Chili Chicken and Potatoes

It has been quite a few months since I have blogged in any way about my food. Recently by the advice of some wise counselors, I was advised to not share recipes that were my own creation, but instead to save those in case I might like to publish them someday. Seeing as most of my cooking tends to be from my head or a derivation off of some recipe, this posed as a problem for my blog. 

Lately though, I have felt the itch to try new recipes and venture off in directions that are not “home base”. In doing so, I need to follow recipes since I am not yet comfortable with all of these spices or instinctively knowing which of these new flavor “colors” should go where. 

My husband and I have been frequenting more and more Indian restaurants as of late- and when these potatoes mentioned some fun spices- I got to thinking that this dish is “spicy” but more in the sense of an Indian “spicy” rather than a HOT spicy.

Chicken:

5-7 chicken drumsticks, bone in, skin removed

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Place racks in middle and lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place rack in roasting pan; spray with nonstick spray. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

To make spice paste, stir together chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the garlic in a cup. Add enough water to form thick paste. Spread over the chicken.

Potatoes:

3 (10 ounce) baking potatoes, quartered lengthwise.

2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

1 tsp of salt (or more to suit your taste)

Roast chicken on middle oven rack until instant-read thermometer inserted into drumsticks (not touching bone) registers 180 degrees F, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put potatoes in prepared baking dish; lightly spray with nonstick spray and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and additional spices. After chicken has roasted 20 minutes, put potatoes on lower oven rack and roast, turning once or twice, until tender and lightly browned, about 40 minutes.

 

Jambalaya

Awhile back, my husband got enthralled with the show “Swamp People” awhile back. I would occasionally peer over to see what it was he was so interested in, but mostly I just let him tell me about it. Apparently, sometimes the “swamp people” would also cook things. One episode, they must have referred to “Jambalaya” or something, because Tom started asking about it. I explained how it’s a Cajun dish and it generally has shrimp and beef and chicken and rice in it with a nice smattering of vegetables. Ever since that day, it’s come up in conversation now and again with Tom always being curious how it tasted. On a whim, he requested to make jambalaya today. Well, I don’t usually keep frozen shrimp on hand or fresh for that matter, so I made a jambalaya without it. Let me tell you though, it turned out beautiful! Tom loved it so much, he had three bowl-fulls! 

 

• 2 c uncooked rice
• 4 c water
• 1/8 c turmeric
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 lbs boiled chicken
• 1 lb boiled sausage (mild or hot)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• cayenne pepper
• 1/3 c flour
• 14 oz. diced tomatoes
• 2 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp thyme

In a medium pot, fill halfway with water, and bring to a boil. Add chicken, and let boil. In another medium pot, fill with water and bring sausage to a boil. In the meantime, dice onions and celery. When sausage is cooked thoroughly, remove from pot, and remove skin from sausage. Dice sausage. Set aside.

In a third pot, measure out four cups of water. Add 2 cups of white rice. Add turmeric. Bring to boil, and then reduce to a simmer.

Return to your boiling chicken, check for doneness and meat falling off the bone. Remove from boiling water, and debone chicken. Reserve chicken stock.

In a frying pan, brown the chicken and sausage in 1 tbs of olive oil. Add celery and onions, when onions become translucent, sprinkle with flour and cook two more minutes. Then, add diced tomatoes and juice, chicken stock, cumin, chili, cayenne, bay leaf and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil.

Ladle broth into a bowl and top with a scoop of rice. Enjoy!

 

Fettucine Aglio E Olio with Lemon Baked Chicken

I remember when I was young, trying to say “Aglio e Olio”. I think for years, I wasn’t even entirely sure what it meant. I just knew this dish was one of my absolute favorites. I remember cooking this up on days when life just wasn’t going well. Lemon slices in water are a must for this dish.

In this dish most especially, make sure you have high quality Extra Virgin Olive oil, such as Filippo Berio. Oil and garlic are the two stars in this dish, and you will not regret the extra money spent on quality olive oil. Also, whereas most dishes you could possibly subsitute the cheese, do not do so in this recipe. Only use a sharp sheep cheese, such as Romano Pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano. Again, this is worth the extra money, you will not get the same effect with a softer or milder cheese.

• 1 lb Fettucine pasta
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsley chopped
• Extra Virgin olive Oil
• ¼ c chopped parsley
• ¼ c grated Romano Pecorino

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, add fettucine and season with salt. In a small frying pan, lighty sauté the garlic. Set aside while pasta finishes cooking. Chop parsley. Toss cooked pasta with garlic infused olive oil and chopped parsley.

• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• 3 large lemons
• Dried Oregano
• Dried Basil
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Move the rack to the middle of the oven. Remove skins from thighs and drumsticks. Place in a 13×9″ pan. Spear each piece with a sharp knife or fork. Squeeze lemons over the speared chicken, and season with dried oregano. Cover with foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until juices come out clear.