Chicken and Broccoli in Garlic Sauce

My cousin-in-law, Jenny, sent me this recipe that her family loves.  It comes straight from Weight Watchers so you know it's got to be pretty good for you (but I'm sorry to say that I don't know how many points it is though).  And I have to say, that even though it's Weight Watchers it tastes really good.  You could even serve it over brown rice if you'd like to stay really healthy, but I like white rice better yet.

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 medium garlic cloves, minced, or more to taste
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 cups cooked brown rice, kept hot

Method:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken on a plate and season with thyme, salt and pepper. Add garlic to skillet and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on all sides, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Add broccoli to skillet, cover and cook 2 minutes. Add 1 cup broth, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

In a cup, dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup broth; add to skillet. Simmer until mixture thickens, stirring constantly, about 1 minute; serve over rice.

Yields about 1 cup chicken and broccoli and 1/2 cup rice per serving.

Chicken Satay

One of my favorite starters which I love to have before a Chinese meal or during a summer BBQ.  This  marinade has a nutty flavor to it and when you dip it in some good satay sauce it's a match made in heaven.  I usually use a premix for the marinade which you can often pick up at any Asian supermarket.  The kind I get is the Lobo brand.  It comes with two packets inside.  Packet A usually gets added to water or coconut milk to make the marinade.  You can use packet B to make the satay sauce, but I usually like the pre-made stuff in a jar....I know I totally go against my principles of trying to make things from scratch but this is my way of getting a great Chinese treat without having to go to a restaurant to get it.

Ingredients:

1 lb (500 g) chicken (boneless, skinless breast or thigh meat)
1 packet of Satay premix (use packet A)
¼ cup or 60 ml coconut milk or water (look on the instructions)

Method:

Cut up chicken into bite sized chunks (about 1").

Mix Packet A with coconut milk and add chicken. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Thread the chicken onto skewers.

Grill or cook under a hot broiler in the oven until done (a few minutes on each side).

Serve with warm satay sauce to dip in.

Grilling Beer Can Chicken

I had always heard about this crazy method of grilling a whole chicken on a can of beer and I admit it sounded a bit quarky, but this has to be the most amazing chicken I have ever had in my life. This recipe comes from the Neely's on Foodnetwork.com. These celeb chefs know their BBQ, so I didn't doubt that the recipe would be good, but it totally exceeded my expectations. The rub is exceptionally good and I've used it on grilled pork chops as well. It is totally the combination of this rub along with the moisture the beer provides during the grilling that makes this bird so darn tasty and juicy. As far as grilling temperature goes, we tried to keep it around 325 F and we used an external meat probe to keep up on the internal chicken temperature.

Ingredients:

4 pounds chicken, washed and dried
vegetable oil
Beer Can Chicken Rub (see below)
12-ounce can of beer

Beer Can Chicken Rub:
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Method:

For Beer Can Chicken Rub:

In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together and use for the grilled chicken. You can store extra rub mixture in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

For the chicken:

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat.

Rub the chicken and its cavity down with the vegetable oil. Season the chicken with rub mixture, remembering to season the cavity. Pour out 1/4 of the beer and sit the chicken on top of the beer can. (My hubby usually drinks bottled beer so I used a cleaned out soda can and filled it 2/3 way up with beer.)

Place the chicken in the center of the hot grill and cover.

Cook the chicken for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F.

Once cooked, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork

I have tried several different sweet and sour recipes, but have finally one that I think is pretty good. It's full of veggies and tastes pretty darn good. And yes, this recipe also came from my dear friend Min and is the one she wrote down in a very special cookbook for me so I know it had to be good.

Ingredients:

500 ml oil for deep frying

1/2 lb (300g) chicken or pork

corn flour (corn starch) for coating chicken or pork

1 bell pepper (green or red)

1 tomato, cut into wedges

1 medium onion, largely diced

1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple (cubed)

1/2 cup cucumber wedges

Marinade:

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 egg

1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine

1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

3 Tbsp water

Sauce:

1 Tbsp plum sauce (optional)

5 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 Tbsp chili sauce (I use Thai Sweet Chili sauce)

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

100 ml water (just less than 1/2 cup)

Method:

Cut pork or chicken into 1/2" thick and then pound with back of knife until tender. Then cut into cubes. Add in marinade and leave for 30 minutes.

Coat chicken or pork cubes with corn starch (corn flour).

Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish out and drain.

Leave 1 Tbsp oil in wok. Stir fry bell pepper (capsicum), tomato, onion until fragrant.

Pour in sauce.

Bring sauce to a boil.

Add in pineapple and cucumber.

Cook until sauce gets thick. Add more ketchup in if needed to thicken sauce. Once thickened, add in deep fried chicken/pork and mix well.

Dish up and serve preferably with rice.

White Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is a combination of one I got from my sister-in-law and bits from how my mom makes them, but then I've even added my own little spin on it. It's a pretty Americanized version of a white enchilada, but it's so yummy and mild but you can kick up the heat with the types of chilies and salsa you use. I like to top this dish with even more salsa and sour cream with side of crunchy tortilla chips!!!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast - cooked and diced

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 - 16 oz tub of sour cream (2 cups)

2 cups shredded cheese (colby jack/cheddar/red leicester), divided

1 jar green chilies

1 jar salsa (mild or hot depending on taste)

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

1 medium tomato, chopped

6-8 soft shell tortillas

Method:

Mix together chicken soup, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, onions and tomato.

Set aside 1/4 of this mixture in a separate bowl.

In larger bowl, add in diced chicken.

Spread mixture into tortillas (about 1 cup of mixture for a large tortilla wrap). Make sure you get it spread out evenly all the way to the edges of the tortilla.

Wrap up the tortilla.

Place in 9x13 inch baking dish.

Top enchiladas with extra mixture, then jar of salsa.

Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350F/180C for approximately 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Turkey Cranberry Wreath

We made this festive all-in-one tasty treat at my Thanksgiving-themed Pampered Chef party and I loved it. Even though we made it before Thanksgiving for the party, I loved making it again to use up my turkey leftovers after Thanksgiving. The cranberries add that lovely sweet zing in this savory dish. This would also be perfect for a holiday party and if you live in England I would make this for Boxing Day to use up all that lovely Christmas turkey!

Ingredients:

1 packet (6 count) chilled fresh croissant dough

6 Tbsp mayonnaise

4 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

8 oz cooked chicken or turkey, finely chopped

1 stick celery or red/green pepper, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

3 oz dried cranberries

1 1/2 oz walnuts (opt) - chopped

3 oz gruyere cheese

1 egg

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Arrange 6 dough triangles in a circle slightly overlapping with wide ends in the centre.

Press together using roller.

Add together chopped chicken/turkey, celery, parsley and walnuts, garlic and cranberries. Mix in pepper, mayonnaise, and mustard.

Scoop mixture evenly over pressed seams of dough forming a circle.

Lift each point of dough and fold over the mixture tucking firmly under the opposite side. Glaze the top with beaten egg and back for 25 - 30 minutes.

Cut into wedges and serve while warm.

Chicken and Alfredo with Mushrooms

One of my most favorite pasta dishes ever and I've tried a couple different homemade alfredo recipes and this is the one I like the most. It's so simple to make, but you have to care for it a bit so that the butter doesn't separate out. I think the key to this recipe is using the most freshly grated parmesan cheese you can. It can be more economical as well to buy a chunk of parmesan and grate it yourself and it really makes the sauce dynamic. I would not recommend using the grated cheese in a can for this recipe as it makes the sauce grainy.

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 4 cutlets

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

linguine pasta

Sauce:

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese*

* The type of parmesan cheese you use makes or breaks this sauce. If you can use freshly grated parmesan instead of the dry kind from a can and it melts much better and tastes better.

Method:

Cook pasta as directed in salted water.

Fry chicken cutlets in 1 Tbsp of olive oil for a few minutes on each side until browned and completely cooked through.

Add a splash more olive oil to pan and add mushrooms and fry until browned.

While chicken/mushrooms and pasta are cooking, prepare sauce.

Melt butter on low heat in heavy saucepan.

Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cheese.

Whisk quickly and heat through.

Serve sauce over hot pasta topped or sided with chicken breast and mushrooms. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Cannelloni with Chicken, Ricotta, and Herbs

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup olive oil

2 tbsp olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
6 tbsp butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg, lighlty beaten
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
8 oz/225 g dried cannelloni
2/3 cup freshly grated mozzarella

Yields - 4 servings

Method:

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, garlic, and olive oil for the marinade. Add the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet. Drain the chicken and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring, until no longer pink. Set aside.

Sauce:

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium-high heat. Add the cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir until thickened. Reduce the heat, then add the Parmesan and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Stuffing and Shells:

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, and herbs.

Stir in the chicken.

Stuff the cannelloni with the chicken mixture.

Pour half the sauce into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place the stuffed cannelloni on top. Pour over the remaining sauce.

Sprinkle with the mozzarella.

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes.

Let the dish stand for 10 minutes before serving.