Halal Street Chicken

Late-night recipe searching on the web yields some pretty delicious results. I have a feeling our version turned out less greasy than the original street food version of this Halal Chicken recipe-- but ours was incredibly flavorful and a nice break from mac and cheese or ramen.

Halal Street Chicken
adapted from Serious Eats Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice with White Sauce


Chicken:
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh oregano *or dried oregano...or Italian Seasoning for those watching the budget*
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped *we always add more garlic*
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper (roughly 1/2 tsp of each)
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced or sliced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Rice:
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp tumeric *can and will die almost anything yellow, be careful which dishes you use and always clean up spills right away!*
1/4 ground cumin
1 1/2 cups long-grain Basmati rice
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and Pepper (roughly 1/2 of each)

Sauce:
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley *same story as for Oregano above*


Serving Condiments:
shredded iceberg lettuce
1 large tomato, cut into wedges
pita bread (optional)
hot sauce (optional- but who doesn't like hot sauce!)

Very first thing, you'll need to marinate the chicken. Slice or dice chicken, whatever you prefer. Blend the lemon juice, oregano, coriander, garlic, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Pour marinade into freezer gallon-sized ziplock bag and add the raw chicken pieces. Marinade for 1-4 hours in the fridge.

I opted for getting the condiments and sauce ready first-- hoping some of the dried herbs in the yogurt mixture would release more flavor with more time.

Spoon the marinated chicken from the ziplock bag into a medium-high heat skillet. Season with salt and pepper and cook until lightly browned on all sides and no pink is visible when a larger piece is cut in half. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add turmeric and cumin to melted butter and cook for 1 minute. Lightly toast the rice in the spiced butter by stirring frequently for about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and any salt and pepper you desire. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let rest 15 minutes. Stir cooked rice with a fork.

That's it!  Now it's all about assembling. I'm of the mindset that each person should assemble their own dinner using the proportions that they'd prefer. Aside from eating out, I'm never a fan of having my plate prepared for me.

Enjoy, it's delicious!

(As a side note for those watching their waistlines, this could be served with much more lettuce and less rice/chicken as a salad. There was plenty of flavor with the rice/chicken/sauce to go around with much more lettuce and tomatoes.)

SuperBowl Spread

I'm a sucker for junk food-- especially when life is stressful or uncertain as it has often been in the past couple of years. Given the nature of the food served at SuperBowl parties, it's easy to see why it's my favorite food holiday!  Here are some peaks at our spread for the 2012 SuperBowl...

We have chips, guacamole, chili cheese dip, hummus and veggies, and my husband's own Buffalo Chicken Meatballs. All amazing!

Spicy Southwestern Lasagna

Spicy Southwestern Lasagna
adapted from the Texas Pete Hot Sauce recipe


1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (would also work vegetarian style, sub black beans)
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
3-4 Tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
1 small poblano pepper, diced (we used ancho peppers)
1 cup fresh corn (feel free to use the whole can of corn)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (orginial recipe called for 2 CUPS heavy cream, can you believe it?!)
1/4 cup Chipotle Tobasco sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp sugar
12 corn tortillas (small taco size is fine)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

In ziplock bag or between sheets of saran wrap, pound chicken to 1/4 inch. In shallow bowl, combine flour, 1 tsp salt, and cumin. Coat chicken pieces in the mixture, reserving remaining mixture for later.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in frying pan. Brown chicken over medium-high heat about 1 minute per side until browned and cooked through. Set cooked chicken aside. (In retrospect, it would have turned out the same to just bake or boil the chicken and avoid the mess and fat from frying it here.)

Add 1 Tbsp butter back to frying pan and add onion, pepper, corn, garlic, and 1 Tbsp reserved flour mixture over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes or until vegetables have softened.

Add tomatoes with their juice, yogurt, Tobasco, broth, salt, and sugar. Stir and cook until sauce has thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

Dice reserved chicken and add to sauce.

Line bottom of large casserole dish with 4 tortillas. Spread 1/2 chicken and sauce mixture and top with 4 more tortillas. Add second 1/2 of chicken and sauce mixture then top with remaining tortillas.

Sprinkle cheese over top. Bake 15-20 minutes until cheese has melted and lasagna is heated through.

Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce

Amazingly delicious chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce for grown-ups.  If you're familiar with breaded chicken, this is probably a really simple recipe.  It was my first attempt at bread crumbs or Panko crumbs, so it took a little more out of me. The sauce is spectacular.

Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce
from Bon Appetit's "Everyday Meals" booklet
4 servings


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise in half
1 egg
1 Tbsp Italian parsley, finely chopped (not necessary, we didn't have this on hand)
2 tsp plus 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp coarse-grained mustard
1 Tbsp butter, unsalted and chilled

Pound chicken into uniform 1/3-1/2 inch thickness using meat mallet or rolling pin. (Chicken can be pounded in a ziplock bag or between 2 sheets of saran wrap.)

Whisk egg, parsley, and 2 tsp Dijon mustard in large, shallow bowl.  In a separate large, shallow bowl or baking pan, set aside 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs. Have little dish with salt and pepper that can be discarded after use.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Place chicken in egg mixture and turn to coat.
Then sprinkle coated chicken with salt and pepper and dip into panko crumbs, turning again to coat.

Add coated chicken pieces to heated skillet and cook until brown and cooked through, roughly 4 minutes per side.

Whisk broth, syrup, coarse-grained mustard, and remaining 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard in a small bowl.

After all chicken has cooked, add sauce to chicken pan and boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, stirring occasionally.  (About 4 minutes.)  Add butter and whisk until melted.

Serve with sauce on the side or poured over top of chicken.

The pan sauce is delicious with the chicken and also goes really well with mashed potatoes. 

Butternut Squash Soup

This is an old favorite fall recipe and an interesting twist on plain squash soup.  I've made it probably a dozen times on chilly Saturday afternoons in October or November.  It's a rather time consuming recipe as the squash needs time to bake and the base needs to be pureed.  We got an immersion blender for Christmas-- so I'm hoping that really speeds up the process!

Butternut Squash Soup with Ancho Chile and Chicken
2 2lb. butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
5 cups chicken stock
1 potato, peeled and diced
+2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 cups roasted chicken, diced (chicken breast works, too)
2 Tbsp sage
2 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp cumin seed, ground
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 zucchini, diced
1/2 cup light sour cream, for garnish
cilantro, for garnish
2 Tbsp toasted, shelled pumpkin seeds, for garnish (I just used whole, toasted seeds from the squash itself)



Preheat oven to 375 and grease a large glass pan. Place halved and seeded squash cut-side up in glass pan. Poke squash inside with a fork half a dozen times and lightly salt and pepper. Bake 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. (I've set them outside before to speed up the cooling process)

(Optional: Rinse squash seeds to remove all pulp. Toss lightly with canola oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil and bake in 375 oven for 10 minutes or until you just smell toasted seeds in the kitchen.)

Meanwhile, bring chicken stock, garlic cloves, and potatoes to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Once squash is cool enough to touch, scoop the pulp into the simmering stock and simmer 5 more minutes.

Puree soup base in small batches in a blender or food processor (or use a fancy immersion blender if you got one for Christmas!) and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and sweat 5 minutes on low-medium heat.  Add jalapeno, chicken, spices, and zucchini. Cook 1 more minute.

Add pureed soup base and simmer 10 minutes.

To serve, garnish with sour cream, cilantro, and toasted seeds.

Spicy Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato

taken from Bon Appetite's 2008 Tastes of the World
(I made this soup before the idea of this blog was formed-- so there are no step by step pictures. I wanted to include it because the soup was SO tasty and I loved the colorful presentation!)


Ingredients:
2 T. vegetable oil
3 T. shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T lemongrass, minced (we didn't use, turned out fine)
2 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 T Thai yellow curry paste
2 T curry powder
1 tsp hot chili paste
2 13.5-14 ounce cans coconut milk, unsweetened (comes in low/non fat, too)
5 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 T fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
3 cups snow peas, trimmed
2 cups red-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled and 1/2" cubes
1 pound dried rice vermicelli noodles/rice stick noodles (Thai Kitchen puts out cheap noodles)
3/4 pound boneless chicken thighs (thighs are pretty gross, we used chicken breast)
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 red Thai bird chilies (or 2 jalapeno chilies)
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

Instructions:
Heat oil over medium heat in large saucepan or stock pot, add shallots, garlic, lemongrass (if you've got it), and ginger. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, and chili paste. Add 1/2 cup of the coconut milk (the thick liquid from the top of the can) and stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Keep warm.

Cook snow peas in boiling salt water until bright green (just about 20 seconds). Remove peas with a strainer and rinse under cold water to cool and prevent from over-cooking.

Using same boiling water pot, add sweet potatoes and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Remove potatoes with a strainer and rinse under cold water.

Using same boiling water pot, boil and cook noodles until tender but till firm to bite, about 6 minutes.  Drain and rinse noodles under cold water. (If cooking instructions on back of noodle's package are different, follow the package instructions!)

Return to your warm broth, bringing it to a simmer. Add chicken pieces and simmer until cooked, about 10 minutes.

Add sweet potato to broth and stir to heat, about 1 minute.

Divide cooked noodles into individual serving bowls.  Divide snow peas and hot soup among bowls, placing on top of the noodles. Scatter the red onions, green onions, cilantro, and chilies over soup. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

Chicken Strawberry Salad

(adapted from a local Italian restaurant where I worked as a line chef)

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast, cooked and sliced

Fresh greens, washed and dried (whatever works!)

Strawberries, washed and sliced, with stems and hulls removed

Walnut bits

Crumbled chevre (aka plain goat cheese)

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

Balsamic vinegar (1/4 to 1/3 of the total dressing liquid)

olive oil (3/4 to 2/3 of the total dressing liquid)

salt and pepper

minced garlic cloves

spoonful dijon mustard

pinch of sugar

I've never met a cheese I didn't like. When life allows, I'd love to have my own goats and figure out how to make this stuff for myself!

 No picture-by-picture steps for the dressing.  I don't like set amounts in recipes-- throw the dressing ingredients together and adjust based on your taste. End up with too much dressing?  Keep it in the fridge and use it on any other salad in the next week.

 Toss together the greens, chicken, and strawberries with the dressing. Stack salad on plates and sprinkle with walnuts and use your fingers to (generously) crumble bits of chevre over the top.

It's a great summer meal (greens and strawberries from the farmer's market?) and travels well so long as you hold off on adding the dressing, walnuts, and cheese until just before serving.