Chicken - Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's double post deals with chicken.

There was a time when chicken was reserved for the Sunday dinner table. (Think early- to mid-twentieth century.)

Now, it's an anytime meal. Here are six yummy chicken recipes to help you through the day, including 20-Minute Chicken Creole and Chicken Spaghetti. Enjoy!

MEXICORN CHICKEN

One of my inventions from decades ago. It can be found in Off the Wall Cooking, which I'm currently updating.

Ingredients

2-3 lb. chicken, cut up

3 T oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T wheat germ

12 oz. can Mexicorn

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 C water

1 T soy sauce

1 T honey

Directions

Brown chicken to 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.

ROAST CHICKENS WITH PLUMS

This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This recipe, which roasts two chickens at the same time, has been engineered to feed a crowd. It's no harder than roasting one chicken. The birds get rubbed down with a garlicky sumac spice rub brightened with lemon zest. Then, as they cook, their fragrant drippings season sliced plums roasting in the pan underneath them, which caramelize into a fruity, chutney-like sauce. Feel free to halve the recipe if you’d rather, but be sure to reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees. For two chickens you need the higher heat so they both crisp properly, but for only one chicken, slightly lower heat keeps the plums from burning.”

Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Times: 1 1/2 hours, plus marinating

This was featured in “Roast Chicken With Plums Gets a Touch of Spice for Rosh Hashana”, and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017684-roast-chickens-with-plums.

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

2 large lemons

2 tablespoons ground sumac

4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, grated or minced

2 chickens, 4 to 4 1/2 pounds each

1 bunch thyme, more for garnish

For the Plums:

2 1/4 pounds plums, halved or quartered if large

4 shallots, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 bay leaf, torn in half

Preparation:

Grate the zest from the lemons and place in a small bowl. Set aside the zested lemons.

Stir sumac, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice into the lemon zest. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic. The mixture should feel like wet sand. Rub it all over the chickens, including inside the cavity.

Divide thyme bunch in half and place in the chicken cavities. Place chickens on a roasting rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, and let marinate, uncovered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

When ready to roast, let chickens come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large roasting pan, toss together plums, shallots, honey, oil, salt, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaf and 2 tablespoons water. Spread out plum mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place chickens on the rack over the plums in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from reserved lemon and mix it with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Drizzle this over the chicken, then continue to roast until the birds are golden-skinned and cooked through, about 30 to 45 minutes longer.

Let chickens rest, covered lightly with foil, for 10 minutes. Carve and serve with the plums and more thyme for garnish.

20-MINUTE CHICKEN CREOLE

Recipe Yield: Yield: 4 servings (1-1/2 cups per serving)

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/20-minute-chicken-creole.

Ingredients

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1 cup canned whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 cup chili sauce (look for lowest sodium version)

1-1/2 cup green bell pepper, rinsed and chopped

1-1/2 cup celery, rinsed and chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, minced (about 2–3 cloves)

1 Tbsp fresh basil, rinsed, dried, and chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, rinsed, dried, and chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Spray saute pan with cooking spray.

Preheat over high heat.

Cook chicken in hot saute pan, stirring for 3–5 minutes. Reduce heat.

Add tomatoes with juice, chili sauce, green pepper, celery, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, and salt. Bring to boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 274; Fat: 5 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Fiber: 4 g; Sodium: 383 mg; Cholesterol: 73 mg; Protein: 30 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g

BBQ CHICKEN BURRITOS

My son and I were both on several long-forgotten emailing recipe lists. This is one of the recipes my son passed along from one of those lists.Makes 24 muffins.

Yield: 6 servings.

Ingredients

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

6 burrito size fat free wheat flour tortillas

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese

1 small tomato, diced

1 small avocado, diced

1/2 cup diced purple onion

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

2 tbsp. lowfat sour cream

1 tbsp. light ranch dressing

Directions

Heat grill over medium-hot coals. Grill chicken breasts for 7 minutes; turn over and grill 5 minutes longer. Brush chicken with barbecue sauce. Grill about 3 minutes and turn chicken over. Brush with more barbecue sauce and continue grilling and turning until chicken is done and generously coated with barbecue sauce.

Let chicken cool enough to handle. Slice into thin, short strips.

Warm flour tortillas according to package directions. Evenly divide chicken among flour tortillas. Top with lettuce, cheeses, tomatoes, avocados and onions. Combine barbecue sauce, sour cream and ranch dressing; dollop on burritos. Roll up.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

Is it a chicken dish? Spaghetti? Both! This yummy recipes is from Ree Drummond of The Food Network’s The Pioneer Woman, and begins, “With spaghetti and mushroom sauce, and light and dark meat chicken with bell peppers, Ree Drummond's casserole is like two meals in one. Cooking the spaghetti in the same liquid as the chicken infuses it with flavor, and the Cheddar thickens the sauce so it coats each piece of meat.”

Total: 1 hr 40 min; Active: 20 min; Yield: 8 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chicken-spaghetti-recipe.

Ingredients

1 whole raw chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces

2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar

1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Two 10 3/4-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup

1 medium onion, finely diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken pieces to the boiling water and boil for a few minutes, then return the heat to medium-low and simmer, 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken and 2 cups of the chicken cooking broth from the pot. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and pick out the meat (a mix of dark and white) to make 2 generous cups.

Cook the spaghetti in the same chicken cooking broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When the spaghetti is cooked, combine with the chicken, mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups cheese, the green peppers, red peppers, onions, seasoned salt, cayenne, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved chicken cooking broth, adding an additional cup if needed.

Place the mixture in a casserole pan and top with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover and freeze up to 6 months, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days or bake immediately until bubbly, about 45 minutes. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

FAJITA STYLE ONE-DISH CHICKEN DINNER

This comes from Food. Time: 35 minutes; Serves 2-3.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package fajita seasoning mix

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

grated cheddar cheese

2 cups cooked rice

vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions

Chop chicken breast into chunks.

Fry chicken quickly until almost cooked through.

Remove chicken from pan.

Cook peppers for 2-3 minutes.

Put chicken back in pan with peppers.

Add fajita seasoning and 1/4 cup water.

Cook until chicken is done.

Put mixture over rice and top with grated cheese.