Chicken and a Side

Yes! It's a Saturday morning post. Here are six recipes to help you through the rest of the weekend, including Fast Chicken Curry and Mexicorn Chicken. Enjoy!

MEXICORN CHICKEN

This is one of my inventions, and can be found in my e-book, Off the Wall Cooking.

2 – 3 lb. chicken, cut up

12 oz. can Mexicorn

3 T oil

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 onion, chopped

1 C water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T soy sauce

2 T wheat germ

1 T honey

Brown chicken in oil. Put in baking dish. Brown onion, garlic & wheat germ, stirring. Pour over chicken. Add mexicorn, soup, water, soy sauce & hone. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

FAST CHICKEN CURRY

This is also in my e-book, Off the Wall Cooking. It's one of my dad's recipes.

I've posted several of Dad's recipes in this blog, as well as my Vegetarian Delights blog.

1 C sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. curry

2-5 oz cans boned chicken

1 small can pineapple, crushed

4 T butter

1 lb. cooked string beans

2 T flour

salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter slowly & add chicken. Stir constantly & heat thoroughly. Add flour, curry, salt & pepper. Add enough water to make thick cream sauce. Add pineapple, string beans & sour cream. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve over boiled rice with hot rolls & tossed salad. Serves 4. Time about 1/2 hour.

CHICKEN PICCATA

This comes from Ina Garten of The Food Network’s Barefoot Contesssa. Total Time: 30 minutes; Active Time: 15 minutes; Yield: 2 servings; Level: Intermediate.

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-piccata-recipe.

Ingredients

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 extra-large egg

1/2 tablespoon water

3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

Good olive oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved

1/2 cup dry white wine

Sliced lemon, for serving

Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

CROCKPOT MAPLE BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICHES

This was on a Weight Watchers' emailing list years ago.

1 C. ketchup

1/2 C. maple flavored syrup

2 T. prepared mustard

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 t. lemon juice

1/2 t. chili powder

1/4 t. garlic powder

4 boneless, skinned chicken breasts

Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on LOW for about 7 to 8 hours or until chicken is done.

You can either eat the breasts whole or shred them on buns or rice for more points.

4 servings = 225 calories, 4g fat, 1g fiber. 5 points per serving

ALIGOT (MASHED POTATOES WITH CHEESE)

This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Tejal wrote, “Somewhere between buttery mashed potatoes and pure melted cheese lies aligot, the comforting, cheese-enhanced mashed-potato dish from central France. The key to getting a smooth, airy texture is to rice the potatoes while they're still hot, then incorporate cold butter, hot milk and grated cheese over low heat. To build up the stringiness of that melting cheese, Ham el-Waylly, a chef at the Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary, suggests whipping it with confidence, speed and vigor. This is what will create aligot's characteristic cheese strings: long and sheer, with some elasticity. ‘They should fight with you,’ Waylly says. While fresh tomme or Cantal is traditional, Gruyère or Comté work well, too.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.

This was featured in “Cheesy Mashed Potatoes for the Soul”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/4 pound cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup cream, heated

1/2 pound Comté or Gruyère cheese, grated

Salt to taste

Preparation

Simmer the potatoes in water until very tender to the point of a knife, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, and tip out any remaining water from the pot. Push the hot potatoes through a ricer back into the pot. Over low heat, use a heatproof spatula to move the potatoes around the pot for a minute so that any excess water can evaporate.

Add butter to the potatoes, half at a time, stirring until completely incorporated. Add hot cream, half at a time, stirring until incorporated. Add cheese a little bit at a time, stirring vigorously, until all the cheese is evenly melted and the spoon makes cheesy strings as you pull it away from the potatoes. If necessary, turn the heat up a little. Taste, and season with salt. Serve.

SIMPLEST ROAST CHICKEN

This is from Mark Bittman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Mark wrote, “With an ingredient list just four items long (chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper), the genius of this bare-bones roast chicken is in its technique. To make it, thoroughly preheat a cast-iron skillet before sliding into it a seasoned bird, breast side up. In under an hour you’ll get a stunner of a chicken, with moist, tender white meat, crisp, salty chicken skin, and juicy dark meat all done to a turn. If you don’t already have a cast-iron skillet large enough to hold a whole chicken, this recipe is a good enough reason to invest in one.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 50 to 60 minutes.

This was featured in “The Minimalist: Simplest Roast Chicken”, and can be viewed online here.

Note: Check out Melissa Clark’s guide, “How to Roast Chicken”.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Put a cast-iron skillet on a low rack in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with the oil and sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper.

When the oven and skillet are hot, carefully put the chicken in the skillet, breast side up. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the bird is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.

Tip the pan to let the juices flow from the chicken’s cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve and serve.