Chicken

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups baby spinach leaves, about 2 ounces
¹⁄₄ cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
¹⁄₃ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
1. Heat grill pan, griddle, or skillet over medium high heat.  Lightly oil the pan.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken until cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts.  

2. Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and zest in a food processor.  Lightly pulse.  With machine running gradually add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil, blending until the mixture is creamy.  Add salt and pepper to taste and pulse.  Stir in parmesan.  

3. Spread pesto over each piece of chicken and serve.  

Comments
I found this Giada De Laurentiis recipe a few years ago and I’ve been making it with great success ever since.  It’s a family favorite and a great dish to make when you’re in the mood for pesto but basil season has ended.  

Usually I serve this with pasta tossed with sundried tomato pesto, but this time we just tossed the pasta with the spinach pesto with great success.  This is a delicious dish that is ridiculously simple to bring together if you’ve got a food processor.

Internet - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
Two pie crusts
4 cups chicken (or turkey), cooked and shredded
2 cups chicken broth
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
¹⁄₂ cup all purpose flour
1 ¹⁄₂ cups dairy (milk, half and half, light cream, etc)
2-3 tablespoons sherry
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, sliced ¹⁄₄-inch thick (or a few handfuls of baby carrots)
4 celery stalks, sliced ¹⁄₄-inch thick
³⁄₄ cup frozen peas, thawed
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Spray a deep casserole or pie dish with cooking spray and press 1 pie crust into dish.  Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven.  

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add flour and whisk until smooth.  Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Add chicken broth and whisk until smooth.  Add in milk and whisk.  Increase heat to medium and bring the mixture just to a simmer, whisking constantly to break up any clumps.  Simmer, stirring, for 1 minute.  

3. Stir in chicken (or turkey) and sherry.  Cook for one minute more and season to taste with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Set aside.  

4. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms.  Sauté until the vegetables have released their water and are just tender, about 5-10 minutes.  Drain vegetables and return to pan.  Add peas and creamed chicken.  Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  

5. Pour the chicken mixture into the dish and cover with the remaining crust.  Cut a few holes in the top crust to allow steam to escape.  Bake until chicken is bubbly and the top crust is nicely browned, about 30-60 minutes depending on the thickness of your pot pie.  (You might want to place a baking sheet underneath your dish to catch any drips.)  Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.  

Comments
This recipe is from the 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking and I’ve made it numerous times with chicken and a few times with turkey.  It is flexible enough that you can add other vegetables as well, I’m a fan of a mushroom and broccoli mixture.  Please do remember to season with salt and pepper, it’s pretty important.  This is pretty much the perfect cold weather comfort food in my opinion!

Joy of Cooking (1997)

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, giblets removed (I have a round 5-quart slow cooker and I can just manage to fit a 7 pound chicken into it.)
2-3 tablespoons seasoning of choice (I’m a fan of McCormick’s Low-Sodium Montreal Chicken.)

Instructions
1. Tear off two pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil, about 3 feet long.  Fold each piece in half lengthwise and press into the slow cooker to form a sling.  The ends of the aluminum foil should hang over the sides of the pot.  

2. Season chicken well, inside and out.  Place chicken breast side up in slow cooker on top of foil sling, cover, and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.  

3. Preheat oven to 500*F.  Remove chicken from slow cooker using the foil sling and place on rimmed baking sheet.  

4. When oven is preheated, roast chicken for 20 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy.  

5. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.  

Comments
I’ve roasted chicken in the slow cooker many, many times and have always been thrilled with the results.  However, the skin is never crispy like you’d get with an oven roasted chicken.  Finishing the chicken in the oven seemed like a great plan, but whenever I cook a chicken in the slow cooker it’s always falling apart and would be impossible to move to the oven for further cooking!   

Inspiration hit in the form of aluminum foil.  Placing the chicken in a sling in the pot makes removing it from the crock a very simple task and, from there, it’s a quick 20 minute roast to crisp up the skin.  We were all very thrilled with the results.  Nice crispy skin and no hassle roasting in the pot.  

Make sure to save, boil, and strain all the delicious juices that accumulate in the bottom of your slow cooker.  They make a fantastic soup base!  If you’re home during cooking, you can pour the liquid out at the 3-4 hour mark.  The foil sling is helpful with this part as well.

Person - Gwen

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 pound soba noodles
¹⁄₂ cucumber, cut lengthwise into thin strips
²⁄₃ cup creamy peanut butter (I use Safeway brand natural)
¹⁄₄ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons Chinese chile garlic paste
¹⁄₄ cup green onions, chopped
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Add chicken to pot and cook, stirring, until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a bowl using a slotted spoon.  

2. Return water to boil and then cook noodles as directed on packaging, about 4 minutes.  Reserve ³⁄₄ cup of the cooking water and then drain noodles in colander.  Rinse under cold water to stop cooking and drain well.  

3. Meanwhile, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste, and reserved cooking water until smooth.  

4. Add noodles, cucumber, dressing and green onions to bowl with chicken.  Toss well and serve with sesame seeds.  

Comments
This recipe is from epicurious.com.  I served it warm but I believe it would also work as a cold dish.  It was very simple to make and extremely flavorful.  It would be simple to add more vegetables if you had them on hand.  Sadly my store didn’t have Soba, so I used Somen instead.  Those worked well although Soba would be even better.  Make sure not to overcook the noodles.  

Shown here with Chilled Sesame-Ginger Tatsoi.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup white wine
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons half and half
¹⁄₂ cup butter, chilled
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound pasta of choice, cooked as directed (I prefer smaller shapes like penne)
12 ounces center-cut bacon, chopped
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 teaspoons capers, drained

Instructions
1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by ¹⁄₃. Stir in the cream and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, keep warm.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon to paper towels or a sieve, leaving the fat in the skillet.  

3. Add chicken to skillet and cook, stirring, until done.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and place with bacon, leaving fat in the skillet.  

4. Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and capers to the skillet and cook until the vegetables are soft.  Remove mushroom mixture from skillet and drain fat.  

5. Place chicken, bacon, and mushroom mixture back in the skillet, add sauce, and stir until heated through.  Add pasta, stir well, and serve.  

Comments
For some unknown reason, I was out of capers so the photograph of this dish is missing them.  I was very sad, they really help to make the dish.  I have no idea where I found the original recipe, but I do remember that it called for an entire cup of butter which was entirely too much!  It’s much nicer with only one stick.  Art and I love this dish, the flavors remind us of Piccata.

Unknown

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
16 ounces salsa
1 (1 ¹⁄₄ ounce) package taco seasoning
1 (10 ³⁄₄ ounce) can cream of chicken soup (I used Healthy Request)
¹⁄₂-1 cup sour cream

Instructions
1. Place chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle with taco seasoning.  Pour salsa and soup over chicken.

2. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours.

3. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

4. Shred chicken, if desired.  Serve over rice, if desired.  

Comments
This is one of the easiest and most ubiquitous slow cooker chicken recipes.  It’s so simple and you can modify it very easily to suit your current desires.  I tend to make it with Peach Salsa and ranch dressing mix instead of the taco seasoning, but you could try any flavor of salsa or seasoning packet based on your own tastes.  16 ounces of salsa yields a very saucy dish, so feel free to reduce it to 8 ounces if you want a less saucy dish.  The chicken comes out so moist and tender – this was a perfect meal for a dreary and dismal day.  I served it with Zataran’s Spanish Rice.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 pound broccoli, cooked and drained (I tend to use frozen and nuke it as per the directions on the bag)
2 to 3 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
2 cups broccoli cheese soup (I use the Safeway “café” soup that’s refrigerated, you can use whatever broccoli cheese soup you prefer)
¹⁄₃ cup milk
¹⁄₂ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.

2. Arrange broccoli and chicken in casserole dish. Mix soup and milk and pour into dish.  Toss gently

3. Sprinkle cheese over mixture. Mix bread crumbs and butter and then sprinkle mixture over the top of the casserole.

4. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through.

5. Serve with rice.

Comments
I believe this recipe initially came from one of those checkout aisle magazines that Betty Crocker and Pillsbury both publish and I have a hard time resisting for some reason.  I think they’re laced with something.  I’ve been making it for quite a while and no longer had a source as a result!  

If you prefer a soupier texture, you can add more soup.  If you want something cheesier, add more cheese.  And the same goes for the chicken.  This is a very easy recipe to modify and tweak based on your own preferences!  I’ve made rice on the side numerous times when I make this and I’ve also baked it in the Dutch oven over top the rice.  I think both ways are delicious.

Unknown

Ingredients
12 ounces green Chinese long beans or green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 ¹⁄₂-inch pieces
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into ¹⁄₂-inch-wide strips
1 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₃ cup lemongrass, minced (I used the stuff from the tube and it worked very well)
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
¹⁄₂ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook beans just until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, onion and garlic; stir-fry until chicken is partially cooked, about 4 minutes. Add lemongrass and next 4 ingredients; stir 2 minutes. Add beans, stock and oyster sauce; reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper.  

3. Serve with rice, if desired.  

Comments
I found this recipe on Epicurious.com while looking for a way to use up the Chinese long beans that were in my CSA box this week.  I probably didn’t have the full 12 ounces the recipe called for, but it still turned out very well.  I found the flavor of the beans to be very similar to regular green beans.  The guys both thought that it was very similar in flavor to some of the curries I’ve made in the past and I can see where they’re coming from!  This dish was delicious and it came together very easily.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1 cup bread crumbs (Fresh is best, pulse 2 slices of hearty white bread in a food processor until coarse)
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
¹⁄₂ cup Dijon mustard
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
2 tablespoon sour cream
2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425*F. Combine bread crumbs, oil, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Combine mustard and mayonnaise in small bowl; reserve ¹⁄₄ cup mustard-mayonnaise mixture for chicken, then stir in chives, sour cream, and vinegar to make sauce for serving.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper.  Brush one side of each breast with the reserved mustard-mayonnaise mixture and then press the same side of the chicken into the bread crumb mixture to adhere.  Place chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  

3. Bake until crumbs are golden brown and chicken registers 160*F, 18-22 minutes.  Serve with mustard sauce.  

Comments
I have a hard time believing that, up until this year, I had no experience with baked chicken.  It’s so easy to make and extremely versatile as well!  I chose this recipe to go along with Mashed Potato Casserole and it was a great pairing.  The sauce from the chicken even went well with the potatoes too!  The recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual.  I’ve started buying a loaves of Arnold’s Country White Bread for all of my bread crumb needs. 

Shown here with Bok Choy with Garlic.

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
1 whole roasting chicken (4 ¹⁄₂-5 pounds), giblets removed and discarded, wings tucked under the bird
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small celery stalk, chopped
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed (about 2 tablespoons)
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary
Juice from ¹⁄₂ lemon

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250*F. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary around chicken. Cook until chicken is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon inserted into cavity of bird, flip chicken breast-side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned; 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Remove Dutch oven from heat; place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer registers 160*F when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175*F in thickest part of thigh, 80 to 110 minutes.

3. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and rest 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids (you should have about ³⁄₄ cup juices). Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then pour into saucepan and set over low heat. Discard fat.  Carve chicken, adding any accumulated juices to saucepan. Stir lemon juice into jus to taste. Serve chicken, passing jus at table.  

Comments
I don’t have a lot of experience with whole chickens.  Art has never been a fan of dark meat, so there just wasn’t a point in making a whole bird if I was the only one who would eat the dark meat!  Then Lance came along and he enjoys dark meat too, so cooking whole chickens was suddenly a worthwhile endeavor!  

This recipe from the 2008 Annual of Cook’s Illustrated caught my eye because I’m always looking for new ways to use the Dutch oven.  Not to mention that Cook’s Illustrated has never done me wrong.   The chicken came out very tender, moist, and flavorful.  It was an extremely simple process to prepare and the jus was lovely – much lighter than typical gravy so it went with the flavors of the chicken quite well!  

Shown here with Sautéed Wax (or Green) Beans.

Cook’s Illustrated 2008