As part of our 60th wedding anniversary, we traveled to England via the Queen Mary 2 to visit Betty's English and Scottish family members. One Sunday, Betty made a Chicken breast and pasta lunch with superb assistance. Little Molly said it was the best food she ever had!!! Listen to Molly sing at end of video. See "Betty Meets the Queen" video from 2016 to see the glory of a transatlantic crossing on the Queen.
A recent visit to our new Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming shop in the Streets of Chester Shopping Center (photos below), proved that Molly really loves pumpkin flavored treats. So.......here is my recipe so your favorite pup can enjoy them too!
Combine the eggs and pumpkin and stir in the powdered milk. Stir in most of the flour. Add the rest of the flour and mix in using your hands. Turn out and knead until well combined.
Roll out 1/4" thick and cut into desired shape. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, flip cookies over and bake for a further 20 minutes. Watch the Video:
It would never have occurred to me that this is a dish which could be prepared the day before until we had lunch at our favorite local Italian restaurant. The portions were quite large, so I took half my chicken home.
I reheated it - gently! - the next day and was amazed that it was just as good. Of course, if you are preparing a family meal, you can do it at the last minute since it is quite quick to prepare - especially if you have chicken breasts in your freezer already sliced and pounded!
Chicken Francese with vegetables
Chicken Francese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Flour
Salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth, preferably home made
Juice of 1 lemon
Lemon slices
Thyme sprigs or chopped parsley to garnish
Slice chicken breasts in half, horizontally, place between sheets of plastic wrap and pound until about ¼” thin.
Add salt and pepper to flour
Have ready a large skillet with the butter and olive oil heating over medium heat.
Dredge chicken breast in flour to coat thoroughly, shake off excess and then dip in beaten egg.
Add to skillet and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Don’t crowd the skillet.
When cooked, drain on paper towels and move to a large platter.
When all of the chicken is cooked, add the wine to the skillet and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and cook until slightly reduced.
Return the chicken to the skillet to heat through.
Plate on individual serving plates, garnish with lemon slices and thyme or parsley and add vegetables. You may note the difference in spelling. Is it Francaise or
Francese? Both are correct spellings for this dish. Chicken
Francese is used by most Italian-American cooks. Chicken
Francaise is French.
I thought about naming this recipe “Poor Man’s Peking Duck”, but it is really far too delicious to be called a poor anything. The flavors are similar to Peking Duck but it is a much easier dish to make - and far less expensive!
If you should have leftovers, the chicken reheats well and is also delicious cold.
For the video demonstration, I used double the quantities listed below since we were going to a pot-luck supper.
Hoisin Chicken Tacos
10 (4- to 5-inch) flour tortillas
½ cup hoisin sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons mild honey
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons rice vinegar ( dry sherry makes a good substitute)
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 ½ lb skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 6)
½ a cucumber, seeds discarded and cut into thin slivers
3 scallions, trimmed and cut into thin diagonal slices.
Preheat broiler and lightly oil rack of a broiler pan. Or grill outside.
Stir together hoisin, soy, honey, ginger, vinegar, garlic, and cayenne in a 1- to 1½-quart saucepan.
Toss chicken with ¼ cup in a large plastic bag to coat, and marinate for about an how. Broil 2 to 3 inches from heat, turning once, until cooked through and deep golden, about 10 minutes. A thermometer insterted into a thick part of the thigh should register 170 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes.
Boil sauce until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes, and simmer, stirring, 2 minutes.
While chicken is resting, put tortillas in a single layer in a dry skillet or griddle to warm. You can keep them warm wrapped in a clean dish towel.
Cut chicken crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices.
To eat, wrap up chicken, sauce, cucumbers, and scallions in tortillas.
NOTE: You can use larger tortillas and make a wrap!
The inspiration for this appetizer came when I was looking through a very old cookbook and found a recipe which called for finely chopped cooked chicken along with a few other ingredients. After combining, the recipe said to cook the meatballs for 20 minutes. Already cooked chicken cooked for another 20 minutes didn't sound very appetizing but I liked the idea. So after a few tries, I came up with these:
Chinese(y) Chicken Meatballs
1 lb. ground chicken 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained 4 green onions, chopped 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 egg, lightly beaten ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°. Combine all ingredients except chicken in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Place chicken in a medium-sized bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well and shape into 1-inch balls. Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet with raised sides.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes until slightly browned. In a medium skillet, warm your favorite prepared sauce - orange/ginger, Thai chili sauce etc. Add meatballs and toss to coat. The meatballs may be frozen before adding to sauce.
Makes about 3 dozen meatballs depending on size.
Hint: You may find it easier to shape the meatballs if you rinse your hands in cold water occasionally.
I’m often asked if I cook at home every night… NO! We enjoy eating out at restaurants and at the homes of friends. When I have a really busy day or am just out of ideas, my go to meal is Chinese takeout!
Invariably, I have leftover rice and being of the “waste not, want not” school - I use that to make fried rice. You can pretty much use any leftover protein to go into it along with some onions, peas, eggs and scallions.
Here is my favorite combination:
Ingredients:
2 cups of cold leftover rice 2 eggs, beaten ½ an onion, roughly chopped ½ cup frozen peas, defrosted ½ cup chopped ham 1 cup chopped raw shrimp 2 or 3 scallions, roughly chopped 2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 or 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-Lightly oil a large skillet and pour in the beaten eggs. Swirl to make a thin “pancake”. Cook for a minute or two just until eggs are set. Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into shreds.
2-Add about a tablespoon of oil to the skillet, add the onions and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Push to one side and add the shrimp. Cook just until they turn pink. Remove the shrimp to a clean bowl and reserve.
3-Add the remaining oil to the skillet and add the rice. Stir to mix well with the onions.
4-Add the remaining ingredients and toss well until heated through.
I love to cook. Cleaning up? Not so much. So when the weather permits, I love to grill and these chicken fajitas are one of my favorite warm weather dishes. It's a great company dish too since you can have all of the elements ready (don't cut the avocado too much in advance!) and just grill the chicken at the last minute. Set everything out as a buffet and let guests build their own fajitas. You can substitute steak for the chicken and my choice cut for this is skirt steak. Cut it in 4 or 5 inch lengths, marinate, grill and cut on the bias. Ingredients:
For the Marinade:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Mix marinade ingredients in a shallow non-metal container. Add chicken, turning to coat each side. Refrigerate, covered, 4 hours or longer, turning occasionally.
Remove chicken from marinade and grill until cooked through. Slice chicken into thin slices.
WATCH THE VIDEO DEMONSTRATION: