That’s a Fancy Looking Chicken…

I have to admit I am late to the party on frozen chicken. Weird. I know. My husband recently introduced me to these giant bags of frozen boneless breasts and I have to say, they are really a lifesaver! They’re cheap and provide a large quantity of individual breasts and they can stay in your freezer pretty much forever. I’ve also learned that you can get thighs, drumsticks, and other bone in cuts too!

Okay, that’s enough of my frozen chicken epiphany. Because they are so convenient, these bags have now made chicken breasts a staple of my weekly dinner menu. After having fried them, steamed them, wrapped them in bacon, made stir fry and lettuce wraps, I was running out of ideas. I was also too lazy to go to the store one day, so I came up with the following super easy, super versatile, and dare I say, pretty fancy looking recipe.

So I had the chicken breasts, red onions, and Israeli couscous. I also had (and still have) more zucchini than I know what to do with, so those are the basic ingredients I used for this version. You can substitute with chicken thighs, sweet onions, butternut squash, pumpkin, mushrooms, or even asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower. Really, whatever you have on hand should work!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch chunks
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 large zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 sachet Lipton Onion Soup
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Juice of 2 limes or lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

1 cup cooked Israeli couscous, prepared according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except the couscous in a 9×13 glass baking pan. Make sure chicken and vegetables are well coated with seasonings and olive oil.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from oven and combine with the cooked couscous in a large bowl. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary and serve.

Serves 4.

 

Not so secret ingredients

Please don’t, but here are some exceptions….

As a proud food snob, I would like to say that I refuse to take shortcuts when cooking. I’d even like to say that some condiments out of the jar or packet are well, tacky. But tacky can sometimes be delightful and even downright tasty, when in moderation, of course.

One of my favorites is Lipton Onion Soup Mix. It’s really versatile, and no, not as soup. I mix it into ground beef for meatloaf and burgers. I also mix it in with some olive oil and fresh herbs to coat diced potatoes for roasting. I make a seasoning blend for chicken breasts and veggies with it as well. You can really find a million applications for it and it’s especially great when you have to throw something together for dinner after work. Mix it with sour cream and you have the staple potato chip dip of my 1980s childhood.

Heinz Ketchup is another one. Now, please don’t go putting it on your steak or anything like that, but it’s a great starter for easy homemade BBQ sauce. It also goes nicely into the mix for meatloaf and burgers.

Garlic and onion powders used to be the bane of my existence. My parents loved them because it took away the mess and time drain of chopping onions and garlic, so growing up, the contents of those Badia jars seemed like the base for everything. Personally, I like chopping onions and garlic, to me there is something soothing about it. However, I have found that the intensity and saltiness of the powders is absolutely wonderful in marinades for meats and poultry. If you want to try it, adjust the decrease the amount of salt that you would use in the marinade so as not to overdo it. I also like to mix some garlic and onion powders into the flour and breadcrumbs when making fried chicken or fish. The powders also make a nice crust or dry rub when mixed in with other herbs and spices.

Bouillon cubes. I love them. Yes, homemade stock or broth is best. Canned or boxed broth is probably better for you, but I love those cubes. And they take up no space in the cabinet. Drop one in the water when making white rice. Drop one in the meat when you’re making picadillo. Drop one in when you’re boiling the chicken for arroz con pollo.

These are just a few to get you started. You’ll see these and others pop up in my recipes from time to time. Embrace the tacky. It’s delicious!

 

Things I have strong feelings about: Salad Dressing Edition

You bought the most beautiful, expensive organic produce. You lovingly chopped up your kale into perfect, bite-sized pieces and arranged your sliced heirloom tomatoes to showcase their jewel-like colors. Maybe you even ever-so-meticulously shaved a nice Grana Padano over it to create that lovely magazine-spread look. And then you slathered the whole thing in a bottle of “Tuscano-inspiration-balsamic-honey-mustard-sriracha” dressing.
No. Stop it. Bottle dressing is the worst. I’m serious.

Now, that’s not to say that there are some appropriate applications for it, just not actually on your salad. More on that later.

It is my personal belief that you can make an excellent salad dressing, without all the sugar and god knows what, at home. Here is my basic recipe. Once you’ve mastered that, and believe me, it will take you three seconds, you can apply the same idea across a wide array of items already found in your fridge and pantry.

Feel free to lower or raise the quantities depending on how big your salad is.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pour all ingredients into a small bowl. Beat with fork or small whisk until emulsified (thickened) and drizzle over salad.

Now that you have that mastered, here are some variations:

Add 1 tsp. honey and 1 tsp. mayonnaise for a honey mustard dressing.

Add 1 tbsp. grated parmesan or other hard cheese to add another level of flavor. I find that Romano and Manchego also work nicely.

Add 1 tsp. dried or fresh basil, oregano, tarragon or sage.

You can also substitute the balsamic vinegar for apple cider, red wine, white wine, sherry, or plain white vinegar. Each one brings its own flavor so you can get creative. You can also leave the mustard out as well.

Now go, make salad! I promise you’ll never buy bottled dressing again because yours will be just that good!

 

 

 

 

 

Math. I hate it.

In cooking, as in life, math is a necessary evil. In my experience in sourcing recipes I have found that the measurements are not always in tablespoons, pounds, cups or ounces. Sometimes you’ll see a “wine glassful” or “preheat the oven to 20C” and you know, the oven is not in celsius. Or, one of my favorites, 2 tablespoons of butter and the package doesn’t have those nice tablespoon indicators on it. Yes, I have tried to cram butter into measuring spoons when it’s still too cold. It’s messy. Don’t do it.
To combat this frustration, I have linked to this handy guide that answers all your conversion questions. A big thank you to epicurious.com for doing the work for us!