Chicken

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8.8-ounce) package Uncle Ben’s ready rice
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
2 teaspoons chipotles canned in adobo sauce, minced
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
¹⁄₂ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
6 large (burrito size) flour tortillas (Thanks to the snow, my store only has spinach flour tortillas.  Those worked just fine.)

Instructions
1. Place rimmed baking sheet in oven and heat oven to 450*F. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion until just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in beans, rice, chicken, and chipotle and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in cheese and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Stack tortillas on plate and microwave until pliable, about 1 minute. Top warm tortillas with chicken mixture, leaving 2-inch border at bottom. Fold in sides and roll up tightly. Brush wrapped tortillas with remaining oil and arrange, seam side down, on preheated baking sheet. Bake until crisp and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual and I picked it because I love chimichangas.  However, the fried ones are sort of a pain to make at home, so this seemed like it would provide a nice alternative. 

I often pick recipes based solely on the name and picture, so I was a bit worried when I saw that this recipe contains so many prepared foods, but I felt committed to give it a try. 

I was actually very pleased with the results!  The oven baking made the tortillas nice and crispy and the assembly was extremely easy thanks to all of the packaged ingredients.  I think that, next time, I’d want to toss the rice and beans with some lime juice and I might add some salsa as well for extra flavor, or maybe some chopped green onions.  This method certainly has lots of potential, and I look forward to tweaking it in the future.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved (I used normal size red potatoes and cut them into ³⁄₄-inch slices.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried oregano
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions
1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

2. Add remaining oil to pan and heat until shimmering. Cook potatoes, cut-side down, until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, rosemary, oregano, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and broth, scrapping up any browned bits with wooden spoon, and bring to boil. Return browned chicken to skillet on top of potatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken and potatoes to serving platter; tent with foil.

3. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until sauce is reduced to 1 cup, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in peas and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and potatoes. Serve. 

Comments
I’ve made Chicken Vesuvio before and we’ve all enjoyed it, so I figured I’d give the skillet version from the 2008 Cook’s Country Annual a try.  It was extremely easy both in the prep and cooking aspects.  The flavor was great and we enjoyed it.  I did miss the artichoke hearts of the other version, but this is a tasty dish in its own right.

Cook’s Country 2008

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
¹⁄₄ cup all purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
¹⁄₂ cup half and half
¹⁄₂ cup dry sherry
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds broccoli, cut into florets, stems sliced thin
1 ¹⁄₂ cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

2. Add remaining butter and onion to empty skillet and cook until onion is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in broth, cream, and sherry and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Return chicken to skillet; reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken and sauce to broiler-safe baking dish.  (I cut the chicken into small pieces at this point, since we were eating out of bowls.)

3. Meanwhile, microwave broccoli on high power, covered, in large bowl until bright green and slightly softened, 2 to 4 minutes. Add cheese to bowl and toss well. Season with salt and pepper and pour broccoli mixture over chicken. Broil until browned and bubbly, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.

Comments
This recipe is from the 2008 Cook’s Country Annual.  Well, the original is, I sort of screwed it up.  What you see here is what I made, and I think it turned out fantastically even though I failed at reading.  The sauce was very tasty and the broccoli had a nice roasted taste and texture.  I served it over rice.

Cook’s Country 2008

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup maple syrup (The real stuff, please.)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
¹⁄₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
1. Combine syrup, soy sauce, ginger, and cayenne in small bowl and set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.  (My chicken was still somewhat frozen in the middle so I did 5 minutes a side on medium-low and then 5 minutes a side on medium-high.)

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add syrup mixture to skillet. Simmer, turning chicken once or twice to coat, until glaze is slightly thickened and chicken is cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve with extra glaze on the side. 

Comments
I’m always looking for new, flavorful, and easy ways to prepare chicken… and I love maple syrup.  I’ve also got a ridiculous amount of maple syrup in the house because I forgot to check my supply before going to the store too many times.  This recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual and it’s a bit sweet, but not overly so.   It came together extremely quickly, even with the semi-frozen chicken, and I’m pleased with how it turned out!  I served the chicken with a pasta side, but it would work well over rice as well. 

Shown here with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pasta.

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup plain yogurt, whole or low-fat
Juice of 2 limes, divided
2 teaspoons salt
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Instructions
1. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, and chili powder; continue to cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Transfer half of garlic-spice mixture to medium bowl; stir in yogurt, juice of 1 lime, and set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine remaining garlic-spice mixture, juice from remaining lime, and salt. Using sharp knife, lightly score the smoother side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts; transfer to bowl. Using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325*F. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated with thick layer. Arrange chicken pieces, scored-side down, on wire rack set in foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Bake chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 125*F, 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to plate as they reach correct temperature.)

4. After removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 minutes. Once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165*F, 8 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes.

Comments
I believe I saw this recipe made on an episode of America’s Test Kitchen so I was pretty happy to see it in the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual.  I modified the recipe slightly to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and we were very pleased with the results.  The chicken was very moist, tender, and extremely flavorful.  The 30 minute marinade really does the trick. 

This was also easy enough that I can envision preparing chicken this way to use in other Indian recipes, such as my beloved Butter Chicken. 

Shown here with Indian Potatoes with Peas.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
³⁄₄ cup lemon juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Spray a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. 

2. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic together in a medium bowl.  Dip each chicken breast into juice mixture and place in bottom of pan.  Add mushrooms to juice mixture and pour all mushroom mixture to surround chicken. 

3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until done.  Chicken should reach 160*F before serving.  Serve chicken with mushrooms. 

Comments
This is another recipe that I’ve had in my files for a very long time and no idea where it originally came from.  The chicken looks sort of boring when it comes out of the oven, but the flavor is anything but boring.  Delicious, lemony, tender, and nice mellow garlic.  I think that I might double the mushroom content the next time I make this recipe.  It would also be pretty fantastic with artichoke hearts. 

Shown here with Lemon Spaghetti.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 teaspoon paprika
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cumin
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon saffron threads
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup orzo
¹⁄₄ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
1. Combine paprika, cumin, salt, saffron, cinnamon and garlic in a medium bowl.  Add chicken and stir to coat.  Set aside.  (If you only have whole cumin, feel free to combine the first 5 ingredients with a peeled garlic clove in a mini chopper and just grind/mince everything up together.) 

2.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion; sauté 4 minutes.  Add chicken mixture and cook 5-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Add broth, reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook orzo for 1 minute less than instructed by package directions.  Drain. 

4. Add orzo and cilantro to skillet.  Stir to combine and serve. 

Comments
This is a tasty recipe from the 1996 Cooking Light Annual.  It was extremely simple to pull together and extremely flavorful.  Art and Lance both had seconds!  Do make sure that you undercook the pasta slightly since it will continue to cook once added to the chicken mixture.  It was determined that chickpeas would be a great addition to this dish – either in addition to the chicken or instead of it.

Cooking Light 1996

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup pine nuts
¹⁄₂ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons pesto
¹⁄₂ cup white wine, divided
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
¹⁄₂ cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
16-20 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
¹⁄₂ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and toast pine nuts until fragrant, stirring often.  Remove pine nuts from skillet and mix in medium bowl with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. 

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  Add chicken to the skillet and cook until done.  Remove to a bowl and stir in pesto and ¹⁄₄ cup wine. 

4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  Place mushrooms in the skillet and cook until browned.  Add garlic, rosemary, and ¹⁄₄ cup wine.  Cook until liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat, stir in ricotta and set aside. 

5. Gently lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a large baking sheet.  Using a pastry brush, spread melted butter over the sheet.  Repeat with 3 to 4 sheets of phyllo, brushing butter between each sheet.  Spread the pesto chicken so that it covers the dough completely. 

6. Layer another 4 to 5 sheets of phyllo and melted butter.  Spread the mushroom mixture over the dough.  Layer 4 to 5 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.  Top with pine nut mixture. 

7. Top with remaining 4 to 5 sheets of phyllo and butter.  Brush butter over the top sheet for better browning.  Bake for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 300*F and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until top is golden brown. 

8. Meanwhile place tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and honey in a small saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until the tomatoes break apart and reduce to half their normal size.  The sauce will be ready after 10 minutes, but you can reduce it longer to the thickness and richness you desire.  (I reduced mine quite a bit as you can see in the picture.) 

9. To serve, cut phyllo bake into pieces and top with tomato sauce. 

Note: When working with phyllo dough, cover the unused sheets with a damp, clean kitchen towel to prevent them drying out. 

Comments
I wish I knew where this recipe was from originally since I’d love to credit the person who came up with the original concept! It’s sort of like lasagna with phyllo dough instead of pasta sheets.  I get my phyllo dough in boxes of 18 sheets and this recipe nicely uses an entire box.  (I have a thing about recipes that don’t use entire boxes/containers of things.  They bother me.) 

This recipe is fantastic; the flavors are all phenomenal and work great together.  The dish combines a lot of Art’s favorite ingredients, which is a big bonus.  Do try to make sure that the fillings between the layers extend all the way to the edges of the dough so the edge pieces are just as nice as the middle pieces.

Unknown

Ingredients
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced (I used 1 teaspoon of dried thyme instead.)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4 ¹⁄₂-pound) roasting chicken

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375*F and combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

3. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub herb mixture under loosened skin and over breast and drumsticks. Place chicken, breast side down, on rack of a broiler pan or shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan.

4. Bake chicken at 375*F for 40 minutes. Carefully turn chicken over (breast side up). Bake an additional 40 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in meaty part of thigh registers 165*F. Place chicken on a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes before carving.

Comments
I’m not sure why I don’t roast chickens more often, since they’re very simple, moist, and tasty.  I think I didn’t roast them for a long time since Art only likes white meat and I didn’t want to be the only one eating the dark meat.  Lance, however, loves both so it’s much more feasible to roast whole birds now!  (Not to mention, Art has grown less picky over time.)  I found this recipe in the 2009 Cooking Light Annual; it looked like it had good flavors, so I decided to make it. 

It was fantastic!  Super flavorful due to the herb rub, extremely tender, and just about perfect. 

Shown here with Fresh Lemon Rice.

Cooking Light 2009

Ingredients
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
3 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₂ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
Salt and pepper
4 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (about 3 pounds)
¹⁄₄ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions
1. Adjust bottom oven rack to lowest position (rack should be 13 inches from broiler element) and top rack to highest position (rack should be 5 inches from broiler element) and heat broiler. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil and fit with slotted broiler pan top.

2. Combine butter, garlic, rosemary, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and, using fingers, carefully loosen skin from meat. Spoon butter mixture under skin of each breast, then work butter evenly under skin. Season with salt and pepper and arrange chicken skin side down on broiler-pan top.

3. Broil on lower rack until just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn chicken skin side up and continue to broil until skin is slightly crisp and chicken registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Move pan to upper rack and broil until skin is spotty brown and crisp, about 1 minute.

4. While chicken is cooking, simmer vinegar and sugar in small saucepan set over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Brush vinegar glaze over cooked chicken. Serve. 

Comments
I’m not usually a fan of dealing with bone-in chicken since I find it complicated to eat.  However I saw this recipe in the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual and decided to give it a go since I’m on a balsamic vinegar kick.  It smelled so fantastic while cooking that even Lance commented on it!  The chicken was tender, moist, and tasty.  I wish I had reduced the balsamic mixture a bit more than I did, but I’ll know for next time. 

Shown here with Stir-Fried Sesame Broccoli.

Cook’s Country 2007