Tag Archives: Chicken

Spinach & Chicken Empanadas

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Empanadas are a latin caribbean pastry shell turnover. The filling can be sweet or savory and the shell is buttery, but still flaky.

These pockets of goodness are so intriguing.  At first glance I imagined them somewhere in the middle of a samosa and a calzone.  Upon tasting them, it triggered a memory of a flaky meat pie.  In the end, the taste and texture is completely its own.

With the buttery flaky pastry like shell, a sweet filling would be absolutely divine.

For our first batch of empanadas we went with spinach, feta, cottage cheese and chicken.

I’m totally hooked.  The list of combinations is already building in my head, and the hardest decision at the moment is deciding to go with sweet or savory.

Making any dough always leaves me a little perplexed since I haven’t worked with it too much.  The buttery flaky texture had me worried, it didn’t seem like it would come together.  Once chilled and rolled out in some flour, that texture stayed, right through till the end when you bite into a warm, flaky, buttery pastry shell.

The Dough (adapted from Epicurious)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Egg
1/3 cup Cold Water
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar

In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt. Rub butter pieces together with flour and salt (using your fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse meal with pea size butter lumps.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg, water and vinegar with a fork. Add to flour mixture stirring until just incorporated.

Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface and gather together. Knead gently, just enough to bring dough together with the heel of your hand. Form into a flat rectangle, wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

The Filling (Inspired by Honest Fare)
1 bag Spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 chicken breasts, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp red chile flakes
1/2 cup cottage cheese, drained
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp olive oil
2 Eggs

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes until onions are translucent and garlic is browned. Add chicken and chili flakes. Cover and cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes or until cooked. Add spinach with a touch of water.  Cover and let steam until the spinach turns bright green and wilts down. Drain as much liquid as you can.  Add cottage cheese, feta cheese and 1 Egg.  Mix together.

The Assembly
Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove plastic wrap.  Place dough on a lightly floured surface, cut into 8 medium size pieces (or 12 small or 6 large).  Flouring the counter and rolling pin so the dough does not stick, roll out pieces one at a time until about 5 inches in diameter and 1/8inch in thickness.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp water with 1 Egg to create an egg wash.

Place about 2 tbsp of filling into middle of each empanada.  Fold into a semi-circle.  Along the edge, fold bottom dough over top dough and press down with a fork.  Repeat with each empanada and place on prepared baking sheet.  Using a pastry brush, brush each empanada with egg wash, flip over gently (so you don’t break the seal) and brush again with egg wash.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until empanadas have puffed up, are lightly golden and crispy.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  Serve warm.

Coconut Rice & Chicken

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Brown rice simmers in a bath of coconut milk.

Sliced chicken breasts give in to a healthy dose of cajun seasoning before blackened.

Sweet, juicy ripe mango is peeled, sliced, and sliced again into long strips.

2 Lovely Green Avocados are pitted before slicing into strips as well.

Crunchy green onion & vibrant red pepper become diced into equal size pieces.

All being prepared to meet each other in a perfectly balanced, fresh and colorful dish.

My mouth waters just thinking about it.

The combination of spicy chicken with fruity mango, soft avocado and creamy rice is so enticing, its frequently made in our house.

Coconut Rice With Chicken, Mango & Avocado (adapted from Chatelaine)
3 Chicken Breasts, sliced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbsp cajun, optional
1 400ml can Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 1/2 – 2 cups Water
1 Cup Brown Rice
1/2 tsp Hot Chili Flakes
3 Green Onions, diced
1 Ripe Mango, peeled and cut into long strips
1 Avocado, sliced
1 Red Pepper, cored, seeded and diced
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut, optional

In a large saucepan, add Coconut Milk and water.  Stir in rice and chili flakes. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir and reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid in absorbed.

Heat a medium pan on high heat.  Add oil and garlic.  Let cook a minute or two.  Once pan is hot, add chicken and cajun seasoning, if using, and cook on high for a few minutes until blackened.  Flip and repeat.

Once rice has cooked, stir in red pepper.  Let cook for just a few minutes until just barely soft. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken, avocado, mango and green onion.  Garnish with unsweetened flaked coconut. Serves 3-4

Salsa Verde with Cajun Parmesan Chicken Strips

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I couldn’t decide if I wanted to separate these two delicious dishes into two posts.  But decided while they taste pretty amazing on their own, together, they taste kind of magical. I know, I said it, super cheesy but true, magical!

Once you’ve tried these you will think very differently towards store bought or restaurant chicken fingers.  And once you’ve tasted the green goodness that is salsa verde, you will always have watercress on your grocery list and will probably make this on a weekly basis. I feel like it could pair very well with white fish..

This is my first time cooking with watercress. I can’t believe I never noticed it next to the cilantro and parsley before. For something that looks like a simple garnish, it’s surprisingly good for you. It’s a hard working little vegetable, it breaks up kidney or bladder stones, purifies the blood and stimulates thyroid. Also contains calcium, vitamin C and beta-carotene.

I usually pick the parsley off my dish if its a garnish, but I think I should start eating it. Another busy vegetable, this one has vitamin c, iron, and sodium.  Can you believe it’s a breath freshener, cleanses the blood and also clears kidney stones. Wow!

(Adapted from What Katie Ate)

Salsa Verde
Handful of fresh parsley leaves
Small handful of fresh basil leaves
Handful of Watercress
1 tbsp capers
1 Green Pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Jalapeno, chopped. Remove membrane and seeds if you do not want it very spicy
Zest & Juice of 1 Small Lime
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Pine Nuts

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse. After a few minutes, scrape down sides and taste for seasoning. Blend for another minute or two until smooth, or until desired consistency.

Transfer salsa to another bowl and set aside.

Cajun Parmesan Chicken Strips
3 Chicken Breasts
1 Cup buttermilk
2 Eggs

5 Slices of Ancient Grains Bread
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Zest of 1 Lemon
1-2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
Pepper

Pulse slices of bread in a food processor or blender into a fine grain. Add lemon, parmesan cheese and cajun spice.  Add freshly ground pepper. Pulse a few more time to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and eggs.  If you do not have buttermilk, you can add 1 tbsp of lemon to 1 cup of milk as an alternative.

Slice chicken breasts into strips, say 2cm x 10 cm or so. Place chicken strips in egg mixture and coat well.  Roll chicken strips in bread mixture until completely coated. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in oven at 360F for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked and coating is golden and crunchy.

Serve warm with salsa verde.

Spicy Szechuan Chicken

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I’m very happy to say this Wednesday night meal was a big success.  Spicy, flavorful and new, to us.

Scotty’s had a hankering for Spicy Szechuan Chicken for the last few weeks so now was the time to try it.  Having never made Szechuan Chicken from scratch before I scoured the internet for a recipe and came across this one.

We increased the veggies and sauce content, served it over egg noodles, and ate it with chop sticks. Delicious!

Serves 4-5

4 chicken breasts, sliced thinly
4 Egg Whites
4 tbsp cornstarch

Sauce:
8 tbsp chinese cooking wine
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8 tsp tabasco sauce
8 tbsp sesame oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
8 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp crushed dried red chili peppers
4 tbsp ginger, minced

Veggies:
1 Jalapeno, cored, seeded and diced
2 Red Peppers, sliced
2 Green Peppers, sliced
3 Red Chili Peppers, sliced
3 Green Onion, chopped

1/2 Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp butter

Cut Chicken breasts into 1/2 inch strips, set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine egg whites and cornstarch.  Add chicken breasts to cornstarch mixture and coat well.

In a separate bowl, mix together all sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil on high in a large saucepan until it starts to sizzle.  Add chicken strips and cook quickly until they turn white.  Remove chicken to a plate lined with paper towel, pat dry and discard any additional oil, leaving about 1 tbsp in saucepan.

Heat butter in saucepan, add veggies and cook quickly on high until they start to blacken.  Remove veggies to a separate plate.

Return chicken to saucepan and stir in prepared sauce.  Cook on medium until the sauce is heated and chicken is completely cooked. Return veggies to saucepan and mix all ingredients together.  Serve warm over rice, egg noodles or rice noodles.

Alternatively, if you do not wish to coat chicken in egg & cornstarch mixture.  You can heat a few tbsp of butter in saucepan and pan fry chicken quickly until its blackened, remove and continue with steps. The chicken stayed nice and moist with the mixture though

A cure for the cold – Roasted Butternut Squash, Quinoa & Chicken Stew

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Spring is here which makes me happy. Sunshine, longer days, warmer weather, rainstorms, and well amongst all the good, also a cold.  The best thing about this cold though is it gave me a great reason to try this comforting, healthy stew from Cooking Canuck that I’ve had bookmarked for awhile. I’ve attempted to make soup before, a few butternut squash soups and I will admit they’ve been a bit of a disaster.  Why such failures? You would think soup would be quite easy to make, and after making this one, I know they are, all you need is a little time and patience to allow the ingredients to cook, a no-brainer.

I decided to roast the squash instead of steam it, and I had some extra tomatoes that needed to be used up, so I roasted those as well instead of using canned.  At the very end I also realized a had some kale that I needed to use, so I tossed it in, and I’m glad I did.  Since I didn’t have parsley, the green kale gave the stew a bit more color, and good texture too.

1 1/2 lb butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed chili peppers
5 vine tomatoes, sliced in quarters (or a 14oz can of diced tomatoes)
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
1-2 handfuls chopped kale
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds,  place on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and lightly brush with olive oil. Cut tomatoes into quarters, place on baking sheet with squash and brush lightly with olive oil. You can make a divider between the two so the squash doesn’t get soaked by tomato juices. Place chicken breasts on another baking sheet. Bake all 3 at 350F for 30-40 minutes, check periodically.  I had some time to spare, so I baked the three separately in a toaster oven.

Once the chicken, tomatoes and squash are cooked, remove from oven.  In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent.  Add minced garlic, crushed chili peppers & oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.

Add tomatoes & butternut squash to saucepan and stir to combine.

Add quinoa and let toast for a minute.  Add chicken broth, stir, cover and let simmer until quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.

Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.

Stir in chicken and chopped kale.  Cover and let simmer about 5 minutes.