Simple Roast Chicken with Vegetables

This is the simplest meal in the world.  Four ingredients, zero prep.  This isn't the healthiest ever, since everything basically cooks in the chicken fat, but it's just so damn good.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 lemon, halved
Any vegetables, chopped (or not!  I used asparagus + carrots, because that's what I had in my fridge)

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Place vegetables at bottom of a baking pan, and place chicken on top.  Cover in olive oil and 1/2 of the lemon.  Add lemon to the dish.  Bake for 1 hour if the chicken is small, 1 1/2 hours if larger.

THAT'S IT.

Thai Chicken Saute

I tried so very hard to make the last "e" on "saute" have an accent, but failed.  That's really all I have to say about this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 package Chicken Tenders
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Onion, sliced
2 Green Bell Peppers, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, diced
2 tbsp Ginger, grated
1 can Light Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Sriracha
1 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped

1. Whisk cornstarch and fish sauce together, then toss with chicken.

2. Cook chicken in a pan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, turning once.  Remove from pan.

3. Slice onion and the peppers, dice garlic, and peel and grate ginger.  Add all to the pan, and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Return chicken to the pan, and cook for 1 minute.

5. Stir in coconut milk, sriracha, sugar, and lime juice, and cook for 5 minutes or until coconut milk condenses a little.

6. Serve over rice, with cilantro as garnish.

Nice and simple.  I haven't mastered Thai or Indian food yet, probably because I don't have the right spices, but this is a pretty decent approximation.

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Original Recipe:

Cooking Light

Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Rosemary

The original recipe called for lots of peppers and mushrooms, neither of which I had on hand.  I made up for it by adding carrots, diced and stewed canned tomatoes, and more celery.  I also didn't have red wine, so added more broth.

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
4 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 package Mushrooms
2 cups Broth
3 cups Water
1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
2 8oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1 package Chicken (on the bone - I used drumsticks)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt + Pepper, to taste

1. Chop peppers, onion, garlic, carrots, celery.  Add these to the slow cooker, as well as rosemary and mushrooms.

2. Add in broth (or Bouillon cube), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic powder and water.

3. Cut the fat off of the chicken and add in whole.

You just sort of have to get in there and pull it off.  Mmm.

4. Set slow cooker to low, and cook overnight, or until chicken falls off the bone.  Fish out the drumstick bones.

Great alone, and also over rice/barley.

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Original Recipe:

Jeanette's Healthy Living

BBQ Chicken Skewers with Zucchini + Pineapple

Oh my god so good.  The best sauce ever.  Putting it on everything.

I made wayyyyy too much - enough stuff to pack onto 10 skewers.  So I'm halving this ingredients below - which will still make enough for leftovers.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Hot Water
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
2 tbsp. Honey Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 Chicken Breasts, chopped
2 Bell Peppers, chopped
2 small Zucchinis, chopped
20 oz can Pineapple Chunks
1/2 Red or Yellow Onion, chopped

1. Chop chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.

2. In a small bowl, combine hot water, soy sauce, peanut butter, barbecue sauce and honey dijon mustard.  Add chicken to bowl and thoroughly cover in sauce.  Set aside to marinate.

3. Chop bell peppers, zucchini, and onion into 1-inch pieces.

4. Alternating ingredients, including the pineapple, create skewers.  Spoon remaining sauce on.  If broiling, place on broiling pan.

I found out that you can not only line the bottom of the broiling pan with tinfoil, but also the top if you cut slits into it for proper draining.  Saves so much scrubbing later.

5. Broil or grill, 6 minutes on each side.

Flip carefully! Tongs worked best, because I crammed way too much on each skewer.  Leave an inch on each side for easier handling.

I ate these with some good ol' corn on the cob, the extras of which will be used in a later recipe.  And I pulled the goodies off the skewer for easier eating.

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Original Recipe:

The Menu Mom

Coconut Ginger Pineapple Chicken + Vegetables

Found this recipe from SimpleBites and had to try.  I've been searching for a go-to curry recipe, and hadn't quite found the one yet.  My versions were never as flavorful as the real deal.  BUT this is the best one I've made yet, by far.  I'd say 9/10 - and with future improvements (see below), it could be a perfect score.

The original recipe is for a slow cooker, but I never think to start making dinner in time to use mine.  So I've adapted it to just cook in a large pot.

Ingredients:

4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
3-inch Ginger Root, peeled + roughly chopped
1 Yellow Onion, quartered
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Coriander
1 tsp Black Pepper
1-1/2 tbsp Turmeric
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Coconut Oil (or Olive)
2 tbsp Butter
2.5 lbs Chicken, chopped
2 cans Coconut Milk, not shaken
2 tbsp Cornstarch
1 can Baby Corn
1 can Pineapple
1 cup Snap Peas
1 cup Green Beans, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped

Coconut oil is my new favorite - I was just introduced to it last summer, and it makes everything taste so good.  Not like coconut, in the same way that olive oil doesn't make everything taste like olives, but in a rich, nutty, vanilla-ish way.

I also added in potatoes, to give it more substance - had to adjust cooking time for that too.  I'm not including it in the recipe because I wasn't a big fan.  And though I didn't include them, I want to add in canned pineapple, red bell pepper and green beans next time. Make it a full Yellow Curry.

1. Put onion, ginger, and garlic into a small food processor and pulse until a paste forms.

2. Heat coconut oil and butter in a large pot and add paste, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  Add in turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt and black pepper and stir, cooking for another 2-3 minutes and stirring constantly.

I use WAY more spices than recipes ever call for.  I've just found that the recipes are too bland otherwise.

3. Add chicken + red bell pepper, coating them with mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes.

4. Open cans of coconut milk and remove cream from top, placing in small bowl.  Pour coconut milk over chicken (will just cover)

5. Drain canned baby corn and add to pot.  Add green beans, snap peas and pineapple.

6. Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream and add to pot.  Stir well.

The cornstarch thickens the sauce perfectly.  Got to remember that trick when I make soups in the future...

7. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until chicken and potatoes are done, approximately 20 minutes. Add black pepper and salt to taste.

Made this with brown rice, cooked with a little coconut oil added in as well.  Had to wait a while for it to cool down, and added quite a bit of salt and pepper to my bowl.  But I think I've found it! The curry I've been searching for! Huzzah.

Time: 45 minutes total

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Original Recipe:

SimpleBites

Chicken and Cashews

Just tried this meal tonight, from Cooking Light's 100 Easy Chicken Recipes. Completely delicious - hearty, flavorful, healthy, and actually tasted like good Chinese food, not like the pale imitations that I've tried before.  Alright, Cooking Light, I see you.


Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce, divided
2 tablespoons Dry Sherry
4 teaspoons Cornstarch, divided
1 pound Chicken Breast, cubed
1 cup Broth OR 1 cup Water + 1/2 Bouillon Cube
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Honey
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil, divided
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
3-inch Ginger Root, peeled + grated
2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2-3 Green Onion shoots, diced
1/4 cup raw Cashews

Here are all of the ingredients.  Oh, but minus the red bell pepper.  And the garlic.  Off to a great start.  Just reference the ingredient list - what, you mean that you can't tell that the tupperware is full of sesame oil?

Great thing is, all of the fancy things like sherry and oyster sauce stay good FOREVER.  I mean it.  Just stow them in the back of your pantry and you'll be pleasantly surprised when you discover them a year later after you get a craving for this recipe.

1. In a large bowl, add chicken (1 pound chopped), sherry (2 tbsp), soy sauce (1 tbsp) and cornstarch (2 tsp) and mix well.

Mmm. Raw meat.

2. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce (2 tbsp), cornstarch (2 tsp), broth (1 cup), honey (1 tbsp), oyster sauce (2 tbsp).

I actually use bouillon cubes, since I never remember to buy more chicken broth, and the remaining half a box inevitably goes bad in my fridge when I do.  1/2 cube to one cup of water, and voila. I also use more than the original recipe, since I wanted more sauce.

3. Add sesame oil (1 tsp) and chicken mix to a non-stick pan and cook for 2-3 minutes (medium-high heat) until slightly browned.  Remove from pan and place back in bowl.

4. Add more sesame oil to pan as needed (1 tsp) and onion (1 medium, chopped), celery (2-3 stalks, chopped), red bell pepper (1, chopped), garlic (2-3 cloves, minced), and ginger (3-inch root, peeled + grated).  Cook for 1 minute.

The chopping is the only part that takes a little time. If only I had a chopping fairy.  Ginger, actually, is my favorite - super easy, though it looks intimidating in the grocery store. The skin peels off easily, and then use a cheese grater to shred it.

5. Add chicken back into pan and cook for 1 minute.  Add sauce from small bowl and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook for 1 more minute.

Not great photography, I know.  I'll work on it.

6. Turn off the heat, and stir in green onions (2-3 shoots, diced) and raw cashews (1/4 cup).

And presto! Chicken with cashews.  No need for extra salt or any other seasoning, and I had it over rice pilaf (from a box, don't get too excited).

So, just 99 more easy chickens to go. Bring it on.

Serving Size: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus 15 to cook)

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Original Recipe:

Cooking Light's 100 Easy Chicken Recipes

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 257
• Fat: 9g
• Saturated fat: 1.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.2g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.3g
• Protein: 26g
• Carbohydrate: 17g
• Fiber: 1.9g
• Cholesterol: 63mg
• Iron: 2mg
• Sodium: 584mg
• Calcium: 45mg