Chicken Picante

Another month shot by...yet again!  Brother.

Sandy says she keeps forgetting I have this blog...and lately I am feeling the same way.  I forget I have it!  That's bad.....

Okay...'nuff whining....onward with the chicken.  This is one of those amazing dishes that is so easy to do and yet tastes great !

It's from a little booklet called 101+ Chicken Recipes.

Chicken Picante

1/2  cup medium hot chunky taco sauce  (I like Pace)
1/4  cup Dijon style mustard
2  TBSP fresh lime juice (sometimes I use lemon)
3 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved (thighs would be great too)
2  TBSP butter or margarine
plain yogurt

Combine taco sauce, mustard and lime juice in large bowl. ( I usually add some garlic, basil and rosemary, too) Add chicken, turning to coat.  Cover; marinate in 'fridge at least 30 minutes.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat 'til foamy.  Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade.  Add chicken to skillet; cook about 10 minutes or 'til brown on both sides.
Add marinade; cook about 5 minutes or til chicken is tender and marinade glazes chicken.
Remove chicken to serving plater.  Boil marinade over high heat 1 minute; pour over chicken.
Garnish with cilantro or lime slices if desired.  Serve with yogurt.

::: Last time I made this I didn't bother with marinating ... too close to suppertime.  Quickly browned each side of the chicken .. poured marinade mixture over chicken ... let it simmer gently for a bit.. turned off heat.  Add yogurt directly to the chicken and sauce... gently turning it into sauce... let it sit for about 5 more minutes or so... and enjoy!

:::  You can use regular mustard..but, don't use quite as much... do some tasting... or even dry mustard..again... taste... I've tried it all ways... still great.

Last time I had chicken thighs... and I had some fresh Rosemary on hand..so tossed in a sprig... mmmm ... so fragrant!  Love fresh Rosemary...

We had it with lovely creamy mashed potatoes and some sprouts...

what year were Christmas Cookie magazines $5.99 ??

The year was 1999 ....

I used to love looking at cookie and baking mags.... and if the covers look like this...had to buy them .. immediately. But... there is hardly anything new under the sun now... and the covers are just not that beautiful anymore. Now... I barely give them a second glance.. and I certainly don't feel compelled to buy them these days.

Maybe I have weaned myself because I have plenty; but, I do think the quality or interest is just not there. They really don't "pop" in the racks of mags. So.. I save my great ones in protector sleeves...in a file box. There is an ancient one in there ... 39 cents !! good grief! what year was that? hahahhaa... I forget. Really...

I pore over them for a month for ideas even if I tweak their recipes a bit here and there. They come in handy any time of year actually, and I know exactly where to find them. I even have a special cupboard for the boxes and books of recipes... .. pages tagged.. the bestest of the best (in my mind) ... and this is a keeper.

However, it does require a bit of chopping.... so allow some time. I like to chop the cranberries and nuts earlier and then get around to assembly... food processors are not the answer with nuts either so forget using it. They turn into nut butter much too quickly... I've actually found that a bread or serrated knife works best for me.

Seeing as I had to get these done in one day....I was a chopping blur....

...tried this knife for a while...but resorted to my trusty bread knife....

mmmm.... you can really taste the orange in this bar.. . really adds a special something.

In this batch, I also added about 1/3 cup of crushed Skor bars as I had some left over from Caramel Macchiato Shortbread. Waste not... you now me if you've been around this blog before.. and besides... a bit of chocolate is never a bad thing.

Cranberry Macadamia Bars

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)

1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, or pecans ( I used macadamia)

2 beaten eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 TBSP milk

1 tsp finely shredded orange peel (I used a zester)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts, hazelnuts or pecans

1 cup finely chopped cranberries (I used frozen)

1/2 cup cocoanut

Stir together flour and the 3/4 cup sugar in mixing bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in 1/2 cup nuts. Press mixture into bottom of ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.

Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes or til the crust is lightly browned around edges.

Meanwhile, combine eggs, the 1 1/4 cups sugar, milk, orange peel, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Beat 'til combined. Pour over the hot crust. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts (here I added some chopped Skor bar bits) the cranberries, and cocoanut.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes more or 'til golden. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars while warm. Be gentle and use sharp knife.. they are still pretty soft, but you should be able to make nice edges.. ... cool completely in pan.

add some cherries......

Chocolate Chunk Cookies....

I made them earlier this year and we really enjoyed them. At the time I did muse about perhaps adding some cherries for a little extra flair. MMMM.... yep it works!

It is an easy recipe... they look great and taste pretty darn amazing.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Cherries

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sifted cocoa
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
::optional... drained, chopped maraschino cherries

Cream butter, brown sugar and cocoa in large bowl or mixer bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla ..mix til fluffy.
Add remaining 5 ingredients. Mix well. Add some chopped maraschino cherries at this point.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. (I have enamel sheets and they didn't need greasing..test bake one to check on your sheets.... but, they probably won't need much at any rate...)
Leave as drops or flatten slightly with glass or fingers.... put a bit more cherry on top if you like. Bake at 350 F or 170 C for 10 to 12 minutes. Remember...it's chocolate... keep an eye on them! Mine barely needed 10 minutes.

(I only used about 3/4 cup semi sweet dark and white chocolate squares chopped into chunks..it was plenty...)
 (1/2 cup was enough... I toasted them beforehand... better flavour)...

Chicken Cacciatore

"In the pan in which the chicken was browned" .... for some reason I just love that sentence!

Every time I reach for my Canadian Cook Book to look up my recipe for cacciatore...I say it out loud. Usually to no one but me.. seeing as I am usually the only one home when I begin supper. Silly me...but, I do... every single time....

I don't make it often enough to remember the ingredients or the actual doing...but, definitely remember that little line...

As usual.... any recipe is just a guideline... unless of course, it is Julia and a French recipe... then, by all means follow it to the letter if you want perfect results every time!

This one is forgiving.... it doesn't even give amounts really... but, I am usually working with about 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs... so here is the exact recipe from my lovely, old, Canadian Cook Book.

Chicken Cacciatore

In the pan in which the chicken was browned, cook 1 thinly sliced onion and 1 clove crushed garlic, until golden brown.

Blend in one cup water, one 8 ounce tin tomato paste, a tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper; cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Add 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms and 1/2 cup dry red wine (optional) and cook uncovered for 5 minutes more.

That's it... but,...... I like to add some canned tomatoes and I never use any salt for sure because there is plenty in a tin of tomatoes. I have discovered heart healthy canned tomatoes sans salt though... ..so some days I like to mix half and half.. it's perfect then! I don't like the taste of too much salt. Also... I like to brown my mushrooms in a tiny bit of butter before I do the chicken.. take them out while browning chicken and toss them back in. Add some celery along with the onion as well... some extra spices..like oregano, sweet basil or Herbes de Provence spices ..whatever you feel like using on the day or whatever you have handy.

We have it with spaghetti, a bit of Parmesan scraped on and some freshly ground black peppercorns. Yum. Oh...and...it's especially great with a slice of freshly baked Tuscan Peasant Bread toasted .. (that bread makes the absolute best toast !!) with some garlic butter on... just crush some garlic and mix it into a tablespoon of butter... mmmmmmm..........

See why I try to cut back on salts and fats where I can? Because I do like the occasional tsp. of butter.... and I am darn well having real butter on my real breads... beautiful and home made breads! Now that I've learned to bake my own breads... store bought just doesn't cut it...

Naan Bread

I've been wanting to give some Naan a try for years... since long before I got brave and learned to make breads.... and each time I say that I say a quiet thank you to Lewis... whose blog really inspired me and then he even sent me some bread making books. What a guy! He has not been blogging since moving to Italy... probably because there is too much bread baking happening there.

Next time I make them...I think I'll add the dry ingredients to the wet instead of the way the recipe indicated...that way I will have a better handle on the dryness of things. The first time I make a recipe...I follow it to the letter and make notes... but, next time.... I make my own adjustments....

The flavour and texture turned out wonderful...but, I think it might just work better with a teensy bit less flour than they called for and be a bit easier to make it smoother... a smoother looking chunk of bread is all I want from this recipe......see how it is creased here and there? ...not like the picture in the book...which by the way is BREAD by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter ..... could be the weather...the elevation...whatever... but, next time..a bit less flour initially might just do it.

Naan Bread

2 cups unbleached white bread flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 ounce fresh yeast (I used about 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast)

4 TBSP lukewarm milk

1 TBSP vegetable oil

2 TBSP plain yogurt

1 egg

2 - 3 tablespoons melted ghee or butter; for brushing.

Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl. In smaller bowl, cream the yeast with the milk. Set aside for 15 minutes. (I just sprinkled my yeast on the milk, stirred it in.. ... it foamed up nicely after about 15 )...

Add the yeast mixture, oil, yogurt and egg to the flour and mix to a soft dough.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. (My dough initially seemed a bit dry to me, but eventually didn't feel too bad).. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise, in warm place, for 45 minutes, or until double in bulk.

Preheat oven to 450F. Place baking sheet in oven to heat also. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface .. punch down. Divide into 3 equal pieces and shape into balls. Cover two of the balls with oiled plastic wrap and roll out the third into a teardrop shape about 10 inches long, 5 inches wide and with a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch.

Place Naan on hot baking sheets and bake for 3 - 4 minutes or until puffed up.

Then place under hot broiler for a few seconds or until the top browns slightly.

Wrap Naan in a dish towel to keep warm while rolling out and cooking the remaining naan. Brush with melted ghee or butter and serve warm.

Makes 3 Naan.