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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 05:10 pm |
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1st Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Both Boojum and Shadowcat-X are on low-carb diets, so both are looking for variety in protein flavors, easy to prepare, and "portable" for work and quick meals at home when work has tired folks out and restaurants aren't on the menu.
So, this wuff found several great bargains on chicken at the local market. For (mostly) under $1 a pound, wuff picked up several pounds of chicken thighs and half-breasts, and with a bit of slicing (and a WONDERFULLY sharp knife from Booj's Uncle), turned them into "boneless, skinless" chicken.
Then, what to do with them all? Well, there were a LOT of bottles and spices in the refrigerator and pantry at Booj's kitchen, and both Booj and Shadowcat-X were happy to see these bits and leftovers disappear. So, wuffy browsed the web for inspiration, and came up with 5 totally different flavor profiles, using "on hand" stuffs.
All 5 are firmly in the "low carb" category, though some have a bit more (featuring some sweets, or peanut butter, etc.) than others. But, checking w/the two residents, both say these are okay with their new diets.
Wuff will be updating with the full recipes for these. But for now, here's the list of "things to come":
Orange Flavor
Spicy Tomato-Marsala
Zesty Cinnamon
Creamy Marsala Mushroom
Thai Spicy Peanut
Ended up with a bit too much chicken to comfortably fit in the pan for the last batch, so added one more to use up the extra:
Ginger Raspberry Balsamic
Hmm... I think wuff will put the recipes as individual posts in this thread. Will be easier for folks to look up their favorite version that way. The actual preparation for all of them are very similar, but the ingredients and the flavors are drastically different.
At least the wuffy took notes when tossing these together, so the list of ingredients and the measurements should be (relatively) close! Hooray! Unlike a lot of wuff's kitchen experiments where the "muse" strikes and things go into the pot, and then wuff whimpers afterward and wonders what all he put in to make it taste that way!
EDIT: A couple "special notes" on some of the ingredients...
Some of the items from the pantry and spice shelf are the result of Kickstarter backed small businesses, or a couple specialty-store items. Luckily, all of those are now available on the web or from the specialty store in question. These, specifically are:
- Orange Crush hot sauce. This orange-enhanced sauce is Habenero pepper based, so it is hotter than some. And it has a very nice orange flavor profile that complements the orange chicken. You can find other orange-flavored hot sauces out there, or just substitute your favorite hot flavor.
- Omnivore Salt. This is a really EXCELLENT seasoned salt. Imagine your favorite seasoning mix (a la Mrs Dash) but with higher quality herbs and spices, and combine it with a gourmet French Fleur de Mar salt, and you're getting close to this lovely condiment. It isn't as "salty" in taste as normal table salts, and brings a lot of nice flavors. Wuff STRONGLY recommends investing in some of this!
- Champagne Mustard. This is a specialty of the Honey Baked Ham store. A fresh, slightly sweet, light mustard flavor. Worth checking out!
- Raspberry Balsamic. The brand used is an "heirloom quality" balsamic, barrel aged, and sweet enough to season a dessert. Not quite the supermarket cooking variety. You'll pay a little more for one of these, but the difference is well worth it!
Last edited on Mon Mar 24th, 2014 10:36 pm by Vargr
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 08:45 pm |
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2nd Post |
Melchar
Administrator
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Taking notes during prep FTW! Very good idea, that.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 08:49 pm |
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3rd Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Orange Flavor Chicken
This chicken has a distinct orange note, with savory under-pinnings. The special habanero hot sauce used in this gives it quite a kick, but you can choose to leave it out or substitute a milder variety to suit your tastes.
The "Orange Crush" hot sauce is a kickstarter special, with orange and citrus highlights in a Habanero base. That makes this sauce hotter than usual. You can find several varieties of Orange-enhanced hot sauces out there if you can't get your paws on this specific version.
Ingredients:
1 ½ LB Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips
1 small carrot, sliced
½ medium onion, sliced thin
1 stalk celery, slice thin
2 TBs olive oil
1 Tb crushed garlic
2 tsp omnivore salt
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp anise seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp ground ginger
2 TBs orange marmalade
1 TBs soy sauce
2 TBs orange liquor (triple sec)
1 TBs “orange crush†hot sauce
1 TBs Dry Sherry
Note: Next time, include 1 TBs Orange Zest for extra "zing"
Directions:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot. Add the onions, celery, and carrots, and saute' until tender and the onions are slightly translucent.
Add the chicken and dust it with the spices. Fry until no pink is visible.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the sherry, stir together, and reduce heat to medium. Stir occasionally to make sure all the chicken is well coated with the sauce. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces and thickens slightly (about 6 minutes)
In the last few minutes, add the dry sherry and stir in.Last edited on Mon Mar 24th, 2014 10:24 pm by Vargr
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 08:57 pm |
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4th Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Spicy Tomato-Marsala
Definitely not a "hamburger helper" flavor! The sherry and Marsala wines provide a complex note, and the fire-roasted spiced tomatoes shift the base far from the Ketchup-y flavors of "hamburger helper" tomato dishes.
Sriracha hot sauce brings some warmth along with its unique flavor. Feel free to add more, or cut it back to fit your tastes.
Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs chicken thighs, cut into strips
2 TBs olive oil
½ med onion, diced
1 sm carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 Can fire roasted tomatoes and spices
1 tsp marjoram
2 tsp omnivore salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/3 C dry sherry
½ C Marsala wine
1 TBs Sriracha hot sauce
Directions:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Saute' until tender and onions turns slightly translucent.
Add the canned fire roasted tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Add the chicken, sprinkle with the spices, and stir into the tomatoes and veggies. Fry, stirring frequently, just until each side of the chicken no longer shows any pink.
Add the remaining ingredients and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce reduces slightly (probably will not thicken), about 8-10 minutes.Last edited on Mon Mar 24th, 2014 09:07 pm by Vargr
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 09:14 pm |
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5th Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Zesty Cinnamon
This one took wuff a bit by surprise! The cinnamon gives it a lovely scent that brings to mind sweet cinnamon desserts and "Cinn-a-Buns", but this is not at all sweet! It is a very savory dish, and would be wonderful on top of a nice salad!
Ingredients:
2 lg boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into nuggets
1 Tbs olive oil
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 TB Zesty Italian salad dressing
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Omnivore salt
Directions:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil until hot. Add the chicken and dust with the spices. Stir fry until all pink is gone.
Add the Zesty Italian salad dressing. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until most of the dressing is gone and the rest clings thickly to the chicken, about 4-5 minutes.
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 09:34 pm |
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6th Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Creamy Marsala Mushroom
Fair warning - making this with your run-of-the-mill cream of mushroom canned soup won't end up with the same flavor profile wuffy did. Vargr cooked up several quarts of cream of mushroom soup while at Booj's warren, and the wild mushrooms, leeks, cream cheese, and sherry that went into that definitely elevated those flavors, and raised the flavors of the chicken here as well.
But if that's all you have, give the canned stuff a try. This creamy variation of a "chicken Marsala" will taste very nice in any case.
Ingredients
2 lg boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into nuggets
3 large button or crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Omnivore Salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 TBs Minced onion
1 TBs olive oil
3 TBs Champagne Mustard
2/3 C Marsala wine
1 Cup prepared cream of mushroom soup (Used Vargr’s home-made!)
Directions:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot.
Add the sliced mushrooms, garlic, and onion, and saute' until the mushrooms begin to give up a little liquid and the onions are tender and starting to turn translucent.
Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and fry until no pink is visible.
Add the Champagne mustard, and Marsala wine. Cook, stirring frequently, until all the chicken is well coated and the sauce thickens slightly, about 5-7 minutes.
Stir in the prepared mushroom soup, and lower heat to medium. Continue to cook another 2-3 minutes, until the soup is heated and bubbly.Last edited on Mon Mar 24th, 2014 09:34 pm by Vargr
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 09:58 pm |
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7th Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Thai Spicy Peanut
Okay, prepare to raid your spice cabinet and pantry for this one! LOTS of ingredients give this a very complex, layered flavor, with the peanut taste coming out on top.
Though it says "spicy", this is actually a relatively mild heat (especially for Thai cuisine). Of course, you can remedy that by adjusting the hot sauce and adding some cayenne pepper if you wish. But this is a great base to build from.
Note: not quite as sweet, in order to limit the amount of sugars added for the low carb quality. Feel free to increase the honey or add a bit of brown sugar if you like your peanut chicken sweeter.
Ingredients:
2 LBs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into nuggets
2 TBs Soy Sauce
2 TBs Peanut Sauce
2 TBs Peanut Butter
2 TBs garlic chili sauce
2 tsp Fish sauce
2 tsp 5-spice powder
2 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Ginger paste
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp Omnivore salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp anise seeds
3 TBs dry sherry
1 sm carrot, diced
12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ TBs honey
1 TBs Ponzu (citrus soy) sauce
Directions:
In a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot.
Add fennel seeds, anise seeds, garlic, and ginger paste. Cook for a minute until fragrant, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken and stir into the heated spices. Dust with remaining dry spices. Stir fry until no pink is visible.
Stir in chili paste, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Stir together until chicken is coated and sauces are well heated, about 2-3 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Add peanut sauce, peanut butter, and dry sherry. Stir until the peanut butter melts slightly and the chicken is coated. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the ponzu sauce, diced carrots, and the sliced fresh basil. Stir together. Cook for 1-2 minutes.Last edited on Mon Mar 24th, 2014 10:01 pm by Vargr
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 24th, 2014 10:15 pm |
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8th Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Ginger Raspberry Balsamic
Made this with the remaining chicken, since there was too much to fit comfortably in the pan during the Thai Peanut variant. However, wuffy is very glad he did have that extra to work with, because this turned out VERY nicely!
Very fruity, as you might imagine, but the dry sherry and ground ginger give it a very nice savory background and warmth. The port wine kicks just a bit of sweetness without using extra sugar, and also adds a nice wine tartness that helps offset some of the other fruits.
It's also one of the easier ones to prepare. And, once again, totally unlike the others in the set! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 Lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into nuggets
1 TBs olive oil
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp Omnivore salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 TBs port wine
3 TBs dry sherry
3 TBs Raspberry Balsamic vinegar
12 large black raspberries
Directions:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot.
Add the chicken, and dust with the ginger, salt, and pepper. Fry until no pink is visible, stirring frequently, about 2-4 minutes.
Add the port and sherry wines, and Raspberry Balsamic vinegar. Stir to coat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the black raspberries. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauces thicken and the chicken is done, about 6-8 minutes.Last edited on Mon Mar 24th, 2014 10:16 pm by Vargr
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