Salsa Chicken

Since the weather hasn't become oppressive here, I decided we'd better bake dinner one more time before we just can't. I wanted to use chicken breasts because we are trying to eat healthier and we have picky eater back at home. So I went on Allrecipes.com and just searched for most popular chicken recipes and this came up almost immediately (2,000+ reviews). It only had 4 ingredients (5 if you add optional to the picture). Super easy so we went for it. It turned out really tasty. The chicken stayed moist (always a concern when baking) and it wasn't too spicy for Whitney. This is a keeper recipe.

We put the chicken in a big ziploc bag with the taco seasoning so it would spread evenly. Some of the comments said it made it too spicy. All I can say is those people must only eat bland food. If Whitney didn't say it was spicy, it's not spicy people.

Salsa Chicken (courtesy of allrecipes.com)

The picture doesn't do it justice

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 teaspoons taco seasoning mix
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)
2. Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle taco seasoning on both sides of chicken breasts, and pour salsa over all.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender and juicy and its juices run clear.
4. Sprinkle chicken evenly with cheese, and continue baking for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with sour cream if desired, and serve.

Chicken with Fennel and Rosemary

I decided that I wanted to try a new recipe this weekend since it seems like all we eat is leftovers during the week (which is great but still I want something new). So I went to my new Food & Wine Chicken cookbook and since I had marked about 30 recipes to try, I just had to pick one. And I decided to be adventurous and use a new ingredient...fennel. You may ask how did I go this long without eating fennel? I have no idea. But now that we've cooked with it, we'll be trying it again. I always see them on cooking shows talk about the licoriceness of it. And it certainly smelled like it when we cut it. Wow.

The recipe overall had too much rosemary in it for me. Also our chicken breasts were super thick (maybe we have super chickens in Oklahoma) so they were a little dry. We also didn't use parsley because we don't like it. We served it with some mashed potatoes. But overall I'm glad we tried fennel so I guess that is the positive from the recipe.

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Rosemary
by Food and Wine Magazine

Finished product and yes that is just half a chicken breast

1. 2 tablespoons olive oil
2. 1 large fennel bulb (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch slices
3. 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
6. 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/3 pounds in all)
7. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
8. 2 cloves garlic, minced
9. 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the fennel, 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fennel is golden brown and almost done, about 12 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the fennel is tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the fennel and the cooking liquid from the pan.
2. Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat. Season the chicken with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Add the chicken to the pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon of rosemary and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer. Add the garlic; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the fennel and its cooking liquid and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and remove from the heat. Let steam 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

Mushroom and Chicken Risotto

One of the things with Whitney being gone is that we are able to cook things that we know she doesn't like and that we do. This recipe combines a couple of them...mushrooms and rice. I had bought a clearanced book at Borders with chicken recipes from Food and Wine magazine.

Courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine

Mushroom and Chicken Risotto

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound mushrooms, cut into thin slices
2/3 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
5 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock, more if needed
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1.In a large pot, heat the butter over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Cook until the chicken is just done, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer.

Chicken and Mushrooms

2.In the large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it begins to turn opaque, about 2 minutes.

Risotto

3.Add the wine and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until all of the wine has been absorbed. Add about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and cook, stirring frequently, until it has been absorbed. The rice and broth should bubble gently; adjust the heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and allowing the rice to absorb it before adding the next 1/2 cup. Cook the rice in this way until tender, 25 to 30 minutes in all. The broth that hasn't been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice. You may not need to use all the liquid, or you may need more broth or some water.

4.Stir in the chicken and mushrooms, the Parmesan, and the parsley and heat through. Serve the risotto with additional Parmesan.



Our finished product



Things I would change with this recipe is to cook the chicken separately and add more seasoning. By cooking in the same pot as the mushrooms it couldn't get brown and it lacked flavor. We used four cans of chicken broth because it always seems like our risotto is too thick. And I didn't have an onion so we used dried minced onion. We also don't like parsley so we didn't add any.

 

We have a similar recipe that uses italian sausage instead of chicken. I liked that the chunked chicken made it feel more like a meal than the tiny bits of sausage.