Rotisserie Chicken -sort of

Well, that crazy heat didn’t break until this past weekend.  It was so nice to have a couple of days where we could leave the windows open and not feel like we were living in a cave.  Needless to say, our meals last week weren’t worth writing down for you guys.  I thought I’d share a recipe today instead.  This is Ella’s new favourite dish from my air fryer.  Obviously, our big 8-9 lb chickens won’t fit in the air fryer.  So, I need to watch for when the store has those little ‘fryer’ chickens on sale.  This rub makes the chicken taste like those little pre-cooked ones you can buy from the store.  I ‘borrowed’ this picture off the internet because I couldn’t find the picture of my chicken (I know I took it on my phone…) I’ll replace this picture when I make the chicken again.

Rotisserie Chicken

rub:

4 tsp salt                             1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika                       1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp thyme                         1 tsp pepper

 

Rub all over chicken.  You can do this the night before, but I never have the chicken thawed in time.

Pre-heat the air fryer.  I just hit the ‘pre-heat’ button or you could pre-heat to 350F.  Put the chicken in the air fryer, breast side down.  Cook 350F for 40 min.  Flip the chicken over half way.  Check for doneness.

Obviously, this recipe can be done in the oven too.  Just cook the chicken at 325F for about 25 min a pound.

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Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

Mmm, I love chicken wings.  I never order them when we are out though, all the restaurants seem to want to make them hot/spicy -even though they tell me they aren’t.  I really like them crispy deep-fried which is why I’m always disappointed when I make them at home.  That is until I found this way of cooking wings (works with little drumsticks too).  It’s going to seem weird, but just trust me.

4 lbs of wings (I cut them into 2 parts)

2 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

Line rimmed cookie sheets (jelly roll pans) with tinfoil.  Place racks on the sheets and spray with oil (I use Pam).

Put the wings, baking powder and salt in a baggie.  Give it a good shake to coat all the chicken.  Lay the chicken out on the racks.

Bake 250F for 30 min.  Then increase to 400F and bake another 40-50 minutes.  Rotate tray half way.

Honey Garlic Sauce

6 T honey

5 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 t onion powder

1 1/2 T soy sauce

1/4 c water mixed with  1/2 T cornstarch

Put everything in a saucepan (except the water and cornstarch).  Slowly bring to a boil. Add water and cornstarch.  Bring to a boil to thicken.  Pour over chicken and enjoy.

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Chicken Paprikash

I find it hard to feel like making real meals during cropping season.  It seems silly to make a full meal when it’s just Ella and I, especially when you consider how little she usually eats.   I made chicken paprikash the other night and I’m so glad I did.  It was so yummy!

Wish I was a better food photographer.

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH

8 chicken thighs

salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika

oil

2 onions, finely chopped                                     3 garlic, minced

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (could use diced but Ella and Colin don’t like tomato chunks)

1 1/2 – 2 cups water

1 c sour cream

Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt, pepper, garlic powder an paprika to taste (both sides).  Saute onions in oil.  Remove onions and brown chicken thighs.  Remove thighs and mix together the remaining ingredients (except sour cream).  Add the onions and thighs back to pan.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.  Remove chicken and stir in sour cream.

** Ella doesn’t like sauce any way, so her pieces don’t get sauced

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Recipes

I love to roast meat.  It’s the easiest way to feed my family.  Usually just throw the meat in the oven and walk away for a few hours.  Who needs ’30 Minute Meals ‘ when you can have a 5 minute one?

 

Tomato Pot Roast -feeds 6

4 lb beef roast -we prefer blade

salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

1 onion, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 t thyme

1-2 T cornstarch (optional)

Sprinkle the roast with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  In a skillet, brown roast (about 3 min a side).  Put roast in your casserole.  In skillet add onions and other vegetables and saute.  Add in tomatoes and thyme.  Carefully pour over roast.

Put on lid and simmer 325 F for 3 hours.  You could add potatoes for the last 30 minutes, but we don’t like them that way.  Instead I tossed some in the oven to bake for the last 90 minutes.  I also dissolve the cornstarch with a bit of water and add for the last few minutes because I like a thicker ‘sauce’.

Here’s another favourite.  I like to make this when we have leftover steak or chicken.

Steak Pizza

pizza dough –this is our favourite

cooked steak or chicken -amount depends on size of pizza

BBQ sauce -we like Diana’s chicken and rib sauce

shredded mozzarella

Can’t get easier than that??  Roll out your pizza dough the way you like -individual or one big pizza.  Cover with BBQ sauce.  Thinly slice/shred the meat.  Sprinkle with cheese.  If I had the time to caramelize some onions, they would be good on here too but I always seem to think of them too late.

Bake 350F for 30 min.

One last recipe.  I’m not sure where this originated but it’s all over the internet so I thought I’d share my version too.

KFC Inspired Chicken

chicken thighs -mine was a package of 12

2 c flour                                             3 1/2 t paprika

1 t salt                                                1 t pepper

1 t sage                                              1 t oregano

1 t tarragon                                     1 t parsley

1/2 t thyme                                     1 t chives (dried)

1/2 t garlic powder                      1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t celery seed

Combine all the dry ingredients in a plastic bag.  Add chicken a couple at a time and shake to cover.  You could dip the chicken in beaten egg first, but I found the coating stuck just as well to the plain skin (and I was being lazy that day).  Put in a roasting pan, skin side up.  You could use a wire rack in the pan to help with the fat.

Roast 350F for 1 hour

This chicken didn’t taste ‘exactly’ like KFC.  I don’t think you ever can recreate commercial recipes.  BUT this sure made some tasty chicken and you can be sure we’ll be making this recipe again and again.

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Some More Recipes

I don’t know if you all noticed?  I created a recipe index page to make it easier to find individual recipes instead of searching through all the ‘chicken’ recipes, for example.  The tab is at the top of the blog.  Now I just have to remember to link all the new recipes there  🙂

When I make a roast chicken, our leftovers usually become chicken casserole, chicken a la king, or rarely, chicken croquettes.  This week I was thinking of something different so I searched the web for a chicken enchilada recipe.  I’m always disappointed with recipes that say ‘take jar of enchilada sauce’ (or ‘unwrap x caramels’ for “caramel sauce”).  I found a few, but none that really suit our tastes (NOT hot).  So here’s my version:

Chicken Enchiladas –serves 4

make tortillas

sauce: 1 onion, diced            2 garlic, minced

              1 14 oz can pureed (crushed) tomatoes

              1 T chili powder        1 t sugar (takes away any tartness from tomatoes)

              1/2 c chicken broth

 3 c cooked chicken, small pieces/shredded

  1 c shredded Monterrey jack cheese

  1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix sauce ingredients and cook over medium heat for a few minutes just to blend all the ingredients.

Mix 1/4 c sauce, plus 1/8 cup of each cheese with the chicken.

Spoon some chicken filling on each tortilla and roll up tight.  Put seam side down in a greased 9×12 pan.  Pour sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake 350F for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and chicken is hot.

You can make this ahead (don’t pour on sauce yet).  Cover and refrigerate until supper.  The pour on sauce and cheese and bake.  If it’s cold from the fridge it will take longer.  You could even make this a freezer meal -baggie all the components separately and then all together in a bigger bag, assemble on a later day.

What to do when you’ve got some sour cream that needs used up and a fridge full of banty eggs?  Make snickerdoodle cake!

Start by making the batter for my Brown Sugar Pound Cake:

1 c butter                      6 eggs

2 c br. sugar               1 c wt. sugar

2 2/3 c flour              2 t vanilla

1 c sour cream (I use fat free)        1/4 t bk soda

Cream butter then beat in each egg, one at a time.  Dissolve the bk. soda in the sour cream.  Alternate with the dry ingredients.

Combine 1/2 c white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.

Grease your bundt pan and sprinkle with the sugar mix.  Pour in half the batter.  Sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mix and pour in the rest of the batter.

Bake 275F for 20 min, then 325F for 50 min, until done.

The beauty of this cake is that once it comes out of the pan it is done.  No need for icing.

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Yarn Along and a Recipe

Too busy to post yesterday so here goes Yarn Along for this week.

The back of Grandma’s sweater is progressing slower than the fronts.  It’s also slowing down because I’m working on Ella’s birthday socks.  The colour is called ‘blacklight’ and I’m hoping they will glow in the dark when Auntie B and Uncle Stefan take us bowling again.  The socks are only ankle length this year by request.  And Daddy’s socks are coming along.  They have become my ‘purse knitting’ so they will take longer than usual.

Honey-Lime Chicken Wings

1/3 c lime juice (the bottled stuff is fine)

1/4 c honey

2 T soy sauce

4 garlic, crushed

4 lb chicken wings (I’ve used drummies before)

Marinate for 3-8 hours.  Line a jelly roll pan with tin foil.  Lay out wings and bake 350F for 15 minutes.  Turn wings and baste with more marinade and bake for another 25-30 minutes.  Yum yum!

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Chicken a la King Recipe

Chicken a la king is a favourite supper around here.  I like it because it’s a different way to use leftover roast chicken.  Or you can cook up chicken just for this dish.   It’s really yummy with Tenderflake puff pastry cups or you can make cups with bread in the oven (the original way).  This recipe comes from my Great-Grandma’s  Kate Atkin cookbook.

Chicken a la King

3-4 lb chicken (or 3 c cooked chicken)

1 onion                               2 whole cloves

1 1/2 t salt                         water to cover (or 1 1/2 c stock)

3 T butter                           3 T cornstarch

2 T green relish               3/4 c milk or cream

1 egg

If you are starting with raw chicken:

Stick cloves in onion and add chicken.  Cover with water and simmer until tender.  Take chicken off the bones and dice (bite size).  Save 1 1/2 c of the broth.

If you are using leftover chicken:

Dice chicken bite size, you need about 3 cups and need 1 1/2 c stock.

In a medium size sauce pan, melt butter and cook relish until tender.  Add cornstarch and cook for a few minutes.  Add stock.  Stir and cook until thick (you want it fairly thick at this point).  Add the egg, milk and chicken.  Heat gently until hot -DO NOT BOIL.

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Healthier Chicken Parmesan and Tomato Sauce

No Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real post today.  So I thought I’d share a recipe.

I don’t know why I don’t make this more often?  It’s so yummy and easy to make, especially since it can be made in stages.

CHICKEN PARMESAN  -serves 6-8

6-8 chicken breasts

2 c flour                                2 t garlic powder

1 t black pepper

4 eggs, beaten and loosened with milk

4 c panko breadcrumbs         salt & pepper

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

2 c tomato sauce

mozzarella

Set up ‘breading stations’ -otherwise known as a bowl/plate of flour (with garlic powder and pepper), another bowl with the eggs and milk, and a final bowl with the breadcrumbs seasoned with Parmesan, salt & pepper.

Flatten chicken to about 1/4 inch.  Dip the chicken into the flour and then into the egg mixture.  Then dip into the breadcrumbs.  Really press the breadcrumbs into the chicken.  

For best results put the chicken back into the fridge for a couple of hours until you are ready to cook.  This really helps the coating set and stay stuck on the chicken.
TOMATO SAUCE -makes about 9 cups

4 (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes

¼ c oil 3 garlic, minced

½ c red wine 1 T oregano

1 onion, finely chopped

pinch of basil salt & pepper

Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add everything else and simmer for a couple of hours. Taste, add a little sugar if the tomatoes are too acid.

This is my basic tomato sauce. Add ground beef and it’s good for lasagna too.

Place chicken on a wire rack on a baking sheet.  Spray with a bit of oil.  Bake 350F for 15 minutes.  Add a bit of tomato sauce and mozzarella on top and return to the oven until melted.

 

 

This recipe is shared over at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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Recipes

Here’s a few new recipes to share.  I’m sorry I forgot to take pictures.  I’ll try to remember the next time I make these.

First recipe is a link.  I know I’ve mentioned this recipe before, but the loin roast recipe over at Like Mother, Like Daughter is absolutely delicious.  It’s the recipe I used this year for Daddy’s birthday.

Have you seen the new flavoured Philly Cream Cheese tubs?  I picked up the herb and garlic one last grocery day and came up with these potatoes.  They are like my Company Potato recipe.

Easy, Fancy Mashed Potatoes

12 large potatoes, peeled and cooked

1 c lite sour cream (5%)

1 pkg (270g) flavoured cream cheese

3 T butter, softened

1/2 c mozzarella cheese (to make it stringy)

sprinkle of cheddar (for topping)

Cook and rice potatoes.  Have all other ingredients at room temperature for easy mixing.  Combine everything (except cheddar) and mix well.  Spoon into a greased casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cheddar.  Bake 350F for 30 minutes or until hot.

I had some boneless chicken breasts the other day and nothing to do with them.  So this is what I tried and it was yummy.

Parmesan Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves

1 c mayonnaise

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1/2 t pepper

1 t garlic powder

Mix everything together and spoon over top the chicken breasts.  Bake 375F for 45 minutes.

 

Here’s another yummy soup.  It works with canned tomatoes or fresh.

Tomato Potato Soup

1 T butter

2 T oil

2 large onions, chopped

4 c peeled and cubed potatoes

1 c each celery and carrots, chopped

2 garlic, minced

1/2 t thyme

1 (14.5oz) can tomatoes

1 c chicken broth

2 c milk

1 1/2 T cornstarch (dissolve in a little water)

Cook onions in butter/oil until nice and golden brown.  Add vegetables, thyme and stock.  Simmer until vegetables are tender.  Add milk  and cornstarch.  Stir over low heat until soup thickens.

 

 

 

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Recipes

I love Julia Child. I received her Mastering the Art of French Cooking from my sweetie (I think he had ulterior motives). My favourite French Onion Soup is based on Julia’s, but I leave out the booze (of course) and use homemade chicken stock. Last week I made the Casserole-Roasted Pork. It was delicious!!! I’ll share the recipe with you here because it is more a method than an actual recipe. Julia suggests marinating the pork first but I didn’t get it thawed in time.

Casserole-roasted Pork

3lb boneless shoulder roast

1 onion, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

2 garlic

1 T parsley

1 bay leaf

¼ t thyme

½ c stock

Dry roast and brown on all sides. Put 2T of fat in casserole and cover and cook vegetables and herbs for 10 minutes. Put meat in casserole (fat side up). Season with s&p if not marinated. Cover and bake in 325F oven for about 2 hours, or until meat thermometer reads 170F. Baste meat a couple of times. Makes delicious gravy.

This would be really yummy with roasted potatoes.

Roast Chicken and Dressing

chicken any size -don’t forget to remove inside bits

soft butter

s&p

Place chicken on roasting pan, stuff, tie legs closed and rub with soft butter. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast at 325F for about 30 min/pound or until 175F.

Dressing -4-5 lb bird, double as needed

¼ c butter 3 T parsley

½ t sage 2 eggs

½ c milk (use some chicken stock if not cooking in the chicken)

1 onion, chopped fine

2 celery, chopped fine

½ loaf bread, cubed

salt & pepper

Colin is always happy when I have enough leftover chicken to make chicken a la king. I’ll give you the from scratch version, but I often use leftover chicken instead.

Chicken A La King

3-4 lbs chicken (I use boneless)

1 onion 2 whole cloves

1 ½ t salt

Cover with boiling water and simmer until tender. Dice chicken (needs 3 cups) and strain broth.

In a large saucepan (I use non-stick), melt butter and cook relish until tender. Add 5 T corn starch and cook a little bit. Add 1 ½ c stock and cook until nice and thick. Add ¾ c milk or cream, 1 egg and the diced chicken.

Cookie making happens on a fairly regular basis in our house. Most of my recipes make at least 5 dozen. Any less and there is no real point, they get eaten too quickly. Here’s Colin’s favourite chocolate chip recipe. This is one of my favourites too, it makes 11 dozen so they last for a while.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 c brown sugar 4 eggs

4 T hot water 2 c butter

1 ½ t vanilla 6 ½ c flour

3 t bk soda ½ t salt

3 c chocolate chips (sometimes I add Skor bits too)

Drop onto lined cookie sheets and bake 375F for 10 minutes. Do not over bake.

We didn’t get a chance to make Poor Knights this week. We were pickling beets and didn’t have stove top room. I’ll share the recipe anyway, it’s yummy.

Poor Knights or Arme Ritter

3 eggs, separated 2 c milk

2 T water breadcrumbs

8-10 slices of bread

butter for frying cinnamon and sugar to top

Lightly beat egg whites with water. Beat the yolks and milk together. Dip bread into custard. Then carefully dip into egg whites. Coat with breadcrumbs on both sides. Fry slowly in butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

A nice variation on French Toast.

I’m sharing these recipes over at Full Plate Thursday, go see what else is on the Plate.

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