Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Also known as avgolemono. We made this for Rachel, Sarah, and the boys, and they asked us to post the recipe. We usually double this recipe, which is from the Good Housekeeping 1998 Best Recipes Cookbook.

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth (or about 4 cups homemade stock)
2 1/2 cups water
1 medium, skinless, boneless chicken breast half, baked or poached (about 6 oz.) (we use canned cooked chicken instead)
2/3 cup white long-grain rice
3 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (we always add more)
1 Tbsp. butter

In large saucepan, heat chicken broth and water to simmering. Meanwhile, shred chicken breast by hand into thin strips or shred up the canned chicken with a fork. Add rice to simmering broth and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

While rice cooks, combine eggs and lemon juice in large bowl and whisk well.

When rice is tender, slowly whisk about 2 cups of simmering broth into bowl with egg mixture, whisking constantly (try to avoid adding rice to egg mixture - a little is okay). Return mixture to saucepan, whisking constantly, and heat to just simmering, about 5 minutes (do not boil or soup will curdle). Stir in shredded chicken and butter. Makes about 7 cups.

Chicken Piccata

This recipe is from a book called: Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking. I made this for Saba and Nana and they asked me to post the recipe, so here it is:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded out to 1/4" thickness)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour or oat flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. shallot, minced (or 1/4 cup finely diced onion)
1/2 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
1/3 cup lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
2 tbsp. chopped, drained capers
2 tbsp. chopped, fresh flat leaf parsley

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken breasts in flour on both sides.

In large skillet, over med/high heat, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute chicken until golden brown, 2 to 3 min. per side. Remove chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add shallot to skillet and cook until translucent, 1 min., stirring constantly. Add broth/wine, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a low boil and stir for a few minutes until reduced and thickened slightly. Return chicken to skillet and partially cover. Spoon sauce over chicken as you lift the lid every few minutes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes, but be careful to not overcook.

Add parsley to sauce, and plate it up.

White Chili

I thought I had posted this one already, but apparently not. Michael says it is one of the best dishes that I make, so I guess I would be remiss not to share it with you! It calls for chicken, but you could leave it out and add in more beans and/or other veggies for all you non-meat eaters out there!

1 lb chicken breast cubed or approx 2 C cooked and chopped chicken meat
1 med-large onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T butter
1 can / 2 C chicken broth
2-3 cans or about 4 C cooked white beans (great northern or cannelini beans)
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 can corn
1 fresh jalapeno chopped or from jar (about 1-2 T)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 C sour cream

If you like things super spicy add 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. (I omit this, as I think it is plenty spicy without it, especially when serving to kids.)

Saute chicken, garlic and onion in oil.
Add beans, broth, chilies, jalapeno and seasonings
Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 mins.
Serve in bowls and place a dollop of sour cream in each bowl.
Serve with tortilla chips or crusty bread (possibly a bread bowl).

*Chef's notes: I usually use cooked and chopped chicken left over from roasting chicken. I only saute the onions and then throw everything in the pot which makes it super easy to put together. I hate dealing with raw chicken meat anyways. Who doesn't?

Vegan Update 2012:  I made a vegan version of this chili using vegetable stock and extra "white vegetables" such as cauliflower and potatoes to keep with the "white" theme of the chili.  Alternatively, if you cook your own beans, you could simply keep the liquid they are cooked in or combine that liquid with vegetable stock if desired.

I usually double this recipe and freeze it for future meals.  However, I do not put any of the dairy in before I freeze it and I typically just add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl instead of adding it to the pot.

Basic Breaded Chicken, Pork and Fish

When we first got married, these were some of the first basic recipes I got from my Mom. For some of you, these may be very elementary. However, maybe these basic recipes will help a few people out, so here they are:

Whether you are breading chicken, pork chops or fish, the recipe starts the same way. The only exception is boneless, skinless chicken breast which I pound first to tenderize.

Get out two medium soup bowls or two pie plates. Pour some breadcrumbs into one of them. Start with 3/4 cup or so. In the other bowl, beat one egg with a fork and add a bit of milk. Coat the meat/fish in the egg mixture then coat it in the breadcrumbs.

At this point, you can either place the breaded items in a greased baking pan or you can lightly fry them to get them crispy before baking them. If you are frying them, put enough canola oil in a frying pan just to cover the bottom of the pan. I put the heat on med./high and fry each item until light golden brown on each side. Add more oil if you like. Then put them into the greased baking pan.

I bake all my chicken, pork and fish at 350. This may not be correct, but it's what I do. For chicken, I would cook unfried boneless cutlets for 40 minutes and fried cutlets for 30 minutes. For pork chops of medium thickness, I usually do the same timing as the chicken. For fish fillets, like cod or haddock, if they are not fried, I bake them for about 15 - 20 minutes. If I am frying them, they will cook all the way through in the frying pan, about 5 minutes or so per side.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a five star recipe from allrecipes.com and deservedly so. I made it a couple days ago and it was delicious! The first chicken pot pie I ever made. I'm posting the recipe with the modifications suggested in all the "most helpful" reviews, so it does not appear this way on the website. I also found this quite easy to execute.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken, cubed (I used canned the first time b/c that is what I had on hand. It worked great.)
1 c. sliced carrot
1 c. frozen peas
(I also used up some frozen mixed vegetables in lieu of a whole cup of sliced carrot)
1/2 c. sliced celery or potato
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t celery seed a/o 1/2 t poultry seasoning
1/2 t garlic powder/salt
2 - 2.25 c. chicken broth
~1 c. milk
2 pie crusts (I also made this with just one pie crust on top.)

Preheat oven to 375.

1. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, celery/potato. Add chicken broth to cover and boil 15 min. Remove from heat, set aside. (Consider leaving out frozen veggies to be added and baked at the end.) (Save the broth to be used in the next step. It is part of the overall quantity of broth called for.)
2. Cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, seasonings. Slowly stir in broth and milk. Drain broth from boiled veggies and add to this gravy mixture. Simmer over med-low until thick.
3. Place bottom crust in pie pan. Bake 5-7 min.
4. Combine gravy mixture with chicken and vegetables. Pour onto pie crust.
Cover with second pie crust. Cut several small slits. Brush with egg white before baking if desired.
5. Bake at 375 for 40-45 min, until crust is golden brown.

This recipe could also be done as individual pot pies, baked in ramekins and topped with puff pastry crust.

Moroccan Chicken

I found this in the South Beach diet book a while ago. It's delicious.

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves (optional) (I skip them)
salt (1/4 tsp)
pepper (3 -4 grinds)

Mix olive oil and spices together. Coat chicken in mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I remember that the book recommended serving this with couscous.

Southwestern Cornbread Casserole

I've adapted this recipe from one Michael got off a website that had "healthy recipes." This is low fat and low sodium. It's also pretty fast to throw together, and I usually have all these ingredients on hand anyways.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 c. cooked chicken breast, cubed
• 2 c. mixed frozen vegetables (or 1 can mixed veg, no salt added, drained)
• 1/2 T dijon mustard
• 1 c. salsa
• 1 box cornbread mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, vegetables, mustard and salsa together and place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Prepare cornbread according to package directions. Pour cornbread mixter over chicken mixture. Bake for 20 min or until cornbread is golden brown. (In my experience, it takes longer than 20 min. You really need to check the doneness of the cornbread with a toothpick to know when it is done. )