Cinnamon Stewed Chicken

I have mentioned before that I am loving all things cinnamon these days, so when I saw Cat Cora make this cinnamon stewed chicken on tv a few weeks ago I knew I had to try it.  I love greek food anyway and it looked so good and I knew Randal would like it.  I did add in some cherry tomatoes just because I had some in the fridge I needed to use, but this chicken stew lived up to my expectations and was delicious.  We will definitely be making this again soon!

8 chicken thighs
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups water
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp oregano
1 cup cherry tomatoes

Dry the chicken with paper towels.  Mix the cinnamon, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl and rub the chicken pieces on all sides with the mixture.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan.  Brown the chicken thighs on each side, remove from pan and set aside.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan, cook for around 3 minutes, until onions are softened.  Add the wine and cook for a minute, add in the water, tomato paste, cherry tomatoes, oregano and the browned chicken.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Jalapeno Popper Pasta

This recipe was my other choice for this months secret recipe club.  My assigned blog was Amy's Cooking Adventure and while I ended up going with the champagne cupcakes I still went ahead and made this jalapeno popper pasta as Randal really wanted to try it.  I couldn't find jalapeno cream cheese in the store, so I used plain cream cheese and added a diced fresh jalapeno to it. 

12 oz cooked pasta
3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1/2 lb bacon, diced
8 oz cream cheese
1 large jalapeno, diced
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup panko

Preheat oven to 350.

Fry the bacon until crisp, set aside.  Add the onion to the pan with the bacon fat and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add in the cream cheese and jalapeno and stir until the cream cheese softens.

Whisk the milk into the pan, add one cup of the cheese and stir until melted.

Place the chicken and pasta into a baking dish.  Pour the cream cheese sauce into the pan.  Top with the remaining cheese and panko.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

Time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal.  This month I was assigned the blog Tasty Cheapskate, a really interesting blog with lots of yummy recipes.

I had seen a simple crock pot chicken curry floating around pinterest and some other blogs I read and had put that recipe on my list to try,  so when I saw almost the same curry recipe on my assigned blog I knew that this had to be my chosen recipe.  I changed the recipe just a little by adding carrots as that is what I had seen in other recipes, but this turned out to be an easy and delicious meal.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
15 oz tomato sauce
2 tbsp curry powder (I used Penzeys sweet curry)
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice

Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt, cayenne, onion and carrots to the crockpot.  Stir together, then add the chicken, turning to coat in the sauce.

Cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir in the lemon juice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Greek Yogurt Chicken

I found this chicken recipe on pinterest, but I think I read that it is originally a weight watchers recipe.  I was already planning on making some greek lemon potatoes but I wasn't sure what to make with them, but as soon as I saw the picture for this recipe I knew I had to try it.

This is a really simple meal to make, but very flavourful.  You simple marinate the chicken in yogurt and herbs and then bake.

 

2 lbs chicken thighs

1 cup plain greek yogurt

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbsp oregano

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, garlic, parsley, oregano and lemon juice and zest.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the yogurt mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.

Place the chicken in a large baking pan and cook for 45 minutes,, or until chicken is cooked through.

 

Jambalaya

Time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal.  This month I was assigned the blog close to home.  I love getting my assignment each month, and getting to look through all the recipes on that blog.  The first thing I noticed about this blog was how nice and bright the pictures are.  I really need to improve the pictures on my blog, but I need a new camera first!

One of the first recipes I found ended up being the one I went back to and decided to make.  I have never made jambalaya before, and it seemed seasonally appropriate and Randal very much wanted to try it, and I am very glad that we ended up loving it as it made a huge amount and we were eating it for days!

8 chicken thighs
1 lb sausage
1/2 lb shrimp
1 onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 cups diced celery
3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno, minced
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
5 cups chicken stock
3 cups rice
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped spring onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in a large pan, add sausage and cook until browned, around 8 minutes. Remove sausage and add chicken thighs and cook for 5 minutes per side to brown them.  Remove from pan.

Add the butter, followed by the onion, celery and bell peppers to the pan.  Cook for 10 minutes, until softened.  Add the canned tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, tomato paste, oregano, thyme and cajun seasoning.  Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.  Add the rice, salt and pepper, bay leaves and the chicken and sausage.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Add in the shrimp and cook for 5 more minutes, before mixing in the spring onion, parsley and lemon juice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups

Finally the last of the Valentines appetizers I made this year.  I think it was a few years ago that I made Vietnamese chicken lettuce cups, and as we loved those so much I wanted to try a new lettuce cup recipe this year.  I found this recipe over at Sonis Food.  I knew we would like these as we love red curry and coconut milk and they were a fun appetizer to try.

1 lb ground Chicken
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup mixed bell peppers, diced
1/4 cup frozen green beans
1 tbsp red curry paste
1/4 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan.  Add the onion and cook for a few minutes.  Add the garlic, ginger and curry paste and cook for a minute, add in the ground chicken and cook through.

Add in the bell peppers, green beans and season with salt and pepper.  Mix in the coconut milk and spoon into lettuce cups.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Crescent Rolls

These chicken rolls were the reason I made the batch of homemade chicken strips .  I used the jumbo sized crescent rolls, as my chicken strips were huge.  These are really simple, but very good.

1 can of jumbo crescent rolls
chicken strips
ham slices
swiss cheese slices
honey mustard

Preheat the oven to 375

Unroll the crescents and separate into triangles.  Spread a thin layer of honey mustard on the crescent roll, add a slice of swiss cheese, a slice of ham and a chicken strip.  Roll up and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve with additional honey mustard.

Mini Chicken and Waffles

As I already had made a lot of these chicken strips  for another appetizer for our valentines dinner, I decided to just make these mini chicken and waffle bites with the remaining strips.  This barely qualifies as a recipe but they were cute and tasted good so I am posting these along with all the other appetizers I made.

Chicken strips
Frozen mini waffles
Maple syrup

I made my own chicken strips, the recipe is linked above, however to make these even easier you of course could use frozen chicken strips that you bake.

Toast the mini waffles and cut the chicken to fit and sandwich between 2 mini waffle, and hold together with a toothpick.  Drizzle with maple syrup.

Chicken Strips

I needed chicken strips for an appetizer I was making for Valentines day, and after emptying the freezer and only finding a bag of dinosaur chicken nuggets that the daycare kids eat, I figured I had better make some myself.

I decided on a Pioneer Woman recipe, mostly because it was the first one I looked at and I had a lot to do for Valentines day and I liked that she drizzled buttermilk into the flour to create extra crunchy bits on the chicken.

1 package of chicken tenders
Buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp seasoned salt
vegetable oil for frying

Place chicken in a large bowl and cover with buttermilk.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the flour and the seasoned salt.  Drizzle in about a half cup of buttermilk, mixing with a fork to create clumps in the flour.

Coat the chicken strips in the flour and fry in the hot oil until golden and crispy on both sides.

Mango Curry Chicken Wings

I have never made chicken wings before, but these mango wings from The Tasty Fork seemed like the perfect recipe to try for my first attempt, as both Randal and I love curry and mango chutney. 

These wings are a little hot from the curry, a little sweet from the chutney and we both enjoyed these and would definitely make them again.

2 lbs chicken wings
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp curry powder (I used Penzey's sweet curry)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp hot sauce
4 tbsp mango chutney
4 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 500.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, curry powder and salt.  Toss the chicken wings in the flour mixture then place on the prepared baking sheet.  Spray the wings with the non stick spray.  Bake for 40 minutes, turning the wings half way.

In a small pan, combine the butter, hot sauce and mango chutney. Heat until the butter has melted and the sauce is blended. 

Place the wings into a large bowl, add the sauce and toss to coat.

Tamarind Chicken

Randal has been really wanted to try and make something with a tamarind marinade or sauce. I don't know if they still have it as we haven't been there for a long time, but the melting pot used to have a tamarind sauce that Randal just loves, so when we were at the British Isles store recently he actually found a jar of tamarind chutney, and immediately said we had to make something with it and decided that chicken thighs would be great and we really did both enjoy them.

8 bone in chicken thighs
1/2 cup tamarind chutney
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp five spice
1 tsp ginger

Mix the chutney, ketchup, sugar, five spice and ginger together.  Pour over the chicken thighs, refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400

Remove chicken from the marinade, place on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Piri Piri Chicken

Piri Piri chicken is really popular in England and you can find that flavour in everything from ham to hummus in English supermarkets, not so much here in the states though. I really don't know why I have never tried to make it myself before, as it was so easy to make and so good.

6 chicken thighs
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 red onion
1 orange
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried coriander leaf
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix together the chopped bell peppers and chopped red onion with the ground coriander and a tablespoon of oil, place in a large baking dish.

Mix the coriander leaf, red chili flakes, garlic powder, paprika, lemon pepper and salt with the remaining oil and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Add the chicken and coat evenly, place on top of the vegetables.

Cut the orange into wedges and squeeze over the chicken then place in the baking dish.  Cook for 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

 

Jalapeno Chicken Bombs

I have seen different variations of these chicken bombs, I decided to keep them really simple with just cream cheese in the jalapenos as that's what Randal would prefer.  We both really loved these and will definitely make them again. 

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 jalapenos
8 slices bacon
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup bbq sauce (we used stonewall kitchen honey bbq sauce)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Lay the chicken thighs out flat and pound to flatten them, season with salt and pepper. 

Cut the jalapenos in half and scrape out the seeds.  Fill each jalapeno with cream cheese and place a half onto each chicken thigh.  Roll up the chicken and wrap each thigh with 2 slices of bacon.  Bake for 20 minutes, turn the heat to 400 and cover with the bbq sauce and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos

Last week I got some ready to cook tortillas from HEB, and so went looking for recipes to use them. I have never made taquitos before but these ones from Damn Delicious looked really good.  Randal and I loved them, although we both agreed that next time we would either use less cheese or none at all and just keep the pineapple bbq sauce and chicken.

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup diced pineapple
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup bbq sauce
8 flour tortillas
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat olive oil in a small frying pan.  Add the red onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl mix together the chicken, cheese, pineapple, red onion, bbq sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Place a 1/4 cup of filling onto each tortilla, roll the tortilla up and place on a baking sheet. Bake the taquitos for 15 minutes.

Coconut Lime Chicken

I found this recipe over at Menu Musings.  We both really enjoyed this chicken, it was so quick and easy to make and Randal took the leftovers for lunch and he said it was even better then next day.

1 pack of thin chicken breast slices 
3 tbsp  oil
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp curry powder (I used the Penzeys sweet curry)
1 can coconut milk
1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place the chicken in a large zip lock bag. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, coconut milk, lime zest, lime juice, curry powder, cumin, sugar, soy sauce and salt.  Pour half of the marinade onto the chicken, refrigerate the chicken for around 2 hours.

When ready to cook, pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and simmer while the chicken is grilling.

Grill chicken around 6-8 minutes per side, until cooked through.  To serve pour the sauce over the chicken and top with the pepper slices and cilantro.

Curried Chicken Crepes

I love crepes (or pancakes as we call them back home) but I mostly eat them covered in lemon and sugar, but this recipe from Exclusively Food looked so good I had to try it and we both loved these and would definitely make these again.

  

Crepes:

2 large eggs

1/2 cup plain flour

3/4 cup milk

 

For the filling:

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1/2 cup cream of chicken soup

3 tbsp. sour cream

2 tsp curry powder

1/4 cup diced onion

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/3 cup heavy cream

 

To make the crepes - In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together, add in the flour and milk and whisk until smooth.  Let stand for 30 minutes.

 

Lightly grease a small frying pan and over medium heat add about 2 tablespoons of the batter and swirl around the pan, cook until the bottom is lightly browned and then flip the crepe and cook until the other side starts to brown.  Place the cooked crepe on a plate and continue cooking the rest of the crepes.

 

To make the filling - Stir the soup, curry powder, lemon juice, diced onion and sour cream together. Add in the chicken and season with salt and pepper.

 

Place about 1/4 cup of the filling onto the bottom half of each crepe.  Roll up each crepe and place them seam side down in a baking dish.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese and pour over the heavy cream.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350.





Chicken Parm Meatballs

This recipe from Dinner: A Love Story is one of the best dinners we have had in a while.  The original recipe for these meatballs used ground chicken, however my new favourite thing when making chicken meatballs is to use chicken thighs and grind them up in the food processor, making them this way always makes for incredibly moist and tender meatballs.  I also added more herbs and seasoning than the original recipe as Randal and I tend to like heavily seasoned food.  I cannot say enough good things about these chicken parm meatballs though, Randal even wanted me to try some rolled in panko before baking and those were delicious also.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 egg, whisked
Zest of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Marinara sauce
Sliced mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400

In a food processor, pulse the chicken until coarsely ground then transfer to a bowl.  Mix in the onion, parsley, garlic, fennel seeds, parmesan, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and salt and pepper. 

Shape into balls, place onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and spoon on some of the marinara sauce and top with mozzarella.  Cook for another 5 minutes, to melt the cheese.

Linked to: A Pinch of Joy, This Gal Cooks,

Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs in Lettuce Wraps

These chicken meatballs from food and wine, were absolutely my favourite out of all the things I made.  I have never made meatballs with chicken thighs before, but they were so moist that I will definitely be making them this way again.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3 small shallots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 stalk of fresh lemongrass, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint, plus leaves for serving

1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated

Cucumber slices

1 small red onion, halved and sliced

Asian chili sauce, for serving

 

Preheat the oven to 400

 

In a food processor, pulse the chicken until coarsely ground then transfer to a bowl. Add the fish sauce, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, mint, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix together.

 

Place the sugar on a plate.  Roll the chicken mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls.  Roll the meatballs in the sugar until they are evenly coated. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned.

 

Place the meatballs into the lettuce cups, top with red onion, fresh mint and cucumber slices.  Serve with chili sauce.

As this was the last of the Valentine's appetizer recipes, here's everything all together.  We also has coronation chicken vol au vents, mini beef wellingtons and steak phyllo cups.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Chicken Bites

Another of our valentine's appetizers. Last year I made honey glazed chicken bites, so this year I wanted to try something new.  Randal loves the cream cheese and jalapeno combination, so I added those to some chicken tenders and bacon, so good!

8 chicken tenders, flattened and cut in two
3 oz softened cream cheese
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
8 slices bacon, cut in half

Preheat oven to 425

Place about half a teaspoon of cream cheese on top of each chicken piece. Sprinkle with some of the chopped jalapeno, roll up the chicken and wrap a piece of bacon around each one.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Sweetfire Chicken

Randal loves the sweetfire chicken from Panda Express, so I found a similar recipe online and wanted to see if Randal would like it. I was really concerned that this was going to be too spicy when I was making it, but once it was all put together it wasn't that hot at all.

1 lb chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
3/4cup cornstarch
1 red jalapeno, diced
12 oz pineapple chunks, undrained
1/3 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Dip chicken in beaten egg, then roll in cornstarch. Fry chicken chunks until golden brown in vegetable oil, set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil over high heat, add the jalapeno and pineapple chunks and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the chili sauce and cook for another few minutes.  Add the chicken chunks to the sauce, leave to cook for just a few minutes to make sure the chicken is heated through, serve with rice.