Scoville Coudert

Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Ultimate Chicken Recipes to Try at Home

One of the easiest things to make, but one of the most challenging to freshen up, is chicken. These are some easy chicken recipes that won't take too much time or energy to prepare, but are way, way better than ordering takeout.

Basic Chicken Stock Recipe

Chicken stock is a fantastic and flavorful substitute for water when preparing quinoa, rice or couscous or for adding richness and depth to sauces. The next time you make chicken for dinner, instead of giving the bones to the dog, throw them in a pot and make this simple and easy recipe. You can also substitute duck or rabbit bones for chicken bones. (Rabbit makes a particularly flavorful stock.)

Click here to see the Basic Chicken Stock Recipe
Mustard-Lime Chicken Recipe

A tangy, kid-friendly recipe that's perfect for grilling outdoors. Try serving it with a light salad on the side.

Click here to see the Mustard-Lime Chicken Recipe

Chicken Teriyaki Recipe

Just so you know, the "chicken teriyaki sauce" in a bottle does not taste like real teriyaki sauce in Japan. Teriyaki is a cooking technique. "Teri" means the "luster" given by the sweet soy saucemarinade and "yaki" means "cooking or grilling," and it's not really the name of the sauce.

Click here to see the Chicken Teriyaki Recipe

Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders Recipe

Skip the dipping sauce next time you make chicken tenders and coat them in honey mustard pretzels instead. You'll add flavor and crunch and still get to lick your fingers clean when you're done

Click here to see the Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders Recipe
Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

I decided to forgo the traditional chicken pot pie - you know the one full of chicken, peas, carrots, and celery. I wanted this one to be a little French.

The saucy sauce that brought the dish together was made with a little olive oil, butter, flour, chicken stock, and an abundance of fresh tarragon - the French part of the dish. Don't all French recipes seem to use so much tarragon? The tarragon seemed to make what can otherwise be a heavy meal light. The pot pie was fresh-tasting, and the vegetables were still slightly crisp, not overcooked.

Click here to see the Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Easy Roast Chicken Recipe (pictured above)

Roasting a whole chicken may be one of the more daunting culinary projects a cook may try, but it shouldn't be. All it takes is a couple of pantry basics, and an hour or so of your time - you needn't truss your bird, or even remove the wishbone, if you don't want to. As well, choosing to cook a whole bird, as opposed to a breast or thighs, is much more economical, when you think of the amount of meat you get per dollar spent. When properly cooked, you end up with moist meat that can be eaten alone or used in other recipes like enchiladas or chicken salad. You can also use the bird's carcass to make a real special treat - your own chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS

4 yellow onions, peeled and chopped into 6 segments
4 apples, preferably Cortlands
One 4-6 pound whole chicken, preferably organic
Salt and pepper
8 sprigs of sage
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the apples into quarters, making sure to remove the seeds in the center. Combine the onions and apples together in a roasting pan.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place on the bed of apples and onions, breast side up. Season the cavity liberally with salt and pepper, and then stuff it with the sage, onions and apples.

Drizzle the chicken, and apples and onions, with olive oil and season everything again well with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 50 minutes, or until the juices run clear when pierced in the leg and thigh.