Quick Chicken Mole.

Ah, the Mole sauce.  Smooth, brown, curiously different from most sauces I am used to using in my daily cooking.  I must confess I have a certain fear of buying condiments with which I have no experience.  Once purchased, if I don't like it after all, I'm left with a large jar of something or other staring at me, which I then hate to throw out, as I spent money on it. Sad, I know, but oh well.

 In any case, I came across this recipe, which afforded me the chance to make my own mole sauce, which is, of course, infinitely preferable to the store bought variety anyway.  I was delighted to find this is a delicious dish, and one I'll make regularly from now on. Unfortunately, once I got a look at it, I also realized that this is not one that I can share photos of.  Brown sludge, atop tan chicken, atop white rice, does not an appetizing photo make.  Still, I'm hoping you'll trust my judgement on this and try it anyway.  You'll not be sorry!

Enjoy!

Quick Chicken Mole (from Better Homes & Garden's Easy Everyday Cooking)

Ingredients:

6 med. chicken breast halves (about 3 lbs. total)(I don't know where they get their chicken, but I usually hit 3 lbs. with 3-4 chicken breasts)

2 T. olive oil or cooking oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 1/2 t. chili powder

1 t. sesame seeds

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. ground cinnamon

1 small tomato, chopped

1 tomatillo, peeled and cut into wedges, or 1 small tomato, chopped

1/2 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. tomato sauce

2 T. raisins

2 t. unsweetened cocoa powder

Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce

Hot cooked rice

Pumpkin seeds or slivered almonds (optional) (I used almonds)

Directions:

Skin chicken. (Or just use boneless skinless breasts...) In a large skillet, cook chicken in hot oil over med. heat about 10 minutes or until light brown, turning to brown evenly.  Add onion, chili powder, sesame seeds, garlic, salt, cumin, and cinnamon.  Cook and stir for 30 seconds.

 Stir in tomato, tomatillo, chicken broth, tomato sauce, raisins, cocoa powder, and hot pepper sauce.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken pieces from skillet.  Simmer the tomato mixture, uncovered, for 4 to 5 minutes or to desired consistency.  

To serve, spoon tomato mixture over chicken and rice.  If desired, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds or almonds. Makes 6 servings.

My Favorite Chicken Salad.

I love chicken salad for lunch.  I always set out to only have one sandwich, but I usually end up finishing however much I make.  Consequently, I make smaller batches now. :)  I don't follow a recipe for this, because I've found that I know my own taste best, and I like to adjust it each time I make it to what I want at the time. (Many thanks to Hubby for taking most of these pictures!)

Ingredients:

Mayonnaise

Chicken (I've made this with fresh cooked chicken, but this time I use canned. I prefer the fresh though...)

1/2 Apple

Grapes (I prefer red grapes, but any kind will do)

Celery

Green Onions (Usually I use chopped white or red onion, but I had some green I needed to use, and it works just as well, though I put a bit more than I would of the chopped onion.)

Marjoram

Savory

Dill Weed (This is the only one of the spices that remains constant...I love dill weed in chicken salad!)

Curry Powder

Black Pepper (not pictured...last minute impulse add)

Directions:

First, dump your chicken into a medium sized mixing bowl. (Drain it first, if you're using canned.) Canned chicken doesn't always look so pretty coming out of the can, but unless stated otherwise, it is cooked and quite edible. :)

Slice the grapes into the bowl.  I like to simply halve them, but if you want, you can cut them as small as you like. Whenever you do, be sure to cut slowly so the knife doesn't slip.

As grapes aren't exactly in season now, raisins do make an excellent substitute, if you don't mind the change in texture.

Next slice your onions and sprinkle them into the bowl, sparingly.  Onion is one flavor that will get stronger in this salad if you plan to store any of it overnight.  Much stronger.

Dice your celery to preferred size. I like mine fairly small, so I slice in strips first, then cut crosswise.

Same goes for slicing the apples.  I usually use a sweeter apple, such as a Gala, or a Pink Lady (my favorite!) but I had Granny Smiths on hand for baking, so they were subbed in.

Next, add your spices.  I usually go by scent on this one.  You want your food to smell good, or you'll have a hard time believing it tastes good; nothing should smell overpowering, but it should smell like more than just your onion.  Have fun with this.  Open random spice jars, ones you don't usually use, and just see what they smell like.  If it smells good, dump a little bit in.  A bit of advice though...decide on all your spices before dumping in. Some spices don't mix well.  (Think mint, cayenne, and fennel. Blech.  Then again, if you like it...)

After all your other ingredients are mixed together, add your mayo.  I like to add it last because I think it coats more evenly that way.  Start with a little bit, and increase the amount to desired consistency.  Its easy to get too much, so be careful!

Once all your ingredients are together, mix it up, and you're ready to eat!  If you want more potent flavors, let the chicken salad marry in the fridge for a bit first (a few hours at least) and everything will be a bit more flavorful.

I couldn't wait, though.  

MMMM, Delicious!

Moroccan Spiced Chicken.

Ok, Hubby and I made this for dinner a few days back, and I have to apologize for not getting this to you sooner, because you must make it as soon as possible!  It is so delicious.  Don't be afraid of the dates, they perfect the dish.  I found this recipe in SousChef, one of the recipe management systems I'm currently reviewing, and the one I actually own.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/4-1 1/2 lbs.) or boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 T flour, divided

1 1/4 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. seasoned salt

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. ground turmeric

2 T. olive oil

1 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. pitted whole dates, sliced

1/3 c. whole almonds (with skins on)  (Note: We prefer slivered almonds, and so used those, to no detriment to the recipe, I believe.)

Optional Cooked Couscous or rice (Highly recommend the couscous!)

Directions:

Place chicken in self-closing plastic bag.

Combine 1 T. flour, cinnamon, seasoned salt, cumin, and turmeric; sprinkle over chicken and toss well to coat. (Note: Be sure to combine spices first, and THEN add to bag.  Adding them to the bag individually could result in uneven coating of the chicken.)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté chicken about 5 minutes per side.

Mix remaining 1 T. flour and broth, add to skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Stir in dates and almonds; simmer, covered, 7 minutes, or until chicken is done.  Serve over couscous or rice.

Delicious!!!

Chicken Tetrazzini.

For lunch today, I was inspired by a website I recently came across, adventuresinbentomaking.com, (now http://www.aibento.net/).  Bentos are packed lunches, and mine was clearly not, but the goal of making a beautiful meal is the same.  This is my first attempt, but it was fun to do, and fairly easy, so expect to see more.

Dinner tonight was chicken tetrazzini.  It was a favorite from my childhood, published in a cookbook from my grandma's hometown the year that I was born.  It's even better when you take the time to cook the chicken, but I generally use a large can of chicken instead.  I know, it's sad to see some of the flavor go, but it's neglible when compared to the time gained, at least for me. Here's how you put it together.

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

Preheat your oven to 375°, and pull out a 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish.

Ingredients:

4 oz. spaghetti, broken (approx. 1 cup broken up)

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 c. milk

1 c. diced, cooked chicken (or one large can chicken, drained)

1/4 c. chopped pimientos

1/4 c. green pepper

1 T. minced onion

1 c. shredded cheese

1/4 t. black pepper

Chop all vegetables, and drain the pimientos (and chicken, if needed) before beginning assembly.

I prefer to mix the soup and spaghetti first, with the chopped vegetables.  This way the spaghetti is nicely broken up by the time everything else is mixed in.

Add the milk next.

When you add the chicken and pimientos, be sure that you break up any large pieces of chicken so that it blends well with the rest of the dish.

Finally, add the shredded cheese and pepper, reserving some of the cheese for sprinkling on top.

Mix everything well and place in the oven.  Cook for 30 minutes.

If you care to make cleanup easier on yourself, be sure to wipe the casserole dish around the top with a paper towel before cooking.  Enjoy!