Orange Jewel Chicken

This was not a good recipe.  The sauce was too watery, and it was hard to eat the orange portion.  It was too sweet, and that is saying something coming from someone who loves sweets.

Orange Jewel Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets

salt and pepper to taste

2 T butter

2 large naval oranges

2 T dried cranberries

2 T honey

1 T lemon juice

2 green onions, sliced

1. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag one at a time and pound to flatten slightly. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165º. Remove from skillet and keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, cut peel away from oranges and discard. Cut oranges into bite-size pieces. Add to skillet along with cranberries, honey, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until liquid has thickened slightly. Stir in green onions.

4. Pour over cooked chicken and serve with rice or cous cous. Serves 4.

Korean Style Chicken

This dish has WAY too much soy sauce for my preference, it was so salty!! Part of that could have been the MSG that was an ingredient.  I might try this again with less soy sauce and no Accent.

Korean Style Chicken

3 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1/8-inch slices about 2" square

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 T sesame seeds

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1 green onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 t. peanut oil

1 T sugar

1 t. Accent [MSG]

1. Add soy sauce to the chicken.

2. Place sesame seeds in an iron skillet and heat until the seeds begin to swell up and pop. Put the seeds in the bottom of a wooden bowl along with the sale and, using the back of a large spoon, crush them as fine as possible [I used my ceramic mortar and wooden pestle]. Add the pepper, onion, garlic, peanut oil, sugar, and Accent.

3. Stir the chicken and the soy sauce into this mixture and let stand for 30 minutes.

4. Put mixture into a large skillet, cover, and cook over low heat until the chicken is tender.  If it becomes too dry during the cooking time, add a little water. Serve at once, piping hot. Serves 4.

London Broil

This marinade was perfect, I have a couple others to try, but this one is definitely a keeper. I used this beef in many other dishes this week.  It would have made a great sandwich, but I am off gluten for now so perhaps next time.

London Broil

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. sugar

2 T minced onion

1/2 t. dry mustard

1/2 t. Italian seasoning

1/4 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 flank steak (about 2 lb.)

1. Combine all ingredients except the steak, blending well. Place steak in a glass or enamel baking dish. Cover with the marinade mixture and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, turning the steak occasionally.

2. Preheat broiler. Remove steak from the marinade and broil about 5" from the heat for 5-6 minutes on each side. Meat should be rare.

3. Cut steak diagonally across the grain in thin slices. Serve with buns, mustard, and mayonnaise. Serves enough for about 36 buns.

Chicken Sticks with Peanut Sauce

This recipe tasted nice, but boy did it have a lot of ingredients!!  Also, I learned my lessons about either curry powder or turmeric, yellow stains were all over my kitchen towels, potholders, and my plastic storage containers.  Don't know if I will do this one again, if I do I am going to make sure I don't use my plastic containers and will use paper towels!!  Also, my kitchen smelled like curry for days afterwards!!

Chicken Sticks with Peanut Sauce

1/3 c. olive oil

1 T soy sauce

1 t. honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T curry powder

1 t. ground coriander

1 t. ground turmeric

1 t. ground cumin

salt and pepper, to taste

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 t. tabasco sauce

1/4 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. smooth peanut butter

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

2 T brown sugar

pinch ground cinnamon

1/4 c. boiling water

1. Combine the first 9 ingredients in a bowl.  Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

2. Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet over low heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the curry powder and tabasco. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring to mellow the flavors. Stir in the cream and water, then stir in the peanut butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Place in a food processor [I used my blender] and process until smooth, adding the boiling water slowly through the feed tube to bind the sauce. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and reserve.

5. Thread the chicken pieces evenly on 6 skewers and grill over hot coals, 3 inches from the heat source , for 5 minutes per side. [I used my broiler] Serve immediately with the peanut sauce. Serves 6.

Golden Gate Chicken, Cantonese

This dish was an interesting blend of sweet and tangy and I didn't cook the rice long enough. The original recipe said to "heat" the batter ingredients, which I did. Only after did I realize it was a typo and it should have read "beat". I really like the taste of fresh ginger, I need to make more recipes using it in the future!!

Golden Gate Chicken, Cantonese

1/2 c. golden seedless raisins

13 3/4 oz. chicken broth

1 T chopped fresh ginger (or 3/4 t. powdered ginger)

2 1/2 t. soy sauce

2 T cornstarch

1/4 c. dry sherry

2 t. sugar

3 T vinegar

2 lb. boned, skinned chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks

1/2 c. sifted flour and water

1 egg

1 t. onion powder

3/4 t. salt

1/2 c. cooking oil

1. Bring the first 4 ingredients to a simmer.

2. Blend cornstarch, sherry, and sugar together. Stir into sauce and cook clear. Add vinegar and keep warm.

3. Beat together flour, water, egg, onion powder, and salt. Dip chicken in batter, drain, and fry until golden in heated oil.  Cook a single layer at a time.

4. Combine with hot sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Stir-Fried Chicken, Garlic Chives, and Pea Pods

This dish was not very good, not only were there WAY too many pea pods, the sauce seized up and the ingredients were too expensive.  The produce guy laughed at me when I asked if there were "garlic" chives, he said regular chives are garlic chives.  Also, he laughed when I told him I needed the chives with their unopened blossoms!!  I did not take the time to remove the strings from the pea pods, but I did cut the ends off.  I used some white wine rather than sherry because, being on a budget,  I didn't want to purchase more ingredients I might not use again.  I found that 1 teaspoon of sesame oil was way too much, less would have given the dish a more subtle flavor.  This dish was really spicy for my mouth. I had bad timing cooking the rice, also, and the timing was a bit off.

Stir-Fried Chicken, Garlic Chives, and Pea Pods

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 T dry sherry

1 T soy sauce

2 t. cornstarch

1 t. sesame oil

1/4 t. crushed red pepper

2 t. vegetable oil

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, but into 1-inch pieces

2 c. 1-inch cut garlic chives and their unopened blossoms

1/4 lb. snow pea pods, ends and strings removed

1. In a 1-cup measuring cup or small bowl, combine broth, sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.  Set aside.

2. Heat wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon oil and swirl it around to coat the pan. Add half of the chicken and cook until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and brown the other side, about 2 minutes. Repeat to brown the other half of the chicken with remaining oil and transfer to bowl. Reduce heat to medium.

3. In same pan, stir-fry chives for 1 minute. Add pea pods and stir-fry for 1 minute. Restir sauce and pour over vegetables. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, until thickened. Return chicken and juices to pan, cook until heated through. Transfer to serving plate. Serve immediately.

Very Ritzy Chicken

This dish was interesting, it worked out great for me because I had several ingredients that I needed to use up. I am off gluten, so I used some croutons I made out of gluten-free bread for the seasoned bread crumbs.  I had some shredded mozzarella cheese to use rather than the slices.  As usual for me, there wasn't enough of the sauce, I would have doubled it had I known before I started the recipe. The flavors were good, and I will keep this one, but double the sauce next time!!

Very Ritzy Chicken

3 whole chicken breasts (6 half-breasts), skinned and boned
2 eggs, lightly beatedn
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs
3 T olive oil
1 pint heavy cream
1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 T parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
6 slices mozzarella cheese

1. Dip chicken breasts into beaten eggs and coat with bread crumbs. 2. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add coated chicken and brown lightly on both sides. Remove from pan and place in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish, topping each breast with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
3. Mix together remaining ingredients in a saucepan and cook until mixture gets hot and thickens. Pour over chicken and bake in a 350º oven for 25 minutes.
4. This may be prepared a day or two in advance and refrigerated before baking.

Lemony Pine Nut Pilaf

This dish was a bit too lemony for my taste, although I added some cooked chicken for leftovers and it was nice.  I think with some adjustments it could work better.

Lemony Pine Nut Pilaf

1 c. chicken broth
1 c. uncooked regular white rice
2 T butter
1/3 c. pine nuts
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T grated lemon peel
2 T lemon juice

1. In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil and stir in rice. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Saute pine nuts until golden brown. Stir in parsley, lemon peel, and lemon juice.
3. Pour butter mixture over rice, stir to coat. Makes 6 servings.

Brown Rice with Garlic and Cashews

I liked the taste of this dish, but somehow the garlic got burned. Perhaps I had the heat up too high? I will keep this recipe, and hopefully will prepare it better next time.

Brown Rice with Garlic and Cashews

4 T peanut oil

2 c. short-grain brown rice [you will use half and save the rest for fried rice later]

3 1/2 c. water

2 t. plus pinch salt

1 large clove garlic, slivered

1/2 c. broken unsalted cashews

1. Heat 1 1/2 Tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the water and 2 teaspoons salt. Heat to boiling. Stir well, cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Cook until water is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Let stand covered for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 1/2 Tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook gently until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in cashews and cook 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle with pinch salt.

3. Add garlic and cashews with oil to rice and toss to combine. Serve half the rice (about 3 cups). Let remaining rice cool and refrigerate for making fried rice later.

Pretzel Fried Chicken

How can you go wrong with pretzel-flavored breading on fried chicken!! Well, I suppose this is how. For some reason, even the oil smelled fishy to me as I was cleaning up later in the day. I ended up cutting up the chicken to use in a Chinese Chicken Salad for dinner. This is not a recipe to keep, although i still believe it has potential. Perhaps making sure the pretzels are totally powdered, perhaps using a blender? Also, the double-dip technique would have been nice to get more of the pretzel taste on the outside. The chicken was bland because there was no seasoning.

Pretzel Fried Chicken

2 2-to-3 pound fryer-broilers, cut up into portion-sized pieces
2 eggs, beaten until lemon yellow
1/2 c. milk
3 c. finely crushed pretzel crumbs made from the cocktail type pretzels
vegetable oil or shortening for deep frying

1. Dry the pieces of chicken with paper towels. Mix the eggs and milk thoroughly.
2. Place the finely crushed pretzels in a paper sack. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg-milk mixture and place in the crushed pretzels and shake sack until thoroughly coated.
3. Drop into 350º vegetable oil and fry until a rich golden brown. Place the fried pieces of chicken on aluminum foil in a large flat baking pan in a 300º oven for an additional 35 minutes. Serve piping hot. Serves 6.