Tag Archives: Chicken

Tomato Vegetable Soup

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Feeling like a hearty bowl of soup on a cool night?  This is perfect!  

Serve with Baking Powder Biscuits for a complete meal.

1 large onion – minced                          

3 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large potato, diced

1 small turnip, diced

1/2 cup green beans, sliced

1 cup green zucchini, quartered and sliced

1 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp basil, chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

Any other vegetables are always optional, and always welcomed to a pot of soup!

Heat a large soup pot, then add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom.  Add diced onions and allow to cook long enough to soften and become translucent.  Add potatoes, carrots and celery.  Stir and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes and vegetable stock – season to taste with salt and pepper.

Allow to simmer until vegetables are just barely fork tender.  Stir in green beans and zucchini and cook just until they are cooked through.  Add fresh basil and any other herbs you feel like adding!

Options:  Use more vegetable stock and add barley when the potato mixture goes in or cook some pasta separately and serve the soup over the cooked pasta.  (I like to cook the pasta separately so it doesn’t get too mushy.) If you want a chicken soup, use chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock and add some chopped up chicken with the stock.

Honey Mustard Chicken

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12 chicken thighs

(honestly you could use whatever portion of chicken you like!)

Preheat oven to 375.                 

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup dijon mustard

2 tbsp grainy dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves

1 lemon – zest and juice

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Dust chicken with lemon zest, salt and pepper – set aside.

Combine all the other ingredients and heat through just until easy to blend.

Place chicken in roasting dish, pour honey lemon mixture over, turning to coat.

(I find it easiest to do this in the baking dish – just put it in the oven while the oven is heating up for a few minutes –  long enough for the butter to melt – then the rest will blend easily)

Bake chicken until juices run clear.  If you are using small pieces, i.e, chicken thighs it will be about 45 minutes, longer for larger pieces.

Serve with a plain side, like white rice, so you can drizzle the yummy juices over.  If you have used chicken pieces with skin on you will need to strain the fat off first ….

Roasted Potato Fennel Soup

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If you aren’t sure about fennel – trust me – this is a great place to start!  The soup is so hearty and just packed with flavour.  

2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

good olive oil                                                                

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups yellow onions, diced

2 cups chopped fennel bulb

1 cup sliced leeks

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnish:  finely sliced chives and crispy bacon bits (those little purple flowers on the chives are great as part of your garnish or in a salad too!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.  Spread on baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until cooked through and just starting to get a bit crispy.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large soup pot – saute onions, leek and fennel until translucent and tender – should be around 15 minutes.  Add roasted potatoes, including any tasty little bits stuck to your roasting sheet.  Cover with stock.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, until all vegetables are soft.

Using an immersion blender, puree until soup is smooth and velvety.

If you are using a regular blender, puree in batches.

Be very cautious to leave the lid slightly ajar or the center portion removed to allow steam to escape any time you are blending hot ingredients.

Once the soup has been blended, remove from heat – stir in heavy cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with Baking Powder Biscuits or Crispy Gouda Herb Cornmeal Muffins

Fettuccine Alfredo ….ish

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I love pappardelle pasta – if you make (or buy good quality) pasta these hearty noodles are so perfect for holding on to a sauce.  Tonight’s version was a way of using up leftover chicken from my Moroccan Spice Chicken. Another favorite to serve with the alfredo is panko crusted chicken – love the crunchy texture with the creamy pasta.

500 gm pappardelle pasta

kosher salt

1/2 cup butter

2 leeks (white and tender green parts) thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup good white wine

1 tsp mustard powder (or dijon mustard)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup cheese (I like to use mostly parmesan reggiano, but you can add a bit of other cheese as well, mozzarella, ementhal, romano … etc)

chili flakes

salt and pepper

cooked chicken/prawns/ham – whatever you have left in the fridge … or leave it as is – you will still think it is the best alfredo!

Melt butter in saucepan – add leeks and onions, cooking until tender and translucent.

While onions are cooking, add your pasta to the boiling water and cook just until al dente.  Remove from heat, drain and keep warm.

To your onions, add garlic cloves, mustard, white wine, chili flakes to taste (start with 1/2 tsp and see how you like it!), and cream.  Heat through, remove from heat and stir in cheeses. If you are adding any of the cooked protein, this is the time to do it.

Toss it all together, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with extra parmesan cheese to grate over the top.

Moroccan Quinoa Salad

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SALAD

3 cups cooked quinoa                                                                         

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed well

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup each finely diced red, yellow and orange peppers

1/3 cup diced sun dried tomato

1/2 cup olives

GARNISH

1/4 cups chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

DRESSING

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

Toss cooked quinoa with vegetables into bowl.  Drizzle with dressing, and just before serving mix in the fresh herbs, garnishing with the toasted almonds.

Serve with Moroccan Spice Chicken

Moroccan Spice Chicken

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MOROCCAN SPICE RUB

Combine all ingredients and blend well:                             

  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground chile powder
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • lemon juice
  • olive oil

Massage chicken with olive oil and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice then  rub spice ingredient both under the skin and over – sprinkle into cavity as well.

This works really well on a beer can chicken holder – you can either do it on the bbq or in your oven @ 375 degrees, for approximately 20 minutes per pound.

If you roast it in the oven fill a roasting pan with sliced red onions and a couple of lemons (halved).  Pour in enough chicken stock to cover onions.  Baste the chicken half way through the cooking with this liquid.

If you don’t have a beer can chicken holder – just lay the bird on the onions and let the juices run.

When the chicken has reached a temperature of 180 degrees, remove from heat and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

If you have cooked the chicken with the onions, reduce the                                     onions and liquid to make a soupy delicious onion jam to serve alongside the chicken.

Look for my Moroccan Quinoa Salad to serve this with, along with grilled

vegetables, simple, easy and fantastic!

Chicken and Chorizo Paella – Casa Katarina style

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Once upon a time I had a really fun Spanish Tapas Bar … one of our specialties was Paella.  We served either a meat paella, a seafood paella, or the specialty of the house – Paella Parellada combining the best of all!

Olive oil

2 cups rice

4 cups good quality chicken stock (1 tsp saffron threads & 1 tsp turmeric powder added)

3 chorizo sausages, thinly sliced

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 red onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 stalks celery, finely sliced

1 zucchini, quartered and sliced

1/2 red and yellow pepper – diced

1/2 cup sliced green beans

1 tsp each dried oregano, parsley, basil

1/2 cup whole olives

1/2 cup quartered artichoke hearts

salt and pepper to taste

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped

lemon wedges

Remember – all recipes are just guidelines!  Use whatever vegetables and meat you have on hand.  This particular recipe is for a meat paella – but feel free to do this with your own appetite in mind.  One of our favorites is a seafood paella – and so impressive!  Watch for a photo of that one of these days …..

Heat olive oil in paella pan (or other casserole style dish that is not too deep and can be used on both the top of the range and in the oven).  When oil has heated, add onions and sweat just until translucent.  Add chicken breast and cook until almost cooked through – stirring just enough to allow bits of carmelization on the meat.  Add the fresh vegetables and saute lightly.  Stir in dry rice, seasonings and stir for a few minutes to allow the rice to heat up a bit, and brown lightly.

Heat chicken stock and dissolve saffron threads along with turmeric powder.

Slowly pour 3 cups of chicken stock into rice/vegetable/meat mixture and allow to cook just until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Stir in the chorizo sausage, olives and artichoke hearts.  Add the rest of the chicken stock if needed.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Go creative – add thinly sliced colored peppers to the top around the dish before covering with tin foil, or your lid, and baking at 350 just until rice has full absorbed and is fluffy.

Saute tomatoes only until heated through and pile in the center of your paella – scatter with scallions and parsley.

Be sure to serve with fresh lemon wedges to be squeezed over top – this really brings out the flavour!

Feta Greek Chicken Burgers

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You are going to love these Greek style chicken, pork burgers

studded with herbs and feta cheese!  

Great dinner when served with Quinoa Couscous Salad

Burgers are really just ideas … following are the ingredients in my burgers, with an approximate portion plan:

equal portions ground chicken and hot italian sausage meat (approx 1 pound each)

2 tbsp minced basil

2 tbsp minced mint

1 large minced garlic clove

3 scallions, sliced fine

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp each of salt and pepper

Lightly toss all ingredients together until just mixed.  Do not overmix your meat or it will end up with the texture of a meatloaf!  Form burger patties and place onto lined baking sheet.  Set aside, either in freezer or fridge until you are ready to grill and they have had time to rest.

Grill on greased surface until cooked through.

Serve with:

Grilled thin slices zucchini (lightly coated with olive oil, salt and pepper)

Grilled thick tomato slices (dusted with salt and pepper)

Coat each side of your pita style bun with a generous dollop of mint/dill yogurt sauce:

MINT/DILL YOGURT SAUCE

1 cup greek style yogurt

1/2 cup grated, drained cucumber

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp finely chopped dill

1 tbsp minced mint (try to say that a few times!)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, and put in fridge to set up and allow flavours to blend.

Thai Curries …. not just 1!

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All curries in Thailand start out the same way, and then you proceed with each variation … we ate this dish served on a boat restaurant on the Mekong River … pretty amazing!

Any Thai curry can be a meal in a dish – just add any protein you are craving at the moment, and serve over rice.  

If you do add meat – I did learn in Thai cooking classes that you add it to the curry, thinly sliced, and gently dropped in, then do not stir until it has cooked through – that way you avoid any raw meat flavour and your curry still has such a rich, but light flavour.

Heat a bit of oil in the bottom of pan and add 1 cup coconut milk and 1 tbsp curry paste,(choose one of the following)  along with lemon grass, galanga, chili peppers to taste (start with 1!) and ginger. Cook until slightly thickened over med heat. Add meat, whatever you choose, remember that in Thailand only a little bit of meat goes a long way!  onion and cook a bit. Add 1 more cup coconut milk and water as necessary. Add vegetables. Remove from heat.

SEASON WITH
(for all curry dishes)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp palm sugar

Adjust seasonings as necessary.

MASSAMAN CURRY
Precook potato and carrot to add when meat is cooked. With 2nd cup of coconut milk add 2 tbsp chunky peanut butter and 2 tbsp tamarind. Serve with crushed peanuts and cilantro over top.

Massaman Curry

GREEN CURRY
Same as above but using green curry paste and a variety of different vegetables

RED CURRY
Same as above but different! Always use red curry paste and add pineapple.

PENANG CURRY
Same as above with the addition of kaffir lime leaves.
Reserve some of the coconut milk to swirl in the top
of the curry at serving time along with fresh basil.

I can’t say it enough … taste and season, season, season.  Your curry should have a full bodied flavour, many complex notes and so full of taste you can not get enough of it!

Citrus Marinated Chicken

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Chicken thighs that have been marinated for at least 24 hours are perfect for grilling

6-8 chicken thighs

1 generous tbsp dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 lemon, sliced

1/2 lime, sliced

1 tbsp freshly chopped herbs, i.e, basil, rosemary, parsley – experiment…

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Put all marinade ingredients in ziplock bag and give it a good squish.  Once all ingredients are smooth, add the chicken and marinate – the longer the better.

Grill and enjoy!  Serve with freshly sliced lemon/lime and chives.

Perfect with Orzo Greek Pasta