Chicken and Black Bean Casserole ☺

By AllRecipes.com

Published 09/23/2003

A spicy, wonderful Southwest casserole, adapted from an AllRecipes.com recipe.

2 Tbsps vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 green pepper, 1/2-inch dice
3/4 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast cut in 3/4-inch cubes
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 package (.75 oz) taco seasoning mix
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8.75 oz) can sweet corn, drained (reserve liquid)
1/2 c salsa
2 c (4 oz) shredded pepper jack (or cheddar) cheese
1-1/2 c crushed plain tortilla chips

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp oil and brown the onion about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the diced green pepper, and fry for another 4-5 minutes, until the pepper is bright green. Remove the vegetables to a bowl or plate and set aside.

Return the skillet to the burner and increase the heat to medium high. Add another tbsp of oil to the skillet. Sauté the chicken in oil until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Add garlic, taco seasoning, beans corn, salsa, and some of the reserved liquid from the corn. Add the onion mixture to the skillet. Cover skillet and simmer over medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Add more liquid if the mixture thickens too much.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Transfer chicken mixture to a 9 x 13-inch greased baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the cheese and the crushed tortilla chips. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Add the remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Prep Time: 25

Cook time: 20

Calories: 306 kcal

Totalcarbs: 19.9 g

Fat: 16.3 g

Protein: 21.7 g

Dietary fiber: 1.6 g

Sodium: 21.7 g

Cholesterol: 59 mg

Tags: main dish, casserole, potlucks

Chili Spice Rub ☺

By Happy, February 27, 2013.

This is a spice rub for roast chicken or pork ribs.

Yield: 3 Tbsp

Prep Time: 00:10

1 guajillo pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp kosher salt
2 large cloves garlic

In a spice grinder, grind together the guajillo pepper, cumin seeds, bay leaves, and cloves. Pulverize the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Mash the garlic with a garlic press. Mix everything together in a small bowl. For a roast chicken, place the rub under the chicken skin, next to the flesh. For ribs or roasts, rub directly on the meat.

Nutrition

Calories: 0
Sodium: 3500 mg

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

3 c chicken broth
1 c cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1-1/2 c pumpkin puree
2 T fish sauce
1 T Sriracha sauce (or other hot sauce)
4 oz narrow rice noodles
juice from 1/2 lime
cilantro leaves

Note: Whenever I bake a chicken, I make stock from the giblets, the picked over carcass, and any leftover pan drippings. I cover the detritus with cold water, add a bay leaf, a couple of allspice pods, two or three cloves, and a chopped onion. I bring it to a boil, and simmer it for an hour or more, then refrigerate it.

Combine the broth, chicken, pumpkin, fish sauce, and chili sauce in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, and add the rice noodles. Simmer for four minutes or until the noodles are tender. Stir in the lime juice. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Aunt Virgie's Chicken and Noodles

Beat together:
4 eggs
8 T whipping cream
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 t baking powder
1 c flour

Put 2-1/2 c flour in a large mixer bowl. Add the beaten mixture, and mix well with a dough hook. Turn out on a floured counter and put the mixing bowl over the dough. Let it rest for 10 - 20 minutes.

While the dough is resting, bring 3 qt of chicken broth to a boil in a large soup pot. Roll out fairly thin and cut into strips with a pizza cutter or a knife.

Heat the broth to a rolling boil, and add the noodles to the broth. After the noodles have cooked for 20 minutes or so, reduce to a simmer and cook for a couple of hours. While the broth is cooking, you can add carrots, celery, and chopped chicken.

After the noodles have cooked, you can either serve the soup, or you can refrigerate it. The soup is best if you let the noodles sit in the refrigerator for at least a day. To reheat, add additional chicken broth, and reheat slowly in a slow cooker, or over very low heat on the stove.

Thai Chicken Soup

2 c chicken broth (salt-free or regular)
2 t sugar
3 - 4 slices ginger root, peeled and matchsticked
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces
1 - 2 Thai chilis, cut into strips
1/4 t Thai chili pepper or cayenne pepper
1/2 c straw (or white) mushrooms, sliced
1 T fish sauce (optional, see note below)
1 c chicken (uncooked or cooked)
3 T fresh coriander leaves
juice from 1 lime

Bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the sugar, ginger, and kaffir leaves. Simmer for two minutes. Add the chilis, Thai chili pepper, mushrooms, fish sauce, and chicken. Simmer for three to four minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink, and completely cooked. Remove from the heat and add the coriander leaves and the lime juice. Serve immediately.

Note: if you do not use the fish sauce, you may want to add salt, especially if you are using unsalted broth.

Jerk Chicken

This recipe is adapted from one that was published on FoodJamaica.net.

2 bunches green onions
4 T soy sauce
1 T Salt (to taste)
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 t dried thyme, or 2 T fresh thyme
1/4 c allspice berries, ground
4 - 6 scotch bonnets or habañeros
1 - 2 inches ginger, cut into chunks
4-6 cloves of garlic
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender, and pulse, then blend until smooth.

Rub the paste between the chicken skin and the flesh, as well as the chicken cavity. Smoke over an indirect fire with wood chips for an hour, and finish barbecuing over a slow fire until the chicken is done.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the sauce:

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, pared and thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 large can tomatoes, pureed or crushed
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 t salt (or to taste)
1/2 t ground pepper (or to taste)
1 or 2 chilis, crushed
2 t dried basil
2 t dried oregano

Heat the oil over low-medium heat in a large soup pot. Saute the onions and garlic for three or four minutes, then add the green pepper, carrot, and celery. Cook, uncovered, until the vegetables soften and cook down. Stir occasionally to prevent the vegetables from scorching. The onions will caramelize a bit during the cooking.

Add the mushrooms to the vegetables, and cook for an additional three or four minutes. Add additional olive oil if the vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add the pureed and diced tomatoes and the spices. Heat to boiling, then adjust the heat so that the sauce simmers gently, but maintains the simmer. Cover and continue to cook on simmer while you prepare the meatballs.

For the meatballs

1 lb lean ground turkey or beef
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
1/4 t grated nutmeg
2 T olive oil for frying

Break up the ground meat in a large bowl. In a small bowl, soften the bread crumbs and milk. Pour the bread mixture over the meat. Break the egg over the meat and bread, and sprinkle the salt, pepper, and nutmeg over the mixture. With your hands, thoroughly mix the meat, bread crumbs, and egg together.

Break off tablespoonfuls of the meat mixture, and form into meatballs, and place on a plate prior to frying them. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and fry the meatballs for a couple of minutes, then turn them and fry an additional minute or two. Add the browned meatballs to the tomato sauce.

Continue to simmer the sauce over very low heat for another couple of hours, stirring it occasionally. Serve over spaghetti or other favorite pasta.

Chicken Paprika

1 large cooked chicken
4 T paprika
3 T cooking oil
2 onions sliced
2 green peppers, chopped
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 c chicken broth
salt and pepper
2 c sour cream
2 T cornstarch

Remove the chicken meat from the skin, bones, and carcass. (Save the skin and bones to make stock.) Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

In a dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the paprika and fry for a minute. Add the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. Fry for five minutes or so until the vegetables are soft. Stir occasionally.

Add the chicken and chicken broth. Cover the pot, and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with some of the cooking liquid. Slowly stir into the pot, and cook until the liquid is thickened. Remove the pot from the heat. Slowly stir in the sour cream. Serve over noodles or rice.

Chicken in a Pot

This recipe appeared in the Washington Post Food Section, Wednesday, March 18, 2009, Chef David Hagedorn. This is chicken at its very best. I love this fowl. I made a couple of changes, noted below.

4 - 5 lb chicken, reserve the gizzard packet
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
dried rosemary
6 medium cloves garlic, crushed
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, small dice
1 medium carrot, small dice
2 ribs celery, small dice
4 sprigs thyme
1 stem rosemary
1 bay leaf
homemade chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 t cornstarch
1 T cold water
Chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 275ºF. (The original recipe states 250ºF, but after my first experience with this recipe, that just seemed a little too low. 275º works quite well.)

Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Grind together 1 t kosher salt, 1/2 t peppercorns, 1/2 dried rosemary, and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Carefully insert some of the rub underneath the skin on the breast, being careful not to completely separate the skin from the breast. Season the rest of the chicken with the remaining rub. (This is my own rub, Chef Hagedorn is probably blanching at the thought of using something like this....) Tuck the chicken wing tips under the chicken.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or a (covered) roast pan over medium-high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the chicken, breast side down, and sear undisturbed for five minutes.

Using tongs, carefully turn the chicken over. Arrange the vegetables around the chicken. Cook for about five minutes, then add the herbs, remaining garlic, and chicken neck and gizzard, if desired.

Press a large piece of aluminum foil directly over the chicken. Cover the pot and bake for about 1-1/2 - 3 hours (or at least until the internal temperature of the thigh registers 155º).

Turn off the oven. Remove the chicken from the oven. Loosen the foil and remove the lid. Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Carve the chicken into ten pieces (see carving note, below). Put the pieces on a serving platter, and cover with the foil. Place the platter back in the turned-off oven.

Strain the pan juices into a measuring cup. Press the vegetables against the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the vegetables. Skim the fat from the liquid and discard. Add enough homemade broth, if needed, to the juices to make one cup liquid. Pour into a small saucepan. Add the lemon juice, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Mix the cornstarch with the cold water, and whisk into the boiling liquid. Stir until the sauce slightly thickens and is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the chicken, or serve at the table separately.

Carving Note: Hagedorn has a five-step method for carving the chicken. It's very easy:

1. Use a carving knife to cut through the skin between the thigh and the breast
2. Pop the thigh joint where it joins the bird, and cut through the skin to remove the leg and thigh
3. Cut through the joint separating the thigh and leg.
4. Separate the wings from the bird at the joint, and cut through the joint, leaving an ample amount of breast meat on the first joint. Cut off and discard the wingtips.
5. Remove each breast half from the carcass. (Begin slicing through the breast at the breastbone. You can then separate each breast half from the carcass.) Slice each piece in half.

Happy's Chicken Barbeque

4 large chicken thighs, skinned and boned
1 onion, chopped
olive oil
1 c red wine
salt
pepper
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 t oregano
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T barbeque sauce
1 T ketchup

Heat the olive oil in an iron skillet on medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook slowly until brown and carmelized. Remove from the skillet.

Add some more olive oil to the skillet, and raise the heat to medium-high. Place the thighs, skinned side down in the skillet. Salt and pepper to taste. Brown the meat each side for three or four minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the meat from the skillet. Put the skillet back on the heat, and deglaze with the wine. Add the onions and the meat back to the skillet. Add the crushed garlic. Sprinkle in the oregano. Turn the heat to very low, cover the skillet tightly, and cook very slowly for an hour or so, adding more liquid if necessary (but not too much!).

Set the skillet off the heat, and remove the meat from the skillet. Use a couple of forks to shred the thighs. Return the meat to skillet. Add the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, and barbeque sauce. Simmer for 15 or 20 minutes on low heat. Serve on hamburger buns, or any other way you like your barbeque.

Happy's Duck Pâté

Make this recipe the day after you roast a duck. Save the neck, giblets and the roasted carcass and make a rich duck stock to use in this recipe.

3 c shredded duck meat (neck, giblets, carcass)
2 eggs
2 T duck fat
1-1/2 c duck stock (brown stock)
1 c port
2/3 c breadcrumbs
1 t crushed peppercorns
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t dried sage

Combine 1 c stock and the port in a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat until the liquid is reduced to 1 c.

In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded meat, fat, bread crumbs. eggs, and spices. Adjust to your taste. If mixture appears dry, add some additional stock.

When the stock/port mixture is reduced, remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir into the duck mixture. The result should appear moist, but hold its shape.

Grease a quart covered baking dish. Scrape the duck mixture into the baking dish. Set the baking dish into a larger baking pan, and pour boiling water in the pan halfway up the side of the dish. Bake in a 300° oven for 1 hour.

Chicken a La Can Can

Aunt Virgie Lee

1 can (10-1/2 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
1 soup can of water
1 can (12 oz) boned chicken ~1-1/2 c
1-1/3 c Minute Rice
1 can French Fried Onions

Combine soups, water, and chicken. Add rice. Stir to mix. Bring quickly to a boil. Cover; reduce heat. Be sure it's Minute Rice - Simmer 7 minutes. Top with onions, heated according to the direction on the can, and it's ready.

Cornbread Dressing

1 box corn muffin mix
1 onion, chopped
2 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 c butter
1-1/2 c chopped, cooked necks and giblets
1 lb roasted, peeled chestnuts
1/4 c raisins
2 small potatoes, diced
2 apples, diced
1 t sage
1/2 t rosemary
1/2 t black pepper
salt, to taste
2 eggs
2 c stock

The night before: Prepare the corn muffin mix, but bake as cornbread. Cool, and break it up into very coarse crumbs. Cover and set aside. Roast and peel the chestnuts. Leave them in halves or quarters.

The day of: Put the cornbread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery. Fry until the onions begin to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the onion mixture to the cornbread crumbs. Add the meat, chestnuts, raisins, potatoes, and apples. Toss together. Add the seasonings, and adjust seasonings to taste.

Add the eggs and stock and toss until the mixture is moistened. If it is too dry, add milk, 1/4 c at a time, until it is the right consistency. Do not over mix or compact the dressing.

Grease a 9 x 13 backing dish, and heap the dressing in the dish, being careful not to compact it too much. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Chicken Casserole

1 pound package macaroni (uncooked)
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 cans mushroom soup (undiluted) (some prefer chicken soup)
1 small onion chopped
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
1/2 cup Velveeta cheese
2-1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 cup mushrooms

Mix ingredients togther in order given (may be mixed the night before). Bake 350° for one hour.

Lentils and Chicken

1-1/2 cups dried lentils
4 cups water
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 stick cinnamon
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup raisins
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 large chicken breast (uncooked), cut in 1-inch pieces
1 chicken sausage (1/4 lb) sliced (or mild Italian)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup red or white wine (and a glass for the cook)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

Rinse the lentils, and put in a large soup pot. Add the water, turmeric, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, then boil over low heat. Check the pot from time to time. You may need to add more water.

While the lentils are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat, then toast the cumin and fennel seeds. In a grinder, grind together the toasted seeds, fenugreek, coriander, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes. Add the ground spices and the chili powder to the lentils.

In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onions and fry the onions until they are soft and slightly browned. Remove from the heat. Add the onions, salt, raisins, and cider vinegar to the lentils. Turn the heat down to very low heat. Most of the liquid should be absorbed. You may need to add some water to keep the lentils from sticking to the soup pot.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the cut-up chicken breast and the sliced sausage, and brown the meat. Just when the chicken breast loses its pink color, add the soy sauce and wine, turn the heat to low, cover the skillet, and leave on the heat for about a minute. Add the chicken, sausage, with their liquid to the lentils. Add the thinly sliced garlic.

Let the lentils sit for a few minutes, and serve in bowls as a very thick soup, or over rice.