• 07May

    NRD: Jerk Chicken Drumsticks with Grilled Potatoes and Onions

    The menu for yesterday had “grilled chicken and salad” for supper. So informative and helpful, I know. The salad was easy, as I had a Caesar salad kit in the fridge (got those on sale for half price). I had several different kinds of chicken in the freezer, but I decided to go with the drumsticks. When they were thawed, I sprinkled jerk seasoning on it and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour. That acted as both a quick marinade, plus getting the meat to room temp makes it cook more evenly.

    I’ve also kind of been craving potato salad, but I was feeling too lazy to make any. I decided to grill the potatoes instead. I took the potatoes (Klondike Rose – the red skinned yellow-fleshed potatoes) and sliced them about 1/4″ thick. I tossed them in a bowl with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. Then I sliced up a Vidalia onion (those were on sale too last week) into thick rings.

    To cook, I just put everything on the grill at high to medium high heat. (This is a brand new grill, and we’re still learning its quirks.) By the time the chicken was cooked, the potatoes and onions were done.

    Everything turned out well. I won’t get that brand of jerk seasoning again, as I feel it was more hot than flavorful (and the first ingredient on the list was sugar, which I didn’t realize until I looked to see why the chicken was charring so quickly). I’m also going to put garlic powder in with the potatoes next time, and drizzle a bit of oil on the onions, as they really stuck to the grill.

    And there will be a next time for both the onions and the potatoes, and the monkeys gave them two thumbs up.

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  • 06Mar

    Chicken Honey Mustard Biscuits

    We had these for supper on Wednesday night. I wasn’t sure they were going to work out because the batter was just so soupy. It looked rather unappetizing too. And you know what? I just realized I forgot to put the salt and pepper in. I used Jiffy mix, as it was on sale, instead of Bisquick. The biscuits turned out very soft, more like a dumpling than a biscuit. Next time, I will use Bisquick to see if the mix makes a difference, or if I need to cut back on the amount of milk being used. :)

    Chicken Honey Mustard Biscuits

     
    Serves 4

    3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
    1 cup milk
    1 cup shredded carrots
    3-4 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias
    1 small zucchini, shredded
    1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
    1/4 cup honey
    1/4 cup mustard
    1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
    Salt and ground black pepper

    Pre-heat oven to 425ºF.

    In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix and milk until almost completely mixed. Add the carrot, scallions, zucchini, chicken, honey, mustard, half of the cheese, some salt and pepper, and continue mixing until evenly combined.

    Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, deposit the mixture into 2-inch rounds (just eyeball it) onto two greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the biscuits and bake until golden brown and the cheese has melted, 15-18 minutes.

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  • 04Mar

    Almond Tilapia and Rice with Peas, Carrots and Herbs

    I have a confession to make. We don’t eat fish. Why? Because I don’t make it. The closest I get to eating fish is a tuna salad sandwich, which is chunk tuna with mayo or Miracle Whip and – if I remember – sometimes salt and pepper. Maybe some relish for something different.

    Oh, there are times when I’ve been a bit more adventurous with my fish. There’s an old Weight Watchers recipe I have that has you add dry roasted peanuts to the tuna salad. Sounds strange, I know, but I remember liking it. I’ll have to do it again soon.

    Donovan loves fresh salmon (I won’t buy canned, as it just grosses me out). His favorite way to have it is on the grill. But I’m cheap – I can get three meals with ground beef (I stock up when it’s on sale) for the price of one meal of fresh salmon. However, I’ve made a conscious decision to try and improve the quality of our diet, and expose Ariana (the traditionally picky eater) to as wide a variety of foods as possible.

    I decided to give fish a try. Frozen tilapia fillets were on sale the last time I did groceries, so that’s what I went with. When I told the kids we were going to have fish, I braced myself for complaints. Instead, I was bowled over by their cheers. If I’d known they were going to be this enthusiastic, I’d have taken the plunge sooner.

    I found a recipe I wanted to try: Almond Tilapia and Herb Rice with Peas and Carrots. (As a side note, I’m tempted to change the title of this blog to “Lisa Hartjes Cooks Rachel Ray”, with a comment that no, we’re not really cannibals. :) ) Below you’ll find the recipe as I made it. After the recipe, you’ll find my comments about it.

    Almond Tilapia and Rice with Peas, Carrots and Herbs

     
    Serves 4

    1 1/2 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
    2 tablespoons butter, divided
    3/4 cup long grain rice
    2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
    1 cup frozen peas
    3 scallions, finely sliced
    1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
    1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    4 tilapia fillets (4 ounces each)
    Salt and pepper
    Flour, for dredging
    Juice of 1/2 lemon

    Heat stock and 1 tablespoon butter in a pot until boiling. Add rice and carrots, stir once or twice to mix it all together, then cover the pot. Let it simmer for 12-13 minutes, then stir in peas and scallions. Cook 3-4 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in dill. Put the cover back on the pot and let it sit until you’re ready to serve.

    While rice is cooking, toast the almonds in a skillet until golden, 5-6 minutes over medium heat. Remove nuts and set aside until it’s time to serve the fish.

    Put the olive oil and remaining tablespoon of butter to skillet you toasted the almonds in. Season the fishwith salt and pepper and dust fish lightly in flour. Cook the fillets for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden and firm. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over the pan and let it bubble for a bit and reduce until there’s hardly any liquid left.

    Serve the fish and rice combo immediately, topped with lots of nuts.

    To my surprise (and delight), the meal was delicious. It received three thumbs up (I don’t count my own thumb for this rating system) with the request to put the recipe in Donovan’s cookbook and to make it again. Of course, I’m never satisfied without doing some tinkering to make the recipe my own. The next time I make this, I’ll be putting a bit of garlic in the butter and oil when it’s time to cook the fish. I’ll also put some lemon zest in with the rice. I think it would really brighten the flavor up (lemon and dill is such a great combination), plus it would tie the two dishes together nicely.

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  • 11Feb

    Crispy Chinese Lemon Chicken with Lemon Rice

    Ari loves chicken. It was the first meat we could get her to eat, followed closely by hot dogs. She can be a very picky eater – it’s not taste that’s the problem, though, but texture. Because of this, I’m always on the lookout for new recipes for chicken.

    This week, I thought I’d try Rachael Ray’s Crispy Chinese Lemony Chicken. It’s from her Budget Meal section, but it sure doesn’t taste like a budget meal. I made a few changes to the recipe to better fit what I wanted to do. The original recipe calls for plain white rice and a dipping sauce. I think plain white rice is a sin, and we generally don’t do dipping sauces (Ari won’t dip anything, not even fries in ketchup), but I wanted to make sure we had all the flavors. What I did was put all the ingredients for the dip into the rice.

    It turned out really well, and Ari said that if I made it again she’d eat it. That’s a winner to me! :)

    Crispy Chinese Lemon Chicken with Lemon Rice

     
    3/4 c rice
    juice of half a lemon plus enough chicken stock to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid
    2 tbsp soy sauce
    1 tbsp honey
    4 tbsp vegetable oil
    1/2 cup unflavored breadcrumbs
    Zest 1 lemon
    1 tbsp (about a 1-inch piece) fresh ginger, finely grated
    1 tbsp (a palmful) sesame seeds
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
    1 scallion, thinly sliced

    Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat with the rice, soy sauce, honey and lemon juice/stock mixture. Bring the liquid to a boil then cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.

    While the rice is cooking, put a large skillet over medium-high heat with 4 tablepsoon of vegetable. In a large, re-sealable plastic bag, mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, ginger, sesame seeds, some salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the bag and toss well to evenly coat the chicken (give each piece a good press with the crumbs to make sure the coating sticks).

    Put the chicken pieces in the hot skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 7-8 minutes. Cook the chicken in batches if you need to – place the cooked chicken on a paper-towel lined plate and cover them with aluminum foil to keep them warm.

    When all the chicken is cooked, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the scallions. Serve the chicken with the rice, and a nice salad.

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  • 26Jan

    Jerk Chicken with Roasted Peppers and Pineapple

    This is the first recipes in a series of “rollover” meals, by Rachael Ray on her website in her 10 meals for $10 section. You make up a huge batch of jerked chicken and roasted veggies with pineapple. Serve half of it for supper the first night, then use the rest to create two more meals: Jerk Chicken Quesadillas and Sweet and Spicy Noodles with Shredded Chicken.

    We liked this meal, but there wasn’t enough kick in the chicken for us. Could be because when I took the seeds out of the jalapenos, I took out most of the veins as well. Next time, I’m going to reduce it to just one jalapeno, but put it in seeds and all. That said, I used chicken thighs this time, as they were on sale when I did the groceries. It made more than enough meat – more, in fact, than I could use in three meals. There’s enough of this chicken to do one more meal, but I labeled it and put it into the freezer to use at some future time.

    Jerk Chicken with Roasted Peppers and Pineapple

     
    Serves 4

    Make this meal the first night, followed by Sweet and Spicy Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken on the second night and Jerk Chicken Quesadillas with Slaw Salad on the final night.

    Ingredients

    3 red onions, 1 roughly chopped and 2 sliced
    4 cloves garlic
    4 scallions
    2 limes
    2 jalapeño peppers, seeded
    3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    1/2 cup orange juice
    1 tablespoon sweet paprika (a palmful)
    1 tablespoon cumin (a palmful)
    2 teaspoons allspice (about 2/3 palmful)
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (eyeball it in your palm)
    5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
    1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus 2-3 tablespoons for drizzling
    8 drumsticks, bone-in, skin on
    8 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
    Salt and black pepper
    1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chopped into small bite-size pieces
    1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced
    2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped or sliced
    1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced

    Preparation

    Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

    Place one red onion, garlic, scallions, lime juice, jalapeño peppers, red wine vinegar, orange juice, paprika, cumin, allspice, cinnamon and thyme in a food processor and pulse to combine. Turn processor on and stream in about 1/2 cup EVOO to form a thick paste.

    Place the chicken pieces in a roasting pan and season generously with salt and pepper. Rub the paste on the chicken and roast 45 minutes.

    Pile the pineapple, bell peppers and remaining red onions on a baking sheet, coat them in 2-3 tablespoons of EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Add the tray to the oven after chicken has been in for 15 minutes, roasting the fruit and vegetables for about 30 minutes.

    Serve up half the chicken (one drummer and one piece of breast per person) and half of the roasted pineapple, peppers and onions for dinner.

    Cool leftovers before you wrap and refrigerate them.

    When I packed the extras away, I split it up into the amounts I’d need for the other two recipes and labelled it. That way, I could just grab what I needed, and everyone would know it was off-limits for lunches and snacks.

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