Tag: chicken

One Pan Meal- Baked Chicken Thighs and Potatoes with Herbs and Garlic

Chicken, One pot meal, potatoes

I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing Sunday! After yesterday’s race, all I wanted to do today was sleep in and be lazy. I got my wish. We slept until almost 9. The girls came in requesting Waffle House, so we got up and ate some yummy food. I sat outside and read magazines while the girls played. I sat around and watched a bunch of DVR shows that I needed to catch up on…(Bones, The Americans, and The Kitchen). Later I cooked this yummy easy meal.

Baked Chicken Thighs and Potatoes with Herbs and Garlic

Ingredients

6 chicken Thighs (on sale for $3.26 at Kroger!!!)
6 small Idaho potatoes, chopped in to small pieces. Use what you have; red, russet, purple, etc…
6 pieces of garlic, crushed and minced
1 large handful of chopped herbs- basil, sage, rosemary, and thyme (mix with garlic and a bit of olive oil to form a paste)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Chop potatoes in to a small dice. Chop your garlic and herbs. Spray a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Lay potatoes flat in the pan and coat with olive oil. Add half of the garlic and herb paste. Mix well. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken thighs. Lay on top of the potatoes. Add the rest of the herb and garlic paste to the top of each piece of chicken. Cook for 45 minutes or until potatoes are done and chicken is cooked through.006 012

Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo

Chicken, One pot meal, Pasta, Side dishes...veggies

Hey all! I hope everyone had a great weekend with family and friends celebrating the beginning of Spring, special holidays, and the fact that it is SPRING BREAK!!!! Woohoo! We had lots of fun gardening, playing at the park, and enjoying the amazing Spring weather.

We had a picnic at the park for lunch today. It was glorious to see the girls play and get to eat yummy ham sandwiches and pasta salad. Oh, and my mom makes the best deviled eggs. I think I made them once on the blog. I will have to check it out and make sure I add the recipe if it is not already here. Plus, we had Lay’s chips. Plain. The go to chip in our house. Yes, we love our Cheetos, Cool Ranch Doritos, etc… but there is nothing like a bag of salty crunchy Lay’s. Although those commercials with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head eating the chips is a bit disturbing…

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So with a late lunch and a lazy day, I decided to wing it in the kitchen. I had taken out some chicken thighs from the freezer. I know. Chicken. Again. But it is always a yummy go-to that everyone LOVES. My family loves them some dark meat. When any chicken is on sale, I load up. Luckily, last week, it was thighs. I also had a few random mushrooms, a few carrots and celery, and one onion in the fridge. I also found a large can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of green chilies.
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Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo

Ingredients
3 -4 chicken Thighs
10 mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cooked orzo- I used my leftovers from this…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/04/03/1-pot-veggie-orzo/
1/2 container of broth (I had veggie, but chicken would be perfect.)
1 turn of white wine- acidity is the key to any dish =) use lemon/lime juice, white/red wine vinegar, or red wine…

Directions

Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken liberally.
Brown both sides in a screaming hot cast iron pan or dutch oven- about 6 minutes per side.
Take the chicken out and add in your chopped veggies. Cook down for about 6 minutes. Add in your tomato paste and stir, about 3 minutes. The aroma of smokey tomato should hit your nose. YUM! Add in your wine. Cook for a couple more minutes and add in your canned tomatoes and chilies. Add your broth and your cooked orzo. Stir well and add in your chicken. Simmer until cooked through. Add crusty bread for dipping. DELISH!

Full disclosure- Everyone was STARVING, so I took the chicken out to serve. It was still under cooked, so I cooked it longer and then took it off the bone and added it back in the orzo. Turned out even better than I thought!!!!! Better to be under cooked and cook longer than over cooked and dry as a bone.

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Paired Perfectly with this…
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Chicken Thighs in Creamy Brown Mushroom Gravy

Chicken

So this week I didn’t make a meal plan. After Lizzie passed, it was hard for a month or so to get back in a normal routine. Once I did, it seemed too easy. Weekly meal plan, go to the grocery store, make dinners, get distracted with life, go out, make more dinners, etc. So this week I thought about making a meal plan and decided to go against my instinct. I want to feel that rush of “What the heck are we having for dinner?” and “What can I make with the stuff I already have in my kitchen?” Then I looked in my fridge and pantry and realized I needed some stuff to randomly make dinner. So Friday after work I went to the store and got a few things. Awesome. You already saw the last 2 meals that I made.

Today I was home with this sick girl and had to take her to the doctor. Turns out she has the beginnings of a sinus infection and bronchitis. Don’t let the mask and pathetic face fool you. She was still full of sass and energy most of the day. The doctor  told her to stay away from running and activity.  I almost laughed in her face. Anyways, short of all her ailments, she is feeling fine and ready to go back to school tomorrow. I had a nice day off with her and took her to the store to get her meds and some groceries for the rest of the week. She had lots of opinions, so tonight she chose 3 things her and her sisters like. She loves chicken; Becca loves mushrooms; Lizzie really loved gravy. So I made Chicken in gravy with mushrooms.

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Chicken Thighs in Creamy Brown Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 large Chicken Thighs
1/2 stick butter
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup canned/boxed low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley,chopped

Directions

Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet. Sauté until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add onions and mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Mix in about 1 tablespoon of the flour; cook 1 minute. Add broth and then vinegar. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Add half and half. Mix well. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until chicken is cooked through and gravy thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with parsley.

Serve with a side of veggie and grain (couscous, pasta, rice, etc) and some crusty bread, per usual.

I know Lizzie would have loved this =)

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Chicken and Gravy with Bacon and Mushroom Stuffing

poultry, Side dishes...veggies

This week has been a pretty wacko. We had a snow day yesterday that was supposed to be like 4-6 inches. Well, it turned out to be more of a really cold, then snow, then rainy slush day. Oh well. I got some groceries for the next week or so, so no real meal plan coming up. Just eating up leftovers and making meals out of what we bought this mid-week. I bought a fryer, so made up this meal this evening. We all enjoyed it!

Chicken and Gravy with Bacon and Mushroom Stuffing

Ingredients
1 fryer chicken (1 whole chicken already butchered for you)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme, parsley, rosemary or any combination
1 large onion,chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
3-4 tablespoons olive oil/butter
1 glass white wine- I used pinot grigio
1- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium container
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

Heat a Dutch Oven or large skillet on med. high heat with a couple of tablespoons butter or olive oil
Season all the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brown both sides of chicken. Work in batches or use 2 pans, about 8 minutes skin side down first. 3-4 minutes on opposite side. Take the chicken out. Add your onions to the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes and add your garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add your flour. Mix well. It should come to the consistency of wet sand. Once it does that, add in your wine. Cook down for a couple of minutes then add in 3/4 of your chicken stock. Add in your chicken. Add more chicken stock if gravy gets too thick. Add in your fresh chopped herbs. Simmer on med.low for 45 min stirring occasionally until chicken is tender and cooked through.

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffing- This stuff was pretty simple- I followed the directions on one of those “Thanksgiving” Pepridge Farms bags of stuffing. I added sauteed mushrooms with cooked chopped bacon to the onion, celery, and herb mix. I made it in my cast iron. It turned out pretty yummy, and I have plenty of leftovers. Stuffing is one of those foods with so many leftover possibilities.

I served this with canned biscuits and Steam-fresh green beans. 016!

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken with Yellow Rice

Chicken, Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals

Evening guys! Super busy week! I started coaching a girls’ running program called Girls on The Run a couple of nights a week. I basically get to spend the afternoon with 15 amazing middle school girls and other awesome coaches, have some girl talk, and help the girls get ready for a 5K in the spring! We do fun activities, run/walk, do yoga, and build each other’s self esteem. Girl Power!

So last night after practice, I prepared this in the crockpot. I turned it on this am before I left for work.

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken with Yellow Rice

5 Chicken Thighs
2 sweet peppers, sliced (mix of red, yellow, green, and orange leftover from Monday)
1 onion, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup broth/water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, and Italian seasoning
ground black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste
1 package yellow rice

Directions

Pour the olive oil on the bottom of the crockpot and add the chicken. Add peppers, onion, and top with in vinegar and herbs.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Stir and add on top of cooked yellow rice (or any grain of your choosing)

Best looking Crockpot meal yet!

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