Chicken Cacciatore

I made this for dinner the other day and it was amazing. I found a similar recipe off the Food Network website, but didn't have all the ingredients on hand so I altered it to the following recipe and it turned out PERFECT!

Ingredients

8 Chicken Tenders, about 2 pounds
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, thin sliced
1 bell pepper, thin sliced (any color)
1/2 pound- 1 pound of white button mushrooms (depending on how many mushrooms you like
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes in juice
1 tsp of Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes
2-3 tsp fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

**Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season with sea salt and pepper. Make sure the chicken is room temperature before you start to cook.  Heat the oil in a saute pan over med high heat. Sear the chicken on both sides and then remove the chicken and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and pepper until  the onions sweat. Add mushrooms and stir occasionally. Once the mushrooms start to brown add the garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all), Italian Seasoning, and red pepper flakes and a little more sea salt. Add the chicken breasts back in and simmer until the chicken is cooked all the way through--about 10 minutes. Just before serving stir in the Italian parsley and let slightly wilt. Serve over some orzo or a bow tie pasta. We ate it just as is and it was great!

** I brined the chicken tenders for about 20 minutes before I started the cooking process while I was deciding what to make. It was a simple brine mix of kosher salt and water.

Bay and Lemon Brined Turkey

I got this recipe off of  the Food Network's website and the recipe is courtesy of Dave Lieberman. I made this for Thanksgiving a few years ago and it was a BIG hit! I honestly did not think I liked turkey up until this dish. It was always, in my opinion, dry--no matter who was the cook. I gave up trying to like this bird until this recipe came into my life. Thank you DAVE LIEBERMAN for introducing me to the wonderful world of brining poultry!

Ingredients: 

1 (12 to 15 pound) Turkey

For the Brine:

2 Gallons of water
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Kosher Salt
2 Lemons, sliced in 1/2
4 Bay Leaves
3 Cinnamon Sticks
Small handful of cloves

Instructions:

Combine all brine ingredients in a big stock pot large enough to hold the turkey. Make sure all the sugar and salt have been dissolved. Add the turkey and refrigerate at least 6 hrs (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350* F

Remove turkey from brine and transfer to a roasting pan with a rack. Stuff turkey with the lemon halves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks used in the brine. Cook the turkey for about 3 1/2 hours, basting every 40 minutes or so. If any part of the turkey gets too brown towards the end of cooking, shield with pieces of tin foil. When the turkey is done, juices should run clear from the breast and the legs should pull away from the bird easily. Remove from heat and let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving! Enjoy!!!

Pan Fried Chicken

So here's my attempt at pan frying chicken.... It was so tasty and amazing! I am so glad I went to that free cooking class at Williams-Sonoma because it taught me how to keep the silly breading ON the bird for once!!!

I first brined the chicken for 30 minutes, dredged in seasoned flour, egg mixture, and seasoned flour again and pan fried these amazing pieces of chicken! It turned out so tasty I will definitely do more of this type of cooking!!!!

Tips: have your meat at room temperature and pat DRY before you start dredging! Have the oil at the appropriate temperature and don't overcrowd the pan!