Mediterranean Chicken Bowl

Adapted from a recipe found on happydiabetic.com

This lovely creation is yet another way to use my Homemade Chicken Breast Cold Cuts or, for a different texture, my Versatile Shredded Chicken Breast . Either way this meal is bound to delight everyone around the table. Enjoy!

• Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large white button mushrooms - sliced
• half each red and yellow bell pepper - sliced to 1.5" long sticks
• 1 average tomato diced
• ½ red onion sliced or diced - your call
• 1/3 cup vegetable stock
• 4-5 oz of cut up asparagus - 1.5" pieces
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic
• 8 ounce skinless precooked chicken - sliced or shredded
• 14 black olives - pitted and cut in half lengthwise
• 15 oz can cannellini beans - drained
• fresh ground black pepper to taste - 4-5 twists 
• sea/kosher salt to taste
• 1 fresh lime - quartered for table serve

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and asparagus and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the cooked chicken and fresh garlic.

Lower heat, add vegetable stock, oregano, rosemary, and basil. Carefully fold in the diced tomatoes, beans and olives.  

Simmer for about 5 minutes with an occasional toss. Cook over low heat until chicken is nice and hot. Season with fresh ground black pepper and some sea/kosher salt to taste and add a generous squeeze of lime.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Creamy Chicken Tenders with Mushrooms & Asparagus - A Chef Favorite

 My wife made yummy noises... Need I say more? :-)

Okay maybe I need to say just a little more...

This dish is another of my originals that turned out so damn good I am calling it another

Signature Dish right alongside my Chicken Fried Barley & Spinach.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 1.25 lbs chicken tenders
• Wondra Flour seasoned to your liking
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 yellow onion, cut your way and caramelized
• 1 bunch asparagus, broken Ted Allen Style and cut up
• 8 oz white or baby port mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can unsalted cream of mushroom condensed soup
• 5+ oz whole milk
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• salt & pepper to taste
• chopped parsley for garnish

Preparation:

Season the flour to your liking and coat chicken. Heat avocado oil and fry tenders in a large skillet until just done using medium high heat. Set chicken aside and cover to keep warm.

Break asparagus by hand… Ted Allen Style. I learned this tip from Ted on the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Hold one stalk in both hands and bend it until it snaps. The spot where it snaps is where the stringy section at stalk bottom ends.

Add onions to the chicken skillet with some salt and caramelize over medium heat. Add cut up asparagus and toss a few times as asparagus cooks through. Add mushrooms and a little olive oil if needed.

Once mushrooms are cooked add condensed soup plus ~5 oz or half the soup can of whole milk along with the paprika. Shake milk in can to get all the C.O.M. 

Blend and heat… taste and add salt & pepper as desired. Gently lay chicken tenders into sauce, cover and simmer to heat chicken through… 2-3 minutes should do it. 

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

Chicken Fajitas with Vegetables

Full credit for this savory dish goes to Ramon Negron at Wellness Sleuth.

Ramon really hit it out of the park with this one. The flavor pallet is bold, yet balanced, and these wonderful fajitas are just really fun to eat! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breast - cut into strips
• 1 red onion - thinly sliced
• ½ red pepper - thinly sliced
• ½ yellow pepper - thinly sliced
• ½ green pepper - thinly sliced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp of lime juice
• 1 tsp chili powder

Preparation:

1- Mix the seasoning for the fajitas together in a bowl.

2- Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the chicken, firmly pressing it into the chicken with your fingers.

3- Put oil in a skillet over medium heat and let it heat up.

4- Put the chicken breasts in and let them cook for around 7 to 8 minutes on each side.

5- While your chicken is cooking, cut bell peppers and onions into thin slices.

6- When the chicken is done cooking, take it out of the pan and let it rest for a few minutes.

7- Then add bell peppers and onions to the same pan over medium heat.

8- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes while stirring frequently.

7- Once bell peppers and onion are just about done sauteing

8- Cut the chicken breast into strips

9- Stir everything together

10- Salt and pepper to taste

11- cook for an additional minute.

Serve with warm tortillas and enjoy! Chicken fajitas are a great meal to make when you're short on time but still want something tasty and satisfying.

Chef Michael suggests adding any or all of the following toppings to allow diners to get creative:

• A rich, tomatoey salsa.
• Smooth and satisfying guacamole.
• Cooling and delicious sour cream.
• Rice with a spicy kick.
• Green jalapenos for some extra heat.
• Mellow grated cheese to melt inside.
• Cut limes to squeeze over your fillings.
• Classic and comforting refried beans.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Chicken Gruyere

 This dish was born in the safety of my kitchen after a day of some disturbing news.

Many folks eat when they're depressed... I cook.

Anyway... I was in the mood for some chicken and remembered I still had some of the Gruyere/Swiss Cheese blend in the fridge. My window sill scallions were in need of a trim, so I played with the flavors in my head and came up with something that instantly won our hearts and will be repeated.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb thin sliced chicken breast
• Lemon pepper blend of your choice
• Flour for dredging
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• Scallions cut in small pieces
• 1 cup or more Gruyere/Swiss cheese blend

Preparation:

Season chicken on both sides with lemon pepper and dredge in flour.

Heat the avocado oil and sear the chicken both sides and then steam for a couple minutes to cook through.

Push the pieces together and coat with scallions and cheese.

Lower the heat and cover pan to melt the cheese.

Serve with some barley and a vegetable of your choice.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Chicken & Mushroom Madeira - A Chef Favorite

You know how much I love the ease of a one pot meal. Well, this one may seem really simple but it packs a whole boatload of flavor! Chicken and mushrooms with wine... How can you go wrong? 😊 

Ingredients:

• ~2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into stew size chunks
• ~2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion cut up, like bite-size
• 16 oz baby portobello mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on size
• 1 bunch scallions - 4-6 stalks - cut in 3/8 - 1/2" sections
• 1 cup Madeira wine (Marsala works well also and is a lot cheaper)
• 2 10.5 oz cans unsalted condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tsp table salt for dish
• fresh ground black pepper to taste – I do 6 twists on my pepper mill
• chicken broth, white wine or more Madeira for thinning if needed

Preparation:

In large skillet or Dutch oven heat one tbsp of olive oil, sear chicken pieces and set aside.

Cut up onions, mushrooms and scallions and lightly saute in same Dutch oven with another 1-2 tbsp olive oil.

Add Madeira, blend and bring to a simmer. Add cream of mushroom and again bring to a simmer and blend.

Season with 1+ tsp table salt fresh ground black pepper to taste. Add chicken back into the pot and simmer for about 60 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles or pearl barley with a green veggie side.

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

Skillet Balsamic Chicken With Fresh Figs

 Lightly adapted from a recipe found on Olive & Mango.

This Skillet Balsamic Chicken & Figs recipe is a wonderful one pan dish to serve in late summer when fresh figs are in season. It’s fancy enough to serve to guests but also easy enough to make for weeknight dinner. Chicken is pan-seared in a skillet then braised in the oven with a fresh fig sauce. Fresh figs are added as a finishing touch and provide a sweet, delicious, seasonal accompaniment to the chicken, all garnished with savory fresh thyme! The sauce is seriously drinkable and perfect over rice or feel free and enjoy with crusty bread right from the skillet.

Ingredients:

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 heaping tbsp fresh thyme leaves off the stem
• 1/2 - 1 tsp crushed Aleppo pepper 
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 8 fresh figs - halved
• 1/2 lemon - juiced - ~2 tbsp

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350˚F. While the oven is heating up, prep the garlic, onion, thyme and figs.

Season the chicken both sides with salt & pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken skin side down and brown on both sides, approx 3-4 min per side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add butter to skillet and then add the shallots. Season with salt and pepper and cook stirring often until softened, approx 3-4 min.

Add garlic, thyme, and Aleppo, stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Then stir in the balsamic vinegar, chicken stock, wine and mustard. Cook 1 minute until it starts to simmer.

Place chicken back into skillet and add the figs to pan as well. Transfer to oven and cook for 15- 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through. Feel free to broil for the last minute or so for more color on the chicken.

Remove from oven carefully, squeeze over the lemon juice and serve with your favorite sides.

Blessed be… and happy cooking!