chicken

Grilled Brick Chicken

July 26, 2013

Seriously, so yum.

Those grill marks. Oh, how I love them.

It was so weird not to have a Sprint Cup race to watch last weekend but those drivers’ totally deserve a mid summer break. But it just means I am really looking forward to this weekend’s race at “The Brickyard”!

And of course to celebrate the race at The Brickyard I just had to prepare Grilled Brick Chicken for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks. Those famous bricks on track get kissed all the time by the winners so you might just want to do the same after having this chicken. Of course you would want them to cool off… ouch!

I was a little nervous to cook a whole chicken on the grill as I was unsure of how it would turn out… would it undercook? overcook? would it stick to the grates? would it be difficult to work with the bricks? But all of my worries were tossed aside once the process began as it was sooo easy and so good. Plus all the downtime allowed me to enjoy reading some magazines. Win Win!

The chicken is so flavorful and juicy. The lemon and rosemary give the chicken rice flavor, as well as keeping it moist. But the real kicker is the skin and how well that grills right up. I don’t typically like to eat the skin of the chicken but since it has been grilled beautifully I couldn’t resist some. This grill marks just get ya! But the thing that really gets me is how juicy this chicken is. I couldn’t get over it.

Enjoy this weekend’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and make this chicken. It’s a great way to celebrate ‘The Brickyard’ and the return of summertime racing!

Grilled Brick Chicken

Makes 1 chicken

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 4.5 pounds
1-2 lemons, thinly sliced
fresh rosemary, finely chopped
vegetable oil
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bricks, wrapped in foil

Process

Either buy a spatchcocked chicken or prepare the chicken yourself. To spatchcock a chicken, use sharp kitchen shears and cut along both sides of the back bones from the tail to the neck. Once removed, flip the chicken over the press firmly down on the breast until you flatten out the chicken by breaking the breast bone. Wash the chicken down at this point, as well as remove any excess bits of fat on the chicken, pat dry with a paper towel.
Preheat your grill on high while you prepare your chicken.
Create a pocket between the skin of the chicken and the meat by running your hand between them over the whole chicken. In that pocket, place the lemon slices and chopped rosemary.
Cover the whole chicken with vegetable oil and generously apply salt and pepper to the skin of the whole chicken.
Very carefully, rub the grates of your hot grill with vegetable oil soaked paper towels. Place the chicken breast side down on the grill, reduce the heat to medium-low, place the bricks on the chicken, and cover the grill. Cook on this side for 25-30 minutes. , Remove the bricks with tongs and check on the chicken to make sure you have nice grill marks on it prior to flipping, and reapplying the bricks. Cook for another 25-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.
Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes prior to cutting into it.

** If using a charcoal grill, at step 2- prepare the coals under the whole grill to heat the entire grill up. Then just before you coat the grates in step 5, move the majority of the coals to one side. Place the chicken on the side with less coals to cook it over indirect heat.

Adapted from Honestly Yum

BBQ Chip Shake and Bake Drumsticks

May 3, 2013

I can honestly say that during last spring’s Talladega race Kurt Busch had the BEST paint scheme ever. Did you miss it? Well, if you’ve seen the movie Talladega Nights then you saw it. You see, the elder Busch brother lost his spot with Penske Racing team in 2011 and went to the Phoenix Racing for 2012. Unfortunately, he often struggled to secure sponsorship for the 2012 season. However that didn’t get him down! No, he just kept on going and for the ‘Dega race he matched the “Me” Cougar paint scheme that Ricky Bobby had for the final race of the movie and I thought it was just brilliant. LOVED IT!

Well, considering this weekend’s race is at Talladega and last year Busch made reference to the blockbuster movie I decided would do the same this year with my Sprint Cup Snacks recipe. Which means… it’s SHAKE AND BAKE TIME!!!!!

Truth be told, I really hated the movie the first time I saw it. And probably the 2nd time as well. I finally just gave in and accepted it for what it is and enjoy the parts I enjoy and skip the parts I don’t. Sorry, can’t stand Sasha Baron Cohen’s character Jean Girard. I know that basically is the point. But I am not amused, at all. Anyway, I just love the dinner prayer scene. Umm who doesn’t?!?! So my love/hate affair with the movie drove (pun intended) me to embrace it as the theme for this weekend’s Dega race.

So enjoy this weekend’s race with a super simple, super yummy DIY Shake and Bake recipe that uses crushed up BBQ potato chips for the chicken’s coating. And of course, as I’ve demonstrated to Price, you must dance around when you shake the chicken. It makes it taste better. I swear!

BBQ Chip Shake and Bake Drumsticks

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 pounds drumsticks
2-3 cups of buttermilk
salt and pepper
3 cups of crushed BBQ potato chips, I used Utz’s BBQ Ridges
ranch dressing, for dipping

Process

In a bowl, marinate the drumsticks with the buttermilk and some salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the crushed chips into a large ziplock bag.
One by one, place a drumstick into the bag, seal it, and shake it up so the chips stick to the chicken.
Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 mintes, checking half way through.
Serve with ranch, or your other favorite sauce, for dipping.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

April 2, 2013

This Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole is a creamy, flavorful chicken and rice casserole that is easy to make and is a great comfort food dish to dig into.

I love making this casserole because it’s so easy and it’s so tasty. I suggest that you double the recipe so you can freeze another to save for later. Yum!

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Spanakopita Stuffed Chicken Breasts

February 20, 2013

When we first got Kemper I took most of the next week off so I could run outside with him every hour-ish so we could get him trained quickly. Well in hopes of that. Also in making wrong assumptiongs… I thought I would get so much blogging, scrapbooking, cleaning done while he sleep but that is a big fat no since I just ooed and awwed over him while he slept. Seriously. Hopeless.

At least I did manage to make some great meals for my lunches and for our dinners that week. I’ve been looking all around at the mass quantities of cookbooks I have and I’ve decided that I need to actually crack them open and make some recipes from them. The first one I grabbed was The Ultimate Casseroles Book: More than 400 Heartwarming Dishes from Dips to Desserts. This is such a fantastic Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. There are so many great recipes in there that I’ve flagged. The book is so full of post-it’s now it’s a bit crazy.

I suggest that you try the Spanakopita Stuffed Chicken Breasts because they were just fantastic. I love spanakopita with it’s puff pastry pockets stuffed with spinach, salty feta, and fresh lemon. Stuffing the chicken breasts with that mixture was a great way to spice up some chicken for dinner. I love Greek inspired dishes and this is one that I will make again.

I made some changes along the way but it still worked out just a planned. Mainly, I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. My preparation of the chicken differed as I didn’t stuff the spinach mixture between the skin and breasts, but created a pocket myself. Also, the recipe called for 3 tablespoons snipped fresh dill added to the spinach mixture, but I didn’t have it around so I didn’t want to buy it just for this as I don’t really like dill anyway.

Spanakopita Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (1 medium)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
10oz box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1/4 ground nutmeg
1 medium sized lemon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 skinless chicken breasts (approximately 2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium sized lemon, cut into wedges

Process

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 3 quart casserole dish by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat then add the spinach, feta, nutmeg, pepper, and the juice from 1 lemon. Combine all the ingredients and then divide into 4 equal portions.
Cut large pockets into the chicken breasts. Put 1/4 of the spinach mixture into each open chicken breast. Close the chicken breasts as much as possible and place in the casserole dish. Add the lemon wedges to the casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees).

Slow Cooker ‘Roast’ Chicken

April 13, 2012

You know when you have one of those moments of “well, like, duh!” because something you never considered before made perfect sense. Why didn’t I think of that moment. Well, that happened to me when I was hopping around on Julie of The Little Kitchen and I saw in her sidebar a recipe for ‘Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker‘. I kept going “that makes sense! Why haven’t I thought of this? It has to be so good! I have to make it!!”

This was one of the juiciest chickens I have ever had (other was beer can chicken- OMG!). It was so moist, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. Any rub on the chicken would work, even just salt and pepper with some lemons in the mix. This is more about technique, not about the ingredients. Don’t want sweet potatoes- fine… just throw some fingerlings in there. I think the biggest thing to consider is how long to cook it. I would not do this on a week day since I am away from home for 10 hours. This would just fall apart too much then. I suggest this on a nice weekend when you want to relax and do nothing or if you have errands up to your eyeballs and you have no time to cook and just have dinner (almost) appear in front of you.

Slow Cooker ‘Roast’ Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 onions
2 large sweet potatoes
4-5 carrots
3 1/2 -4 1/2 pound whole roasting/frying chicken
Preferred seasoning blend

Process

Remove giblets bag from chicken to discard and rinse entirely. Pat chicken dry completely with paper towels.
Cut all vegetables in large pieces, such as carrots in 2″ long pieces, and the onion in 8 large wedges.
Rub the chicken with your selected rub to completely coat it.
Place onions, carrots and sweet potatoes inside the slow cooker to create a layer on the bottom. Then put chicken on top of the vegetables.
Set slow cooker for 6 hours. Check the internal temperature of the leg, if it is 160 degrees F then it is done. If you used a chicken with a pop up thermometer then remove the chicken when it has popped.
If you crock pot is broiler safe (consult your product information) then put the entire crock pot into the oven for 4-5 minutes. If your crock pot is not broiler safe then carefully remove the chicken and place on a glass baking dish or a large baking sheet. Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes prior to cutting.

40 Cloves of Garlic Roasted Chicken

April 19, 2010

I have always wanted to make chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. The idea of using that much garlic had me so interested, like the time price ordered Garlic soup and it was AMAZING! I had seen several recipes for chicken with 40 cloves are garlic but to be honest they seemed like more work than what I wanted to deal with, like chopping up a chicken, dredging it, boiling the garlic, etc. So I opted for creating an easy version by using a whole chicken and roasting it along with the garlic. So this is my reworked version, simple, easy, and delightfully garlicy!

This recipe is more like a complete meal. I think it is essential to cook potatoes, maybe other root vegetables also, with the chicken. The potatoes take on the flavor from the chicken, wine, and, of course, the garlic. So just add a side vegetable or a salad and your meal is complete.

40 Cloves of Garlic Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken, 3 1/2 pounds

40 cloves of garlic

1 pound of small potatoes, such as fingerling

1/2 cup white wine

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 375.

Rinse and clean chicken. Dry chicken- very important! (A dry chicken equals a crispy skin) Put chicken into a pan and season with salt and pepper. Lift up the skin of the chicken and place several small cloves of garlic between skin and breast.

Clean and cut, if necessary, the potatoes. Combine potatoes and remaining garlic in a bowl to lightly dress with oil and season with salt and pepper.

distribute potatoes and garlic around chicken.

After chicken has been cooking for 30 minutes, toss potatoes and garlic, preventing burning. Add wine to pan.

Cook chicken until it is done, approximately another 45 minutes. You can use a pop up or a manual thermometer test chicken’s doneness. Let chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving to serve. When slicing keep skin intact to show the softened garlic layered between the chicken breast and skin.

Enjoy, and feel free to finish off the wine you opened for the chicken!

Fried Rice

December 6, 2009

Making Chinese food with my Dad has become one of those experiences that leads to great food, dirty dishes, lots of laughs, and full stomaches. One year our bird, Studley, ‘got hungry’ and flew into the bowl of fried rice- no one was happy then. Or we always seem to bring up the time when my brother, Dad, and I made chinese food and the kitchen looked like a nuclear holocaust. Food on the floor, sauces dripping down the cabinets, spills in the fridge, and a sink full of bowls. Of course everything was worth it since the food is always amazing. We have made shrimp with lobster sauce, chicken with cashews, chicken and shrimp chow mien, and, as always, fried rice.

When my Dad came to visit a few weeks ago we planned on making chinese food so he brought up some of the ingredients and his wok. This excited me to no end. It had been so long since I had the fried rice. Sure, you can get fried rice at your local chinese food restaurant, but I have to say that it’s not the same. I find the fried rice from most chinese food places has too much soy sauce for my preference. So that is why it is worth it to take the time to make amazing fried rice.

Fried Rice

3 C. rice

1 C. diced chicken or shrimp or pork

Marinating sauce

1 TBS. cooking Sherry
1 ½ tsp. sugar
1 ½ TBS. Cornstarch
1 ½ TBS. Soy sauce

1 chopped onion (small)

3 eggs

½ tsp. black pepper (optional)

½ C. diced celery

4 Tbs. oil (wok oil is prefered)

diced scallion

soy sauce as much as desired

Marinate the meat in the sauce for 30 minutes to an hour.

Cook 3 cups of rice accordingly.

Add 1 TBS. of oil to a wok on medium heat. Add the eggs into the oil and break them into bite size chunks while scrambling them. Cook until they begin to set. It is very important not to cook them entirely as there will be carry-over cooking. Put the eggs to the side until ready to use them again.Add the rest of the oil to the wok. Add the onions and stir-fry for a minute. Push to one side of the wok when done. Then put the meat and celery in the wok; stir-fry until the meat is beginning to brown. Add the rice, soy sauce, and pepper; Mix that for about 2 minutes/until everything is coated. Then add the diced scallion and the reserved scrambled egg and stir-fry until everything is well mixed.** If you use shrimp add the celery a minute prior to the shrimp because of cooking time.