Lemongrass Chicken

This isn't a recipe, per say, but a documentation of one delicious dinner i whipped up the other night using herbs from my gardens
Lemongrass Chicken:

• Chicken Breast (could use any chicken parts, really)
• 1-2 stalks fresh lemongrass, outer 'grassy' layers removed, chopped, pounded in mortar and pestle
• 1-2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
• 3 cloves garlic, or garlic paste
• Several hatch chilly peppers, roasted and diced
• Bunch multiplying onion greens, or chives
• Chicken stock
• Sesame and coconut oils
• Pinch coconut curry powder
• 1/2 T Turmeric
• Dash Cumin

Put a dollup of coconut oil and drizzle of toasted sesame oil in a pan on med/high heat. Add turmeric and curry powder, lemongrass and kaffir leaves. Sizzle for a bit then drop in chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper and cumin.  Let one side of chicken breast develop a nice sear, then flip and add the rest of the ingredients and cover with lid. I slathered the top of the chicken breast with garlic paste before flipping. Stir occasionally and add more chicken stock as needed. Be sure chicken is cooked to at least 165 degrees. You may wish to dice the chicken before sauteeing. I like to leave the breast whole, trapping the juices inside THEN cutting into chunks.

I served mind with some quinoa that i cooked with chicken stock and another frond of lemongrass.
Let's hope my lemongrass and kaffirs make it through the freeze. I have a feeling the lemongrass will not - i'll just have to cook it all!

Chicken and Rice Casserole, a la Miranda

What's more homey sounding than chicken and rice casserole? It's the classic housewife, prepare ahead, easy to cook, low fuss, ready to eat when you get back from church meal. It's also my Gramma Vivian's specialty. This is NOT my gramma's casserole!

I did some research, found some recipes i liked to get the cooking time and temperature figured out, then did some serious 'flare' adding. I used ripe ingredients from the garden, and spices and herbs that suit our pallete. I served it his and hers style - his on a big plate with a breast of chicken and lots of rice, hers on a little plate with chicken and a little rice. Delicious! And even better, SO EASY! Which is a good thing when you have a new puppy laying around looking so freakin' cute you couldn't possibly spend too much time cooking.
The ingredients were chopped and prepped in about the time the oven took to preheat.

• 1 cup rice, i used saffron
• 3 medium sized chicken breasts
• 3 small hot peppers
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Sprig lemon thyme
• 2 bay laves
• Pinch dried basil and oregano
• 1 pint turkey stock (about 9 ounces of very rich stock/gelatin plus white wine and water to fill the pint or cup)
• 2 cups water
• Seasonings: allspice, salt, pepper, turmeric, smoked paprika

Place the rice in a casserole dish. Sprinkle chopped veggies evenly on top. Coat chicken on both sides with remaining seasonings, place on top of rice and cover all with the liquid. Cover well with foil and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes up to 1.5 hours, until it's all bubbly and the rice is cooked and chicken is up to temp: 180.

Serve with a side of something green for a more complete meal. Peas would be great, or green beans. My stupid green bean plants aren't giving me any fruit though, so this is all we got. Very tasty, and great leftover too.

Cheese added as a bonus :)
What's your favorite easy meal?

Broccoli and Chicken with Pesto Sauce

HOLY cow, this was good. I had a feeling it would be, but man it sure panned out to exceed expectations.
A broccoli floret was ready to harvest and we still have plenty of pesto in the freezer, so i planned to put those two together. On a trip into the market for frozen peas i noticed whole chickens were on sale. I bought one and chopped it apart and skinned it (ew). The breasts were chopped and placed in the fridge, legs, wings, and body de-fatted and skinned and placed separately in the fridge to become chicken soup / craftable bones later. Apologies for the not so artful photo of the final product, i was already sitting down and asked the husband to photo his bowl.

Makes a perfect two portions with a little leftover for lunch, if you can stand not having seconds.

• 2 not huge chicken breasts cut into 1 inchish cubes
• about 1 1/2 cup of spicy pesto/turkey broth plus 1 T whey
• 2 hot chillies, i used habaneros from the garden
• 1 onion, diced
• pinch chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 broccoli floret with 3 leaves, chopped to even sizes including the stem
• Mirin (rice wine) or sherry or white wine

Saute the onions, peppers and garlic with a splash of water, salt and pepper, over med/high heat and covered until getting soft.

Add the chopped chicken, season with salt and about 2 T of the pesto sauce, (my pesto and turkey stock were stored frozen in the freezer in ice cube shapes in ziplock bags. I simply tossed them into a cup and thawed them in the microwave for about 2 minutes) and a good splash of Mirin. Cover for a few minutes, stir, re-cover, turn heat to medium and simmer until cooked through. Contents of pan should be steamy and simmering.
Heat pasta water to boiling.

When chicken is cooked through, add the broccoli and stir in with chicken and onions, cover and cook over medium heat. Let the broccoli steam. Meanwhile cook your pasta - i used whole wheat with wheat germ spaghetti that cooked in 5 minutes.

Broccoli if fresh will cook in about 5 minutes, older tougher broccoli may take a bit longer.
When all is just about done, pour the pesto sauce evenly over the chicken and broccoli to warm, covered.

Ta Da! Drain the pasta, serve into bowls or plates ( i like bowls so that all the juices are contained, kept warm, and it's easy to stir without getting green splatter all over yourself ) and top with the pesto brocc/chx.

This was spicy and delicious! Didn't need cheese at ALL, but cheese is always good so feel free to top with some shredded mozz or parm. I really love the flavor habaneros lend to things, and my pesto had jalapenos in it which adds a different heat in itself.

This was easy to do, room for error or wandering about - just be sure that the pan stays covered and the interior is steamy and simmery - don't let the onions/garlic burn.  This method of cooking chicken keeps it SUPER moist. All that steamy goodness shoves itself into the chicken, imbibing it with flavor and retaining a succulent texture. And who doesn't love steamed broccoli or pesto! My pesto is very low in oil, FYI, so the sauce was very healthy and mixing it with the turkey stock made it go further but added a layer of richness. Stir it all up with your noodles to soak the sauce into them too. So Good!
( I got a high five for this one )

What are some of your favorite pesto recipes?

Rainy Days and Ravenous Chickens

The chickens are growing. Soot and Belina are both clucking. Belina's wattles are pinking up. Soot is getting more assertive and less our darling molestable baby doll. And most of all: They're eating a LOT.
I feed them grower crumbles every morning and it's almost gone by late afternoon. You're killing me, girls! The garden isn't giving me much scraps to throw, so i need to be creative.
These rainy days have brought a 'chill' to Austin. It's Austin, it's not "cold" per say, but the coolest their little chicken bodies have ever encountered. So I decided to give them a cool weather treat. Hopefully it will fill their bellies and warm them into a docile slumber this evening.

• Organic rolled oats
• a few raisons
• a tablespoon brewer's yeast
• sprinkling of frozen corn
• and a smattering of shelled sunflower seeds

Heated on the stove until soft and mushy and delicious (albeit bland). They seemed to enjoy the treat quite a bit, though I feel a little bad for their chicken selves: chicken tongues just don't do the lip-licking trick! Much oatmeal was spattered all about the coop, me, and each others' backs.

Pretty cute, actually.