Tag Archives: chicken

Food

Sumac Marinated Chicken Breast

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We are quickly approaching summer and it is time to start thinking about great grilling recipes. I have been doing projects for Smart & Final for a while. So when I found out what was going to be in the Smart and Final ad this week I saw a great opportunity to create a recipe!! They have Foster Farms bone in chicken breasts for only 99 cents a pound!!!

We eat a lot of chicken and I have always used a bottled marinade and I have decided that I am done buying a premade marinade (even though it is quite tasty;). I had bought some sumac to replicate a fatoush salad that I love from a local restaurant and thought maybe it might be a tasty marinade.

Based on the NerdFamily’s feedback, I was right;).

Finished Sumac Chicken w/ Zucchini and French Bread

Marinade Ingredients:

2/3 c Olive Oil
1/2 c White Wine
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tbl Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp Sumac
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 lemon

Process:

Start the marinading process the night before you plan on grilling for the best results. Mix up all the marinade ingredients in a bowl except the lemon.  Place your chicken into zip top then pour the marinade over it. Squeeze your lemon half into the bag. Then cut up the lemon half and throw it in the bag too! Seal your bag and stow it in the frig. When you go by and have a second, turn the bag! About an hour before grilling take your chicken out of the frig and put it on the counter.

Throw it onto a relatively low flame BBQ for about 8 minutes on 1 side and then another 8 on the other until the internal temperature is about 170+. Take it off the grill and let it rest a few minutes so the juices redistribute. You can put a loaf of buttered French bread on a turned off portion of the grill for about 5 minutes (I got that at Smart & Final too).

A great dinner for very little time commitment. It only took about 5 minutes to put everything to marinade and 16 minutes to cook!

(This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. They may have given me a subject but I supplied the ideas and opinions!)

 

 

Food

Crispy Chicken Thighs

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I love this super easy crispy chicken thighs! Dark meat is so meat and chicken thighs can go on sale super cheap (sometimes as low as 70 cents a pound) during BBQ season. You can make these with either bone in or boneless, the cooking times will just change. Either way you peel the skin off before breading! My recipe is based off the family pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Vons. So while it only says I think is somewhere in the 3-4lb arena. That makes us dinner and 2 generous lunches for NerdDad.

Ingredients:
6 skinless chicken thighs
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Oil Spray (such as Pam)
Process:
Put your panko crumbs, paprika, salt and pepper into a plastic bag (zip close or twist tie, your choice). Now I usually do this in 2 batches. Then I put in 1 chicken thigh (I really do this one at a time), close the bag and shake. Make sure the thigh is covered in crumbs and place it onto a lined sheet tray ugly side up. Continue this process until all your thighs are breaded and placed on the tray. Then lightly spray the thighs with oil spray. Then put your thighs into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes (20 minutes if they have bones). Then flip the thighs and put them back in for another 10 minutes (or 15-20 minutes if you have bones). If you aren’t sure if they are done, the thermometer should read 180 degrees.
That is it! I often serve just over rice with a side of broccoli. It is a huge hit with the whole family.

Food

Super Easy Pasta Bake

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This is one of my big make ahead dishes. I always make it when I need to feed a crowd easy and for cheap! I buy the chicken breasts in bulk and cook them all up one day. Then I buy pasta in bulk and frozen spinach at Winco and the big bag of shredded mozzerella cheese from Costco. I stash pasta sauce in the pantry when it is on sale. I buy the disposable aluminum foil dishes from the dollar store (or the big pack at Costco from Christmas time). Then I make them up about 6 in just about 3 hours! I find they cost less than $10 to feed 8-10 people.

Ingredients:
1 lb (or 2 cups) cooked, cubed, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package frozen, chopped spinach: thawed and throughly drained
1 jar of pasta sauce
1 lb of pasta: cooked and drained
Mozzarella to top generously
Process:
To cook the chicken I put it on a baking sheet. Season it, put water in the bottom of the sheet and cover with foil. Then cook at 350 degrees for a half an hour. Let the chicken cool enough to handle and cube.
Then mix all the ingredients together except cheese. Then place in the baking dish. Top with cheese. This is the point you can cover tightly with foil and place in the freezer. To cook (thawed) just place it in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Make sure the cheese is throughly melted.
That is it!!! A yummy, hot, homey meal that can just live in your freezer.

Food

Chicken Tamale Pie

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I had cooked chicken and was craving some sort of comfort food so I was rummaging around my pantry and the internet for a yummy recipe. So I found a recipe over on the Bisquick site and then I started to modify. It came out pretty good!

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 package of taco seasoning
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and wrung out
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used 3 cheese blend)
1 cup Bisquick
1 cup corn meal
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
Process:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the Bisquick, corn meal, taco seasonings and eggs together. Then add milk and mix until smooth. Put chicken in the bottom of a 9×13. Then top with spinach and cheese. Then top with mixture. You can top it with salsa and guacamole. It is supper easy and yummy!

Food

Super Easy Home Made Chicken Stock

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Ahh, the elusive home made chicken stock. But I don’t want to collect bones in my freezer or watch the pot for hours upon hours. So is there an easier way? Definitely! Now it may not be quite as good as one made with chicken feet and simmered for days but then again, neither are the cans. I use dark meat on bones to make my stock and then I use the meat for chicken pot pies and other meals.

Ingredients:
3 lbs dark chicken meat, on the bone but skinless
2 ribs of celery chopped (optional, NerdDad doesn’t like the taste of celery so I don’t use it)
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
A few stalks of herbage (pick 1 kind, I often use parsley)
Water to cover
2 teaspoons of oil
Process:
Heat stock pot on medium heat, place oil in the bottom. Dump in celery, onion, and carrots and sweat. When the carrots just start to get a little soft around the edges add the garlic. Continue to cook until you can smell the garlic. Then drop in the meat and cover with water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Continue on a simmer for 30 minutes. Then remove the chicken and do as you wish with it. Then strain all the liquid and discard the solids. Then you have cups and cups of beautiful stock. It freezes beautifully!
(Check out more wonderful things at WFMW!)

Food

Easy and Cheap BBQ Chicken Thighs

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Ok, here is another easy and delicious recipe for the summer. Now I need to preface it with the fact that the Nerd Family is not the biggest fans of BBQ sauce. So I have needed to employ other flavor and moistening techniques. So I take cheap boneless chicken thighs(preferably with the skin) and marinate them in just plain old bottled marinade (I use Lawry’s Garlic and Herb). Now before everyone starts sreaming about dark meat being bad for you. Because dark meat has a little more fat it doesn’t dry out like a chicken breast. Also you can get thighs at a fairly low cost. So leave this to marinade and go heat up your grill. When it is nice and hot take a old dishcloth or cheesecloth and roll it up lengthwise so you have a nice bone size towel. Then dip it in a little oil and use your tongs to rub it on the grill. If not the thighs will stick pretty badly. Cook about 7 minutes on each side (checking for doneness). During that time you can make Quick and Easy Aspargus and put a little bread on to warm. Voila, you have a great and easy meal that didn’t heat up you house!

Food

Freezer Friday: Make Ahead Chicken

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Welcome to Freezer Friday. The goal here is to make our lives easier. Due to the fact I have 4 little ones and homeschool, I need all the help I can find. Simply post a recipe that can be made, frozen and then later reheated(thawed, etc) and consumed. Make sure that you include freezing and reheating instructions in your post. Then come here and add you post (not your blog) into Mr. Linky.
Now for some disclaimers:
If it isn’t a recipe, I will delete it.
If it can’t be made ahead, I will delete it.
If you don’t have a family friendly site, I will delete it.
Now onto the food fun!

Meat is always the most time consuming part of making a meal. I make my chicken a month at a time. I buy fresh chicken breasts in bulk (which is a relative term). Then I put them in 9 X 13 baking dishes and season them. Then cover the bottome of your dish with water and cover. This prevents the dry, horrible chicken. Then I bake them at 350 degress for 45 minutes to an hour. You allow them to cool and then freeze. You can freeze them whole and reheat that way. But, I dice them up and freeze them in 2 cup incrememnts (the standard for most recipes). Then just pull them out and put into dishes. Since it is diced, the chicken is very to thaw by just putting under running water for a few minutes. I add it to pasta, Hamburger Helper and an easy Chicken and Rice dish.

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