Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

Here's a super easy, kid-friendly dish!  Yay!

I cooked my chicken in the crock pot with one quart of water for about 6 hours until it started to fall apart, and then shredded it.  You can skip that by starting with a rotisserie chicken.

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

1 whole cooked chicken, diced or shredded, however you like it
2 boxes chicken broth (or 1 box plus the broth from cooking your own chicken, if that's what you did)
1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic or 1-2 tsp. garlic powder (or more!)
pepper to taste
1 tsp. oregano
olive oil or butter
1 package cheese ravioletti (small ravioli), or ravioli/tortellini (I used a 9 oz. package of Buitoni brand ravioletti)

Saute onion, celery, and garlic (if using fresh) in oil or butter about 5-8 minutes, until onion is soft.  Add garlic powder (if using).  Stir in chicken and broth, and bring to a boil.  Add ravioletti, and cook according to package directions (3-5 minutes).  Season with pepper and oregano.  Eat!  If you want something more soupy, you probably want to add more broth.  It was close to being a stew, really, and we were happy with that.

We ate this with some really good garlic bread.  All of my kids LOVED this.

Fried Chicken Tenders

If you eat meat, you like fried chicken.  It's true.  And if you comment and tell me you don't, I will just call you a liar, so don't bother.

This is an easy, quick fried chicken.  It makes little mess, since you don't need as much oil as you would if you were using bone-in chicken pieces.  My measurements are ballpark figures and can be adjusted to suit your own tastes.  I always err on the side of too much breading mix, and that is reflected here.

Meat just isn't that pretty in pictures.  But there it is, anyway.

Fried Chicken Tenders

1-2 lbs. chicken tenders, depending on how many you want to eat

Breading mix:
1 c. flour (any kind is fine)
1/2 c. bread crumbs (mine were wheat, but any kind would work, even Italian if you wanted that)
a generous shake or 5 of garlic powder
pepper to taste
a few shakes of season salt if you want

vegetable oil

In a ziploc (because we're working smart), combine the ingredients for the breading mix.  Close the bag and shake it to combine.  Open your chicken package(s) and rinse the chicken with water and just throw them in there.  Close again and shake to coat.  Let it just sit there on the counter for 5 or 10 minutes.

In a large frying pan, pour oil so that it will go about half-way up the side of your fattest piece of chicken.  That is probably only about 1/2 inch or so.  Heat your oil up on medium-high heat.  It's ready when you sprinkle some water in there and it sizzles like crazy.  This should take about 5 minutes or so, to be good and hot.  What makes for gross, greasy chicken?  Oil that isn't hot enough.

Once the oil is ready, add the chicken one piece at a time, shaking off excess breading.  Don't crowd them in the pan or they will steam instead of getting crunchy on the outside.  You might have to do two batches; you'll use the same oil.  Depending on the thickness of the chicken, it could take 3-5 minutes per side.  You can pull one out and cut it to check it.  Mine took about 3 minutes on each side for the ones that I didn't let get real crispy because I was impatient.  It was about 4 minutes for each side for the ones that were nice and brown.  It's up to you.

Since you're the cook and you cut one open to make sure it's done, you can eat that one.  Does it need salt?  If it needs it, sprinkle a little salt over the top of the plate of cooked chicken.  This is good hot, but is also good cold.  Mmmm.... If you've never had cold fried chicken, you should start.

Come to the Dark Side

I am trying really hard to like dark meat.  I thought I would start with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, because they are easy, and they were on sale.  This is actually supposed to be a beef recipe (hence the beef broth, and not chicken) but I have a cold and I was confused.  It happens.

The chicken cooked very nicely and fell apart, which is always lovely.  Be careful that you don't overcook your broccoli, because that's just gross.  The original recipe called for thawing the broccoli first, but I don't see why that's necessary.  Plus, it would affect the texture, I think.

I served this with some brown rice, and a smile.

Asian Chicken and Broccoli in the Crockpot
adapted from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 c. beef broth
1/3 c. soy sauce
2-4 cloves garlic or 1 tbsp garlic powder
1 onion, chopped
pepper to taste
1 tbsp. brown sugar
16 oz. bag frozen broccoli (you know, or more; it's your dinner)
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Chop chicken into 1"-ish cubes.  Combine broth and soy sauce in slow cooker.  Add chicken, garlic, and onion.  Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.  One-half to one hour before this is done, combine the water and cornstarch and stir it into the pot.  Add the broccoli at this point, as well.  Add pepper to taste.


I would make this again, because it's freakishly easy.  And I LOVE that.  It definitely needs something.  I think next time I will add some honey and ginger, at the very least.  But I didn't hate it, so that's a win!  Everyone else in the house really, really liked it.

Turkey & Lentil Chili

So my kids suddenly think they hate beans.  And this makes me so sad, because beans are (a) cheap, (b) good for you, and (c) pretty tasty.

I thought I would try lentils.  I mean, they cook to mush if you let 'em and they fit all the bean criteria listed above.  Plus, I had this ground turkey and needed to do something with it.  Hub won't eat meatloaf (I know, right!?) and it was only a pound so not enough for really much else anyway.  Have I told you that there are a lot of us?

Turkey & Lentil Chili
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb. ground turkey
1 32 oz. box chicken broth
2 c. lentils, rinsed (I used red but any kind would work)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
pepper to taste

Brown the meat with onions and celery in a skillet.  Toss mixture into crock pot.  Add rinsed lentils and remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

You really don't need any salt here since you're using canned broth and canned tomatoes.  But I suppose if you want, you could add some salt at the end.  Just taste it first.

This went over way better than chili with beans.  It was more soupy than stew-like, and I have adjusted the broth amount accordingly so that you might avoid that problem.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I really, really like Indian food.  A lot.

So I learned that chicken tikka masala was actually invented in London.  That's the story, anyway.  At any rate, they serve it at Indian restaurants, and it's tasty.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that although there were a couple steps to making it, it was really easy!

Funny.

Scrappy and pita.

Chicken Tikka Masala
from Cook's Illustrated Magazine 10/2007

Chicken Tikka
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander (I left this out since I didn't have any)
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. salt
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used tenders)
1 c. plain yogurt (I used Fage Greek)
2 tbsp. olive or veg oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh ginger

Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt.  Sprinkle over chicken (both sides), lightly pressing onto meat.  Cover and let sit for 30-60 minutes (I left mine on the counter, don't tell the food police).  For yogurt sauce, combine yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger.  Stir to combine.  I left that to sit on the counter, too.

Masala Sauce
3 tbsp. veg oil (I used half olive oil and half ghee, because I could)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh ginger
1 serrano chile, finely chopped (remove ribs & seeds if you don't want it too spicy)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. garam masala (essential, people)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

For the sauce:  Saute onion in oil about 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Add garlic, ginger, chile, paste, garam masala.  Saute a minute or two until your kitchen smells like heaven.  Add tomatoes, sugar, and salt.  Cover and simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes.  Stir in cream and bring back to simmer.  Turn it off and cover to keep warm.

Uncover your wrapped chicken.  Turn on the broiler.  You need to line a pan with foil and set a rack inside.  I am sure you could get away with crumpling the foil and then opening it if you didn't have a rack.  Point is, you want air circulating underneath.  I used a cookie sheet and cookie rack.  Coat chicken in yogurt mixture.  Be generous.  It should go on pretty thick.  Broil it in the broiler, turning, and letting it char a little, until done, 10-15 minutes.  Let it rest a couple minutes, then cut into 1" pieces and toss into the masala sauce.  You're not cooking the chicken in the sauce.  Top the whole thing with the chopped cilantro and wow your family.

I served mine with pita that I wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven while the chicken cooked.

The Flour Children LOVED this.  (Hooray!)

Silly.  She made her's into a sandwich.

Goofy.  He made his into a taco.

One man's trash...

Here, Funny is enjoying her last few bites of dinner.

I had the following leftovers:

turkey

peas

rice

Now, I could've been boring, and just reheated it all and thrown it on our plates. But instead I turned it into soup. We'll be able to eat the soup for a few days, too, so we actually get more out of it. I love that about soup. It's just magic.

I used some homemade chicken stock that I pulled out of my freezer, though you can certainly use canned or boxed broth. Because I used homemade, I did add salt to my soup. Don't add salt if you use canned broth!!!

I threw the broth into the crockpot and let it heat up. Once the broth was hot, I added the leftover rice (about 2 cups), leftover peas (about 1 cup), and then I decided that we need more veggies! Soup is so great for getting rid of all the bits of veggies you have hanging around. I threw in about 1 cup of frozen green beans, about 1/2 cup of frozen chopped spinach, and one chopped onion.

I added some salt & pepper, then decided to add some no-salt seasoning (similar to Mrs. Dash), because I was feeling lazy. I also added some fresh rosemary & oregano that I have in a little herb garden. Then I just left it in the crockpot, on low, until dinnertime. It probably crocked at least 1 hour once everything was in it.

This made a very tasty, pretty soup. Even the kids ate it without complaining. I like it when that happens.

The Heat of the Moment

Asia is not just a lame 80s band. Here's a run-down of tonight's Asian-inspired menu.

I have made this chicken a couple of times. I vaguely remember it being based on a recipe, but it has been sufficiently tweaked to make it mine. My son, Scrappy, thinks this is the very best thing he's ever eaten.

Before we get to the chicken, let's prep the broccoli. I was supposed to make a broccoli rabe dish from Eating Well magazine. Well, my local store doesn't carry broccoli rabe. Here I was, all ready to try something new! I figure, hmmm. Broccoli. Broccoli rabe. I'll just buy broccoli and maybe the sauce will be good on that. I'm here to say--it is!!!

So, chop up your broccoli (I am a horrible person who prefers the tops, but the rest of you can peel and chop the stem too). Steam it until it is just shy of being done. Seriously, you can invest in a steamer basket. It is the best way to cook broccoli and they are like $2 at Target. Run a little cool water over them so they'll stop cooking and set them aside. Nobody wants to eat your mushy, over-cooked broccoli.

Vietnamese-Flavored Broccoli

In a small bowl, combine:

1 tbsp. fish sauce (nam pla)

1 1/2 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8-1/4 tsp. crushed pepper flakes

Stir until the sugar dissolves, and set it aside until we're ready.

As for fish sauce, I kept seeing it over and over again in recipes. I would just omit it in the past. But I have to say, I am happy I finally broke down and bought it.

Honey-Soy Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half to make 6 pieces (you can just use 6 breasts if you want, but I'm cheap and we don't need to eat that much meat)

soy sauce

honey

garlic powder (or some fresh minced garlic)

pepper

Place the chicken pieces in a dish or bowl. Pour soy sauce over top and about halfway up the sides. I probably used about 1/2 cup. Sprinkle your garlic and pepper over top. Let it sit there a while (on your counter is fine; it won't kill you)--at least 10 minutes (or however long it takes to prep the carrots).

Meanwhile....

Garlic Carrots

4 -6 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. oil of choice

1/4 c. water

1/4 tsp. thyme (more or less)

salt

pepper

Heat the oil in a pot (choose one that has a lid) over medium-high. Saute the carrots and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the water, and the seasonings (season to taste). Cover with lid. Start small with your seasonings, because you can just add more at the end. Trust yourself. You can do it. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the carrots steam. They need to cook about 8-10 minutes.

Back to the chicken.

Heat up your skillet to medium-high with about 2-3 tbsp. of canola oil. Put the chicken in the pan, along with the marinade. Mmmmmm....

Pause to enjoy the smell of your tasty dinner. Your chicken is so happy. It's browning, so leave it alone. After a couple minutes, flip the chicken. Let it brown on the second side for a minute or two. Turn it down to medium and cover the pan for about 5-7 minutes (this depends on the thickness and quantity of your chicken). Take the lid off, and drizzle the chicken with some honey. Flip it over so the honey starts to caramelize. You weren't sure until I said, "caramelize." But now you know you have to make this, huh? Drizzle more honey and flip again. Try to control your drooling. When your chicken is done, put it on a plate. I like to pour a little bit of the sauce over top.

I'm sorry this isn't the greatest photo. But face it, I'm not a photographer.

Let's see. The chicken is done. The carrots are done. Now, the broccoli.

Heat up another skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp. canola oil. Toss in the broccoli, and cook about 1-2 minutes to heat up. Pour the sauce over top and toss. Heat about 1 more minute.

Dinner is done.

Go. Try it. And you can kiss me later. (After your brush your teeth.)