Category Archives: chicken

Chicken Piccata – simply done

Posted on April 26, 2015 | 2 comments

If you’re looking for something to make for dinner this is a great choice. Pretty easy , not a lot of exotic ingredients and the final product is well worth the effort.  I happen to have 1 package (a little less than 1 lb. of thin chicken cutlets) , lemons, flour, chicken stock, capers, and I even had fresh parsley! ( which if you don’t have is no biggie) I had mushrooms in the fridge, so decided to cook them up as well, added some rice pilaf to serve alongside and we were good to go. What I couldn’t believe was how quickly this meal assembled and how beautiful and delicious it was. In about 45 minutes we were sitting and eating, the kitchen was a disaster but the meal was great! Originally inspired from Giada de Laurentis, thanks Giada.

Cooking Notes for Doubling Recipe:

This recipe served the 2 of us generously, I made this with about 1 lb. of thin sliced chicken cutlets, you’ll have to play with amounts if you double.When you do double don’t double capers, I would increase chicken broth , lemon juice, olive oil, and I would increase butter and olive oil but just as I needed, you’ll be able to tell when you cook up the first batch of chicken,  you’ll add butter and olive oil probably for the third batch of chicken . Add as needed, a little at a time.

Ingredients:

1 package of thin sliced chicken cutlets (as close to a pound as you can get)

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

All purpose flour, for dredging ( just put flour on a plate ,there is no set amount , if you need more add as you go) to dredge just place cutlet in flour on both sides, and shake off any excess

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup brined capers, drained and rinsed off (most capers are sold in brine or salt, buy the brined ones) and just put in a small strainer and rinse off before adding.

a sprinkling of fresh parsley , chopped

Directions:

Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off any excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle up, add chicken (as much as you can in pan with plenty of room around each piece) you can do it in as many batches as necessary. It took 2 batches for me. Make sure the chicken browns up nicely, so let it sit for at least 4 minutes on each side. If pan is hot enough this should be good, be careful not to burn oil. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate when it is finished.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and rinsed off capers, and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor.  Lower heat to a simmer and place chicken back in the pan, mine all fit because it was just 1 lb. If you need to you can do this in 2 steps for more chicken, you will do this for a few minutes on each side, just to get sauce on both sides and make sure chicken is cooked through.  I then plated chicken, gave the sauce in the pan a good whisk, and poured a little sauce over chicken and I garnished with very thin slices of lemon and fresh parsley. I served with rice and mushrooms, and would have been perfect with asparagus, but no time and didn’t have in house.

2 Comments

Posted in chicken

Tagged ,

Homemade Chicken Soup with Not-So-Homemade Matzo Balls

Posted on March 31, 2015 | Leave a comment

I always make my own chicken soup. It is delicious broth. I usually make a few batches and freeze them because it’s a great thing to have frozen in quart containers as stock and will last for up to six months frozen. When the holidays come—whether Rosh Hashanah or Passover—I always make my chicken soup with matzo balls. I make the soup a day ahead and skim whatever fat is on there before adding my matzo balls.

INGREDIENTS: CHICKEN STOCK:

1 5lb. organic roasting chicken (I throw away the insides)

1 package of chicken wings (this was suggested to me a long time ago by my BFF Karyn and she was oh so right. It adds some fat, which translates into a lot of flavor and you will skim off the fat the next day. Thanks, Karyn…yes, I remembered!)

1 large, yellow Spanish onion; unpeeled and quartered

A big bunch of dill

4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into thirds

4 carrots, unpeeled and halved

Bunch of flat-leaf parsley (Use this only if you want. This time, I didn’t have it so I used only the dill.)

A bunch of thyme (if you wish)

1 head of garlic, cut in half cross-wise (skin and all)

2 tbsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

DIRECTIONS FOR SOUP:

I place the chicken, chicken wings, onion, carrots, celery, whatever herbs I’m using, garlic, salt and pepper in as large a  pot as I can find (usually about a 16-20 qt. stockpot.) Add cold water to cover chicken by at least 2 inches above the chicken but not to the top of the pot because it will boil over (very messy). Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for about 3 hours. I skim the soup skum (sounds lovely) off for the first half hour or so—after that, you shouldn’t have much more. I remove the chicken from the broth after an hour or so, because it is cooked and it will taste like a rubber chicken if you plan on eating it. Sometimes, I like to shred it and return it to the soup. If you are not using the chicken (what a waste of good chicken), just leave it in. It will fall apart in there. I leave the wings and discard them at the end of the 3 hours. Next, I strain all of the soup, discard all remnants, fill my containers and put in the fridge. The next day (or the day of the holiday), I usually skim off the fat that has risen to the top and make my matzo balls (recipe below).

MATZO BALLS:

This has always been my secret, but now it’s out. Okay, I own it. After years of making matzo balls from scratch, my mother (yes, my mother, the cook) turned me on to Manischewitz boxed matzo ball mix! It just wasn’t worth it. My balls weren’t as consistent as I would have liked, whereas these are always perfection! Light and fluffy and everyone always loves them. No sinkers here!

I follow the directions on the box carefully. They sell just the mix box. You will need vegetable oil and 2 eggs per box. I do add a little piece of dill inside each ball, but that’s it! Now my secret is out. Sometimes this is really the only way to go. It saves time and ingredients and is really good. No MSG or trans-fats either! So make the soup, cheat with the balls, and enjoy. There is no substitute for homemade chicken soup, though.

*You can also add thin soup noodles to this recipe, if you like.

Leave a comment

Posted in chicken, Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Passover Recipes, soup, Uncategorized

Chicken Marbella–perfect for Passover

Posted on March 27, 2015 | 3 comments

This recipe is my “go to” chicken. I’ve made it almost every Passover since I found it. The original recipe is from the”Silver Palate” cookbook. It was many winters ago that I first had it at my friend Susan’s house.  It has been a staple on my holiday table ever since. Not to say that it is not a recipe for every other day of the year and week, because it’s perfect for anytime. There is also the Brisket recipe that I posted during Rosh Hashana which is on the website, as well as the Honey Roasted Chicken, and Meatballs which all work well for this holiday. I usually make the Chicken Marbella and the meatballs as another dish.

Enjoy!

*The key to this recipe is the overnight marination, which is essential to the moistness of the chicken.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup pitted prunes

1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives (no pimentos)( if you can’t find, just pick out pimentos)

1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice

6 bay leaves

1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed(chopped well)

1/4 cup dried oregano

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I start with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.)

4 chickens, cut into eighths (original recipe calls for chickens to be quartered but I find that you get more per person if you do it in eighths.) the chickens are about 2 1/2 lbs. apiece , so it’s about 10 lbs. of chicken . Sometimes I ask the butcher to cut the breasts in 1/2, if they are very large.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)

Directions:

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and their juice, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper. ( You can combine in a large bowl, but I use a large Ziploc bag.) Add the chicken, then stir or mix around to coat well. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take a large shallow baking pan (you may need 2), arrange the chicken in a single layer and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Then sprinkle the chicken pieces with the brown sugar and pour the white wine around them.

Bake, basting frequently with the pan juices until the thigh pieces yield a clear yellow juice (don’t want it pink). It takes anywhere between 50 to 60 minutes to cook. (Test thigh with a fork.)

When you are ready to serve, transfer the chicken with a slotted spoon to serving platter. Moisten with some of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with the parsley. You can pass the remaining juices in a gravy boat.

*should serve 10 or more

* this chicken is delicious cold or at room temperature. If you make ahead and it is in fridge, just remove from fridge, reheat it in the juices, then allow to come to room temperature.

3 Comments

Posted in chicken, Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Passover Recipes

Tagged , , , ,

Lemony Chicken

Posted on February 23, 2015 | 1 comment

Prep for Lemony Chicken

This is truly my go-to chicken meal, because there is no marinating, and I usually have everything on hand. Plus, you can always just pick up chicken breasts at the local market right before cooking. I serve it over a plain brown rice, because the sauce is so yummy. Add a plain roasted green veggie and you’re good to go. Great for guests!

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breasts with skin and bone in

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons garlic, minced (6-9 cloves, depending on size of cloves)

1/3 cup dry white wine (I use whatever is open, or whatever I have on hand) or a pinot grigio would be fine if you are going to buy .

Grated zest from 2 lemons

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from zested lemons). save the lemons , you will use them .

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

 freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

Put olive oil in a small saucepan and warm it up. Not to boil, just warm. Turn off heat and add minced garlic. Remove from heat and add white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, and salt. Pour into a 9×12 baking dish.

Pat the chicken dry (use a paper towel) and place skin side up over the sauce. I use a silicon brush (or any pastry brush) and brush the chicken with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. I then cut up the lemons which I used for zest into about 6 or 8 wedges, and place them in the dish alongside the chicken. You should have 1 lemon left over. If not, use a new lemon and just cut it into 6 or 8 wedges.

Bake for 35 minutes and then put on broil for the last 5 minutes. Depending on your oven, you may want to bake for 30 minutes, and put under the broiler for 10 minutes, which is what I did. Just watch it–you want it golden brown, not blackened, and if you cook too long, the chicken will be dried out. When you remove it from the oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Serve hot with the pan juices over rice, with a green vegetable on the side.

 

 

1 Comment

Posted in chicken

Tagged , ,

Chicken Marsala

Posted on January 29, 2015 | 2 comments

Chicken Marsala

One night last week I prepared a version of Chicken Marsala which came out totally delicious, and worthy of posting this recipe. I am always trying out new recipes for this dish. I combined about 3 recipes and I must say this final recipe worked out just perfectly. It would have been more perfect with a green vegetable served alongside, like brussel sprouts but it was sort of last minute and didn’t have the veggies, which was just fine with Joel. I served it with a plain brown rice which worked out nicely.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all purpose flour for coating

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

I used 1 package thin chicken cutlets ( 5 pieces ) about 1 1/2 lbs.

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup olive oil

8 ounces Cremini Mushrooms sliced (stemmed)

1/2 cup Marsala ( you can buy in supermarket in the oil or vinegar section usually)

1/4 cup Sherry ( I used what I had in the house , it’s not really cooking Sherry but it was fine)

1/2 cup chicken stock

*1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley ( I didn’t have so I didn’t use)

Directions:

In a shallow bowl or large plate, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. coat chicken pieces in the flour mixture.

In a large skillet, melt butter in olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot place chicken in the pan and lightly brown. A little hint, don’t futz with the chicken , place it in ( make sure the oil is very hot) and let it be , turn after about 5 minutes, it should be a light golden brown, then do the same for the other side. Use tongs , try not to pierce the skin of the chicken. Remove chicken to a plate, I take paper towel and blot it.

Lower the heat, put mushrooms in pan. I sprinkle a little salt on the mushrooms. Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes till their moisture has evaporated, and then deglaze the pan with the sherry, Marsala,  and the chicken broth. Let it cook for another few minutes. The sauce will reduce slightly. Return the chicken to the pan, cover the pan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, turning once. Before you serve sprinkle some chopped parsley on it if you like. I served over brown rice.

Chicken Marsala

2 Comments

Posted in chicken

Tagged , ,

Easy Chicken Soup with Orzo and Lemon

Posted on January 21, 2015 | 3 comments

photo 4 (24) photo 5 (27)photo 2 (33)I literally started this soup at 5 p.m. and app. one hour later I was eating it.  Now that’s always a good thing in my book. Usually I slow cook my broth etc. and it takes hours ( Homemade Chicken Soup ) but this time there was no time, I wasn’t feeling great and wanted that homemade flavor without all the work . You can certainly cook your own chicken if it works out for you time wise. This would also be perfect with leftover chicken. I bought a rotisserie chicken and this is what I did. For those of you who saw it on Instagram and Facebook–this one’s for you. One more little thing, the fresh dill is the secret ingredient and gives it that wonderful layer of flavor, don’t skip it. I also squeezed fresh lemon into each bowl of soup , this added yet another wonderful layer of flavor to this soup. This is also a fairly low-calorie soup because whole soup is made with only 1/2 cup of orzo and it was plenty. I used these vegetables this time but feel free to add parsnips, mushrooms, kale or any other veggies you like.

Ingredients:

1 Rotisserie Chicken, skin removed and shredded .

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise about 1/2″ thick

2 stalks celery, sliced into 1/2″ thick slices (app.)

2 large carrots cut into 1/2″ rounds. I found beautiful organic baby carrots and used them, it’s about 2 large carrots but feel free to use a little more or less.

1/2 cup of orzo

6 – 8 cups chicken broth, if you have homemade broth/stock good for you and use it. If not the box ones are awesome. Low-Sodium is good here if you’re concerned about the salt.

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

app. 1/4 cup of chopped fresh dill

*Lemon halves for serving

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the leek, celery and carrots. Cook veggies, stirring often, until vegetables are soft, 10-15 minutes. I threw a little salt and pepper in to vegetables during this period, you can taste for salt and pepper again.

Add 6 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then lower to a simmer for about 20 minutes, just till carrots are soft.

After about 20 minutes, I added 1/2 cup of orzo and cooked for 8- 10 minutes. Taste for Salt and Pepper.

I then added the shredded chicken and dill and I also added a bit more of the chicken stock at this point since broth cooked down a bit.  I heated soup a bit more and served with lemon halves, squeezing a bit of lemon into each bowl of chicken soup before serving.

3 Comments

Posted in chicken, soup

Tagged , ,

Chicken in One Pot with Garlic, Tomatoes and Potatoes

Posted on January 8, 2015 | 4 comments
IMG_6426

chicken nestled in the baking pan with vegetables

IMG_6424

cut up potatoes, tomatoes, fresh thyme and pieces of smashed garlic.

IMG_6427

finished product–crispy chicken with delicious veggies

You all know by now how very much I love one pot meals. I am talking about everything goes in one pan into the oven and cooks. Not slow cooked just regular meals in one pan!!!!! So simple to prepare , you’ll look like you really know what you’re doing and so delicious to eat. This one got a ringing endorsement from Joel and he’s as fussy as they come. This one should be perfect for whole family and should serve 4 . This is what I did.

*you’ll need a large baking dish, I used a ceramic one as shown. Pyrex works well here as well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs.  Yukon gold potatoes ( I used about 4 for just the 2 of us ) peeled and cut into about 8 pieces each potato, you’ll want potatoes to be uniform in size so they all cook the same amount of time

6 cloves of garlic smashed ( take the whole garlic clove and whack it with the back of the knife and then remove skin)

1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

2 Tablespoons olive oil

app. 12 sprigs of fresh thyme

app. 1 – 2 teaspoons of kosher salt for potatoes and chicken

app. 1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

*1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper–we love the heat but if you don’t just omit

1 whole chicken cut up in 8’s or 10’s , I ask butcher to remove the backbone and cut into 8’s or 10’s. App. 3-4 lbs. total

Directions:

Preheat the oven with the oven rack in the middle to 425 degrees.

Spray the baking dish with a cooking spray (Pam) I mean you want the baking dish to clean up easy right?

Peel the potatoes and cut up into bite size pieces. Add to the sprayed baking dish . Smash and peel the garlic. Rinse the tomatoes and add as well along with the thyme.

Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and app. 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and the crushed red pepper. Toss it all together with your clean bare hands and spread into a single layer.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides of the chicken with app. 3/4 teaspoon  and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. I am pretty liberal with the salt here because I feel chicken can be rather bland. Use at your own discretion and what works best for you and your family. Place the chicken amongst the vegetables , see my pictures for how I did it. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. App. 50-60 minutes.

*A little note on the chicken. I checked my chicken after 50 minutes and it was done so I removed to a plate and covered with aluminum foil to keep warm . I placed potatoes back in oven for another 10 mins. or so till they were done. Delicious! the tomatoes burst and were perfect served alongside the chicken and potatoes.

*to check doneness of chicken–a meat thermometer inserted into the breast at middle part should read 160 degrees.

4 Comments

Posted in chicken, One Pot Cooking

Tagged , , , ,

Hunter’s Stew made with Chicken–One Pot Cooking

Posted on November 18, 2014 | 1 comment

Perfect Winter Sunday kind of food. I make this delicious chicken stew in my Le Creuset on stove top and put right in the oven, by now you all must know how very much I love one pot meals.  All in it takes about 1 1/2 hours , that’s prep and cook and clean up! not bad at all for a lovely heartwarming stew that you and your family will love. I used Portobello mushrooms today but any kind of mushroom will do, cremini or baby bella mushrooms or just plain white button mushrooms will work out beautifully. The Portobello Mushrooms gave the sauce a richer darker color and more savoryIMG_5925 flavor. A lot of these ingredients should be in your pantry already and although it seems like a lot of ingredients and prep it really is pretty easy. We are going to the movies (my kind of Sunday) so I prepped in advance, cooked for 1/2 hour in the oven and will heat it up after the movie. Follow the steps here and if you’re going to prep in advance , it’s super easy.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken , cut up in 8’s giblets and backbone removed– I used a small organic chicken and ask butcher to cut out backbone.

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large Spanish onion , sliced (not too thick)

I used about 1/2 lb. of Portobello mushrooms, chopped up but use whatever mushrooms you’d like. You can slice or chop makes no difference. Sometimes the whiter mushrooms look prettier sliced. The Portobello Mushrooms gave off a more savory flavor and a darker color sauce.

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup dry white wine ( use whatever you have on hand as long as it’s not too sweet)

1 cup chicken broth

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice– you may want to add a little more tomatoes but 15 oz. should be enough.

app. 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

app. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 bay leaf

Directions:

You will need a pot (dutch oven) that goes from stove top to oven. Le Creuset is what I use and love. It must have a tight-fitting lid as well.

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I dry off my chicken with paper towels. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper.

In a Dutch Oven or a large oven-proof pot which I spray with cooking spray, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add 4 of the chicken pieces at a time, skin side down. Cook undisturbed until the skin is golden , about 5 – 7 minutes depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Flip the chicken pieces and cook until brown all over, app. 4 mins. more. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken. Set aside.

Remove the Dutch Oven from the heat and cool off pot for a few minutes. With some paper towels wipe the pot clean. I re-sprayed and added 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Heat over medium-high heat until shimmering again. Add the sliced onions, mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until everything softens and it smells amazing. App. 5- 8 minutes.

Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is thoroughly mixed with the onion and mushrooms, about 3 minutes.

Raise the heat to high and stir in the white wine, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and their juices, thyme, sage, bay leaf, app. 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add back in the browned chicken, submerging the pieces into the liquid. Cover and place the pot in the oven.

Bake until the chicken is tender , about 1/2 hour. Take off the lid and bake for another 10 minutes or so.IMG_5919

Remove the pot from the oven, and using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. Return the pot with the sauce to the stove top, turn the heat to high, and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

If sauce is too thick you can always add a little broth or water to thin it out.

Remove the bay leaf, spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Yum! you can serve with rice, quinoa, whatever you like. A green salad would be perfect with some nice crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.

1 Comment

Posted in chicken, One Pot Cooking, stew

Tagged , ,

Italian Wedding Soup with Chicken Balls

Posted on October 11, 2014 | 4 comments

Italian Wedding Soup with Chicken Balls

this is one of my absolute favorite recipes. It is a soup , which is also a full meal. It is hearty and pretty healthy.  It is one of my staples from September through April. It freezes well and you can just take it out of the freezer the night before, and you’ll have a wonderful meal the next evening. When you defrost it you will probably want to add broth/water to it. add a little at a time till you get the consisitency you like. Enjoy:)

Ingredients: chicken balls

1 lb. ground chicken

1/2 lb chicken sausage, casings removed

3 slices whole wheat bread for bread crumbs ( I put into food proccesor with steel blade for crumbs) i remove crusts . should be app. 1 cup of bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic ( 2 – 3 cloves)

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano ( fresh is best) but whatever you have will do

1/4 cup grated Parmesan ( again nothing beats fresh) but whatever you have will do here as well

3 tablespoons milk

1 extra large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Soup Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small -medium yellow onion minced

1 cup diced carrots ( 3 )

1 cup diced celery (2 stalks)

10 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine( use whatever you have open)

1 cup small pasta tubetini, ditalini, stars, etc.

5 ounces fresh spinach, washed and trimmed

*fresh dill ( I love the flavor) add at your own discretion about 1/4 cup minced fresh dill.

Directions:

preheat the oven to 350 degrees  put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

for the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage,bread crumbs, garlic, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, salt and pepper  all in a bowl and mix well with a fork.  I use a teaspoon, and make 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and drop onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. you should have about 30 to 40 small balls. bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. set them aside. (I made about 30 balls, they were a little larger this time out)

For the Soup:

 heat the olive oil over medium – low heat in a large heavy bottomed soup pot ( Le Creuset type pot) Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, about 10 minutes, don’t brown. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil, at this point I let soup cook a while to soften the vegetables, app. 1 hour. ( a low simmer) if you’re in a hurry you can probably do the whole soup in 1/2 hour , veggies will be soft enough to eat. if some of the liquid evaporates you can always add a little more broth.

chicken balls out of the ovenItalian Wedding Soup cooking

 Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook another 6 – 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the meatballs and simmer for another minute or so. taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for another minute or so, the spinach will just wilt. Ladle into soup bowls and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

4 Comments

Posted in chicken, pasta, soup

Tagged , , , ,

Chicken Stew in One Pot

Posted on October 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

This is one of  my go to meals when the weather turns a little cold and throughout the winter months.  When I need something to make that’s easy, healthy and comforting. Food for the soul I like to say. I serve this with crusty bread,  and a green salad. It’s very filling and makes a beautiful presentation for 2 or 6. Hope you enjoy, it’s really very easy , just chop up a few vegetables (carrots, onions, and celery, a basic *mirepoix) open a few cans and buy the chicken, don’t be intimidated by ingredients! This recipe inspired from Giada de Laurentis’s chicken stew. I have made a few changes to suit us.

*Basic Mirepoix is a combination of chopped carrots, celery and onions used to add flavor and aroma to stocks, sauces, soups and other foods. Usually comprised of 50% onions, 25% carrots, and 25% celery.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 stalks celery, small bite size pieces

1 carrot, peeled, cut into small bite size pieces

1 small white onion chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 can chopped tomatoes ( I use San Marzano diced) large 28 oz. can with juice

16 oz. chicken broth (1/2 box) but you may need a bit more so hold on to rest of the box.

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dry thyme

I use 4 chicken breasts with ribs ( I usually go to butcher order 2 chicken breasts with bone in, split in two) if you go to supermarket, either buy 2 large breasts, or 4 smaller ones. Skin on and Bones in! app. 1 1/2 – 2 lbs. total weight. You will be removing the skin, it will add to the flavor of the stew.

1 can red kidney beans drained ( if using organic, do not need to rinse) 15 oz.

1 can black beans drained ( if using organic , do not need to rinse either) 15 oz.

nice crusty whole grain bread

Directions:

Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy 5 1/2 quart. pot. ( Le Creuset again) heat over medium heat. When oil is hot add the onions, celery , and carrot (Mirepoix mixture). Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. You will taste again towards the end, so if you want to hold off on this step you can. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, tomato paste, bay leaf and thyme. Then add the chicken breasts , press to submerge in the sauce.

Bring the liquid to a slow simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring mixture occasionally, app. 30 minutes. Using tongs if you have them, if you don’t , buy them, remove the chicken to a plate and allow to cool ( about 15 minutes) Discard the bay leaf, add the beans to the pot ( remember to drain) and bring to a simmer until the liquid is reduced to a stew-like consistency, probably another 15 minutes or so.

Discard the chicken skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew back to a slow simmer. Season again with salt and pepper to taste.

I usually cook , then turn off heat, and bring it back to simmer right before serving.

This should serve 6 well. I serve with a nice crusty whole grain bread. Everything is in the pot, veggies, and protein. Enjoy! it’s delicious. Don’t be put off, it’s really easy to prepare, can be made ahead of time.  If it’s made a few days ahead you may want to add the chicken broth to thin out.

Leave a comment

Posted in chicken, soup, vegetables

Tagged , , ,