The Nifty Foodie

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.

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.)

My husband and I aren’t big-time menu planners. At the end of the night, I usually grab a bag of meat from the freezer*, and the next day, we figure out what the heck will be for dinner. One night, I ended up thawing chicken breasts, and was drawing a blank since the past two weeks, I pretty much cooked up all of our favorite usual week-night recipes. So, I had to basically scour the Internet for something weeknight friendly (simple), somewhat healthy and flavorful. This fit the bill.

I was extremely surprised at how fast this dish came together. It was so flavorful and easy to make. Plus, it’s from Eating Well, so you know it’s not that bad for you. Next time, we’ll probably add cajun spices to the chicken just to give it a good kick, but other than that, this recipe was really great!

*Now, to explain the whole bag in the freezer concept. My husband and I purchase meat in bulk when it goes on sale. Then that same day, we use our Foodsaver to portion out things (either in 1 lb. increments or 2 meat cut increments). I highly recommend it this way, since it saves us $2-$3/lb.

Cream Cheese and Pesto Filled Chicken
Source: adapted from Eating Well, found on Carrie’s Sweet Life

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 tbsp. basil pesto (store-bought or homemade)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine the cream cheese, pesto and pepper in a small bowl using a fork.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg white, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. Discard the leftovers.
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven and bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

It’s no surprise that my husband and I love tex-mex food. Our go-to favorite home cooked meals are usually tex-mex, and when we go out to eat, it’s usually at a tex-mex place. Obsessed, much?

Whenever we go to our favorite tex-mex place, my husband either gets the fajitas or the flautas. I like to know that I can replicate what we eat when we go out, and heck, I can make fajitas, but flautas? Flautas intimidate the heck out of me! Why, you ask? Well, flautas are fried, and I hate frying. I either under-cook or burn the food. It’s always bad when I want to try to fry. I just can’t figure out frying. (I guess that’s a good thing, health-wise!)

When I saw this recipe for taquitos, flautas popped in my head. Sure, taquitos aren’t flautas, but they are pretty dang close! And the best part, these taquitos are baked. Whew…escaped frying once again!

Let me tell y’all something…these taquitos are NOT the frozen taquitos that you buy in bulk in the frozen section. I swear. The ingredients sound so simple, but whoa, these taquitos are absolutely delicious. My husband even said that this may just be his favorite home-cooked meal that I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a lot of things…this is HUGE folks!)! The combination of cheeses makes these taquitos just like the title says..creamy, and the combination of ingredients just makes these taquitos so flavorful! Now, to note…for the chicken, we used an extra chicken breast that I cooked for these enchiladas, so the flavors were already in the chicken, which I think helped to put this dish over the top, but I’m sure if you use any pre-cooked chicken, these will still taste pretty awesome.

Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos
Source: mildly adapted from Pink Parsley Blog, originally from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup salsa
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp. chopped scallions
• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Pepperjack cheese
• 8-12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese with the salsa, lime juice, cumin, chile powder, cayenne, onion powder, garlic, cilantro, scallions, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt.  Fold in the chicken and cheeses.  Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.
3. Working 3 tortillas at a time, stack them on a microwave-safe plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook 30 seconds, or until tortillas are soft and pliable.
4. NOTE: Be careful when working with the tortillas…they are hot right out of the microwave! Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto the lower third of each tortilla, and roll tightly.  Place seam side-down on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
5. Spray the taquitos lightly with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt.  Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tortillas are crisp and golden-brown.  Serve with salsa, sour cream, queso and/or guacamole.

There are some dishes that just were not meant to be photographed by me. I’ve attempted to take pictures of these enchiladas 4 separate times, and something always goes wrong. So, the result is a picture of an enchilada with a torn tortilla…enchiladas, you win. The resulting dish just isn’t pretty. In this case, looks are very deceiving, y’all. These enchiladas are even better than the ones at my favorite tex-mex joint! I absolutely love them, and this is now our go-to recipe.

The first time I tried enchiladas was actually in college. See, I don’t like beans, and for some reason, I always thought every enchilada had beans. So, when one of my friends ordered them, insisting the ones at a restaurant were the best ever, I asked her what was in them. When she didn’t say beans, I had to try them. Why was I deprived for so long? Now, I usually order enchiladas when we go out for tex-mex. I prefer enchiladas to fajitas…crazy, eh?

Chicken Enchiladas
Source: mildly adapted from Pink Parsley Blog, originally from America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 jalapenos, 1 seeded (the other not, for an extra kick)
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3 medium cloves garlic, grated with a microplane or minced
• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 large roma tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (most of the times, we only need 1 large chicken breast…2 is just too many)
• 1 cup extra sharp white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• cooking spray
• salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place onion and jalapenos in a food processor until chopped very fine.
2. Combine the onion, jalapenos, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Cook the sauce on medium-low, until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.
3. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part reaches 160 degrees), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.
4. Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.
5. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onion mixture, and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.
6. Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Working with the tortillas one at a time, spoon 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture on the left side. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish.
7. Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don’t like the crunch…my husband loves a good bit of crunch to these).
8. Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.
9. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.