Tag Archives: chicken

Chicken lasagna with artichokes and white sauce

January 29, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Every once in a while I have the wherewithal to make lasagna with homemade noodles. This evening I decided to try something different. Instead of traditional red sauce and ricotta I made a creamy béchamel sauce and layered the spinach noodles with shredded chicken and marinated artichoke hearts. The marinade from the artichokes added a tangy flavor to the dish and the creamy sauce was pure deliciousness. You can of course use store-bought noodles, but there’s something fancy about fresh pasta.

Continue reading Chicken lasagna with artichokes and white sauce →

Cooking, Italian, Pasta, recipes

Pasta with chicken and spinach in a creamy garlic sauce

June 7, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

My husband travels for work so I’m frequently “solo parenting.” Working full time, picking up our son and getting dinner on the table by 6 or 6:30 can be a struggle. Tonight was really tricky since we got home late, but thanks to my rare meal planning this week I was able to put together a wholesome pasta dish in under 30 minutes.

By marinating the frozen chicken in the fridge overnight I didn’t have to make a mad dash to thaw it out and flavor it right before preparing the dish. I felt like a winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Pasta with chicken and spinach in a creamy garlic sauce

Serves 4

For the chicken marinade:

5 frozen chicken tenders
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
salt and pepper

For the pasta:

3/4 pounds pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
5 oz. baby spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

The night before, place the frozen chicken in a large Ziploc bag with all the marinade ingredients. Let sit overnight in the fridge. It’ll be delicious by tomorrow.

Place a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Cook the noodles according to packaging.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a tablespoon of oil over high heat. When the pan is hot, cook the chicken tenders till browned, about 4 minutes on each side. Set aside. When cooled, chop into bite-sized pieces.

Clean out the pan with a paper towel and add the rest of the oil and the butter. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook spinach till it’s wilted. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so. When pasta is drained, add it to the pan with the chicken, Parmesan and cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Cooking, recipes

Weeknight chicken scallopini with asparagus

April 26, 2016 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Now that I work full time I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy meals. Sometimes I rely on tradition and make this simple chicken dish inspired by my favorite Italian cook, Marcella Hazan.

Every member of my family has her own copy of this fabulous cookbook. Her recipes are not overly complicated. They are realistic and wholesome.

Several years ago my mother adapted her veal scallopini with asparagus recipe to include chicken instead of veal. It has become one of my family’s favorite chicken dishes. And it’s just perfect for hectic weeknights.

Continue reading Weeknight chicken scallopini with asparagus →

asian, Cooking, recipes

30-Minute Fried Rice

March 22, 2016 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

I recently got a full-time job. This means I come home at 5:15 and if my husband and I want some non-kid, sane time I have 45 minutes to get dinner on the table before we start our son’s bedtime routine.

This is not a lot of prep time, I’ve discovered. It takes all my strength to make something nutritious and non-mac & cheesy.

I am realizing that I need to strategize. I can’t expect to chop veggies, thaw chicken, marinate steak, or do all the other simple, yet time-consuming preparatory steps required to make tasty food.

Here’s the first of hopefully many recipes where you can come home from work, make the food, and then spend some quality time with your family, such as watching “Bob’s Burgers” (that’s what we are currently doing).

30-minute fried rice

Serves 4-6

To make delicious fried rice you really need to start with cold, cooked rice. That’s hard to do when you want to cook a meal in 30 minutes. But if you make the rice the night before while you’re binge-watching “The Voice,” and stick it in the fridge, you’re good to go the next day.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked rice, prepared and refrigerated overnight
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, removed from freezer the night before and placed in the fridge (I forgot to do this so we went without today)
vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups frozen vegetable medley (whatever medley you prefer)
4 tablespoons softened butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an onion, diced
2 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 green onions, chopped finely
3 tablespoons soy sauce
pepper to taste

Directions:

Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Combine the butter and garlic in a bowl. Set aside. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Lightly coat the pan with vegetable oil.

Pour the eggs in the pan and let set for a minute before stirring vigorously. Set eggs aside. Wipe pan clean and add a little more oil. Toss in the chicken and sauté till cooked through. Set aside.

Add the chicken stock, veggies and onion to the pan. Sauté until veggies are cooked through. Add the sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of the garlic butter. Start crumbling the rice into the pan with your hands, about a cup at a time. Add a little more butter between handfuls. Add the green onions.

When butter and rice are incorporated in the pan, stir in the eggs and chicken. Add the soy sauce and cook until rice gets a little crispy if you like. Add pepper to taste.

Store the leftovers for lunch or cook up some ham or Spam and have breakfast fried rice.

Cooking, recipes

Chicken & Vegetable Stew

June 3, 2015 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

I came home from work today and didn’t want to think much about making dinner. What with eight wedding floral gigs this summer, parenting, plus my near full-time job, I have a lot of other things on my mind.

Enter condensed cream of chicken soup. I tend to avoid recipes that call for this salty, globby ingredient but sometimes I’ll make an exception.

Chicken, veggies, herbs and soup over rice or noodles is always a crowd pleaser. Comfort food at its finest.

This was simple to assemble and although it’s not quick, it requires very little effort or thought, which is perfect for today.

Chicken & Vegetable Stew-like Casserole Dinner

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tbs. butter
olive oil
3-4 skinless chicken thighs (breast works too)
1/2 cup flour
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 carrots, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1 can cream of chicken soup
6 oz. cream cheese
chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen green beans
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat butter and 2 Tbs. olive oil in a dutch oven oven. Place flour in a pie pan. Dredge chicken thighs in flour and shake off any excess. Place thighs in dutch oven and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Set thighs aside and pour out excess oil.

Add another tablespoon of oil and toss in the celery, onion and carrot. Cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley, bay leaf and cream of chicken soup. Fill the empty can with chicken stock and pour that too. Break up the cream cheese with your fingers and add to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nestle the thighs into the sauce and place into the oven. Take out and stir the pot every 20 minutes or so to prevent any burning.

After 45 minutes in the oven, stir in the frozen veggies and break up the thighs with a fork. Place back in the oven and bake another 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and break up any other chicken pieces. Remove bay leaf and serve over egg noodles or brown rice.

appetizers, Cooking, side dishes, snacks, South Beach

Low-carb Chicken Nuggets

March 10, 2015 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I love junk food. LOVE IT. But there are lots of reasons why I shouldn’t eat it on the regular.

I’m not a big fan of diet recipes that try to emulate the real deal. Usually they lack in flavor or texture. But I’m willing to try them once in a while.

Here’s a recipe that satisfies my fast food desire: homemade chicken nuggets. Not only are they kid friendly (my son gobbled them up), but they are great for those on low-carb or gluten-free diets.

This is a great weeknight dish since they only take about 40 minutes from start to finish. Serve them with cheesy broccoli quinoa and you’ve got yourself a tasty junk-like meal.

Low Carb Chicken Nuggets

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 pound of chicken tenders (chicken breast would be fine)

1 tsp. baking soda (optional)

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs

Low-carb Chicken Nuggets | A healthy, homemade recipe from Alaska Knit Nat Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Cut your chicken into two-inch pieces. Place them in a bowl with two tablespoons of cold water and the baking soda. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. (This step is optional, but I find it makes a more tender nugget as per America’s Test Kitchen’s advice).

Whisk together the eggs in a pie pan. Combine the dry ingredients in another pie pan.

Toss the chicken pieces in the egg then gently dredge them in the almond flour mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, flip them and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool a couple of minutes before serving.

Cooking, recipes

Chicken-stuffed Eggplant

May 28, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Eggplant is a foreign food to me. I’ve only cooked with it once before when I made eggplant parmesan a long time back. They looked so irresistible today at Costco — so purple and shiny without a single flaw. I added a $5 rotisserie chicken, mini heirloom tomatoes and mini bell peppers to my cart and knew I’d be able to throw something together.

I made stuffed eggplant almost like a meatball recipe. They turned out flavorful and not too soggy, thanks to a quick technique inspired by America’s Test Kitchen.

Chicken Stuffed Eggplant

Serves 2-3

Ingrdients:

2 medium eggplants, sliced down the middle

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped fine

3 mini orange and yellow bell peppers, chopped fine

1/2 stalk celery, chopped fine

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tin of anchovies, minced (about 3 filets)

1 egg

1/2 cup cooked chicken, diced

2 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

3 Tbs. Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Carefully scoop out the flesh of your eggplants without breaking the skin. Chop the flesh into small pieces. Lightly salt the flesh and hollowed out eggplants. Place eggplant shells in a foil-lined casserole dish and set aside.

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high flame. Add the onion, peppers, celery and tomatoes and cook till onions are soft, about five minutes. Add the garlic, basil and oregano and cook another two minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, chicken, anchovies, parsley, breadcrumbs and sautéed vegetables. Place the eggplant flesh in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Pat dry with a paper towel. This removes excess liquid from the eggplant and makes the filling less soggy. Add the eggplant to the mix and salt and pepper to taste. Add 3 Tbs. of parmesan cheese, mix well and add filling to the eggplant shells. Lightly press the filling and create small mounds in the shells if needs be.

Sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes or until browned.

Serve with brown rice.

Cooking, recipes

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken

February 18, 2014 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

My son and I both had the day off (thanks Abe and George!) and by 1:30 p.m. I realized I hadn’t taken any meat out of the freezer for dinner.

I’ve seen slow cooker recipes where you put frozen chicken right in with a bunch of other “cream of” somethings and cook the hell out of it and get some sort of slop. Yes, I wanted to make that, mainly because I didn’t plan anything for dinner and I was way too lazy and tired to go to the store.

What I ended up with was just what most people describe on their “crock pot chicken” Pinterest posts — easy, creamy and delicious!

The secret to my dinner’s success was the homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup that I concocted because I didn’t have a can of it in my pantry. I followed this basic recipe from Pinch Of Yum, but sautéed 2 cups of sliced baby portobello mushrooms and 1/2 an onion, finely chopped, with half a stick of butter before adding the stock and milk. I also added smoked paprika, thyme and oregano to the recipe. It yielded quite a bit of thick soup and was perfect for my crock pot concoction, which was loosely based on this recipe from Coersfamily.com.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken

Serves about 4

What you’ll need:

2-4 pieces frozen chicken (I used skinless thighs)

1.5 cups condensed cream of mushroom soup (or one can of the store bought stuff)

1 brick of cream cheese (I used neufchâtel)

1 bay leaf

1-2 potatoes, quartered

2 carrots, cut into large chunks

1 celery rib, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup dry egg noodles

1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions:

Place your frozen chicken pieces in the slow cooker and surround it with the carrots, potatoes, celery and bay leaf. Pour over the cream of mushroom soup. Break up the cream cheese and add it to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. After a few hours, stir it and break up the chicken if you can.

Forty-five minutes before serving stir in the peas and egg noodles, making sure to coat them thoroughly. If it’s already looking a bit thick, add 1/2 cup chicken stock. Cover and cook on high.

Remove bay leaf and roughly cut up carrots and potatoes before serving.

Savor the fact that your entire family should adore this meal that took little effort and zero defrosting.

Cooking, Italian, recipes, South Beach

Chicken with Artichokes in a Smoky Cream Sauce

August 31, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I’m on day seven of the South Beach Diet (or, as I like to call it, the South Beach Challenge) and I’m finding more ways to make delicious food without missing pasta.

Last night was chicken with roasted red peppers, capers and artichoke hearts in a smoky cream sauce. Ok, ok, I broke a few guidelines on this one. I used chicken thighs when the diet recommends white meat and I used half and half. The official cookbooks recommend fat-free half and half (which sounds like an oxymoron to me) but when I looked at the ingredients at the grocery store, the second ingredient was corn syrup. What the? That’s why I stuck to the regular kind.

Here’s how to make it.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 skinless chicken breasts (or 4 thighs), cut into large chunks
1 roasted bell pepper, sliced
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbs. capers
6 canned artichoke hearts, cut in half
1/4 cup chicken stock (eyeball it)
1/4 cup half and half or milk (eyeball it)
1/4 cup fresh or canned chopped tomatoes (eyeball it)
1 Tbs. smoked paprika
salt and pepper
handful of chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Coat a skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high. Salt and pepper the chicken. When the olive oil is just starting to smoke add the chicken. Brown both sides (about 5 minutes each side). Refrain from moving the chicken around to ensure a nice golden brown. Set chicken aside.

Add the peppers, onion, garlic, capers and artichokes and sauté till onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan and pour in the tomatoes, stock, cream and paprika. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken it up a little. Turn down the heat and cover. Let simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done all the way through. Toss in the basil and cook uncovered another minute or so, combining everything.