Sweet Chili Chicken Fried Rice.

This is what I usually do with leftover cooked chicken. It's easy, fast, comforting and of course very tasty!
I think the first time I made this was when I lived in Whistler, one of my roomates had a bottle of sweet thai chili sauce in the fridge and I tried it in a stir fry, to make a change (because when I lived out west I used to eat A LOT of stir fry...), and I became hooked. That sauce makes this dish! Without it it's just another chicken fried rice. So next time you're in the asian food aisle at the grocery store, pick up a bottle you wont regret it! It's really good on shrimp too, or as a dipping sauce for spring rolls.
So here's one of my favorite chicken stir fry E-V-E-R:



Start by cooking a pot of rice. Then sautee some onions, garlic and celeri in a little bit of olive oil until they get soft. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
Add the cooked shredded chicken and a good squeeze of sweet thai chili sauce. Then add the rice and a bit of soy sauce and mix it and sautee until all the ingredients are well aquainted. Then at the end, if you wish, throw in some fresh basil or oregano, or even tarragon would be nice. This time it was basil.



As it happens, this is the last dish I made with my fresh basil....the plant is dead...the sun is not strong enough anymore to help it stay alive, so no more fresh basil...'til next spring...

Two recipes: Apple-Cheddar Bread and Chicken salad sandwich.

It was time to bake a bread for the week today. And once again I kinda just threw it together hoping it would be edible...and it is so nice! The apple in it doesn't really come out in the taste but it adds a nice moisture, as does the cheddar cheese. I was hoping for a stronger taste but nevertheless, this is gonna make great sandwiches and toasts.
Actually, I had a chicken salad sandwich with this bread for diner, and the "recipe" follows this one. This post here is kinda like a 2 in 1...since I don't have a whole lot of time anymore to cook, bake and post stuff on this blog, I give you 2 recipes in the same post. Aren't I generous??!
So for the bread, I got inspired by the cheddar-jalapeno bread from a month or so ago. I really liked how the cheese softens the bread. I used medium cheddar, but for a stronger taste I would use strong or extra strong cheese. The apple, as I mentionned earlier is only for moisture. If I'd had apple juice I would've thrown some in but I thought of it AFTER the trip to the grocery store...oh well...
Here's the formula:

4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
1tsp apple jelly(the jar was almost empty...had I thought of it ahead of time I would've bought a new jar and added a lot more...)
1 apple, peeled amd shredded (do this at the last minute to prevent the apple from browning)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded(throw in a pinch of flour in it so it doesn't clump together...)
1- 1 1/2 cup warm water, at 120F

Mix flour, yeast, salt, sugar and oats in a bowl.
Heat up the water, add jelly, pour in the flour while stirring with a fork, add the cheese and the apple and stir stir stir until it comes together in a ball. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more flour or water as needed.
When it's nice and smooth, let it rest for 5 minutes, put in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise for about 45-1 hour.
Punch it down, gently, and shape:



*This time I decide to do kind of a braid: cut the dough in 3 equal pieces and roll into logs. Stick the 3 ends together and braid as normal...well, as you can tell on my "before" shot, I don't remember how to braid...oh well...still looks pretty.
Put the dough in a loaf pan, or on a sheet, and proof for about 30 minutes, until it's double in size.
Brush on some egg whites (right before sending it to the oven...).
Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes.
When it's ready it'll sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Cool on a rack.



Isn't it so pretty-looking?

I'm sending it to Susan at Yeastspotting, a gorgeous website about bread and baking, showcasing a wide variety of breads from Ms.Yeastspotting herself and other bloggers passionate about bread. Love that website! Go check it out!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for the second recipe...
For diner I really wanted to use that bread for something, and toasts with jam(my first choice) is not really diner so I went for a sandwich. I thought of just grilling a chicken breast and sticking it between 2 slices, but that delicious fresh bread deserved better than that. So I made a nice little chicken salad.



For 1 sandwich:
Heat olive oil in a pan at medium high heat. Season chicken a breast on both sides with salt, pepper, paprika, oregano and garlic power. Grill in the pan(or on the "barbi"). The way I do it is this: I throw the chicken when the pan is really hot, let it cook for about 3-4 minutes on that one side, flip it, turn the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and finish cooking it, covered. Takes about 10 minutes.
When it's done, let the chicken sit on a cutting board to allow the juice to settle, and chop into small cubes. In a small bowl, mix 1 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp mayo, 1 green onions, salt, pepper and dried parsley. Mix in the chicken until all coated. Slab that in between the fresh slices of apple-cheddar bread with some baby spinach and enjoy!!



Have a great week, everybody!

Onion and Chicken Soup with Mushrooms and Spinach.

Mother Nature is acting up today. April 27th, it's snowing. Personnaly I don't mind it so much because it is late april, it's gonna melt and tomorrow we'll be running in shorts again. But, today, it feels like late november. And in late november I make soups and stews and comforting hot meals. So the snow outside inspired me to make this awesome chicken soup loaded with onions and mushrooms. Earthy and delicate.



I already had cooked chicken in the freezer so I used that.
I started by sauteeing one big leek and one big yellow onion in oil and a little butter, for about 5 minutes. Then added about a cup of mushrooms and 2 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, a bay leaf, couple sprigs of fresh thyme and dried chili flakes. Sauteed for another 2 minutes, added chicken stock(3 cups)and simmered until the onions were well cooked. About 15 minutes...
At the end I threw in the cooked chicken, 2 cups chopped baby spinach and 1/4 cup chives, let it all heat up and done!



With bread on the side, that's a pretty decent lunch.

Chicken Panini.

Today for lunch I had to finish the last piece of my Focaccia bread. So I made a sandwich. Well, I don't like calling the a "sandwich"...it's more like a panini. If I had to give it a name it would be...: Mediteranean Chicken Panini.



*Chicken, 5oz breast(yes, 5oz...I bought a scale, I weighted it...!) seasonned with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and oregano, cooked in a little oil in the pan.
*Salami, about 5 slices, crisped up in the micro-wave.
*Feta cheese
*Chives
*Sundried tomatoes
*Spinach.
*On Focaccia bread, with a little bit of dijon mustard.
*Toasted in a dry non-stick pan with some kind of weight on it to make it as flat as possible(or, in a panini press if you have one...).

Hit's the spot, doesn't it?

Healthy Chicken Tenders

Ah...chicken tenders...a childhood favorite. Chicken nuggets at McCrap was one of my favorite when I was little. Dipped in honey.
Now I avoid McS**t like the plague, but I still love chicken tenders. The restaurant I used to work at had AMAZING chicken tenders but of course they were deep fried and heavily breaded, like they always are. I use to eat them all the time at "The Rock". But now that I don't work there anymore I had to find a way to get my fix, so I started making my own chicken strips, with soooo much less fat. It's not the same as my Tupelo tenders from the Rock but they still taste great and it's the idea of eating something not so good for you (when in fact they're really healthy) that I love with these. I don't give exact amount of the ingredients because A) I didn't measure and B)it's up to YOU to make it how you want it.



Here's how I made them today:
Heat the oven at 425F.
Ok so first, get a couple of chicken breast, no skin, pat them dry with paper towels and cut into strips.
Second, take out 3 bowls. In one put flour, salt, pepper, and whatever spices you want. I used paprika and chili powder. In the other one break and whisk 1 egg(or 2 if you're cooking for a big crowd). The third bowl is for breadcrubs. Or crushed crackers, or even cornflakes...Go with what you got. I take crackers and smash them in the morter&pestle. Easy enough.
Then, each strip goes in the flour, shake off any excess, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Make sure all sides are covered.
Lay them down on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake, for about 15-20 minutes, turnig them half-way.
Voila. Garanteed you won't miss the deep-fried fat.
And I still, and always will, dip my chicken tenders in honey.