Oh no, chicken again?

I love Chinese food. Some of you have heard me whine that there's not a lot of good Chinese restaurants in the North Dallas suburbs. There's not many bad ones either, for that matter. To get my fix of Chinese food I've had to learn to cook a few things that are outside my normal comfort zone.

Since there's only so many days we want to eat chicken in a week, it's fun to spice it up when you do. Because I didn't have all of the same ingredients, this recipe is an adaptation on the Kung Po Chicken recipe in the book 365 Ways To Cook Chicken.

Not Quite Kung Po Chicken (serves 4)

1+ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (my Costco pack has 5), cut into bite sized pieces
1 egg white
1 T + 1t of cornstarch
2 T soy sauce
2 t dry sherry (I used white wine)
1 t rice vinegar
1 t Szechwan chili paste with garlic
1/4 c chicken broth
1 t sesame oil
3 T peanut oil
1/2 cashews
2 scallions, cut into 1/2 pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1. In a small bowl, combine chicken pices, egg white and 1 T of cornstarch. Toss to coat and set aside.

2. In glass measuring cup combine chili paste, soy sauce, wine, vinegar, broth, 1 t cornstarch and sesame oil. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir fry until mostly done and lightly browned. This will take around 5 minutes, depending on how big you made the pieces. (If they're too big, take smaller bites!)



While the chicken was cooking, I got my broccoli going. I sauteed over medium high heat for several minutes, then added a couple tablespoons of water, covered the pan and turned the heat down.


4. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan. Add in the nuts. (I used cashews because I didn't have peanuts). Lightly toast for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the scallions and garlic to the pan and sautee for a minute or so, then add the chicken back to the pan. Pour in the sauce and stir around to coat the chicken and warm up the sauce. At this point I added a teaspoon of peanut butter to get the peanut taste that Kung Po Chicken has.

I served with rice and broccoli. Yum.

I've just realized that our dishes are looking a bit boring. At least the food looks good. And it really tasted good too.

Wishes for a Happy New Year

This was sent to me in an email by my boss in NY. I thank her for passing along these words to me. May you be inspired by them as well.

**********************************

Today is January 5, 2010. I am supposed to pick twelve women
who have touched my life and whom I would want to participate.
I think that if this group of women were ever to be in a room
together, there is nothing that would be impossible.

By this communication, I hope that you are reminded how special
you are. Please send this back to me. Remember to make a wish
before you read the quotation. That's all you have to do, there is
nothing attached. Please make a wish before you read on......

"May there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly
where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May
you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love
that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself
just the way you are. Let the knowledge settle into your bones
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise,
and love. It is there for each and every one of us."


"It's okay to fail, but you cannot quit..."

Beef. It's not what's for dinner...

Chicken. It's something I'm pretty much always going to have in the freezer. Diced tomatoes. Something I'm always going to have in the pantry. Put them together and viola. Dinner. I had a meeting for the community garden on Wednesday night and I needed something that could sit on the stove and simmer away. I did chicken curry last week, so trying out a recipe for Country Captain chicken wouldn't work. Sour cream. Something I occasionally have in the refrigerator. I was in luck. Chicken paprika it is...


If you read my recipes you may have noticed that I always use chicken thighs. This is what we like to eat, but feel free to substitute a cut up chicken.



Chicken Paprika (serves 4)

4 chicken thighs
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 t sweet paprika
1 t smoked paprika
1 t hot paprika
1/2 c. reduced fat sour cream (This is as low as I'll go. Fat free is icky.)
salt/pepper


Heat large heavy pan over medium high heat. Salt and pepper chicken pieces on both sides. When pan is very hot, place the chicken skin side down in the pan. Let brown for several minutes. The skin will lift up from the pan surface when it's done enough. Don't pull the pieces up or they'll tear apart.



Meanwhile, back at stately Wayne Manor, I mean my kitchen, pull out the trusty sidekicks. The cutting board (I have one for meats and one for veggies) and a nice sharp knife.

Dice the onion and crush the garlic cloves. Traditional chicken paprika recipes don't call for garlic, but I think pretty much all chicken dishes should have garlic in them.

Turn the chicken pieces over and brown on the other side for several minutes.

When the second side of the chicken is nicely browned remove the chicken from the pan. If there's a lot of fat drain it out and leave a tablespoon or so in the pan.

Dump in the onions and the garlic. Make sure you scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. There's a lot of flavor in those little morsels. Cook the onions until they're translucent.

The hot and smoked paprika really make this dish. If you don't have any smoked paprika, I really think you should get some. It's crazy good.

I had a picture of just the paprika in the pan, but it kept uploading sideways. Imagine I've put the paprika in the pan, stirred it around to blend with the onions and garlic. Now put in your can of diced tomatoes.

Stir well, and then place the chicken pieces back in the pan, nestling them in the sauce.

Simmer for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is done. Take the chicken back out and add in the sour cream.

Stir well until all the sour cream is blended into the sauce.

Serve with noodles and green peas.

Nutrition for chicken, 1/2 cup noodles and 1/2 cup peas:

Calories: 482

Total fat: 23.9 g

Carbs: 39.2 g

Protein: 27.8 g

(Nutrition data comes from the GoWearFit recipe builder)

For the second part of this double feature, a couple of people asked for the recipe for the scallops I made the other day. It's my take on Coquilles St. Jacques A La Pariesienne. Here it is...

Scallops in Artichoke Mushroom Cream Sauce

1 lb large scallops

1 can quartered artichoke hearts

1 lb white mushrooms, sliced

1 cup dry white wine

salt

pepper

bay leaf

1 small shallot, diced (I had small green onion from garden I used)

1 t herbes de provence

1 T butter

2 T flour

1/2 c. cream

In large pan simmer the wine and the herbs for a few minutes. Add the scallops and mushrooms to the wine. Add enough water to just cover the scallops. Poach until done. (I wasn't timing, sorry)

In second pan, over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour until smooth. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the flour is lightly golden. Reduce heat and add about 1/2 cup of the poaching liquid and stir, making sure there are no lumps. If it's too thick, add more of the poaching liquid. Stir in the cream. Add the artichokes, mushrooms and scallops and stir until everything's coated with the sauce.

Serve over spaghetti or rice. I served this over spaghetti, with a layer of steamed spinach in between. I'm sorry I don't have the nutrition data for this recipe. For some reason, the GWF website doesn't want to let me into my account. Check back with me on this if you like.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

I bought my first acorn squash last week. Just because. It looked interesting. The only acorn squash I'd ever eaten had been dipped in tempura battered and deep fried to a golden crispy yummy goodness. (The Aussie always orders shrimp tempura and the chefs always include veggies. He eats the shrimp, I eat some of the veggies)

So I had an acorn squash sitting on my counter. What to do, what to do. I asked one of my twitter friends, Trish, how she'd cook acorn squash and she gave me a great recipe for maple roasted squash, which turned out lovely. So Sunday I got a second acorn squash. What to do, what to do. Stuffing! I started rummaging in the freezer and came up with the following for what I will call Scarborough Fair Acorn Squash. (You know, parsley, sage, rosemary... you can go put on the Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits CD now. I'll wait.)

Scarborough Fair Acorn Squash (serves 4)

2 acorn squash, split in half lengthwise, seeds scooped out

2 T pine nuts, toasted

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 rib celery, sliced

2 c cooked brown rice

2 Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patties, diced or crumbled

1/4 c. Craisins, chopped

1 T balsamic vinegar

1/2 t salt

1 t black pepper

parsley (1 t)

sage (1/2 t ground or 1 fresh leaf minced)

rosemary (1/2 t)

thyme (1/2 t)

Preheat oven to 375. Cook split acorn squash cut side down on baking sheet for 30 minutes. I know this looks a bit wonky. At first I was going to do a standing up acorn squash and then changed my mind. So I cut off more of the top than I should have.

Heat cast iron skillet over medium high heat and toast pine nuts until lightly browned. Remove pine nuts from pan and set aside.

Lower heat to medium and add olive oil to pan. Add in the onion, celery and garlic. Cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in turkey sausage and lightly brown.

Spoon in cooked rice, cranberries, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Stir to mix ingredients together.

When the squash has finished baking, remove from the oven and turn over so that the hollowed out section is facing up. Spoon in the stuffing mixture.

Put the squash back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned on top.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories: 276.5

Total Fat: 7.5 g

Sat Fat 0.9 g

Cholesterol: 13.75 mg

Sodium: 432.8 mg

Potassium: 512.9 mg

Total Carb: 43.65 g

Dietary Fiber: 4.7 g

Sugars: 5.35 g

Protein: 4.4 g

She'd better leave a comment....

If my sister comes to visit this site, she'd better leave a comment. I'm just sayin'...(grin)

I'll never be a food stylist...

No, I'll never make it as a food stylist. This tastes really fantastic though, so I'm sure you won't mind the "rustic" appearance of my lunch made from the leftovers. (I was too hungry and was racing to a meeting to properly document the dish!)

I've recently become friends with my slow cooker. I had a medium sized round cooker years ago, but it was too small to become friends with. The last straw, before it was consigned to my Mom's house for her to use, was the attempt to make lamb shanks. They. didn't. fit. Needless to say, they didn't turn out well. (Note to self: covering the portions stuck out of the pot with foil doesn't work)

Last spring I invested in a large oval slow cooker. This thing is awesome! I got so slow-cooker crazy earlier this year that The Aussie made it clear he was getting tired of it. So I hid it back in the pantry... until this week. I'd pulled out a package of boneless pork shoulder ribs from the freezer that I'd bought on speculation (and reduced for quick sale). Hmmm. What to do with them?? I went browsing through several cookbooks until I came upon a suitable one to adapt. (For those of you who like to use slow cookers, the "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker" books are great.)

Country Style Pork Ribs with White Wine Sauce

1 large yellow onion, quartered

4 large carrots, cut into large slices/chunks

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

1.5 lbs boneless pork shoulder ribs (they came cut in 1-2" wide strips)

3 T olive oil

3 T AP flour

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup dry white wine

1 T herbs de provence

1 t fresh ground black pepper

1/2 t salt

non-stick cooking spray

1. Spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the carrots, onions and garlic on the bottom.

2. Pat meat dry with paper towels. In large, heavy-bottomed pan, over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. (If your pan cannot do all pieces of meat at the same time, do in batches and use half of the olive oil at a time) Brown the meat on all sides. This will take a few minutes per side. Wait until the meat lifts up easily and isn't sticking to the pan.

3. Remove meat from pan. Sprinkle the flour in the pan, stiring to coat in the drippings. Cook for a minute and then deglaze with the wine. Stir to pick up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Add in the chicken stock, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and lightly thickened.

4. Pour over the meat and vegetables. The recipe says cook on low for 7-9 hours. I started this at lunch time, so I cooked on high for 4 1/2 hours and then dropped it down to low.

5. Cook up the starch of your choice. I used mashed potatoes. (Yes, they were instant. I love

instant mashed potatoes). Spoon meat and vegetables over the potatoes and serve.

Nutrition (exc. mashed potatoes) based on 6 servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 293.0
Total Fat 14.3 g
Saturated Fat 4.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.0 g
Cholesterol 74.2 mg
Sodium 815.1 mg
Potassium 748.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 10.8 g
Dietary Fiber 2.1 g
Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 23.5 g

Soup's On

Fall is definitely the time of year for soup. A grey, rainy day is the ideal day for soup. Lentil soup is the perfect healthy choice to make, and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Lentil Sausage Soup (serves 8)

3 links Aidell's Roasted Red Pepper and Corn Chicken Sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 large or 3 medium carrots, sliced
2 cups dry lentils, rinsed
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 T Italian Seasoning
1/2 t powdered red pepper (I use House Shichimi Togarashi Red Pepper)
1 bay leaf
1/2 t fennel seeds
1 can diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken stock
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
salt/pepper to taste

Heat dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Slice the sausage links into rounds 1/4 " thick and add to pan to brown.

Peel and slice carrots and chop onion. (I didn't have fresh onion so I used dehydrated onion bits reconstituted in water) Peel and slice garlic cloves.

When sausage is browned add the carrots, onion, garlic, lentils and the herbs and spices to the pan. Saute for a minute.



Add the can of diced tomatoes with their juice and the balsamic vinegar to the pan. Stir.



Finally, pour in the chicken stock and stir.



Cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until the lentils are tender. Add water if soup is getting too thick. If you like, you can use an immersion blender to create a smoother textured soup.



This soup really hits the spot...