Easy Chicken and Rice Bake

After weeks of health issues and doctor and specialists appointments, I just want to think about something else. ANYTHING else. These days, I have been making easy recipes. Some are so embarrassingly easy I just can’t get the nerve to post them on this blog. This recipe is probably one of them. Don’t be too hard on me. Remember, I’ve not been well lately.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups long grain rice
• 1 can cream of chicken
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 1 empty soup can of water
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• 1 pack Lipton onion soup mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Prepare a  9″ x 13″ baking dish by greasing with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, mix rice, cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, water, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
4. Pour rice mixture in prepared baking dish.
5. Place chicken breasts on top of rice mixture.
6. Salt and pepper each chicken breast.
7. Spoon equal amounts of dry onion soup mix on top of each chicken breast.
8. Cover dish with foil.
9. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. No peaking!
10. Garnish with chopped parsley. (Optional)

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Skillet Orange Chicken

I don’t like to deep fry foods. I mean, I like to eat deep fried foods. I just don’t like dealing with the all that oil splattering and the clean up afterwards. And also, I’m a bad luck magnet. If you can get burned or cut or hurt by something, 8 out of 10 times I will be that person. This is as close to deep frying as I get by skillet or pan frying foods. So for those of you who were wondering why I didn’t deep fry my chicken for this recipe, now you know.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup unsweetened orange juice
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less or more according to your tastes)
• 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons cornstarch, salt and pepper.
2. Add chicken pieces into cornstarch mixture. Stir to coat.
3. Heat large pan over high heat and add oil. (add more oil if needed to coat bottom of pan)
4. Add chicken to the pan. Continue cooking over high heat until browned and turn over. About two minutes per side.
5. Meanwhile make the orange sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons cornstarch, marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and chicken broth.
6. Once the chicken is browned, reduce heat to medium and add the sauce mixture. Cook and stir until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
7. Serve over rice. Garnish with green onions if desired.
8. This recipe makes up to 4 servings.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

We had a few weeks of cold and rainy weather. I wish I had made this soup back then. For some reason I was all about making heavy and  filling stews. This soup is nice change from the stews. Light enough for lunch or add a salad or some cornbread and make it a filling dinner. Feel free to use a rotisserie chicken if you want to make things even easier. I’m all about shortcuts and making things easy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 1/4 cup Orange Bell Pepper
• 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
• 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 4 cups Hot Water
• 2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.
3. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, orange pepper, red pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.
5. Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, black beans and corn kernels. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.
6. Check seasonings, adding more if needed—add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.
7. Optional: Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, cilantro, pico de gallo, and grated cheese or whatever you like!

 

Jerk Chicken Pasta

The hardest part of this recipe for me was finding somewhere that sold Jerk seasoning. I looked up and down the spice aisle. Then I tried the international aisle of my local grocery store. Still couldn’t find it. I tried the store across the way from my favorite grocery store. Still couldn’t find it. I found every other type of seasoning spices. Finally I did an internet search. I found it on Amazon of all places.  Finally! This recipes is actually very tasty and not as spicy as I like since my son can’t handle spicy foods. So feel free to adjust the amount of seasoning you use according to your tastes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound Gemelli pasta (or Penne pasta will work too)
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons Jamaican Jerk seasoning (divided)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
• 1/3  cup sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions to al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. . Season chicken breasts all over using 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning per chicken breast.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook chicken until golden and no longer pink, 8 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside to rest.
4. Add remaining oil and cook peppers until mostly tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Add green onions and garlic until fragrant, 1 minute. Season with remaining  tablespoon jerk seasoning.
6. Add chicken stock and heavy cream and let simmer until thickened, 5 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, slice prepared chicken.
8. Add Parmesan and stir until melted and creamy, then add pasta and chicken and toss until completely combined.
9. Garnish with green onions and more Parmesan and serve.

Almond Crusted Chicken with Tomato Salad

Hello everyone! I’ve been in a rut lately. I’ve been making the same recipes on rotation each week without trying something new to share with you. Well, the rut is over! I have not one, but two simple recipes for you today. The chicken is the star of this dish, but I thought I’d share the tomato salad recipe for my vegetarian friends. Depending on your appetites, this recipe makes 2-4 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved (4 pieces total)
• 2/3 cup sliced, unblanched almonds
• 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder (you can use less if you are not that fond of garlic)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• lemon wedges for garnish

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pint multi colored grape or cherry tomatoes sliced in quarters
• 2 green onion stalks (scallions) trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pulse almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped and combine with panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.
2. Lightly whisk the eggs in another shallow bowl. Dip each piece of chicken into the eggs, let the excess drip away, then press both sides of the chicken into the almond and panko coating. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes until the crust sets.
3. Meanwhile, combine all the tomato salad ingredients into a small bowl and mix with spoon. Set aside to garnish on top of chicken when ready. 
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the butter to the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the butter foams, place the chicken into the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, turning once until the crust sets and turns golden brown: 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Arrange on a platter, and serve immediately with tomato salad spooned on top. Garnish with lemon wedges. 

Mongolian Chicken Wings

Yes, it’s another chicken wing recipe from me. I can’t help myself. I just love trying out all different flavors of chicken wings. This recipe is fairly simple and for a change I had all the ingredients so, why not? If you like sweet and spicy, then you are going to love these wings. Best of all the spice level is up to you.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken wings (about 20 pieces)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha ( or more if you like it really spicy, less if you can’t handle too much spice)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• green onions for garnish
• sesame seeds for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees and place metal rack on top of large baking pan. Be sure to use cooking spray on the rack so the chicken skin does not stick.
2. In a large bowl or Ziploc bag, toss chicken wings with oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place wings on wire rack and cook 45-50 minutes, until crispy and golden. 
3. While chicken is baking, add honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, garlic and ginger into a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer until the flavors meld and the sauce reduces slightly for about 10 minutes. 
4. Transfer baked wings to a large bowl and toss with glaze. 
5. Return to rack and broil for 2-3 minutes until glaze is caramelized. 
6. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. 

Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken

I haven’t jumped into the Instant pot craze yet. I think it is probably because most my recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less anyway. But I do love having a crock pot!  All you have to do is put all the ingredients in and set your temperature to either high or low and then set the timer and go about your day.  My crock pot will even keep the ingredients warm after the timer has completed. So if you have other things going on or say, maybe you forget you had something cooking, (um, not speaking from experience) the “keep warm” feature will not make all your hard effort get cold and go bad.

I bought another one of those organic chicken packs that come with two breasts and four drumsticks. (Those organic chickens must look funny.) So I thought I’d pull out the crock pot and put it to use. If you do not have a crock pot, that’s quite okay. You can still use this recipe and put everything in a baking dish and bake at 350 F degrees for 50-60 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole cut up chicken (or all thighs, all drumsticks or two breasts and four drumsticks pack like I used.)
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup lite soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
• 1/4 cup ketchup (low sodium if you have)
• 1-2 teaspoons sriracha sauce (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro (whichever taste you prefer)
• sesame seeds for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange chicken on the bottom of your crock pot. Do not season chicken with salt as there is plenty of sodium in the other ingredients. You can season chicken with pepper if you would like though. Set aside. 
2. In a mixing bowl, combine garlic, honey, lite soy sauce, chicken broth, ketchup, sriracha and parsley or cilantro. Whisk until mixed well. 
3. Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces. 
4. Close with a lid and cook for 4 to 5 hours on LOW, or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. 
5. Remove lid and transfer chicken to a serving plate.
6. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
7. Serve with rice or salad.

 

Baked Rotisserie Style Chicken

At my local supermarket, I came across a pack of organic chicken breasts and drumsticks. I thought how strange there were no thighs or wings. But I also thought, how perfect this was for my son and me. He loves drumsticks and I love chicken breasts. While I was at the supermarket,  I kept smelling the fresh out of the rotisserie chicken they were packaging up. As I do not own a rotisserie, this was my inspiration to try to come up with a baked chicken with rotisserie flavors. So this is what I tried. Considering I had breasts and drumsticks to cook together, they came out surprisingly moist and tender.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• olive oil
• 1 whole cut up chicken (My chicken pack came only with 2 breasts and 4 drumsticks)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a small bowl, make spice rub by combining brown sugar, garlic powder, chili powder and salt. Mix well. 
3. Rub chicken with olive oil.
4. Rub spice mix over chicken pieces covering both sides. 
5. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.
6. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil over chicken pieces.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 400F degrees. This initial high heat will help brown the chicken.
8. Then lower the heat to 350 F degrees and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes more until the juices run clear (not pink) when poked with a sharp knife or the internal temperature of the chicken breasts is 165 F degrees and of the drumsticks are 170 F degrees.
9.  Remove from oven and transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
10. 

     

 

Grilled Chicken Marinade

I have a huge gas grill in my backyard. In the spring and summer I love using my grill. But I am awful at remembering to exchange the empty propane tank. When this happens, my laziness and disappointment kick in and I change my mind and decide to just cook whatever it is on the stove or in the oven instead. Especially if I am not cooking for company. Recently, I was at IKEA and on a whim, bought a grill pan. I have no idea why I never had one before? I’m guessing probably because I have the gas grill in the backyard. Now this grill pan has become my favorite pan to use. I’m always thinking of what else can I try to grill on it? It’s usually chicken though. So I started running out of flavors to use on the chicken. Here’s a marinade I recently tried which my picky eater son actually enjoyed. (It is probably because there’s beer in the marinade. Don’t worry, he is over 21.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons diced onions (I used red onion, but any type will work)
• 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 cups ale or beer (I used a bottle of 805 brand ale. If you don’t like to cook with alcoholic beverages, substitute with ginger ale.)
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (if you prefer dark meat use 6 skin-on thighs)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 2 cup measuring cup, mix the first 10 ingredients together. (Olive oil through parsley.)
2. Slowly add the beer to the mixture, as it will foam and bubble.
3. Place your chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag.
4. Pour the marinade over the chicken.
5. Remove as much air out of zip bag before sealing. Turn the bag from side to side to make sure all the chicken has been coated with marinade.
6. Place the bag flat on a small rimmed kitchen sheet pan and into the refrigerator. Allow to sit at least 2 hours, overnight for best results. Turn the bag every few hours to keep the chicken coated on both sides.
7. Cook over medium high heat.  Depending on thickness, 6-7 minutes per side. 

Vietnamese Style Chicken Wings

Yes, once again I’m making chicken wings.  Most the Vietnamese chicken wing recipes I’ve seen call for fish sauce. As my son and I are allergic to most things seafood, I cannot use it as it is too strong.  So, believe it or not, that is why I am using Worcestershire sauce for the unami in this recipe. Thus, the reason why I call it Vietnamese “style.”  These wings are sweet, sticky and a little bit spicy. Good news is this recipe is quite simple, uses only a few ingredients, no oil frying required and done in less than 45 minutes.  For my vegetarian friends, maybe you can substitute fried or pan seared tofu as the sauce itself is quite tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken wings
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons sweet soy sauce Kecap Manis
• 2-3 tablespoons Sambal Oelek Chili Paste (start with 2 tablespoons and add more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• cilantro chopped for garnish
• lime wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 475 F degrees.
2. For easier clean up, cover a baking sheet in foil or use a silicone mat as the sauce becomes quite sticky.
3. Lay out the chicken wings in a single layer in prepared baking pan.
4. Season the chicken wings on both sides using salt, pepper and garlic powder.
5. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned or cooked through.
6. While the chicken wings bake, prepare the sauce.
7. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the sweet soy sauce, chili paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix well.
8. When the chicken is fully cooked, transfer the wings to a large bowl. Add half the sauce and, using tongs, toss to thoroughly coat. Return the wings to the lined sheet pan and arrange in a single, even layer. 
9. Bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes, or until browned. Remove from the oven. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
10. Optional: Serve with a lime wedge. I like how the lime juice offsets the sweetness of the soy sauce.