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Hey everybody. I am so excited to be writing to you today. You should see the stack of recipes I have beside me right now, actually you will see them soon. OK, first off, it was a chicken buying bonanza at Kroger. Split breasts, boneless breasts, tenders and boneless thighs. I was particularly excited about the thighs. I have quite a few recipes using thighs and have been wanting to try them. I keep a three ring binder full of recipes I cut out of magazines or print from the internet. My goal this year is to get through that binder. We have started this week using the recipes.
I bought 4 packages of chicken thighs. They seem to come with 5 thighs per package. I divided them out into 5 packages of 4 thighs in each.
Just a quick aside – I told you I would let you know how the Chicken Parmesan Stromboli turned out – it was good.
A bonus recipe not really related to any sales but wanted to share. I am a southern girl, through and through. I love black eyed peas and collards on New Year’s Day. I also like to try new things and new recipes. I made black eye pea risotto this year – it was OUTSTANDING.
2 cups cider vinegar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 TBS dried crushed red pepper
4 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
(I got this from Southern Living)
Chicken Ragu
Last night I made Chicken Ragu, from Rachael Ray. I saw her make this last week and thought it looked really good. It was and I will be having the leftovers for lunch today. The recipe is on the Food Network website but I am going to type it out here because the recipe if for a mushroom ragu and the chicken ragu and it can get a little confusing because she has you cooking both recipes at the same time.
1 pound whole wheat or whole grain rigatoni or other short cut pasta (I used the Barilla plus pasta, penne)
2 TBS olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 pound pancetta, a couple thick slices, finely diced
1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, chopped into small bite size pieces.
1 medium to large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled (I used 2 carrots and I chopped them instead of grating)
2 – 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup Marsala, or a couple glugs (I had red wine. I also buy those mini bottles of wine. They come in a pack of 4. One little bottle is about a cup. For this recipe I just poured one whole bottle into the chicken.)
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them, I used Kroger)
grated parmesan
handful basil, torn
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook to al dente, drain and keep warm.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 turns of pan, over medium-high heat. Brown the pancetta 3 to 4 minutes then add chicken and brown evenly 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions to the chicken. Grate the carrot and stir in with the rosemary, bay and a couple of cloves of garlic, grated or finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper and cook until vegetables are soft. Add the Marsala to chicken and vegetables, stir and reduce a minute then add tomatoes and crush with wooden spoon (I used my hands). Simmer a few minutes to thicken and combine flavors. Toss the pasta with the chicken ragu and cheese. Garnish with some torn basil and serve immediately.
A note from Amy – if you’re going to have leftovers, I would add basil to individual servings.
Here is a recipe we have tried and is a favorite in my house.
1 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds skinned and boned chicken thighs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Vegetable cooking spray
When I went to my recipes to find this one, I also found a collection of chicken thigh recipes. Let us know if you try any of these and how they turn out.
In this collection, the following are made using boneless, skinless thighs:
Seoul-ful Chicken, Quick Coq au Vin, Honey Pecan Chicken Thighs, Chicken Paprikash Topped Potatoes
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
using boneless breasts
I have been wanting to try this recipe from Southern Plate, we are trying it this week.
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can substitute leftover ckn or turkey – about three cups)
3 green onions
Small can water chestnuts
1 Cup mushrooms
2 T brown sugar
3 T Soy Sauce
Rice Sticks and oil to cook them in
Head of lettuce to serve them in
If you bought some split breasts and cooked it to have precooked chicken in your freezer, here’s a great appetizer (the Super Bowl is coming up)
24 won ton wrappers (we tested with Frieda’s Asian Specialties)
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons chili sauce with garlic (we tested with Hokan)
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded napa cabbage
Parmesan Chicken
Using boneless breasts and broccoli:
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
Unsalted butter
Good olive oil
Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry
8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted pignoli (pine) nuts
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional
Sirloin is on sale at Publix. Here is a recipe I want to try.
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice, cooked and kept warm
1 cup hoisin sauce
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 small can (6 ounces) pineapple juice
1/3 cup honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds top sirloin, trimmed and sliced thin
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
dash of red pepper flakes
3 cups red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame
3 scallions, large slice
sesame seeds
Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup
Hillshire Farms sausage is on sale at Kroger. I bought some as it is something my son will eat. One of my goals for this year is to eat more greens. I saw a show about the people in Greece and they are very healthy and live a long time and one of the things they do is eat greens every day. So I bought some Kale. I’ve never tried or cooked Kale before but had a recipe from Gourmet Magazine for a Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup or caldo verde. I let the kids help me strip the leaves from the stems and I let them cut up the sausage (my kids are 6 and 3 1/2). My son (the oldest) actually loved the soup. He didn’t eat any of the potatoes but he did eat the sausage and kale. Here is the recipe. It is great for this cold weather.
It is very easy.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 lb. chourico or linguica (smoked Portuguese sausages) or kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups water
1 lb. kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves very thinly sliced (we just tore them into pieces, some big some little since the kids did it)
*accompaniment – hot sauce
Heat 1 TBSP oil in 5 qt. heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then brown sausage, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add 2 TBSP oil to fat in pot and cook onion and garlic with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring often, until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add potatoes, water, and 1 tsp salt and simmer, covered until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Mash some potatoes into soup to thicken, then add kale and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in sausage and cook until just heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle with remaining TBSP oil and season with salt and pepper.
ENJOY.
