Butter Garlic Chicken with Rice

I tasted a delicious chicken in a butter-garlic sauce at a wedding I attended last summer and have been craving it ever since. A friend of mine and her husband own a catering business. I asked her how she would attempt to make it. I made it for my family recently and it was a hit! Here is what we came up with:

Butter Garlic Chicken


1 to 2 lb. of chicken strips
2 minced garlic cloves (abt. 2 tbsp.)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion or scallions
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup of canola or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 cups white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. parsley
1 tbsp. butter

Put oil in a large frying pan. Turn the heat on your stove top up to medium/high and salt and pepper both sides of the chicken tenders.
Braise the chicken a few minutes on both sides in the hot oil so that they are nicely browned. Remove from heat.

Discard oil and add the 1 stick of butter to the same pan. When butter is melted, saute garlic and onion for a couple minutes, stirring the entire time so that butter doesn't get too brown. Then pour in 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and add chicken. Add 1/4 tsp. thyme and cover. Cook on medium heat for abt. 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally and flip meat for even cooking.

Meanwhile, cook instant white rice by using 2 cups chicken broth to 2 cups white rice (Or use the amount that would feed your family. This recipe feeds a family of four.) Add a tablespoon of butter and a sprinkling of parsley as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Remove chicken to your serving dish. Whisk in the cornstarch and continue stirring on medium to high heat until bubbling and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over chicken to serve.

Serve with your favorite vegetables and enjoy!

Best Article

I stumbled across this article awhile ago and it has really helped me to change the way that I meal plan. I did not make every recipe she cited, but I did do the Lemon Roasted Chicken (Yum!), another White Chili Recipe that I have (will post another time), the Chicken Noodle Soup in the previous post and the Chicken Curry recipe.

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2009/02/1-chicken-17-healthy-meals-26-bucks-no.html

Doing this encouraged me to do similar meal plans with other proteins, pork tenderloin, beef, etc. Love her blog, have been following it on Google Reader ever since...

Chicken Noodle Soup

After making this soup, I will probably never use another recipe for Chicken Noodle again. I did cheat and use canned stock instead of making my own because of time, but it is AMAZING!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time:

2 hr 0 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

20 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 quarts chicken stock, recipe follows
• 8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Chicken Stock:

• 1 whole free-range chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), rinsed, giblets discarded
• 2 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
• 2 large white onions, quartered
• 1 head of garlic, halved
• 1 turnip, halved
• 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Place the chicken and vegetables in a large stockpot over medium heat. Pour in only enough cold water to cover (about 3 quarts); too much will make the broth taste weak. Toss in the thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and allow it to slowly come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, partially covered, until the chicken is done. As it cooks, skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add a little more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered while simmering.

Carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board. When its cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones; hand-shred the meat into a storage container.

Carefully strain the stock through a fine sieve into another pot to remove the vegetable solids. Use the stock immediately or if you plan on storing it, place the pot in a sink full of ice water and stir to cool down the stock. Cover and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze.

Pumpkin Muffins

I am going to send a package to my bachelor brother for Valentine's Day this week and will include some of these beauties in it. They are one of my daughter's favorite breakfast treats!

RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN MUFFINS
From Gourmet November 2006
Adapted from the American Club
Makes 1 dozen
Active time: 15 min.
Start to finish: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpking (from a 15-oz can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle positiona nd preheat oven toe 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wodden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Mini Meatball Soup

I used to make this a lot before we had kids. I decided to make it again the other night because my daughter wanted Chicken Noodle soup and I had no chicken on hand. It is YUM-O! As Rachael would say! I used mini alphabet pasta that was a big hit!

Rachael Ray's Mini Meatball SoupRecipe

1# lean ground round
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 medium onion, chopped...plus 1/4 onion, chopped
pepper & salt to taste
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 pinches of nutmeg
3) 15oz cans of chicken broth
1/2 cup small pasta

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine meat, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic pwdr, 1/4 c. of the minced onion, salt & pepper. Form 1/2" meatballs & place on a baking sheet. Bake about 12-15 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, saute 1/2 cup chopped onion, carrot, celery & garlic in olive oil over medium heat (in a soup pot). Sprinkle vegetables with nutmeg, salt & pepper. Cook 5 minutes. Add broth & turn heat to medium high. When broth boils, drop in pasta. Reduce heat to simmer, drop in meatballs, and cook until pasta is al dente. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

Everyone is trying to save money these days. We have been trying to cut back on the amount of takeout that we consume. I have been making homemade pizza now about once a week. It is fun for my kids to help and this is a yummy easy recipe! Sometimes, I double the recipe and make two large pizzas and an order of breadsticks with the dough!

Pizza Dough

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time:

--

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

--

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

3 pizza crusts

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups 00 flour, plus more for dusting

Directions

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour. This is a good time to stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.

Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.

Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Dust a pizza paddle with flour and slide it under the pizza dough. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite flavors. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bubble Pecan Rolls

I got this recipe from a family member's cookbook originally, but I found it online and linked to that site. It is the same recipe. We make these frequently, my whole family LOVES them and they are SO easy! I melt the butter and pour it over top before I leave it to rise.

BUBBLE BREAD
1/2 c. pecans 1 c. brown sugar 1 pkg. butterscotch pudding, NOT instant 18 Rhodes rolls 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 stick butter The night before serving, thoroughly grease a bundt pan. Place ingredients in pan in order given. Cut butter in pats and place on top. Leave on countertop overnight to raise. Next morning, bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.