Skillet Chicken

My life has been changed. I'm a little happier in the evenings. I feel like the possibilities are endless. Don't worry this is not another story about this 6 month old that has also changed my life (but boy, do I love talking about her). 

It's a story about this skillet chicken and how I'm ready for you to take it in to your kitchen and be giddy at dinner time because you can easily make the best and most versatile chicken any home kitchen has ever seen. I was in a chicken rut big time. We have a charcoal grill so firing it up on a weeknight for two pieces of meat seemed exhausting. I've pan seared so many chicken breasts in olive oil that I could do it in my sleep. I love a good boneless skinless chicken breast, but was bored with any past preparations. Enter the skillet chicken! (Yes, I've officially arrived at the point).

Let's talk about the method and then I'll delve into all the ways I have worked it into dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs w/ blue cheese dressing

You've got two opportunities in the very near future to kill it with these meatballs.

This is the ultimately perfect football watching food.  Superbowl... check.

And if you are looking for someone to fall in love with you on Valentine's (or stay in love with you) these will do it.  They are that serious.  Perfect appetizer.

Back in my high school days, I had a short run of being really into wings.  I loved the taste of the barely spicy tangy chicken wing dipped in cool blue cheese dressing.  And then one day, I stared right at that wing and imagined the little chicken I was gnawing on.  It was over, right then and there.  Couldn't do it anymore.

 

And let's get real, if you can get past the idea of gnawing between those bones, you still don't look pretty doing it.  Enter these mini buffalo chicken meatballs that have all that good flavor without the carnage.

 

FYI... Mr. Hungry has updated his favorite thing I have ever ever made to this right here... I told you it was serious.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Adapted from Glamour Magazine February 2012
Recipe Notes
I used nonfat greek yogurt in place of the sour cream because I had it on hand.  It makes for a healthier dressing, but if want the full richness of a blue cheese dressing, use sour cream.  If you plan on doubling or tripling a recipe for a big party, you do not need to double the dressing.  One batch is plenty.  Use leftover dressing on a wedge salad.  If you are unfamiliar with ground chicken, it can be found in most grocery stores near the ground turkey or ground beef.  You could also have a butcher freshly grind a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you cannot find it anywhere.  Leftover meatballs can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the oven or microwave.
Ingredients
1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) butter
1/4 cup Frank's RedHot hot sauce
1 lb. ground chicken
1 tsp. salt
1/2 stalk celery, minced
1 large egg
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
For the dressing
1 cup sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
(makes 2 1/2 cups of dressing)
Step by Step
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  In a small pot, combine butter and hot sauce over low heat, whisking until butter is melted.  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place remaining chicken meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand, adding the hot sauce butter mixture as well.  Make sure the ingredients are combined throughout.  Using a teaspoon, roll the meatball mixture into marble sized balls.  Place balls in rows on the parchment paper.  Roast until firm and cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes.

To make dressing, combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk until blended.   Refrigerate until ready to use.

For an extra kick, drizzle extra hot sauce onto meatballs.  Serve with dressing and extra celery.

Makes 65 mini meatballs.

Cheese & Chicken Enchiladas

I'm sure there are a few Mexican mamasitas rolling over in their graves right now at the shear thought of me calling this an enchilada.  So let me just be up front and tell you this is not a  traditional Mexican enchilada or even a traditional Tex Mex enchilada for that matter.  But if you ask me, roll cheese and chicken and a yummy sauce up in a tortilla, bake them side to side and you've got yourself an enchilada.  Call them whatever you want, but just know you will probably be asked to make them again and again if you share.

This would also be a great recipe if you have a few little hands (or big hands) around that need to work for their dinner.  Set up an enchilada station and get them to work.

Ready?  Here we go...

Make your ranch sauce and divide in half.  Mix half with the diced chicken and set half aside.

  Take your extra ranch sauce and cover the entire tortilla. 

Spoon that drenched chicken down the middle of the tortilla. 

Add salsa or hot sauce for a little kick. 

Top with cheese, and please, don't be shy.  The more cheese the better.  Trust me (this one might look a little under-cheesed, but the ones that we really stuffed full were the best).

Roll up these bad boys and place seam side down in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.  

Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from Annie's Eats

Recipe Notes

The easiest way to make this is to buy a cooked rotisserie chicken.  They are sold in almost all grocery stores ready to go.  If you prefer, you could roast your own chicken.  Depending on how much you stuff these, you will end up with between 10 and 15 enchiladas.  Eat one tray now and you can freeze the rest for next week.  Wrap tight with saran wrap and freeze.  Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for an hour.  Cook about 10 minutes longer than usual or until tortillas are nice and crispy.  

Ingredients:
1 deli style cooked rotisserie chicken (about 2 lbs)
8 oz. reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 packet ranch dressing mix
Flour tortillas (10-15)
Jar of salsa
Shredded mexican cheese or cheddar cheese (We used almost 4 cups, but I'm really cheesy)
Directions:
Remove skin from chicken and shred or dice all white meat.  You should end up with about 3 cups; set aside in a medium sized bowl.   In another bowl, combine the sour cream, ranch packet and milk.   Stir until well combined. Add half of the sauce to the diced chicken and mix well.  Keep the other half of the sauce in the bowl. 
Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9 x 13″ pan (and possibly another, smaller pan if needed). Take one tortilla and top with a little less than 1 tbsp. of the sauce from the small bowl. Spread over the tortilla in an even layer. Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla. Top with salsa to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, to taste (don't be shy with the cheese).   Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients (usually makes 10-15 enchiladas).
Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes (30- 35 for a crispier tortilla). The texture is better if you resist the urge to take them out before they are really crispy.  Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

A great make ahead meal... Lightened Up Chicken Parmesan

After this post, I've been trying to deliver on my promise for fast and healthy recipes.  Combining that with this post and the picture disaster, I found it appropriate to re-post this recipe.  I also made it oh-so practical by subbing my favorite canned tomato sauce for the homemade one.
{however the homemade one is still amazing and the recipe is here}

Now on to why this is such a great make ahead meal.  You can basically do all the cooking and prepping before, refrigerate and pop it in the oven for broiling whenever you are ready to eat.  Makes it pretty perfect to put together right before dinner time.  The total prep is not hard either so if you have about 30 minutes, you can put this altogether at one time.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

p.s. This is my favorite pasta sauce for absolutely everything...  Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic







Lightened Up Chicken ParmesanRecipe Notes
If your broil browns things extremely quickly, you can put the setting on 500 degrees F to let the cheese melt instead of putting it on broil.  If you have a great french skillet and are making 4 or less chicken breasts, follow the instructions about putting the pan in the oven.  If you don't have a great pan, you  have more than 4 portions, or if you are making it ahead of time and are going to be refrigerating, cook all of the chicken as directed and then transfer chicken to a glass casserole dish before adding sauce and cheese.
Ingredients
For the chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano or thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 chicken cutlets (or if they are really thin and small, use 8)
Thin slices of fresh mozzarella (1 or 2 per piece of chicken) OR 1/2 shredded mozzarella
4 teaspoons grated parmesan
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups favorite jarred marinara sauce (see my favorite above)
Step by Step
Preheat the oven to broil.

In small bowl, stir the oil and herbs to blend.  Season with salt and pepper.  Dip each chicken cutlet in the olive oil herb mixture until well coated.  Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat.  Add the cutlets and cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove the skillet from heat.  (see recipe note if you are not using a high quality, heavy duty pan or if you are making this for later).

Spoon the marinara sauce over and around the chicken.  Lay a slice of mozzarella on each piece of chicken or place a small amount of shredded mozzarella on each.  Top with a teaspoon of parmesan on each piece.
Broil until the cheese melts and sauce is bubbling, about 1 minute.

The tale of a chicken cutlet.

Are you familiar with the term chicken cutlet?  If not, let me put it in these terms.  You go to the store and buy a boneless skinless chicken breast.  It's this thick and chunky piece of meat that sometimes even has a little bit of fat on it.  Now you go to a restaurant and order some fabulous chicken dish and you get this tender, very thin and juicy piece of meat.

Maybe it's just me, but for a long time I just could not figure out how to get that kind of chicken at home.  Enter the term chicken cutlet.  This is that sweet thin piece of chicken that soaks up any kind sauce wonderfully.  So this is a quick how to on how to get yourself one of those.

Now there is nothing glamorous about a fledgling piece of meat or the fact that I only had my iphone to photograph with, so I chose the dramatic black and white photos to tell the story of the chicken cutlet.


Take a chunky, straight from the super market, boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Place it on parchment paper on a sturdy counter top.

Using a sharp knife, cut the chicken in half horizontally.  If your chicken is not too thick, you can skip this step, but I have never met a piece that didn't need a slice. Cut off any pieces of white fat.

The preferred tool would be a meat tenderizer so if you have one, pound out the chicken until it's extremely thin.  If you do not have one of these, lay a piece of parchment paper on top of the chicken and use the bottom of a very sturdy, thick glass and pound it out really thin.  You could use a rolling pin to pound it too.

In summary, the step I found the most important is cutting it in half horizontally.  This leaves only a little pounding left to do.  I'll be back soon with a couple of my favorite recipes using chicken cutlets.  If you take my word for it, try this one or this one.  They were part of my picture debacle so there are not photos of the finished product, but they sure are tasty.

Italian Wedding Soup

I don't know what all of a sudden happened and made me go into a soup obsession.  Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was receiving this jewel, but nonetheless, they seem to be on tap a lot around here and I seem to just find great recipe after great recipe.

You might not have jumped on the band wagon when I made this one, but let me tell you, I would be willing to wager you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like this Italian Wedding soup.  The only argument I can see against this is if you are vegetarian and I would encourage you to make this the dish you go non-vegetarian on just once in your life.

Contrary to what you might first assume, this soup has nothing to do with any Italian marriage  tradition, but is actually a mistranslation in the Italian language and refers to the fact that meat and vegetables go well together.

Now back to what's important... how good this is.  The chicken meatballs are baked with fresh bread crumbs, two cheeses and added to simmer with chicken broth, wine, tiny star pasta, vegetables, fresh spinach and a little dill.  This is good when it's cold, I imagine it would be perfect for someone under the weather and I enjoyed it all week for lunch.

In conclusion, I will try to help you understand the gravity of how much I love this soup by telling you that I'm not sure I will ever be able to make any other type of vegetable soup or chicken noodle soup ever again.  This is a perfect blend of the two and just hits the spot.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Italian Wedding Soup
Adapted from Ina Garten
Recipe Notes
I could not find regular chicken sausage.  I found a variety that was blended with spinach and feta and I thought those flavors would be fine.  If there is not ground chicken, you can have a butcher ground chicken breasts for you, but you might not have realized it's in most grocery stores.  I'm not a fan of washing the mini food processor if I don't have to so I've come up with a bread trick for fresh bread crumbs.  Any time I have a few pieces left over from a loaf, I pop them in a freezer.  I take the bread out for a few minutes and then grate it with a cheese grater.  The almost frozen bread makes perfect crumbs.
Freezer Note:  Double the recipe of the meatballs so you can have two batches.  For the batch you are not going to use, place on parchment paper an inch apart and freeze for one to two hours.  Wrap tightly in saran wrap and place in a freezer bag.  Freeze for up to two months.  When ready to use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator for one hour.
Ingredients

For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken

1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed

2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs *see recipe note

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

3 tablespoons milk

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced yellow onion

1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3/4 cup diced celery (1 large stock), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

10 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta stars (or any other small pasta)

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. Using a teaspoon, make mini meatballs and place about 1 inch apart.  (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside. You can also freeze unbaked meatballs at this point for use in a later soup. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Perfect Roast Chicken

I can hardly believe it is only February and I can check something off my resolution list. While this would be a totally normal pace, I envisioned having to check these off my list come December because I had procrastinated.  I also wasn't sure it would be easy.  One chicken, one recipe and my search was over.  Ina Garten calls this perfect roast chicken and I couldn't agree more.  Easy, flavorful, tender and juicy... perfect.

This is my quick pep talk for you who feel like I did about 6 months ago.  I use to cook with no chicken that had bones or skin. Just didn't want to deal with it all. when you could have a lovely boneless, skinless chicken breast any time you wanted. Skin was messy and bones kinda freaked me out.  So yes, I went as far into chicken recipes as boneless, skinless chicken breasts would allow. Until I finally roasted chicken breasts on the bone and realized this was the absolute only way to make chicken for things like chicken salad and soups.  I will admit it took me a few minutes to handle a whole chicken without thinking about the chicken that it once was running around a little farm somewhere... it just looks so much like a... chicken.  Those little wings... thos little legs... okay, not helping my point.  Needless to say, I got over it and this is an easy to prepare, new go-to meal. 

Quartering the fennel...

Perfect Roast Chicken
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
2-4 small red skinned potatoes, quartered
Olive oil
Other tools
A roasting pan or pot
Kitchen string
Meat thermometer (optional, but extremely helpful)

Recipe Notes
Any large pan or some kind of dutch oven (like le creuset pots) will work as a roasting pan. It is good to have something deep so that none of your veggies fall out, but even a glass casserole dish can work. If you do not have kitchen string, it is worth picking up a roll. You can buy it from places like Central Market or Sur la Table, but some grocery stores carry it as well.  I added small potatoes because I had some on hand, but they cook wonderfully and helped this be a more complete one pot meal, so I think they were worth adding.

Step by Step
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets from inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and pat the outside dry. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, potatoes and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer register 160 in the breast meat.Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

These. are. so. good. and easy.

Crunchy and flavorful chicken tenders that are healthier and much easier to prepare than frying them up.  I have always had a thing for Panko bread crumbs (they are just so versatile) so I found a recipe for chicken tenders and substituted the bread crumbs and cereal mixture for my main squeeze panko and voila, here is a pretty darn good recipe if I do say so myself.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

p.s. have you bought a meat thermometer yet?? I really hope you have because this is another great recipe where having a meat thermomter allows for perfectly cooked, tender, juicy chicken tenders.  I promise you will not regret this purchase.

Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

Recipe Notes

The spices of one of the recipes I was combining called for Allspice.  I didn't realize until right before making these that I didn't have any so I cam up with my own subsitute... half ground cloves and half cinnamon.  If you have those two on hand, they will work just great.  If you have never used Panko, they are a Japanese bread crumb and I find that most grocery stores carry them now.

2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (see recipe note)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders, 2 packages
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour the Panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Mix in sugar, salt, pepper, and allspice. Place flour in a separate shallow bowl. Place eggs in another separate bowl.

Drizzle about 3 tablespoons vegetable oil evenly over the breading, tossing and turning it to mix the oil all through the panko mixture.

Dredge the chicken through the flour, egg, the flour again, the egg again and then the panko mixture. Arrange the tenders on a nonstick baking sheet. Place the chicken tenders in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, turning over once. If you have a meat thermometer, heat to 165 degrees. Serve hot chicken tenders barbecue sauce for dipping.

Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair

Finally, a real dinner, a new recipe, in the new little kitchen.  You see, I have been cooking.  It's just that when things have been so crazy around here, it has been much easier to fall back on a few favorites than to explore a new recipe.  But something just felt so right about making this meal.  So the cooking will be picking up again.   Slowly but surely I'm getting comfortable in this new place.

This was a great quick night meal that jazzes up chicken just a bit.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

To deglaze the pan, simply scrape the bottom of the pan once the chicken broth is added.  This allows the bits of chicken that get stuck to the pan to add flavor to the sauce. 

Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food
Serves 4
Recipe Notes
The original recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breast.  I used boneless, skinless tenders because that is what I had on hand.  Either will work, but the most important part is to pound it really thin.  If your chicken breast is really thick, you can cut it lengthwise first, and then pound it out a little more.  Another key is adding a good bit of salt and pepper to the flour for the chicken.  This is the main flavor for the chicken so add a good amount.  I used whole wheat angel hair pasta, but if I was making this for guests, I would probably use regular.... either will work great.
Ingredients

Salt and ground pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

8 thin chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total) see recipe notes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces angel-hair pasta (whole wheat or regular)

1/2 cup parsley leaves

Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Place flour in a shallow dish, and season well with lots of salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets, shaking off excess. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in batches, adding remaining oil as needed, until light golden, 1 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a dish.

Add broth to skillet, and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Add artichokes, capers, and the chicken with any juices. Gently swirl to combine, and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat. Add butter and stir until melted.

Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente; drain. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta, topped with parsley.

Spiced Chicken with Couscous

It is not even June and it is some kind of hot around here.  Sheesh... I want to melt just thinking about the idea of late July.  Since I can't control the blazing temps, I've decided to move on to enjoying the great produce that comes along this time of year.  It's always nice to find a filling and light meal that tastes especially great with summer tomatoes.  I also love any recipe centered around couscous since it is about the simplest thing you could possibly make in the kitchen.  So if you are looking for an easy, summery dish, give this one a try.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Spiced Chicken with CousCous

Serves 4

Adapted from Real Simple

Recipe Notes

I went ahead and made four portions of this and it made great leftovers for lunch the next day.  It can be served cold, hot or room temperature.  If you are going to eat as leftovers, you can heat the chicken but serve the couscous salad at room temperature. 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

kosher salt and black pepper

3⁄4 cup couscous

3/4 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1/4 pound snap peas, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup torn fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Step by Step

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with the paprika, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side; transfer to a plate a wrap with foil to keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil.  Once boiling, remove from heat, add couscous and cover.  Let rest off of heat for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork.  Add the tomatoes, snap peas, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine.


Slice the chicken and serve over the couscous salad.

Sesame Chicken Lightened Up

I sure do love a good night of takeout. However, we make almost all of our meals at home during the week and to be honest, I still haven't found my absolute favorite chinese place that would deliver around here.  The combination led me to find a good sesame chicken recipe.  And the fact that it is healthier is always a bonus.  If you took my advice and froze some of these, bust them out of the freezer and add some edamame and you'll have a great little takeout meal from home.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Sesame Chicken Lightened Up
Serves 2 main dishes; Serves 3-4 with other dishes
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food
Ingredients
3/4 cup brown rice

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed with a garlic press

2 large egg whites

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 pound broccoli, cut into large florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced

Step by Step

Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, and fill with 2 inches of water… set aside for broccoli. Cook rice according to package.

Meanwhile, make sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch. Season chicken with salt and pepper; add to mixture and toss to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add half the chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until golden and opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Add sauce and scallions, and toss to coat.

Meanwhile, place saucepan with steamer basket over high heat; bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve sesame chicken with broccoli and rice.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

So we are almost at the end of soup season and I apologize that I am just now sharing this because it is one of my very favorites (oh yeah, and sorry for those of you who are not near the end of winter, but the tides will turn come July when I can't breathe in a tank top because it is so hot and humid).
Chicken tortilla soup is one of those that has been interpreted in a thousand different ways. I prefer mine with a tomato broth base and to have a little bit of chunkiness to it. If I have one thing to say, it is don't skimp on the toppings. The soup is delicious, but the tender chunks of chicken, tangy cheddar, creamy avocado and crunchy tortilla strips are what will knock your socks off.  This is not the quickest version, but I do think it is one of the best, so I find it worth the time to make a batch and freeze half for later.

The original recipe calls for boiling the chicken, which is something I will never go back to after I discovered this.  Of all the ways I used my new, favorite roasted chicken, this might be the best one.  So if you are following me here... get one of these, make this, and then make this soup.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

the yummiest part... the toppings

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from the Mansion's Tortilla Soup

Recipe Notes

There are a couple of fussy steps to this one, so it might seem to be a little time consuming at first, but I promise it is worth it.  I adapted this recipe from here, but my favorite twist is to roast the chicken.  The flavor and tenderness from this method is unmatched.  In the past I have used regular plum tomatoes to puree, but this time, I had small cherry tomatoes on hand so I used them.  Moral of the story... any tomato will work.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons corn oil
4 corn tortillas, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh onion, pureed
2 cups pureed fresh tomatoes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 whole bay leaves
4 tablespoons canned tomato puree
2 quarts chicken stock
salt
cayenne pepper
Toppings
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into small chunks (click here for recipe)
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3 corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried (directions below)
Step by Step
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Saute tortillas with garlic and cilantro over medium heat until tortillas are soft.

Add onion and fresh tomato puree and bring to a boil.  Add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, canned tomato puree and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to simmer.  Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste, and cook stirring frequently for 30 minutes.  Skim fat from surface, if necessary.

To make crunchy tortillas strips

Heat a thin layer of corn oil over medium high heat.  Cut three corn tortillas into thin strips.

Lightly fry tortilla strips in oil.  Remove strips when they are golden brown and allow to drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.  Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper and allow to cool.