chicken Archives | Stills and Spills

Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad

September 3, 2015
Allison
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Recipe
almonds, celery, chicken, chicken salad, grapes, lunch, sandwich

Meal number two from the chicken stock post! This lasted four days and it was so good I could eat it for breakfast… and I may have. What really set it apart from other recipes were the perfect grapes I found. They were sweet and crisp and exactly what I needed to sweeten something that’s usually pretty savory. I pulled inspiration for this from a deli in San Francisco that makes its chicken salad with almonds and grapes and I fell in love with it.

I’m spending this week in New Jersey visiting family and friends and I plan on making this at home and seeing if I can convert my parents into liking this kind of chicken salad. Fingers crossed — or maybe not, if they don’t like then more for me!

Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad
Meat from one whole chicken (2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 thighs)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
3 stalks celery
2 cups grapes, quartered
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring large stock pot of water to a boil. Add chicken and reduce to a simmer. Cook until chicken is done, approximately 40-45 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken and shred apart with two forks. Remove the skin and use only the meat.

3. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add to the chicken.

4. Combine chicken with grapes and celery.

5. Top with slivered almonds and carefully toss.

6. Enjoy at the beach!

Slow Cooker Chicken with Creamed Spinach

August 28, 2015
Allison
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Recipe
bacon, chicken, crock pot, dinner, mushrooms, onions, potato, slow cooker, spinach

This is one of the three dishes I made from the two chickens last weekend. It came out great, but I forgot to turn the crock pot off and it cooked for closer to four hours. The chicken turned out a little dry so I made a gravy with the drippings and that helped quite a bit. I think you can cook this for closer to 3 hours on high and it should be fine.

The gravy in the dish gives it a nice creamy texture, but without any dairy. I made up for that with the spinach side though, you can half the heavy whipping cream and use a soft mascarpone cheese instead if you prefer. I also made a baked potato with a a salt and pepper crust and it was to die for. Who doesn’t love a crispy salty potato crust? Throw some chives from the garden in there and you’ve got yourself a winner.

P.S. ~~Double~~ triple this spinach recipe for your own good because it’s real tasty and you’re going to want a lot more if you’re cooking for more than one night or more than two people.

Slow Cooker Chicken with Creamed Spinach
1 Whole Chicken, wings, breasts, and thighs
1/2 lb bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lb pearl onions, peeled
1 lbs white mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove from the skillet and transfer to a slow cooker.

2. Add the chicken to the bacon fat and brown on both sides. Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker. 3. Pour the wine into the skillet and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, rosemary, and salt to the slow cooker.

4. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high.

5. Transfer the chicken, mushrooms, and onions to a serving dish and pour sauce into a small saucepan. Combine the water and cornstarch and then slowly pour into the sauce. Bring to a boil and stir until the gravy thickens. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Creamed Spinach
2 lb baby spinach, stems removed
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add spinach, cook for 2 minutes. Remove spinach from the water and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking and keep bright green color.

2. Wipe out the saucepan and add the butter, heat until it melts. Add the onion and salt, cook down until the onions have softened. Add the spinach, cream, cheese, and nutmeg. Cook until the cream has cooked down a big and the cheese has fully melted.

2 Chickens, 3 Dishes, 12+ Meals

August 22, 2015
Allison
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Recipe
carrots, celery, chicken, chicken stock, dill, herbs, onion, parsley, pepper, rosemary, thyme

I took a leap and make homemade chicken stock last weekend. It took four hours for it to cook down and I couldn’t wait to try it. I almost had a bowl of stock on the spot. Even though they’re very simple ingredients, this is packed with flavor. Since most soups call for at least 2-4 cups of canned or boxed chicken stock they always have an overly salted artificial flavor. I’m going to use the homemade stock for soup this week and I’m thrilled to see the difference it makes.

We bought two chickens for this and I used the meat for two separate dishes then the bones and leftover parts for the stock. If you include the impending soup, these two chickens made 3 dishes and 12+ meals! Love it. Thank you to the lovely Ina for this stock recipe.

Homemade Chicken Stock
Bones and trimmings of 2 young chickens
3 yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
4 parsnips, unpeeled and halved
4 stalks celery, halved with leaves
5 sprigs rosemary
10 sprigs dill
10 sprigs parsley
10 sprigs thyme
1 head of garlic, unpeeled cut in half
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
2 Teaspoons whole black peppercorns

1. Place chicken in the bottom of a large stockpot, place veggies and herbs on top and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

2. Add 24 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for four hours until everything has cooked down.

3. Strain the veggies, chicken and herbs out of the stock and place into freezer safe containers. Refrigerate the stock overnight so the fat rises to the top of the container.

4. Skim off the fat and place in the freezer for up to 3 months!

Zoodles: Take 1

August 9, 2015
Allison
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Recipe
asparagus, cherry tomatoes, chicken, garlic, mushrooms, onions, parmesan, spinach, zoodles, zucchini

A very dear friend gave me a Veggetti for my bridal shower last year. We drove across the country two days later to move to California. Needless to say, it’s taken some time to put all of these exciting gifts to use / remember where we put them when we moved. This is something I wish I’ve been using more frequently. Gluten free pasta is fine, don’t get me wrong. There are a few really good brands and at this point I really don’t miss “regular” pasta’s taste or consistency. Those gf pastas are just as terrible for you though, so this is a lovely and light way to get all the good fixings that you put in pasta, sans guilt. It’s a very tasty first take on zoodles and incredibly filling with so much veggie-chicken goodness! I prepared the asparagus and chicken the night ahead of time because I was making a different meal and just used the leftover pieces for this zoodles recipe.

Zoodles with Chicken and Veggies
2 chicken breasts, prepared the night before (see first step)
1 bunch of asparagus, prepared the night before (see 2nd step)
Olive oil
12 mushrooms, sliced thin
1 small yellow onion, diced
6 oz spinach
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 zucchini, “zoodled”
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons white wine
Red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese, for serving

1. The night before I cut the chicken into pieces and marinated in Italian dressing for a couple hours. Then sautéed until golden brown, and even a little burned in places. Set aside.

2. Cut tough ends off asparagus, lay flat on a roasting tray and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, dash of cayenne, and garlic powder. Roast in 425 degree oven for 8 minutes. Cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

3. Heat teaspoon of olive oil in pan and then sauté mushrooms and onions until beginning to caramelize. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add spinach and cook down until completed wilted. Add tablespoon of butter and ensure all veggies are coated.

5. Add cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and chicken. Bring to heat and then add white wine. Cook on medium heat until wine starts to boil and burn off, be sure to keep stirring so veggies don’t stick to the bottom. Add zoodles and cook until they are fully heated. No need to sauté or brown them.

6. Serve with parmesan and red pepper flakes!

Warm Potato Salad with Horseradish

July 29, 2015
Allison
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Recipe
apple cider vinegar, chicken, dill, green beans, horseradish, potato

It’s hot in the Bay Area. Well, it’s Bay Area hot. That means around 85 degrees. There’s even a “hazardous weather warning” on the weather channel. It’s toasty, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not unbearable. It cools down a ton at night and is no where near those humid New Jersey summer nights. It feels like BBQ’ing weather so I decided to make some potato salad to go with dinner. This can also be served the next day but I’m not in love with it cold, so serve at room temperature, if possible.

Warm Potato Salad with Horseradish
1 lbs small red potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup red onion
2 Tablespoons prepared horseradish
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dill

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain potatoes and put into a large bowl. Toss with oil and vinegar while still warm.