Chicken

Roasted Lemon Chicken

| mrscheryllacy

This recipe is a result of one of those “what do you mean I don’t have XX” in my freezer moments. So, as you know, I’m a huge fan of Costco. They sell roasting chickens in a two-pack. We are only three people in my family, so cooking one at a time is perfect. I freeze the second one. In any case, I went to my freezer and pulled out a bag of chicken and placed it in my refrigerator overnight to start the defrost process. The next evening, I got home from work and took the chicken out and placed it in a bowl of cool water in my sink to finish the defrost process. I started preparing everything else I needed for dinner, put on my kitchen gloves and opened up the bag. Voila! Surprise, surprise, this was chicken parts and not a whole bird. Not sure how that happened, but my mistake becomes your gain. I apologize for not having my standard “ingredients” image as I was so surprised by my chicken parts, I forgot to take the picture. Dinner actually cooked faster and was delicious. So, without further ado, happy cooking (and eating).

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lbs of chicken part, bone-in
  • 2 T unsalted butter, melted
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Mixed fresh herbs (parsley, thyme)
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 lemons

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Rinse chicken and pat dry with a paper towel.
  • Pat ground pepper and salt onto all of the pieces.
  • Add 2 tsp of crushed garlic and thin slices of one whole lemon to the bottom of the roasting pan.
  • Place chicken into a large baking dish.
  • Brush all exposed parts with butter.
  • Add additional salt and pepper if needed
  • Pat mixed fresh herbs onto the chicken.

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  • Place into oven on the lower rack.
  • Cook approximately 30 minutes. Check to see if meat temperature registers 160 degrees. If it does, remove from oven. If not, cook longer, but watch closely so you do not overcook.

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  • Once removed from the oven, transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest before serving

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  • While chicken is resting, prepare lemon and herb sauce.
  • Pour any accumulated juices and the cooked sliced lemons into a large sauce pan. Add 1-1/4 cups of chicken broth and 2T of fresh lemon juice.
  • Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

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  • Spoon sauce over chicken.

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Ideas

  • You can, of course, use a whole chicken for this recipe. It’ll be just as good, but will require a bit more manipulation to ensure that the skin is crisp all over.
  • For mixed herbs, use fresh if you have them. If not, small amounts of dried herbs go a long way. And use, the herbs you like best.
  • Serve with a vegetable and starch like potatoes, sweet potatoes or rice.

Chicken Brine

| mrscheryllacy

Yesterday, I baked a chicken and it was full of flavor and juicy. The key to getting this right every time and not having your bird dry out in the oven is to brine it. Most brine recipes are super simple, combining water, sugar and salt. There’s nothing wrong with these recipes and I use that as the basis for my brine, but… why not kick it up a little? Below is a super quick and easy brine recipe that you allow you to have a tasty and moist bird any time you cook.

Ingredients20160521_150557

  • 1 small baking chicken (3-5 lbs)
  • 2 quarts of cool water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 T peppercorns
  • 1 T fresh rosemary
  • 1 T fresh thyme

Instructions

  • In a large bowl or pot, add all ingredients except the chicken and stir until sugar and salt have dissolved.
  • Add chicken (rinsed and cleaned out) to the brine.
  • Cover with aluminum foil and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. I like to brine my chicken between 1 and 1.5 hours. Don’t leave it too long though.
  • When finished brining, pour out all the liquid from the bird. Recipes will always tell you to rinse the bird off and pat it dry with paper towels. I skip the rinse step and just pat dry. Patting dry is important if you want to have a crispier skin after baking. I like to have the extra flavors from the rub, but if you have issues with salt, make sure you do rinse the chicken when removing from the brine.

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Ideas

  • Play around with the spices you add. If you like a spicier bird, add some red pepper to the brine. If you like a little more tang, add 1/2-3/4 cup of red wine vinegar.
  • This is hard to mess up, so go ahead and experiment.

Avgolemono (Greek Egg Lemon Chicken Soup)

| mrscheryllacy

Ah, the tang of lemon in a creamy soup…one of those surprisingly invigorating tastes that lingers in your mind until the next time you are blessed to have this dish. There are many versions out there; some good, some not so good and some that you always wish you could recreate. I was introduced to this soup about 14 years ago and it became an instant favorite. I remember going to a couple greek restaurants and ordering it with such excitement for the culinary delights to come. Then when putting my spoon into the bowl and excitedly bringing to my lips, my excitement changed into “BLEH”! These soups lacked lemon, the creaminess of the egg yolks folded in properly, the flavor – of well, anything. Hence my quest to find the perfect avgolemono for my family. And maybe this strays rather far from the original recipes intention, but you won’t be sorry once you start making it at home as well.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup of fresh lemon jui20151025_132328ce
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 tsp crushed/diced garlic
  • 1 cup chopped cooked chicken
  • 1/2 cup orzo pasta
  • 4 egg yolks

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan over medium heat, add about 1/2 T of olive oil.
  • Once oil is hot, add the garlic. Cook for about a minute.
  • Then add the onion. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

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  • Add the chicken broth, carrots, orzo, pepper and lemon juice.
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the orzo and carrots are tender.

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  • Remove 1/2 cup of soup and gradually pour into the egg yolks. Whisk.
  • Stir back into soup.

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  • Heat soup thoroughly but do not let boil so the eggs to do solidify.
  • Serve.

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Ideas

  • Chicken – like so many of my recipes, you can cook the chicken yourself, get it from a can or cut pieces from a rotisserie chicken to make this. Whichever is easiest for you.
  • Carrots – are tricky. If you just cook them normally they’ll probably still be quite crunchy when everything else is ready. Stick your carrot(s) in the microwave for about 1 minute before cutting up.
  • Lemon slices – Feel free to garnish with lemon slices.
  • Serving – this goes great with pita bread, french bread or crackers. Make a meal out of it, or just have a small appetizer sized bowl.

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Fried Chicken

| mrscheryllacy

Fried chicken has always been a favorite meal of mine, but the grease is not something I’m willing to ingest any more. With that in mind, I started looking for better ways of making fried chicken a few years ago. And while many people will bake their “fried” chicken, I’m more of a purist. Clearly the chefs of the world (and many home cooks) have known for decades that getting your meat to soak up “something else” makes it unable to soak up grease when it’s frying, but I didn’t. If you are like I was, there are two main ways to prep your chicken. One is to brine it and the other is to soak it in buttermilk. Now, I love to brine a chicken or turkey but it adds a lot of salt to the chicken; and that’s not what I want to add to my fried chicken, so soaking in buttermilk is the best choice. If you prefer brining, please do so and enjoy. If you are like me, well, keep on reading. And Happy Eating!

Ingredients – Chicken Preparation

  • Buttermilk, enough to cover all the chicken you are preparing
  • Chicken, a mix of breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings (at least 2 lbs)

Ingredients – Coating20150907_164053

  • Flour, 3 cups
  • Garlic powder, 1 T
  • Onion powder, 1 T
  • Celery salt, 1 tsp
  • Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, 2-1/2 T
  • Ground pepper, 12 cranks
  • Table salt, 1 T
  • Paprika, 1 T

Instructions – The Night Before

  • The night before (or at least 4 hours before cooking), rinse chicken, pat dry with a paper towel and place in glass dish. Pour buttermilk to cover the chicken. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

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Instructions – Frying The Chicken

  • In a large glass bowl, add 3 cups of flour. Then add all the other “coating” ingredients and mix well. To ensure that you will have a tasty coating to your chicken, take a pinch out and taste it. If you don’t feel that there’s enough flavor, feel free to add other spices to your coating.

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  • Set up your coating assembly line: large plate for coated chicken, large bowl with coating mix and chicken in buttermilk.
  • Put on some gloves (if you have them). Grab your first piece of chicken and hold above the buttermilk so that excess buttermilk will drain off.

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  • Place chicken in coating mix and make sure to coat evenly over the entire chicken.
  • Then place on large plate.
  • Repeat.

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  • It’s important to have some separation between chicken pieces on the plate just as it’s important to give your chicken time to dry before adding to the oil.
  • Let chicken dry for at least 5 minutes. While chicken is drying prepare the stovetop for frying.
  • In a cast iron skillet, add a couple of inches of oil (canola or vegetable).

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  • Turn heat to medium high. Heat to 375 degrees or until ready to start frying (get your thumb and index finger wet and then flick a dash of water into the oil. If it sizzles, it’s time to add the chicken.)
  • With tongs, grab chicken and add to the skillet. Keep the pieces apart so they cook more evenly. I usually have only 3 or 4 pieces cooking at a time in my skillet, but it is smaller. Use a splatter cover, if you have one.

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  • After about 5 minutes, turn the chicken. Check the chicken again in another 5 minutes. Cook until they are a nice golden brown, or darker (like some of my pieces) if you like them cooked well.

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  • Remove from oil, let drain over the skillet, then place in a paper towel lined dish.
  • Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked. Serve and enjoy!

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Ideas

  • Cast iron skillet – If you don’t have one, that’s OK. Use whatever you have available, but do consider buying one for the future as your food will cook more evenly and quicker.
  • Chicken prep – You can add some pepper and salt to the buttermilk mixture if you’d like. It’s not necessary, but a lot of people prefer to do so.
  • Glass – I always use glass bowls and dishes when working with uncooked chicken. It’s easier to clean and ultimately safer for you and your family.
  • Paprika – There are a lot of different types of paprika on the market. I prefer smoked because I like the depth of flavor, but do you whichever you prefer.
  • Salt – for those with salt issues, leave out the last tablespoon of salt from the recipe.
  • Need a little kick? My family doesn’t like their food very spicy, so I do not add cayenne pepper to my coating. If you do like spicier, feel free to add at least 2 tsp to the coating mix.
  • Serving – Enjoy a nice potato salad and some vegetables with your homemade fried chicken.

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Chicken Piccata

| mrscheryllacy

Ah, chicken. It’s one of the most versatile proteins, one of the tastiest, but can also get boring if you’re eating it all the time. Somehow, though, I almost never get bored of having chicken on the dinner table. One way to keep things exciting is to spice up a standard meal with different sauces. This is not just a chicken piccata post, but also a basic chicken preparation recipe for many other recipes that I’ll be posting over time. Of course, I’m posting piccata first because it’s one of my all time favorite sauces. Enjoy!20150725_195039

Ingredients – Chicken Preparation

  • 1.5 – 3 lbs of chicken breast, boneless and skinless
  • 1-2 large eggs, beaten
  • Flavored panko breadcrumbs

Ingredients – Chicken Piccata

  • Olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of diced onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced20150725_195718
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 large lemon, sliced into 1/4″-thick slices
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 T capers, rinsed
  • 3 T unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces
  • 2 T minced fresh parsley

Instructions – Chicken Preparation

  • Rinse chicken and dry with paper towels.
  • Place 2 pieces of plastic wrap on a large cutting board.
  • Place chicken on top of plastic wrap.
  • Place 1 piece of plastic wrap over the chicken.
  • Pound the chicken into thin pieces (about 1/8″ thick)
  • Using kitchen shears, cut into small serving size pieces.

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  • Set up and “assembly line” on the counter nearby.
    • (1) small bowl with the eggs,
    • (2) plate with a layer of panko bread crumbs
    • (3) empty plate
  • Using a fork or tongs, pick up a piece of chicken, dip it into the eggs, then place it on the bread crumbs.

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  • Flip chicken over and make sure both sides are well covered in bread crumbs.
  • Place chicken on empty plate.
  • Repeat until all the chicken is breaded. Add more panko to plate (2) as needed.

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  • Heat 2 T of olive oil in large frying pan.
  • Add chicken to heated frying pan (keep them separated) and brown on both sides.
  • Drain chicken on paper towel.
  • Repeat – add oil to frying pan and brown additional chicken until all the chicken is cooked.

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Instructions – Chicken Piccata Sauce

  • Add 2 T of olive oil to medium or large frying pan and heat over medium heat.
  • Add onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the chicken broth and lemon slices. Simmer until reduced and slightly thick, about 8 minutes.
  • Add the lemon juice and capers. Turn the eat to low.
  • Add the butter pieces. Cook on low until butter is fully melted. Stir.

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  • Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and salt/pepper to taste.

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  • Spoon the sauce over the chicken before serving.

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Ideas

  • If desired, you can use the same pan to make the sauce as you did to cook the chicken. This will add additional flavor to your piccata sauce, but will also add a lot of time as you cannot cook simultaneously.
  • I use powdered chicken bullion, so just make my broth a little stronger in lieu of adding salt at the end.
  • What to serve with this? Mashed potatoes are always great, or you can try something different like I did by using some Spaetzle. Spaetzle is a German potato pasta. You can find this at World Market/Cost Plus or most any store that sells international food. Just add to a pot of salted boiling water and cook until softened.
  • Piccata sauce is so yummy. Be sure to add some to your potatoes or spaetzle too!
  • And don’t forget a vegetable! Mine is served with cauliflower, but whatever you prefer.
  • Panko breadcrumbs – usually I use Italian flavored, but with piccata, lemon peppered is the best.

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Homemade Chicken Pie

| mrscheryllacy

This chicken pie has been a favorite of all my friends for years. When I’ve had people over for dinner and asked them if they had a preference for dinner, inevitably, they requested chicken pie. A lucky few have been given the recipe in the past, but not with my special notes on how to perfect this pie. There are many chicken pie recipes available, so why should you try mine? Quite simply, it’s easy to make and loaded with flavor. As always, give it a try as is and modify to your particular preferences the next time. Although, from years of taste testing with dozens of people, this should be pretty close to perfect. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought, see Ideas below)20150731_185206
  • 2 T flour
  • 1-1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 c chicken broth
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 c light cream
  • 2 c cubed, cooked chicken (see Ideas below)
  • 1-1/2 c diced, cooked potatoes
  • 1 onion, diced into large chunks
  • 2/3 to 3/4 c frozen peas
  • 1/2 to 2/3 c of sliced carrots

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 425 degrees F.20150731_190049
  • Peel potatoes and cut into bit size pieces. Peel and cut the carrots. Place in medium size pot with water just covering them on the stove. Bring to a boil and cook until softened (your fork can penetrate, but they cannot be easily mashed with your fork against the side of the pot.). This takes about 8-10 minutes.
  • Cut onion into large chunks. Put in a bowl and cook in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. This is enough to partially cook the onions and ensures optimal flavor and done-ness in the pie.20150731_190447
  • In a large bowl
    • Add the chicken and separate into small portions.
    • Add the onions.
    • While potatoes and carrots are cooking, prepare the pie crust and sauce, per the instructions below.
  • Pie crust
    • Homemade – roll out 2/3 of the pastry until it’s 1/8″ thick, Fit into a 9″ pie pan. Roll out the rest and cut into strips.20150731_191736
    • Store bought – remove from refrigerator and let sit on counter for about 5-10 minutes before opening package. Place one crust into pie plate. Lay the second crust on the counter and cut into strips of ~1/2″ wide each.
  • The sauce
    • In a small saucepan (I use my smallest, which is 1.5 qt), melt the butter over low heat.
    • Add the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Mix well and cook over low heat, stirring often, until smooth and beginning to bubble.
    • Stir in cream and chicken broth.
    • Heat to boiling, stirring constantly so that you do not have lumps. Boil for about 1 minute. The sauce will start to thicken a little.

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  • Drain the cooked potatoes and carrots. Add to chicken, onions and peas. Mix.
  • Pour the sauce into the large bowl and mix.
  • Pour this mix into the pie plate.

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  • Place pie crust strips crisscross fashion to make a lattice-style top.
  • Finish the edges of the pie.

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  • Cover the crust with a specialized pie crust edger (like what I use) or with aluminum foil. This will allow for your pie to cook properly, but ensure that you do not have a burnt crust.20150731_192941
    • When using aluminum foil, remember to remove the foil about 12-15 minutes before the pie is done baking.
  • Bake 35-40 minutes, until nicely browned.

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Ideas

  • Chicken – There are 2 ways to prepare the chicken. First, you can purchase some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook them (in a skillet or in boiling water) and then cut them into bit sized pieces. (Like the pie crust, I have done this many times.) Or you can buy pre-cooked chicken, which is a huge time saver and is super easy to have shredded chicken pieces in your pie. Contrary to my long-thought belief that cooking my own chicken is best, my friends and family have far preferred my pie when it has chicken from a can in it. It saves me a lot of time and effort, and texture-wise, they are definitely right.
  • Potatoes and carrots – put the potatoes in the pot first and the carrots on top.
  • Peas – you can used canned peas if you prefer, but the frozen ones keep their texture better. And if you have them, fresh peas are the best.
  • Pie crust – I’ve made my own pie crust more times than I can remember and that is the ideal choice. That being said, most of us don’t have the time to do this. I normally serve this pie during the week. As a working mother with a small child, I no longer make my own crust except on special occasions. It’s perfectly fine to buy a ready-made, rolled up crust from the refrigerator section of the grocery store. But, buy the brand name crust, not the store bought. For this, I’ve seen a definitive difference in quality, flexibility and smoothness.
  • Chicken broth – if you like your pie a little saltier and are using a powdered chicken broth as I do, use a little more than the recommended amount of powder when making your broth.

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