Poultry

Crockpot Onion Chicken


This is an easy, delicious recipe! Caitlyn Warren


4 Chicken breasts Frozen (we use Costco frozen ones)
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 packet Lipton Onion Soup mix
1/2 onion, diced
Salt & Pepper

Saute onion in 1TB vegetable oil, olive oil or butter until partially cooked. Place Chicken breasts in bottom of Crock Pot, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Mix the 3 soups together and pour over chicken. Sprinkle the Onion Soup Mix over the soup mix (use only half the packet if you desire). Top with the 1/2 onion sauteed.
Cook on high for 2.5 hrs (if your chicken is frozen). Probably will take less time if not frozen!

NOTE: Can add more chicken breasts without increasing the soup (1-2) as long as your crock pot can fit it all. Enjoy.


Chicken Piccata

Following two recipes courtesy of Kristin Bonarigo!  Check out her post 1/29/2011. 

2 chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 extra large egg

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

olive oil

3T unsalted butter

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons), lemon halves reserved

1/2 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken between 2 sheets of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in shallow plate. Beat egg in second plate, and place breadcrumbs in third plate. Dip chicken in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

Heat 2 T. olive oil in large skillet over medium low heat, add chicken and cook 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place on sheet pan and bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 T. of the butter, then add the lemon juice, wine, and reserved lemon halves, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Boil over high heat until it reduces about half, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 T butter and swirl to combine. Discard lemon halves and serve chicken with sauce.

Garlic Basil Pasta

(from Cooking Light)

2 oz. uncooked angel hair pasta

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. minced garlic (I used about a tablespoon)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 T. chopped fresh basil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 2 T. of pasta water. Combine pasta water and sauce ingredients, toss in pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie


After making this recipe from various cookbooks I settled into a rhythm and its a wonderful thing!
Prep Time: 30 mins   Cook Time: 20 mins   Servings: 4

2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cups of chicken broth
3/4 cup of light cream or half-and-half
1/2 cup flour
4 TB butter, divided
salt and pepper
nutmeg (optional but highly recommended)
2 TB dry sherry (optional but highly recommended)
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cup to 1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
1 onion, diced
2 TB chopped fresh parsley
Quick rolls (we use the Pillsbury flaky layers type)


1. Preheat oven according to your quick rolls. Make sure you have a lower rack in the oven.
2. Melt 2 TB of butter over medium heat and slowly whisk in the flour.  Once combined, slowly add the chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer.
3. Add the cream slowly, breaking up any chunks that may appear.  Once combined, add the chicken, salt & pepper, and nutmeg/sherry if you so desire.  Check taste and turn down the heat to keep warm.
4. Melt the remaining butter in a sauce pan.  Saute the carrots, onion, and celery until soft.  Add the peas and parsley and mix into the chicken mixture.
5.  Pour into an 8X8 or 9X9 pan.  Top with the quick rolls and place the pan on a lower rack.  Follow the directions on the quick rolls and bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

NOTES:
We have always found that using a Bourbon or other "flavor" rotisserie yields a more flavorful pot pie.  But you can season as you go along.  We made a chicken using the below recipe and it worked just fine in pot pie.  Though this last time I stuffed the bird with apples, onions, and lemons and put lemons under the skin as well so there was more of a citrus feel to the pot pie.




Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

If the grocery store could match the moistness of this chicken I wouldn't bother.  But until then!
Prep Time: 5 mins  Cook Time: 5-6 hours

6 lb roasting chicken
olive oil
sea salt rub of your choice

Make four or five balls of tin foil and place them in a well oiled crockpot.  Prep the chicken according to the directions on the package.  (Basically remove the insides, wash inside and out, then pat dry.)  Rub the chicken over with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with seasonings.  Place breast side up in the crockpot, on top of the foil balls, and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.  DO NOT LIFT LID!

NOTES:
First, I used a chicken-in-broth with a pop-up timer already in it.  It was my first time working with a whole chicken and they were on sale so mine only cost $5.  Brilliant.  I used a herb de Provence sea salt from William Sonoma on my chicken and I did stuff it with a low-sodium chicken stuffing. Next time I would either use more seasoning or find a way to get it under the skin.  Hubby likes a more seasoned bird though I thought it was fabulous.

LEFT OVERS!!
1. After having a traditional meal of chicken, gravy (made from the fat that will collect at the bottom of the crockpot and a little milk/flour combo) and stuffing, I clean all the meat off the chicken.  This will be made into pot pie using the above recipe.
2. The carcass, awful though it may be, was thrown into a pot with eight cups of water, three celery stalks with leaves, four carrots, an onion, two bay leaves, and some seasoning to simmer for three hours.  This made a beautiful chicken stock! I simply put two layers of cheese cloth over a colander in a large bowl to strain it.  Then I put the broth in the fridge overnight and in the morning skimmed the hardened fat off the top.  It ended up making six cups of broth.  Some of which went into the pot pie and the rest is frozen for later.
3. AND, I picked through the strained materials to gather the celery, carrots, and meat.  Gross, gross, gross and not for the faint of heart.  I took that and a little of the broth, added a head of steamed broccoli and made baby food.  It is probably a stage 2 or 3 baby food but it is definitely gourmet!