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Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup Recipe

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Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup Recipe

There are few things in this world that I enjoy more than a hot bowl of chicken and dumpling soup when it is 2° outside.  Fortunately, there’s been a ton of soup making and eating lately, unfortunately it’s absolutely freezing outside making it dang near impossible to leave the house.  Every time I step outside I want to smack myself thinking about me complaining that it was too hot out way back in August.  HOW DARE I!!  Most of the country are actually feeling the effects of this cold winter, which makes this creamy chicken and dumpling soup recipe perfect for making and eating, and thank gosh it’s super easy to pull off!

When I was in the restaurant industry way back in the day, we would make these gigantic steam jackets full of chicken stock.  They kettles would usually render about 40 gallons of chicken stock, and believe it or not we would go through it in about 2 weeks time.  There was a process or roasting bones, deglazing and then a soft simmer for about 6 to 8 hours.  Well, ain’t nobody got time for that when you’re at home and it’s freezing cold and need hot soup asap.  The expedited way to make chicken stock is to poach a whole chicken in mirepoix, which is 50% onions, 25% carrots and 25% celery, by weight.  Don’t worry you can eye ball it no problem!  You are wanting the liquid from the poached chicken as well as the chicken itself, so it’s a win win.  Just a little note that this recipe will leave you with about a ½ gallon of chicken stock leftover, but don’t worry because it freezes really well for recipes down the road.

Once your chicken is completely cooked and you’ve gotten just about every ounce of flavor you can into the liquid then you want to strain the stock, discard the veggies and pull the chicken.  The chicken will be pretty hot so be careful as you remove the skin and release the chicken meat form the carcass.  If you have BBQ gloves they work perfect for this.  Once the chicken meat is taken off go ahead and discard the carcass and roughly chop the chicken to bite size pieces.  You can place this in the refrigerator or set aside while you quickly cup up more mirepoix and make a batch up of dumpling batter.  I would suggest the refrigerator unless you have some fine knife cutting skills, up to you.

The dumplings could not be easier to make, honestly.  When it comes to anything batter or dough related my go to is always Bob’s Red Mill.  Their organic all-purpose flour is high enough in gluten to meet all of your baking needs making it a kitchen cabinet staple in my house.  Just simply mix together the flour, baking powder, milk, scallions, parsley and salt.  Stop right here.  Now, if you want you can add in some cheese and make these dumplings extra cheesy.  This recipe is really interchangeable to whatever other ingredients you want to add into it so if you’re feeling cheesy, or creative, feel free to pop some cheese in there!  If it were me, I would probably do parmesan cheese but that’s just me.

Finally, TIME TO START COOKING!  We are going to sweat the vegetables in some butter which means cooking them over low to medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes.  You then want to add in some flour to make a roux, so be sure to give it a good stir, and then add in the chicken and stock.  Bring the soup to a boil because that will sort of help activate the roux and thicken it up.  You don’t want alfredo sauce here, you simply want to add a little body to the stock.  The best reference I can give would be to make it look and feel like a thin gravy.  Make sense?  Lastly, finish the soup with some hominy, peas and salt and pepper.

Now for the dumpling cooking!  Add in 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time and cook it in the simmering sop for 5 to 6 minutes turning it ever 1 to 2 minutes.  It will puff up a bit and become very tender, kind of like bread.  From there it’s all about serving up the soup with some fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

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Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: soup
 
When it's cold outside almost always turn to making a gigantic pot of soup. There is something therapeutic to me about making and eating soup during those chilly winder months. Learn how easy it is to make this Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup Recipe that is soothing to the soul.
Ingredients
For the Chicken Stock:
  • 1 whole roasting chicken
  • 1 small diced yellow onion
  • 3 large diced carrots
  • 4 large diced stalks of celery stalks
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 small bunch each of fresh thyme and parsley
For the Soup:
  • 4 ounces of unsalted butter
  • 1 peeled and small diced yellow onion
  • 6-7 celery stalks, small dice
  • 4-5 medium sized carrots, small dice
  • 2 finely minced garlic cloves
  • 4 ounces of Bob’s Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups of sweat peas
  • 2 cups of hominy
For the Dumplings:
  • 4 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Organic All Purpose Flour
  • 3 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 cups of milk
  • ¼ cups chopped fresh parsley
  • ½ cup chopped fresh scallions
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
  1. Chicken Stock: In a large pot place in all ingredients under “chicken stock” and poach the chicken on medium-high heat until it is completely cooked through, about 1 hour. Once cooked, strain the liquid and remove the chicken meat from the carcass and roughly chop to bite size pieces.
  2. Soup: In a large pot or rondeaux on medium heat add in the butter and sweat the onions, celery, carrots and garlic for 5 to 6 minutes.
  3. Next, add it the flour and stir to make a roux.
  4. Add in the chopped chicken and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Note, there will be ½ gallon of stock leftover.
  5. Once the soup is boiling and thicker, turn the heat to low and add the peas, hominy and cook for 20 minutes.
  6. Dumplings: In a large bowl add together all dumpling ingredients until combined. Drop 1 tablespoon portions of the dough from a spoon into the soup and simmer for 5 minutes on each side until cooked through.
  7. Serve with optional garnishes: chopped green onions, parsley, thyme and parmesan cheese.

 

Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad

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Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad

Let me first start by saying how much I’ve enjoyed creating these videos for you guys and this Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad may be one of my favorites.  I’ve only done a few of these long form videos, i.e. 10 mintues +, but still I like being able to share in more detail what and why I’m doing it instead of cramming so much cooking information into a 1 minute video.  No offense but I don’t carry any more about those and I’m not going to cook recipes that can be prepared in 20 minutes, that’s not my style and not what has gotten me to this point.  I have a culinary degree and 15 years of restaurant experience so I feel it’s my duty to share my story and cooking knowledge with you all and I hope in some way it inspires you to cook and enjoy every day in the kitchen.

Once you start appreciating every step of the cooking process you will truly learn to love cooking.  This honestly takes so much time and I never felt this way until about 5 to 6 years ago when I had time to focus on what I was cooking instead of tickets printing and a chef yelling at me to hurry up.  This Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad video is a little long but man everything about this recipe is so good.  The lemon herb chimichurri sauce is divine and the prep that goes into it amazing.  When you are preparing it stop and smell each herb.  Taste each one.  After chopping it, smell it and taste it again to see if it changed.  Take your time while doing this and enjoy it.  After you mix in the lemon and garlic, taste it, season it, and taste it again.  Set the lemon herb sauce to the side until it’s ready to be used.  I called it chimichurri just because to me it’s what it resembles the most, and also this stuff freezes really well if you’ve got any extra leftover.  Just a little FYI there.

For the flattened chicken, you need to remove the back bone.  Don’t be scared when you hear the word flattened chicken because it’s not really flattened, it’s just a chicken that is a little flatter because the backbone has been removed.  Think about it, when you buy a whole chicken it is called a whole chicken, so when it’s flat, it’s called flattened.   You can do this by using some really sharp kitchen shears or a meat cleaver.  If you are a traditionalist like me, save the back bone and freeze it because man you can make a delicious chicken stock with that long back bone piece so save it up.  Drizzle on some olive oil all over the chicken to help it brown and you want to season all sides of the flattened chicken with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Also, drizzle on about half of the lemon herb chimichurri sauce all over the chicken.  As the flattened chicken cooks the herbs are going to infuse into the chicken making it so dang delicious.  You could actually marinate in the lemon herb mixture over night if you wanted to as well.  I personally like to use it more like a sauce at the end so that’s just my cup of tea but it does not have to be yours.  You want to roast this chicken at around 375° for a bit and then crank up the heat to help finish crisping up the skin before it’s ready to serve.

The root vegetable panzanella salad is super easy to make and honestly can be just about whatever you want.  I used a combo of French and multigrain bread but dang it use whatever artisanal homemade bread you’ve got lying around the house.  Remember when you bake it you just want it to be toasty on the outside and softer on the inside, you aren’t making crunchy croutons ok?!  Panzanella is Italian and the salad in it’s original form was so that everything in the kitchen got used up so if you had some leftover crunchy bread that was a few days old, you cut up and put into a salad with veggies and greens.  Obviously same concept here but my bread was fresh and needed to be toasted.  Toast it up and toss around with some seasonal greens.  It’s winter so things like chard, mustard greens, collards, kale and spinach are in season so try to stick with those!  The root vegetables can be an assortment of things.  I used beets, sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts, but you can absolutely use things like carrots, celeriac root, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, etc, you name it you can use it if it’s a root vegetable.

Well that’s all I got, thanks for hanging out and listening to me blabber on about nothing.  Watch the video and be sure to subscribe to my channel.  Thanks!

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Lemon Chicken with Panzanella Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Break out that loaf of artisan bread and learn how to make this delicious Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 thinly sliced sweet potato
  • 15-20 brussel sprouts, cut into quarters
  • 1 each quartered and thinly sliced golden and red beet
  • ½ loaf each French and multigrain loaf cut into 1” cubes
  • 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 head each of kale and spinach, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • optional garnishes: micro-greens and goat cheese
For the Dressing:
  • ⅔ cup of mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Chicken:
  • 3 tablespoons each finely minced fresh parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary and oregano
  • 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ cup of olive oil + 2 tablespoons
  • 1 whole chicken, backbone removed
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Salad: Spread the sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts and beets out on 2 ½ sheet trays lines with parchment paper and drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper.
  3. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until light browned and tender. Cool completely.
  4. Spread the cubed bread out on a ½ sheet tray lined with parchment paper and drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly crunchy on the outside but soft in the center. Set aside.
  5. dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl until combined. Cool before serving.
  6. Chicken: In a medium size bowl whisk together the herbs, garlic, lemon and olive oil until combined to make a chimichurri style sauce and set aside.
  7. Place the flattened chicken on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and cover it on all sides with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and ½ of lemon herb sauce. Bake skin side up for 50 minutes.
  8. After 25 minutes turn the chicken pan around so that it cooks evenly on all sides.
  9. After the 50 minutes is up turn the heat up to 425° and cook for 15 more minutes or until the skin is golden brown and cooked throughout.
  10. To Serve: Serve the chicken with the remaining lemon herb sauce and place the bread, greens and chilled root vegetables into a large bowl and dress with the desired amount of dressing, salt and pepper and optional garnishes micro-greens and goat cheese.
  11. Enjoy!

Leftover Turkey Gumbo Recipe with Shrimp and Brown Rice

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Leftover Turkey Gumbo Recipe with Shrimp and Brown Rice

Every year after thanksgiving I have a ton of leftover food.  Whether it be mashed potatoes, vegetables or turkey, it’s a mess of food that could feed the entire neighborhood.  I usually eat a few turkey sandwiches or make turkey pot pies, but man this year I’m totally going to change things up!  I’m going to make a turkey gumbo with shrimp, andouille, ham, and brown rice!  I’m sick of eating the same old thing, in fact if our family wasn’t so married to turkey I’d be eating a big ol’ prime rib roast!  What I need to do is start treating turkey like chicken and make whatever I want with it, instead of being tricked into thinking turkey only goes well under puff pastry with vegetables or in tetrazzini.  Turkey goes wonderful with so many other things so it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and into some tasty cooking.

It’s sometimes hard to make classic dishes because they are so near and dear to the ethnic or regional group that inspired those dishes that if you’re off by the slightest bit, you’re going to hear about it.  I love doing the classics, but I’ve also got personality, a sense of style and enough culinary chops to infuse my tone into it.  It’s ok if I’m a little off from the norm, I did it on purpose!  For example, gumbo is served with white rice.  Guess what, I don’t want to eat it with white rice, I want to eat it with brown rice.  Brown rice is better for you!  If you’ve only ever used Bob’s Red Mill for flours or gluten-free flours then you are missing out.  They have an assortment of wonderful grains from rice, to millet, to quinoa, you name it I’m positive they carry it.  We trust Bob as a main food source in our house so using their brown rice is a no brainer for us!  Be sure to cook the brown rice ahead of time and keep it warm before serving it along with the gumbo recipe.

There are several ways to make gumbo, whether it be a dark brown base, tomato base or more of a greenish tint, which is what my turkey gumbo recipe is.  Regardless of the color of gumbo, it all starts with a similar base and a dark roux to help bring out the color.  My turkey gumbo was green because of the use of gumbo filé which is finely ground sassafras leaves. The base of gumbo consists of onions, celery and green bell peppers.  I like adding color to the gumbo so I added in some red peppers along with some garlic for flavor.

You can make the roux in the same pot with the soup or in a separate pan and then simply add it in.  The best way I know how to do this is by first cooking the shrimp, remove them and then adding equal parts in weight butter and flour to the soup pot and cooking it until it becomes dark brown.  Remove the roux, add in a little oil and quickly sear the vegetables before adding in most of the other ingredients.  You have to be careful when making gumbo because you have very delicate protein in there, shrimp.  If you over cook shrimp it literally turns to mush and it is honestly pretty gross once it gets to this stage so be sure to add back in the shrimp at the end when you add in the okra.  While traditionally you would use crawfish in the recipe, and you absolutely can, I had a hard time finding it and after going to 4 grocery stores I settled on shrimp – what can I say I live in Chicago and crawfish isn’t in abundance.  Don’t worry though because the shrimp in this turkey gumbo is fantastic!

Once the veggies are tender, add in the gumbo filé along with the leftover cut up turkey from Thanksgiving, leftover ham, andouille sausage and chicken or shrimp stock.  I used chicken stock in my recipe and if you have a little shrimp stock lying around then for sure use it!  Bring the soup to a boil and then add in your dark roux and stir until it becomes thick.  Turn the heat down and finish it up with okra, the cooked shrimp we set aside, fresh thyme and parsley and simmer it over low heat until it is ready to be eaten alongside some cooked brown rice!

I added a few garnishes to the turkey gumbo such as crispy prosciutto, lemon zest and chopped thyme and parsley for a little color.  Hope you enjoy it and hope this helps get out of the same leftover thanksgiving rut that I’m always in as well!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


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Gumbo from Bayou Country
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1½ gallons
 
Change up your thanksgiving leftover routine by making this amazing Leftover Turkey Gumbo Recipe with Shrimp and Brown Rice!
Ingredients
For the Roux:
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1¼ cups of Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
For the Gumbo:
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 pound of shelled 30/40 shrimp
  • 2 peeled and small diced small yellow onions
  • 5 small diced stalks of celery
  • 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 2 each seeded and small diced red and green bell peppers
  • 1 tablespoon of gumbo filé
  • 3 cups of cooked chopped leftover turkey
  • 2 cups of cooked medium diced leftover ham
  • 8 ounces of cooked sliced andouille sausage
  • 96 ounces of chicken stock
  • 1 pound of sliced frozen okra
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 cups of cooked Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce to taste
Instructions
  1. Roux: In a large pot add in the butter and flour and make a dark roux over medium-low heat, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the dark roux and set aside.
  2. Next, add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and cook the shrimp over medium heat until they are just about cooked and then remove them and chill.
  3. Next, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and sear the onions, celery, garlic and peppers for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender.
  4. Stir in the gumbo filé and then add in the turkey, ham, sausage and chicken stock and bring it to a boil over high heat.
  5. Once boiling stir in the roux and continue to stir until it becomes thick.
  6. Finish by adding the okra, thyme, parsley and shrimp and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes before serving.
  7. Serve the gumbo over the cooked brown rice and garnish with optional garnishes: crispy prosciutto ham, lemon zest, chopped parsley and thyme.

Hickory Smoked White Chicken Chili Recipe

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Hickory Smoked White Chicken Chili Recipe

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BUSH’S Beans. The opinions and text are all mine.

There are few cooking techniques I’ve enjoyed lately more than the art of smoking food. Not only does the food come out so flavorful, tender and juicy, I literally get a standing ovation from my neighbors from the wonderful smells that fill our block. Smoking food is one of the oldest forms of cooking, and it was mostly used to preserve meats since back in early centuries of the world there was no refrigeration. Nowadays it’s used to incorporate delicious flavors into meats, salts, cheeses, honestly just about anything you’d like.

Smoking food really is a labor of love which is why I can’t wait to eat it every single time I prepare it. While things like pork and beef require an extremely early morning rise time, smoking chickens are much more manageable as they only take in between 3 and 4 hours. You can use whatever kind of smoker you’d like, whether that be a natural wood burning or a digital, it’s completely up to you but it must be done to get all of the wonderful flavors in this white chicken chili.

As the weather has begun to turn a little bit, there is no better time to make chili than now. We are in the middle of the football season, the leaves are falling and there is nothing more therapeutic to me on this earth than grazing on a huge pot of chili, especially this white chicken chili. When soup is good then a huge pot is a must, so you’ll have to excuse me for this smoked while chicken chili recipe that could feed your family about 4 to 6 times over. I’m Italian and we love to feed people so whenever I make soup it’s always at least 1 gallon.

Like any good chili recipe, it all starts with the beans and to make sure this recipe lived up to my expectations I used 4 different BUSH’S Beans® to guarantee a winning white chicken chili recipe. BUSH’S Beans® has an incredible assortment of beans which made it really easy for me to get to the 4 beans I wanted in this chicken chili recipe. I used a combination of white BUSH’S Cannellini, Great Northern, Pinto and Garbanzo Beans®. The combo gave such an amazing flavor from the rich taste from the pinto beans to the subtle crunchiness in the garbanzo beans, the marrying of these 4 beans in my white chicken chili was perfection.

For the base of this white chicken chili recipe I used leeks, onions, green bell peppers, poblano peppers, jalapenos and garlic. Nothing fancy, but a great variety of vegetables to get me started. When it comes to making any chili, I like to take the time to caramelize the onions. It adds such a robust umami flavor with a touch of sweetness that serves as the ultimate starter to this chili. Once the onions are browned and translucent you then want to add in the peppers and sauté for a few minutes before adding in the beans. I used some chicken bone broth as the liquid to help get everything simmering while the chicken takes its time absorbing all those delicious smoky flavors. You can let the vegetables in this chicken chili simmer over low heat during the smoking process so all of the flavors can begin to come out making it absolutely wonderful by the time the smoked chicken goes in it.

Once the chicken is done smoking you want to wrap it up in foil and let it rest so all the juices can absorb back into the chicken before removing the skin and pulling it. I’m not one for using the skin in chicken chili, but hey you do you if you want to add it just know that the dark red flavors form the smoke and rub may cause your chicken chili to not be so white. I simply used some forks to pull apart the chicken once I removed it from the bones. From there you simply add in the chicken along with some cumin, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, salt and a touch of cream and let that big ol’ pot sit over low heat as long as you’d like or begin pouring some bowls. As a rule of thumb, soup or white chicken chili in this instance, ALWAYS tastes better the next day because it gives it time for all the flavors to come out.

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Hickory Smoked White Chicken Chili Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 16
 
Break out your smoker and load it up with chips, and make this amazing Hickory Smoked White Chicken Chili Recipe!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 2 whole roasting chickens, you may only use 1½
  • 2 tablespoons of canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon each cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and oregano
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
For the Chili:
  • 2 ounces of unsalted butter
  • 2 peeled and medium diced large yellow onions
  • 3 sliced leeks, stem and green parts removed
  • 2 each seeded and small diced green bell and poblano peppers
  • 1 seeded and small diced jalapeño
  • 8 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 2 each 15-ounce cans of BUSH’S White Cannellini, Great Northern, Pinto and Garbanzo Beans®, drained
  • 32 ounces of chicken bone broth
  • ¼ cup of ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons of dry oregano
  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • Worcestershire sauce to taste
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the smoker to 225° with hickory or apple chips.
  2. Pat the chickens dry on all sides and brush them with canola oil.
  3. In a small bowl mix together all of the spices and herbs and coat the chickens on all sides, including the inner cavity, and place on your smoker and cook until the thigh portion of the chicken reaches 165°, about 3 to 3 ½ hours. Cover in foil and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. While the chicken is smoking add butter to a large pot over medium heat and pour in the onions and leeks to caramelize, about 25 minutes.
  5. Once they are brown add in the peppers and garlic and sauté over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
  6. Next, add in the beans and bone broth and simmer until the chicken is done.
  7. Once the chicken is done resting, remove the skin and discard. Next, remove the meat from the bones and break up into bite size pieces. Note: you may only use 1 ½ chickens, depending on how much meat you want in there.
  8. Next, add in the spices, cream and seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes before serving.
  9. Serve hot with optional garnishes: limes, cilantro, avocado, sour cream, Monterey jack cheese and green onions.

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bush Brothers & Company . The opinions and text are all mine.

 

Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice

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Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice

Now that school is back in session I’ve been looking to get more creative with simple to prepare meals.  Not that I wasn’t before, it’s just that I had a lot more time during the summer because there was no urgency around exact times to eat dinner.  Now that my daughter is in school I’m all about convenience and bold flavors, which can sometimes be difficult to do.  While most people think simple and delicious should be done in under 30 minutes, I lean more towards an hour or less except of course when it comes to braising things in the oven like this Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice, or cooking in a slow cooker.

When my daughter was young she used to love when I make Thai curry in the slow cooker and it’s actually been a few years since I re-introduced it, so I figured this would be great time to make this Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice.  While the chicken method of cooking is definitely different than that of my slow cooker version, there is one thing it doesn’t lack, Flavor!  When I was in the restaurant industry we would roast whole chickens in buttermilk and OMG were they so good.  Sticking with that same concept and with the addition of curry I thought it would be fun to relive those culinary days by roasting a whole chicken in curry and Ripple Milk (dairy-free and plant-based) .  Whenever I am creating recipes I oftentimes look to my past for inspiration and how I can tweak it to make it different, and then I almost always take a stroll down the dairy and frozen food aisles.  There are always new things popping up in both of those sections and since my wife is looking to be dairy-free these days, I knew the Ripple Milk would be perfect.

The pea milk isn’t only perfect because it’s dairy free, but also because things like peas and lentils are really big in Indian cuisine, so I knew those natural pea flavors would be phenomenal when roasting the chicken.  To start you need to season the chicken on all sides, and in the cavity, with salt and pepper and then brown it up in a large Dutch oven pot.  Since half of the chicken will be submerged in the curry milk mixture, you’ll   want to ensure you get the skin really crispy before putting it in there.  Once the chicken is brown, set it to the side and add some garlic, onions and lemon grass to the pot and cook it for a few minutes or until the onions are lightly browned.

The braising liquid should be really flavorful and help season the chicken even more, so whisk in some of the Ripple Pea Milk, curry paste, soy sauce, salt and pepper, and place the chicken right back in the pot.  It’s totally ok that the top ½ of the chicken will be hanging out of the milk.  Simply put the pot in the oven and cook it for 90 to 105 minutes, basting every 20 minutes to make sure the braising liquid flavor is running through the chicken.

Once the chicken is done cooking, I like to remove it from the liquid and wrap it up in foil to sort of rest the meat and seal in those juices and flavors.  Put the pot back on the burner over medium heat and add in some potatoes and carrots, and cook them until they are tender.  I mentioned earlier about how important it is for me to visit the frozen and dairy sections in the grocery store, and especially the frozen aisles when it comes to vegetables.  Frozen vegetables are picked at their maximum ripeness and are immediately frozen to preserve quality, and since we are a huge organic food family, Earthbound Farms is always on our list.  They have an exceptional assortment of frozen vegetables and are extremely fresh once cooked.  The Earthbound Farms peas were a perfect finish to the vegetable repertoire in this Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice recipe.  The starch in the potatoes actually help to thicken the milk curry mixture, making it a wonderful sauce to serve up with the chicken and white basmati rice.

For more great tips and recipes, be sure to check out EasyHomeMeals.com, and be sure to follow them on their social media channels at:

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Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice
Author: 
Recipe type: main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 to 6
 
Looking for a delicious weeknight meal? Try this super tasty Oven Roasted Whole Curry Chicken with Vegetables and Rice Recipe!
Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken, giblets removed
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 peeled and medium diced yellow onion
  • 5 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 2 6” lemon grass stalks
  • 48 ounces of Ripple Milk
  • 3 tablespoons of red curry paste
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 2 medium diced Yukon potatoes
  • 3 peeled and medium diced carrots
  • 1 cup of Earthbound Farms peas
  • 4 cups of cooked white basmati rice
  • cilantro leaves, sliced green onions and sliced mini red peppers for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven pot at medium-high heat and brown the chicken on all sides until crispy. Remove the chicken and add the onions, garlic and lemon grass to the pot and cook over medium heat until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Next, whisk in the milk, curry paste, soy sauce, salt and pepper and then place the chicken back in the pot.
  5. Place the pot in the oven and bake at 375° for 90 to 105 minutes basting the chicken every 20 minutes.
  6. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the curry-milk mixture and return the pot to the burner over low heat and cook the potatoes and carrots until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
  7. Finish by adding in the peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
  8. Garnish the chicken with cilantro, green onions and peppers and serve alongside cooked basmati rice and curry stewed vegetables.

 

Chicken Cassoulet Recipe with Chicken Sausage

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Chicken Cassoulet Recipe with Chicken Sausage

There are few recipes I enjoy in this world more than Chicken Cassoulet.  It is everything that’s good and right in cuisine.  It’s incredibly comforting, hearty and meant to graze upon all day long, and the best part is that it’s actually incredibly easy to make.  The first cassoulet recipe I ever made didn’t actually even have chicken in it, it had duck which is a bit more traditional French.  Duck is one of my favorite things to eat, but I’m a little hesitant because I’m not sure the family would enjoy it quite as much as I would, so to not scare I went with a chicken cassoulet recipe.

If you’ve been following me for a long time or for just a bit you may have come across me saying that we are looking to eat a little cleaner.  By that I mean less red meat, gluten, etc. and more plant based foods and white meat and fish.  To steer clear of bacon, and man was it hard, I went with Turkey bacon and also used turkey sausage instead of a traditional garlic pork sausage that is used in cassoulet recipes.  In addition to wanting to stay classic, I also have to be mindful of what my family will and wants to eat.

The beans in a cassoulet recipe are one of the most single important aspect because it serves as the base to the recipe.  Believe it or not Bob’s Red Mill offers white cannellini beans, so the second I saw them pop in the grocery store, I knew I had to pick’em up.  Beans serve as an excellent source of protein, fiber and iron, and not-too-mention are absolutely delicious.  When working with dry beans it’s essential to soak them over night in cold water.  This allows them to soften up for cooking.  If you forget to do that, no problem and here’s a little secret for you; Bring some water to a boil and then pour them over the beans and let them sit for 1 hour before cooking them.  You’re welcome!

The next day when it’s time to start cooking simply strain the beans and give them a little rinse.  The first thing you want to do is brown off your bacon and render the fat in a large cast iron pot with a lid.  Once they’re brown, remove them and add in your chicken parts.  I’m a firm believer in just buying a whole chicken and breaking it down myself.  It’s cheaper this and I can reserve the breast meat for my wife and daughter since they don’t care for dark meat.  You want to make sure that the chicken gets really really browned up and crispy since it will be braising for a few hours and you want it to remain crisp.

Once the chicken is browned remove it from the pan and stir in your strained bean.  I deglazed with a bit of white wine before adding in some chicken stock, fresh thyme sprigs and salt and pepper.  You want to cook it covered up and on very low heat for a bout 35 to 40 minutes or until the beans are tender but still slightly crunchy.

Next add in your mirepoix, cooked bacon, herbs, chicken sausage and then lay the crispy seared chicken right on top.  Cover it up and forget about it for 5 to 5 ½ hours on super low heat in the oven.  If you’re thinking what I’m thinking then yes, you can absolutely transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook it over low heat for 6 hours to get the same effect.  For me though I like the braising method in the oven since that’s where all the goodness was cooked, you know that golden brown deliciousness stuck to the bottom of the pan before deglazing.  There is actually a technical term for it, it’s called fond.

Once the chicken cassoulet recipe is finished, simply remove it from the oven and scrape off any of the dried beans or any film that forms on the top before serving.  It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just not very pretty for presentation.  Garnish it up with a little bit of thyme and you are good to indulged my friend!  Thanks for reading and be sure to pick up some Bob’s Red Mill white cannellini beans from your local grocery store.

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Chicken Cassoulet Recipe with Chicken Sausage
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Recipe type: Main
 
Try this Chicken Cassoulet Recipe with Chicken Sausage which is hands down one my favorite recipes of all time!
Ingredients
  • 1 bag of Bob’s Red Mill White Cannellini Beans
  • 8 ounces of roughly chopped turkey bacon
  • 1 whole chicken broken down into parts
  • ½ cup of white wine
  • 6 cups of chicken stock
  • 6 to 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 3 small diced stalks of celery
  • 2 peeled and small diced carrots
  • 1 peeled and small diced yellow onion
  • 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 pound of cooked chicken sausage, sliced
  • 6 sprigs of fresh parsley
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Add the beans to a container and fill it with water 6 inches over the beans and sit overnight. Strain and rinse before cooking.
  2. Preheat the oven to 275°.
  3. In a large cast iron pot add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove.
  4. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper and cook them in the rendered bacon fat pot until golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pot.
  5. Next, add in the beans and ½ of the thyme, and deglaze with white wine. Add in 4 cups of chicken stock, salt and pepper, and simmer covered over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes or until al dente.
  6. Fold in the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, chicken sausage, crisp bacon, remaining thyme sprigs, parsley, salt and pepper and place the crisp chicken on top. Cover and bake for 5 to 5 ½ hours.
  7. Remove from the oven and serve.

 

Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce

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Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce

So happy to be continuing in my soigne video series with this super delicious Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce!  It’s crazy easy to do and loaded with flavor, and the best part is that it takes an hour on the dot to prepare.  Just think, you can have an insanely delicious meal on the dinner table in under 1 hour.  Since I’ve done beef, fish and pork for the soigne video series I felt the only thing left to finish off the bunch was chicken.  Now that I’ve hit the most famous 4 proteins I can now go back to the drawing table and do whatever I’d like.

The term spatchcock almost doesn’t seem like a real word but it’s from the original word spitchcock which is of Irish origin and then later turned to “spatchcock” in the 18th century by the English.  It’s simply the process of removing the backbone of the chicken and laying it out flat.  The term most often used in America is “Flattened Chicken,” but since you know I’m a bit of a traditionalist I’ll call it spatchcock!  To remove the backbone from the chicken you need to first remove it from the package, discard the giblets and remove the back bone using either an incredibly sharp knife or some kitchen shears.  Both work fine, it’s just a matter of preference.  Once the backbone is removed, discard it or keep it for chicken stock, and  place it breast side up and gently press down to flatten.  Be sure to fold over the thighs so that they are tucked in and not hanging on the outside.

I decided to sear the spatchcock chicken first before roasting it just to ensure I would get a really nice brown on the skin.  However, you can absolutely bypass this process and go straight to the oven for roasting, just be sure you season it generously with salt and pepper before cooking.  The goal is to get the skin crisped up and browned while making sure the inside is cooked and tender so whichever way you are most comfortable with then I advise doing that.  You can also take a step further and add some lemon wheels and fresh thyme sprigs to the top of the chicken before roasting to incorporate more flavor, but be careful because it can cause the chicken skin to be less crisp.

After the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the pan and set it aside.  Return the pan to the stove and turn the heat to medium-high.  Please please please don’t forget to use a hand towel when moving the pan around because just in case your forgot, that sucker just got out of the oven at 400° so chances are, it’s piping hot!  Drain a bit of the fat from the pan before adding it to the burner and add in some chopped pancetta and you want to slightly cook it before adding in the other ingredients.  I like to roast up the pearl onions until they’ve got a nice caramelization on them before adding in everything else.  A really easy trick to get the pearl onions out of the outside peelings, cut off the root end and place in some boiling water for 30 seconds.  Strain and cool and then simply pinch from the other end and they will sort of fire right out of the peel.  Seriously just a really easy way to peel as opposed to doing it with a pairing knife, which I swear takes forever.

You can finish off this Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce with a bit of butter and then pour it all over the spatchcock chicken.  I roasted up some whole garlic cloves because while you can’t couldn’t see it in a video I had a huge loaf of artisan bread that I soaked up in the pan drippings and then smothered the roasted garlic all over it and ooohhhh weeee was it right on the money!  Well that’s just about all I got for now, and I can’t stress enough that if you’re looking for a really good and easy to make week night meal than this Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce is where it’s at!

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Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce
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Recipe type: main
 
Need a great week night meal? Check out this delicious and easy to make Chicken Recipe with Lemon Thyme Pan Sauce!
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 spatchcock chicken
  • 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter, cut into pads
  • 1 ounce of chopped pancetta
  • 1 ½ cups of peeled pearl onions
  • 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 6 lemon wheels
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan at medium-high heat and place the chicken skin side down once the oil begins to lightly smoke.
  4. Cook until golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes.
  5. Flip the chicken over and add in a ½ stick of butter. Baste the chicken.
  6. Finish the chicken in the oven at 400° for 45 to 50 minutes or until cooked throughout.
  7. Once the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the pan and discard the pan drippings.
  8. Return the pan to the burger over medium-high heat and add in the pancetta and cook until about ½ way done cooking and then add in the pearl onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Stir in the garlic, lemon wheels and thyme and sauté for another 2 minutes.
  9. Finish the sauce with the remaining butter and salt and pepper and pour over the chicken.

 

 

Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

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As I’ve been writing the last few weeks in some of my blog posts, we are on a mission to indulge in all things clean eating and that’s why I created this Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing.  We aren’t perfect, nor are we striving for perfection, and we still appreciate a once a week cheat day.  We are still learning on what to cook and how to cook it, but one thing that is for certain, man do we feel better and our bodies seem happy with what we are putting in it.

One of my old chefs usually to always tell me that are bodies are temples and we should not be loading it up with a bunch of over sugared, over preserved and processed garbage.  When I was in college I could care less of what he was talking about, but now that I’m 36 and I can absolutely feel and see the effects of consuming a pour diet.  I feel sluggish, my mind seems foggy and all I want to do is nap all day long.  If you are feeling that way too then it is 100% time for a change.  Even if it’s a slow change for you, start to make it now don’t wait.  It’s better to invest in your diet now instead of health bills later when your pour eating habits start to reap serious effects on you.

I’ve always enjoyed vegetables and although all vegetables are good for you, I often wasn’t eating the right ones.  I love carrots and celery, and tomatoes, but what body’s crave most often are leafy greens.  No that piece of iceberg lettuce on your burger doesn’t count, you need to be digging into a green salad with tatsoi, arugula, spinach, etc, which obviously why I made this Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing.

While I was craving a huge green leafy salad I also knew I wanted some delicious nutty grains in there so I looked no further than Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa.  We almost always have a bag of Bob’s quinoa in our cupboards and eat it quite often.  It is absolutely delicious cooked plain in some water and a bit of salt, and is even more amazing when mixed into soups, rice replacements, and my personal favorite, salads.  Quinoa is a complete protein with all of the essential amino acids and you don’t have to worry about the long term effects of animal protein fat or animal growth hormones.  Think of it like this, quinoa is a grain that is just as loaded with protein as the steak you may be consuming but is WAY healthier for you.

With my leafy green salads, I usually like to incorporate fruits into it.  Doing this seasonally of course makes the most sense and because tomatoes, fresh berries and peaches are peaking then why not load up a salad with all that goodness.  If it were winter I would add things like apples or pears, but since it’s summer I am trying to make it linger extra hard :-).

For the dressing I made a really simple creamy poppy seed dressing loaded with yogurt, lemon, white balsamic vinegar, a touch of honey, avocado oil and poppy seeds.  I put everything into a mason jar and shook it up like crazy until it was emulsified, or combined.  It is so dang delicious and honestly would phenomenal on just about any salad you may make, so in other words make it even if you don’t make this salad.

One of my favorite things about making salads is that you can put in it whatever you’d like, just always be sure to stay seasonal.  Nothing worse than eating a salad loaded with ingredients that don’t taste like they should when they’re in peak season.  By doing this you will save money since things like fresh berries are ridiculously expensive during those winter months, and definitely aren’t worth the money you will spend on them.  Well I hope this post for Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing helps inspire you and motivates you to take better care of your body if you aren’t already.  Happy Salad Making!

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Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
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Recipe type: salad
 
This Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing is loaded with nutrients and perfect for those hot summer days.
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
  • ¼ cup of whole fat yogurt
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ½ cup of avocado oil
  • 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Salad:
  • 2 cups of cooked and chilled Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa
  • 8 cups of packed leafy greens
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced, or 1 cup of pulled rotisserie chicken
  • ½ cup of blackberries
  • ½ cup of raspberries
  • ½ cup of blueberries
  • ½ cup of strawberries
  • ½ cup of pitted assorted cherries
  • 1 peeled, seeded and sliced avocado
  • 1 cup of sliced assorted cherry tomatoes
  • micro greens for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Instructions
  1. Dressing: Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium size bowl until combined. Chill before using.
  2. Salad: Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and dress with dressing.
  3. Serve!

 

Baked Chicken Recipe with Wild Rice and Apples and Plums

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Baked Chicken Recipe with Wild Rice and Apples and Plums

Lately I’ve been going back to my culinary roots while in the kitchen and have been rediscovering some of the simple flavors that got me so interested in cooking when I was just a pup.  One of the first things you learn to cook when in the restaurant or in culinary school is a roast chicken.  It’s one of the simplest things you can make but man is it just so good with only few ingredients.  This Baked Chicken recipe literally consists of the whole chicken, cut in half, seasoned with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and then baked.  I know, I know, it’s nothing but once you take that first bite with that crispy delicious skin on the outside and that moist juicy tender meat underneath, it’s just phenomenal.  Again, it’s one of those simple culinary pleasures that requires nothing but time.

Roasting a chicken is so simple that once you do it for the first time, you’ll never buy one of those rotisserie ones from the grocery store ever again.  To cut back on cooking time, as well as allowing for every square centimeter of the chicken skin to brown, I prefer to cut it in half.  You can either cut it right down the center using a cleaver or really sharp kitchen shears.  Once the chicken is separated then you want to season all sides very well with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  It is important to season the chicken well as the chicken is thick and you have to make sure the salt can penetrate the skin and run through flavoring the meat.  Often times I don’t season well enough and while the food is good, it would have been that much better with a little more salt and pepper.  Once it is seasoned then place the two halves skin side up in a large sauté pan and bake at 400° for 50 to 60 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through.  From there you want to rest the meat on a cutting board, but keep the pan nearby.

Keeping balance of flavors is also incredibly important to me when creating a meal for my family and I.  There is no way around learning how to balance flavors other than spending time in the kitchen cooking and learning what you or your family likes.  There are some resources that can help you with which foods go well with which, but you’ll only really figure out what you like by doing.  I wanted to add a tasty compote like sauce to compliment the savory and salty baked chicken so I thought what better than a combo of apples, onions and dried plums (prunes).  If I can get a nice sweet compote, then it would marry well with the flavors of the chicken.  When creating the compote, I looked no further than SunSweet® prunes, not only because they’re delicious but because you can buy them diced, halved or whole, and I love options!  They are delicious sweet and go so well in a myriad of recipes from on top of ice cream, to in salads and even in this tasty Baked Chicken Recipe with Wild Rice and Apples and Plums.

Once the sauce ingredients are prepped you next want to roast the items in the pan that the chicken was roasted in.  When making sauces to accompany a protein, always try to use the pan that the meat was cooked in for more flavor.  When the apples and onions are caramelized then it’s time to add in the julienne dried plums.  I deglazed with a little brandy and then added in some stock and simmered it until it became thick.  WOW is it delicious!  This sauce would also go amazing on pork and fish so it’s no one trick pony.   Be sure to finish it up a bit with some unsalted butter, salt, pepper, fresh thyme and a little chopped chive.

To ensure that I made a well-balanced meal I added some green beans, waxed beans and wild rice to accompany my tasty Baked Chicken Recipe with Wild Rice and Apples and Plums.  Everything from the rice, to the chicken to the sauce of this recipe is honestly so dang good and it took just over an hour to make it.  Can’t beat that!

 

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Baked Chicken Recipe with Wild Rice and Apples and Plums
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Recipe type: main
 
Make this amazing Baked Chicken Recipe with Wild Rice and Apples and Plums for a delicious week night meal!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 whole chicken cut in half
  • 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 3 cored and large diced fuji or gala apples
  • ½ thickly sliced red onion
  • ½ cup of thinly sliced whole SunSweet prunes
  • 1 cup of beef stock
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon of sliced chives
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Accompaniments:
  • ½ pound of picked wax beans
  • ½ pound of picked green beans
  • 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
  • 4 cups of cooked wild rice
  • optional feta cheese crumbled
  • optional yogurt and orange zest to mix with rice
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • fresh herbs for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. Chicken: Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper and cook in the oven at 400° for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through out. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
  3. Next, add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and place it over medium heat until melted. Add the apples and onions and cook until browned and caramelized, about 15 minutes.
  4. Add the sliced prunes to the pan and saute for 2 to 3 minutes and then add the stock and cook over low heat until it thickens. Finish with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, thyme, chives and slat and pepper. Keep warm.
  5. Beans: Add the wax and green beans to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and then toss in butter, salt and pepper.
  6. Serve the whole chicken over the cooked rice and alongside the cooked beans and apple-plum compote. Add the optional garnishes on the side.

 

Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables

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Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables

Not sure if you caught my Facebook live post the other day, but I actually prepped up this Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables while live.  The intent of the post was more around doing a Facebook Live since it had been so long and I figured I’d cook while on camera and chat all things food while doing it.  The sheet pan chicken craze online seems to be just about everywhere these days and the best way I can define it is it’s the new pot roast meal, only it’s quicker… Oh yeah, it’s chicken instead of beef.  The whole goal is to brown up the chicken for 25 minutes or so and then take it out of the oven, put all of the vegetables underneath the chicken, and then back in the oven at lower temperatures to cook everything.  If you can tell from the pictures the chicken has been flattened, or a more technical term, spatchcock.  The technique is simply removing the back bone and flattening it.

There are several ways to cook a flatten chicken, once it’s flattened.  You can grill it like I did in this amazingly delicious Marinated Chicken Recipe with Soy and Red Wine.  When Grilling a flattened chicken, you have to be mindful when it is skin side down on the grill grates because the fat from the skin can cause more flames to shoot up.  My age old trick to tone down the flames is by putting ice cubes where the fire is shooting through the grates so that it tames them down slowly without and huge smoke clouds.  It’s honestly fool proof and I’m pretty sure you’ll adopt that method after the first time trying it.  The other way to cook a flattened chicken would be to place it on a griddle or super huge sauté pan.  Most folks probably don’t have a griddle, but a huge frying pan would work great.  Simply add in a bit of olive oil to the pan and once it begins smoking then add in your seasoned flattened chicken skin side down and cook away over medium heat until that sucker is brown on all sides and cooked through out.  You may have to finish it in the oven just to make sure the thighs get cooked through.  So again there are several ways to do it, but if you want to keep things easy and clean then this Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables is probably your best bet.

When you have kids the dishes and trash seem to pile up.  I’m not kidding when I say that I run the dishes once a day and take out 2 trash bags every. single. day…  I loathe it more than you will ever understand.  I live in Chicago so my walk to the trash is outside, through the yard, through the garage and into the alley.  Yeah I know that doesn’t sound that bad but when it’s 2° every day in the winter you will learn to hate it.  In other words, this Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables gives me a little relief from having to do more dishes, so thanks to me for that!

Another huge reason I like this Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables is simply because I can add whatever I want to it.  It can be as loaded up with vegetables as I want or as dumbed down as I want.  For instance, I can add more varieties of veggies to this dish or I can just use potatoes, or just even 1 vegetable like broccoli or cauliflower.  The point is that this recipe is really versatile and can be easily tweaked to your family’s taste buds.  In fact, I’ll take it another step further by saying you can even change up the dry rub.  Heck it can be a different rub, no rub or even a marinade, but I would stress to not spend too much time or make it too difficult because this Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables is supposed to be an easy recipe to help give some relief in the middle of the week when you have no clue what you are going to make.

In the end this Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables is easy, it’s delicious and comes together really quickly so be sure to give it a whirl this week.  Happy Cooking!

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Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables
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Recipe type: Main
 
Learn how to make this delicious simple to prepare Oven Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Vegetables that cooks in under an hour.
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon of onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1 flattened chicken
  • 2 pounds of baby red and Yukon potatoes cut in half
  • 4 peeled and large sliced carrots
  • 1 bunch of brocollini
  • ½ head of trimmed cauliflower
  • 1 sliced lemon
  • ½ pound of Brussel sprouts cut in half
  • 10 to 12 peeled Cipollini onions
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. In a small bowl combine the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder together.
  3. Generously season the chicken on all sides, not that there will probably be some of the rub left which you can set aside to use for a later date.
  4. Place the chicken on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper skin side up and place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. While the chicken is cooking place the vegetables, olive oil, salt in pepper into a bowl and mix until coated.
  6. When the 30 minutes is up, take the chicken out of the oven and spread the vegetable around the outside of the chicken on the sheet tray and return to the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until everything is golden brown, tender, and the chicken is cooked through.
  7. Serve hot!

 

Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing

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Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing

There are two things that I’ve really enjoyed preparing over the last year, making homemade bread and smoking food, see this smoked chicken recipe.  Making bread is therapeutic and delicious, smoking is time consuming and delicious :-).  I’ve only been smoking food for the last few years and up onto that point I didn’t have a ton of experience with it.  A lot of people just assume because I’m classically trained and logged a decade and a half in the restaurant industry that I know everything there I to know about all cuisines.  Sorry to pop that bubble but most chefs are specialized or really focus on few areas within which they thrive, or back into certain techniques and use those to bring out the flavors in their food.  The only smoking I had really done in the restaurant industry is with shrimp and turkey breasts.  We had an alto sham smoker, which is this tiny box that ignites a smaller box of smoker chips to help smoke out the bigger box with which the food is in.  it’s smoking, but it’s not smoking.

When I think of smoked foods I think of the south and some old timer up at 3 am making his coals and getting ready to put them into a huge black smoker with a gigantic pig in it.  I’ve smoked a few times doing a method like that but I much prefer the digital smoker these days because I’m busy.  Digital smokers allow me to put my food in away, set the timer and smoker and then I walk away until it beeps.  It’s glorious!  A normal grill smoker requires you to keep an eye on it every hour or so to make sure you are maintaining temperature.  Grill smokers are great if you’ve got the time, but sorry I’m city livin and dang busy so don’t judge me J.  Smoking beef and pork is much longer than making a smoked chicken.  While all smoked food is delicious smoked chicken only requires about 4 total hours and it is so versatile.  Smoked brisket and smoked pork are almost always married with BBQ, but smoked chicken can go in so many different things because it usually only has a light smoky flavor since it weighs far less and requires less cooking/smoking time then it’s barbecued brethren.

There are several things you can do to a chicken before smoking it.  You can brine it, rub it or even simply marinate it.  Since I wanted a smoky seasoned chicken I went with a rub.  It requires the least amount of prep time and it’s delicious.  I love the flavors of the herbs and spices on smoked chicken because it resembles a bit of bbq, which I’m obsessed with.  Brining and marinating are great too, all depends on what flavor you are going for.  In addition to the smoked chicken I wanted to do pair it on a seasonal salad.  I love the traditions and flavors of the three sisters, squash, corn and beans, so in addition to those being delicious I knew it would go great on a salad.  I simply seared the corn on the cob, and squashes, and then immediately chilled them.

I wanted to also have some sort of tomatoey flavor incorporated into the salad so I made a really simple fire roasted salsa using the canned fire roasted tomatoes.  I blended up the tomatoes with some onions, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper until it resembled a restaurant style salsa.  The salsa enhances all of the other wonderful flavors in this smoked chicken greens salad since all of the ingredients in it go so well with the produce anyways.  The greens on the bottom of all this goodness is a combination of Boston bibb lettuce and spring mix.  I also added in some avocado, radishes, assorted sliced cherry tomatoes and made an insanely tasty cilantro lime dressing.  Dude you want to talk about good?  This vinaigrette is money!!!  I added some olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper to a blender and blended it until it was smooth and emulsified and dang is it good.  I kept thinking how could something this simple be so flippin tasty.  It is and that’s all I can say.  Well happy smoking and happy salad making in this Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing!

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Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing
Author: 
 
Try this delicious Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing that is loaded with delicious vegetables.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
  • 1 whole chicken cut in half
For the Salad:
  • 1 15-ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes
  • ½ peeled yellow onion
  • 6 to 8 canned nacho jalapeños
  • juice of 1 lime
  • ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
  • 4 cups of packed spring mix lettuce
  • 1 roughly chopped head of Boston bibb lettuce
  • 1 sliced zucchini, roasted and chilled
  • 1 sliced yellow squash, roasted and chilled
  • 1 cup of cooked corn kernels
  • 1 cup of sliced assorted cherry tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can of rinsed black beans
  • 4 thinly sliced radishes
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ½ cup of white wine vinegar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • ⅓ cup of cilantro leaves
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the smoker to 225°.
  2. Chicken: Combine all of the spices and generously rub the split whole chicken on all sides and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
  3. Add the chicken to the smoker and smoke for 3 to 4 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°. Rest before slicing and serving.
  4. Salsa: In a blender add in the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper until slightly chunky. keep cool before serving. Note, there will be plenty leftover.
  5. Dressing: Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until emulsified and smooth. Set aside. Note, there will be plenty leftover.
  6. To Plate: Place both lettuces to the bottom of a large bowl and place on smoked chicken, some salsa, zucchini, squash, corn, cherry tomatoes, beans, radishes, salt and pepper and dress accordingly!

 

Taco Salad Recipe with Chicken and Avocado Lime Dressing

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When coming up with this recipe all I could think about was that weird taco salad rendition that you would get in elementary school from the cafeteria.  Truth be told it was my second favorite day of the month behind pizza day J.  Fast forward 25 years I decided to make my own, un-inspired from what I used to eat back in the day lol.  Don’t get me wrong, the classic tortilla shell with iceberg lettuce, ground beef, salsa, cheese and avocado is super good, especially if you’re craving some grease while trying to be healthy, yes I know the irony but I’m sure you get it, is delicious.  Well I’m 35 now and need to watch a bit more of what I’m eating or else it’s going straight to my chin for all to see…  Not cool!

To make a taco salad that’s a bit on the healthier side you first have to start with what on earth you plan on doing with that oversized fried tortilla bowl shell thing.  Instead of saturating a salad in all that leftover fryer grease why not just crumble up a few baked, or lightly fried corn tortilla ships and mixing it in the salad?  Genius I know; I’m here to help!  Once you’ve got the tortilla part figured it out, it’s all about creativity and what you’d like to do with the taco salad.  I always say that you need to get to the grocery store and see what produce is in season, and possibly on sale.  No need to make an out of season $80 taco salad when you’ve got fresh peak season ingredients right in front of you.   The reason I always say things like this is so you can adapt this recipe to the seasons.  For instance, this taco salad recipe might look a bit different over the winter months.  perhaps you’ll use some tasty root vegetables like carrots, or fennel, or even celeriac root to give this dish a wonderful earthy flavor.  The whole point is to always make sure your making a recipe that is in season or to take the liberty to tweak it for whatever season you’re in.

One of my favorite things to put in salads are watermelon radishes but dang are they seasonal and kind of hard to find.  I honestly walked past it for a week until I read the dang label on what the light green root veg was before realizing it.  I don’t see them often so I forget what the heck they look like or it could be because I’m in Chicago and still a bit chilly here and I’m still swimming in root vegetables from the winter.  Regardless if you can find these suckers they are guaranteed to be the highlight of every dish because they are gorgeous and dang tasty.  They are a much milder spiced radish and about 4 times the size so use them freely.

In addition to the tortillas and radishes I decided to use spring mix as the base, since it’s spring, and then I loaded on black beans, toasted corn kernels from the cob, sliced cherry tomatoes, a homemade pico de gallo, sliced cucumbers, shredded chihuahua cheese and finally a spice rubbed and seared chicken breast.  Oh wait, I made an insanely delicious avocado lime dressing to go on top.  Since there are only a few things in here that need instruction let’s start with the pico.  It’s simply a combo of diced vine ripe tomatoes, yellow onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper.  It works great on this salad and eaten with tortilla chips!  Next is the spice rubbed chicken.  I did a simple blend of 1 teaspoon each of dry onion, garlic, cumin, paprika, chili powder, oregano and Kosher salt.  Once I rubbed the chicken I cooked it up on our flat top and got it nice and browned, like in the pic.  From there I sliced it and loaded up the salad with all of these ingredients and put the dressing to the side.  Let’s talk about that dressing for a minute.

The avocado lime dressing taste almost like a Latin ranch dressing.  it’s a blend of mayonnaise, buttermilk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, avocado, lime juice, fresh cilantro and salt and pepper.  I blended it until it was smooth and tasted it and then rejoiced to the heavens.  DUDE is this avocado lime dressing good!!  Dress the taco salad accordingly and enjoy!

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Taco Salad Recipe with Chicken and Avocado Lime Dressing
Author: 
 
Change up the old classic with this brand new delicious twist for a Taco Salad Recipe with Chicken and Avocado Lime Dressing!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
For the Salad:
  • 4 seeded and small diced vine ripe tomatoes
  • ½ peeled and small diced yellow onion
  • 1 seeded and small diced jalapeño
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
  • 8 cups of packed spring mix lettuce
  • 2 thinly sliced watermelon radishes
  • 1 cup of cooked corn kernels
  • 1 thinly sliced cucumber
  • 1 cup of sliced assorted cherry tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can of rinsed black beans
  • 4 peeled, seeded and sliced avocados
  • 1 cup of shredded chihuahua cheese
  • 1 bag of tortilla chips
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • 1 cup of mayonnaise
  • ½ cup of buttermilk
  • 1 peeled and seeded avocado
  • ¾ teaspoon of onion powder
  • ¾ teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt
  • ½ cup of cilantro leaves
  • juice of 1 lime
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Chicken: combine all seasonings together in a small bowl and generously season the chicken breasts on all sides. Note there may be some seasoning left over.
  2. heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken on each side until golden brown and cooked through out, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Rest the chicken and slice.
  3. Pico: In a medium size bowl mix together the diced tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro leaves, and salt and pepper until combined and keep cool before serving.
  4. Dressing: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. keep cool before serving.
  5. To Serve: In a large bowl add in the spring mix lettuce and then top off with sliced chicken, pico de gallo, radishes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, black beans, avocado, corn, cheese and tortilla chips. Serve the dressing on the side.

 

Sushi Burrito Recipe with Chicken and Vegetables

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Sushi Burrito Recipe with Chicken and Vegetables

I’m always looking for new and creative ways to get a great tasting meal on the table for my family.  When prepping my weekly menus it often starts with a stroll through the frozen food aisle.  Whether it be chicken tenders, French fries, veggies, or full meals, I lean on the frozen food aisle big time for meals.  While I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface with all of the amazing food in the frozen food aisle, I have found some gems that I continue to go back to, like InnovAsian.  My daughter is obsessed with Chinese food, so short of always taking her to a restaurant, InnovAsian always comes through with their delicious meals.  Her favorite always seems to be orange chicken, so this time I decided to get a little creative with it and stuffed it into a burrito with veggies and man was it a hit!

While the orange and general Tso chicken is bursting with flavor, I always wanted to include some vegetables into these burritos.  Also, before I go any further you can 100% swap out the nori seaweed outside burrito shell, which is used in sushi, with a plain flour tortilla.  Eating seaweed can be an acquired taste. So not to scare anyone with the salty, sometimes fishy, taste of it, I think it would be quite alright to use a traditional burrito shell.  Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the vegetables for a bit.  I’m a huge advocate for buying fresh produce in season and what’s readily available.  But there is no reason to buy fresh blueberries in winter, when they are wonderful from the frozen food aisle, and there is also no reason to use celeriac root in the summer when celery is in season.  The point being that if you want to buy produce in season then stick to it, if you want  produce that is out of season then head over to the frozen food aisle since it is picked ripe, in season and flash frozen.

I wanted to try and make a few different burritos which means I needed quite an assortment of vegetables.  As you can see from the picture, I thinly sliced a lot of veggies.  I went with par-boiled asparagus, carrots, cucumbers, red bell peppers, red leaf lettuce scallions, cilantro, snow peas and avocado.  Again, I want to stress how versatile this recipe is when it comes to the vegetables that you want to put into it.  Although there is “burrito” in the title of this sushi burrito recipe, I would stick with flavors that resonate more with that cuisine than that of traditional Latin foods.  For instance, I’m not sure how refried beans would be in these burritos.  Heck maybe it would be good, but I’m not taking any chances.  Now I’m definitely not telling you not to try it out, but I am giving you a recipe that I know works and is incredibly easy to make!  In addition to the raw vegetables I also made some pickled red onions.  Believe it or not it’s super easy to prepare and they’ll actually take on a ton of pickled flavor within only 30 minutes of making it.  Yes, if you are prepping this ahead of time it’s totally fine to go longer in the vinegar marinade, the flavor will just intensify.

Preparing the InnovAsian Orange Chicken and InnovAsian General Tso’s Chicken is incredibly simple , which is great because it makes this recipe that much quicker to make.  Lay out the frozen chicken pieces on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake them in the oven.  While it’s cooking, you want to heat up the sauce packet in warm water.  Once the chicken is done cooking you coat them in the warm sauce and finish them in the oven for 5 minutes.  Like I said really easy.  Even easier to make is the white rice or stir-fried rice because it cooks up in only minutes in the microwave.

When it comes to rolling up the sushi burrito it is easiest when using a sushi roller, but if you do not have one don’t stress too bad because it can still be easily done on a clean surface.  Happy sushi burrito making and please hit me up on social media if you do make it because I’d love to know what you think!

For more great tips and recipes, be sure to check out EasyHomeMeals.com, and be sure to follow them on their social media channels at:


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Sushi Burrito Recipe with Chicken and Vegetables
Author: 
Recipe type: main
 
Get creative with this Sushi Burrito Recipe with Chicken and Vegetables that allows you to mix and match ingredients!
Ingredients
  • ½ thinly sliced red onions
  • ½ cup of red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup of parboiled and chilled, and cut in half asparagus
  • 1 cup of parboiled and chilled matchstick carrots
  • 1 peeled, seeded and sliced avocado
  • 1 cup of cilantro leaves
  • 1 cup of sliced snow peas
  • 1 cup of sliced red leaf lettuce
  • ½ cup of sliced green onions
  • 1 cup of sliced cucumbers
  • 1 cup of seeded and sliced red bell pepper
  • 1 box of cooked InnovAsian Orange Chicken, keep hot
  • 1 box of cooked InnovAsian General Tso chicken, keep hot
  • 1 box of cooked InnovAsian White Rice, keep hot
  • 1 box of cooked stir-fried rice, keep hot
  • 10-12 sheets of nori seaweed
Instructions
  1. Submerge the onions in the vinegar, sugar and salt and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  2. Once all of the vegetables are sliced, cooked and cooled, along with the hot InnovAsian chicken and rice then assemble as follows: lay down a sheet of nori and spread on a thin amount of cooked white rice to cover all of the nori and evenly spread on the asparagus, carrots, cilantro leaves, green onions, red pepper and orange chicken. Roll up the sushi burrito, cut in half and serve.
  3. Repeat the steps while mix and matching other ingredients to make your own customizable sushi burrito recipe.

 

BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe with Coleslaw and Pickles

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BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe with Coleslaw and Pickles

One of my absolute favorite times of the year is the first weekend of the men’s college basketball March Madness tournament.  Usually a few of my friends take off that Thursday and Friday and we watch every basketball game of the first round while we slowly go into food comas and slip in and out of naps all day long…  Honestly there is nothing more glorious.  The food situation usually consists of everyone bringing a few things so we can graze from the morning all the way to the night.  While my alma mater won’t make the tourney this year, I still plan on bringing the heat in the food department, so that’s why I created this BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe with Coleslaw and Pickles for March Frozen Food Month.

When creating any recipe, whether it be for my family or a buddy get together to watch the game, I usually hit the frozen food section first.  The aisle is loaded with everything from delectable treats, to vegetables picked in peak season, to really tasty fish, beef and chicken meals.  One of our favorite frozen items is the Tyson Any’Tizers Popcorn chicken made with 100% all-natural ingredients.  First off my daughter absolutely loves them simply cooked up plain and eaten as is, and I love putting them in and on as many things as possible just like in this Loaded Tater Tots Recipe.  While these Any’Tizers worked amazing on those tater tot nachos, they are ridiculously good when tossed in BBQ sauce and topped off with coleslaw and pickles just like in this recipe.

You are going to be shocked at just how easy this recipe is to make.  In fact, you can make it even easier if you purchase the premade coleslaw in the bag from the grocery store, but because I’m a bit of an overachiever and there just happens to be a “chef” in front of my name, I’m always going to take the next step.  Cooking the Any’Tizers are as simple as spreading them out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and baking them in the oven at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are cooked through.  Once they are done you want to toss them around in your favorite BBQ sauce…  Now, this can be your own recipe, store bought, whatever you prefer, but you do need to heat it up a bit to take the chill off it so it doesn’t make your chicken cold.  You can seriously just pour it into a microwave safe bowl and heat it up for 1 minute.

As I said earlier, you can save time by buying the premade coleslaw mix from the grocery store, but if you are like me and love fresh slaw, then I’m pretty confident in guaranteeing that this may be your favorite coleslaw recipe.  My wife seriously just eats it with a fork right out of the bowl it’s that good.  I like to thinly shave the green and red cabbage on a mandolin slicer so that it is like paper thick.  For some reason when everyday vegetables are cut or sliced slightly different they taste better, or maybe it’s just me?  Regardless, I like it thin because I think if you’re putting coleslaw onto a sandwich it should be used to compliment not overpower.   I usually finish off the coleslaw with matchstick carrots, sliced green onions, cilantro and celery seed.  The dressing is a simple blend of mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and sugar.  The balance of acid and sweet in the dressing really compliment the savory ingredients in the coleslaw giving it an exceptional taste.  Don’t forget to season it with salt and pepper!

Lastly, is plating up our BBQ Chicken Slider, which is incredibly easy.  I placed some mozzarella cheese on the bottom part of a brioche roll and melted it under the broiler on low heat.  You can torch the cheese, microwave it, anything you need to do to melt it.  I then layered on the coleslaw, bread and butter pickles (yes you can use Kosher dill), the BBQ chicken and the top of the bun.  WHOA!!  You want to talk about a small bite that packs a serious punch, then these are for sure it.  I’m super excited to share these with the fellas as I’m pretty confident they’re going to become obsessed.  Here’s to lots of basketball watching this month!!

For more great tips and recipes, be sure to check out EasyHomeMeals.com, and be sure to follow them on their social media channels at:

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BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe with Coleslaw and Pickles
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
 
Looking for a great appetizer? Spice up your get togethers with this tasty BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe with Coleslaw and Pickles!
Ingredients
  • 1 bag of Tyson Any’Tizers Popcorn Chicken
  • 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, heated
  • ½ thinly sliced head of green cabbage
  • ¼ thinly sliced head of red cabbage
  • 1 cup of matchstick carrots
  • ¼ cup of sliced green onions
  • ¼ cup of chopped fresh cilantro
  • ½ teaspoon of celery seed
  • ⅓ cup of mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 8 slices of mozzarella cut in half
  • 32 bread and butter pickle slices
  • 16 brioche rolls cut in half
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the chicken in the oven per its instructions and then toss them with the heated BBQ sauce in a bowl. Keep warm.
  2. Coleslaw: In a large bowl mix together the cabbages, carrots, green onions, cilantro, celery seed, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper until completely combined. Chill before serving. Note there may be extra leftover which you can serve separately.
  3. To Plate: Evenly divide the cheese onto the bottom part of the 16 buns and melt in the oven under the broiler on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until melted and lightly browned. Next, add some coleslaw on top of the melted cheese followed by adding on a few pieces of BBQ chicken, pickles and the top of the bun. Repeat the process until the ingredients are gone

 

The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe

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The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe

I partnered with Cobblestone Bread Co. to create this post! Enjoy!

Call me an overachiever but it when it comes to eating anything I always want choices, so that’s the reason for this The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe.  I thought I’d take the time to use almost the same ingredients to make a beefed up chicken club and then totally change things up and make a chicken melt recipe.  Not only do I like being able to have options, my wife and daughter really appreciate it because often times they don’t like all the things that I do, so it’s important to be able to make a few different things utilizing the same ingredients.  No matter what kind of variation of sandwich I’m creating, Cobblestone Bread Co. always has the bread to stand up to everything I want to throw in it while providing a rich bakery-style like feel to it.

Regardless of which sandwich you want, it all starts with marinating some boneless skinless chicken breasts overnight.  Sure you can marinate for 30 minutes or so, but if you want tons of delicious flavor then you really have to marinate it overnight.  I used a combination of dry oregano, dry basil, finely minced fresh garlic and extra virgin olive oil.  You can absolutely change this marinade up by adding in some sort of acid, like lemon juice or vinegar, or feel free to change up the herbs a bit to get the desired flavors you’re looking for or enjoy.  After the marinating process is over it is essential to remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and season both sides with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  While all of the herbs and garlic in the marinade provide a lot of flavor it can still have a bland taste without salt and pepper.

From there it’s as easy as sautéing up the chicken until golden brown and finishing it in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until it’s cooked in the center.  Remember with chicken there should be no pink in it.  Be sure to rest the chicken for a few minutes before thinly slicing it.

Now that the chicken is out of the way we can focus on all of the delicious toppings we want to put on The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe.  Both sandwiches are going to use the same spread on it, which is a really tasty sun dried tomato basil and Asiago mayonnaise.  I always make extra of this mayo because it’s so good and I put it on sandwiches I make all week long :-).  To really elevate the flavor of this sandwich I made my world famous balsamic onions.  Ok they aren’t world famous, but everyone that eats them absolutely loves them, even if they don’t like onions.  Simply whisk some balsamic vinegar together with some olive oil and sugar and baste some sliced onions every 5 minutes while they roast in the oven for a total of 30 minutes.  You want flavor???  These onions will blow your mind by just how tasty they are, and not too mention they go amazing on a sandwich or burger.

For the club sandwich I pile it high with mashed avocado, ham, bacon, butter leaf lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and micro greens, of course in addition to the chicken, onions, and mayonnaise spread.  The chicken melt has mozzarella, chicken, bacon, Canadian bacon, onions and mayonnaise spread.  I wanted to make the chicken melt a little meatier so the Canadian bacon added some more girth to this ultimate deliciousness.  While both of these beasts of a sandwich are big boy sandwiches, I tend to favor the chicken melt because it’s extra cheesy and gooey.

 

One of the most important aspects of any sandwich is the bread.  For me bread should be used to complement the rest of the sandwich with its flavor and its ability to stay intact no matter what you put on it.  There is nothing worse than sandwich bread that falls apart, nothing!  I can always count on Cobblestone Bread Co. to deliver superior taste and quality while being strong enough to handle even the manliest of sandwiches I want to create.  While they have a superior selection of flavors, from rye to 12 grain, and tons of others, I really like their Million Dollar White.  Making sandwiches on traditional white bread is nostalgic for me as it reminds me of eating lunches with my dad, and now I get to relive those with a more gourmet hook these days.  The Million Dollar White literally makes the perfect toast, eaten at the dinner table with butter spread on it, French toast and of course a great tasting sandwich.  If you are looking to up your sandwich game then look no further than this The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe.

Be sure to follow Cobblestone Bread Co. at cobblestonebreadco.com

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Save Print
The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: lunch
 
Spice up your get togethers with this The Ultimate Chicken Club Sandwich and Chicken Melt Recipe that is bursting with flavor!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 2 tablespoons of dry basil
  • 1 tablespoon of dry oregano
  • 5 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup of olive oil
  • 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Onions and Spread:
  • 1 peeled and sliced red onion
  • ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 1 cup of mayonnaise
  • ½ cup of shredded Asiago cheese
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup of julienne sun dried tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Sandwich:
  • 1 loaf of Cobblestone Bread Co. Million Dollar White
  • 1 pound of cooked crisp bacon
  • ½ pound of deli sliced ham
  • ½ pound of sliced and cooked Canadian bacon ham
  • 6 leaves of butter leaf lettuce
  • 4 thinly sliced vine ripe tomatoes
  • 2 peeled and seeded mashed avocados
  • 1 pound of sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup of microgreens
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Chicken: Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and season them on both sides with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a very large frying pan over medium-high heat and add in the chicken breasts.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or golden brown and then flip the chicken over and add the pan to the oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned and cooked throughout.  Rest for 2 to 3 minutes on a cutting board before slicing.
  4. Onions: Place the onions on a sheet tray and place in the oven at 375° for 30 minutes.
  5. In a medium bowl whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sugar and baste the onions using a brush every 5 minutes.  Remove the onions once they are done cooking.
  6. Spread: Whisk together the mayonnaise, Asiago cheese, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, basil and salt and pepper until combined.  Cool before serving.
  7. Chicken Club Assembly:  Toast 3 pieces of Cobblestone Million Dollar White bread and layer the sandwich as followed: mozzarella cheese, sliced chicken breasts, balsamic onions, lettuce, tomato, toast, mashed avocado, bacon, ham, micro greens, spread, toast.
  8. Chicken Melt Assembly: Place the slices of Million Dollar White bread on a griddle.  Once brown flip over and add cheese to each slices.  Layer on as followed: bacon, Canadian bacon, sliced chicken breasts, onions, and spread and place on the other sliced of toasted cheese melted bread.
  9. Enjoy!

 

 

Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs

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Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs

In the food world I’ve always lived under the umbrella statement, “simplicity is elegant,” and that applies precisely to this Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs.  It’s nothing overly fancy… It’s no molecular gastronomy, It’s not going to be on a 3-Michelin Star restaurant’s menu, but it is comforting, it’s beyond delicious and it could not be any more of a traditional meal.  This Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs combines the old school beauty of Italy and France into 1 dish.  If you’ve never really gone back and made classic Italian or French recipes I highly recommend doing so.  If you aren’t of where to start, then honestly check out 1 of Julia Child’s cook books for all things French and check out the Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan for all things Italian.  Before you start getting all creative in your kitchen it’s importance to understand the basics of fundamental cookery, especially as it relates to French and Italian food.  If you want a ton of background knowledge on all things food and cooking techniques then look no further than the father of modern day cookery, Auguste Escoffier,

Nowadays menus are filled with foams, mini portions, exotic raw vegetables and everything else in between.  Let me start by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those things, in fact I suggest going and do often go to restaurants like that, after all it is an experience to enjoy.  However, I like to eat and I want large portions.  I would highly recommend staying away from these “experience” type restaurants if you’re absolutely starving because chances are you still may leave hungry and without a lot of money.   Again, love those types of restaurants and love reading about them hearing about them, but for all intents and purposes I wanna talk about eating some good old fashioned goodness, like in this Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs.

The first part of this recipe is the roast chicken and herbs.  I started by breaking down a whole chicken and then Frenching the breasts.  For far too long I’ve been lazy as heck and have bought the chicken already broken down by thighs, breasts, etc.  It is so stinking easy to do it yourself and if you enjoy meat fabrication of any kind, it’s really fun.  I used to absolutely love the meat fabrication aspect of culinary techniques so any chance I get to do it I usually jump at it… Of course unless I buy chicken. GUILTY!!  Regardless I broke down the chicken and Frenched the breast which means I left the bone in it and then cut it down to make it look nicer.  From there I seasoned and roasted it up in a pan in some olive oil and then added in some fresh thyme, whole garlic cloves and a whole gang of unsalted butter.

After I flipped the chicken over for the first time I basted all of the chicken parts with the butter, oil, herbs and garlic for another 4 to 6 minutes to make sure they were flavorful and moist.  Now to get a ton more flavor in this chicken, I covered it in foil and placed it in the oven on 300° for 2 ½ hours almost confiting the chicken.  It is so crispy on the outside and so ridiculously flavorful and moist on the inside.  Always let your protein rest before serving and again DAAAANNNNNGGG is this roast chicken and herbs good!

Next up is the risotto.  Always use a huge pot and a wooden spoon or else it won’t turn out correctly ;-).  Oh yeah, and always stir the same way while cooking it.  Risotto is one of those things that is just so comforting to eat and gosh dang it is it so good.  It can be loaded up with lobster or have nothing but parmesan cheese it, and every time it is so ridiculously good!

To go a bit further with my risotto recipe I added in some peas and mushrooms as well as making an insanely delicious truffle butter.  Truffle butter, while I agree a bit played out, is seriously one of the most insanely delicious things on the planet earth.  It is so flippin ridiculous I can barely stand it!  Truffle butter represents the finer things and life and I’m not even kidding when I say it can be put on anything.  In a pasta, over a steak, spread on a loaf of bread, finished over a steak, seriously use truffle butter like it’s going out of style!

That’s all I got folks, thanks for coming along and listening to me ramble about cooking nonsense… Oh and make this Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs!

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Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs
Author: 
 
Get a little taste of French and Italian classic cuisine in this Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 whole broken down chicken with Frenched breasts
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 10 whole garlic cloves
  • 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 4 ounces of unsalted butter
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Truffle Butter:
  • 1 pound of softened unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons of black truffle peelings
  • 2 ounces of white truffle oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Risotto:
  • 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
  • ½ small diced peeled yellow onion
  • 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 pound of Arborio rice
  • 1 cup of dry white wine
  • 64 to 96 ounces of good chicken stock
  • ¾ cup of shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup of whipped heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup of peas
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 cups of quartered cremini mushrooms
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300°.
  2. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper and set aside.
  3. Next, heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add in the chicken skin side down and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.
  4. Flip the chicken over, turn the heat down to medium, and add in the garlic, thyme and butter and baste all of the chicken parts constantly with the butter for 4 to 6 minutes.
  5. Cover the chicken with foil or a lid and place in the oven at 300° for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until browned, crispy on the outside and tender juicy in the middle. Rest for 3 to 4 minutes on a plate or cutting board before serving.
  6. Truffle Butter: Whip the butter in a standing mixer on high speed with the paddle attachment until it becomes light and fluffy.
  7. Next, add in the truffle peelings, truffle oil, salt and pepper and combine on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plastic container and chill in the refrigerator.
  8. Risotto: Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot and add in the onions and garlic and caramelize, about 20 minutes.
  9. Next, add in the rice and toast for 2 to 3 minutes before deglazing with white wine.
  10. Stir the rice constantly until the rice has absorbed the wine and add in 8 ounces of chicken stock at a time while continuing to stir until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat the process until the risotto is al dente or slightly crunchy.
  11. Fold in the Parmesan cheese, whipping cream and peas until combined. Keep warm.
  12. In a saute pan with olive oil over high heat add in the mushrooms and cook until browned, about 6 to 8 minutes and then fold them into the risotto. Finish the risotto by seasoning with salt and pepper and adding in a few tablespoons of the truffle butter. Feel free to use as little or as much as you’d like.
  13. Serve the chicken alongside the truffle butter risotto.

 

Bao Bun Tacos with Gochujang Chicken Recipe and Banh Mi Slaw

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Bao Bun Tacos with Gochujang Chicken Recipe and Banh Mi Slaw

Man I don’t even know where to begin with this Bao Bun Tacos with Gochujang Chicken Recipe and Banh Mi Slaw…  All I can say is wow for each thing, especially the bao buns, where this is the first time I’ve ever made them.  Yes, they are a labor of love, yes they are worth every minute of work, but what I’m wondering is how on earth so many restaurants can serve bao buns so cheap.  I mean with the amount of time it takes to make these things they should be $10 a piece, not $2 or $3 like I see.  Maybe for others they are just so wonderful to make that price really doesn’t matter.  Regardless of what I think about how much restaurants should charge for them, they are so dang good.  They are light, fluffy and have the most wonderful sweet finish to them that you’ll mistake it for eating dessert.  However, with the right combination of foods to pair these bao buns up with, you are going to have an insanely balanced dish on your hand.

I have been wanting to make bao buns for some time, but I also knew I did not want to do the traditional rendition which is stuffing them and steaming them.  I already knew they were sweet so pairing them up with something a little spicy I thought would be a nice touch, so for me marinating some chicken in a Korean style gochujang marinade was screaming at me from the beginning.  Gochujang is a thick paste made from chili peppers, sticky rice and fermented soy beans, amount a few other ingredients.  It’s full flavored and when used without sugar or acid can be pretty dang spicy.  I paired it up with some honey, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, hoison sauce, cilantro, lime juice and sesame seeds.  I know, I know a lot going on, but man is the flavor so good.  If you wanted to do a really dumbed down version of this gochujang chicken then you could simply use gochujang, honey, soy, lime juice and hoison sauce.  When it comes to marinating the chicken I can’t stress enough to let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.  To heck with all those 30 minute or 60-minute marinade… I’m telling you that you won’t get much flavor from those types of hacks, so be sure to give yourself some time and marinate the chicken over night before grilling it up and slicing it.

As I stated earlier the bao buns take some time to make because of the 3 different rising periods.  The dough is pretty much a basic bread dough with the addition of more sugar and cornstarch.  Just like bread you let the yeast feed on the caster sugar and warm water for 5 to 7 minutes or until a foamy raft forms on top.  From there add in the sifted flour and cornstarch along with some rice wine vinegar and sunflower oil, and mix it together and knead it for 10 minutes.  You should have a really nice smooth soft dough ball at the end.  Place a damp towel over top and let it chill until it’s doubled in size, or about 60 to 90 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled you want to sprinkle a little baking powder in and kneed it again for 2 to 3 minutes.  The baking powder will allow the bao buns to keep their shape after steaming so be sure not to miss this part.  Then again let it rise for about 30 minutes or so before rolling them out into 20 small dough balls.  Here we go again…  Cover them with a damp towel and let’em rise for 10 to 15 minutes!!  WHEW HEW, can you feel it?!  Yup time is starting to eat up :-).

Next you roll out each dough ball so that it is in the shape of an oval and then you want to fold them over, like a mini taco.  See where we are going with these yet?  From there you steam them in a traditional steamer or an Asian style steamer that is lined with cabbage leaves so that they do no stick in the inside.  don’t worry about buying cabbage because you should have plenty left over after making the banh mi slaw.  You will also have to steam these bao buns in batches because you’ll only be able to steam so many at 1 time.  Set them on a sheet tray once cooked.

Lastly it’s time to make the banh mi slaw, which is just so dang good!  So I’ve got sweet with the bao buns, spicy with the gochujang chicken, so now I need a little acidity and vegetables to round everything out.  Obviously the first thing that came to mind was banh mi slaw.  I know you are like hold on a second, you are combining Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese?  Yes, yes I am.  Mess with it!  Banh mi slaw is actually a very simple mixture of carrots, jalapenos, cabbage and cilantro tossed in an even simpler rice wine vinaigrette, but can be enhanced to the level that I made it which is loaded with veggies.  When you get to my age you crave veggies non-stop so you throw as much in there as you can, especially when you have a versatile recipe like banh mi.

So there you have it, Bao Bun Tacos with Gochujang Chicken Recipe and Banh Mi Slaw.  Dude I know it’s going to take you a bit but your family or friends or whoever is eating these will flip when they taste them.  Happy cooking!!

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Bao Bun Tacos with Gochujang Chicken Recipe and Banh Mi Slaw
Author: 
 
This Bao Bun Tacos with Gochujang Chicken Recipe and Banh Mi Slaw will be the biggest hit at your next party, so make them today!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • ¼ cup of gochujang
  • 3 tablespoons of honey
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of mirin
  • ½ cup of hoison sauce
  • juice of ½ lime
  • ¼ cup of chopped cilantro
  • ½ tablespoon of sesame seeds
  • 1 pound of chicken tenders
For the Banh Mi Slaw:
  • 2 cups of shredded green cabbage
  • 1 cup of shredded red cabbage
  • 1 cup of matchstick carrots
  • ½ sliced red bell pepper
  • ½ sliced cucumber
  • 1 sliced jalapeño, seeds removed
  • 2 to 3 sliced radishes
  • 1 cup of fresh cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ¼ cup of sesame oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Bao Buns:
  • 2 cups of warm water (112° to 115°)
  • 5 tablespoons of caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of active yeast
  • 3 cups of bread flour, sifted + more for kneading
  • 1 cup of cornstarch, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
Instructions
  1. Chicken: Whisk together all ingredients excluding the chicken in a large bowl until combined. Submerge the chicken in the marinade and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. To cook the chicken, remove the tenders from the marinade and cook over medium-high heat in a griddle pan for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until grill marks are formed and they are cooked through out. Rest for 2 to 3 minutes before thinly slicing.
  3. Banh Mi Slaw: Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl and chill until serving time.
  4. Bao Buns: Combine the water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and whisk and let sit for 5 to 7 minutes or until a foamy raft forms on top.
  5. Next, stir in the remaining ingredients until combined and then knead for 10 minutes on a clean surface dusted with flour until it becomes a soft white dough. Cover with a damp towel until it doubles in size, about 60 to 90 minutes.
  6. Sprinkle the baking powder over top of the dough and gently knead it for 2 to 3 minutes and then cover it again with the damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes
  7. Form 20 small dough balls and place them on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
  8. Roll out each dough ball until it forms an oval that is about 5 inches long. Brush the top of the rolled out dough with some sunflower oil and fold it over until it looks like a taco shell. Repeat until the dough balls have been rolled up.
  9. Steam the bao buns in batches for 4 to 6 minutes or until they are fluffy and cooked through out.
  10. To Plate: Place a small amount of the sliced cooked chicken into a bao bun shell and garnish with the banh mi slaw. Note there will most likely be some coleslaw left.

 

Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale

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Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale 1

RRRRRRibollita, say it with me!!! You have to roll those r’s if you’re going to be making this Tuscan Italian soup sometime in the near future.  I know I say this like all the flippin’ time but honestly this Ribollita soup recipe was one of the better soups I’ve made/had in a minute.  It was hearty, it was tasty, and if I do say so myself it’s pretty dang healthy…  I’m sure though that my version of healthy is different than yours so take it for what it’s worth.  In any event this soup is indigenous to the Tuscany region in Italy, which is on the west coast of the country and up towards the top.  I’ve never been to Italy and for some reason I’m not overly interested in going there, mainly because I don’t want to sit on a stinkin’ plane for 10 hours.  In fact, if I was forced to go overseas I’d probably head to Israel :-).  Isn’t that crazy?  My grandparents were from Italy for crying out loud and I don’t have much of a desire to go there.  What’s wrong with me?  Honestly I know it would be amazing and I would at some point like to go and spend a lot of time there, and in Western Europe.  Ok so how did we get here to me traveling instead of talking about the soup?  My bad.

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Ok so back to this Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale.  As always it starts with your mise en place, or prep.  When I cook anything, no matter what it is, I always prep out everything so that when I begin cooking I can simply cook and not worry about chopping things right when I need them.  If you do this I promise that cooking will become much more enjoyable for you.  Now that you’ve got your mirepoix, a.k.a. onions, celery and carrots, cut up along with the garlic, let’s get after it.

Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale 3

Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale 4

Season the chicken breasts generously on both sides with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and set it aside.  As a side note you don’t have to just use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.  You can absolutely use a whole broken down chicken or heck even just dark meat, but I use chicken breasts because my wife prefers it and well, she’s the boss.  The next thing you want to do in this Ribollita Soup Recipe is to sear the chicken on both sides in the large pot that you will actually be making the soup in.  So brown them and cook them through completely in a large pot over medium heat with olive oil. It’s best to do this because it simply adds more flavor to the pot.  You know that brown caramelized goodness that gets stuck to the bottom of the pot?  Yeah that’s called fond or as we in the industry like to call it, nom noms :-).  Remove the chicken, chop it up and let it sit while you add your mirepoix and garlic into that same pot where the chicken was cooking.  You can crank the heat up to high here and try and roast up the veggies for a 3 to 4 minutes before deglazing with the white wine.  It is so important to scrape the bottom of the pot with a spoon after deglazing to get all of that delicious fond off and into our soup!  Be sure to cook the wine until it’s just about gone before adding in any other ingredients.

Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale 5

Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale 6

Next for this Ribollita Soup Recipe it’s all about adding everything in and letting it simmer to incorporate all of those tasty flavors in.  Wait!!  Don’t add in the kale yet as it will wilt and get quite gross, especially if you plan on leaving this bad boy sit on the stove all day.  In fact, I would hold off on the cooked cous cous as well because they will also turn to mush.  So to recap, leave out the kale and cous cous until you are ready to eat it!  Now, once you have it in lay a piece of bread over top and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on and pop it in the broiler for a few minutes to melt it up.  It’s kind of like onion soup where the bread adds some body and flavor to the soup, plus it’s just plain awesome!  That’s about all I got folks, enjoy this Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale!

Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale 7

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Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale
Author: 
Recipe type: soup
 
Change up your soup game with this full flavored delicious Ribollita Soup Recipe with Chicken and Kale that'll keep you coming back for more.
Ingredients
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 peeled and small diced yellow onion
  • 5 medium diced ribs of celery
  • 5 peeled and medium diced carrots
  • 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup of chardonnay
  • 4 15-ounce cans of white cannellini beans, strained
  • 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 gallon of chicken stock
  • 4 cups of cooked Israeli cous cous
  • 1 head of trimmed and cut fresh kale
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • crisp cooked prosciutto slices, chopped for garnish
  • French baguette slices
  • parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
  1. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large dutch oven pot and sear the chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown and cooked through out.
  3. Remove the chicken, medium dice and set aside.
  4. Next, add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic to the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned.
  5. Add the chopped chicken back in along with the beans, tomatoes, stock and salt and pepper and simmer on low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  6. Finish the soup by adding in the cooked cous cous, kale, thyme and rosemary.
  7. Pour the soup into a bowl and garnish with chopped crispy prosciutto and parmesan cheese.

 

How to Make Chilaquiles for Breakfast with Chicken and Eggs

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How to Make Chilaquiles for Breakfast with Chicken and Eggs

I know what you’re thinking… You scrolled to the bottom of this page to check out the recipe and was like, “DANG that’s a lot of ingredients.”  I know, I know already but if you really want to know How to Make Chilaquiles for Breakfast with Chicken and Eggs and do it correctly then this is where it’s at.  To be honest I’ve only had Chilaquiles once and dang was it spicy.  I mean come on bro I’m not trying to shoot out fire from any of my orifices, but this one that I had awhile back put me up for a few days.  I always say that you are going to make something with a little kick to it, then it needs to be comfortably spicy.  Nothing worse then eating something spicy and the only thing you can taste is that your mouth is on fire and that’s it.  You should be able to taste other components of the recipe, not just heat.  Ok anyways, back on how to make chilaquiles for breakfast.

Chilaquiles are traditionally a Mexican dish with a few adaptations like adding beef, or eggs or guacamole, or heck all of them.  Well I sort of wanted to take that approach with the protein aspect so I did chicken and eggs in mine.  Also keeping up with traditional classics you would really pour mole, or salsa verde or plain salsa over top of the chips.  Now, you know me and you know I wouldn’t trip Debo so I for sure had to take this thing to the next level with seared chicken in a roasted slow cooked salsa verde.  Yeah I said it! Lastly, my version of How to Make Chilaquiles for Breakfast with Chicken and Eggs is much more of a central Mexican recipe as I am serving mine up with crunch corn tortillas instead of soft tortilla shells.  Honestly you could do either in this recipe and be completely fine.  Let’s get into making this fella shall we?

First and fore most don’t be overwhelmed by all of the ingredients.  They are simple and a lot of them go into making the salsa.  So start by roasting up all of those vegetables in the oven until they get a light char.  You could probably put them right under the broiler on low heat and get there faster, but it’s up to you.  You can also play with how tomatoey (is that a word?) you want the salsa to be.  I only used 2 tomatoes, but if you are much more of a traditional salsa guy or gal then knock yourselves out.  Once it’s charred then add all of those tasty ingredients along with some spices to a blender and beat it up, and then clean it up J.  This will become the homemade salsa goodness that we will slow cook our chicken in.  THIS is why my chilaquiles recipe is so bomb!

Once you’ve seasoned up the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper you then want to brown them up and cook them through in a medium size sauce pot.  Yes, I said pot because we want to leave all that goodness in there instead of trying to transfer it from a sauté pan.  Once they are cooked add in the homemade salsa along with some chicken stock, salt and pepper.  Make sure the liquid is seasoned well because this will become the liquid that will infuse all of the flavor into the chicken.  Simply slow cook these beauties until they can easily be shredded apart with a couple of forks, which will take about 2 to 3 hours.  Even if they shred before that you can still leave it cooking on low heat to keep on flavor infusing.

When the chicken is done slow cooking and is all shredded up it actually goes pretty quick.  What you want to do is coat the chips in the tortilla chips and transfer it to a couple of cast iron skillets or a sheet tray and then smother it with Chihuahua and cotija cheese.   Place all this deliciousness under a broiler until the cheese is completely melted and lightly browned.  Lastly top off with some fried or poached eggs and sprinkle on any remaining cheese, fresh herbs and an avocado.  Boom!!  You can’t tell this how to make chilaquiles recipe doesn’t sound good, because it is bomb!  Good luck 🙂


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How to Make Chilaquiles for Breakfast with Chicken and Eggs
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast
 
Start off your morning with a loaded breakfast by learning How to Make Chilaquiles for Breakfast with Chicken and Eggs!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 8 tomatillos
  • 2 roma tomatoes
  • 1 peeled yellow onion sliced into wedges
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 2 jalapeños sliced in half, seeds removed
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1½ teaspoons of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 cups of chicken stock
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Breakfast Chilaquiles:
  • 11 ounce bag of corn tortilla chips
  • 1 15-ounce can of heated refried pinto beans
  • 2 cups of shredded Chihuahua cheese
  • 1 cup of crumbled cotija cheese
  • 6 fried eggs to desired doneness
  • 1 peeled and pitted sliced avocado
  • ¼ cup of chopped cilantro
  • ¼ cup of sliced green onions
  • 1 sliced red pepper for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°
  2. Chicken: Coat the tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapenos in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and spread them out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until there is a light char on the vegetables.
  3. Remove the ingredients and transfer them to a blender along with the cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and puree until smooth. Set aside.
  4. Next, season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large dutch oven pot until it begins to lightly smoke and add in the chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
  5. Pour the blended tomatillo mixture over top of the chicken along with the chicken stock, salt and pepper and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 hours. Shred the chicken once it becomes easy to pull apart and keep warm.
  6. To Make: Place the tortilla chips on a large sheet tray or divide it between 2 cast iron skillets and mix in the slow cooked shredded chicken until the tortilla chips are coated.

 

Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

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Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Yeah, say the title of this recipe 5 times fast :-)!  This Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe is a mouthful to say and eat but one thing is for sure, it’s loaded with flavor!  As you may have read in my Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe, I’m looking to incorporate more vegetables into my daily diet, so that’s why I came up with this incredibly easy to make Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe.  It’s loaded with flavor, literally takes under an hour to make and the whole family will eat it!  Not that my family is a group of picky eaters, but dang is hard to get a 4-year old to eat everything we eat.  I used to sit back and laugh watching parents just feed their kids mac n cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but now I get it.  It’s hard to get them to eat anything so as long as they’ll eat something then so be it.  I do feel fortunate though that my daughter loves vegetables so AMEN for that :-).

While the title of this says stuffed sweet potatoes I also baked regular potatoes as well just in case my daughter didn’t like them.  Remember with kids it’s always better to be safe than sorry so I’ve learned to provide a few options without turning into Burger King, “Your way Right away!”  In addition to my daughter eating some plain healthy baked regular and sweet potatoes I also sneak some green veggies into this Stir-Fry Chicken with some broccoli and sugar snaps.  My daughter has actually always like broccoli believe it or not and this is just one more way to get her to eat more. YAY!  Sometimes if you mask the flavor of something kids will take a stab at it and often like it not realize what they’re eating.  I always had this dream of feeding my daughter salmon mixed with rice and broccoli with a little ranch mixed into help enjoy all the flavor while it’s going down the hatch.  Well come to find out my daughter doesn’t like ranch dressing.  I mean what kinda kid doesn’t like ranch??? Or ketchup for that matter?  Seriously have no clue where she got her palette from but hopefully she’ll start appreciating some salty vinegary goodness, even though it’s not the best for you.

So now to make this Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe.  First of course bake your potatoes in the oven or however you’d like, even if that’s a microwave.  I like to go coated in olive oil and kosher salt, but again I’m trying to change up my diet so raw in the oven on 375 for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender in the center.  For the chicken it’s imperative to slice it super thin.  This is a great way to practice those knife skills, so when I mean super thin then think the local Asian restaurant that serves up their really thin sliced chicken dishes.  For some reason it also tastes better… Or maybe that’s just me?  Could be both!  Once they are sliced you then want to season with salt and pepper and dredge them completely in corn starch.  No we aren’t using flour, we want a nice fluffy crusty batter on it and the best way to do that is using cornstarch.  Also not to mention the cornstarch will help thicken up our soy-chicken stock liquid once we pour it in.  That’s right, two birds – one stone!

Once the chicken is coated you then want to sauté it up in some sesame oil.  You could definitely use regular canola or even coconut oil here, totally your preference.  Get’em nice and browned and cooked through, remove the chicken from the pan and add in the veggies.  Stir-frying is the art of constantly stirring while sautéing over really high heat so that is essentially what you want to do here.  May take 2 minutes, may take 4, the point is to get the veggies a little but charred but still crispy.   Set the vegetables to the side and add in all the goodness to make the sauce and cook it over medium heat until it gets super thick.  From there dump all of the cooked ingredients back in and toss it around for a delicious sweet and savory Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe.

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Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
 
Try this Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe that is bursting with delicious Asian flavors!
Ingredients
  • 2 baked sweet potatoes
  • 2 baked potatoes
  • 2 thinly sliced chicken breasts
  • 1 cup of corn starch
  • ¼ cup of sesame oil
  • 1 julienne red bell pepper
  • 1 julienne yellow bell pepper
  • 1 bunch of sliced green onions
  • 2 cups of trimmed broccoli florettes
  • 2 cups of sugar snaps
  • 4 cloves of minced garlic
  • ¾ cup of light brown sugar
  • 1 cup of soy sauce
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • sesame seeds, sliced green onions and fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
  1. Add the chicken to a bowl along with the cornstarch and mix until it is coated on all sides.
  2. Next add ½ of the sesame oil to a large sauté pan or wok over high heat and cook the chicken until it is browned and cooked through and remove it and set it aside.
  3. In that same pan while on high heat add in the peppers, onions, broccoli and sugar snaps and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes and remove from the pan and set aside.
  4. Add the remaining sesame oil, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce and chicken stock to the wok and cook over medium to medium-high heat until it becomes very thick, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  5. Once the sauce is thick add the cooked chicken, stir-fried vegetables and noodles and toss to coat.
  6. Slice the potatoes and stuff up with the stir-fry chicken mixture and garnish with sesame seeds, sliced green onions and cilantro leaves.

 

Flattened Chicken with Pumpkin Butter and Braised Red Cabbage

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Flattened Chicken with Pumpkin Butter and Braised Red Cabbage

I absolutely love this time of year, simply because it gives me an excuse to cook something with pumpkin in it.  When I was making this Flattened Chicken with Pumpkin Butter and Braised Red Cabbage, I can’t lie I found myself constantly eating the butter and spreading it on the chicken with every bite.  Along with cooking pumpkin in October, comes the pumpkin patch, hay rides and lots of scary costumes.  My daughter the other day told us she wanted to be a graham cracker for Halloween… Not quite sure how that one will work out, but nonetheless we had a great laugh out of her comment.  Yup, this time of year is the best!

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The greatest thing about this recipe is that it’s actually very easy to make.  First it starts with flattening, or spatchcocking, your chicken by removing the back bone entirely and pressing it flat skin side up.  You can do this with a cleaver or some very sharp kitchen shears.  Once the chicken is flat, season it very well with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through.  Another way to do this would be by brushing it with olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper and cooking right on the grill.  It gives it that smoky flavor, in case that’s what you’re looking for.

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What would this chicken be without a great butter to go over top?  No matter what I am making I always make it a point to stop by the dairysection to see how I can enhance the recipe I’m making.  Whether it be roasting a chicken in milk, yes I said milk, or making a delicious compound butter, the dairyaisle is a must stop with every trip.  Once I got the Smart Balance Butter and Canola Oil Blend in hand, I knew exactly what I was going to put in it—maple, sage and pumpkin.  Oh boy it will not disappoint!  Be sure to keep the pumpkin butter chilled before serving it.

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Last but not least, I wanted to make some braised red cabbage.  We used to make something just like this at one of the restaurants I worked at, and I thought the vinegary flavor would really compliment the sweet and savory chicken with pumpkin butter.  I always say it’s all about the balance of flavors and once you get a bite of everything at the same time you will literally get an explosion of sensory deliciousness in your mouth.  Of course the artist in me also loved the bright red color contrast with the orange pumpkin butter :-).

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It’s always a good idea to start cooking the cabbage after the chicken has been in the oven for 20 minutes so that everything finishes cooking at the same time.  Nothing worse than finishing the main portion of a recipe and waiting another hour for everything else to finish.

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I promise you will love this Flattened Chicken with Pumpkin Butter and Braised Red Cabbage. You can always change up the vegetable if you are looking for something different, however I think you’ll be missing out ;-).

For more great tips and recipes, be sure to check out EasyHomeMeals.com, and be sure to follow them on their social media channels at:

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Flattened Chicken with Pumpkin Butter and Braised Red Cabbage
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
 
Change it up this Fall season with this delicious Flattened Chicken with Pumpkin Butter and Braised Red Cabbage!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 whole roasting chicken
  • 7.5 ounce Smart Balance Butter and Canola Oil Blend
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh sage
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Cabbage:
  • 1 ounce Smart Balance Butter and Canola Oil Blend
  • 1 peeled and sliced red onion
  • 1 head of sliced red cabbage
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • ⅓ cup of light brown sugar
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. Remove the backbone from the chicken using kitchen shears and lay it flat, skin side up on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
  3. In a medium bowl whisk together the butter, pumpkin, maple, sage and salt and pepper until combined. Keep cool.
  4. Cabbage: In a large sauté pan over medium high heat add in the butterand cook the onions for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned and tender.
  5. Next, add in the cabbage and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper and braise for 10 minutes.
  6. Serve the cabbage alongside the roasted chicken with the pumpkin butter.

 

 

Mulligatawny Soup Recipe

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Mulligatawny Soup Recipe

I Remember the first time I had a Mulligatawny Soup Recipe.  My mind and more importantly my taste buds were absolutely blown away.  I was playing sous chef at a really nice restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri called Cardwells.  Our chef loved to make soup and dang was he good at it.  After about 2 months of working there he made Mulligatawny and I lost it…  I would try a small cup of his soup everyday and everything was always delicious, but when this came along I didn’t know what to do with myself.

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These were flavors I had never tasted before.  The strong curry, the sweetness from the apples, and the tropical creamy finish from the coconut milk, man was I in heaven.  The crazy thing was I was visiting a friends house a few days later and one of the people over there asked if I ever made this apple chicken curry soup.  I was like oh my gosh I just had this for the first time, it’s called Mulligatawny.  Crazy thing is as much as I love it, I’ve only maybe made it 3 times since I worked at that restaurant, and that was 15 years ago.  I’m getting old…

When making this Mulligatawny Soup Recipe you can either cook and cut up the chicken breasts yourself or you can use rotisserie chicken.  There is a lot going on in this soup and I want it to be as easy as possible for you so you can focus more on getting this in your belly and less on slaving in the kitchen.  it’s important to roast all of the vegetables so they can help bring out as much flavor as possible before adding in the curry and apples.  If you add the apples in too early they’ll get mushy, so don’t do it!  Also if you want to use our own homemade curry, have at it!

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I really hope you get a chance to make this because wow is it just so good.  If you want to really kick this up, then make my Homemade Pita Bread Recipe and serve it alongside it!

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Mulligatawny Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
 
Looking to change up your soup making game? Try this classic Anglo-Indian Mulligatawny Soup Recipe that is loaded with flavor!
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 small diced yellow onion
  • 3 peeled and small diced carrots
  • 3 small diced stalks of celery
  • 1 small diced red bell pepper, seeds removed
  • 1 small diced green bell pepper, seeds removed
  • 3 peeled and small diced sweet potatoes
  • 5 peeled and diced fuji apples
  • 2 tablespoons of yellow curry powder
  • 3 8-ounce cooked and diced boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 96 ounces of chicken stock
  • ¼ cup of corn starch whisked with 2 tablespoons of water
  • 15 ounce can of coconut milk
  • Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
  • Optional Garnishes: creme fraiche, croutons, chopped chives
Instructions
  1. In a large hot pot, add in sesame oil and saute the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, peppers and sweet potatoes.
  2. Once the vegetables are browned add in the apples, curry powder and chicken breasts and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
  3. Once spices are infused in the vegetables add in stock and bring to a boil.
  4. Once boiling whisk in the cornstarch-water combination to thicken it.
  5. Finish with cilantro, coconut milk and adjust the seasonings.
  6. Serve with optional garnishes.

 

 

Turkey Sloppy Joe Recipe with Mozzarella and Pickles

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I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun I had making these Homemade Sloppy Joe Sandwiches with Ground Turkey. I knew as the recipe was coming together that it was going to be a bomb flavor combo! It also brought back some great memories growing up in St. Louis. We’d eat sloppy joes on the regular and every time it was so flippin delicious, but this was the first time I had ever made them homemade.

Now because I didn’t want just the sloppy joes on a bun, you know I had to take it up a few levels first by caramelizing some onions. This is about a 45 minutes process but very necessary to get that perfect caramelization. The smell, the taste, there is nothing like caramelized onions. I even used a little sugar to help sweeten them up and brown them.

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Next is cooking off the ground turkey. Butterball has a phenomenal new product line called Farm to Family by Butterball, made from turkeys raised with no antibiotics ever. Their all natural ground turkey product just hit the shelves and it is oh so good at 93% lean to 7% fat ratio turning this dish from guilty to enjoyable. The delicious turkey flavor comes through perfectly even though it is covered in a tasty sloppy joe sauce.

Once the turkey is cooked about 1/2 way I added in some garlic, bell peppers and onions to help a bit more flavor. Sauté them for a few minutes to help brown them up and add some more flavor. Lastly simply finish it off the sloppy joe sauce combo I came up with and serve it on a pretzel bun mozzarella cheese, bread and butter pickles and caramelized onions. SOOO GOOD!!!

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Turkey Sloppy Joe Recipe with Mozzarella and Pickles
Author: 
Recipe type: main
 
Check out this classic for Turkey Sloppy Joe Recipe with Mozzarella and Pickles that is topped off with caramelized onions.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 2 peeled and thickly sliced yellow onions + ½ diced
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 pound of Farm to Family by Butterball Ground Turkey
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
  • ½ each diced red and yellow bell pepper
  • 1 cup of ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup of water
  • 4 toasted pretzel buns
  • 4 slices of mozzarella cheese
  • 8 bread and butter pickle slices
Instructions
  1. In a large sauté pan with 1 tablespoons of butter on medium heat add in the onion slices and caramelize, about 45 minutes. Add in sugar ½ way through the cooking process to help brown. Set aside.
  2. In another large sauté pan on high heat with 1 tablespoon of butter add in the ground turkey and cook.
  3. Once it's half way through cooking, add in the garlic, diced onion and peppers and sauté until the turkey is cooked and the other ingredients are lightly browned, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  4. Next, add in the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and water and stir until it completely mixed in.
  5. Serve the sloppy joes on a pretzel bun with mozzarella cheese slices, bread and butter pickle slices and caramelized onions.

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Butterball. The opinions and text are all mine.

Spicy Chicken Wontons with Guacamole

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Need a quick 1 bite appetizer?  These Spicy Chicken Wontons with Guacamole are absolutely delicious and easy to make.

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It all starts with slow cooking some chicken breasts in RO*TEL until the chicken easily pulls apart.  From there you chill it and stuff them up into wonton wrappers with some shredded cheddar cheese!

Spicy Chicken Wontons with Guacamole

Once they are baked to golden brown you are free to dip them in a tasty easy to make guacamole for the ultimate 1-2 punch.

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Be sure to make these Spicy Chicken Wontons with Guacamole for your next get together.

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Spicy Chicken Wontons with Guacamole
Author: 
 
These Spicy Chicken Wontons with Guacamole are the perfect one bite appetizer for your next tailgate get together.
Ingredients
  • 1 batch of rockin’ guacamole recipe
  • 2 8-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon of ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 10 ounce can of RO*TEL
  • 4 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 50 wonton sheets
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
  2. Make 1 batch of rockin’ guacamole and set aside in the refrigerator and keep cool before serving.
  3. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and sear them until golden brown in a medium size frying pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. About 2 to 3 minutes per side.
  4. Next, add the chicken breasts to a slow cooker with 1 can of RO*TEL and cook on high heat for 4 hours. Shred with forks and chill completely until cool.
  5. Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of shredded chicken into the center of a wonton sheet along with 1 teaspoon of shredded cheese. wet the outside edge of the wonton wrapper with water and fold to the center pinching to ensure it is shut.
  6. Transfer the wontons to cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 12 to 14 minutes or until the wonton is lightly browned.
  7. Serve warm with the rockin’ guacamole.