Tuesday

It is a gray cold day here in Spokane. At work it was steady busy. I gift wrapped and dropped off my Tree of Sharing Gift. I ordered some handmade soaps from Nancy.

After work I went over to Target again and bought a gift card for one of M's co-workers. Then I stopped at Safeway again and bought the oil I forgot to buy yesterday. Stopped for a mocha and then came home.

Not much else going on, just putting stuff away and doing laundry and updating the blog.

Secret Ingredient Tuesday #3
Do you like trying new recipes? Are you always looking for something new to cook? Each Tuesday, a secret ingredient will be posted here. It is your mission to come up with 5 recipes that use that secret ingredient. Then feel free to browse through the other participant's blogs.

Today's Secret ingredient is Chicken. My recipes are as follows:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

4 boneless chiken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces

2 Tbsp oil

8-12 corn tortillas

1 Large can green enchilada sauce

1 small onion, diced

3 green onions diced

1 can black olives, sliced

3 Cups Cheddar Cheese, grated

Fry chicken pieces, tear tortillas in small pieces, layer ingredients starting with tortillas, sauce, meat, onions, olives and cheese. Keep making layers until all ingredients used. Top with cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chicken Marsala

/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon Essence

2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)

3/4 cup Marsala

1 cup chicken stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped chives, for garnish

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

This is the best fried chicken recipe I have found, since I cannot make chicken as good as my Mom's:

Ultimate Fried Chicken Recipe
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence


1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken, cut up into 10 pieces

Kosher salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne

Freshly ground black pepper

1 quart buttermilk

2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (recommended: Srirachi)

Peanut oil, for frying 1/4 bunch fresh thyme

3 big sprigs fresh rosemary

1/4 bunch fresh sage

1/2 head garlic, smashed, husk still attached

Lemon wedges, for serving

Put the chicken pieces into a large bowl. Cover the chicken with water by 1 inch; add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water used. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
In a large shallow platter, mix the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne until well blended; season generously with salt and pepper. In another platter combine the buttermilk and hot sauce with a fork and season with salt and pepper.
Drain the chicken and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces, a few at a time, in the flour mixture, then dip them into the buttermilk; dredge them again in the seasoned flour. Set aside and let the chicken rest while you prepare the oil.
Put about 3 inches of oil into a large deep pot; it should not come up more than half way. Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlic to the cool oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 to 365 degrees F on one of those clip-on deep-fry thermometers. The herbs and garlic will perfume the oil with their flavor as the oil comes up to temperature.
Once the oil has reached 350 to 365 degrees F, working in batches, carefully add the chicken pieces 3 or 4 at a time. Fry, turning the pieces once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes. Total cooking time should be about 30 minutes. When the chicken is done, take a big skimmer and remove the chicken pieces and herbs from the pot, shaking off as much oil as you can, and lay it on a tea towel or brown paper bag to soak up the oil. Sprinkle all over with more salt and a dusting of cracked black pepper. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Once all the chicken is fried, scatter the fried herbs and garlic over the top. Serve hot, with big lemon wedges.

Almond-Crusted Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Dried Apricots and Cherries

3/4
cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/4
cup dried apricots, cut into fine julienne
1
cup tawny port
1/2
cup water
salt and pepper
8 (6
ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/4 inch thick
1/4
cup flour
2
eggs, beaten
1/2
cup finely chopped whole blanched almonds or slivered almonds
1/2
cup dry breadcrumbs
2
tablespoons unsalted butter
2
tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2
tablespoons chopped shallots
1 1/2
cups whipping cream

In small bowl combine cherries, apricots, port and water.
Cover and set aside 6 hours or overnight.
Drain liquid into small saucepan.
Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons fruit onto center of each chicken piece.
Fold both sides over fruit to overlap, and secure with bamboo skewer or wooden picks.
Into three shallow bowls place flour, egg and almonds mixed with bread crumbs.
Thoroughly coat each filled chicken piece with flour, then egg, then almond mixture.
Place on plate in single layer; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In 12-inch skillet heat butter and oil over medium heat.
Pan-fry the chicken bundles, turning once, until well browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
Transfer to baking sheet and finish cooking in center of oven 8 to 10 minutes, being sure chicken juices run clear.
Meanwhile, add the shallots to the port mixture and reduce by half over medium-high heat.
At the same time, in another saucepan, reduce the cream by half.
Strain the port mixture into the reduced cream.
Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle hot sauce onto eight serving plates, dividing equally.
Remove skewers and place chicken on sauce.
Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Sweet And Sour Chicken With Oranges

***MANDARIN MARINADE***

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon shao hsing wine OR dry sherry

2 teaspoons cornstarch,

2 teaspoons vegetable oil ,

2/3 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts,

2 tablespoons oil,

1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts

1/3 cup sweet and sour sauce

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

11 ounces mandarin oranges -- drained

3 green onions -- cut into 2-inch slivers

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove skin from chicken and cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Place in the bowl with the marinade and set aside.

2. Place a wok or large skillet over high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides of pan.

3. Add chicken; stir-fry for 2 minutes or until chicken turns opaque.

4. Add water chestnuts, sweet and sour sauce and crushed red pepper; cook for 1 minute. Gently stir in half of the mandarin oranges and half of the green onions.

5. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with remaining mandarin oranges and green onions.

Please let me know if you find any of these recipes tempting. I am lookign forward to seeing other bloggers' recipes.