Serving of Twice Cooked Thai Chicken and Tropical Fruit

This recipe takes a little effort but the rewards in flavor makes the effort worthwhile.

First Cooking

• 7 or 8 chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp Thai Kitchen Thai Seasoning

1. Season Chicken Thighs evenly with Thai Seasoning
2. Place in a 1/2 size aluminum steam table pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil
3. Cover pan with foil and bake in a 300° F oven for 1 to 2 hours. Remove cover for last 1/2 hour.
4. Allow to cool. Then remove skin from thighs and discard.
5. Shred the chicken meat by hand and place in a large bowl.

Seasoned Chicken Thighs for Twice Cooked Thai Chicken

Shredded Chicken

Second Cooking – Curried Coconut Sauce with Shredded Chicken

• 3/4 cup Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
• 1 tsp McCormick Chinese Five Spice
• 1 tbsp Thai Kitchen Thai Seasoning
• 1 tsp McCormick Fancy Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Gilroy Farms Minced Garlic
• 1 15.25oz can Tropical Fruit
• 1 small can pineapple chunks, diced if desired
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted lightly in a frying pan
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan (large enough to hold ingredients plus chicken).
2. Heat and blend Curried Coconut Sauce.
3. When well blended, fold in the shredded chicken, and stir to blend well.
4. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
5. Serve 1 cup Twice Cooked Thai Chicken over 1 cup of fresh cooked Honey Cumin jasmine or basmati rice (recipe below).

Honey Cumin Rice Recipe

• 2 cups Jasmine or Basmati Rice
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp McCormick Ground Cumin

1. Bring water to boil. Add rice, cover, reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes (less time for basmati)
2. Remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
3. Sprinkle ground cumin evenly over top of rice, and drizzle with honey.
4. Stir well

Dole Tropical Fruit Blend

Tags: Twice, Cooked, Thai, Chicken, and, Fruit, Recipe

Asian Seasoned and Grilled Chicken

A unique and delicious taste sensation results from this recipe which is flavored with a large variety of Asian flavors. These tastes include McCormick Chinese Five Spice, Hoisin Sauce, Vietnamese Fish Sauce and Sesame Oil. If you’re a regular here, you’ll know we like to marinate our grilled foods before cooking and this recipe is no exception.

Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar (we like the Sugar In The Raw Style)
2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tbsp Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper (or equal portions black pepper and crushed red pepper)
1 tbsp Pick-A-Pepper sauce (Jamaican Sauce similar to A-1. Use A-1 if you can’t find Pick-A-Pepper)
1 tbsp Vietnamese Fish Sauce
1 tsp Corn Starch
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp olive or canola oil

1 Pick of the Chicks package of cut up chicken (2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks)

Combine all of the ingredients (except chicken in a small bowl. Mix, then microwace for 1 minute. Mix, and microwave again for 30 seconds. Mix, and microwave one more time for 30 seconds. Whip well with a fork. Set Aside.

Wash and rinse chicken well then place in a one gallon sized zipped style heavy duty plastic storage bag. Pour the seasonings over top of the chicken. Place in refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours.

Heat grill (We’re old fashioned an enjoy charcoal grilling. Use your gas grill if you like). Remove chicken from marinade and save marinade in a paper cup or ceramic cup to use during cooking. Cook chicken using indirect heat (i.e. coals on one side of grill and chicken on other). Cook for one hour to one hour 15 minutes, turning meat and marinating with reserved marinate at 15, 30 and 45 minutes. Test doneness with meat thermometer to 165° F. Discard any remaining marinade. Do Not add marinade after 45 minutes because it’s touched the raw chicken.

Serve with Steamed Corn on the Cob, Cole Slaw, and/or a tomato/cucumber/onion salad.

Since we’re ALWAYS concerned about eating healthy, we have to add this part: Chicken wings are the fattiest part of a chicken so should be eaten in moderation. This recipe doesn’t add much fat to the wings (unlike buffalo wings which are often deep fried after being dipped in a fatty sauce.)

Ingredients
2 Pounds Chicken Wings, rinsed well
2 tbsp Durkee Lime Pepper Seasoning
1/2 cup Lime Juice
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions

1. Combine Lime Pepper, Lime Juice and Olive Oil in a Pyrex cup.
2. Place chicken wings in a large self closing (i.e. Ziploc®) bag.
3. Pour seasoning mixture over wings.
4. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more, turning over occasionally to allow flavor to permeate the wings.
5. Heat oven to 475° F.
6. Place Lime Pepper Seasoned Wings in a baking pan that has been covered with non-stick aluminum foil.
7. Cover pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil, and back another 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Here’s a recipe we cooked up the other day that (we feel) was unique, tasty and wholesome. We thought we’d experiment around with Italian Seasoning and ended up with something we’d never have thought of. The result was sensuous … Italian Seasoning mixed with Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper along with the citrus flavor from Lime Juice. Try this recipe. It’s a keeper.

1 Pound Chicken Parts (your favorite)
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper
1/2 cup Lime Juice

In a large skillet place 1 tbsp olive oil. Add chicken pieces. Season with Italian Seasoning and Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper. Add 1/2 of the lime juice. Simmer. Cover and cook. Turn occasionally to cook chicken thoroughly — about 20 minutes. Add the remaining lime juice and cook, turning often to season, for another 5 minutes.

Note: It’s important that the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of at least 165° F. Use a meat thermometer to verify the chicken is done.

McCormick’s Big and Bold Monterey Style Seasoning has become a favorite seasoning of ours. It’s a mix of coarsely ground garlic, red bell pepper, roasted garlic, red pepper, and contains tumeric and annatto for adding a yellow color to foods. We find that the yellow color adds a pleasing and appealing look to chicken. So today we’re going to share our recipe for making a barbecued whole chicken seasoned with McCormick’s Monterey Style Seasoning along with a little bit of chili powder.

Monterey Seasoned Chicken Recipe
a 4 pound whole chicken
2 tbsp McCormick Monterey Style Seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup water

1. Wash the chicken under cold water and set on a plate to allow excess water to drain off.
2. Place the Monterey Style Seasoning and Chili Powder in a cup. Add sugar, water and vinegar. Stir to mix well.
3. Put the whole chicken in a one gallon size freezer zip-loc storage bag.
4. Dump the seasonings over top of the chicken, seal the bag, and flip over a few times to distribute the seasonings. Place the chicken in the refrigerator and marinate for about 2 hours turning over every 1/2 hour so the seasonings evenly infuse the chicken.
5. Since this is a whole chicken, it needs to be cooked indirectly so it cooks slowly and completely. So place the charcoal on only one side of the grill. Light grill.
6. Remove the chicken from the zip-loc bag, and place into a disposable heavy-duty aluminum pan that has the bottom lined with non-stick aluminum foil. We use the disposable pans because the smoke from cooking will permanently mark a real roasting pan.
7. When the grill is ready, place the chicken on the side away from the heat, cover and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the chicken is about 170° F. For proper food safety, it’s very important that a meat thermometer is used to make sure the chicken it cooked thoroughly to prevent illness from under cooked chicken.
8. Let the cooked chicken sit for 10 minutes before carving or else you’ll find you have shredded chicken (instead of sliced chicken).

Tags: food, recipe, barbecued whole chicken

Several years ago we had lunch from a Mexican chicken restaurant near us called El Pollo Primo. They cook the chicken on a couple large griddles, and then serve a few pieces of whole cooked chicken on a plate along with some corn tortillas, salsa, and Spanish rice. Then at the table, the chicken is shredded by customer, placed on the corn tortilla, mixed with some Spanish rice and some salsa. Then the tortilla is rolled up, and eaten. We found this to be a delicious and unique way of serving chicken.

So over the years we’ve tried to replicate their seasoning on the chicken and we think we finally hit it.

El Pollo Primo Grilled Chicken

1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground corriender
1/2 tsp annatto seed (from a Latin American grocer)

The annatto in this recipe adds the lovely yellow coloring to the chicken that you see in the photograph above.

Place the canola oil, water, vinegar, garlic, cumin, corriender, and annatto seed in a blender. Blend on medium high speed for 1 – 2 minutes to allow the annatto seed to be chopped up by the tines on the blender. Alternately use ground annatto, and whip up well with a wisk.

Wash, and place 5 – 6 chicken breasts and thighs in a large, freezer duty ziplock bag. Pour the seasonings over top of the chicken and seal the bag. Turn the bag over a few times to coat the chicken well, then place in the refrigerator. Let marinate for 4 to 6 hours, turning over ever hour or so.

Cook the chicken on a griddle or large iron frying pan until done, about 15 – 20 minutes to a side.

Serve with warmed corn tortillas, Spanish Rice, and your favorite salsa. You may optionally add sour cream, and cheese.

Tags: food, grilled chicken recipe

Last Sunday night we felt like making a meal with kluski style egg noodles. While kluski egg noodles are more often used with soups, they are hearty enough to use in a chicken pasta dish. To the right is a picture of kluski noodles along with a quarter so the size can be judged. Kluski noodles are about 1/4 – 3/8″ wide, 2 1/2 to 3″ long, and are a little bit thicker then regular egg noodles.

Recipe for Chicken Meatballs with White Cheese Sauce and Kluski Noodles

To Prepare Chicken Meatballs

1. Prepare a place to put the formed meatballs by placing a piece of wax paper on a plate.
2. In a small cereal bowl beat and mix well:
   1 1/2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
   1 egg
   2 tbsp milk
3. In a large bowl add:
   1 pound ground chicken
   1/3 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
   Seasoned egg mixture
4. Mix well with hands for a minute or so, and then form into 1 to 1 1/4″ balls with the palms. Place on plate covered with wax paper. Repeat until all of the meatball mixture is used up.
5. Place the meatballs in a lightly greased large non-stick skillet, cover, and cook on low heat, turning every 2 to 3 minutes to cook through, and brown on all sides.
6. Total cooking time will be about 10 – 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, make the White Cheese Sauce and Kluski Noodles.

Kluski Noodles

1. Cook 1/4 pound of Kluski Noodles according to package directions. Ours cooked for about 10 minutes.

White Cheese Sauce

1. Add 1 cup milk and 2 tbsp white flour, and 1/2 tsp Poultry Seasoning to a 1 quart non-stick pan.
2. Place over low heat, and stir constantly until the milk thickens, about 8 – 10 minutes.
3. When sauce is thick, add 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

To serve, place a layer of cooked kluski noodles in a small bowl, top with 6 chicken meatballs, cover with some Cheese White Sauce, and Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese.

Chicken Meatball Sandwich Recipe
As an alternative for serving this recipe over kluski noodles, you could instead make a Chicken Meatball Sandwich. Make the meatballs and Cheese White Sauce as described above. Spread the Cheese White Sauce on a kaiser roll, cut meat balls in half, and place on roll, and finely sprinkle with finely sliced lettuce.

We’re really impressed with the seasoning, so you can expect to see more recipes here that incorporate Greek Seasoning. We’ll start with the first of three easy to make recipes today.

Recipe for Greek Marinated Chicken

• 1 pound chicken breasts and/or thighs
• 2 tbsp McCormick Greek Seasoning
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Mix the vinegar, olive oil, and Greek seasoning together in a pyrex cup.
2. Wash chicken well, and place in a 1 gallon Ziploc bag.
3. Pour the Greek Seasoning mixture over the chicken, seal the boag, and roate to spread the seasoning over the chicken.
4. Place bag in refrigerator, and marinate for 2 – 3 hours, flipping the ziploc bag over ever 30 minutes so that the marinate gets evenly distributed over the chicken.
5. Remove chicken from the ziploc bag, place on a baking dish, cover and bake at 350° F for one hour. Remove cover during last 15 minutes.

Serve with Greek Garden Salad

Here are some tips to making Buffalo Wings that aren’t in the recipe:

• Use a blender to mix the seasonings.
• If you use the Tabasco Sauce, and the 1 1/2 tsp of Cayenne Pepper, you’ll have a mild flavored wing. Use more Cayenne for more heat in the Buffalo Wings.
• Our recommendation is to start with the middle of the road and use 1 1/2 tsp of Cayeene until you know if that’s too hot for you and your family, and then adjust the seasoning to your tastes for later recipes.
• We marinated the Chicken Wings in a large gallon sized ZipLoc® bag Turning it over ever 1/2 hour or 45 minutes.
• It’s easiest to use large 1/2 pan disposable pans lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Without the non-stick foil, the Buffalo Wings will stick to the pan.
• Only place the wings in the pan. Dispose of the sauce. The wings absorb the sauce, and you’ll see there is plenty of liquid at the end of cooking.
• Bake the wings covered for the first 45 minutes then remove the aluminum foil cover for the last 15 minutes to let the wings brown.
• Serve with Blue Cheese Salad Dressing for dipping the wings, along with carrot sticks, celery sticks, and cucumber slices.

This is a really easy recipe to make using leftovers. Since the chicken was already cooked, all we needed to do to prepare this recipe was to chop up the seasoned chicken thighs into small pieces. We find cutting up chicken is easier when it’s cold, and so we chopped up the chicken right out of the refrigerator, then put it in a bowl to be reheated in the microwave. Since the Buffalo Chicken Thighs are very flavorful, this recipe doesn’t require any sauce.

Serve the chopped Buffalo Chicken Thighs on submarine rolls that have been toasted lightly in the broiler, and then spread with mayonnaise. Top with the chopped chicken, and lettuce and tomato.

This is a tasty sandwich, which could actually be prepared directly from the Buffalo Chicken Thighs as the main dish instead of as a way to use up the leftovers.