Chicken in Tomatillo Sauce

For March’s Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Chelsey’s Mangia blog. Need a tangy-spicy dinner that comes together in minutes? While the color may be a bit Army-ish green, this is tasty enough to be served mid-week to company for a wonderful TexMex dinner. We love the tang of tomatillos, and I added a chipotle for a hint of smoky heat. Chelsey made it with fish, but it works nicely over chicken breasts like I prepared it.

My impression of Chelsey, a 20-something Italian-American Texan who loves cooking, baking, her family, and fitness, is one high energy young woman. She is an inspiration not only with the amount of wonderful recipes she’s amassed on her blog, some savory and lots of sweets, but I was touched reading her post about her struggles – and good news! – recovery – from an eating disorder. I’m not sure I could speak so outwardly about such, and I found it heartening that she now openly shares her love of food – and her enjoyment in eating healthy, delicious food.

The recipe below reflects the changes I made.

Chicken (or Fish) in Tomatillo Sauce

2 servings

1 cup (or so) coarsely chopped tomatillos

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

1 large poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 chipotle in adobe sauce

1/4 cup packed, coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 to 1/3 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 boneless chicken breasts (or mild fish filets)

Combine tomatillos, onion, peppers, chopped cilantro, and sour cream in a blender. Whirl until smoothly pureed. Pour green sauce into a sauté pan; add lime juice.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Nestle chicken into the sauce, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 22 to 25 minutes.

With a wide spatula, transfer to plates and spoon sauce over portions, sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

An InLinkz Link-up

Chicken Sausage, Peppers & Onions (Secret Recipe Club)

What makes a great recipe? Use of honest ingredients, time-tested, nostalgic perhaps, foolproof, inexpensive, and simple to prepare – and results in something that tastes great. I made a foolproof recipe recently that meets those criteria: chicken sausage, peppers, and onions (and tomatoes in my dish). It sticks to your ribs, but it’s still fresh, not heavy, and comes together in minutes. Where did I come up with (the base) of this delightful recipe? From Amy’s The Savvy Kitchen where she chronicles her low carb, low calorie, mostly gluten-free cooking, which was the blog I was assigned for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. Do check it out.

I do have a confession, however. I first made her recipe for cheddar, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and apple pizza because it screams “autumn!” to me, but I had a major fail. I’m talking colossal fail, so much so that we threw away the leftovers. And we eat everything. I have no idea what I did, but the apples were dry and lacked the interesting flavor combo Amy describes. Fortunately, her blog is jam-packed with many interesting dishes – appetizers, breakfast, lots of desserts, side dishes, and a plethora of entrees. I easily moved on, and we really enjoyed this dish. The recipe below reflects the changes I made to the original (link above).

Chicken Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes

Serves 4

4 links chicken sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 colored bell pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 can whole tomatoes, crushed

Chili flakes to taste

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned, turning occasionally for about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet and cool slightly.

Heat the olive oil in the skillet. Add the onions, peppers, garlic, S&P, and Italian seasoning and cook until the vegetable are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get any brown bits (fond). Add cooked sausage and simmer until the sauce is warm and thickened. 

Sausage and Bean (and Kale) Casserole

I am celebrating my 14^th participation in The Secret Recipe Club, a food blogger recipe exchange where bloggers are paired and reveal their partner and what recipe they prepared on a designated day. For this month’s club, I was assigned to Fake Ginger, named for the author's "unnaturally red hair" (her words) and her extreme dislike of fresh ginger - hilarious. Amanda is mom to three little boys, and her husband is proudly serving our country overseas. Her blog is full of recipes and beautiful photos of what she cooks, bakes (LOTS of baking going on at her house!), Thirsty Thursday libations, and her kids and dog. A fun read. I had trouble selecting a recipe as a number made the short list: zucchini fritters, lentil and collard soup, chicken with cranberry mustard sauce, but I finally decided on sausage and bean casserole because I had a ton of (homemade baked) beans to use. I don’t know how I got the notion in my head that greens go so well with sausage and beans, but I do, and we had kale from the last farmers’ market of the season that was screamin’ to be sautéed and thrown in the dish for good measure.

The result? We both declared it a winner, a keeper for sure, and we wholeheartedly agree with Amanda that it’s reminiscent of a quick cooking cassoulet, one of Craig's faves. Like other fall dishes, this is warming, hearty comfort food at its finest and easy peasey. It’s tangy, slightly sweet, and the breadcrumbs give it nice texture. And it has a lot of flexibility in terms of what kinds of beans you use. Since my baked beans were prepared similarly to the beans in this recipe, they worked well with no changes. If you're using plain cannellini beans, you would want to look at Amanda's original recipe. I also threw in a few canned roma tomatoes that I diced, and the kale provides a wonderful nutritional boost to this homey, one dish meal (I did roast some green beans too to round out our meal). The recipe below reflects the changes I made.

Sausage, Bean, and Kale Casserole

Serves 4 and could be easily doubled

A big bunch of kale

Chicken stock

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 links chicken or turkey sausage, about 9 ounces (I used Trader Joe’s spicy chicken sausage), cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
2  garlic cloves, minced
1  cup prepared baked beans, preferably homemade

1 cup diced tomatoes with their juices (canned is fine)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Homemade bread crumbs or panko

Preheat oven to 375F.

Remove stems from kale and coarsely chop. Wash kale (residual water will help steam it).

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add kale, and sauté 1 minute. Add enough stock to steam and soften the kale, cooking about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove kale and set aside.

Add olive oil to pan and heat. Add onion and sausage to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until browned. Add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes.

Stir in beans, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes until any liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Mix in kale and stir to combine.

(At this point, I transferred the bean mixture to a baking dish coated with cooking spray.) Sprinkle with enough bread crumbs to evenly cover the bean mixture, and spritz with olive oil (or cooking spray) to moisten the bread crumbs.

Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. 

(Leftovers with roasted green beans)

Print here.

Beer-Glazed Sausages with Apples and Green Beans – A Perfect Fall Dinner

When the leaves start to turn colors and temperatures head south, my palate changes. Dramatically. Soups, stews, chili, hot dishes (aka casseroles), gratins, hearty mac & cheese, and pumpkin pie. I crave rich flavors and spices. Things that warm from the inside out. And the foods I want are specific to the season. Pumpkins, apples, root vegetables, "super food" greens, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, apple cider. Even dark beers and smoky sausages, things I usually don’t eat. Meals full of hearty, filling, comfort food. Dishes that evoke nostalgia. And certain smells are those of fall, such as apple spice cake just out of the oven loaded with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

I was really impressed with the recipes in last month’s Better Homes & Gardens. I made two dishes from the magazine that highlight the best of fall, the first being butternut squash posole with chicken and kale that was full of flavor and quite easy, and the other beer-glazed sausages with apples and green beans. It was a one-pot wonder that comes together in half an hour. Simmering sausages in beer is a classic preparation, but in this recipe, the beer first forms a caramelized, ever-so-slightly sweet, and savory glaze thanks in part to a bit of cider vinegar and another fall flavor, sage, and then they are browned to form a wonderful crust on them. Apples are sautéed in a bit of butter and the green beans are also steamed in the beer until tender-crisp. Make sure you use a robust beer. The recipe recommends a Belgium-style wheat beer, with its coriander and orange notes, compliments the smoky sausage (I used Shock Top Belgian White). I served it with homemade, melt-in-your-mouth (Weight Watchers!) buttermilk biscuits – something I’ve never made before and they were so easy and so tender, which I will post about soon – and buttermilk coleslaw.

Beer-Glazed Sausages with Apples and Green Beans

Serves 4

1 12 ounce bottle Belgium-style wheat beer

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 package smoked turkey kielbasa, cut in 2-inch pieces

1/2 pound fresh green beans

2 tablespoons butter, divided

2 medium cooking apples, cored and thinly sliced (leave the skins on)

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sage, finely minced

In a large saucepan combine 1/2 of the beer and the crushed red pepper; bring to boiling. Add sausage and green beans. Return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 to 8 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain. Set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter; add apples. Cook, turning occasionally, until apples are just tender. Transfer to a platter.

Add sausage to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Add to platter; cover. Drain fat from skillet.

Carefully add remaining beer to skillet because it will; stir to scrape up browned bits. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and sage. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, 5 to 6 minutes or until slightly thickened. Return sausage and green beans to skillet to coat in glaze. Fold in apples. Return to serving platter.

 Print here.

Fried Chicken!!

In all the cooking I’ve done over alllllll the years, I had never made fried chicken – for a multitude of reasons. It’s unhealthy. I don’t fry. I don’t want to trash my kitchen. I don’t know how to debone a whole chicken (can you believe that?). But the honest reason is that it scared me. And then the February issue of Bon Appetit showed up with the most gorgeous fried chicken on its cover and boasting “This is the only fried chicken recipe you’ll ever need,” along with a step-by-step guide to prepare it.

I stewed on it for weeks. After much pondering, I decided to make it. You only live once, and if it turned out that awful, we could get KFC. Much to my surprise and delight, it was nothing short of exquisite. And everyone agreed with Bon Appetit’s bold statement. This is perfect fried chicken. Super crunchy skin, juicy, deeply flavored meat, and it passes the next day crunch test – no sogginess or greasiness, even after cooling.

In the process, I learned a lot:

• Splurge on a high quality chicken, preferably organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free since this is something you only make for a special occasion.
• Cutting up a whole chicken is very easy. I followed the directions in one of favorite cookbooks, Frank Stitt's Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill.
• As BA notes, a cast iron skillet is “the one kitchen tool you can’t live without”, and I completely agree. It retains heat and provides even frying, and a cast iron skillet can be used for everything.
• You must use a deep-fry thermometer. It ensures the oil starts sufficiently hot to fry (350°F) and allows you to monitor the oil temperature while frying (300°–325°F). These thermometers are cheap and readily available. I purchased it at Walmart (but don’t put in the dishwasher. Trust me.)
• If you maintain the oil at the proper frying temperature, you really will use very little of it and your chicken will not be greasy. The next day when I disposed of the leftover oil in the original peanut oil bottle, less than a quarter a cup was missing – and I fried TWO chickens.
• Brining or soaking the chicken is unnecessary and, in fact, may make the skin too soft. The spicy dry-rub seasoning permeates the chicken rather than simply flavoring the breading.
• Some recipes, such as that from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc cookbook, have you double coating the flour mixture, but this is also not needed. As BA cites, “No fried chicken should suffer the indignity of a bulky overcoat with padded shoulders.”

While I rarely follow a recipe, I did for this, word-for-word.

Skillet-Fried Chicken

Bon Appetit

4 servings

2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided

2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 3–4-lb. chicken (not kosher), cut into 10 pieces, backbone and wing tips removed

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Peanut oil (for frying)

Special equipment:

A deep-fry thermometer

Whisk 1 Tbsp. salt, 2 tsp. black pepper, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Season chicken with spices. Place chicken in a medium bowl, cover, and chill overnight.

Let chicken stand covered at room temperature for 1 hour. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl. Whisk flour, cornstarch, remaining 1 Tbsp. salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp. pepper in a 9x13x2" baking dish.

Pour oil into a 10"–12" cast-iron skillet or other heavy straight-sided skillet (not nonstick) to a depth of 3/4". Prop deep-fry thermometer in oil so bulb is submerged. Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350°. Meanwhile, set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet.

Working with 1 piece at a time (use 1 hand for wet ingredients and the other for dry ingredients), dip chicken in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Dredge in flour mixture; tap against bowl to shake off excess. 

Place 5 pieces of chicken in skillet. Fry chicken, turning with tongs every 1–2 minutes and adjusting heat to maintain a steady temperature of 300°–325°, until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165°, about 10 minutes for wings and 12 minutes for thighs, legs, and breasts.

Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet, allowing excess oil to drip back into skillet; transfer chicken to prepared rack.

Repeat with remaining chicken pieces; let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Clean up!

Print Recipe

Secret Recipe Club - Amazing Chicken, Corn, and Potato Chowder

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was paired up with Aimee from Shugary Sweets, a mother of four active kids who loves to cook but especially bake. In her About Me section she suggests grabbing a cup of coffee and staying for a while, and that’s exactly what I did. I found it a very enjoyable way to spend a blustering fall afternoon. Aimee does have a lot of tempting sweet treats that I bookmarked, and her large assortment of donut recipes (“The Donut Shop”) is truly impressive. Glad I don’t have the right equipment to make these as it would be dangerous for our waistlines.

I debated between the Italian beef and giardiniera recipe, which Chicago boy Craig would adore, crockpot barbacoa and cilantro lime rice – cilantro and chipotle – what’s not to love?, but I finally settled for something a little lighter, chicken, corn, and potato chowder. Originally a slow cooker recipe, I made it on the cook top, and the recipe below reflects my changes, including a few slices of bacon, diced bell peppers, regular (frozen) corn instead of creamed corn (I added some milk and spooned out and pureed some of the cooked potatoes and corn to add creaminess). I also had some green beans from our CSA that needed to be used so I threw those in too, and I forgot to add the cream cheese, but we never missed it. The salsa verde adds a distinct brightness so don’t omit it. Sadly, I defrosted the last of the tomatillo salsa I froze last summer. With the high temps this summer I only got two tomatillos from the garden so we have none to get us through the winter. This comes together quickly and is very flavorful on a chilly evening.

Chicken, Corn and Potato Chowder Recipe

2-3 slices bacon, diced

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 red onion, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 colored bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

3 baking potatoes, washed and cubed

2 C chicken broth

1 C milk

2 C frozen corn

1/2 C salsa verde

2 t cumin

2 t Southwest seasoning (I used Penzey’s Arizona mix)

1/3 c sour cream

1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a Dutch oven, sauté the bacon until crispy. Remove to a paper towel and set aside. Drain all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan and add the chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.

Add the onions, carrots, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno and sauté until vegetables are soft, adding olive oil by the teaspoon if needed. Add the chicken broth, milk, potatoes, corn, salsa, cumin, and Southwest seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook until the potatoes are soft. Spoon out some of the potatoes and corn and puree in a blender or with a stick blender. Return to the pan along with the chicken and cook until heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper, stirring to melt cheese.

When serving, top with bacon.

Slow Cooker Version:

In the slow cooker, add vegetables, chicken breasts, broth, corn, salsa and seasonings. Heat on low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken, dice or shred, and return to slow cooker. In last half hour before serving, add sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Stir thoroughly before serving.

Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs, Summer Rolls, and the Secret Recipe Club

This month for the Secret Recipe Club, where each member is assigned another participant’s blog, selects a recipe, makes it, then blogs about it, with all entries going up on the same day, I was assigned Jo-Anna’s A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. She is a stay-at-home-mom from the suburbs in Canada who not only cooks and bakes but also is quite crafty. Her blog is filled with gorgeous photos and great ideas. I especially liked her pretty jars. I never knew chalkboard paper existed, and I can envision lots of uses for such with my own organizing fetish. The SRC is an easy and fun way to meet fellow food bloggers and find wonderful recipes. Consider joining if you food blog!

It was still quite hot here in St. Louis when I got the assignment and was looking for something light. The Vietnamese Chicken Bites sounded delightful, and we love Asian. Other than cutting the recipe in half, I followed the recipe exactly. As we head into soup weather, I can see dropping these in a spicy Asian broth with lots of veggies. YUM.

I followed Jo-Anna’s recommendation and also made her mother’s summer rolls, but with quite a few changes. I used my standard peanut sauce, which I’ve made for years, originally from Cooking Light, and Udon noodles because that’s what we had. Unfortunately I was multi-tasking and over-soaked the rice papers, so pay attention. That, in addition to over-stuffing them, made the rolls nearly impossible to neatly assemble (and messy to eat), but they are very fresh tasting and delicious. You can include other vegetables as I did, such as green onions,red bell peppers, and cucumbers would also be a nice addition. The mint and cilantro are quite pronounced, which was fine with us. Definitely both recipes are repeaters. Thanks Jo-Anna for such an interesting blog and delish recipes!

Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs
2 lb ground chicken or turkey
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
4 green onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T grated lemon zest
4 t cornstarch
2 t minced gingerroot
6 T soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)

Combine chicken, cilantro, onions, garlic, zest, cornstarch, gingerroot, and soy sauce. Roll into 1 inch meatballs.

Place on to a baking sheet, lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  Turn once.  

Summer Rolls

1 ounce Udon noodles

1 T seasoned rice vinegar

4 (8-inch) rice-paper rounds, plus additional in case some tear

2 large leaves of Romaine lettuce, ribs cut out and discarded and leaves julienned

1/4 C fresh mint leaves

1/4 C fresh basil leaves (preferably Thai)

1/2 C thinly sliced Napa cabbage or “regular” cabbage

1/4 C fresh cilantro leaves

1/3 C coarsely shredded carrot

1/3 C red bell pepper, julienned

1/3 C green onions, finely sliced

Pat noodles dry between paper towels and toss with vinegar and salt to taste.

Put a double thickness of paper towel on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Soak 1 rice-paper round (make sure there are no holes) in warm water until pliable, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then transfer to paper towels.

Arrange lettuce on bottom half of soaked rice paper, folding or tearing to fit and leaving a 1-inch border along edge. Spread a bit of peanut sauce over the lettuce and top with mint, basil, vegetables, and noodles. Roll up rice paper tightly around the filling and then fold in sides and continue rolling. Transfer summer roll to a plate and cover with dampened paper towels.

Serve rolls halved on the diagonal.