Chicken....two ways!

Since I seem to only update the blog about once a month, I figured I had better get on it since I am running out of time for October! It's been a hectic month, but more about that in another post (maybe!).

On Sunday I roasted a whole chicken which provided for a wonderful meal not only on Sunday evening, but also gave me enough leftover chicken to use later in the week in home-made chicken and noodle soup. Although the recipes came from two different sources, I am "pairing" them together in a cookbook so I can always use them around the same time (until we get to the point that a whole chicken is consumed by our family for one meal...but that is still a LONG way off!). Both meals were perfect for the cold weather we are now having in Wyoming...we just saw our first snowfall early this week!

Herbed Roast Chicken (ToH Magazine)
One 2-gallon resealable plastic bag
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbls butter, melted
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbls minced chives
1 Tbls dried parsley
1 Tbls dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1 roasting chicken (6 to 7lbs)

In the 2-gallon resealable plastic bag, combine the orange juice, oil, butter, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chives and seasonings. Add the chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight; turning occasionally. Drain and discard marinade. Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours or until a meal thermometer reads 180 degrees. Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Home-made Chicken and Noodle Soup (adapted from Mother's Best cookbook)

3 large containers of chicken stock

2 cups finely diced carrots (about 3 large, peeled)

2 cups diced celery (about 4 stalks, ends removed)

2 cups cooked chicken

1 pound egg noodles, cooked

1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish

Heat chicken stock in large pot over medium heat until stock comes to a simmer. Add carrots and celery, simmer for 8 minutes or until fork-tender (or cooked to your liking, we prefer ours a little softer). Add cooked chicken to stock with vegetables and heat until chicken is warm. Place cooked noodles in soup bowl, ladle the chicken soup over the noodles. Garnish with dill. Makes 6-8 servings. **Feel free to add additional seasonings of your choice to the soup if you are not starting with well seasoned chicken.

Mascarpone-Pesto Chicken Rolls

What's not to like about pesto, cheese (very creamy cheese at that!!), and chicken?!?

Mascarpone-Pesto Chicken Rolls
4 boneless skinless chicken halves
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 Mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1 egg
2 tsp water
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
8 tsp butter, melted, divided
8 oz uncooked fettuccine
fresh basil leaves, optional

Flatten chicken to 1/4-in thickness; sprinkle with garlic salt. Combine cheese and pesto; spread over chicken. Roll up each from a short side and secure with toothpicks. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and water. Place bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then coat with crumbs. Place seam side down in a greased 11x7-in baking dish. Drizzle with 4 tsp butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees. Discard toothpicks.

Meanwhile, cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain fettuccine; toss with remaining butter. Serve with chicken. Garnish with basil if desired. Serves 4.

Teriyaki Hens

I enjoy using cornish game hens as they are already perfectly portioned for you. The one drawback for me is that you really need to cook them with the skin on which means any seasoning I put on the skin usually gets discarded as I choose not to eat the skin. So, my biggest disappointment with this recipe is that I didn't get the full flavor of the sauce since it is brushed on the skin...I should have put some on the side in small bowls to use a dipping sauce...maybe next time....

Teriyaki Hens

2 Cornish game hens (about 1 1/2 lbs each), halved

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1 small red chile peppers, halved (remove seeds for less heat)

1 bunch scallions

1 grapefruit, halved

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Season the hens with salt and pepper and place skin-side up in a roasting pan. Roast until the skin is slightly crisp, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, ginger, 1 chile pepper and 1/4 cup water in a pot. Cut half of the scallions into large pieces, and zest and juice half of the grapefruit; add to the pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes. Brush the hens with a few tablespoons of the sauce and continue roasting until golden, about 8 more minutes. Serves 4.

White Chili

It doesn't seem appropriate to be posting, much less making a chili during the summer. In the 2 1/2 years I've lived in Wyoming, I've learned that summer is filled with 50 degree rainy days...which we just had a week of recently. So, although I typically reserve soups and chili recipes for the fall and winter months, I did make this White Chili last night. Warning - this soup is SPICY...and gets SPICIER the longer it sits (as in we couldn't even eat the leftovers!).

White Chili (ToH)
3 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 jar (15oz) Alfredo sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 cans (4oz each) chopped green chilies
1 1/2 cups frozen gold and white corn
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 small sweet yellow pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbls ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp white pepper
1 to 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salsa verde and chopped fresh cilantro, optional

In a 5 or 6-qt slow cooker, combine the first 15 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through, stirring once. Serve with salsa verde and cilantro if desired. Serves 12 (1 cup each).

Peru Com Bacon

My husband and I recently went to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Although we felt it was a bit pricey for what you got, the experience of servers coming to your table with meat on a stick and carving it off on to your plate is something we won't forget. One of our favorite meats of the night was bacon wrapped turkey bites. We've done something similar with chicken in the past, but we decided to give it a try with a different recipe using turkey. Anything wrapped in bacon is typically good!

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Bites
20 oz skinless boneless turkey breast
½ cup real maple syrup
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 lb package bacon (20 slices)

Cut up the turkey breast into big bite-size pieces about 1 oz each and toss them in a mixture of the maple syrup, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and cayenne. Wrap each piece in a slice of bacon, place on skewer, and grill them for about 15 minutes until cooked all the way through and the bacon is crispy on the edges. Serve immediately. (Can also be served as an appetizer by securing them with a toothpick and broiling them for 15 minutes or until cooked through.)