Tag Archives: Meal

Filipino Chicken Adobo

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Tamari is the best substitute for Soy Sauce if you are eating gluten free.

Always use Tamari instead of Soy Sauce if you eat gluten free.

A one pot, delicious, gooey, yummy, easy chicken meal. I learned this recipe from the lovely young lady who used to watch my daughter when she was a baby. She was so enormously and naturally loving to my baby girl. I loved how when I would come home from work, my daughter’s reddish locks would be in the most beautiful elaborate braids. That’s one thing she never taught me how to do. Well, she tried. At that time, I just was not that patient I suppose. Luckily, she did cook and teach me this easy recipe. Last time I saw her, she drove over to show us her very first, brand new car – a convertible Buick as she had just secured a job working for Tiffany in Beverly Hills. I miss her and I often wonder how people become such a large part of our lives and then disappear, often never to be seen again. Time does go by so fast and while I will never be able to braid my daughter’s hair the way her “RiRi” did, luckily, I can cook this chicken recipe that especially when I smell it cooking in my kitchen – will always makes me think of her. 

 

Soy Sauce, Garlic, Vinegar, Spices. Done!

Soy Sauce, Garlic, Vinegar, Spices. Done!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Soy Sauce or Tamari (which is gluten free)
  • 1 Cup Vinegar (Cider or White)
  • 6 (or lots more, I’m a Garlic fiend) cloves of Whole Garlic
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 Tablespoon Black Peppercorns 
  • 1 Whole Chicken or Fryer Cut into 8 Pieces
  • (Some people add a teaspoon of sugar / optional)

 

Put all ingredients in a pot so that liquid covers the chicken parts. You can add more Soy Sauce and Vinegar if you need to. 

Browned Chicken surrounded by the thickened sauce.

Browned Chicken surrounded by the thickened sauce.

Simmer on low flame for about an hour until the sauce thickens and the chicken browns in the sauce. You can flip the chicken if you like but you may not need to. It depends on how shallow your pot is. So easy! We serve with rice and soy sauce and steamed broccoli. Delish!

Classic Roasted Chicken

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When having family or friends over, this is one of the easiest things we like to make.The

Simple Roasted Chicken.

Simple Roasted Chicken.

vegetables are cooked in the same pan and enhanced by the chicken fat flavor. I like to buy whole chickens when they are on sale and freeze them for later use.

 

  • 1 Whole Chicken
  • Butter (or Olive Oil) and Salt and Pepper
  • Rinsed and Whole Carrots, Small Potatoes (like Red Rose or Fingerling). Or, cut larger potatoes into 2 1/2 inch pieces after rinsing the exterior of the potato skin.

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

 

Remove the neck and bag from inside your Whole Chicken’s cavity (between the back legs there’s a hole, reach in and remove the neck, bag of giblets …)

 

Place the chicken in a roasting pan or casserole dish (we like to use a Paella pan. I like the fat of the chicken but if you prefer the fat to drop off more, use a rack or even the rack from your toaster oven works when placed underneath).

My husband likes to put whole garlic and rosemary under the skin. But just salt and pepper and some oil or butter on the chicken skin and potatoes and carrots is just as delicious. So simple

My husband likes to put whole garlic and rosemary under the skin. But just salt and pepper and some oil or butter on the chicken skin and potatoes and carrots is just as delicious. So simple!

 

Smother the chicken with Butter or Oil.

 

Place the Vegetables around the chicken and drizzle oil and salt and pepper.

 

Sprinkle Salt and Pepper (about a teaspoon or two of each) all over the Chicken in as many places as you can reach.

 

Place in the oven and cook for 75-90 minutes until chicken’s thigh temperature is 165 degrees and juices run clear when pierced.

 

After 30 minutes, using a Baster, baste the vegetables with the drippings.

 

When done, remove and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

 

Note that the carrots are baked whole for ease and because otherwise, if smaller, they will cook too quickly. Let your guests cut them while eating them.

Easy Roasted Chicken. Great with a tossed simple salad.

Easy Roasted Chicken. Great with a tossed simple salad.

 

Alternatives: You can flavor your chicken with herbs and garlic if you want to spend a little more time in preparation. My husband will put about 10 cloves or more of whole garlic under the skin with pieces of rosemary that we grow in our front yard along with the salt and pepper and oil. You can experiment with other herbs like Sage or Tarragon.  Herbes Du Provence and Granulated Garlic is what we put on the Roasted Chicken at a restaurant I worked at for many years. And we would stuff the cavity with more whole garlic and season the bird inside and out thoroughly. Fennel is another great addition to the vegetables that surround the chicken (cut into quarters). Brussel Sprouts and even Broccoli also work!

easiest chicken dinners dinner recipes simple party sit-down meal

 

Greek Chicken Pitas

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My husband’s Greek friend Jamie made these when we ate over. A simple and fun dinner that the kids’ enjoy! Now we have made them countless times for our family and friends. It’s hard to believe that the chicken is not marinated. Plus a little chicken goes a LONG way and there’s really no need to “measure” anything. My friends have added this now to their regular “what to make for dinner” roster.

 

  • 4 – 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts
  • 2 Tablespoons of Dried Oregano Flakes
  • Tablespoon or Two of Oil for the chicken (and more for the bread)
  • Teaspoon Salt and Teaspoon Pepper
  • 8-10 pieces Middle Eastern Flat Bread or Nan Bread (not Pitas). Or, if gluten free, Corn Tortillas
  • 1 Red Onion sliced or chopped
  • 4 Tomatoes chopped
  • 1 Cucumber, cut into cubes
  • Store-bought Olive Tapanade
  • Store-bought Hummus
  • Store-bought Tzatziki
  • Tabasco

 

Put chicken in a bowl and mix in the Oregano, Salt and Pepper and Oil so herbs cover all of the chicken evenly.

 

On a plate, drizzle and  spread oil around on one side of each piece of bread. (Stack them as you go on a plate.)

 

Heat BBQ or pan. Heat the bread a few minutes on each side. (Use tongs to flip and place back on the plate.). Heating the bread really makes it softer and fresher although it is optional.

 

BBQ or Pan Fry the chicken about 4 minutes per side. Let sit before cutting into cubes.

 

Serve everything family style and instruct everyone to build their own “easy Gyro”. I build mine by spreading the Hummus on the bread first, then putting the chicken on, then topping with vegetables. Tzatziki and Tabasco. And, a little Chicken really goes a long way. Yummy!

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