Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Baken Chicken and Artichoke Recipe from The Chew


I love cooking shows.
I hat talk shows.
The Chew is a weird mix of both.
I never sit down and watch it on purpose but when 
I happen to catch it I always think I should try what they make.
This recipe was submitted by a viewer and won a contest on the show
and it looked amazing so I thought I would give it a try.

My Version of
Donna Giblin's Baked Artichoke Chicken: (adapted from ABC The Chew)

2 pounds chicken thighs
1 cup artichoke hearts, halved (canned is fine)
1 medium onion, cut into pieces same size as the artichokes
1 pound button mushrooms
2 tablespoons brown mustard
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white wine (you could also sub in chicken stock)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
kosher salt and pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 375F


Chop the onion and place
drained artichokes, onions and mushrooms in the
bottom of a 13x9 pan or casserole baking dish.


Stir together the vinegar, wine, garlic, oil and seasonings.


Now place the chicken on top of the vegetables,
pour the sauce on top of the chicken
and pop it in the oven.


Bake this for about 1 hour, basting with the juices at least once or twice.


and VOILA!
restaurant worthy dinner!
You can serve this on it's own or over rice or pasta-


Enjoy!
~eat well, be well
Patty


Friday, November 14, 2014

Chicken and Rice Slow Cooker Stew

The weather is getting cold here and its
time to dust off some of my heartier soups and stew recipes.
This is just a basic chicken and rice soup but
I added some chick peas for extra protein
(and because my tiny toddler who needs to pack on a few pounds seems to be much more
attracted to anything with beans in it)
Feel free to leave those out or replace them with your favorite variety
of white or kidney bean instead.


You don't need a lot of crazy stuff for this one, it's one of those
'OOPs, I forgot to plan my dinner for tonight what can I throw together in a pot'
kind of meals so feel free to tinker with the seasonings
and add in's- this one is SUPER hard to mess up!
Here is what I used today:

1 1/2 Cups brown rice (not minute or instant rice)
1 pound of chicken (you can use breast, thigh or leftover roasted chicken like me)
3 stalks chopped celery
1/2 cup or so chopped carrots
1 can drained and rinsed chick peas
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TBS Dijon mustard
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
~2 cups chicken stock (I use homemade that I made at the same time as my roasted chicken but you can also use boxed or canned if you don't have any in your freezer)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper


Now if you are lucky enough to have a helper like me
have him or her chop up the onion for you so you don't get all teary eyed!
Seriously, this bag of onions I bought is the most potent ones
I have had in long time, it's crazy how much they burn my eyes.
Fun trick I learned on food network though:
If you chop your onion next to a burning gas stove
(like when you are browning meat or something)
the gas flame does something to atomize the acid from the onion and removes 
it from the air like magic! 
OK- it's more like science than magic but it DOES work!

Anyhow, I was using pre-cooked chicken today so no need to turn on 
a burner so we both got a bit teary eyed.
Just throw all the chopped veggies  into the slow cooker
and top with the rice, chicken, beans and broth
Then stir in the mustard,
splash the Worcestershire sauce over the top and sprinkle on the 
paprika, thyme and pepper (again- feel free to tweak these seasonings!)
Close it up 
and turn it on.
If you are using pre-cooked chicken this only needs 4-5 hours on low
but if your chicken is uncooked breasts or thighs.
I would stick to 8 hours on low.


Leave it and forget it and then at the end of your busy day you have this:



So good and so simple!

~Eat well, Be well
Patty