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Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

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Disclosure: Que Pasa Foods sent me products/coupons in exchange for a recipe post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Salsa Chicken

One of the most surprising things about building a new house is realizing how many projects are involved after the house is built! The garden, fencing in the yard, organizing everything, decorating, and other random house projects…the list goes on and on! I feel like most of our weekends involve something to do with the house, so my usual weekend cooking/baking adventures have taken a back seat. When our weekends are just crazy, I love forking out the slow cooker and making a meal. Throw the ingredients in the slow cooker, set the timer, and just let it go. Easy.

Recently, I went back to an old favorite….Salsa Chicken (only THREE ingredients)! Que Pasa Foods sent me a variety of their products to try, and my husband and I fell in LOVE with their Chipotle Salsa. Chipotle peppers add a bit of heat and spice, and when you add this in the slow cooker with chicken? OMG y’all. We had tacos the first night, and I made nachos another night with them. It’s just so flavorful. I just need to buy a case of this stuff…it’s probably the best jarred salsa I have ever had (seriously). 🙂 While this recipe works wonderfully for dinner, it’s also perfect for a party! You could easily make this a part of a taco bar for the 4th of July!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
Source: adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Pour half of the jar of salsa in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the chicken breasts over the salsa. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken, and then pour the rest of the salsa over the chicken breasts.
  2. Cover the slow cooker, and set on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 4 hours). Take out the chicken and shred the chicken well. Place the chicken back in the crockpot, and stir it into the salsa mixture. Enjoy!

 

 

One-Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta

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Cheesy Sausage Pasta

Since daylight savings time ended a couple of weeks ago, it seems like my evenings are flying by. It doesn’t help that it’s dark just after 5pm…it just mentally throws me off to where I feel behind, no matter what time I start cooking. So lately, I’m a fan of quicker meals.

I’m pretty sure I’ve made this dish at least a handful of times the past couple of months. It’s a quicker recipe, and you only need one (oven-safe pot) to make it happen. I didn’t think I’d really like this dish, but the combination of flavors and the subtle richness from the heavy cream, makes for a quick comfort food (perfect for weeknights).

You can also lighten the recipe up with a few adaptations. I sometimes substitute regular sausage with chicken or turkey sausage. I also have used whole wheat pasta with success. However, I haven’t messed with the heavy cream in the recipe. I feel like it’s such a small amount for the entire dish, and it just goes well with the cheese in the recipe to make for a wonderfully creamy dish.

One-Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta
Source: mildly adapted from Kevin & Amanda, originally from America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp. canola oil
  • 1 lb. smoked sausage
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
  • 15 oz. can low-sodium chicken broth
  • 10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles (mild or regular, depending on how spicy you want it)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz. penne pasta
  • 1 tsp. cajun seasoning
  • 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
  • 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions:

  1. Add the canola oil to an oven-safe large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onions, and cook the mixture, stirring often until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add and stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
  2. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta and cajun seasoning to the mixture. Stir everything together well, and bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Simmer the pasta until tender, about 15 minutes, uncovering and stirring every minute or so to make sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the shredded monterey jack cheese. Top the pasta with the remaining cheese, as well as the sliced green onions. Place the pan in the broiler (or at a super high heat, like 450°F), and broil the pasta until the cheese is melty and starting to brown. Enjoy!

Chicken Pizzaiola with Mozzarella and Pepperoni

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Chicken Pizzaiola

Since we moved out of our house and into where we temporarily live, I find that we’re cooking a lot more than usual. As much as I love cooking/baking, doing it on weeknights was always a chore. One of the last things I want to do after a busy work day is go straight to the kitchen and spend an hour or so cooking. So, I’ve been looking for recipes that are on the simpler side, but are still delicious and comforting.

When I cook, I usually go by what meat is on sale at the grocery store. The week I made this, chicken breasts were on serious sale. I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while, so I thought why not give this a try? I really wasn’t expecting much, since there weren’t that many ingredients. However, this was absolutely delicious! The parmesan and pepperoni flavored the chicken breasts so well, which is usually a challenge with boneless chicken breasts, and then topping it all off with mozzarella? Oh man…this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Chicken Pizzaiola with Mozzarella and Pepperoni
Source: America’s Test Kitchen (as seen on Pinch of Yum)

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of spaghetti sauce
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 oz. sliced pepperoni
  • 8 oz. spaghetti
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. For the chicken, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Evenly spread the tomato sauce into a 9×13 inch baking dish (one that can withstand higher oven temperatures). In another shallow dish, spread the parmesan cheese.
  2. Prepare the chicken by pounding the meat to an even thickness (don’t pound it thin, just make the thickness even) and pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the chicken and then coat with parmesan cheese. Lay the chicken on top of the spaghetti sauce and bake for 15 minutes.
  3. While the chicken is baking, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta, as well as a tbsp. of salt and cook the pasta (stirring often) until it’s al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
  4. Once the chicken has finished baking for the 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, and raise the oven temperature to 475 degrees. Place pepperoni slices over the chicken breasts and sprinkle the mozzarella sauce over the chicken. Bake the chicken for about another 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
  5. Add some spaghetti sauce from the baking dish into the pasta and toss well to combine. If necessary, add the reserved pasta cooking water as needed. Serve the pasta with chicken and the remaining sauce.

 

Easy Turkey Burgers (+ GIVEAWAY)

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Disclosure: Butterball provided me with a turkey gift check, as well as two other turkey gift checks to giveaway, in exchange for a post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Easy Turkey Burgers

I feel like the weeks are just flying by lately. For some odd reason, it’s almost summer, and I’m still finding random ornaments around the house (I was failing at being Pinterest-y last holiday season). Last night, we decided to cut the grass, and it was the first time of the year where I was wiping sweat like crazy. Only a few short months until fall, right?

Since it’s been heating up outside, I’ve been cooking less and less. I’m just drained after a long work day, and even though I don’t spend much time outside in the summer months, it somehow tires me out. I’m all about quick, simple recipes that don’t involve heating up the entire house right now, and these burgers are it. They come together very quickly, and involves very little ingredients.

Easy Turkey Burgers
Source: an original

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. 97% lean Butterball ground turkey
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. cajun seasoning
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • salt and pepper
  • Optional toppings, such as Butterball turkey bacon, sliced cheese, and sliced avocado (my favorites).

Directions:

  1. Mix the turkey, Worcestershire sauce, cajun seasoning, and garlic powder  together by hand in a bowl. Be sure not to over-mix the ingredients.
  2. Split the meat into four portions and flatten them into patties. Top each side of the patties with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
  3. Cook the patties in a grill pan over medium heat, flipping once, until cooked all the way through. If you want a cheeseburger, during the last minute of cooking, add the slice of cheese on top of the burger, allowing it to melt.
  4. Add toppings as desired and enjoy!

Now, another about these burgers is that they are a lot more calorie-friendly than a typical burger. I love that Butterball definitely offers some options for healthier cooking with their turkey products. I know it’s normal to think about Butterball in the cooler months (for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals), but they also offer products like ground turkey, turkey burger patties, turkey bacon and turkey sausage, which you can use year-round.

The generous folks at Butterball are offering a $20 gift check (good for turkey products and groceries) to TWO readers of The Nifty Foodie.

Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below (continental US readers only):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This giveaway is supplied by Butterball, and is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until June 26th, 2015 at 11:59pm (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

 

Citrus Berry Avocado Salad with Orange Basil Vinaigrette

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Citrus Berry Avocado Salad with Orange Basil Vinaigrette

I’m absolutely loving the summer flavors lately. I currently can’t get enough avocado in my life, and a bowl full of fresh berries is my ultimate craving. Comfort food is great and all, but when the summer is around, I just want to live in the produce aisle.

Currently, our veggie garden is thriving. Our jalapenos are growing like crazy, and I’m fairly tempted to make more jalapeno pepper jelly to use some of them up. I just dug up some garlic that I planted last July as well and can’t wait for it to dry out, and also, our basil plant just won’t stop growing! I’m going to have to take a weekend to make a large freezer batch of pesto!

Now, when it comes to basil, I’ve been looking for more ways to use it up (no offense to pesto), and I thought about adding it into my salads. I love a good, herby vinaigrette and thought that combined with orange, it would be a great combination. This salad is a great way to use up leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken from the store, and because of that, it’s a meal that comes together very quickly. It’s also very colorful, which makes for a fun presentation.

Citrus Berry Avocado Salad with Orange Basil Vinaigrette
Source: an original

Ingredients:

For the salad:

  • 1 9 oz. bag baby spinach
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup canned mandarin oranges, strained (preserved in water, not syrup)
  • 1 Haas avocado, cut in large cubes
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (juice of one large orange)
  • 1/4 tsp. orange zest
  • 6 basil leaves
  • 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. granulated sugar

Directions:

  1. To assemble the salad, place the baby spinach in a large bowl. Sprinkle the blueberries, oranges, feta cheese, avocado and chicken on top.
  2. To make the dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until everything is well mixed and the basil is finely chopped. Pour the dressing over the salad, and sprinkle the almonds on top. Toss the salad well and enjoy!

Spinach Yogurt Pesto Pasta with Chicken

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spinachyogurtpesto

Thanks so much for your comments in my blogiversary post! It seems like quite a few of you would love more ideas for healthier dinners, and I’m happy to oblige! I’ve been meaning to get back into meal planning, and so here’s the start of more savory dishes on this blog. 🙂

This recipe is part of a virtual cooking party that Jessica of My Baking Heart is hosting, along with the folks at Stonyfield Yogurt. Ever since I started my weight loss journey, I’ve been slowly, but surely paying more attention to what I’m eating. One of my biggest struggles is with snacking, so I try to keep our fridge full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is actually one of the easiest snacks for me, since I can just grab a container and go to town. Some fruits are grab and eat, too, but I find that greek yogurt is filling (seriously, check out how much protein is in greek yogurt!) and takes care of my sweet tooth. I recently noticed that Stonyfield has a greek yogurt line, and gave it a try. It was absolutely tasty, and a bonus–it’s organic!

I’ve recently become more aware of organic foods, and one thing that I found interesting is the difference between “natural” and “organic” on food labels (this is with the exception of meats). I always thought natural was a good thing, but not necessarily. For example, foods that may contain pesticides, growth hormones or GMO can still be labeled as “natural”, but it cannot be labeled as “organic”. It’s really interesting — here’s an infographic about it.

Besides just grabbing a container of yogurt to have as a snack, I really like using greek yogurt in my cooking and baking. Personally, I really don’t like mayonnaise. If a recipe calls for mayonnaise, I usually can replace it with plain greek yogurt (hello, chicken salad!). I also use it in baking, and I’ve noticed it works especially well in quick breads/muffins. This recipe uses greek yogurt to make pesto into a creamy sauce, and it works beautifully. The greek yogurt addition to the spinach pesto makes it seem more like a pesto alfredo sauce (without the added cream/butter). I decided to add some grilled chicken to the pasta, and it made for the perfect weeknight dinner. If you wanted, you could even make the spinach yogurt pesto sauce in advance (up to 3 days), and all you would need to do is grill the chicken and boil the pasta. Easy peasy!

Spinach Yogurt Pesto Pasta with Chicken
Source: adapted from My Baking Heart

Ingredients:

  • 3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 oz. organic Italian dressing
  • Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tbsp. canola oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 3/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup plain Stonyfield Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1 lb. organic whole wheat pasta

Directions:

  1. Marinate the chicken in the Italian dressing for 2-4 hours.
  2. Once the chicken has marinated, sprinkle Cajun seasoning over both sides of the chicken breasts. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Place 1 tbsp. canola oil in a cast iron skillet or grill pan, and wipe the oil with a paper towel to evenly distribute the oil over the surface of the pan. Preheat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat, until hot. Gently place the chicken on the cast iron skillet, and sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. Using oven mitts, place foil over the cast iron pan and then place the pan in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
  4. While the chicken is cooking in the oven, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water is coming to temperature, make the spinach yogurt pesto sauce. Place the garlic, spinach, basil, pine nuts, lemon juice & zest in the bowl of a food processor or blender and chop the mixture until everything is finely chopped. You may have to stop to scrape down the bowl a couple of times. Once the mixture is finely chopped, allow the processor or blender to run on low, and slowly add in the olive oil. Pour the mixture into a small bowl, and add in the Parmesan cheese and yogurt. Season the pesto with salt and pepper. Cover the pesto with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  5. By now, the pot of water should be boiling. Add in your pasta, and cook the pasta until al dente (following the directions on the box for your specific pasta). Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Then, drain the pasta and return the pasta to the pot, tossing in the pesto sauce. If the pasta appears to be too dry, add in the reserved pasta water, 1 tbsp. at a time.
  6. To serve, place some pesto pasta on a plate, slice up 1/2 of a chicken breast and place that on top. Garnish the dish with either some lemon zest or Parmesan cheese. (Serves 6.)

Since this is a virtual cooking party, there are 5 other bloggers who made this dish as well, putting their own unique spins on the recipe. Don’t they all sound delicious?

My Baking Heart – Garlicky Shrimp & Pasta with Spinach Yogurt Pesto
Kasey’s Kitchen – Spinach Yogurt Pesto Pasta over Chicken Milanese
Apple a Day – Penne with Spinach Yogurt Pesto, White Beans & Tomatoes
Mrs. Regueiro’s Plate – Spinach Yogurt Pesto Pasta with Sausages
Sunny Side Up – Chicken and Spinach Yogurt Pesto Pasta

Also, it wouldn’t be much of a party without something fun for you guys, right?

The generous folks at Stonyfield want to offer one lucky reader of The Nifty Foodie a case of their yogurt and a cookbook!

It’s a giveaway prize that would definitely get me excited about cooking with yogurt (or hey, I wouldn’t blame you if you want the yogurt to snack on…have you seen the new Cafe Latte flavor? I feel like I NEED to find it in my store to try it!)

To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This giveaway is sponsored by Stonyfield and is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until February 4th at 12:00am (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

DISCLOSURE: Stonyfield supplied me with free products in exchange for a post in the Virtual Cooking Party, as well as the prize being offered in the giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Time You Save & A Calphalon Giveaway

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With the holiday season just around the corner, time with family and friends is so important. The holidays can be very hectic, between the shopping and party planning, but if you can save some time on the day to day tasks (like cooking for your family/cleaning up afterwards), you can definitely etch out some time with your loved ones.

Calphalon recently relaunched their popular Contemporary Nonstick line, and is all about helping families save time with “The Time You Save” campaign. One of the key new perks about the cookware is that it’s now dishwasher safe! So, you can make your quick, weeknight meals, rinse the pot/pan out & place it straight in the dishwasher with your plates & utensils. Calphalon realizes that The Time You Save is valuable, so taking away the task of doing the dishes after a meal is great! You can now take some time away from the kitchen, and instead, enjoy that time with your family decorating the house, wrapping gifts or building a gingerbread house for the holidays! 🙂

Also, along with Calphalon’s “The Time You Save” campaign, I wanted to share a couple of recipes with y’all, featuring their new cookware that requires very little hands-on time in the kitchen. 🙂

calphalon_thetimeyousave_1

Calphalon sent me their new panini pan, as well as their 8 quart multi-pot with steamer to use for some time-saving recipes. I used their panini pan to make a chicken panini, using leftover roasted chicken, and I used the multi-pot to make a chicken tortilla soup.

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Smoked Turkey & A Giveaway!

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smokedturkey

Whew! What a busy weekend it was!

It all started with a good 3 miles of running after work on Friday. This half marathon training stuff is crazy. Just crazy. I’m only running 3-4 miles now, and I can’t imagine going 4 times as far!! Then, Saturday, we decided to do a practice holiday meal (since we’re probably hosting Christmas this year…YAY!) and invited the in-laws over…smoked turkey, potatoes, green beans, a twist on cranberry sauce that knocked everyone’s socks off (sharing that Wednesday) and a great dessert that I’m sharing with you guys Friday! It’s going to be a week of Thanksgiving…with a twist…on the blog. I hope you all LOVE it as much as we loved it!

Can I also brag a bit? As far as my side of the family goes…Christmas shopping is ALL DONE! I just have to get something for my husband, and of course, help him out with his family’s gifts. 🙂 Once I get started on shopping, I am a gift shopping machine. I kind of want to go in the attic and grab our container of gift wrap, but I think my husband would give me a permanent side-eye. Ah well…now to just relax and finish making the gifts that I plan on crafting.

So, that picture may not be the most picture perfect turkey (I think it’s because I didn’t butter the skin well enough and I tore it…womp wah), but OMG…it was SO tasty. And that’s all that matters, right? (especially once it’s carved up) Making the turkey in a smoker is a fun twist on the traditional oven-roasted turkey. It’s full of smoky flavor, and since the turkey is injected with a whole jar of marinade, the turkey is crazy moist.

NOTE: This recipe is intended for an electric smoker (we own a Masterbuilt one).

Smoked Turkey
Source: Dadgum, That’s Good

Ingredients:

  • one whole turkey, thawed
  • 1 bottle buttery creole injection marinade…make sure it comes with an injector or purchase your own (we used Tony Chachere’s)
  • cajun seasoning (we used Tony Chachere’s)
  • apple wood chips, for smoking
  • apple juice
  • water
  • 1 stick unsalted butter

Directions:

  1. Fill the smoker’s water pan 1/3 of the way full with half apple juice and half water (about 3 cups for our particular water pan). Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F. Rinse out and dry the thawed turkey in the sink (don’t forget to disinfect the sink after this!). Using the injector, inject the turkey (in various areas) with one full jar of the buttery marinade.
  2. Liberally season the skin (and carefully underneath the skin) of the turkey with cajun seasoning, being sure to rub it well into the skin. Cut the butter into small pats, and carefully place them under the skin of the turkey.
  3. Add a small handful of apple wood chips to the smoker (we have a special loader for this). Open the smoker, and place the turkey on a rack high in the smoker (in the center of the rack) and close the door. Every hour or so of the cooking process, add another handful of apple wood chips to your smoker (no more than 5 times for the whole cooking process of the turkey). Smoke the turkey for about 30 minutes per lb., ensuring that the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 165 degrees.
  4. Remove the turkey from the smoker and place it on a rimmed baking sheet, covering the entire turkey with foil to allow it to rest. Allow the turkey to rest for about 30 minutes before serving.

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“Zapp’s” Crusted Baked Chicken

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Zapp's Crusted Chicken

I absolutely love finding new ways to cook chicken. Most of the time, we try a recipe once and we’re like eh, not doing that one again. But, once in a while, we find ourselves a keeper. I was a little skeptical of this chicken recipe, because we just don’t have the best luck making baked boneless chicken into something flavorful. However, this recipe called for kettle chips and well, they know how to make kettle chips down here in Louisiana!

Zapp’s chips are sort of a staple here. My favorite flavor is the Spicy Crawtators, which is reminiscent of the flavors you get from a crawfish boil. If I could send all of y’all a bag of Zapp’s chips, I would. They’re just that good. So, it was a no-brainer to use this flavor for this chicken. It just made for the perfect coating. Now, while potato chips aren’t the healthiest, I’m sure this chicken is better for you than eating fried chicken! (Sorry Popeye’s…) I served this with some mashed potatoes, since there’s nothing like dipping your chicken in mashed potatoes. 🙂

Note: While I’m using Zapp’s in this recipe, if you want to make this recipe and Zapp’s aren’t in your store, you can use any spicy kettle chip.

Different note: Zapp’s has no clue who I am, so while it sounds like this is a promotional post, I swear it isn’t at all.

Zapp’s Crusted Baked Chicken
Source: adapted from My Life as a Mrs.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 bag of spicy kettle chips
  • 1 cup low fat buttermilk
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Tony Chachere’s (or any other cajun seasoning)
  • pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Slice the chicken breasts in half, thickness-wise to result in 4 pieces of chicken. Pound out the chicken to an even 1/2 inch thickness.
  3. In a gallon size ziploc bag, pour the buttermilk in and add the spices. Close the bag and give it a good shake to distribute the spices. Add the chicken to the buttermilk mixture and allow it to marinate for 10 minutes.
  4. In the meantime, crush your kettle chips to a flaky looking consistency and place the crushed chips in an 8×8 pan.
  5. Place a metal (oven safe) cooling rack inside of a rimmed foil-lined cookie sheet. Take the chicken pieces out one at a time and sort of shake off the excess buttermilk while still in the bag. Then, pat the chicken in the pan to coat with chips and flip to coat each side well with the crushed chips. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the other three pieces.
  6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Garlic-Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes

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Garlic Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes

I recently discovered just how amazing roasting a whole chicken is. It was always one of those things that I thought that you should just leave to the more seasoned home cooks, so needless to say, it was always intimidating to me. I figured that if I ever try to roast a chicken, it will come out looking boiled, lack in flavor and probably be under or WAY over-cooked.

I remember perusing a local store one afternoon, when I approached the usual packs of chicken breasts that I buy. Right next to it was a sign that said “69 cents/lb. whole fryer chicken”. I thought to myself…wait, a whole chicken is just $3? I pay more for a latte at Starbucks! So, I got brave and bought a whole chicken.

I brought it home and started looking up recipes to roast a chicken. I wanted it to be simple, because when I’m trying something new, I just want it to be as easy as possible so there’s little room for error.  As I’m reading the recipe, it says to remove the giblets. What? I have to remove things from the inside of the chicken? Ugh.

So, I stuck my hand in the cavity of the chicken as if it was some sort of mystery box that was going to bite me or something, dreading the worst. My husband was right next to me laughing so hard, because I’m sure the look on my face was priceless. However, it really wasn’t as bad or gross as I thought. I sort of laughed at myself for being intimidated by those stupid giblets. 😛

After removing the giblets, it was all about seasoning the bird. Seasoning…I can do that. Anyone can do that.

Then, before I could place the chicken in the oven, I had to truss the chicken (aka tie the legs as close to the chicken as possible and make sure the wings are close to the chicken as well to avoid those from over-cooking). Yeah, that wasn’t too bad either. So, I put the chicken in the oven and prayed a few times that I wouldn’t mess this up.

Less than 2 hours later, my chicken was done. Perfectly cooked. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to roast a whole chicken! I was hooked! $3 for a meal, folks…can’t beat that! Plus, you can use leftovers to make soup, pot pie, etc. Oh and double plus, you can use the leftover bones and skin to make chicken stock! Awesome, right?

So, this past week I was back in the grocery store and I saw the ad that said “59 cents/lb whole fryer chicken”. That’s right…59 cents. I bought two chickens this time. One for me to roast and one for my husband to test his new oil-less turkey fryer on.

This time, I decided to try garlic rosemary chicken. Anything with garlic catches my eye, and this involves a LOT of garlic. Like 20+ cloves. 🙂  Plus, the potatoes catch all of the drippings and roast with garlic cloves, making for some pretty fabulous roasted potatoes. 🙂

This recipe was the first one I’ve made that involved brining, but really, that wasn’t too bad either. I noticed that this chicken was much more moist too and I would think that would have to be from the brining. 🙂 Definitely worth it!

Garlic-Rosemary Roast Chicken with Potatoes
Source: Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs.), giblets discarded

    For the brine:

  • 1/2 cup table salt 
  • 10 cloves garlic , unpeeled
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

    For the paste:

  • 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 medium cloves garlic , minced or press through garlic press (2 tsp.)
  • 1/8 tsp. table salt 
  • Ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing chicken

    For the potatoes:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. small red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes (2-inch), quartered
  • 10 cloves medium-large garlic , unpeeled
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp. table salt
  • 1/4 tsp.  ground black pepper

 Directions:

  1. For the chicken and brine: Combine salt, garlic, and rosemary in zip-loc bag; seal, pressing out air. Pound with meat pounder or rolling pin until garlic cloves are crushed. Transfer mixture to large container or stockpot and stir in 2 cups hot tap water; let stand for 10 minutes to release flavors. Add 6 cups cold tap water and stir until salt is dissolved. Submerge chicken in brine and refrigerate 1 hour.
  2. Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels (the more you dry it, the less it will smoke in the oven since you’re adding oil to it). Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set V-rack in small roasting pan and lightly spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. For the paste: Stir together the rosemary, minced garlic, salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil in small bowl. Rub about 1/3 of the paste in cavity of chicken. Carefully loosen skin over breast and thigh on each side; slip half of remaining paste under skin on each side of breast, then, using fingers, distribute paste over breast and thigh by rubbing surface of skin. Tie the ends of drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. Rub all sides of chicken with 2 teaspoons oil and season with pepper. Set chicken breast-side down on prepared V-rack and roast 15 minutes.
  4. In the meantime, toss potatoes, unpeeled garlic cloves, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. After the chicken has roasted for the first 15 minutes, scatter potatoes and garlic in single layer in roasting pan. Then, put the chicken back in the oven and roast for another 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the roasting pan from oven and decrease oven temperature to 375 degrees. Using tongs or wads of paper towels, rotate chicken breast-side up; brush breast with 1 teaspoon oil and stir potatoes to avoid burning. Continue to roast until chicken is medium golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast and thigh registers about 160 and 175 degrees, respectively (this took my oven about an hour). Transfer chicken to large plate.
  6. While chicken rests, transfer potatoes and garlic to large paper towel-lined plate and pat with additional paper towels to dab off excess oil and drippings. To serve, carve chicken and serve with potatoes and garlic. (If you like more carbs like me, the roasted garlic is excellent on some french bread.) 🙂