Cook, freeze, elevate my feet, repeat.
So without further ado...
Welcome to this week's episode of Making Chicken.
Last week, I made the 2 flops (scroll down to 'I Don't Get It')- pineapple chicken and 'shwarma' style chicken.
Every week I have 2 opportunities to make chicken, because we buy a whole chicken weekly, which I then defrost and prepare into one on-the-bone dish for the dark meat, and one chicken breast dish of some sort. The wings and neck sometimes end up in the dark meat dish as well. These are then divided into meals and frozen- I end up with 2 dark-meat dinners and 1 and a 1/2 white meat dinners. This is done in a whirlwind because once a chicken is defrosted, you have to move fast or it goes bad- so I make the 2 chicken dishes side-by-side to be frozen for later in the week.
This week was the week I've decided (after the fact) never to use a recipe I find on the internet ever again.
I made 'Southwest Spice' chicken, found somewhere on the internet, with my white meat. I chose the recipe because it called, intriguingly, for unsweetened cocoa, along with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I measured out the spices and threw the strips of chicken breast together with them in a plastic bag, shook, and prepared the contents in a bit of oil on the frying pan.
Um. My husband and I started coughing uncontrollably, not from smoke, but from the sheer SPICINESS of the Southwest Spice as it cooked! It actually made the air unbreathable! The chicken is too hot to be edible. I tasted it and the only thing I could think of (besides AAAAAH!) was that I guess I am supposed to be eating spicy to induce labor anyway...hope this works...
If anyone has any ideas for making this now-prepared chicken dish LESS spicy and therefore edible, let me know.
My other internet recipe was for Chicken with Peas, adapted, said the website, from a chef in the Czech army. I had asked my husband to pick up a can of peas (he's taken over the grocery shopping, G-d bless him) in anticipation of making our weekly chicken into this dish. Halfway through the steps required in this dish, when it said 'pour can of peas into pan with sauteeing chicken', I looked for the can of peas and couldn't find it anywhere. So I asked him, and he said, the peas? You mean, the peaches?? And I finally understood why this giant can of Peach Halves in Syrup was in my cabinet.
I happened to be on the phone with my father during this exchange with my husband. It was really funny to all 3 of us. Then I returned to the kitchen and asked my father what I should do with my sauteeing chicken. He asked if I had any other canned vegetables (no) and then suggested I use the peaches and make chicken-with-peaches! I did just that, blending them into a chunky sauce and pouring them onto the chicken. I haven't tried it yet, but based on my track record lately, it may flop like the last 3 chicken dishes. Sigh.
If you have any fool-proof chicken recipes, please, please share. I won't consider them internet recipes- it's only a proper internet recipe when there's a photo, a star-rating, and comments (and when it flops, of course).
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7 comments:
This is my favorite: Chicken & apple pot pie, delicious and forgiving with all of the spices, I just dump!
http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=3074
I think you could substitute chicken for shrimp in this one:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/shrimp-gumbo-casserole-recipe/index.html
Once I used too much spice when making chili and I put some honey into the pot to try to dissipate some of the spiciness. It worked pretty well.
The other thing might be to try some fresh rice, and towards the end of the cooking, while the rice has a bit of liquid in still for steaming, place the chicken in it and stir it so the spices are a little more evenly distributed. A can of beans might go well with that, too.
You might try some fresh rice, and why the rice still has a bit of liquid in it, place the chicken in it and stir to more evenly distribute the spices. A can of beans might help, also.
And once I made my chili too spicy and I put some honey in the pot to dissipate the spiciness. It worked pretty well. Good luck!
Why do you have to eat chicken at all?
KW
Good idea, Bridget. I sauteed the chicken in water to take of some of the caked-on spice, and served it with rice, and it was totally edible.
Don't ask why I'm awake at this hour. You don't want to know what children will do to your sleeping habits upon their arrival... and for many years after.
Anyway, I'm so glad the chicken ended up being edible. There is nothing more aggravating than wasting food.
I probably enjoy cooking as much as you enjoy writing. In fact, my husband says it is I that wooed him with all my sweet and savory goodies. Although I don't keep a kosher kitchen, I'm sure there are many recipes that I could share that you would be able to make, if you're interested. My husband is a bit of a health nut, so much of what I make is simple. Not much processed or commercial stuff, but I refuse to eat boring food, so I have to get creative.
Let me know what you think and I'll be happy to pass along some recipes.
If you like lemon chicken i make one that is really nice and easy.
You need four fresh lemons, thyme, and few cloves of garlic.
I make it with a whole chicken. First i take two lemons and cut them into slices and line the bottom of the pan. the place the pieces of chicken on top of this. take the remaining two lemons and squeeze out the juice and pour over the chicken. then take the garlic cloves and dice them and sprinkle over and about a tablespoon of thyme sprinkled over top as well. Then cook in the oven at 200 degrees for 1 hr and half to 2 hours.
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