Tag Archives: chicken

Cookin’ Those Veggies!

grill pan veggies long viewYup, folks. I really do use that grill pan! Last night I was cooking for one, and YES, I really did eat  all those vegetables.

But, no, I did not eat all that chicken. When you go to the effort to cook chicken pieces, cook some extra so you have some on hand for sandwiches, casseroles, stir-fry, etc. Last night’s chicken was a package of skinless, boneless chicken thighs. The seasonings of choice were smoked paprika and Tuscan Seasoning from Victoria Gourmet (available online at www.vgourmet.com), but you could always brush on some BBQ sauce (wait until the chicken is almost done as BBQ sauce will turn your grill pan to a burnt sticky mess in a short period of time.)

The veggies cooking are those great little sweet peppers found in bags at most grocery stores, chunks of zucchini squash and whole mushrooms, brushed with a balsamic vinegar glaze. The glaze was created by microwaving some balsamic vinegar in a little glass custard cup until reduced by aboutGrilled chicken and Vegetables 1/2. When reduced, add a pinch of salt, a crank of pepper and about 1/2 teaspoon of honey. Brush on the veggies when they are almost done cooking. The whole meal goes together in less than 30 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, prep your veggies and toss together a salad. Even if it’s just for you, or two, make your plate look pretty and fancy up that salad! Enjoy every bite!

 

 

 

Soup Day!

Chicken SoupQuestion…When you think of soup, do you think of Winter? At the restaurant, we serve soup every day of the year, and it never seems to fall out of popularity. Soup fills us up, it is satisfying and many times is a lower calorie alternative to whatever it was that we considered eating in the first place.

Ahhh! Soup. I can smell it now. Soups can take on any personality you choose; bold and spicy like chili, beef vegetable with those wonderful textures and little bursts of flavor, creamy tomato or a spicy roasted vegetable concoction, blended to silk with an immersion blender. Soups can be hearty and overflowing with meat, vegetarian with lentils and other legumes, creamy, brothy, or made from leftovers that wait patiently in your refrigerator to come out and be useful. So let’s make some soup today!

Today, I’m making 2 gallons of soup for a church supper, so as long as I’m using a large pot, I might as well make more to freeze for our household. That’s what is great about soup, you can make as much as you want. If you are home for several hours you can make a chicken soup from scratch. Start with a nice, plump WHOLE chicken, some chunks of carrot, celery (use the tops and leaves of the stock) and chopped onion. OR, use that leftover chicken from Sunday and make a smaller batch.

Do you think you are a “non-cook?” Well, soup is not rocket science. Find a good basic recipe to follow the first time, and from there you can learn to be creative. Here’s a good way to make chicken noodle soup. Watch out for the salt. If anything, be a little stingy. You can always add more later. Are you ready to make your house smell wonderful? It might seem like it takes a lot of time to make soup. Well, it does, but you don’t have to stand in the kitchen while that chicken is cooking. Go read a book or take a nap. Here we go…

Chicken Noodle Soup
Makes about 2 gallons soup

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, diced (wash, but no need to peel)
2 cups diced celery (use the tops and leaves, too)
salt and pepper
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into quarters for easier handling
water to cover chicken

In a LARGE pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery and salt and pepper. Saute until onions are tender (about 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 1 more minute. Add chicken. Add enough water to cover the chicken plus about 1 inch. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. When water begins to boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer and continue cooking until chicken is “fall off the bone” tender, about 1 and a half hours. Turn off heat.

When chicken is done, set another large pot next to the first one. Place a large strainer over the clean pot. Using tongs, remove as many chicken pieces as you can and place in strainer. After chicken has drained, place the chicken in a large bowl to cool (it’s hard to handle chicken when it is burning your fingers). Now, using potholders, carefully pour the remaining liquid, veggies and chicken scraps into the strainer, letting all the broth pour into the pot. Pick through the veggies to find the chicken that’s hiding in there and put it in the bowl with the rest of the chicken. Throw out the veggies. Yup, toss ’em. They have done their job of flavoring that lovely stock, but they are full of chicken fat. Refrigerate the broth (stock) that you’ve just strained until it is chilled and the fat rises to the top (several hours). When the fat coats the top, skim it off and discard the fat. Now you have a beautiful stock for your soup.

Remove the cooled chicken from the bones. Discard the bones and skin. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Next step, assemble the soup: This sounds like we are starting over…
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound carrots, diced, peel this batch
2 cups diced celery
salt and pepper
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

You can cut up these vegetables while the chicken is cooking and set them aside until needed.
Just like when you were starting the chicken process, saute the above veggies, except for the garlic, in that large pot that you just cleaned out from cooking the chicken. When onions are tender, place garlic in and saute for another minute until fragrant. Add “defatted” stock to veggies. Add:
½ cup dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
(do not add any salt until later. The stock will be salty from cooking the chicken)
Add the chicken back into the stock. Add enough water to make about 1 ½ gallons broth. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes so all the flavors blend. Bring to a boil. When boiling, add one or two packages of noodles. Cook according to directions on noodle package, in the chicken soup stock,  until noodles are almost done. Turn off heat. Cover pot. Noodles will continue to cook as they sit in the soup. Allow all the ingredients to party until the flavors are blended. Add salt if necessary.

Eat some, freeze some. Enjoy!

 

Cooking School Time!

plated cooking school

Finleys’ Kitchen Cooking School launched on April 30 to rave reviews! My first student, an admitted non-cook, arrived at 11 a.m., eager to fix this lifelong TV dinner dilemma. We started by eating a simple brunch, prepared by me, and then moved on to bigger projects.

By 6 p.m., Denise welcomed two other guests and proceeded to serve up a four-course meal, complete with explanations and a smile on her confident face.

What happened between the end of brunch and the ringing of the doorbell? Timeline planning, Knife training, note taking, slicing, blanching, sauteing, chilling, beating, baking, plating, laughing and learning! Watch this blog site and your e-mail for the announcement of the next available class. These classes will have limited space, so sign up early. Tell your friends. Let’s get cooking!