Chicken en Papillote

I found a recipe for this in Real Simple a long time ago. Michael and I decided to try it out once when he was visiting. Since he's vegetarian, we used Morningstar Chick'n Strips. I don't remember a lot about the recipe other than you cook it at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. It's really all about eyeballing and throwing in a bunch of stuff. This is the combination we had. It turned out colorful and delicious!

Chicken en Papillote

Parchment Paper
Chicken Breasts (optional)
One can butter beans
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Carrots, julienned
Baby spinach
Yellow squash, sliced
Green onions, chopped
Olive oil, to drizzle
Lots of garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut parchment paper to size you wish to serve. Leave plenty of room to fold paper to seal. We used two pieces for each packet, like a sandwich, then folded the edges. I've also done it where I folded over one large piece.

Stir all ingredients, except the chicken, together until evenly dispersed. Drizzle in olive oil and add salt and pepper.

Spoon vegetables onto one layer of parchment paper. Place chicken on top. Seal by folding in edges.

Place sealed packets onto baking sheet and cook 30 to 40 minutes.

To serve, either place packets on plate, or open packet and dump onto plate. We opened them and ate with rice.

Orange Chicken with Potatoes

Do you get the feeling that I might like chicken?

I found this recipe in a slow-cooker article in Real Simple. There were recipes for things from beer braised beef to lemon poppy seed cake. This recipe, though, was one I really would like to try.

Orange Chicken with Potatoes

8 skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and pepper
2 onions, quartered
1 pound small red potatoes
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1 orange, cut into 1/4-inch rings
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey
8 sprigs thyme

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In the bowl of a slow cooker, combine the chicken, onions, potatoes, squash, garlic, orange, broth, honey, and thyme. Set the slow cooker to high and cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 1/2 hours. Divide the chicken mixture into individual bowls.

If You Don't Have a Slow Cooker: Heat oven to 325° F. Follow the recipe above using a Dutch oven or large casserole. Bake, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Serves Six

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes

I made this back in November while on a sweet potato kick.

I had a basic recipe from Martha Stewart's magazine, Everyday Food. I really just used it as a guide and added in some other secret ingredients, which I won't reveal.

Okay, I'll reveal one secret. I added apples to the mix!

I made it pretty spicy and it was delicious over couscous!

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches long), peeled
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
* Pinch of saffron (optional)
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 cup couscous
* Cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

1. Place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, and cook until browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

2. Add onion, ginger, and cinnamon to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Return chicken to pot. Add broth, sweet potatoes, and, if using, saffron. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard ginger and cinnamon. Stir in lemon juice, and season stew with salt and pepper.

3. While stew is simmering, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Serve chicken stew with couscous, garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Chili Chicken

I found the recipe for Chili Chicken at My Feasts.

It looks yummy and I want someone to cook it for me!

Chili Chicken

3 chicken breasts - medium sized
14 dried chilies - cut into thirds
1 heaping Tb minced ginger
1 shallot - minced
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
2 Tb vegetable/ peanut oil
1/2 Tb light soy sauce
1/4 cup water

Wash and cut chicken breast into bite size. Season chicken with soy sauce, corn starch , salt, sugar and sesame oil. Break off or cut dried chili into thirds or halves and set aside ( the variety that I use are the ones typically used in Malaysia, it is skinny and long and I have a whole lot of them in my pantry!).

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed saute pan or a wok on medium high heat. Quickly fry the dried chili until it turn reddish brown ( 2 minutes) and remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add seasoned and diced chicken to the wok or pan and stir fry it for 3 minutes. Add ginger and water and cook for another 7 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked. Stir occasionally. Adjust seasonings and add fried chilies to the chicken. Stir well and serve with steamed rice.