Chicken Sausage and Apples with Rice Pilaf

I am always looking for new ways to get my daughter to eat protein. She's not much of a meat lover, but not enough of a vegetable lover to be a vegetarian.  Both of my kids love apples and if my daughter is going to eat meat, chicken or turkey are her first choice, so when we discovered a brand of chicken sausage in our local market called Sweet Apple with pure Vermont maple syrup, I thought it was a good chance to introduce something new. Neither of my kids cares for breakfast sausage or Italian sausage, so... I was taking a risk.  Luckily, and to my relief, they both liked it. So did my husband and I.

Another thing I am always looking for are meals to make ahead of time and freeze/reheat. That lead to the recipe below. I wasn't sure how the apples would take with being cooked, frozen and reheated, but they were fine. Probably because they aren't cooked very much to begin with.

If you've read other posts on my blog, you know my family has trouble agreeing on vegetables, so dishes like this, you'll almost never see any green veggies in.  We heat up individual ones on the side because we all like something different. But of course, you can add what you like to it, or you can do like we do if you have fussy eaters too.


Chicken Sausage and Apples with Rice Pilaf

1 package Chicken Sausage with Apples (4 links/12 oz)
1 package rice pilaf mix
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped/diced carrot
1/2 small apple, diced
2 - 3 tbsp. crushed walnuts
1 tsp butter (for rice mix)

1. Cook rice pilaf according to box directions, adding carrots
2. Slice sausages in half lengthwise and then into pieces, cook over medium heat in skillet
3. When sausages are almost cooked, add apples, walnuts, syrup and brown sugar to skillet, mix. 
4. Cook til sausages are done and apples are nicely glazed.
5. When rice is done, stir in sausage and apple mixture. Serve hot

If you plan to freeze, wait until the food is completely cool before you place in a freezer bag or container and put in freezer.  To serve after freezing: Thaw and reheat in oven at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes, or reheat in a skillet on stovetop.

As with many of my recipes, this is an easy recipe to adapt to the tastes of your family. You could use long grain and wild rice or even quinoa or couscous if you prefer. You could add more apple, or a variety of apples. You could add pecans instead of walnuts. You could add broccoli, or green beans with almonds.  You could even add cheese to the top. There are lots of ways to make this your own.

Enjoy!

Kerry's Chicken With Pasta - Easy and a Good Way To Sneak in Some Green Veggies!

Now anyone who knows me will tell you, I am no fan of green vegetables. I do not like them, Sam I Am.  I will force myself to eat canned green beans, but after 40 plus years of doing it just to please my mother, it is still forced. I do not like them.  That is the only green veggie I will eat.  However.... I have found a way to "sneak" baby spinach into a few of my recipes. My kids didn't know at first, then they protested, but once they realized they'd been eating it and enjoying it, they really didn't have a leg to stand on.

Here's the thing with spinach, it's like a sponge. It will absorb the flavors of what you are cooking, so if you use it in a recipe with a lot of herbs/seasonings, it won't taste like 'spinach'.  The other thing I do is I pulverize it in my food processor until it's an unrecognizable green paste.  I add it to meatballs, meatloaf, and this, now favorite family recipe.  It's broken down so much, you don't even know you're eating it, which, in my book, is a good thing :)

Also, with the spinach so pulverized, there's no way to  "pick it out!"

With this recipe, I also add sun dried tomatoes in the food processor with the spinach. I like tomato sauce and ketchup, hate tomatoes. It's a texture thing. But again, pulverized to a paste.... you get a hint of the sharp tang of the sundried tomato, but never a big bite of it, or the texture of the tomato. So, another bonus for me and my fussy kids.

This is also a recipe that you can tailor to meet the tastes of your family. It is so easy, super quick, can be made ahead of time, frozen, varied depending on what's in your pantry and easily zap some "add on" items for people who want certain things that aren't like by everyone.

For instance, you could cook peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc., separately, and let only those who want those items to mix them in after they've dished out their portion.  That's how we have to do it here at Picky Eater Central.

One of the reasons this is so easy is you can make it with convenience items. I buy bags of frozen, pre-cooked chicken to use. I try to keep a bag on hand as it's great for a lot of things.  You could also use a rotisserie chicken from your market deli - an especially good buy on their $5 days that most markets have. You couldn't buy that amount of chicken for $5 and it's already cooked. All you have to do is strip the chicken, which is pretty easy. The other convenience item is Land O' Lakes Sauté Express - which is AWESOME! Unfortunately, only 1 market near me carries it. I've asked my regular market again and again and they won't carry it. Annoys the heck out of me, but as long as I can get it, I'm happy. This is a fabulous product and I highly recommend you try it.  If you can't find it, you can try making your own (see below *).  Or you can try using Italian salad dressing.

Oh - and I always make a huge batch so we can freeze the leftovers for another meal on another day.

So - here we go! 

Kerry's Chicken and Pasta

1 Box corkscrew pasta
1 cup shredded carrots (you can use diced or sliced if you prefer)
Land O' Lakes Sauté Express Italian Herb
2 bags frozen chicken strips or diced ( I usually buy Tyson Grilled Strips)
1 can chick peas (aka garbanzo beans)
Approx 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
5 - 6 sun dried tomatoes in oil (adjust as you feel to taste and depending on size of tomatoes)

1. Boil the pasta according to directions on box.
2. I add the shredded carrots to the boiling pasta because I like the carrots thoroughly cooked. If you want them crispy, you can leave them out of the pan and add them in at the end.
3. In an electric skillet on 300 or large pan on med, place 3 cubes of the LOL Sauté Express.
4. Add the 2 bags of chicken. Cut up and extra large pieces.
5. In food processor add spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Puree until a smooth paste. Add to the chicken.
6. Drain the chick peas and add to the chicken.
7. When the pasta and carrots are cooked, drain and return to pan. Place remaining 3 cubes of Sauté Express in with the pasta and mix until melted and thoroughly combined. Add to the chicken mixture and combine.
8. Cover and continue to cook until chicken is hot all the way through.

You can freeze this for future meals. Just thaw and reheat in a skillet or frying pan.

There are so many things you can add/change to this. Sometimes I add pine nuts or a can of corn (the only vegetable all 4 of us can agree on! lol). But you could add water chestnuts, any kind of vegetable, use a different meat, or perhaps fish/shellfish.  You could use a different flavor variety of Sauté Express (Garlic and Herb, Lemon Pepper, Teriyaki, Southwest).  You could put it in a casserole and cover it with cheese.

You can also put all the ingredients into a ziplock bag and freeze to put in crockpot (just cook the pasta first and I'd suggest a couple of frozen cubes of chicken stock).

We made this and are having it tonight and the 2nd helping is going to a friend who is recovering from surgery. (Hope you and Bill and the kids like it Carol! :) )

So! Get creative! Think outside the box, use what you have on hand and think of ways to make it easy.


* Make your own herbed butter:

1 stick  butter (1/2 cup), softened

4 Tbsp olive oil

Herbs and spices of your choosing (approx. 2 Tbsp)

 

Mix together and place into plastic wrap. Roll into a log and then wrap up and refrigerate. Cut off slices as needed.

Chinese Chicken Wings Recipe

This is another recipe from my big sister. I love these wings. No, no. I mean I LOVE these wings. I could eat them until I made myself sick. Well, until I started to feel sick. But you know what I mean. She actually got asked to make these so often that she boycotted for awhile.

The key to this recipe is letting the wings marinate overnight.  The flavor is sooooo good.  It's a pretty simple recipe and you can use frozen or fresh chicken wings. I usually use frozen, unless there is a big deal on fresh wings.  But with frozen wings, you don't have the useless tips and the pieces are pre-cut.  Yes, you can leave the fresh ones whole. Nothing wrong with that. But it's nicer, IMO, to have them in more manageable pieces for a party. And you can easily double it, or even triple it, if needs be.

As you can see, the meat is falling right off the bones.

Ingredients:

5 lbs chicken wings
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup orange juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup molasses

Directions:

Place wings in a large baking pan (I usually use a foil one for easy clean up).  Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl and pour over the wings.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  You should try and give them a stir a couple of times to get them marinated evenly.

Bake, covered with foil, at 400 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.  Then drain off the excess liquid, remove foil, reduce heat to 350 and bake until wings are brown. (about another 45 minutes to an hour)

This is a recipe that's easy to reheat too, so you can make these ahead of time. You could even make them ahead of time, let them cool completely, and freeze them until you needed them.

These will be a big hit for your party!

Enjoy!

Coq Au Vin - Classic Chicken in Red Wine Recipe

(Originally posted on my main blog on 7/7/14)

Before we begin, this looks like a huge daunting recipe. Please - take my word for it - it is not nearly as difficult as it seems at a glance. In fact, after you've made it once, you'll want to make it all the time.  I promise, it's really quite easy.

I have been wanting to make this recipe for ages but thought it was too complicated. After recently finding the original The French Chef episodes on Amazon Prime and having a great time watching Julia Child make this recipe in her electric skillet, I decided I had to try it. I have such great memories of watching this show on PBS with my mom when I was very little.

Now, I absolutely hate mushrooms.  Hate them. Yes, I've tried them - again and again, various kinds prepared in various ways. But I hate them. Not just dislike - I hate them. Even the look of them grosses me out. But, my hubby loves mushrooms and even though neither of my children has ever liked mushrooms, there's always the chance that they might like them in this recipe. (they didn't, but they tried. My daughter did like the onions though)  So, I included the mushrooms. They are cut big enough to easily pick out, so if you have someone who is finicky like me, tell them to chill because you can pretty easily avoid dishing them onto their plate.

Unlike Julia's, I added carrots to my dish so I would have a veggie that I knew everyone would eat. I can say that I have never enjoyed carrots so much in my life! Next time, I'm adding a few more carrots.

A few other notes before we begin: You want chicken with skin on and bone in - the recipe needs to have the flavor you can only get from the skin and bone in slowly cooked dishes. I'm a big fan of boneless/skinless chicken breast, but this dish would not taste the same if you used that. 

This dish can be messy, especially for kids if they aren't used to eating bone in chicken. We took the chicken off of the bone and served each person a plate with chicken pieces, veggies and sauce over white rice (as pictured below).  We found that the dish cooled off very quickly. The next time we will remove the chicken, remove the skin and bones and put the chicken meat back into the pan the reheat a bit before serving to help keep it hot as long as possible.

This makes a lot of sauce. You may want to cook some extra chicken in a separate batch and perhaps a little extra veggies to put aside for a second meal or for lunches the next day. It's too good to waste.

I know this looks like it's hugely complex, but it's really not. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients or the directions. It's really not a hard dish at all. And it is SO yummy!

Cooking in the electric skillet

In the serving bowl

 

Served with rice, the chicken has been pulled off the bone

 

 

This recipe is adapted from Julia Child's.

 

Ingredients

3 to 4-ounce chunk lean bacon  (I used Irish bacon)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying chicken, cut into pieces  (I used 4 leg quarters)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for seasoning  (I used kosher salt)
1/8 teaspoon pepper, plus additional for seasoning
3 cups young, full-bodied red wine, such as Burgundy, Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, or Chianti

(I used Pinot Noir)

1 to 2 cups brown chicken stock, brown stock or canned beef bouillon (I used beef stock and beef consume)
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves  (I used several sprigs of fresh thyme)
1 bay leaf  (I used 2 fresh bay leaves)
12 to 24 Brown-Braised Onions, recipe follows (we're not big on onions so I used 12)
1/2 pound Sauteed Mushrooms, recipe follows (I used a little less)

Approx. 8 fresh carrots peeled and chopped to large pieces

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons softened butter
Fresh parsley leaves

 

Brown-Braised Onions:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
18 to 24 peeled white onions, about 1-inch in diameter (again, I used 12)
1/2 cup brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red wine, or water
Salt and pepper
Medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf and 1/4 teaspoon thyme tied in cheesecloth

(I tied the bouquet together in cooking twine)

 

 

Sauteed Mushrooms:

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large
1 to 2 tablespoons minced shallots or green onions, optional (I used shallots)
Salt and pepper

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4-inch across and 1-inch long).

 

In a heavy large heavy bottomed casserole or Dutch oven, saute the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned (temperature of 260 degrees F for an electric skillet). Remove to a side dish.

 

Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown it on each side in the hot fat in the casserole. (360 degrees F for the electric skillet.)

 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly (300 degrees F) for 5 minutes, turn the chicken, season the other side and cook for 5 more minutes.

 

Pour the wine into the casserole/skillet. Add just enough stock or bouillon to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and herb bouquet. Bring to a simmer.

 

Add carrots. Cover and simmer slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork.

 

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. (see directions below)

 

When the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken to a side dish.

 

Simmer the chicken cooking liquid in the casserole for 1 to 2 minutes, skimming off fat. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 1/4 cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat.

 

Blend the butter and flour together into a smooth paste (beurre manie). Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

 

Arrange the chicken in a casserole, place the mushrooms and onions around it and baste with the sauce.

 

If the dish is not to be served immediately, film the top of the sauce with stock or dot with small pieces of butter. Set aside uncovered for no longer than 1 hour or cool, cover and refrigerate until needed.

 

Shortly before serving, bring the casserole to a simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is heated through.

 

Serve from the casserole, or arrange on a hot platter. Decorate with sprigs of parsley.

 

DIRECTIONS - Brown-Braised Onions:

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and saute over moderate heat for 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

 

Pour in the stock, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 15 to 20 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet. Set aside.

 

DIRECTIONS - Sauteed Mushrooms:

Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms and finely chopped shallots. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes.

 

During their saute the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

 

Set aside with the onions until ready to add to rest of dish.