BALSAMIC CHICKEN

I was asked today what was for dinner and all I really knew was that I had thawed some chicken breasts.

FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE CLICK HERE
I then made things up as I went along using ingredients that I had on hand.

Dinner was wonderful. Full of flavour with a great aroma and visually very appetizing.

This was dinner for 2 but could easily be increased for more.
Here we go:

• 2 boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil
• juice from half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon of tarragon
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper

Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy pan and brown on both sides until golden in colour.
Lower heat, squeeze in juice from half a lemon and cover pan. Let chicken cook through. Remove lid.
Sprinkle with tarragon and add balsamic vinegar.
Keep a close eye on the pan now and increase heat slightly to get pan bubbling. Spoon the sauce over the chicken repeatedly until the balsamic vinegar has reduced down to a thick syrup.
Don’t take it too far or you will burn it. You can always add more vinegar stirring up the mixture to mix it back in and then bubble it down again to the right consistency.
The chicken should have a wonderful, thick brown glaze on it. Remove to plates and pour any remaining sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
Serves 2

How do you cook? Do you follow the recipe to the letter or do you fly by the seat of your pants and hope for the best? I believe cooking should be more method and less recipe unless we are talking about baking.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR MY SOUL AND MY BELLY

Last week I roasted a big meaty chicken for dinner. Not one of those scrawny ones from the grocery store but a full grown bird from a meat market.

I stuffed it with a couple fresh lemons and rubbed that bird with some salt, pepper and a bit of Italian mix spices. Into the oven to roast up with an onion on the side. It got nice and brown and was so delicious.

I had chicken wraps for lunch for a few days and also some leftover chicken for dinner twice. It was just that good. There was still a lot left.

My BB Guy had developed a sore throat and was not feeling well. I developed the same symptoms as he did a day later and ended up with a very sore throat and constant headaches. Ugh.

Time to make Chicken Soup:

• 1 chicken carcass (I left the lemons in and I highly recommend this)
• 2 onions, rough chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic
• *4 carrots
• about 20 black peppercorns
• 1^1/2  Tablespoons of salt – note this is a really big soup pot
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 hot red chillies – don’t worry the heat tempers down but it is essential
• a baby finger sized piece of fresh turmeric root
• *4 more carrots
• 1/2 cup quinoa grains – added almost at the end
• handful fresh chopped cilantro – added at the very end

Put the first 9 ingredients into your big soup pot and cover with water to just above the contents. As the soup cooks the bones will collapse and everything will be very well covered in the broth.
Simmer for a few hours and then strain out the contents saving all the chicken meat and add the meat back into the pot with the broth.
Cut up the remaining 4 carrots into big chunks and add to the strained broth along with the quinioa grains and cook another 20 minutes or so until the carrots are tender. Toss in the fresh cilantro and serve.
You will not need any more salt or pepper and the gentle heat from the chillies will have you craving more and more. The hint of lemon comes through as well and it is such a bright fresh tasting soup.
This was the best chicken soup I have ever made or even had for that matter. I have been eating it daily to help with my sore throat and have reached the end except for some broth that I poured into two containers and froze for a later date when I will toss in some fresh ingredients for a quick lunch or dinner.

FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE CLICK HERE

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU LORI STYLE

I remember a time when the biggest thing in restaurants was Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was the stuff of first dates and dinner celebrations.

Recently I have had a craving for some stuffed chicken breasts so I decided to make my own.

I had to work until 6:15 so I prepared the chicken this morning before work. I worried that the coating would be soggy. It wasn’t.

Here we go with my version which is by no means traditional. There is no heavy cream sauce. It is not rolled up like many others are. It is just my version, which means easy and it turned out AWESOME.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU LORI STYLE

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE

Adjust the amounts according to the people you are feeding. Depending on how large the breasts are you will be able to fit in more ham and cheese.

Chicken breasts, boneless
Shaved deli ham
Sliced Swiss cheese (about 3 X 4 inches)
Greek style plain yogurt
Garlic, I used about 2 teaspoons of dried garlic granules
Pepper, 1 teaspoon but we like lots of pepper 
Panko bread crumbs
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make a slice into the side of the breast making a nice big pocket. Be careful not to go all the way through but make is as big as possible. I made the pocket considerably bigger than this.  Take 2 slices of Swiss cheese and some shaved deli ham and roll them up like a cigar. Stuff this inside the pocket you made in the chicken. It will be very full but that is okay.

Mix garlic and pepper into the Greek yogurt and then roll the chicken breasts in that mixture. Look how thick and rich that Greek yogurt is. Brilliant for cooking. Roll this in Panko bread crumbs. Take some kitchen twine and tie around the breast in about 4 places to keep that stuffing inside and the breast together.
(I tried toothpicks but they don’t close the chicken up well enough. At this point I covered it up and put it in the fridge for about 9 hours until I got home from work.)

Place chicken in a baking dish with the cut side up to help keep the cheese inside. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil. If they are not able to stand up on their own make little tin foil bundles to help prop them up.(note there are 2 plain chicken breasts in the pan for the one in the house who rolls that way) Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until lightly browned and cooked through basting with the liquid from the pan which is a mix of the olive oil and the oil released from the cheese. It adds lots of flavor and helps to brown the Panko bread crumbs.My BB Guy said this was the best chicken he has had for as long as he could remember. He was so right. It was tender, moist and tasty. I wouldn’t add any salt in the cooking process because there is enough salt in the ham and the cheese. This is good enough for company and makes family feel like you are out for dinner for that special occasion.

SATAY CHICKEN

a DELICIOUS QUICK COOK SUMMER DINNER

As with all my recipes they are more of a method than an exact science. If you like things mild use less spice.
Satay Chicken is an easy recipe with a cook time of 10 minutes either on the grill or under the broiler. Let’s begin.

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup lime juice (not the fake stuff…ever..)
• 2 tablespoons of curry powder
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 2 or more large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 or 2 or more teaspoons of Siracha Rooster sauce or hot chilie paste
• Peanut sauce of your choice for dipping

Slice your chicken breasts in half opening it up like a book. Slice the chicken into strips now and pop them into a Ziplock bag.

In a bowl mix together the remaining ingredients.

There is no substitute for real lime juice. None.
Get your son to pour this over your chicken and marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours or all day. If you are going to use wooden skewers for your Satay make sure you soak them in water for a couple hours so they don’t burn up.
I use metal skewers. Thread your drained strips of chicken onto the skewers. Don’t crowd them.
Cook for 5 minutes per side for a total of 10 minutes on a hot grill or under your preheated broiler. Since the chicken has been sliced so thin it really doesn’t take any longer than this to cook. Don’t over cook them because they will dry out.
Serve with a peanut dipping sauce of your choice. I don’t make my own as I find it isn’t worth the work. Find one you like and stick with it.
This is a very light dinner. Notice that there was no oil or fat added to the chicken. Salad recipe to follow. 
For a printable recipe click here

LEPP FARM MARKET

When I hear about a new local place to visit for  great food or specialty items I am all over it. For a long time my coffee group would head out on road trips for the day and come home with bags of delicious local foods, cheeses, coffees, and vegetables. Corn on the cob was always high on that list and our favorite place was a little corn stand in an area called Abbotsford. The Lepp family has had a stand there for 15 years. The young ladies working there were always so pleasant but the corn was worth the drive all on its own. Well the corn stand is gone but look at what they built in its place. Lepp Farm Market.

Now that property has a market on it and it is soooo worth the drive out there. I went there on Saturday because I had heard from one of my friends how good it was. Off I went and I was not disappointed.
First of all I asked permission to take photographs in the store. One of the owners, Charlotte Lepp was immediately welcoming and agreeable to my taking pictures in their store. I would have taken many more if my batteries would have held up but those rechargeables lose their juice just sitting.

The wonderful thing about this market is that they raise their own chickens and hogs. Their meats have no growth hormones or antibiotics in them. Their animals are fed no animal byproducts.They also have beef raised for them that meets all of their guidelines.This crown roast of pork would have been perfect for Easter dinner wouldn't it? I know....look at that presentation.

I went with one of their ginormous...not a word I know....roasting chickens. The ones from the grocery stores are so puny you can't even make good gravy with them because they cook so quickly. This beauty cooked up a glorious brown with a nice rich brown base on which to make my gravy. It was so good. My BB Guy is going to make sure he has some with him for the next trip to the cabin.

Just look at this meat counter. Fifty feet long. Besides the chicken I bought a pork roast, stewing beef, in-house made andouille sausages and some pepperoni. We had the andouille in a pasta dish tonight. Smoky paprika flavour. Oh my. I had a nice chat with a fellow genealogist who worked behind the counter. Great service.

I wanted some of their olives and decided on one that I had never had before. After a sample I went with the Caserecce Schiacciate. They are really fruity and don't be fooled by the colour of my photo. They are a lovely green olive. The pits are in still but they easily release the stone from the fruit in your mouth.

I also bought a few sticks of their pepperoni. All this shopping has built up an appetite so I went to their lunch counter/studio kitchen. Oh yea, they are going to have classes here too. That is Charlotte in the middle. 

Hi Charlotte.

They have this beautiful water cooler on the counter for you to help yourself to ice cold water. Lots of moist towelettes too because the best thing to have for lunch in my opinion is a pulled pork sandwich. Several napkins and a towelette later I was full.

 Yup I ate the whole thing, myself, alone. Okay cut me some slack...I hadn't had breakfast and this was lunchtime. It was so good. My BB Guy will be getting some of this to go for sure.

On the left is the garlic cheese loaf I bought. That didn't last long at home. I only wish I had room to have a cinnamon bun or scone too. I do have my limits.

 Here is something unusual and unique. I have never seen these before. Sardines. Yup, sardines...made of chocolate. What a cool gift these would make in their little tin boxes. I love these. They have many other specialty items in the store. A produce section, a dairy section, cheeses, frozen items like their soups and chicken pies. Spices and condiments from all over the place. They have Farmhouse cheeses which I have written about before along with the Backporch coffee.

I bought some of the Himalayan Crystal Salt. It is pink and really tastes of the ocean though I don't equate the Himalayas with the ocean for salt. We love different salts and always try new ones.

 Once again thanks to Charlotte and all of her staff for being so friendly, welcoming and fun. I had a great morning and have been recommending this market to anyone and everyone. I can't wait to go back. They have a great website. Click here to see it and maybe grab a few recipes even though you can't visit in person.

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FOODIE FRIDAY- SNAKE BITES

If this is Friday then it must be time to go and visit Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. One of the yummiest memes out there.

I seared up some chicken chunks the other night to make Rattlesnake Bites. Mmmm good and as usual with my cooking there is not so much a recipe as there is a method. Here we go.

Click here for a printable recipe

Cut your boneless chicken into chunks. Toss in a plastic bag with a mixture of spices with the main flavor being a chili powder of some sort. The heat factor is decided by what kind of chili powder you use. In my house we like it spicy and hot.

I used a combination of regular chili powder, some hot chipotle, garlic, cumin, paprika and lots of black pepper. I also threw in some salt to taste. Heat your cast iron pan over high heat with a good vegetable or safflower oil and turn on the fan. Don't use a regular pan or you will probably ruin it. Add the chicken a bit at a time tossing and cooking through. Remove it as it is done and finish cooking the rest. At the end you can toss it all back in the pan to sizzle a bit while you squeeze some fresh lime juice over top of the chicken then toss it with some fresh chopped cilantro.

Now you have one dirty cast iron pan. Did you know the best way to clean your cast iron pan is with salt? You bet. Wipe out the excess oil and debris with a paper towel. Sprinkle generously with a coarse salt and rub with another paper towel. At some point you can add a bit of water but never add soap or you will ruin the seasoning of the iron pan. So just scrub until clean adding more salt if needed. See how some of the salt is now brown? It is absorbing all the food and oil debris. Rinse and dry your pan well.

Now this pan is ready to use but it could stand to have a bit of oil rubbed into its finish. Boy is this a heavy pan.