Easy Kung Pao Chicken

I love Chinese Food, especially the spicy variety, but found making it time consuming. I have adapted this recipe to make it quick and easy without losing the flavor.

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds of chicken tenders cut into 1 inch pieces
1.5 tablespoons corn starch
3 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onions(include the light green part)
3 cloves of garlic,minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes( use more or less to suit your taste)
1.5 teaspoons of powdered ginger
3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of reduced salt soy sauce
1/3 cup sriracha hot chili sauce
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts.

Preparation:
Combine chicken and cornstarch in bowl and toss until chicken is coated
Heat oil in large non stick sauté pan(no wok needed)
Add chicken and stir fry for about 5 minutes over medium heat until chicken is cooked through
Remove chicken to small bowl and set aside
Return sauté pan to heat and add in green onions, garlic, red pepper, and ginger
Saute for 15 to 20  seconds
Add  this to bowl with set aside chicken
Combine vinegar and soy sauce in small bowl and stir well
Add to sauté pan with reserved chicken mixture and stir well
Add sriracha sauce and combine thoroughly
Add in peanuts
Heat thoroughly
Serve with brown rice

Serves 4
                         

Butt Chicken

Grilling season is not too far away and easy recipes that are still tasty after grilling are hard to come by.The problem with grilling is that the normal propane grill heats up very quickly and burns very hot.Keeping food moist is key.This recipe uses a soft drink to do the job.


Ingredients:

One whole fryer chicken about 3.5 pounds
1 tsp each of paprika,garlic powder,and thyme
1 tsp each of onion powder,dry mustard,salt and pepper
Spray can olive oil
1 can(12 oz) Coke or Pepsi

Preparation:

Trim excess fat and skin from chicken and discard giblets
Spray with olive oil to coat outside of chicken
Rub chicken with spice mixture
Open Coke or Pepsi and pour about 3 oz out of can
Stick the soda can into the large opening of the chicken(this is actually the head of the chicken and not the butt,but I like the name Butt Chicken better) so that the chicken is upright
Place the chicken with can side down supporting the chicken in a roasting pan
Place pan on grill and close the lid
Grill chicken for 70 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F
Remove chicken from grill and remove can from the chicken
Let sit for 5 minutes
Carve chicken and serve

Chicken Breasts with Dried Cranberries and Balsamic Sauce

We eat a lot of chicken in my family and it is hard to come up with anything new to serve.This recipe is easy and appeals to both the sweet and sour tastes buds.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breast,trimmed and tenderized with a meat mallet
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of good Balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Honey
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

Preparation :
Salt and pepper chicken on both sides
Dredge chicken in flour shaking off any excess
Saute chicken in olive oil for about 1 minute per side,or until golden brown
Place chicken in roasting pan and roast in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes
In saucepan,combine balsamic vinegar,honey and dried cranberries
Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce thickens
Remove chicken from oven and place on serving dish
Drizzle chicken with thickened sauce add garnish and serve

Serves 4

Walnut Crusted Chicken

I have avoided nuts for most of my life.They have a lot of calories and a lot of fat.For example,1/4 cup of walnuts has 200 calories and 20 grams of fat.It turns out that they have an abundance of omega 3,a good fat and a lot of magnesium.Good sources of omega-3's come mainly from fatty fish.Not being a fish or seafood eater, I needed to find an alternative for these important nutrients.I have begun using nuts;mostly walnuts and almonds as a coating for chicken or pork. The recipe below is a tasty version of walnut crusted chicken.

Walnut Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of walnuts
2 tablespoon of real maple syrup
2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
4 boneless chicken breasts,trimmed and tenderized using a meat mallet.Do not pound to 1/4 inch as usually recommended.This is too thin to be moist and tasty using this technique
Salt and pepper to taste
Non stick cooking oil spray to coat
your baking pan
Preparation :

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Spray baking pan with cooking oil
Finely chop the walnuts in a mini food processor
Whisk together syrup,mustard and salt and pepper
Cover chicken breasts with this mixture on all sides
Place the chopped walnuts into a shallow bowl
One by one, place the chicken breasts in the bowl and press the walnut into the chicken until covered on all sides
Place the chicken in the baking dish and place in oven
Cook chicken for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts
Remove the chicken from oven and onto platter and serve

Serves 4

Chicken with Carmelized Onions and Basil Pesto

This recipe incorporates fresh basil pesto and caramelized onions -two of my favorite things.  I thought I could not make Basil Pesto until summer, but I was able to find a large bunch in my local grocery store. The recipe follows.

  Basil Pesto 

Ingredients:

 2 cups of basil pesto tightly packed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup toasted pine nuts. Be very careful because they burn easily. I put them in the toaster
  Oven for only 2 minutes at 350 degrees
¼ cup chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth

Chicken with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms

 Ingredients:

1 lb of boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion sliced
8 oz of button mushrooms cleaned and sliced
4 tablespoons extra virgin oil
12 oz farfalle, cooked al dente

Preparation:

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to large fry pan. Heat until hot but not smoking
Cook chicken in large fry pan until lightly browned .Remove and set   aside
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan and heat oil over medium high heat
Sauté onions until they take on the color of real maple syrup about 10 minutes
In separate pan, cook mushrooms using the final tablespoon of olive oil
Mushrooms have a lot of water in them. You must cook them until no more steam is
formed.  They will then start to brown. This takes about 15 minutes
Add mushrooms and chicken to the pan of caramelized onions and heat thoroughly

Assembly:

Place cooked farfalle in a large bowl
Add ½ cup of pesto and stir until pasta is a shade of light green
Add chicken, onion and mushroom mixture to bowl
Mix thoroughly and serve 

Serves 4

                                                             Photo by Buzz Krivonak

   

BBQ Drumettes

I prefer the drummette version of the wing, since it has the meaty portion there. I use a homemade rub for the my wings.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon  sweet paprika
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
2 packages(about 12) chicken drummettes

Preparation:
lace first five ingredients in a large zip lock bag and shake vigorously to mix contents. Place drummettes in the bag and shake to cover doing one drummette at a time. Place drummettes on baking sheet that you have lightly sprayed with oil. Cook in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. Using previous post for BBQ sauce, mop each drummette with sauce and cook 15 minutes more, turning drummettes every 5 minutes and repeat mopping with sauce.

Serve warm with ranch dressing, if desired.