Sweet & Sour Chicken

I love the fall....and everything fall-like. I love the scents & flavors of fall...warm & spicy. I love the change of color on the leaves. I love the foods of fall....pumpkins, apples, turkey and cranberries and hot cocoa & apple cider! I love the way the weather changes as the heat of summer fades into the cool, brisk, sunny days.....

And then reality hits and I realize I'm in FL and that just doesn't happen here! This time of year makes me so homesick....and I think I am more so this year because I haven't been home since last summer and it is the longest I have ever been away since I moved to FL. I am uber jealous of my friends who have gone apple & pumpkin picking....and doing other fun fall things....and of the weather they are having.

It's this time of year that I love to incorporate the foods of fall into my cooking (even if the temp is still 90 degrees outside). So when I saw this recipe, I had to try it. It's Sweet & Sour Chicken made with Apple Cider and Raisins. I was not disappointed. Great flavor...and the chicken came out perfect!



Sweet & Sour Chicken:

Ingredients
1 3 1/2-to-4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound shallots, halved
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Dust the skin side with flour. Place a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is golden, about 5 minutes. Turn the pieces and pour off the excess fat. Tuck the shallots under and around the chicken and cook until just golden, about 2 more minutes.

Push the chicken aside, then stir in the tomato paste and thyme and cook until the paste darkens, about 30 seconds. Add the vinegar, apple cider and raisins, bring to a boil and simmer 1 minute. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chicken until just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer the chicken, skin-side up, to a heatproof serving dish and return to the oven (turn the oven off). Bring the sauce left in the pan to a boil and reduce by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Lower the heat and whisk in the butter. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

Cheesey Chicken Enchilads w/Mexican Rice

Wow, it's been a few weeks since I posted something new. I'm not sure if that's because I haven't made anything new (whoopsie) or if because I've been trying to get back into the swing of cooking since being on vacation....and failing miserably. I keep saying I really need another 2 hours in a day...but unfortunately if that were the case, I'd probably get stuck working longer.


For tonight's dinner I have two recipes (trying to make up for lost time?? LOL).


Cheesey Chicken Enchiladas w/Mexican Rice


For the Enchiladas:

1 can of cream of chicken soup
½ cup of sour cream
1 cup of pace picante salsa
2 tsp of chili pepper
2 cups of chopped cooked chicken
½ cup of shredded jack cheese
6 tortillas
1 small tomato – chopped
1 green onion, sliced

Stir soup, sour cream, picante sauce, and chili powder in medium bowl

Stir one cup of the picante mix, chicken and cheese in large bowl

Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Roll up tortillas and place seam side up in 2 qt shallow baking dish. Pour remaining picante sauce mix over filled tortillas. Cover and bake @ 350 degrees for 40 mins or until enchiladas are hot & bubbly. (Add extra cheese if wanted.) Top with tomato and onion to serve




For the Mexican Rice:


1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic - diced
1/2 small small onion, diced
2/3 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3 ounces canned diced tomatoes (I actually used Rotel)
1/4 cup of tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock


In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and saute until translucent.


Pour the rice into the pan and stir to coat grains with oil. Mix in cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and chicken stock. Cover, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cook at a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir occasionally.

The enchiladas were delicious....and the rice was really good, but a tad too spicy. I think I'd want to play with it a bit. I'm sure it was the Rotel that did it. Maybe next time just diced tomatoes. Hmmm. Either way - I topped it off with a yummy margarita! I love me some mexican! :)

Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

Wow! I was a big skeptical about this recipe (made it for the first time tonight). I was worried it might be too sweet or just not "go"....but Wow! It made a GREAT sauce for the chicken....the perfect mix of sweet and savory. The garlic is cooked slowly so it becomes soft and buttery. My hubby practically licked the plate. And the best part - it's easy! All of these items are staples in my house so I could make it at any time!

Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 cloves of garlic...roughly chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 pound boneless/skinless chicken (breasts, tenders or even thighs will work)
4-5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to season chicken
Chicken Grill Seasoning

Season both sides of chicken with salt & pepper and grill seasoning. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and allow to slowly cook (approx 4-5mins) and then add chicken to garlic and butter. Cook thoroughly on each side (depends on size and cut of chicken). When chicken is fully cooked, top each piece with a sprinkle of brown sugar and allow it to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes). This will make a fantastic pan sauce as it mixes with the butter & garlic. For the last few minutes I continually tossed the sauce over the chicken as it was cooking.

The grill seasoning was not in the original recipe.....I added it because I thought it sounded good and I really liked the way it came out so I would do that again. A little goes along way so you just need a few pinches. I also added more garlic than the original recipe called for because we love garlic.

Serve with your favorite veggies (I bet the sauce would be excellent over cooked carrots).

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

Bryan and I absolutely LOVE buffalo chicken wings. This gives you all the ingredients and flavors of wings, without the fatty fried wings. Serve with a salad or home made coleslaw.

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joe's

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb ground chicken or turkey breast
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup hot sauce (I like Frank's Red Hot)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
4 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted
blue cheese crumbles


Heat a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cook approx 5 minutes until softened. Add meat and break it up with wooden spoon, cook 5 to 6 minutes more. In a bowl combine the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce. Pour into the pan and stir to combine. Simmer a few minutes more as sauce reduces & thickens. Pile sloppy Buffalo filling onto buns and top with blue cheese.

Approx 4 services. Recipe can easily be doubled to serve 8.

Chicken Panini's with Shaved Apples & a Balsamic Reduction

This was a great quick dinner tonight! Love the cheese and the apple with the balsamic sauce!

Chicken Panini's with Shaved Apples & Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients:
4 chicken cutlets
Brie (or cheese of your choice)
1 Granny Smith Apple
Balsamic Reduction (recipe to follow)
French Bread (or similar)

Season chicken cutlets and saute in a large pan over medium high heat until cooked. Cut bread in 4 sections and slice each section. Spread balsamic reduction over the sliced french bread. Top with cheese and then chicken. Using a vegetable peeler, shave apple into thin slices and spread over chicken. Top with other half of bread and grill on a panini press.

If you don't have a panini press, you can toast bread before assembling sandwich.

Balsamic Reduction:
1/3 Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tsp Honey

Mix together ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the liquid reduces to approx 1/4 (about 3-5 minutes).

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Thank you to my friend Brandy....this is mostly her recipe with some minor tweaks. They came out great! You could also use hoisin sauce instead of the peanut butter & brown sugar for a slightly different taste.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 lb ground chicken
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
½ onion – chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 small can of bean sprouts
1 small can of sliced water chestnuts
¼ cup sesame oil, plus two tbsp for sautéing chicken
½ cup Soy sauce
2 tbsp Asian chili sauce
¼ cup Rice-wine vinegar
3 tbsp Peanut butter
3 tbsp of brown sugar
1 head of bibb/butter or iceberg lettuce


Separate lettuce leaves…rinse and pat dry.

Heat 2 tbsp of sesame oil in large skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened. Add Chicken and let cook for a few minutes. Add carrots and cook down a few more minutes. Add remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, chili sauce & rice wine vinegar and brown sugar. Continue to cook down. Add cabbage, bean sprouts and water chestnuts and cook for a few more minutes. Add peanut butter & lime juice and toss until peanut butter is melted and incorporated.

Use lettuce leaves like a taco shell….fill with chicken mixed, fold and enjoy!