to hold all the chicken breasts in a single layer.  Sprinkle the onions with salt and pepper. 

Arrange the chicken on the onion slices.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour the chipotle puree onto the chicken breasts.  Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through, but still moist and tender. 

Roasted Chicken with Rosemary

 When I first got married, I wasn't much of a cook.  I knew how to make a few recipes, but as a single vegetarian, dinner mostly consisted of salad and ice cream.  I did go through a phase where I was obsessed with Asian noodle soups and trying to recreate Martha Stewart desserts, but once I started seeing the results of all of that cooking on my thighs, I went back to salads (and a little less ice cream). 

One of the first gifts my mother-in-law was a Taste of Home cookbook.  I remember feeling very proud of mine because she got the same one for all of the daughter-in-laws, so it felt like an initiation into the family. I had know her for about 14 years at that point, seeing that I'm best friends with her daughter (hence how I met my husband), but this moment felt like family. 

This was the first recipe that I made for Abe from the cookbook and it was the first time I had ever made a whole chicken.  I remember being very nervous about it, but then amazed at how easy it turned out.  Since then, I've made several different recipes, but always get the same reply from Abe and Jimi....."It's really good, but it's not like your rosemary chicken."  So, while they humor me by trying my newest found recipe, I humor them by making the basic chicken that they love so much.  If I ever find a recipe that tops this one in their mind, I will be sure to run to the blog to post it!

The beauty of the recipe is that it makes 2 guaranteed meals for pretty cheap.  I always take the bones and simmer it in a pot of water with some whole peppercorns, garlic cloves, bay leaf or two and a couple of onions and carrots thrown into a large pot, and make chicken noodle soup the next day.

Recipe by Isabel Zienkosky, found in The Taste of Home Cookbook
Enjoy!

Rosemary Chicken
Serves 9

1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or 2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 roasting chicken (5 to 6 pounds)
9 small red potatoes, halved
6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 medium onions, quartered

In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in rosemary, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.  Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan; tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.

Spoon half of butter mixture over chicken.  Place potatoes, carrots and onions around pan and drizzle the remaining butter over them. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes (I'm lazy and skip this part).  Uncover;  bake 30-60 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees and vegetables are tender, basting occasionally.

Cover with foil and let stand for 10-15 minutes before carving to allow juices to settle back into chicken.  Serve vegetables with chicken.

Chicken Bouillabaisse (Garlicky Chicken Stew)

Abe got Jimi a Play Station 3 for Christmas this year and was very excited to start streaming movies through it.  We used to watch movies all the time when we were dating, but once little kids came into the picture, suddenly we... ok, I mean I.... was too tired to go out to the movie rental place to stand there for 30 minutes, trying to remember the movie I had wanted to see back 5 months ago.  Then, by the time we get it back home, I'm ready for bed.  Hey, you try getting up with 2 babies every night for the last 2+ years.  I used to be more exciting, I swear.


So, Netflix members, we now are.  I was excited to choose the first movie.... Julie and Julia.  A movie about... surprise.... a food blogger and how she cooked her way through Julia Child's iconic Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook.  We both really liked the movie.  And it put us in a French cooking kind of mood, something I don't cook very often at all.

While I don't have a Julia Child cookbook, my mother did just get me an Ina Garten cookbook.  She's well-versed in French cooking, so I thought it close enough.

I know the title can seem overwhelming and way too fancy/hard/snooty/uppity/you-chose-the-adjective.  But it wasn't.  It did take a bit of time to slow cook, so make sure you set aside about 2 hours.  Perfect for a cold Sunday afternoon.

The ingredients have a few things that might not be in your pantry (do you have a pantry?  Man, I'd love a walk in pantry....).  I, personally, never heard of Pernod.  It's a licorice flavored liquor that's hard to come by- any licorice liquor will do; I used arak, an Arabic spirit, but ouzo will do too.  If you don't have any of these, or don't want to, white wine will do.

Saffron can be found in most grocery stores in the spice section.  It's a bit pricey, but it lasts a long time and adds a delicate flavor to the dish.

Now, onto the rouille.   This stuff is so damn good.  Don't skip this part of the recipe, thinking it's too hard.  It's not, but it does take a slow hand (you older folk will remember the song I'm referring too and the younger ones can google it).  And when I say slow, I mean, slooooooow.  After getting the all of the ingredients in the food processor and you're ready to add the olive oil, make sure you have a few minutes to spend on it.  Turn the processor on and add a few drops of the oil and watch it emulsify.  Add a very,very thin stream of oil into the processor until it's all in.  If you did it slow enough, you have a mayo-like sauce.  If you didn't, it still tastes freakishly good and can be used in the recipe.   I like the leftover sauce on sandwiches.  Yum.

So, make this recipe and then brag to your friends how you're a French chef.  Even if you are like me and can't correctly pronounce the dish.

Enjoy!

Chicken Bouillabaisse
Serves 3-4


1 (4 to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces (or any combo of chicken pieces on the bone)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Olive oil
1 large head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 (15 ounce) can tomato puree
1 1/2 cups good chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons Pernod  (or any licorice-flavored spirit or white wine)
1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
Rouille, for serving, recipe follows

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously with salt, pepper, and the rosemary. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven and brown the chicken pieces in batches until nicely browned all over, about 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, saffron, fennel seeds, tomato puree, chicken stock, white wine, Pernod, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper to the pot. Stir and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the garlic is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Carefully pour the sauce into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the Dutch oven and add the sliced potatoes and browned chicken pieces with their juices. Stir carefully.

Cover the pot and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is done. Check the seasonings and serve hot in shallow bowls with big dollops of Rouille and slices of crusty bread.

Rouille:

nocoupons4 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup good olive oil

Place the garlic and salt on a cutting board and mince together. Transfer the mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, saffron, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.


With the machine running, pour the olive oil in a thin, steady stream through the feed tube to make a thick mayonnaise emulsion. Transfer the rouille to a serving bowl and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.


Yield: 1 cup


                        Bouillabaisse Soup
                        
                    

Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken

No exciting story behind this one (you know, as opposed to my other exciting food blog stories..... snicker).  I needed to feed the crew and after Abe being out of the country for business for 2 weeks, I had not a lot in the fridge.  But I needed a slow cooker recipe to make the boys happy, so off I went to search.  And this is what I came up with.  And good lordy, is it easy.

Abe loved it.  Like, really loved it.  I was almost embarrassed about how good he claimed it tasted and for the glowing looks I was getting during dinner because I kept thinking that I probably should tell him it's the cream cheese he was falling in love with, not my cooking ability.  But hey, pleased as punch was I.

Jimi on the other hand did not like the black beans and I am pretty sure he freaked himself out over seeing tomatoes in the dish (HATES tomatoes).  Even when told it was just salsa, which he loves very much, he still had a "I see tomatoes in my food!" look on his face.  He did say the chicken part (you know, the only thing left) tasted good.  Abe declared how wrong he was and promptly snatched up Jimi's plate and finished his portion of chicken for him. 

Did I mention Abe really liked it?

The only thing I didn't like about the recipe was that not all of the cream cheese melted into the dish, so clumps were visible.  I think that was because I didn't give the cheese enough time to melt before feeding the hungry ones.  I'd give it a good 1/2 hour on high to melt.  It didn't affect the taste, just the appearance.

I got the recipe from grouprecipes.com.   I served it over rice, but it looks like it would be good over egg noodles too.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken
Serves 4-6

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts(can be frozen)
15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
15-ounce can corn, drained
16-ounce salsa
8-ounce cream cheese

Add chicken to slow cooker and cover with black beans, corn and salsa.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked.  Place cream cheese on top and cook an additional 30 minutes.  Serve.

Beer Can Chicken

My best friend and her husband have made one of these on their grill.  When I first heard about it, I couldn't believe that the ink from the can doesn't seep into the chicken.  I guess it doesn't, but hmmm.... still was an odd concept to me.

Until I saw it made on Food Network and just had to try it.  It looked so funny and I thought Jimi would get a kick out of seeing a chicken with a can up his wahoo.   He did.  You can barely see the can in my picture, but it does make for a pretty funny presentation. 

If I weren't nursing, I would've enjoyed the bit of beer you drain off to prevent major overspill.  You, on the other hand, I recommend sipping it while the chicken cooks. 

The meat turns out flavorful and very juicy.  It can also be made on the grill. 

Enjoy!

Beer Can Chicken

1 (2 to 3-pound) whole chicken
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 (12-ounce) can beer

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash chicken with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Mix dry ingredients in small bowl. Rub 1/2 of the ingredients on inside cavity of chicken. Gently peel skin away from chicken and rub mixture into meat of chicken. Open beer can pour out about 1/2 cup. Drop the garlic cloves into the beer can. Place chicken, open end down, over the beer can to insert the beer into the cavity. Place chicken, standing up, in large saute pan.


Place chicken in the oven for 10 minutes and then lower temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for another 1 hour, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Chipotle-Barbeque Chicken

No real story behind this recipe.  I just happened to see it in my new Rachael Ray magazine and thought the boys would like it.  And boy was I right.  We had the kids' cousins over today and boys declared that the chicken was "sooooo good" and everyone cleaned their plates.  Well, except for the salad, but that's to be expected.


I found the sauce to be a bit chunky (I guess I needed to chop the onions more finely), so I'd maybe run it through a blender if that bothers you.  It didn't make a difference to my tasters.

Helpful Tip Alert....The chipotle in adobe sauce is often times something that goes to waste.  You buy the can to use in a recipe that calls for one of the peppers and a tablespoon of the sauce and you don't know what to do with the rest.  You think you're going to maybe make a Mexican dish later in the week, you never end up doing it and you are forced to throw the rest of the can away.  Well, one way to store the leftover is in a small freezer bag, laid flat.  That way, whenever your recipe calls for some chipotle, all you have to do is snap off a piece.

I served it with smashed potatoes and salad.

Photo from Rachael Ray's website.

Enjoy!

Chipotle-Barbeque Chicken
Serves 4

3 tablespoons butter
6 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
3/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to a small bowl. Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to the skillet. Add the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes (throw it in a blender or use a stick blender if you want a smooth sauce).

3.Using tongs, coat the chicken in the sauce and place skin side up on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Chicken in Wine Cream Sauce

I'm back! 

You missed me, right?  6 weeks ago, I gave birth to our little girl, Ava.  She has brought a lot of joy to our house... and also, a lot of work!  Having 2 children under 2 years of age (my husband seems proud of the fact and tells people we're in the 2 under 2 club) makes time management a tricky thing, to say the least. So I haven't been food blogging or trying many new recipes. I actually didn't have to do a lot of cooking right after she was born either. I am lucky to belong to a playgroup that will bring meals to a member right after they have a baby.  So, I didn't have to cook for 3 entire weeks!  As much as I love to cook, it was soooo nice to have someone bring me a complete meal so I could just enjoy my family. 

But, now I'm back in the saddle and I found a great new recipe.  And it's healthy, so you can enjoy its creamy goodness and not feel an ounce of guilt.

I got the recipe from Cookinglight.com, including photo.   I served it over brown rice.

Man, it's good to be back!

Enjoy!

Chicken in Wine Cream Sauce
Serves 4


2  teaspoons  dried oregano
2  teaspoons  dried basil
1 1/2  teaspoons  dried rosemary
1  teaspoon  garlic powder
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  pepper
1/4  teaspoon  paprika
4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
8  chicken thighs, skinned (about 2 1/4 pounds)  

Sauce 
1/3  cup  all-purpose flour
2 1/4  cups  1% low-fat milk
1  cup  dry white wine
2  cups  sliced mushrooms
1/4  cup  tub-style light cream cheese

Combine first 7 ingredients and 2 teaspoons oil in a small bowl; rub over chicken. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; set aside.

Place flour in a bowl; gradually add milk and wine, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add to skillet, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a simmer. Return chicken to pan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Add mushrooms; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; cover and set aside. Add cheese to skillet; cook 5 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly with a whisk. Place 1/2 cup rice on each of 4 plates.

Calories: 444
Fat: 14.5 grams