Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

While I could eat cheese with a side of cake for every meal, I am realistic in knowing that we do have to throw some healthy meals in the rotation for good measure.  We have had great success using the recipes found on Gina's Skinny Taste website, and this chicken dish was no exception.  I used Gina's recipe as an inspiration, but made some changes based on the ingredients I had on hand.  Round it out with a cold beer, some blue cheese, and carrot and celery sticks and you almost feel as if you are sitting at B-Dubs living vicariously through the inappropriate banter of college kids at the table next door. 

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

5 thin boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt

Pepper

4 wedges Laughing Cow Blue Cheese

1/3 cup celery, minced

1/4 cup green onion, minced

1/4 cup carrot, minced

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1 packet dry ranch dressing

1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce

1 1/2 T. Butter

2 T. Honey

1 T. Vinegar

Cooking spray

In a gallon ziploc bag combine the chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.  Let sit in refrigerator for 4 hours.  Combine the Laughing Cow, celery, green onion, and carrot and set aside.  Combine bread crumbs and ranch dressing mix in another ziploc bag and set aside.  Remove chicken from refrigerator and shake off any excess yogurt mixture.  Spread the Laughing Cow mixture on the middle of each chicken breast and roll up.  Gently place the rolled up chicken breast in the bag with the bread crumb mixture and coat chicken evenly.  Place chicken on a foil lined pan and  lightly spray each breast with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small pan melt butter and add hot sauce, honey, and vinegar.  Cook over low until heated and season with salt and pepper if necessary.  Remove chicken from the oven and drizzle sauce over each breast.

Chicken Chili

Yes, I know what you are thinking. Chili in the summer?? Well, here in northern Michigan our forecast has not exactly been what you think of as the dog days of summer. Yesterday was fairly gloomy and I had most of the ingredients for this chili on hand, so here goes.

This is a great chili to have on a cool summer day, or even to take you into the fall or winter. For this time of year, it tastes a bit brighter because I was able to use basil from the garden, rather than the tube I am sometimes forced to use when it is not in season.

The recipe originally comes from Ina, but I made a few changes based on our tastes and the spices I had on hand. Served with some piping hot cornbread Matt whipped up, we had plenty for dinner and a nice lunch today.

Chicken Chili
adapted from Ina Garten

1 large onion, chopped

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

nocoup1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and large-diced

1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and large-diced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste

1 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken

1 (28-ounce) can diced plum tomatoes

1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves

2 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:

Chopped scallions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream

nocoupons

Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, paprika, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes to the pot with the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and shred. Add to the chili and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving.

Note: I added about a cup of chicken broth to stretch the amount of chili. Still a pretty thick chili, nonetheless.

Chili Chicken Sandwich

Dorie Greenspan is always a fantastic source for any type of baked good that I might tackle, but her blog is also full of a variety of other savory ideas that are worth a try, as well. Take for example this delicious Chili-Chicken Sandwich. There is really no recipe, just a list of ingredients for you to throw together. We did not have the mushrooms and I substituted green onions for regular onions. As for the sweet chili sauce, I made my own and took Dorie's advice to mix it with a bit of mayo before dressing the sandwich. It was worth the extra calories!
The sandwich had great texture and the flavors mixed well together to provide a fairly light lunch.

Sweet Chili Sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. garlic, minced
2 T. hungarian sweet pepper
2 tsp. ketchup
cornstarch to thicken, if desired

Bring water and vinegar to a boil and then add the rest of the ingredients. Turn heat down and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add cornstarch at end of cooking if desired. Remove from heat and cool. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Light Chicken Parm

Although I have been dying to tear into some local asparagus and bathe in the juice of freshly picked strawberries, Michigan weather has a different plan for me. We were teased in April, and now it is back to reality in May. Since those local goodies just aren't ready yet, we have gone back to some colder day dishes, but with a lighter twist. The following recipe for chicken parm is only 5.5 weight watcher points and it is very moist and tender for a boneless chicken breast. The full recipe (along with lots of other goodies) can be found here.

Light Chicken Salad

One of my favorite places around to get a sub is the East Shore Market. They have a variety of delicious snacks, craft beer, and a deli case full of salads. A few years ago my sister keep hounding me to try the "dilly grape chicken salad", but she just couldn't woo me from my Judy sub and it went unnoticed. It wasn't until she had some for her lunch that I finally got a sample. It was so fresh and yummy and simple all at the same time, and I knew this was something that could be easily thrown together. You will have to forgive me for the lack of measurements, but I have never measured for this salad, so throw caution to the wind and give it a try!

Dilly Grape Chicken Salad
any variety pasta
red grapes
green onions
rotisserie chicken
fresh dill
dried dill
olive oil
salt and pepper

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette

In my search for new ways to spruce up the good ol' chicken breast, I often turn to my favorite blogs, but sometimes head straight for the Food Network website. Although I haven't tried many of Giada's recipes, I thought her Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette seemed like the start of a good combination.
It's not that I don't like Giada, but I seem to be picky about who I choose to spend 30 minutes with when it comes to cooking programs. Maybe it's the way Giada changes her intonation when she pronounces words like mozzarella and pancetta, or perhaps the fact she doesn't seem to have a single turtleneck in her wardrobe. Despite these glitches, I have been recently impressed by some of her bold flavors and I plan on hitting her up again in the future.
*Though the recipe doesn't call for browning the chicken prior to finishing it in the oven, that is exactly what I did. Doing this seems to seal in the juices and if you use your cast iron pan, it is a one pot meal.

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. dijon mustard
2T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 bone-in chicken breasts
1/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. red wine
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. butter
parsley
lemon zest

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and brown in an oven safe pan. Transfer to oven and roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 hour. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Place the baking dish on a burner over medium-low heat. Whisk the chicken broth, wine, balsamic vinegar, and butter into the pan drippings, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the baking sheet with a wooden spoon and mixing them into the broth and pan drippings. Reduce sauce and drizzle over the chicken. Sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley over the chicken, and serve.

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa

When we start to get some nicer days two major problems crop up in my life. What do I wear and what do I fix for dinner? Too cold for short sleeves and too warm for chili, so to make myself feel better I run out and buy a plethora of magazines with spring fashion and lighter fare.
Better Homes and Gardens pulled through with a simple recipe that can be easily thrown together after work or the gym. It is light and filling and made me feel right with the world despite the brown sludge that has magically appeared now that our snow is melting.

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

for the chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. blackened steak seasoning
1 T. olive oil

for the salsa
2 T. olive oil
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. honey
lime juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1/4 c. red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c. orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly sprinkle both sides of chicken with blackened seasoning. In a large cast iron pan heat the 1 T. oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, turning only once. Transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, for salsa, in large bowl, whisk olive oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in avocado, mango, pepper, and cilantro. Serve with chicken.

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pieeee

If you have ever had the pleasure of licking the bottom of the gratin dish full of Amical's chicken pot pie, this is the recipe for you! It is a creamy, delicious dinner fit for company and can be easily adapted to use the biscuits that the original recipe requests.

Chicken Pot Pie
adapted from Ina Garten

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 pkg. puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Shred the cooled chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the chicken, carrots, peas, parsley, dill, and tarragon. Mix well. Place the stew in individual gratin dishes. Place the dishes on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the puff pastry on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return to the oven. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is brown and the stew is bubbly.

Briney Chicken

Usually Matt does the grilling around here, but I thought it was high time I tried my hand with some bone-in chicken. Although we do use boneless-skinless most of the time, we feel you just can't beat the flavor and moistness the bone-in variety offers.
I set out to find a good recipe for the chicken and had to look no further than Cooks Illustrated. They suggested a brine of salt and water to get the chicken started, and thinking back to the way my Dad cooks his Thanksgiving turkey, I knew it would be the way to go. The breasts were submerged in the mixture and rested in the fridge for an hour before I fired up the grill. Mainly, CI suggests that you hit the breasts with high heat and then cook them low-n-slow until you hit it with the glaze.
In the meantime, I was looking for a tasty glaze to add near the end of the grilling process. I happened to find a recipe for Amazing Jerked Honey Rum Glaze, and one airplane bottle of dark rum later, I was in business. I'm no expert, but I believe the honey really helped form a nice crust on the skin, while all the spices in the jerk seasoning provided the spiciness needed to counteract the sweetness of the honey and rum.
From now on, I will most certainly brine the meat to achieve a flavorful chicken with plenty of texture to boot.

Traverse City Chicken

As previously mentioned, my sister and BFF Cha, was generous enough to share this recipe with us. Although she has strayed a bit from her Southwest roots with this dish, I am sure it will not disappoint. Maybe in the near future my rad brother-in-law will share his famous cheesecake with us. Until then, thanks for sharing, Cha!

My recipe for Cherry Chicken comes from the Record Eagle newspaper, but it originated with a friend of my parents named Judy LaCross. She is the wife of a local cherry farmer and apparently she is also quite a cook. Cherry Chicken is easy to throw together, but somehow it seems more special than your standard chicken breast. While I have only made it for my husband and I, I could totally envision serving this to guests with rave reviews. As you can see from my picture below, we enjoyed the Cherry Chicken on a bed of wild rice accompanied by a spinach salad with fresh strawberries, goat cheese, slivered almonds, and a vinaigrette. Props go to Stone House bread for the delicious North Country 2-grain sourdough bread that rounded out the meal.

So, if you've never been to the cherry capital, I'd encourage you to do so. There is so much to offer from the breathtaking natural beauty to the up-and-coming foodie scene (amazing restaurants and wineries) to the thriving local arts communities. It truly is a year around playground and I'm proud to call it home. And did I mention the cherries?! :)

Cherry Chicken

2 lbs chicken breasts

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

3 tbsp cherry jam

4 tbsp white wine or cherry vinegar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup dried cherries

Melt butter in a skillet. Cook chicken breasts on each side to brown. Add onion and cook 10-15 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Be careful not to scorch! Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

Add jam and vinegar to skillet. Cook slowly and stir. Boil 1-2 minutes. Slowly add cream, stirring constantly on medium heat until hot but not boiling. Add dried cherries.

Serve with wild rice, salad, and bread (or whatever tickles your fancy!).

One Mother of a Week

I want to take a moment to thank the mothers and grandmothers that have touched my life, so what better way to do that than to have a week full of recipes that remind me of them?!
The first installment of this series belongs to my mom. She is truly the inspiration behind my love of all things food. Growing up with a mother like her taught me the passion, attention to detail, patience, and creativity required for success in the kitchen. There are so many recipes I could have chosen, but her chicken salad happened to be the first that came to mind. The base recipe was originally used at my mom's wedding shower by Gert, a special family friend. Over the years my mom made it her own with the addition of whipping cream and several of the fruits and veggies. Not only does this salad scream Spring to me, it also fills me with warm memories of my mom in her little yellow kitchen up to her elbows in tasty creations for the latest coffee hour at church or a special delivery for an elderly friend who needed a pick-me-up. So, thank you mom, for showing me that by making a homemade treat for someone you care about you not only lift their spirits, but also give yourself a good feeling by sharing your talent with them. Hats off to you mom, the world is a better place with you in it!

Mom's Chicken Salad
**There is no real recipe for this, but the whipping cream is a must! I have only listed ingredients, amounts are always evolving:)

macaroni elbows
sweet pickles
celery
carrots
broccoli
radishes
onion
green onion
slivered almonds
chicken
hard boiled eggs
grapes
whipped cream
Hellmann's real mayonnaise
candied sliced almonds

Cumin Chicken Salad

Several years ago my mom and I went to visit an aunt to learn how to make her amazing oatmeal bread. Although I haven't made it since, I did come away from that day with another recipe that has stayed in our menu rotation. Ever the hostess, my aunt threw together this salad even though we weren't expecting to stay for lunch, and I am glad she did! The recipe originally came from Cooking Light magazine, but I can't give you the exact issue since a recipe card is all I have to follow. This is certainly a healthy version of chicken salad that could have many variations. We always use kidney beans, but black beans would give a nice color contrast. I also add a bit more hot sauce and a pinch more salt for our taste.

Cumin Chicken Salad
Cooking Light via Aunt Margaret
2 c. cooked pasta (1 c. uncooked)
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken
1 c. red pepper
1 c. shredded yellow squash
1/2 c. carrots
1/2 c. green onion
1/2 c. corn (I don't cook it, just cut it right off the cob)
1/2 c. green peas, thawed
15 oz. beans, drained

Combine the above ingredients and set aside.

For the dressing:
1/4 c. rice vinegar
3 T. olive oil
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. hot sauce (I use Tabasco)

Whisk together above ingredients and toss with salad mixture.

Kabob-less Kabobs

While we were at the market the other day, we were inspired by all the fresh (and some local) produce. This means lots of fruits and veggies this week! Tonight as Matt was throwing some chicken and veggies together for kabobs he realized we didn't have any skewers. Since we really didn't want to run to the store, we decided to cook the meat and veggies on a foil "pan" on the grill and they turned out really well. They were also easier to eat and took less time to prepare as a result. I did roast the asparagus in the oven with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper, and it was amazing. This is the first Michigan asparagus we have had this year and we can't wait to make more!!
As Matt was slaving over the grill, I stirred together a really tasty rice dish that I believe would be a real crowd pleaser. I found it over at Our Best Bites and I followed it nearly to a tee. The only thing I did differently was to add less cilantro than recommended and use fresh chopped pineapple instead of the canned. We both agree that cilantro can be a little overpowering, so I think I only added about 1/4 c. when it was said and done.

Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple

Like I said, you really can just make this to taste, but here’s the basics.

1 cup dry white rice, cooked
2 T real butter
Juice from 1 large lime, or two smaller ones (taste as you go, I add a lot!)
1 C pineapple tidbits, drained
½ - ¾ C chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice. As soon as it’s done, toss in the butter and stir to melt. Add lime juice, pineapple, and cilantro. Stir to combine, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

* You’ll want to serve this right away, if you don’t, the flavors tend to mellow a bit and you’ll probably need to add more lime juice because the rice kind of sucks it up. If you’re not quite ready to eat when your rice finishes cooking, just toss in the butter and keep a lid on it so it stays warm. Then right before you serve it, toss it all together.

Chicken For Dinner, Baby

I have been meaning to get this post up for about two weeks, so here goes.
After hatching a plan with my good friend Timm, we decided to get together at least once a month to tackle a dish that in some way we were reluctant to make on our own. The first installment happened to be the French classic Coq Au Vin. We were guided in our journey by hottie chef Eric Ripert and his cozy winter dinner menu. We loosely followed his interpretation and rather than serving it with egg noodles, we made an updated version of the aforementioned No-Knead Bread. Let me just say that it was a home run. We paired the dish with a beautiful salad of baby greens topped with a meyer lemon-based viniagrette, goat cheese, and pears. We were really ambitious at the beginning of the day and were going to throw together a chocolate souffle, but laziness and a lack of semi-sweet chocolate took over and we ended up making a Dorie Greenspan version of blondies. It wasn't exactly frenchy, but they were tasty.
A note on the coq au vin: if you decide to give this a try, we suggest that you add the breasts to the dutch oven after the dark meat cuts, because the breasts were slightly overcooked. Oh, and for those of you who were former Buddy Rhubarb fans, Bubba is out of retirement!!! I don't know if it was the rooster, the Dr. Love blaring from the amps, or the fine atmosphere of the Pompeii Bar, but I am still waiting for an encore. Maybe next time Faith will be on the mic??

Barefoot Bloggers Chinese Chicken Salad

I recently joined the Barefoot Bloggers group and the first Ina recipe I was to make was her Chinese Chicken Salad. We have made many of her recipes, so this group seemed like the perfect excuse for us to have an Ina meal every other week. Most often, we don't have to buy out of the ordinary (for us) ingredients for one of Ina's recipes, but we did not have sesame oil or seeds, so it was off to the local asian market. We were really thankful to have them since we were able to pick up the udon noodles we would use for the side dish we were making. The chicken salad went together without a hitch, and I definately recommend roasting the bone-in chicken breasts as opposed to the boneless, skinless variety. There is a moistness you just can't acheive otherwise. One thing I would like to mention is that Ina's recipe calls for salt in addition to the soy sauce. After reading many reviews on the Food Network site, I opted not to add the salt in order to have a little more control over the taste of the dish. It was certainly a good choice to make. I love salt, but even without the amount called for in the recipe, I was happy with the results and didn't need to add a bit. The vegetables were crisp, the chicken was moist, and the flavor of the dressing was spot-on. Since we were having company, I thought I better make a side dish to go along with the chicken salad. I stumbled upon a recipe for Peanut Butter Noodles over at All Recipes, and it did not disappoint. If you haven't tried udon noodles, it would be worth your time. The texture is interesting and mixed with the peanut butter sauce, quite delicious. The added crunch of the chopped peanuts and scallions gave a nice contrast to the noodles, and we will certainly make this again. A word to the wise: watch how much chile paste you add, as it can turn the heat up very quickly!

Chicken for Dinner

Whole roasters were on sale at our grocery store this week, so I thought it would be the perfect time to make Ina's Roast Chicken recipe. It is really such a simple, but delicious way to prepare chicken. Add in some roast vegetables and you have a meal. I have previously used potatoes, but this time I used carrots, onions, and parsnips. I first tasted this recipe when my mom fixed it a few years back. I immediately knew it would be the go-to chicken recipe in my home! Even Stella agrees, and she has such a discerning palate.

Ok, let's start with a high and mighty rant:
I am smitten with all things culinary and the Bravo! series Top Chef is no exception. My husband and I watch religiously and I have a secret crush on Tom Colicchio, but I digress. Last night Jamie and her knives were sent packin' *insert applause*, but not before she managed to irritate me one last time. All along, I have been annoyed with her smug antics and I should have know not to expect better from her, but I suppose the guest appearance of chef Eric Ripert had me so ecstatic I tried to ignore her ambivilance to such a culinary genius. As I was busy drinking in Ripert's yummy accent and the prisitine kitchen at Le Bernadin Jamie blindsided me by stating she was bored by the food and that it wasn't really her thing. Hmmm...who has the four star restaurant again? At any rate as my anger subsided upon hearing of her dismissal, something strange happened. I decided Carla isn't that bad after all. Did I blog that out loud.
Now that I have that out of my system I wanted to post some pictures of the finished Gumdrop Pillow. I was happy with the way it turned out and found the pattern easy to follow. Since I was in the mood to sew, I decided to whip up and cover for the sewing machine. I previously used the plastic cover that came with the machine, but I am happier with the following result:

I thought I would post one more picture before I get back to work making seat covers. Matt has been working 2nd shift this week and as a result we have not really been eating meals together. Today he announced that he was going to fix a bologna sandwich to have for dinner and I couldn't let that happen! We had some chicken breasts in the fridge and I decided I would try them in foil packets with a sauce of cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, honey, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. I simply mixed the sauce and spooned over the chicken that I had placed on the foil. I folded the packets leaving lots of room for the steam to go to work and popped them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 24 minutes. It worked like a charm! I also had some carrots, so I put them in alongside the chicken and they were done at the same time. Add a little packaged rice and barley mixture and the meal was complete.