Chicken Sputnik

By Paul Briand

This is a recipe that I’d have to rank as looking better than it actually turned out.

I came across the recipe in Sunday’s Parade magazine.

The dish comes from Dash Recipes.

It gets its name, according to the story behind it, from having an out-of-the-world taste, as in Sputnik, the first satellite ever launched into space, courtesy of the Russians in 1957.

By the time all the potatoes here cooked through, the broth of chicken stock and sherry had been reduced to, basically, mashed potatoes.

I don’t think that’s the intent. It’s tasty, maybe not out-of-this-world tasty, but a little too mushy.

Ingredients

1 large chicken, cut into serving pieces

Salt and pepper

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoon butter (1/4 stick)

2 large onions, sliced ½ inch thick

5 large potatoes, sliced ½ inch thick

¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

¾ cup dry sherry

1½ cups homemade chicken broth

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat it with flour;

2. In a Dutch oven, sauté the chicken in butter until it is golden;

3. Layer the onions and potatoes on top of the chicken;

4. Top with the cheese, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste;

5. Add the sherry and chicken stock;

6. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.

The recipe included a couple of cooking tips:

“Slice the onions and potatoes nice and thin so they soften during cooking.”

“If you substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts, use half a cup (or one stick) of butter.”

“Sauté the chicken on medium-low to keep it from burning.”

“This dish requires a lot of stirring and attention. Stir it often so it doesn’t stick.”

Click here for recipe card.

Apple & Sage Pork Chops

By Paul Briand

I normally shop for groceries on Monday, so Monday morning I organizemy shopping list around the meals I plan to cook for the week.

Some weeks, however, I’m completely unprepared. I go to the store, literally, with a blank slate (in this case an empty shopping list).

So I get to the store hoping that something will inspire me.

This week it was one of the aptly named “Recipe Inspirations” from McCormick Spices.

I’ve written about these before:

Chicken Tikka Masala

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

Quesadilla Casserole

The packet includes a step-by-step recipe for a particular dish -- in this case Apple & Sage Pork Chops -- and provides the right dosage of each spice to accompany the dish.

Of course, if you have the spices already in your pantry you don’t need to buy the product, but I was grateful for the idea so I bought it as a way to say thanks.

Ingredients

1 package McCormick Recipe Inspirations Apple and Sage Pork Chops, which includes:

1 ½ teaspoons rubbed sage

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 boneless pork chops, 1-inch thick (about 1 1/4 pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 red apples, thinly sliced

1/2 cup apple juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions

1. Mix flour, all of the spices and salt in small bowl;

2. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the seasoned flour;

3. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add pork chops; brown on both sides. Remove from skillet;

4. Add onion; cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender. Add apples; cook and stir 2 minutes.

5. Stir in juice, sugar and remaining seasoned flour until well mixed;

6. Return pork chops to skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until desired doneness.

Click here for recipe card.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

By Paul Briand

I love chili. I rank the dish up there with meatloaf as one of my favorite comfort foods and believe, like meatloaf, that you can’t have too many different recipes for it.

I have a quick chili that I’ve made for years using jarred salsa -- my so-called Easy Chili.

And, over the years, I’ve played with other recipes involving chili, including:

Cornbread-Chili Casserole

Kielbasa Chili Dogs

Italian Chili One-Pot

Southwest White Chicken Chili

As I said, you can’t have too many chili recipes.

This one is thick Texas-style chili with meat and beans.

It comes courtesy of Relish magazine, which is inserted into many newspapers across the country, including the newspaper where my wife works. She’s good enough to bring Relish home for me on a regular basis, knowing I’m always on the look out for good recipes, especially chili

Ingredients

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons honey

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef, and sauté, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 5 minutes;

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt, and set aside;

3. Drain liquid from pot, and add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add onion and sauté until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes;

4. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute more;

5. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon. Cook together 1 minute;

6. Add chicken broth, water, beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and honey;

7. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally;.

8. Add beans and lime juice and cook 5 minutes.

As for toppings, I lean toward shredded sharp cheddar. Other possibilities include sliced avocado, sour cream, diced green onions, chopped cilantro, even roasted pumpkin seeds.

For a recipe card click here.

Leftover Chicken Tortilla Stack

By Paul Briand

The question: How to turn a refrigerator full of leftovers into dinner?

The answer: Combine the chicken, onion and peppers into a oven-baked dish that came together into something I dubbed Leftover Chicken Tortilla Stack.

I was lucky enough to have flour tortillas leftover, some shredded cheese and an avocado that needed using.

Here’s how it came together.

Ingredients
1 ½ cups of leftover roasted chicken
Vidalia onion, sliced
Red pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
8 ounce package of shredded cheddar cheese
4 8-inch flour tortillas

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil over medium high heat and add onion, pepper and garlic;
3. Saute until onions start to become translucent, remove from heat and set aside;
4. Add remaining oil to skillet and saute chicken, stir in cumin and chili powder;
5. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, place two tortillas side by side;
6. Layer each tortilla with healthy layer of cheese, then the chicken, then the vegetable mixture, then another layer of cheese;
7. Top each stack with another tortilla and place in oven;
8. Cook until cheese is fully melted and tortilla is heated through, about five minutes;
9. Serve with your favorite toppings: Guacamole, salsa, jalapeno peppers, hot sauce, etc.

For recipe card click here.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

By Paul Briand

This is another recipe offering posted on a bulletin board at my health club.

It comes via Food.com.

It requires medium prep, but cooks up fast and flavorful, particularly with the sauce that combines honey, ginger, chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce and orange juice.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons peanut oil

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pint small, sweet mixed peppers, quartered, or 2 mixed bell peppers, cut into 1-inch strips

6 scallions, whites cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, greens cut into 1-inch pieces and thinly sliced vertically into thin strips

8 ounces snow peas, trimmed

Serving suggestion, cooked brown rice

Chopped peanuts for sprinkling, optional

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, chili-garlic sauce, vinegar, ginger soy sauce, orange juice and cornstarch, set aside;

2. Meanwhile, coat the chicken with 2 teaspoons oil and heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat;

3. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally with a wooden spoon, 2 minutes;

4. Transfer the partially-cooked chicken to a plate. Reserve the pan;

5. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan; add the peppers, scallion whites, and snow peas;

6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes;

7. Stir in the reserved chicken; whisk the sauce again and add it to the pan;

8. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is tender, 1 to 2 minutes;

9. Serve over rice and sprinkle with the scallion greens and peanuts, if using.

For recipe card click here.

Grilled Pizza

By Paul Briand

This comes from my daughter, Elizabeth, who describes this Grilled Pizza as “our new favorite Sunday dinner.”

Here’s how she describes how to do it:

“We buy the dough from the store, put tin foil with a little olive oil on the grill, put the dough on, flip it, then put whatever toppings you want.

“Crunchy and delicious.’

Porco In A Blanket

By Paul Briand

Porco is Italian for pig … as in sweet Italian sausage … as in pigs in a blanket. Got it?

You know pigs in a blanket -- those tasty little hot dogs wrapped in baked dough, then dipped in mustard. So good and so not good for you.

This variation on that theme takes Italian sausage links and wraps them in either your favorite wrap or burrito. You can fill it with peppers and onions (much like you’d have at the ballpark) and you can even add the mustard.

Ingredients

1 package of sweet (or hot) Italian sausage (usually 4 - 5 a pack)

Wraps or burritos (for as many sausages as you cook)

Green bell pepper, sliced

Vidalia onion, sliced

Two cloves onion, crushed

Olive oil

Package of shredded Mozarella cheese

Directions

1. On a grill heated to medium, cook the sausage, turning regularly, until done, about 15 to 20 minutes;

2. Meanwhile, in a medium hot pan heat three teaspoons of the oil and saute the vegetables until they are translucent;

3. Spread a layer of cheese on a wrap and heat in the microwave for 45 seconds;

4. Layer the wrap with a sausage, some of the vegetable mixture, and any condiments, such as mustard, if desired;

5. Roll the wrap, tucking in the edges, and serve.

For recipe card click here.