Tag Archives: Chicken/Turkey

The Best Oven Baked Chicken Breast

April 14, 2021

I’m still here! We’re back from a little spring break getaway to sunny AZ and during our trip I accidentally discovered this delicious new recipe I’m sharing today. We spent Easter Sunday in an Airbnb in Scottsdale and while I usually don’t cook on vacation, I made an exception for Easter. I was planning to keep it simple and ordered a ham for grocery pickup when we arrived the night before. But when I went to pick up my order they had run out of ham and gave me a massive pack of chicken breast instead. My in-laws came to the rescue and found a ham at another store but I still had all this chicken breast and didn’t want to throw it away. So I found a simple recipe that promised moist, tender baked chicken and I found *almost* everything I needed to make it in the rental kitchen cupboards. So I went for it. And guess what? It was some of THE BEST chicken breast we’ve ever had!

What makes this chicken special is the brine. Don’t skip it. It’s simple (unlike brining a whole turkey- I tried that for Thanksgiving last year and it was a mess!) and quick and makes the meat so much more tender, juicy, and flavorful. I’ve made this recipe twice now (the second time in my own kitchen so I could take some pics) and learned that it works fine with a short 30 min or longer 2 hr brine. Also, the spice rub is adaptable. My Airbnb didn’t have any dried herbs besides parsley. So I used some extra parsley and it was still great. The second time I used smoked paprika instead of sweet and all of the different herbs and that was delicious too.

The Best Oven Baked Chicken Breast

INGREDIENTS

4 (about 2 lbs.) boneless skinless chicken breasts (I like to slice mine in half for a bit smaller pieces)
4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup sea salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Spice Rub:
1/4 tsp. salt (optional- chicken will have absorbed some of the salt from the salted water)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika (sweet or smoked)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
pinch cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large bowl combine lukewarm water and salt; stir to dissolve and add chicken breasts. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes. You can also also cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  2. In the meantime, prepare the spice rub: In a small bowl stir to combine salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried basil, dried rosemary, and dried parsley, and cayenne.
  3. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  4. Pour out the salt water and rinse each chicken breast under cold water; pat dry with paper towels.
  5. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and rub the olive oil all over each chicken breast. Sprinkle spice rub evenly over the chicken breasts on all sides. You don’t have to use the entire seasoning blend; use as much as you like.
  6. Transfer to the oven and cook for 22 to 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Thinner breasts will need less time, thicker breasts might need a little more time in the oven. Start checking for doneness at the 20 minute mark.
  7. For a browned, crispy top, set your oven to broil on high for the final 4 minutes and broil the chicken until golden on top. (I skipped this step.)
  8. Remove from oven and let chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Serves 4-6.

(Adapted from Diethood)

Honey Cashew Chicken with Vegetables and Rice

December 10, 2020

I love this easy honey cashew chicken stir fry! It’s packed with veggies and has a tangy sweet sauce that you’ll want to scrape every last bit of from the pan to pour over rice. As for the kids- one really liked the chicken, one devoured her broccoli first, and the smallest one preferred the cashews and rice. But there’s something here for everyone!

Honey Cashew Chicken with Vegetables and Rice

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 cups broccoli florets (I lightly steam mine first so it’s not too crisp)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame (I used another cup of broccoli instead)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 cup dry-roasted cashews, unsalted (or use salted and decrease the salt in the recipe slightly)
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 1/2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
up to 1 Tbsp. Sriracha or another hot chile pasta (I used 1 tsp. Sambal Oelek for a medium kick, use 1/2 tsp. for mild)

steamed jasmine rice, for serving
green onions, sliced for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine chicken, cornstarch, and salt and pepper in a bowl; toss to coat.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola and sesame oils. Add chicken mixture, and sauté until just cooked through. Remove chicken from the skillet to a plate. Increase heat to high, and add broccoli and the next 4 ingredients (through red bell pepper). Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Stir in cashews and cooked chicken.
  3. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add vinegar mixture to chicken mixture; toss to coat. Bring to simmer and cook several minutes until sauce thickens. Sprinkle with green onions (optional) and serve with rice.

Serves 3 – 4.

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Chicken Shawarma Wraps with Garlic Tahini Sauce

November 25, 2020

My oldest daughter loves LOVES Mediterranean food. She eats a tub of hummus about every other day. Feta, olives, Greek salad, pita, tzatziki, Gyro meat, Chicken Shawarma and rice are all her favorites. And so we are always on the hunt for the best Greek/Mediterranean restaurants. There was a Gyro place near our last house (Quick Gyro in Mill Creek, WA if you’re local) that sold the yummiest Shawarma wraps and this recipe is my attempt at recreating them. Thanks to Tori’s Kitchen now I have a delicious, authentic-tasting version I can make at home!

These chicken shawarma wraps are stuffed with spiced chicken, creamy garlic tahini sauce, and a Greek salad mix of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, and parsley. And a pickle. I couldn’t find spicy Greek pickles so I used our favorite kosher dills from Trader Joes and sprinkled on some cayenne pepper for the heat (which is optional but recommended). I served the wraps with a simple Greek salad (the same mixture used in the wraps plus some olives, pepperoncini, bell pepper, and feta tossed in this Greek Vinaigrette), roasted cauliflower, and hummus and pita on the size.

Important Notes:

Please use both chicken breast and chicken thighs for tender, authentic tasting shawarma. The extra fat in the thighs helps the meat be more flavorful and crisp up in the skillet. It just won’t be as good with all breast meat.

The tahini sauce has a pretty strong flavor, so add it sparingly at first- you can always serve extra on the side. (I love it but my kids didn’t want near as much on their wraps.) Tzatziki is another option for the sauce. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks promising- I would go with full fat Greek yogurt though as that’s what most restaurants use.

And, of course, instead of in a wrap you can serve this chicken shawarma over a bed of yellow rice with the tahini (and/or tzatziki) and Greek salad alongside.

Chicken Shawarma Wraps with Garlic Tahini Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Chicken:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (~2 large breasts)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs (~4 large thighs)
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. allspice
3/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garlic Tahini Sauce:*
1 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3/4 cup lukewarm water + more to thin
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
2 tsp. freshly parsley, minced (optional)

Wraps:
6-8 large flour tortillas (burrito size)
romaine, shredded
cucumber, seeded and diced
tomato, diced
red onion, diced
fresh parsley, minced
dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise (or spicy Greek pickles if you can find them)
dash cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

*This makes much more sauce than you need for this recipe, so feel free to halve the sauce.

DIRECTIONS

To make the Chicken Shawarma:

  1. Slice the chicken breasts into 5-6 pieces each and the thighs into 3-4 pieces each. Place them in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the spices, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Pour the spice marinade over the chicken pieces. Stir with a spoon till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade.
  3. Cover the marinating dish with plastic wrap, or close the zipper bag. Place chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking oil. Place the chicken pieces on the sheet, evenly spaced.
  5. Place the chicken in the oven. Let it roast for about 15 minutes until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces once with tongs halfway through cooking.
  6. Take chicken out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the meat into small, thin shawarma-like pieces.
  7. Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium. Pour half of the chicken into the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes till the smallest pieces of chicken turn brown and crisp. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired (I found it did need some extra salt and pepper).
  8. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet. Heat another 1 Tbsp. of oil and saute the remaining chicken in the same way. Serve warm.

To make the Tahini Garlic Sauce:

  1. Grind tahini paste, lukewarm water, garlic, lemon juice and salt together in a food processor or blender until sauce is creamy and ivory-colored. A food processor is the easiest way to make this sauce; scrape the sides of the processor periodically during processing. If using a blender, you may need to use a long-handled spoon to break up the thick part of the sauce once every 30 seconds; this will keep it from clogging your blender blades. After a few minutes of blending, sauce will turn into a rich, smooth paste. If mixture is too thick, slowly add more water until it reaches the preferred consistency. You may need quite a bit of water depending on the thickness of your tahini paste. For these wraps, a thinner sauce is preferred. Adjust salt and lemon juice to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the wraps:

  1. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
  2. Spread a thin layer of garlic tahini sauce in the center of the tortillas. Cover tahini sauce with a generous amount of chicken shawarma and top with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and red onion. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley and top with several slices of pickle. Add a dash of cayenne pepper if you want some heat. Drizzle with a bit more tahini sauce and fold the ends in first, then the sides over top of the middle to close the wraps.
  3. For a crispier wrap, lightly coat the skillet/griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Place the wraps on the preheated pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the top and bottom are golden brown and the wraps are warmed throughout. Slice in half and serve (with extra garlic tahini sauce on the side, if desired).

Makes 6-8 wraps.

(Chicken Shawarma and Tahini Sauce adapted from Tori’s Kitchen)

Easy Indian Butter Chicken

November 10, 2020

I’m so excited to share this butter chicken recipe today! Dustin and I love Indian food but I never thought I’d be able to replicate our favorite Indian dishes at home- until this recipe! It’s just so so good. And easy.

Let’s talk about a few of the ingredients. You can use chicken breast and/or thighs here. Just be careful not to overcook chicken breast or it’ll be dry. The chili powder this recipe calls for pure ground chili, which I don’t have, so I used cayenne. I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper quite a bit (to be safe for kids) and found it still had a kick. Also, don’t try and make this dish too healthy. If you use low-fat substitutes it’s just not going to taste as good/like the real thing. Butter chicken actually doesn’t have as much butter in it as I expected but gets its richness from some heavy cream.

We had this butter chicken over basmati rice, with fresh cilantro and warm garlic naan for scooping up all that sauce. I also made a cucumber raita (which I’ll be posting right away) to serve alongside.

Easy Indian Butter Chicken

INGREDIENTS

Marinade:
1/2 cup plain full-fat yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. pure ground chili powder or cayenne pepper (I used 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper and it had a slight kick)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite size pieces (I used chicken breast)

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter or ghee
1 cup tomato puree
1 Tbsp. sugar
~1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. cornstarch + 1 Tbsp. water (to thicken, optional)

For Serving:
basmati rice
garlic naan
fresh chopped cilantro
cucumber raita (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Whisk together the marinade ingredients until smooth and then stir in the chicken until the chicken is thoroughly coated. Marinate for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat the butter/ghee over medium-high heat. Add the chicken (discard the extra marinade) and cook for a few minutes, then turn the chicken pieces so they cook on the other side. Add the tomato puree, sugar and salt and let simmer on low-heat for about 10-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked completely through. Stir in the whipping cream. If you want to thicken the sauce, whisk the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl or cup with a fork then pour into the sauce. Let the sauce come to a simmer again and cook for a minute or two to thicken, then adjust salt to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve with basmati rice, naan bread, and cucumber raita (optional).

Serves 4.

(Adapted from RecipeTin Eats via Everyday Reading)

The Best Marinated Grilled Chicken

November 4, 2020

I’ve tried a lot of chicken marinades in my 30-something years and for grilled chicken breast, this one is the best! We cooked it on the Traeger (I included instructions for regular and Traeger grills below) and it was incredibly tender, moist, and flavorful. Our family and guests loved it. Jenn at Once Upon a Chef said using the lemon zest, instead of the juice, is the secret to this recipe’s success. She said the acidic lemon juice can actually make the chicken tougher, while the zest imparts flavor without having that effect! All I know is that this is some delicious chicken. We served it alongside this Persian Tomato, Cucumber, and Pomegranate salad, roasted cauliflower, and smashed roasted potatoes.

The Best Marinated Grilled Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, from one lemon

DIRECTIONS

  1. One at a time, place the chicken breasts in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag; using a meat mallet, pound to an even ½-inch thickness. (Or instead of pounding, slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have two thin pieces.)
  2. Mix all of the ingredients except for the chicken together in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag (go ahead and use the same one you used for pounding if it is still in good shape). Add the chicken breasts to the bag and massage the marinade into the meat until evenly coated. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (the bowl protects against leakage); let the chicken marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Preheat the grill to high heat and oil the grates. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcook. (We cooked them on a Traeger grill at 450 until a temperature probe reached 165 F, which took 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the piece.) Transfer the chicken to a platter and serve.

Serves 6.

(Adapted from Once Upon a Chef)