Tag Archives: rotisserie chicken

Southwest Style Stuffed Peppers

Leave a reply

I’ve always loved stuffed peppers, but making one can be quite an affair and take hours. This is one of the easiest versions of stuffed peppers I’ve come up with. Instead of rice, I use hominy and puree it in the food processor. I add bulk, holds the dish together and offers a delicious, deep corn flavor.

Then, I use rotisserie chicken, cumin and picante sauce. Of course, a good dose of cilantro and cheese is wonderful, too.

These peppers are assembled in about 10 minutes and then baked for 15-20. The peppers are still crisp, which I love. I hate mushy vegetables. And vegetables retain more nutrients when they are not cooked too much.

This is a perfect dinner for a busy night. I hope you enjoy it.

Southwest Style Stuffed Peppers

1 can hominy

2 teaspoons cumin seed

1 cup picante sauce

1 rotisserie chicken, chopped and de-skinned

2/3 cup canned black beans, drained

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexi-blend cheese

Garlic salt to taste

4 bell peppers of assorted colors (red and yellow are my favorite)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Drain hominy and place it in the food processor with cumin seed. Pulse until semi-smooth. Then pour in a large bowl. Add picante sauce, chicken, black beans and cilantro. Add 1 cup of cheese. Stir to thoroughly combine the mixture. Set aside.

Cut bell peppers in half and remove seeds and any veins. Stuff each half with the mixture. Then top with remaining cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 15-20 minutes. Peppers will still be crisp.

Mock Muffaletta

Leave a reply

I have never been a huge fan of Muffaletta sandwiches because they are overly salty and taste really fatty. My version of the muffaletta is scrumptious. I omit the ham, add chicken, use the mayo to add a creamy flavor and temper the saltiness of olives.  Instead of chopping olives, I simply open a jar of olive tapenade. I prefer green olive tapenade in this recipe.

The chicken adds lean protein to this sandwich and I use less salami than a traditional Muffaletta, so it has less fat. I enjoy this toasted, which makes the bread crusty, cheese gooey and sweats some of the fat off the salami. But you can eat this cold and if you do, it becomes one my “10 minute” recipes. It’s a great, easy sandwich either way. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

3 hoagies or Italian bread sliced into sandwich portions

1/3 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup green olive tapenade

½ cup shredded Manchego cheese (You can substitute Swiss or a Monterey Jack for mild flavor)

1 ¼ cups chopped rotisserie chicken breast, skin removed

Generous dash of Italian seasoning

6 slices large cut salami

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together mayonnaise and olive tapenade. Divide the mixture in thirds and spread on the bread. Sprinkle cheese and chicken over hoagies and add a dash of Italian seasoning to each. Top each with two slices of salami.

Bake for 5-7 minutes until cheese melts and bread is toasty. Serve immediately.

Serves 3.

photo 1

Asian Chicken Quinoa Salad

Leave a reply

This dish is packed with protein from three sources: quinoa, chicken and edamame. It’s a light dish and has vitamin C, antioxidants, B vitamins, fiber and more.

.This makes a large batch, so you can enjoy it for several days. It’s so easy to pack for lunch and leftovers are great cold. I actually prefer it cold.

You can use any combination of stir-fried vegetables, like broccoli. I sometimes toss that in if I have takeout leftovers. I personally love ginger, so I’d prefer twice as much ginger, but to tame it for everyone else, I use this amount. If you love ginger, you can add more, too.

quinoa3

Asian Chicken Quinoa Salad

This serves 6

2 cups white quinoa

4 cups chicken broth

½ teaspoon ginger paste

1 bunch green onions

2 cups shelled edamame (microwave is most convenient)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 (7.75-ounce) bag of tri-colored cole slaw mix

1 red bell pepper

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Black pepper, to taste

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

Meat from one rotisserie chicken

Dressing:

4 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

4 teaspoons sesame oil

4 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon ginger paste

For the dressing: whisk all ingredients together and set aside.

For the quinoa, in a medium to large pot with a tight fitting lid, bring broth, ginger paste and quinoa to a boil for 3 minutes, then cover and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes. You will know quinoa is done when the grain releases what looks like a little hook. If it’s not done after 15 minutes, cover and cook another 5.

While that cooks, slice roots off green onions and thinly slice the rest of the onions and set aside. Chop red bell pepper and set aside.

Cook edamame according to package directions.

Grab your bundle of cilantro and chop the leaves.

Next, in a large frying pan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion and cole slaw mix and cook 7 minutes. Add red bell pepper and stir fry 3 minutes. Then add soy sauce and pepper to taste.

Debone and de-skin your chicken and chop it into small cubes.

By now, quinoa should be done.

Transfer it to a large bowl. Add edamame, cabbage mixture, cilantro and chopped chicken. Toss with the dressing and serve.

Quinoa

Chicken Alfredo

Leave a reply

Pasta is one dish I never order in a restaurant because it’s so easy and inexpensive to make at home. Like this Chicken Alfredo. The most time consuming part of this dish is cooking the pasta. I make mine with angel hair because the sauce sticks to the noodles more.

DSC_0622 (2)
Chicken Alfredo

Serves 4

Both breasts from rotisserie chicken

8 ounces angel hair pasta

¼ cup butter

1 garlic clove

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cusp fresh Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh chives (optional)

I use chives because we have them in our garden. It’s not worth buying chives for this dish, so the chives are optional. Also, I love basil in alfredo but you can skip it if you’re not crazy about basil.

Do not salt your sauce until the end because there is a lot of salt in cheese.

This dish comes together quickly at the end, so have everything prepped.

First, put water on to boil for pasta.

Then remove the chicken breasts and the skin and chop chicken into chunks and set aside.

Slice basil and chop parsley.

When water is ready, add the pasta

Cook pasta according to aldente directions on the box, strain and set aside.

In a large skillet , heat butter and garlic for 1 minute. Add heavy cream and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add Parmesan, chicken, pasta, parsley and basil. Cook 2 minutes until sauce sticks to pasta. Garnish with fresh  basil and chives, if desired. Serve immediately.

This photo does not do this dish justice. Just know it’s delicious!

Slow Cooker Stock

Leave a reply

I’ve experimented a lot with slow cooker stock. My first batch, tasted like watered down stock. Not good. The next was a little better, but still not good enough.

I make a ton of traditional stock, but the problem with a slow cooker is it doesn’t maintain that simmer all day, like the stove does, to extract the flavor needed for a stock. So I realized I needed to add  a punch of flavor in the ingredients.  After many attempts, I have finally come up with this recipe which  uses two chicken carcasses, parsley, dried mushrooms (which are key), and a hint of soy sauce.  The result is a beautiful, dark, rich stock. It’s darker than traditional chicken stock and almost looks like beef stock.

This stock is particularly good in my vegetable, barley soup; chicken noodle soups; Asian soups; mushroom soup; potpie; rice dishes; sauces, etc.

This will yield 7-8 cups of stock, so you probably want to freeze extra.

If you are single and don’t buy two chickens at a time, just freeze a carcass when you’re done with one and the next time you buy one, make this stock.

DSC_0775 (2)

When making this stock, it’s important that you use the chicken skin, too. I never eat the skin because it’s so unhealthy, but it’s loaded with fat and seasoned, which adds flavor to your stock.

I also love how easy this is. I don’t have to monitor it like I do a stovetop stock. I toss it in and forget about it.

If you have to go buy all these ingredients, then this will be more expensive than store-bought stock, and not really worth it. But I always have all these ingredients on hand, so I make homemade stock all the time. I prefer the flavor and it has less sodium than commercial brands. If you are watching your sodium level, skip the soy sauce in this recipe. Plus, I freeze it so I can grab stock whenever I need.

DSC_0778 (2)

Slow Cooker Stock

8 cups water

2 rotisserie chicken carcasses

1 teaspoon peppercorns

3 bay leaves

2 carrots

1 large onion

4 stalks of celery with the leaves

1 clove chopped garlic or 1 teaspoon dehydrated garlic

3 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms or another dried mushroom, like shiitake

½ teaspoon soy sauce

¼ cup fresh parsley with stems (optional)

Directions

Place all ingredients in large slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours. Note, if you have a slow cooker that cook in hours instead of heat, 4 hours, 6 hours, 10 hours—then if possible, cook it on 4 hours and then when it’s done, hit 4 hours again. This will be the highest possible temperature, which will yield the best results.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Leave a reply

Alas, it’s Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend. The weather is supposed to be nice, so I plan to be outside. Here’s a quick dinner for anyone else you wants to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. It takes about 15 minutes to assemble these and then you bake them and enjoy. They are so easy and delicious.

These are dryer enchiladas, which is the style I like. If you like really wet, swimming in sauce enchiladas, then buy two cans or sauce or a large one.

1 rotisserie chicken

2/3 cup chunky salsa

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1  (15-ounce) jar green or red enchilada sauce (use two jars if you like really wet enchiladas)

Refried beans (optional)

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, or a cheddar and Colby-Jack combination

10-12 Corn tortillas

Tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole to garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Debone and de-skin your chicken. Then pull off all the meat and shred it with your hands and place in a large bowl.

Add salsa, cumin and half the jar of enchilada sauce and stir to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning if you’d like.

Spray a glass pan with cooking spray. If you like refried beans, spread about 1-2 tablespoons on each tortilla.

Fill each tortilla with chicken and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll shut and place face down on the pan. Repeat until you’ve used all your chicken. Then top with remaining cheese and drizzle the rest of the enchilada sauce over the dish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve garnished with tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and any desired toppings.

Jumbo Shells Stuffed with Feta, Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Chicken- SO EASY!

Leave a reply

This dish comes together so quickly that the longest part is typically boiling water. It’s an excellent dish and is good warm, at room temperature and even cold, so you can pack any leftover for lunch.

In the winter, I add dried rosemary, but in the summer, sprinkle the dish with fresh basil.

In this dish, you use 2 ounces of feta cheese crumbles and to give you perspective, the containers in the store are usually four ounces, so you want half that much feta.

This pasta just explodes with the flavor of feta, roasted red pepper and has lean protein. It’s easy and do delicious.

Jumbo Shells Stuffed with Feta, Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Chicken

Serves 2

12 Jumbo Shells

2 ounces feta cheese crumbles

¼ cup artichoke hearts

¾ cup jarred roasted red bell peppers (half of a 14 ounce jar)

¾ cup finely chopped rotisserie chicken

Pinch of dried Rosemary or fresh basil

Cook jumbo shells according to package directions (usually about 12 minutes). Drain.

While the shells cook, place feta cheese, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers in a food processor and pulse until mixture is fairly smooth. You will see plenty of specks of feta and that is fine, but you want the red pepper and artichoke to be smooth.

shell5

Finely chop your chicken and stir it into the roasted red pepper sauce. Add a pinch of dried rosemary or fresh basil. If I have fresh basil, I garnish the tops of the dish with it.

When shells are cool enough to handle, spoon filling into shells and serve. It’s that easy! Enjoy.

In terms of vegetables, this goes great with sautéed spinach or roasted asparagus.

shells

Baby Kale, Strawberry, Chicken Salad with Candied Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette 

1 Reply

This salad is incredible and comes together so quickly. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner on a hot summer night. It’s a restaurant quality salad on the table in less than 10 minutes.

And it’s healthy.

Kale is packed with vitamins K, A and C, (a serving has more than 800 percent of your daily vitamin K needs);  walnuts have Omega 3 fatty acids, and the nuts and chicken give it protein to keep you full longer.

However, sunflower seeds do add a lot of calories and fat, so if you’re watching your waistline, you may want to omit those and double up on strawberries.

A sprinkle of goat cheese crumbles is great on this salad, too.

If you can’t find baby kale, you can substitute spinach or arugula. I bought baby kale in a plastic tub next to other salad greens.

It’s important to use honey roasted sunflower seeds as it adds sweetness. I used applewood smoked chicken, but that is not available at all stores, so regular is fine. I would stick with traditional and not use a lemon-pepper chicken.

Dress this salad with your favorite raspberry vinaigrette. I used Walmart’s generic brand, Great Value, and it was awesome. Enjoy this healthy, EASY meal.

DSC_0007 (2)

Baby Kale, Strawberry, Chicken Salad with Candied Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette

3 cups baby kale greens

2 tablespoons honey roasted sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons candied or glazed walnuts

4 strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chopped rotisserie chicken

1 tablespoon dried cranberries (optional)

Your favorite raspberry vinaigrette

Spread kale on a large plate. Top with all the other ingredients. Toss with vinaigrette and serve.

I like this with a crisp white wine.

Rice Noodles with Asparagus, Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms

Leave a reply

It actually feels like spring today and this recipe is perfect for warmer weather,

First, spring signals asparagus season.

Asparagus is very high in vitamin K (almost all you need for the day); and is good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.

When buying asparagus, the first signs of spoilage can be found at the tips. If the tips are browning, slimy or even opening, don’t buy it. Fresh asparagus have tightly closed tips. Also, look at the ends and avoid stems that are limp, or ridged, as ridged stems is a sign the sugar is converting into carbohydrates and the stalks will be tough and woody.

Spears can range in size from fat to thin, but it’s best to pick spears that are as uniform as possible in one bunch so they cook evenly. I usually opt for thinner asparagus because it’s a sign the plant was harvested earlier and is potentially tenderer. However, bigger is better when you’re wrapping the asparagus in bacon or prosciutto because it’s easier to handle.

Also, it depends on the thickness of the stalks, but a pound has roughly 20-26 asparagus, so if you are wrapping it that will help you factor in how much meat you need, too.

The best way to store asparagus, is to slice off the bottoms and place the stalks in a glass with 1-inch of water. Loosely cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate.

DSC_0354 (2)

Rice Noodles with Asparagus, Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms

Serves 4

3 ounces rice noodles

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 small yellow onion

2 cups sliced asparagus (about ¾ a pound)

1 cup fresh, sliced shiitake mushrooms (can substitute to large Portobello mushrooms if you can’t find fresh shiitakes)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 cups chopped, rotisserie chicken

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

2 teaspoons sesame oil

½ teaspoon canola oil

1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

Note: the pepper is strong in this dish, if you’re serving it to small children, you might want to cut the pepper in half.

Rice noodles only take about 3 minutes to cook, so this dish comes together quickly

Put a large pot of water on to boil and salt the water.

Make the sauce by whisking together all sauce ingredients and set aside.

Slice the tough ends off asparagus and discard. Then cut the remaining asparagus into 1-inch pieces.

Slice onion and set aside.

Remove stems from the shiitake mushrooms and slice the tender mushroom heads. Note, the stems are tough but can be reserved for making stock as the stems are tough but add rich flavor to stock or soup.

In a large skillet, large enough that you will be able to add the rice noodles later, heat 1 teaspoon canola oil. When hot, add onion and cook 3 minutes. Then add asparagus and mushrooms and cook 7 minutes.  In the last minute, add 1 teaspoon soy sauce and chicken.

Cook rice noodles according to directions on package. After straining the water off, add it to the pan with the vegetables and chicken. Add the sauce and toss until everything is thoroughly coated and then serveDSC_0379 (2)

Jordanian Inspired Chicken in Filo Dough

Leave a reply

My initial inspiration for this recipe was a Moroccan filo pie, but it was extremely complicated and used tons of spices.

So when I started to simplify this in my head, I remembered a dish I learned to make when I took a cooking class in Jordan. I went to Jordan a few years ago to visit Petra, which is a spectacular site. Anyway, in the cooking class we made this delicious chicken seasoned with coriander, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg.

It’s one of my favorite chicken dishes.

So I combined both culinary inspirations and came up with this dish, which is excellent! I am thrilled with the results!!!

I hope you try this! It’s wonderful. Everyone loved it. There wasn’t a bite left.

DSC_0015 (2)

Directions

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 very large red onion (or two mediums)

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

½ cup Pomegranate infused dried cranberries (or substitute raisins)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup chicken broth

1 roll of Filo dough

1/3 cup melted butter for brushing

Directions

Thaw filo dough according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice onion and set aside. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat, then add onion and spices and saute for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook 5 more minutes. Then add dried cranberries, tomato paste and broth. Cover dish and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Remove lid and pop mixture in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Use a deep dish pie pan and layer several layers of filo dough on the bottom with the sides hanging over the pie pan. Brush with melted butter. Do this until you’ve used half the dough. Then fill the filo dough with chicken mixture. Place the rest of the filo dough, adding two sheets at a time and quickly brushing with butter, until you have added all the dough and tuck it all in the sides of the pie pan, like a little present.

Brush with remaining butter. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until golden on top. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

This dish can be served as an appetizer or main course.

It pairs well with a Riesling or a beer.

DSC_0018 (2)