Chicken and Dumplings

It may not be 15 degrees here in Southern California, but it is colder, cloudier, and rainier than normal here in February. So I’m bringing one of my staple dishes out of the cob webs this afternoon. Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS
Fully cooked whole Chicken
32    oz. Chicken Broth
1    Celery stalk
1/2    onion chopped
2    Bay leaves
Garlic Salt to taste
1/2    tbsp butter
Parsley
Dumplings
1/2    Cup Flour
1/2    tsp baking powder
1/2    Cup Milk

INSTRUCTIONS
1.    De-bone chicken and put in a large pot. Add Chicken stock, onion, celery, bay leaves, garlic salt. Let cook for 1/2 hour. Remove bay leaves, and add butter.

Dumplings
1.    Combine flour, baking powder, and milk. Mix until you form a soft dough. Roll out dough with a rolling-pin, cut into small squares with a pizza cutter. Add to boiling chicken pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve in bowls. Yields 6

Oyster Sauce Chicken Thighs

Great recipe for a cold evening.

Ingredients

2 TBS vegetable or canola oil
4 bone in skin on chicken thighs
1 small yellow onion chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 TBS oyster sauce
1 TBS white wine
1 TBS dark soy sauce (Use Gluten Free Soy Sauce)
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS corn starch
red pepper flakes, green onion, and sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Heat oil on medium in a large frying pan. Add chicken thighs and cook about 3 minutes on each side until skin is golden brown and crispy. Use tongs to remove chicken to a paper towel lined plate.

Add onion and garlic and saute about 5 minutes until onions and garlic are soft and golden.

Mix stock, oyster sauce, wine, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add the sauce to the pan and stir.

Return the chicken to the pan, turning to cover it in the sauce. Cover the pan and simmer 15 minutes turning the chicken once. Chicken is done when internal temperature reads 170 degrees on a meat thermometer.

Serve with rice, dribbling the saucy onions over top.serves 4.
(Optional: Garnish chicken with red pepper flakes, green onions and sesame seeds)

Japanese Curry Chicken

A great dish for the cool fall weather.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 carrots
1 onions
1-2 potatoes
1 Red Pepper
1/2 Tbsp. ginger
3 Tbsp. Canola oil
4 Cups water
1 box (7 oz, 200g) store-bought Japanese curry roux

Directions:

Cut up chicken thighs into small pieces and saute in canola oil. Set aside chicken. In the same pan saute chopped carrots, onion, red pepper, ginger, and potatoes until done. Add Chicken, water and Japanese Curry roux. Stir until curry is dissolved.Cook until mixture becomes thicker (about 20 minutes). Serve over rice.

Chicken Salad

This is a great summer salad for those days that it’s too hot to cook a meal. This is great on croissant rolls, spread on crackers, or with veggies.

2 to 2 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 chopped scallions
1 cup real mayonnaise
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¾ teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Place chicken in pot. Add just enough cold tap water to cover it. Bring to a boil over high heat.

When chicken boils, immediately remove from the heat and let pot stand, covered, 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Immediately remove chicken from pot. Discard broth or reserve for another use.

Fit a food processor with the steel blade and process each breast 1 at a time: Cut each breast into 4 pieces, and process about 5 seconds, then pulse the motor about 3 to 4 more times just until the breast is shredded but not finely ground. As each breast is finished, pour the meat into a 3-quart or larger bowl.

Add all the ingredients and chill for an hour. Serve.

Chicken breasts with capers

This is one of my favorite chicken dishes. This recipe also works great with veal.

Ingredients

2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 large lemon
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of wax paper.With a mallet, flatten each to about 1/4 inch thick. In a pie plate, mix 1/4 cup flour with paprika.

Season chicken with salt/pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture

In non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over med high heat until hot. Add floured chicken. Cook 5 min to brown, then reduce heat to med. Turn chicken and cook about 4-5 min more until juice runs clear when pierced.Transfer chicken to a warm dish.

Lower heat if needed to maintain medium-low to medium heat so as not to scorch the garlic, then add garlic to the drippings in the skillet. Stir in 1 Tbsp butter until melted, lemon juice, wine, and 1/12 teaspoons of flour until smooth.Scrape skillet to incorporate any browned bits from the chicken.

Stir in capers and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, simmer until thickened.Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with additional lemon slices. Serves 2

Chicken and Dumplings

A Hearty, warm dish.

INGREDIENTS
Fully cooked whole Chicken
32    oz. Chicken Broth
1    Celery stalk
1/2    onion chopped
2    Bay leaves
Garlic Salt to taste
1/2    tbsp butter
Parsley
Dumplings
1/2    Cup Flour
1/2    tsp baking powder
1/2    Cup Milk

INSTRUCTIONS
1.    De-bone chicken and put in a large pot. Add Chicken stock, onion, celery, bay leaves, garlic salt. Let cook for 1/2 hour. Remove bay leaves, and add butter.

Dumplings
1.    Combine flour, baking powder, and milk. Mix until you form a soft dough. Roll out dough with a rolling-pin, cut into small squares with a pizza cutter. Add to boiling chicken pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve in bowls. Yields 4

White Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups cooked chicken (I usually use an oven-baked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to save on time), shredded
2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can (4 ounces) green chiles
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 box (32 ounces) chicken broth
Kosher salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
1 lime, juice

Directions:
In a large pot, saute the onion and cook until it starts to become translucent.
Once the onion is done, add shreds of chicken, Great Northern Beans, corn, green chilies (with juice from can), cumin and oregano to the large pot. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then add the chicken broth.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and juice from one whole lime. (You can add 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro if you desire. I personally don’t like cilantro so I serve it as a side.)
Leave simmering on stove until ready to serve.
Serve with sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded Pepper Jack cheese, avocado or tortilla chips.