Entree – Chicken

Yaki Tori Chicken

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Marinade in a savory sweet sauce, these chicken and scallion skewers (Negima) are hard to resist! It’s great for grilling outdoor or under the broiler.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken tenders (at room temperature)
  • 9 green onions/scallions
  • neutral flavor oil
  • 1/2 c soy sauce
  • 1/2 c mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
  • 1/4 c sake
  • 1/4 c water
  • 2 tsp brown sugar (packed)
  • short bamboo skewers

Directions:

  1. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.
  2. In a small saucepan, add the mirin, soy sauce, sake, water, brown sugar, and the green part of 1 scallion.
  3. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
  4. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half. It will take about 30 minutes. The sauce will be thicker and glossy.
  5. Let it cool to room temperature before using.
  6. Reserve 1/3 of the sauce in a small bowl for final coating.  (If the sauce for final coating came in contact with the raw chicken, you have to need to boil the sauce again to avoid contamination.)
  7. Cut the chicken into 1/2 thick, 1 in square chunks.
  8. Season with salt.
  9. Cut the white and light green part of scallions into 1 inch pieces.
  10. On a flat work surface, fold each slice of chicken in half.
  11. Insert skewer into chicken at 45 degrees angle, and press down on the skewer to pierce thorough the center.
  12. Alternate each chicken slice with a piece of scallion lined up perpendicular to the skewer. Each skewer will hold about 4 chicken slices and 3 scallion pieces.
  13. Grease the grate of the broiler/wire rack (or oven-safe cooling rack) to avoid the chicken sticking on the grate.
  14. Place the skewers on top.
  15. Set the broiler to high and wait until the heating elements are hot.
  16. Broil for 6 minutes.
  17. Once one side has browned, turn over and grill until cooked through to the center.
  18. Baste with some sauce and lightly grill once more.
  19. Continue to broil for 3-4 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
  20. Transfer the skewers to a serving plate and brush the chicken on top with the reserved sauce (with a clean brush).

Serves:   11 – 12 skewers

Source:  Just One Cookbook

Citrus Pepper Marinade for Chicken

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An easy way to spice up your chicken.  Make the marinade, then fix the rest of dinner.  Have a glass of wine while you BBQ!

Ingredients:

  • Juice and zest of 2 large limes
  • Juice and zest of 2 large oranges
  • 1/2 c olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, minced (for spicier chicken, leave seeds and ribs)
  • Dash your favorite hot pepper sauce or to taste
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Place chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together lime juice and zest, orange juice and zest, oil, oregano, garlic, jalapeño and pepper sauce.
  3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Pour marinade over chicken in bag and lay flat in a shallow dish.
  5. Refrigerate for at least 90 minutes or up to four hours, turning occasionally.
  6. Heat grill to high.
  7. Then lower heat on one side of grill by either pushing coals to one side (charcoal) or turning one side down (gas).
  8. Remove chicken from marinade.
  9. Grill on hot side of grill until nicely browned.
  10. Then move to cooler side and close grill.
  11. Grill until internal temperature reaches 165°.  Alternately, bake at 425˚ for 20-30 minutes.
  12. Serve hot.

 

Source: Market Mill Creek – Culinary Resource Center

Pizza For a Crowd

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This is pizza for a crowd!  Two chicken pizza, two vegetarian pizza, two pepperoni, two sausage, two white pizza.  You can make them (with a little help) or let the whole group participate.  Below are just some suggested ingredients and combinations.  Mix and match, add anything else – different cheese, meat, veggies, even an egg on top.

Ingredients:

  • 10           16 oz balls of pizza dough, or ready made, or in a tube, or make from scratch (see the internet) or make your own with Bisquick (see below)
  •                 cornmeal
  •                 olive oil
  • 1 #10      tomato sauce (total) (about 12 cups)
  • 1 1/2       jar roasted garlic (total)
  • 5# lb       Mozzarella cheese (total)
  • 2 lb         Parmesan cheese
  • 3 lb         chicken meat (think Costco)
  • 1/2 Jar    marinated artichoke hearts – drained
  • 1 lb         mushrooms – sliced
  • 1 lb         onion – red or yellow -thinly sliced
  • 1/2         green pepper – thinly sliced
  •  a lot       fresh basil –
  • 11           tomatoes – Roma – sliced or chopped
  • 3             small zucchinis thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 lb   pepperoni
  • 1 1/2 lb   Italian sausage – cooked
  • 2 pkg     white/ Alfredo sauce mix
  • 1 lb        bacon – cooked, crumbled

Directions:

2 Chicken pizza: 3 lbs chicken meat, diced, 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce, roasted garlic, 2 lb Mozzarella, 7/8 cup Parmesan (or so)

2 Vegetarian pizza: green pepper, mushroom, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce, roasted garlic, 2 lb Mozzarella, 7/8 cup Parmesan (or so)

2 Pepperoni pizza: pepperoni, 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce, roasted garlic, 2 lb Mozzarella, 7/8 cup Parmesan (or so)

2 Sausage pizza: sausage, 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce, roasted garlic, 2 lb Mozzarella, 7/8 cup Parmesan (or so)

2 White pizza:  Alfredo sauce, mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes, roasted garlic, 2 lb Mozzarella, 7/8 cup Parmesan (or so)

Preheat the oven 400°.

Roll out the dough to 16 inches.

Place on pizza stone or baking sheet covered with parchment paper/foil.

Sprinkle a little corn meal on stone/sheet.

Place dough round on cornmeal.

Brush with a small amount of olive oil.

Bake for about 5 minutes to firm up the surface.

Top with tomato sauce or Alfredo sauce.

Top with choice of topping – ending with cheese.  (some argue the cheese should be before the toppings – your choice.)

Bake about 15 minutes – until done.

Serves:  Each 16 oz ball makes a 16 inch circle.  You know how much you eat.

Bisquick Pizza Dough

Especially good for making pizza with kids – indestructible.  Great for making individual pizza.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 c warm water (110° – 115°)
  • 1 pkg dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 c Bisquick
  • flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 425°.
  2. Dissolve yeast in warm water.
  3. Add Bisquick and beat vigorously.
  4. Turn dough onto well floured surface and knead until smooth – about 20 times.
  5. Divide dough into 4 pieces.
  6. Roll each piece paper thin. into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter. (Letting the dough rest for a few minutes after kneading will help in rolling it out.)
  7. Place on ungreased baking sheet or in shallow pie pan.
  8. Finish with toppings.
  9. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until crust is brown and filling hot and bubbly.

Serves: 4  Note the smaller diameter

Source: Bisquick Cook Book

Oven Fried Chicken

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 Real fried chicken is still the BEST, but this one is the good for fried chicken taste and lower calories .

Ingredients:

  • Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying the rack and chicken
  • 6  c broken bagel chips or Melba toast
  • 4  c rice-corn crispy cereal, such as Crispix, Chex
  • 3 Tab oil
  • 5 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 c mayonnaise
  • 4 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 12 bone-in, skinless chicken pieces, about 6 ounces each (see note)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. Set a flat rack on a foil-lined baking sheet.
  3. Spray the rack generously with cooking spray.
  4. Finely grind the bagel chips and cereal together in a food processor.
  5. Transfer the crumbs to a gallon-size plastic bag.
  6. Add the oil, salt, cayenne, paprika and ground pepper and toss to mix thoroughly.
  7. Whisk the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard together in a medium shallow bowl.
  8. Add the chicken to the mayonnaise mixture and turn to coat all the pieces evenly.
  9. Drop the chicken into the plastic bag, seal and shake until each piece is evenly coated.
  10. Place the coated pieces on the prepared rack.
  11. Spray the chicken pieces evenly with cooking spray.
  12. Bake until the coating crisps and browns and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the pieces registers 160 degrees F, 35 to 40 minutes.
  13. Transfer to a platter and serve hot or at room temperature.

Cook the chicken on the bone for a real moist and juicy chicken experience. If you can’t find bone-in skinless chicken, simply pull off the skin before coating. Chicken breast halves can be quite large. To get a healthy 6 ounce portion, cut the breast pieces crosswise with a heavy knife into pieces about the same size as a chicken thigh.

Serves:  12

Source:  Food Network Kitchen

Grilled Chicken

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The trick here is to get the chicken cooked, nice and brown, without drying it out.  Keep basting!  Don’t leave the grill – have others bring food/drink to you!  We even taught the relatives in Sweden how to do this!

Ingredients:

  • chicken pieces – breast and/or legs (drumstick and thighs more difficult to control – cut the leg after it is cooked)
  • Butter – melted (add lemon juice)
  • Lemon Juice

Directions:

  1. Salt and pepper the chicken.
  2. Place chicken on  a charcoal grill over medium heat fire.  The number of seconds you can keep your hand over the coals will tell you how hot they are. Two or three seconds is a hot fire, four or five seconds is medium hot.  (Gas grills with have a setting.)
  3. Baste with lemon/butter.
  4. Turn after about 10 minutes.
  5. Baste with lemon/butter.
  6. When brown on both sides, turn the pieces on edge.
  7. Baste with lemon butter.
  8. Cook until instant thermometer reads 165°

Source:   Jim Kleerup from his father Bertel J Kleerup

 

Taco Bar

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This is a double winner!  Guests plate their own food (not you) and they think you are a wonderful cook because they get exactly what they like!  Start with a plate, lay out the food as you would put it on your taco – tortilla, meat, cheese, sour cream, tomato etc, salsa, lettuce.  End with the napkin and silverware.  You can serve as many or as few toppings (or add your own favorites) as the occasion calls for.  Disclosure:  this is not authentic Mexican food – but it is good.  

Elements of the Taco Bar

Meat

  • ground beef/taco seasoning
  • cooked chicken, shredded, with salsa verde (green chili sauce)
  • shredded pork (carnitas)
  • cod or other flaky white fish

Toppings

  • thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
  • diced tomato
  • diced onion, white and/or red and/or green
  • cilantro
  • guacamole
  • diced avocado
  • diced chilis
  • sliced olives
  • salsa
  • sour cream
  • cheese, cheese and more cheese – jack, cheddar, Mexican Mix etc.
  • jalapenos ( “tamed” pickled jalapenos or slice up the fresh ones.)
  • hot sauce – have a variety
  • cabbage – if you have fish
  • lime wedge – if you have fish

Hard and soft shell tortillas – corn, wheat, whole wheat, etc.  – figure 2-3 per person.

Chicken Dijon

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This easy to prepare Dijon Chicken has just 5 ingredients but is packed with flavor-the perfect easy weeknight meal!

Ingredients:

  • 10 slices English Muffin bread, crust trimmed
  • 1/5 c Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 c sour cream
  • 1/4 c wine vinegar
  • 6 chicken breast

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 °.
  2. Spray a 9 by 13″ casserole dish with nonstick spray.
  3. Line the pan with bread slices.
  4. Lay chicken in a single layer on the bread.
  5. Season liberally with pepper.
  6. In a small bowl combine mustard, sour cream and vinegar.
  7. Mix until uniform.
  8. Poor over chicken to thoroughly coat chicken.
  9. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Serves: 6

Source:  I figured it out from the list of ingredients.

 

 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup (for 50)

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It tastes like you had been simmering it all day!  Great for dinner in the middle of a snow storm. Quantity for 30 in parenthesis.

Ingredients:

  • 4 large yellow onions, chopped (2)
  • 5 stalks celery, chopped (2)
  • 6 quarts chicken broth (6)
  • 5-6 lbs. chicken meat, cooked  (Costco for the win!) (2 – 3)
  • 1 lb. mixed frozen vegetables
  • 1 lb. frozen peas
  • 2 pkgs refrigerated hash browns / skillet potatoes
  • 1 c flour (1/2)
  • 3 sticks butter (1 c)
  • 2-3 Tab olive oil
  • 4 Tab poultry seasoning (1 1/2 Tab)
  • 1 Tab black pepper (2 tsp)
  • 1 Tab garlic salt (2 tsp)
  • 4 oz chicken bouillon (1 oz)
  • 4 oz vegetable bouillon (1 oz)

Directions: 

  1. Saute onions in olive oil to light brown.
  2. Add butter, flour; simmer.
  3. Add chicken broth.
  4. Add poultry seasoning, pepper, garlic salt, bouillon.
  5. Bring to boil.
  6. Add vegies, potatoes, etc.
  7. Bring to boil.
  8. Season to taste.
  9. Throw in chicken; serve when chicken is hot.

Serves:  50

Source:   Margie

Tipsy Hens

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Did this with chicken breasts – worked just fine.  Looks a little odd – dark, because of the soy sauce.  Made an interesting display when sliced – two toned.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Cornish game hens
  • 1/2 c soy sauce
  • 3/4 c olive oil
  • 1/2 c gin
  • 2 sm. onions, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 Tab sugar or honey
  • 1 Tab Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

  1. Place hens in large zip-lock bag.
  2. Combine marinade ingredients and pour into bag.
  3. Squeeze out air and seal.
  4. Marinate, refrigerated, overnight.
  5. Remove hens from bag and place in roasting pan.
  6. Bake at 350°  for 50 to 60 minutes, basting regularly with the marinade.

Serves:  4

Source:  cooks.com

Fajitas

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Fajitas, like many old, hand-me-down recipes, has many “true” recipes.  This is not one of them.  Fajitas mixes work just fine – especially when you are in a hurry or doing something for fun.  This recipe is for a large, co-operative group that will help slice and cook.  We like everything on it – salsa, sour cream, guacamole, grated cheese, cilantro, hot sauce.  Messy to eat, but soooo good.

Ingredients:

  • 3 c vegetable oil, divided
  • 8 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 18 medium onions sliced thin
  • 12 small tomatoes – cut in 1/4
  • 6 pound medium shrimp – peeled, no tails
  • 6 lb chicken breast, sliced – or chicken tenders
  • 6 lb beef  – sirloin, sliced 1/4 inch thick by 3 inches long (same size as shrimp/chicken)
  • 1 1/4 c taco seasoning mix
  • water as directed on mix label
  • 9 dz flour tortillas, warmed
  • 6 dz corn tortillas, warmed

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan mix the fajitas seasoning with the water required.
  2. Heat .
  3. Heat half of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Add  green bell peppers, and onion.
  5. Cook, stirring frequently until peppers are hot, but still slightly crisp, about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
  7. Pour   1/3 of the remaining oil into the skillet, and add the shrimp.
  8. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink and opaque.
  9. Reduce heat to low, and return 1/3 of the peppers and onion to the skillet.
  10. Stir in 1/3 of taco seasoning and tomato so that everything is evenly coated.
  11. Simmer until  heated.
  12. Repeat with the chicken.
  13. Repeat with the beef.
  14. Serve in warm tortillas and toppings.

Serves:  50

Source:  A lot of margaritas at our favorite Mexican restaurant.