John Bell's Feta Chicken

1/4lb bacon, cut into 1/4inch pieces

5 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely

4 chicken breasts, boned, skinless, cut into strips (i think you could use whole pieces instead)

black pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup white wine

8 oz feta cheese, crumbled

fry the bacon until crisp, drain. add garlic, chicken, pepper. brown lightly, until chicken is cooked.

drizzle lemon juice over chicken.

remove and keep warm.

add white wine, feta and stir. add chicken and bacon and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

serve over fettucini or rice.

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken

yum.
seriously. one of our new favorite meals.
i'm not one to sit over a hot pan of oil to fry my family up some good old fried chicken. i am, however, looking for good recipes using buttermilk, so when i came across this recipe i snagged it!
wow. really quite simple, and doesn't feel like it takes too long since you can soak the chicken the day before, letting all the flavors infuse the chicken.
we used our home canned hot pepper sauce, but you could use frank's hot, tabasco or any other hot sauce you like. and really, it doesn't end up being super hot - the kids could totally eat it. the chicken picks up only some of the heat, but gives amazing flavor.
i also liked that this uses meat on the bone with the skin on so that i could buy a whole cut up chicken which is quite a savings. since i have a little girl who loves to eat meat off the bone (actually requests chicken bones for dinner) this works great for us!
i baked this in my Pampered Chef bar pan, which i LOVE and use almost every single day! i was seriously licking the pan clean of all the drippings.
we enjoyed this with a green salad.
it was excellent the day after as a cold lunch!

here's the chicken, sitting in its marnade


simple basic spices


mixed together to make this lovely breading


the breaded chicken ready for oven-frying


the beautiful bar pan, right out of the oven. doesn't that chicken look amazing!


this stoneware is, in fact, why i started selling Pampered Chef products, so if you still don't have any stoneware, you should really consider! i bake everything from cookies to bacon, marinaded veggies to granola, pizza to rhubarb bars in this perfect pan! i use less oil, there aren't any toxins in this stone, and cleanup is a breeze!
click on the link to my website or give me a call!

wings for dinner

two kinds of wings. really easy, but a prepare to spend a little time in the kitchen, watching them cook.

teriyaki
these were sweet, very flavorful and were consumed by all!

3lbs chicken wings (or drummies) - rinsed and dried
mix, then pour over wings:
2 TB olive oil
1/2cup tamari sauce
2 TB ketchup
1 cup honey
garlic, salt and pepper to taste

bake on a 9x13 bar pan at 375 for one hour, or until the wings are nearly burning.

hot 'n tasty!
melt a stick (or less) butter in a saucepan, remove from heat
add 1 bottle of Frank's Red Hot - i used our own canned pepper sauce.

rinse 3 lbs chicken wings, then cover in a packet of Ranch (i used a buttermilk mix from Penzey's spices).
place in a 9x13 bar pan and pour in almost all the hot sauce, leaving some for basting.
bake at 450 or 500 for about an hour. with 15 minutes, flip and baste, then again with 5 minutes remaining, and again if necessary. cook until nearly burned

tasty blue cheese dip (great with these hot wings!)
8oz sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup blue cheese
2 garlic cloves
1 TB white vinegar

Lettuce Wraps

brown 1 pound of beef or chicken (a great way to use leftover chicken) in 1 TB oil.
Add one chopped onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 TB soy sauce and 1/4c hoisin sauce.
Add 1-2TB minced ginger, 2 TB rice vinegar, and some Asian chili sauce (i have used rooster sauce, village wok sauce and even just chili powder)
stir in water chestnuts, carrots, peppers, green onions and 2 TB sesame oil.
spoon into bibb or butter lettuce, wrap and enjoy!

now i am thinking cilantro would be really good with these.
and triple ginger cookies from 101cookbooks.com

chicken marbella

5 lbs chicken thighs and breasts (or pheasant if the season dictates) (do not remove all skin as it will add to flavor, moisture and pan juices at end)
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped

1. In a large bowl combine chicken and next ten ingredients (through bay leaves). Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.
4. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow juice (rather than pink).
5. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauce boat.
**makes 10 or more servings

Chicken Pot Pie

saute 1/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup onion

then add: 1/3 cup flour , 1/4 tsp salt and pepper

stir in: 1 2/3 cups chicken broth and 3/4 cup milk

add: 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken and 2 cups cooked veggies (almost any veggie works. a great way to use up leftovers)

2 crusts: combine 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour with 1 tsp salt

then add: 1/2 cup butter and 3 TB cold water.

if soupy, give it a minute for the water to thicken things up.

pour into crusts, put 2nd crust on top and cut slits.

bake at 425 for 35 minutes.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

this soup's just home-cookin' at it's best! It IS our classic "sick soup" and that's how it got... fine-tuned, I guess, because we've made it quite a few times.

A four-pound(ish) whole chicken
3 quarts water
a few bay leaves
an onion
a few of the inner stalks of celery with leaves
some peppercorns

(this is loosely based on a Splendid Table recipe for stock)

Stick all of this in a giant pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about ten minutes and then shut if off. Leave it in the pot with the lid on for an hour, and when you open it up the whole chicken should be done and silky (if not leave it with the lid on for another half an hour). Once it's cool enough to handle, de-bone the chicken and discard all the yucky bits. Break up the chicken. Strain the stock. Now you're ready to go.

Four (or so) whole carrots, sliced
Four (or so) stalks of celery, sliced
A giant onion, chopped
Four (or so) sprigs fresh thyme (I like a lot of this and would have liked to have doubled the amount in my soup from yesterday but ran out)
Sea salt
Pepper
Three cloves garlic, chopped

Saute all of this in a couple of tablespoons olive oil for about five minutes or so, until the veggies are tender but not browned. Add all the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then you'll drop the noodles in. After you do this and simmer them for 12-15 minutes, you'll fold in all that chicken you made stock with and sprinkle a good handful or two of chopped fresh parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Done!

The egg noodles are from a recipe from Marc's parents and they are (as you well know by now) TO DIE FOR...

3 eggs beat until fluffy, then mix in 1/3 c. milk and 1 t. salt
Add 2 cups flour (all-purpose is way yummier than whole wheat for this), use a wooden spoon and take your time. I hate this part!
Knead in 1/2 c. flour by hand (this also takes forever; Marc is super patient and amazing with any and all dough!)
Flour table or counter heavily; roll out putting a little flour on top and on rolling pin so it doesn't stick. Roll out to about 20' diameter (REALLY thin). Let sit for 10 or 15 minutes. Then we use a pizza cutter and cut the noodles thin and in half a few times (they really plump up). And there you go. Drop 'em in to boiling soup and turn down the heat to simmering. Delish!!