Rosemary Chicken Cooked Under a Brick..

...or in my case on, and under, a cast iron skillet. I found this recipe while reading a tweet by Jessica Seinfeld. Jessica is also committed to cooking wholesome food for her family, and I have visions of her hovering over the stove while Jerry is in the background spitting out hysterical one-liners about the more banal aspects of our lives.

There's a great video on her blog, and I pretty much followed her recipe, except for a little addition at the end to deglaze the pan.

Rosemary Chicken Cooked Under My Skillet 
(recipe adapted from Do It Delicious)
2 packages of boneless chicken thighs (Trader Joe's has free range, antibiotic free that are nice)
Fresh rosemary (about 3 sprigs)
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon
2-3 tbsp of white wine
2 tbsp of butter or Earth Balance

Place the chicken thighs in a bowl, or on a plate, and salt and pepper on both sides. Remove the rosemary from the stems and sprinkle over the chicken breasts.

Place your skillet, or frying pan, on the stove over medium heat. Add about a 1/2 tbsp of good olive oil. I got this wonderful cast iron skillet at Marshall's and couldn't wait to get home to use it. Actually it appears to be a cast iron pizza pan, but it worked well for the chicken. Note to self: Try pizza next.

Place the seasoned chicken thighs on the skillet once the oil is heated. Then cover the chicken with another heavy pan, or skillet. I guess you could use a brick if you have one handy.

Allow them to cook for about 15 minutes. Then turn them over and cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until cooked through.

Add the lemon juice, wine, butter, or Earth Balance to the pan and deglaze. Deglazing basically means adding some liquid to the pan to melt the small bits of caramelized food  that remain after cooking. Those little bits are chock full of flavor, and will create a nice light sauce. Remove the excess rosemary and pour over the chicken. Serve with a mixed green salad. The chicken will be tender, juicy, and delicious. Enjoy!

Note: Bone in thighs are fine, too. That's what Jessica uses in her recipe. I opted for boneless as they seemed to appeal to my teenage daughter a bit more. She loved them, so I guess it was the right choice.

Baked chicken breasts, garlic broccoli and roasted cauliflower

A meal like this goes into the category of comfort food for me. It's easy to prepare, delicious to eat, and you feel good after you eat it. Boneless chicken breasts are a favorite in my house, and baking them is one of the easiest ways to prepare them. Only caveat is to season them well and not overcook them. I always use naturally raised, grain fed chicken, which you can buy at most supermarkets these days. Our local market, Stop and Shop, carries the Nature's Promise brand.

Baked Chicken Breasts:

Place the washed chicken breasts into a baking dish. Add about 1 tbsp of good olive oil, sliced sweet white onion, quartered Campari tomatoes,  handful of chopped chives, tbsp of chopped parsley, a dollop of pesto on each breast, juice of 1/2 lemon, handful of Pecorino Romano cheese, a sprinkle of panko bread crumbs, and salt and pepper.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes (for the last 5 minutes place under the broiler to brown). Remove from the heat and let them sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Garlic  Broccoli:

Wash, trim, and then peel the ends of your broccoli spears.

Cut them in quarters, lengthwise. Bring water to boil in your saute pan and add the broccoli spears, steaming in covered pan for about 4-5 minutes, or until just tender. Remove from pan and plunge in ice water. Drain and pat dry.

Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan with 3 garlic cloves (sliced), salt and pepper.

Add the broccoli to the pan:

Cook over low-medium heat, turning about every 5 minutes. Cook for about 15-18 minutes to allow the garlic flavored oil to permeate the broccoli.

My roasted cauliflower recipe can be found here. You can cook this with the chicken, just turn up the oven to 375 after the chicken is done and let it cook for a bit longer.

I served the chicken, with the delicious pan juices, over Quinoa (you can find cooking instructions here).

Enjoy!

Quick Chicken Dinner

Last night I threw together a quick chicken dinner for the family. It received rave reviews, so I'm passing it on. Also documenting the recipe for my husband, so he can use it while I'm on the road this week for business travel.

Baked Chicken Breasts:
Place boneless breasts of chicken (I like these) in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and add a pat of butter or Earth Balance to each one. Squeeze one lemon (this was the right amount for seven 1/2 breasts) then sprinkle with Herbs de Provence and basil. Add some sliced onions and sprinkle with panko bread crumbs. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. When serving, be sure to spoon a little of the pan juices over the chicken breasts. It's delicious!
Roasted Carrots:
Place baby carrots in a baking dish or cast iron skillet. Lightly coat with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and bake in 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until browned.

Steam some asparagus and serve it with a little butter, Earth Balance or olive olive. You can also sprinkle with a little grated cheese. Enjoy!

Roast Chicken Breast in the Greek Style

My friend, Maria, who came from Greece over 30 years ago, shared this marinade with me.  She was using it with lamb, however, I've found it works very well with chicken, too.  Maria also introduced me to the wonders of Greek olive oil.  Her family lives near Kalamata and produces olive oil from their family trees.  While this olive oil is the best I have ever tasted, it doesn't come my way very often, so I've found a good substitute. Ariston Olive Oil can be purchased at Pain D'Avignon bakery in Hyannis.  They offer a refill program, and while you're there you can purchase some of the best bread on Cape Cod.

Roast Chicken Breast in the Greek Style
4 Chicken breasts, split with the bone in (free range, is preferred)
Fresh rosemary - remove leaves from one long stalk
Fresh oregano - about 2 tbsp chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Place chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Add about 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, sliced garlic, rosemary, oregano, and juice of 2 lemons.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.  Allow to marinate for 6 hours.  Turning once an hour.

Bake chicken, covered with foil, for 35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.  Then place under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.   I served my chicken with mashed sweet potato (I just baked them in foil, peeled them, and mashed them) and sauteed peas.

Sauteed peas:

1/2 white onion - diced

1 bag organic frozen peas

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp celery salt

Salt and pepper, to taste

Place a tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan and cook the onions until soft. Add the peas and a little more olive oil, if needed.  Saute on medium heat until the peas start to turn golden brown.  Use a rubber spatula to turn them. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!