Roasted Chicken Thighs Provençal

This low-effort recipe is from April's Cooking Light. Basically, all you have to do is cut up the veggies, toss it all together, and wait 35-40 minutes while an increasingly intoxicating aroma wafts from your oven.

Our Hero is a big fan of meat-and-potatoes dinners, and I indulge him every once in a while. I found the instructions provided with the recipe rather confusing, so I will give directions detailing what I did to make this dinner. This recipe is particularly well-suited to up- and down-sizing to suit the number of people you need to feed. I imagine it would make a fragrant sit-down dinner for one. Add a green salad and you're set . . . Our Hero and I both had plentiful lunch leftovers.

Roasted Chicken Thighs Provençal
6 (6-oz) bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed (or, if your partner begs you to leave his on, 3 skin-on, 3 skinned)
Olive oil
Dried or fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut into eighths if larger, quarters if smaller
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into eighths.
30 niçoise olives

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment, spray with cooking spray. Line another baking sheet or baking dish big enough to fit all the chicken thighs with foil or parchment. Place cut vegetables onto the rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with about 3/4 t. dried thyme, salt, and pepper and toss.

Arrange chicken thighs on other baking sheet or dish. Sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Scatter olives throughout.

Place both trays in hot oven and roast 35-40 minutes, until chicken is done and potatoes are tender.

Bahn mi? No, bahn you!

Ahhh the humble sandwich . . . a simple supper, a perfect and portable lunch . . . from the a fancy goat cheese-roasted veggie panini to the humble PB&J, sandwiches can be divine. Here's a great one adapted from Food and Wine magazine. It's an approximation of Vietnamese street sandwich bahn mi, which is often eaten for breakfast. It's spicy, easy, and tasty. I look forward to more of these come summertime.

Bahn Mi
3/4 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. light mayo
3 T. yogurt cheese, yogurt, or sour cream (I used lowfat homemade yogurt cheese)
1 large shallot, minced
2 carrots, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup pickled cocktail onions and 1/4 cup pickling liquid
1 10-oz. baguette (I used whole-wheat), split lengthwise and toasted
Sriracha or other hot sauce, for spreading
1 kirby cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise
Cilantro sprigs

In a bowl, toss chicken with 1 T. soy sauce. Cover and refrigerate one hour. In another bowl, mix remaining soy sauce, mayo, yogurt cheese, and shallot. In yet another bowl, mix the carrots with the pickled onions and their liquid; refrigerate one hour.

Heat a grill pan or broiler. Grill chicken over high heat until just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.

Spread mayo mixture on cut sides of baguette, then spread with sriracha. Layer carrots, onions, and cucumber with the chicken. Lay cilantro sprigs over top and close sandwich.

Jawohl, I am German!

My heritage is both Irish and German, but my Irish parent is a bit more - how shall I say - out about it (love you, Dad!). I love cabbage, colcannon, lamb stew, corned beef, boiled dinners, whiskey cake, whiskey (minus the cake) . . . This meal got me in touch with the other half of my family tree.

After Our Hero had a party for his Department at school, there was a two-pound bag of sauerkraut left in my fridge. I couldn't very well throw it away! I hate wasting food. I found a recipe for sausages with sauerkraut in Gourmet, and tailored it a bit to meet my health preferences, reducing the butter by two-thirds and using chicken sausages in place of those fattier varieties called for in the recipe. The result: a very simple, pleasant meal ideal for these times when we're waiting impatiently for a bounty of spring produce. It's not quite here yet - an exercise in patience.

Sausages with Sauerkraut
1 lb. cooked chicken sausages
1 T. unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 lb. sauerkraut, rinsed well and drained
1/2 t. caraway seed
Freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 3/4 cups apple cider

Prick sausages with the tip of a sharp knife. Melt butter in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Brown sausages briefly, remove from pan, and set aside. Add onion to skillet. Saute until softened and beginning to brown. Add caraway, pepper and bayleaf, cook 1 minute. Add sauerkraut and cider. Nestle sausages in mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Yes, Cans

You may have noticed that I often use canned tomatoes and beans, and (occasionally) broth . . . On some of the more (ahem) upscale foodie blogs, canned ingredients are shunned. Let's shun those snobs! Canned tomatoes are a great wintertime staple. I'd just as soon eat my hat as one of those pinky-white fleshed winter "beefsteaks". Of course cherry and grape tomatoes are good winter substitutes as well.

In addition to being generally healthy (watch the sodium content) and tasty, cans are convenient as can be. Cooking Light has a great issue this month, featuring meals that can be quickly thrown together on a really busy weeknight. Perfect! Aside from the aforementioned canned goods, these "quick" recipes also call for bottled minced garlic and ginger or prechopped vegetables to shave minutes off projected cook-times.

I don't use these items. I don't see how it's worth it to spend the extra money to have my deliciously mindless end-of-a-long-day prep work done for me. While I do have my lovely new Cuisinart, I generally don't use it for tasks as quickly run though as chopping an onion. More often than not after a long workday I find it comforting and stress-relieving to prep the ingredients for our dinner. This recipe is great for busy days, and makes plenty (leftovers!). It's from this month's Cooking Light with only a couple of changes.

Sausage and Spinach Soup
10 oz. hot Italian chicken sausage
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 large)
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1 15-oz. can small white beans (Goya brand) - cannellini would work too
1 14.5-oz. can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 14-oz. can reduced-sodium chicken broth (or homemade stock, if you have it around)
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Pecorino romano cheese, grated

Remove casings from sausage. Cook with a little oil or cooking spray (I use oil) in a large dutch oven or saucepan until browned. Break up sausage with spatula or spoon. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Stir in water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for 3 minutes (I simmered mine for about 15) or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, stir in spinach and basil. Serve sprinkled with cheese.

A Bright Winter Meal

Chicken thighs are so terribly underrated. The meat is tender and juicy, and can be stewed for long periods of time without getting dry and chalky. It seems to have more chicken-y flavor. Thighs are used to great success in this Cooking Light recipe, a tagine of chicken and the bright flavors of lemon, ginger, garlic, olives, and cilantro. Even though the dish has to simmer for an hour, if you've got the time, the recipe's great for a weeknight. I made this on Monday.

Chicken Tagine with Lemon and Olives

2 T. fresh lemon juice
12 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. ground turmeric
1/2 t. cayenne
2 t. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (about 2)
1 t. minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup pitted green olives, halved
2 t. grated lemon rind
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Whole-wheat couscous, for serving

Combine juice and chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in a refrigerator 30 minutes. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade.

Mix flour and spices. Dredge chicken thighs in flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches, cook 3 minutes per side, until browned. Remove from pan and repeat procedure with remaining chicken.

Add onion, ginger, and garlic to pan; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Return chicken to pan. Add broth, olives, rind, and cinnamon stick; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is tender. Discard the cinnamon stick; stir in cilantro. Serve over hot couscous.

Crazy Easy

For Christmas, my lovely Mum and Pop got me a beautiful two-burner cast-iron grill pan. What better way to inaugerate it than burgers spicy enough to get some sweat breaking on Our Hero's forehead? Of course these burgers could be broiled or pan-fried, too.

Spicy Turkey Burgers with Homemade Tabasco Ketchup

(I clipped the ketchup recipe from somewhere, no source on the scrap of paper . . . )
Red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 lb. ground turkey

2 T. Worstershire sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Lowfat jalapeno-jack cheese (or pepper-jack)

4 whole-wheat buns

2 T. tomato paste

1 T. yogurt

1 t. tabasco sauce

1/2 t. white vinegar

1/8 t. salt

Heat grill over medium-high heat. Rub lightly with vegetable oil. Grill bell peppers about 15-20 minutes. Combine tomato paste and last four ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Combine turkey, Worstershire sauce, and salt and peppers (black and cayenne) to taste. Form into 4 patties. Grill patties 4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from heat and top with cheese. Grill buns and spread with ketchup. Place each patty on a bun; top with peppers. Serve with a veggie.

cooking light's roasted chicken with dried plums and shallots

2 t. olive oil
4 bone-in chicken breast halves (2 lbs.)
¾ t. salt, divided
½ t. black pepper, divided
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 large shallots, peeled and halved (8 oz.)
2 thyme sprigs (I used dried
1 large fennel bulb, cut into 8 wedges
16 pitted dried plums (prunes)
¾ cup fat-free less-sodium chicken broth, divided (I used – gasp! – bouillon)
¼ cup dry white wine
1 T. all-purpose flour
2 t. chopped fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle oil in a small roasting pan or the bottom of a broiler pan. Place pan in oven 5 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle chicken with ¼ t. salt and ¼ t. pepper. Place chicken, skin side down, in pan. Arrange garlic, shallots, thyme sprigs, and fennel around chicken. Season veggies with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Turn chicken over and stir vegetables. Add plums. Bake 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Discard skin. Loosely cover chicken and veggies to keep warm.

Place pan over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup broth and wine, stirring to loosen browned bits. Combine flour and ¼ cup broth, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan, stir until well-blended. Bring to a boil, cook for 1 minute or until slightly thick. Stir in chopped thyme, remaining ¼ t. salt, and remaining pepper. Serve sauce with chicken and veggies.

i served this with whole-wheat couscous and cl’s brussels sprouts with garlic and honey. (which i tried to sell to our hero as mini-cabbages, but he saw right through me. he ended up surprising himself and liking them!)

CL’s Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Honey

1 T. butter
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, quartered and trimmed
¼ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 T. honey

Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper. Sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add 3 T. of water, cover and cook 3 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are tender. Drizzle with honey, toss well to coat.

chicken with fresh plum chutney

veggies could use the chutney on any number of non-meat dishes. this recipe is from the latest issue of Everyday Food. i made it this week for dinner, and it was quick and delicious.

Chicken with Plum Chutney
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 T. olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno chile (i used the whole dang thing)
4 red plums (about 1 lb.) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 T. cider vinegar
3/4 t. curry powder
1/4 t. ground ginger

Season chicken with salt and pepper, heat skillet with 1 T. oil over medium. Add chicken and cook until opaque, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

To make the chutney, add the remaining T. of oil to the skillet, onion, and jalapeno. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to med-high. add plums sugar, vinegar, curry powder, ginger and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until fruit is soft and liquid is a bit syrupy, about 8 minutes.

Add chicken and juices back to the pan. Simmer until heated through, about 4 minutes. Serve with chutney.