Last year a client gave me some Penzey spices for a holiday gift and I’m just getting around to opening some of them. Last night we tried the Sate seasoning, which has salt, brown sugar, garlic, onion, coriander, shallots, ginger, tumeric, sweet paprika, Ancho pepper, galangal, cayenne red pepper and lemon grass in it! Whew!  Much easier to use a blend for sure, although I rarely buy them myself.   You could just sprinkle this stuff on some meat for some excellent flavor but I followed the recipe in their catalog and it was awesome!

I didn’t feel like going out and lighting the barbecue as I had just put the cover on it, expecting rain tonight or tomorrow.  I thought I’d try the George Foreman Grill for this and it worked great! (Note: I do not have the one with the removable plates but I would get that one were I to get a new one.)

• 2-4 Tbs Penzey’s Sate seasoning
• 2 Tbs water
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 2 Tbs rice vinegar
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 3/4″ cubes

Mix together the water and sate seasoning and let sit a few minutes to blend.

If you’re using wooden skewers, throw those in the sink and cover with water and let soak. This is probably less important on the George Foreman grill but very important if you grill them with a live flame.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the chicken to the sate seasoning and water, mix well, then stir in the chicken. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, preferably two. I only did an hour.

The chicken will only take a few minutes to cook, maybe 4-5, so estimate how long it will take you to skewer the chicken and start some rice going at some point. I made saffron rice in the rice cooker and it came out great.

Put the chicken chunks on the skewers while the grill is heating. Cook 4-5 minutes.

Serve with some dipping sauces if you’d like. I used a bottled Thai peanut sauce that I had around.  This one would probably work good:

• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 3 Tbs hot water
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 2-3 tsp plum sauce

These would work well as appetizers at a party but we served them for dinner, with saffron rice and a green salad.

A dinner of leftovers tonight. I can hardly cook when the doorbell keeps ringing!

First, I had some leftover Sort of Mexican Chicken Soup.  I added a large spoonful of this avocado pico del gallo and some crushed tortilla chips. Mmm!

I also used the last of the cooked chicken to make a chicken salad sandwich.  I am totally guessing at the measurements just to give any new cooks a starting place. You must taste and adjust!

• 1 cup diced cooked chicken
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1-2 Tbs sweet pickle relish
• 2-3 Tbs mayonnaise
• 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
• a dash of sweet curry powder
• a dash of salt

I toasted up some sliced sourdough for the sandwich part. Had I wanted a salad without the bread I might have added some diced apples and/or diced grapes.  I kept the curry powder very light. I just wanted a hint of it.  Really quite nice!\

Oh, and I don’t mean to imply this only made one sandwich!  There is more chicken salad for tomorrow!

Mexican Inspired Chicken Soup

I wanted some soup for lunches later in the week so cooked this up to go with the carne asada soft tacos I was making for dinner. I wanted something Mexican oriented and with some vegetables so played around a bit and came up with this soup. I used some corn I had frozen after we had leftover corn on the cob. I just sliced it off the cob and froze it. I liked it in the soup because it was larger chunks of corn rather than just individual kernels.

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 tsp taco seasoning (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt (depending on your broth)
• 6 cups homemade chicken broth
• 1 cup cooked chicken, diced
• 1 cup corn (I used frozen)
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

This could have gone any number of directions depending on what I had found while rooting through the freezer and vegetable bin.  If I’d wanted a lighter soup, I’d have left out the chicken but I was thinking this would make a nice lunch for me later. If I’d wanted a heavier soup I would have added some cooked beans and maybe some potatoes or rice. Also, if I’d had extra salsa without the avocados I would have added that instead of or in addition to the fresh tomato from my garden.

Heat the oil and cook the onion and celery until softened. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning, cumin and salt and cook a minute. Add the rest of the ingredient except for the fresh cilantro and simmer 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

Mmm!  Could also add some diced avocado, grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips if you wanted a heartier soup.

I never ate chicken and dumplings growing up so my experiments with trying different recipes aren’t based on trying to recreate anything from my childhood but just playing around with a dish my girls and I all liked the first time I made it.  The first chicken and dumpling recipe I tried was good, but I don’t like relying on store bought “cream of whatever” soups.   Last night, I merged a few recipes. I think the dumplings were better in the first recipe because of the parsley and cayenne. These were bit bland. But I liked just drizzling the flour and water into the soup to thicken it rather than adding a creamed soup. So next time I might combine the recipes.

• 1 whole chicken
• water to cover and then some
• a few bay leaves
• 2-3 stalks celery, cut up
• 1-2 carrots
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water

Dumplings:

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 cup milk

Rinse the chicken and put in a large stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises, then add the bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic powder, carrots, celery and onion.  Simmer 45 minutes to an hour then remove the chicken and let cool a bit so you can remove the meat. Discard the bones and skin and fat. Shred the chicken into large pieces and return to the pot of broth.

Combine the flour and water, then stir into the broth to thicken.

Mix up the dumplings by sifting together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. (And next time I’ll add some dried parsley and cayenne pepper.)  Cut in the butter then add the milk and mix. I did this all the food processor.

Bring the broth to a simmer and slowly drop in small spoonfuls of the dumpling mix. Simmer 15 minutes until cooked through. Try not to stir too much as you don’t want the dumplings to break up into small bits.

I’m making chicken and dumplings tomorrow night, for us and to share with a laid up neighbor. I’ve got this standby recipe for chicken and dumplings, but am wondering if y’all have some variations you’d like to share?

I really made too many chicken cutlets the other night. However, they are good simply reheated.  Last night I used some up in a Chicken Divan casserole.  For lunch today, my daughter took a simple salad with some chopped romaine lettuce mixed with Ranch dressing and a chopped chicken cutlet. She loved it.

Today for dinner, I felt like experimenting with a Panini sandwich of some kind using one of the last cutlets, with a simple salad on the side.  This came out really good!  I had a small jar of roasted red peppers in the pantry and used a few of those. I also used up the last of a small jar of mango chutney.  (The raisins are the dark spots you see in the picture.)   I also added a slice of provolone cheese.  The bread wasn’t even very good, a bit stale, but somehow using it for a panini I didn’t even notice!  So for one sandwich:

• 1 French roll or two slices of ciabatta or other hearty bread
• 1 slice of provolone cheese
• 1 leftover  chicken cutlet
• a spread of mayonnaise and mustard
• a spoonful of mango chutney
• a few roasted red pepper slices

Spread the mayonnaise and mustard and chutney on the bread. Lay the chicken cutlet down, then top with the red pepper slices and then the cheese. Spread a bit of butter on the outside of the sandwich and grill until heated through and the cheese is melted.

This came out great! I think the key to good Panini is a) the bread and b) having some little treat tucked into your pantry or frig, like the roasted red peppers and chutney.  I think this would pack up well in a lunchbox and be good at room temperature.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

We had chicken cutlets last night for dinner, special request from college daughter that was home visiting a night.  I had leftovers, because I tend to make too much. Leftover cutlets are good reheated if you’re careful. Or you can turn them into any number of good chicken sandwiches, like these Sort of Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches . Here is my grandmother’s Chicken Divan recipe. But tonight I started with the leftover breaded and fried cutlets. I combined a few options.  It was okay. Not great. I had thought that the breading might let me just skip the typical breadcrumb topping but I think, in hindsight, it would have been better to just scrape the breading off the leftover cutlets. I liked it okay this way. Youngest thought it was blah.   But in case you are looking to experiment, here’s what I did.

• a few leftover chicken cutlets that had been breaded and fried
• enough broccoli to lightly cover the bottom of a 9×9 pan
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt (or you could use sour cream or mayonnaise)
• 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard (or use some curry powder instead)
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs

Chop the leftover chicken cutlets (or another form of leftover cooked chicken) and layer it and the broccoli in a 9×9 pan.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix together the soup, the yogurt, and half the cheese, then mix this together with the chicken and broccoli and spread out in a 9×9 pan.

Mix together the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs (or crushed potato chips or corn chips or crushed croutons ….?) and sprinkle across the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Wow, check out this comprehensive list of recipes for leftover chicken!

I’ll add a few favorites of my own:

• Chinese Chicken Salad #1
• Chinese Chicken Salad #2
• Chicken and Corn Chowder
• Chicken Curry Salad
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Chili Chicken Casserole
• Creamed Chicken on Rice
• Creole Chicken
• Enchiladas
• Fried Rice
• Leftover Turkey or Chicken Sandwich Spread
• Middle East Chicken Soup
• Pasta with Chicken and Artichoke Sauce
• Turkey Casserole
• Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
• Turkey Skillet

I

Cold Chicken Sesame Noodles with Cucumbers

pretty much followed Mark Bittman’s recipe here for Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce, Chicken and Cucumers.

I had simmered a whole chicken the other night to make King Ranch Chicken Casserole, which we had for dinner and then my daughter took for lunch a few times and I had for lunch as well.  It is good at room temperature or heated a bit in a microwave.

Some of the chicken I turned into this nice rice, chicken and artichoke salad. The rest I used tonight for this fantastic sesame no0dle and chicken dish.  The dressing, made with peanut butter was fantastic!  Next time, and there will be a next time, I will chop the cucumber rather than grate it. Even grating it, I did squeeze out all the water, which he doesn’t mention but I think was crucial. Next time I might salt the cucumber, rinse and dry, then chop rather rather than grate. That was the only improvement I could think of, one of texture rather than flavor. Caveat: I have never ordered this in a restaurant, so have no idea what this is “supposed” to taste like. I can tell you that we thought it was great!

Dressing:

• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (I always use frozen!)
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar
• a few splashes of Tabasco sauce
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad

• 12 ounces fettucine
• 1 -2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
• 1 long cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup fresh scallions or green onions, minced

Heat a pot of water to boiling, season with a spoonful of salt and cook the fettucini (or Chinese egg noodles) until done, usually about 10-12 minutes. Drain and rinse.

Dice the cucumbers, shred the chicken, chop the green onion.

Whisk together the dressing of sesame oil, peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, Tabasco sauce and pepper.

Toss the salad ingredients together (noodles, chicken, cucumber, and scallions. Dress with the dressing and toss together, then serve.

Delicious next day for lunch!

Chicken,Rice and Artichoke Salad

My mom gave me this recipe. Things always taste better when she makes them but this still came out good!   I was missing one ingredient so did a substitution but I don’t think that was the critical piece. Not sure what she did different but I will try to figure it out!  For the record, I was missing barbecue sauce so used some Catalina dressing instead. Perhaps ketchup would have been a better choice. And it was still good–just not quite like it tasted when my mom made it!

The Dressing:

• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and set aside.

The Salad

• 1 15 oz can artichoke bottoms, drained and chopped
• 2 cups cooked rice, cooled or cold
• 3/4 pound chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 2 Tbs barbecue sauce
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 scallion, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Mix everything but the parsley together. Pour the salad dressing over it and toss, then garish with the parsley.

This is great for a hot summer night, especially if you plan ahead and don’t have to cook the rice or chicken! It also works well for entertaining, which is how I used it. I cooked the rice and chicken the night before, then let them heat up to room temperature while I chopped the vegetables and mixed up the dressing. I was serving with a cream of broccoli soup and some fresh sliced tomatoes.

I got the soup ready to the point of adding the cream, then turned it down to way low and covered. I had the salad all mixed up ready to dress and let it sit while my friend and I visited. When it was time to eat, I tossed the salad with the dressing, stirred the cream into the soup, and sliced the tomatoes with some fresh basil, olive oil, and salt.   Very good and very easy!  And moderately healthy.  A winning combination.