Chicken Udon

This is one of the meals I remember eating as a kid.  My dad was in the Navy. We spent quite a bit of time in Japan.  I saw the Udon noodles in the supermarket awhile back and decided to find a good recipe so I could share Udon with my kids.  As a kid, we just called this dish Udon.  On a menu you will likely find Udon called Pork Udon or Chicken Udon depending on how it is prepared.  I've even seen it called Chicken and Udon noodle soup. In Japan it is understood that Udon is a noodle soup so adding "noodle soup" seems a bit redundant, in my opinion.  Whatever you call it, it's a delicious meal.

 

1 shallot, roughly chopped
1 chicken breast
4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
2 Tbsp dried shiitake mushrooms
600g udon noodles
2 bunches of baby pak choy, rinsed and trimmed
1/3c mirin
1/4c soy sauce
green onion, rinsed and sliced

In a soup pot, add the chicken breast, shallot, ginger, and mushrooms to 7 cups of water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer (covered) for 10 minutes.  Skim any scum that appears on the surface.  Remove from heat and stand (covered) for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.  Transfer the chicken and mushrooms to a plate.  Strain the chicken stock, discarding the ginger and shallot.  Return the stock to the pot.

Shred the chicken.  Slice the mushrooms into thick slices if necessary.  (The mushrooms I used were already sliced.) 

Reheat the stock over a high heat.  Add the noodles.  Cook for 2 minutes (or until the noodles are tender).  Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan.  Add the pak choy.  Cook for another 2 minutes. The leaves will have just wilted and the chicken will be heated through.  Stir in the mirin and soy sauce.  Garnish with green onion.

Alternatives: Fresh cilantro leaves are also a tasty garnish for Udon, but my family doesn't really care for cilantro so I pick my battles.

Creamy Italian Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing mix
1/2c water
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
Mushrooms

Put chicken, dressing mix, and water into crock pot.  Cover and cook for three hours.  Combine cream cheese and soup until blended.  Stir in mushrooms.  Pour over chicken.  Cook for one hour longer. Serve with rice or pasta.

Lime Chicken Tacos

Tacos get a little boring for me. So I'm always looking for a way to switch it up a little. I've been working on this recipe for awhile now. When I try a new recipe, I like to follow the instructions first...then make adjustments for my family's preferences. With this recipe I cut down on the chili powder. If you like your tacos to fight back a little, double the chili powder.

Ingredients:
4-5 chicken breasts
2 limes (about 3Tbsp lime juice)
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/4c honey
1c frozen corn
1c chunky salsa
12 flour tortillas
Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatos, avacado, sour cream...whatever you like to dress your tacos with...

Put the chicken breasts in a crockpot. Combime the lime juice and chili powder and pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and allow to cool slightly. Shred the meat with two forks. Add the honey to the juice in your crockpot and stir. Return meat to slow cooker. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with toppings of your choice.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Get out your grocery lists; make an extra run to the grocery store. I've found my new favorite Enchilada recipe. My sister made this for me the last time I went home to visit. It is so yummy. I think it's the lime that really makes this recipe unforgettable.

1.5 lbs of chicken, cooked and shredded
1/3c honey
1/4c lime juice (one lime if you are using fresh...and really, you should use a fresh lime)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2(10oz) cans green enchilada sauce
2 pkgs flour tortilla, small
equal parts mozzarella and cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder. Mix well and add to the shredded chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for at least 30 minutes. Lightly spray two pans with PAM. (I used two 9X13 pans.) Pour green enchilada sauce into the pans. Be sure to coat the entire bottom. Fill the tortillas with shredded chicken and cheese mixture. Roll and place in the dish.

Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce over the enchilada. Now sprinkle with more cheese. Be generous with the sauce and cheese. It matters! Bake uncovered at 350˚F for 30 minutes. Then broil just until the cheese is slightly brown and crispy. I may have browned mine a liiiiittle too much, but I like it a little crisy.

This recipe is really amazing. Roger liked it. The kids liked it. And it made enough that I can re-heat it for dinner tomorrow!

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

I got a little worried while I was making this salad. My family generally protests ingredients like raw onions, olives, and tomatoes. But the combination of all these ingredients was pretty amazing. It was a little salty thanks to the feta cheese and the kalamata* olives. It was a little sour and tangy thanks to the red wine vinegar in the vinaigrette. It was really yummy!

Note about kalamata olives: Kalamata olives are a burst of flavor. They are saltier than black olives. You could probably substitute black olives in this recipe, but black olives are very mild and I think you'd be missing out.

Salad:

4 oz bow tie pasta, cooked
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup red onion, sliced thinly
5 basil leaves, chiffonade*
1/4 cup pine nuts

*roll the basil leaves together tightly and slice thinly

Vinaigrette:

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp canola oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano

Prepare the vinaigrette first. Combine all of the ingredients together in a Tupperware container. Add the lid and shake it up. Set aside to allow flavors to mingle.

Cook the pasta in well seasoned water (per instructions). Drain and rinse with cool water. Add the chicken, feta cheese, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, basil, and pine nuts. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and serve immediately. I added a little basil to the top of the salad as garnish.

Dutch Oven Chicken

This is a pretty simple meal to throw together, but I love the flavor of the vegetables so much that I'm going to blog about it.

Chicken Thighs (4)
Potatos
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Chicken Broth

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Heat a little olive oil over a med heat in the bottom of your Dutch oven. (You can use a cast iron skillet, too.) While the olive oil is heating, salt and pepper the chicken. Cook the chicken for about 7 minutes on each side. This will give the chicken a nice brown crust. (I pulled the skin off the chicken before photographing it because the skin just doesn't photograph well.) While the chicken is cooking cut up your vegetables into nice big chunks. I put the garlic through the garlic press because I think this makes the garlic flavor really pop. It has something to do with the press breaking up the garlic cell walls. Who knew biology was going to come in so handy in the kitchen? Toss the vegetables into the Dutch oven while the Dutch oven is still hot. Let'em cook for a few minutes, then add chicken broth. You want the broth to be about half way up the side of the chicken. Cover the Dutch oven and put it in the oven.

Now, go have a glass of wine, help your kids with their fractions, fold a few loads of laundry, watch Seinfeld, etc.

Let the chicken and vegetables slow roast for a few hours. The longer it roasts the softer and more wonderful it will all taste. Check it a few times and add more broth if needed, stir it around a little, and enjoy that garlicy aroma that is rolling out of the kitchen.

Serve with a good crusty bread...something you can use to really sop up that yummy goodness.

Confession: I also toss in any vegetable leftovers from the last night or so. You know, the green beans that you had one serving left and you put 'em in the fridge for tomorrow, but let's be honest, in a week you are probably going to throw them out anyway.

Sesame Seed Pasta Salad

This is a great salad to take to a picnic or family pot luck. The sesame seed oil gives the salad a slight Asian flavor without being too strong or foreign. My sister gave me this recipe awhile back. I love using fresh cilantro in this recipe, but my husband doesn't like the taste of cilantro. Did you know that about a fourth of the population thinks cilantro tastes like soap? I heard that on the radio awhile back. I substitute dried cilantro. My husband says it's not so overpowering when it's dried. Fresh shredded chicken tastes best, but sometimes I substitute canned chicken without complaints from the family.

Ingredients:

1/4c. sesame seeds
16 oz bow tie pasta
1/2c vegetable oil
1/3c soy sauce
1/3c rice vinegar
1t sesame seed oil
3T sugar
1/2t ginger
1/4t black pepper
3c shredded chicken
1/3c cilantro, chopped
1/3c green onion

Boil pasta and rinse until cold. Toast sesame seeds in skillet. Combine oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, sugar, ginger, and pepper in a jar and shake well. Pour dressing over pasta and toss to coat evenly. Mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.

Rosemary-Sage Kebabs

Marinade:
3T red wine vinegar
1/2c olive oil
3/4T dijon mustard
3T chopped fresh parsley leaves
3/4t dried rosemary
1/4t dried sage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2t salt
1/4t black peppers

For Kebabs:
1 1/2lb cubed chicken breast
1 pint cherry or grape tomatos
1 container small mushrooms
1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 skewers

Mix all the ingedients for marinade and put into quart sized ziploc bag. Add chicken and marinate overnight. Alternate chicken and vegetables (except tomatos) on skewers. Grill until chicken is cooked. Add tomatos to end of skewer before serving.

Chicken Adobo

This is my husband's favorite dish. I've had this recipe the whole time we've been married, but I was always intimidated by the recipe and by how great it tastes whenever my mother made it. (In the interest of being completely honest, I also have no idea how to cut up a chicken so I'd put the recipe back in the box.) After about five years of marriage, I finally made this recipe. My husband loved it and instantly accused me of holding out on him. He still teases me about all the terrible stuff I cooked when we were first married when I had this amazing recipe hiding in my recipe box.

1 clove garlic, minced
4 whole black peppers
3-4 bay leaves
1/2c red wine vinegar
1/2c soy sauce
1c water

salt and pepper
seasoned salt
seasoned pepper
paprika
1 chicken (washed and cut up)

Put the garlic, whole black peppers, bay leaves, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and water in a pot. Season each piece of chicken with salt, pepper, seasoned salt, seasoned pepper, and paprika and place in pot. Cover pot and boil on med high for 30 minutes. Turn down heat to med low and boil for 30 minutes longer. Turn off heat and let chicken set in juice to really let the seasoning take effect. Reheat and serve over rice.

I love, love, love this recipe. Here's how I know it's a great dish. First, my husband accused me of holding out on him. That's a sincere compliment from a man who always told me dinner was good...even when I thought it was nasty. Second, when I make this recipe for dinner parties, my friends always go back for seconds.

In the crockpot: Season the chicken and place in the pot. Add garlic, black peppers, red wine vinegar, soysauce, and water. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice. The liquid doesn't completely cover the chicken. That's okay! It isn't supposed to.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I found this recipe just in time for the Super Bowl last year...and let me tell you that it is the yummiest dip I think I've ever tasted. It's super easy to make and your friends will be impressed!

1 8oz block of cream cheese
½ cup bleu cheese dressing
1 cup (or more) of finely chopped cooked chicken
¼ - ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (what’s your heat tolerance?)
(I used the Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce and it was just as awesome)
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Cheddar Cheese

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (for topping)

Heat the block of cream cheese and bleu cheese dressing in microwave for about one minute or, until the mixture is easy to stir. Add in the chicken, hot sauce, Monterey Jack cheese and salt/pepper. Blend together ingredients.

Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish. I like to use a larger dish (or spilt into two smaller dishes) and have a thinner spread of the dip. Top with the grated cheddar cheese and place in oven. Bake at 350°F (180°C) until the cheddar topping is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. The original recipe tells you to use Frito Scoop! Corn Chips, but we prefer the Tostitos chips. Also, if you want to pretend that celery sticks will make this more healthy, then, by all means, knock yourself out.

Citrus Chicken

When I was in Basic Training, I loved to listen my battle buddy talk about food. She had been a professional chef before enlisting and she talked about food the way other women talk about a lover. Last night I was talking to my sister, describing this recipe and I realized that I was starting to sound a lot like my battle buddy. So let me just say, "Rebekah, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

I really like this recipe because it is very simple. It has a simple flavor that isn't over whelming. It's a really healthy recipe without any heavy, gooey sauce that blows your calorie count for the day. Here's what you need:

1 orange
1 lemon
1 lime
3 or 4 chicken breasts
Pam cooking spray

Spray a casserole dish with Pam. Zest the outside of the orange, lemon, and lime. You only need a teaspoon or two of the zest. Slice up half of the orange, lemon, and lime and lay the slices in the bottom of your dish. Lay your chicken breasts on the citrus slices. Sprinkle your zest on top of your chicken then squeeze the left over lemon, lime, and orange over your chicken. Last night, my youngest called dibs on the left over orange so I only squeezed lemon and lime juice on the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until done.

Chicken and Linguine

Chicken and Linguine

This is a great recipe if you have kids who don't like a complicated flavor. It's light. It's simple. It's easy to throw together. You'll need:

4 boneless chicken breasts, diced

2 cups broccoli, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 Tbs butter

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 Parmesan cheese, grated

4 oz Linguine, cooked

Saute garlic in hot butter for about half a minute. Add chicken and broccoli. Saute until chicken is done, about three minutes. Stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for two minutes. Toss chicken mixture with Linguini and cheese. Sprinkle it with salt before serving to really bring out the flavor. Serves 4