Whole Roasted Chicken

I usually cook with boneless chicken breasts because of the convenience, but once in a while I'll cook a whole chicken like this. It's easy, and the chicken turns out moist and tender. Also because I cook veggies in and around the chicken, the whole meal cooks in one pan.

1 roasting chicken (about 3 pounds)
1/2 celery rib, cut in pieces
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, cut in 2" pieces
fresh herbs, optional
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in roasting pan, breast side up. Place veggies and herbs (I like rosemary) in the cavity and any extras on the sides. Season liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook for at least for 90 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Chicken is usually falling off the bone.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

This was really yummy! Recipe adapted from here.

2 carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium potato, cubed
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas

3 Tbls butter
3 Tbls flour
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cups heavy cream (I used milk)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/8 tsp ground sage

2 cups cooked chicken
Pie Crust Pastry, prepared (enough for the bottom plus the top of a pie)

In a saucepan, cook carrots, potato, onion and peas in a small amount of water, covered, about 10 minutes or until crisp tender. In another pan (skillet), melt butter. Add flour, cook and stir until mixture is golden brown. Slowly add broth, cream (or milk), salt, pepper, thyme, and sage. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until thickened and smooth. Add veggies and chicken and stir until combined.

Place first pie pastry in the pie pan. Top with sauce/chicken/veggie mixture. Place second pastry over and cut slits on top.

Bake 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes (watch crust for browning).

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I'm way behind on my family blog and too lazy to tackle it right now, so I'm updating here instead. Our house-hunting trip was absolutely exhausting but we are now under contract with a house we LOVE. Cross your fingers that the home inspection and everything else goes well, and that I don't lose my sanity with Mr. J now living across the country (we'll join him in six weeks or so).

Speaking of which, before our trip, I made sure to make one of Mr. J's favorite meals, which I also happen to love. Here it is: my take on Chicken Cordon Bleu.
Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 slices swiss cheese
4 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Pound chicken breasts to flatten if they are thick. Place a cheese and a ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces well.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and/or bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm with mashed potatoes.

Stay tuned for dessert!

Chicken Chardon

{Chicken Chardon pairs well with potatoes, in this case the cheesy variety}

This is another favorite from Mr. J's family. Chicken is breaded in a garlic, Parmesan, and bread crumb combo, baked in lemon butter and topped with breaded mushrooms. It cooks up tender and full of flavor; just try not to think about the amount of butter you are consuming!

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 egg
salt and pepper
2 t garlic powder (divided)
1 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup butter
1 T lemon juice
1 t parsley
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line a large baking dish (9X13) with foil for easy clean up later. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, beat egg, salt, pepper, and 1/2 t garlic powder. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, 1/2 t garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese.

Flatten each chicken breast and cut into two pieces if desired (I like smaller servings). Dip each piece of chicken into egg mixture, then roll in bread crumbs, pressing to coat well. Arrange in baking dish.

Melt butter with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, lemon juice, and parsley. Pour half over chicken. Bake 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining butter with mushrooms and enough remaining bread crumbs to coat the mushrooms. After the 25-30 minutes, remove chicken and cover with mushroom mixture. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

{If it looks like there is something missing from this plate, that's because there is. There was no sauteed asparagus left by the time I got around to taking a picture of our leftovers.}

What We Ate - Christmas Around the World

Back to life, back to reality. We had a very enjoyable two weeks with the girls out of school. We spent Christmas at home, then headed to Disneyland for a few days, visited family for another few days, and then came home.

We call one of our Christmas food traditions "Christmas around the World." Every Christmas Eve we make food from a different country or culture. In past years we've done Switzerland (fondue--yum!), Greece, and India. This year, we did France. What is not to love about French food? (The answer is NOTHING, in case you were wondering.)

We made Supremes de Volaille a Blanc (Breast of Chicken with Cream), pasta, and French baked beets. We purchased the baguette and the brie, and we received the sparkling cider as a gift.

We topped it all off with these delicious cream puffs (minus the heart shape) for dessert. There are several steps to making the cream puffs, but they weren't too tricky, and the results were worth the time.

I love our Christmas around the world tradition, but I think this is going to be hard to top next year. Maybe we should quit while we're ahead and just make it a Christmas in France tradition??

Oh. My. Yum.

That Julia Child really knows what she is talking about. Yesterday I made the Supremes de Volaille a Blanc (Breast of Chicken with Cream) from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There are several variations of the dish and I made the one "aux Champignons" - with mushrooms. The chicken was so flavorful and the cream sauce sent me over the moon. I served it with angel hair pasta and a side of fresh asparagus sauteed in butter with garlic and onions. I was oohing and ahhing and tooting my own horn all through the meal. Everyone else cleaned their plates too. (It might have helped that we told the kids they had to clean their plates before we could go swimming at the YMCA--but still, they didn't complain which speaks volumes.)

Overall, this is really quite a simple dish. If you're interested in the recipe, HGTV did an article that includes it here. They include a few more veggies and a rice dish, but basically the chicken and sauce is the same. I made a few minor changes such as using basil instead of parsley on top, and cooking it a little lower for a little longer.

This more than makes up for Tuesday night's flop. It felt good to redeem myself!

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad

I think I have a new favorite salad--one that is definitely going into the regular dinner rotation. I made this last night and WOW it was delicious! The barbeque and cilantro flavors worked surprisingly well together, the tortilla strips added the perfect crunch, and the whole thing just tasted so fresh. Perfect for a summer day. Original recipe found here.

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup BBQ sauce (to taste)

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1 ear of corn (or 1 can, drained)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 green onions, chopped

1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped

3 tomatoes, diced

2 avocados, diced

thin corn tortilla strips, fried in oil

Boil corn for 4-5 minutes, then remove from heat and rinse with cold water. Cut kernels from cob and chill. Fry corn tortilla strips in a deep fryer or skillet, then drain and salt. Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Layer in a large bowl (or on separate salad bowls) lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, onions, tomatoes, avocados, and chicken. Top with tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch dressing over the top and enjoy!

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My notes:

Because of the time it takes to chop up the veggies and prepare the salad, it helps me to have pre-cooked chicken on hand. Last time chicken was on sale, I slow-cooked a whole bag of it with some broth, seasoned salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then I shredded it and froze it in batches. For this salad I took a bag out and mixed the BBQ sauce right into the bag.

You could easily used canned or frozen corn and I probably will on some occasions. If you want to be healthier you can also bake the tortilla strips (sprayed with cooking oil) instead of frying, as in the original recipe. But I love the deep fried strips.

Also, because of picky eaters, I kept all the toppings separate and just put them out on the table so everyone could build their own salad. I think I am the only one who put on every single topping. And I LOVED it.