chicken
Chicken Curry Soup – 142
Last weekend Eric and I went to our favorite book store in Nashville, McKay’s Used Books. It is the best place to spend a few hours, spend very little money and come home with a ton of fun. They have used DVDs, books, audio books, video games, and (Eric’s favorite) vinyl albums. He usually spends the entire time browsing through the albums and I divide my time between DVDs and books.
This particular outing we totally scored. Eric got the Beatles 1962-1966 double album for $9.95 (the most he’s ever spent for an album there), a Bad Company for .50¢, Queen for .68¢, Simon & Garfunkel live in Central Park for $4.95 and several others, . I got a 5 DVD set of a World War II documentary and a 4 DVD set of Elvis movies for less than $10. My best value was two giant, full-color cookbooks from the early 90’s for .25¢ each.
When we got home I immediately started looking for some new recipe ideas (with the Beatles playing in the background, of course). I found so many! I kept turning the pages and finding really interesting ideas. I marked all the pages where I found things I wanted to try and then I went back and looked for something I could make for dinner based on the ingredients I had on hand. I settled on a Curried Soup. As usual, I liked elements of the recipe, but I wanted to “make it my own”. I already had some chicken breast in the fridge and some great fresh organic broccoli from our last trip to Whole Foods. I ended up with a delicious Chicken Curry Soup. I hope you’ll try it and let me know what you think!
Chicken Curry Soup
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 – lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup carrots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup onion, sliced
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 medium head broccoli florets
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
5 cups low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 cups cooked brown rice (I use Success brown rice, in a bag – 1 bag = 2 cups)
In a medium skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat; add the diced chicken and season with black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder. Saute until browned and cooked through. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Add carrots, garlic, onion, red pepper, and broccoli to skillet; season with 2 teaspoons curry powder, the coriander and cumin. Saute for 5 – 6 minutes until onion is soft. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes (until veggies are done to your liking – you don’t want them mushy). Stir in the cooked chicken and rice; simmer for an additional few minutes to mingle the flavors. YUM 🙂
Quick ‘n Easy Chicken Parm – 144
My son came over the other night to watch the Celtics play off game against the Nicks. Just like during football season, we like to DVR the game and watch it without commercials (who wants to watch commercials?). While we were waiting for the recording to get to a point where we wouldn’t “catch up” to it by fast forwarding; we had time to listen to some albums (yes, actual vinyl) and cook a great dinner. I was still recovering from my cold and I was going to just make a quick Chinese stir-fry, but my son suggested “how about chicken parm?”. What a great idea! I hadn’t made it in a long time and my blog is in dire need of some new recipes- perfect! It came together super fast and before you know it we were enjoying an awesome meal and a great Celtics play off win 🙂
Quick ‘n Easy Chicken Parm
1 – lb. 99% fat-free chicken breast, cut into “finger” like strips
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 Tablespoon grated, low-fat Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup onion, chopped
1 – 12 oz. package sliced Portobello mushrooms
2 – 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, no salt added
3 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce, no salt added
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 Tablespoons grated, low-fat Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup fat-free Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 – 16 oz. package of any 100% whole wheat pasta (I used Rotini), cooked according to package directions – no salt)
Preheat oven to 425°. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms until soft and lightly browned. (**note** my awesome sous chef is very particular about prepping our chicken, he makes sure that only the best pieces are cut for the recipes and any yucky fat or unpleasant looking veins and tendons are cut out. Sometimes this means that along with these perfect “finger” size strips, I also get some small pieces that don’t really work for breading and baking. This happened with this meal, so I jut took all of the small pieces and sauteed them with the veggies – problem solved!) Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil and oregano. Cook for several more minutes, until hot and bubbly. Add 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese and stir until well combined.
While the sauce is simmering, place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Combine break crumbs and 2 Tablespoons Parmesan on a plate. Dip chicken pieces in egg and then dredge in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken on the rack. Bake in oven for approximately 10 – 14 minutes. When done; top with shredded Mozzarella and cook for a couple of more minutes, just until the cheese melts.
Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta (reserving some sauce for the chicken) and mix well. Serve with chicken strips on the side top each piece with some reserved tomato sauce.
Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Burgers – 145
First I have to apologize for being so behind in my postings! The Tuesday after the Rhett show in Darien, GA I woke up with a terrible cold. This was the first cold I’ve had in almost 3 years and it really kicked my butt. That, coupled with helping Eric launch his new book AND keeping up with website work – I haven’t been cooking many new meals 🙁 On a happy note – Eric’s book was officially published last week – click here to read all about it and get your own copy 🙂
Enough with the excuses – let’s get to the food! I love buffalo anything (think buffalo hot wings, not the big hairy animal that roams 😉 ) – so I came up with this variation of a ground chicken (or turkey) burger, hot buffalo sauce on the outside, stuffed with a creamy blue cheese filling….Amazing!!
Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Burgers
1 lb. 99% fat-free ground chicken (or turkey)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup fat-free bleu cheese
4 Tablespoons fat-free cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup hot buffalo sauce (I use Frank’s)
Combine the ground chicken, cayenne, chili powder, and garlic powder in a bowl; mix well. Form into 8 very thin burgers; place onto a plate. Combine the bleu cheese, cream cheese, and onion powder in a food processor and blend well. Divide the bleu cheese mixture into 4 equal portions and place onto each of the 4 chicken burgers, place an additional burger on top and squish together well. Heat a skillet to medium-high and spray with butter flavor cooking spray. Place your stuffed burgers into the hot pan and brown well on each side, lower the heat to medium and continue cooking until cooked through (nobody wants a rare chicken burger!). When the burgers are done, pour the hot sauce over the burgers and flip them a couple of times, really coating them well with the sauce. Place onto 100% whole wheat buns (I really like Arnold’s Sandwich Thins). Serve them with some delicious oven roasted “fries” and you’ll be thanking me later!!
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo – 149
What a crazy few weeks it’s been, in a good way. My website company is super busy – thank you to all of my wonderful new clients for choosing Just Ducky Designs for your on line advertising! I’ve also been working very closely with my favorite website client The Nashville Musician’s Survival Guide (full disclosure here – he’s also my husband 😛 ). We just launched the new online store where you can purchase an advance copy of the book and/or Eric’s CD “Songs Without Words” (individual downloads are also available). Also added to the site is a PDF preview of the actual book, click here to take a look. We are very excited to announce that April 18th is the official release date! Be sure to check out the store and purchase your advance copy to insure that you will be among the first to receive the book (buying it in advance will also help us pay for the upfront printing costs 😳 ).
OK, enough about all that – back to recipes!! The other night as Eric was prepping and I was cooking this delicious meal, I realized that I hadn’t added it to the blog yet. I’ve been making this recipe forever and it’s one of our favorites. It’s yummy, satisfying, and so easy. I hope it will become one of your favorites too!
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
(or as Eric calls it – Chick-Broc-Alf)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
3 cups broccoli florets
3/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 – lb. chicken breast, cubed
2 cups skim milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 cup fat-free mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup low-fat Parmesan cheese, grated
1 – 16 oz. package whole wheat pasta (I used bow ties for this); cooked according to pkg. directions – no salt
In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli, season with half of the pepper, basil, and oregano; cook for 2 -3 additional minutes. Add the chicken broth; mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the broccoli is tender-crisp (you don’t want mushy broccoli). Place broccoli mixture into a bowl and keep warm (there will still be a small amount of broth left, keep most of it with the broccoli but leave a little in the saute pan. Add the chicken cubes to the saute pan (you might want to add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan); season with remaining pepper, basil and oregano. Saute until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove chicken to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Add almost all of the 2 cups of milk to the pan (reserve about 2 tablespoons of the milk), heat to very hot but not boiling. Mix cornstarch with the reserved milk and whisk into the hot milk in the pan. Continue stirring until the mixture starts to thicken; turn off heat. Whisk in the cheeses until well blended. Stir in the chicken/broccoli mixture and pour everything over the cooked and drained pasta. Serve with a little extra grated Parmesan!
General Normand Tso’s Chicken – 153
I know, there really is no such person as Normand Tso..sue me! I used to love getting Chinese take out. That is until an hour or so after finishing the food, that’s when some very unpleasant effects would start 🙁 No problem, I’ve conquered Spicy Peanut Noodles and Chicken Teriyaki, why not try the General’s Chicken? I searched on line and in books for some ideas, then combined a few of those ideas with some of my own and a quick pan fry technique instead of deep frying. The taste is very close, it’s pretty easy to make, much cheaper than take out, and a whole lot healthier. Get out your wok, some chopsticks and give it a try!
General Normand Tso’s Chicken
Sauce:
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup equivalent of Stevia (I use the concentrated version and it comes out to be 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken brothPut all ingredients into medium bowl; mix well. Set aside
Chicken:
2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into large chunks
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
Veggies:
1 red pepper, julienne sliced
1 yellow pepper, julienne sliced
1 small onion (Vidalia or Red), sliced
1 cup portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 bags Success brown rice, cooked according to package directions (for best results, cook the rice way beforehand and chill; then use the cold rice)
Place soy sauce, egg, cornstarch, pepper flakes, and cayenne in medium bowl; whisk until smooth. Add chicken and coat well. Heat oil in wok (or large skillet) until very hot (but not smoking). Add chicken chunks a few at a time, cook until very brown, turn and cook the other side; remove to a plate that has been lined with paper towels. Continue until all chicken is done. Add all the veggies to the wok and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, until they are tender-crisp. Pour in “Sauce”; 
cook until thick (if the sauce gets too thick, add a little water). Add chicken back to pan and cook for an additional minute. Add rice and mix well. Serve and enjoy 🙂
Chicken Corn Chowder – 162
What is better than a delicious, creamy, hot chowder on a cold night? How about a delicious, creamy, hot, healthy chowder on a very cold night? Coming right up….. 🙂
Chicken Corn Chowder
2 teaspoons margarine (I use Smart Balance Light)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into cubes
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 – 5 red potatoes, diced
3 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
2 – 1/2 cups skim milk
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 – 14 oz. can no-salt added creamed corn
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
Heat margarine and olive oil in large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add chicken, onion, and garlic; saute until chicken starts to brown. Season with sage, basil, thyme, rosemary and black pepper. Add potatoes, mix well. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add most of the milk; reserve about 1/4 cup, increase heat and bring to a fast simmer. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup of reserved milk and stir into chowder. Mix well and stir until thickened. Add corn and heat for an additional 1 – 2 minutes.