Chicken Marsala

Planning ahead can be really tough when you are busy.  Sometimes I get caught up in all the other tasks of the week that I can't be bothered with sitting down to write a menu for the week, plus a shopping list that I will probably forget or lose at home anyway.

This week, was just one of those weeks.  I came off a busy weekend and I needed to just live with using what was in my refrigerator and pantry.  I usually have chicken breast in the house, a few potatoes and an array of vegetables to chose from.  Since my mushrooms were at risk of biting the dust soon if not used, I decided to make chicken marsala....something I haven't made in ages.

What I liked about this was that it didn't dirty up a ton of my dishes, and I could do most of the work (pounding the chicken) while my daughter was sleeping.  Then, all I had to do was dredge in a seasoned flour mixture and saute.  Easy peasy.

Chicken Marsala

recipe by:  Cafe Coco

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

8 oz mushrooms

1/2 cup dry marsala wine

3 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

Serve with: mashed redskins, and hericot vert if you would like.

Directions:
Rinse chicken breasts, and pat dry.  Beat with a mallot in between sheets of plastic wrap until chicken breasts are 1/4" thick.

Mix flour, basil, salt and pepper together and spread on a large dish.  Dredge each chicken breast in flour on both sides, shaking off the excess.  Set aside.

Preheat a large skillet.  Add butter and oil.  Once pan is hot and butter is melted, add the chicken breasts. Cook until chicken is brown on one side (about 3-4 minutes).  Flip.  Cook for about 2 minutes, add mushrooms.  Cook for 2 minutes, then add marsala wine and stir mushrooms around.  Cover and simmer on medium for about 8-10 minutes.  Check on the chicken to see if it is done.  Pour sauce and mushrooms over the top of chicken.  Serve.

Grilled Chicken with Grilled Peaches and Chipotle Peach Sauce

It's amazing what 2 hours on the beach, ALONE, can do for you. For me, I was able to catch up on my Bon Appetit magazines. I don't think I've focused on a single thing for more than 10 minutes since I became a mom. So I made up for lost time....and salivated over every single thing I wanted to make. I was sure to make a mental note of everything I wanted to try.

This was one that caught my eye. Since my husband has been giving chicken the 'stink eye' lately, I was sure this would get the thumbs up.

I didn't really make any changes except for pair it with jasmine rice, and grilled zucchini (I halved my chicken breasts because they were large). Don't be discouraged if it looks too fancy. Fancy does not mean difficult. The dressing took about 5 minutes hands on time. I made it ahead of time so dinner prep was really simple. Start to finish, the meal took about 30 minutes.

For the recipe, click here!

Chicken Piccata

Lately, my husband hasn't been the biggest fan of chicken. I'm not sure what brought on this new aversion, but I personally love chicken.

I think chicken is one of the most versatile things to create a dish, plus it's an inexpensive purchase at the grocery store. Since I am all about easy these days, I took my inspiration from Ina Garten's Chicken Piccata.

To save myself time and stress I prepped the chicken ahead of time while little "G" took her nap. So when dinner time came along, my hands on time was very minimal--with exception of standing near the stove to flip the chicken.

I pretty much followed Ina's recipe to a "t" with exception of the white wine. We don't drink white wine (only red), so I couldn't see opening a full bottle of white when I knew for sure it would go bad. So I used vermouth instead. Let me tell you, vermouth has been my best friend lately (no...I'm not drinking it). I've been using it to substitute white wine in a ton of dishes and it's worked rather nicely. I also doubled the recipe for the sauce. There just didn't seem to be enough with her recipe.

I served it with baby roasted potatoes* and steamed baby carrots. Turns out, my husband loved it despite his new found dislike for chicken. The bonus: the dish is super easy...with ingredients I always have on hand plus it's pretty impressive looking!

For the recipe, click here!
Alterations: Use vermouth instead of white wine and double the sauce recipe. I also added capers to the sauce. I added chicken/poultry seasoning, salt/pepper, and parsley to the bread crumb mixture.

*The baby roasted potatoes I just washed, and put on a roasting pan with olive oil, salt/pepper and put in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.

Rosemary Chicken Burgers

I’ve been looking for some ‘healthier’ recipes for the summer season so when I saw Giada on the Food Network make these chicken rosemary burgers I was all over it like jam on toast.

I will say I ran into a bit of a problem-these are meant to be sticky—really sticky. But, when I halved the recipe, I failed to half the olive oil. Oops! So these were a sloppy mess and they didn’t quite stay together on the grill pan. Regardless, they were absolutely phenomenal and I will make these again. So if you are trying to cut out beef (did I really just say that??) these are the perfect alternative. I also used Smart Balance mayonnaise to cut back on some of the fat.

I paired these up with homemade buns (recipe from King Arthur). I make the dough in my breadmaker, then I pulled it out to shape the rolls, let I them rise, and then in the oven they go. From start to finish about 2 ½ -3 hours with about 10 minutes hands on time. Who knew making homemade rolls would be so amazing? Seriously…try these. You will never buy rolls again from the store!I added sliced peaches to the tops of the burgers for some added taste—amazing!!!

For the buns recipe, click here!

For the burger recipe, click here!

Chicken Pot Pie and a Quick Fix Meal, revisited

I know. I had promised to post this chicken pot pie last week when I posted my "Make ahead Meals" but for some reason, time has gotten the best of me.

I made two of these 'pie's' using a rotisserie chicken from the store (how easy is that?). We ate one for dinner and I save the other in the freezer for the following week.

I fashioned the pot pie after one my my favorite local restaurants, Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak, MI. Since they typically have a 2 hour wait on a Tuesday, I had to figure out my own way to get my pot pie fix. Although I have made pot pie for 10 years now, I think it's evolved as my my skills have grown in the kitchen. So far, this is my best yet.

I used fresh herbs to make this, which I think really makes a difference in flavor. My other trick: a demi-glace for the roux. These can sometimes be tough to find but if you have a nice specialty market nearby they are usually by all the stocks or even up at the meat counter.

The rest is history...

Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe by: Courtney Monigold

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon chicken glace (this just enhances the flavors like you wouldn’t believe, if you can’t find it, leave it out. You can find it by the chicken stocks or at the meat counters)
3 Fresh thyme sprigs (or ½ teaspoon dried)
1 bay leaf
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped into small pieces
3 tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped fine (or 1 teaspoon dry)
½ cup onion
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup peas (frozen)
¼ cup corn
1 ½ cup cooked chicken, I used a rotisserie bird
1 store bought puff pastry sheet, defrosted
Salt/pepper to taste
Olive oil

Directions:
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion and cook until it becomes translucent. Add carrots, celery, parsnip and a sprig of thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft. Then add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove thyme stem. Transfer to a large bowl.

To make the roux:
Clean out pot with paper towel. Put pot back on the stove. Add butter and let it melt (but be careful not to burn it). Add flour and stir constantly with a whisk over medium heat until combined and then add the chicken stock, whisking constantly. Add bay leaf and thyme. You can add the chicken glace here. Stir until thickened.  This can sometimes take about 5 minutes.  If you can’t get it to thicken, add cornstarch one teaspoon at a time. Remove bay leaf and thyme stem.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Assemble the pie:
Add roux mixture to the vegetables, add peas and corn, add cooked chicken and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add to a deep dish pie pan. Roll out puff pastry to fit the top of the pie pan then place over the top of the pie dish and press the edges down to seal it. Put pie dish on a baking sheet to catch any run over and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown.  Top with freshly chopped parsley and serve.

Tip: If you want the top to look ‘shiny’ brush an egg wash over the top with a pastry brush. Egg wash is one egg and either a little water or milk mixed together.  You can also use pie crust.  Just follow the cooking instructions for the pie crust.  I like to use Trader Joe's brand if I DO purchase from the store---it tastes homemade!