PREPARE: Moroccan Chicken With Eggplant

4 Servings • 10 Min. Prep Time • 70 Min. Cook Time


Ingredients

- 1-1/2 - 2 lb. chicken leg quarters

- 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

- 1 tsp. salt, divided

- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided

- 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2-in. dice

- 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-in. dice

- 1 small onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/4 c. white wine or water

- 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with juices

- 1/4 c. pimento-stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

- 2 tbsp. capers, rinsed

- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

- 1 tsp. sugar

- 2 Tbsp. parsley, minced

Directions:

1. In large skillet over medium high-heat, warm 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Season leg quarters with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper.

Add leg quarters to pan, skin-side down.

Brown chicken, turning once, 8-10 min. per side.

Remove chicken to plate and drain off all but 2 Tbsp. oil.

2. Add eggplant to hot pan and cook, stirring, 5 min.

Add remaining Tbsp. olive oil, along with zucchini, onion and garlic.

Cook 5 min., stirring occasionally.

3. Raise heat to high and add white wine to pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits.

Add all other ingredients, except parsley, and place chicken legs in mixture. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 35-40 min. or until cooked through, or until an instant read thermometer reads 170º.

4. To serve, place some of the eggplant ragout onto plates, top with a leg quarter and sprinkle with parsley.

Nutrition:

Calories: 370; Total Fat: 20g; Saturated Fat: 4g; Total Carbs: 17g; Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 8g; Protein: 28g; Sodium: 900mg;

Serve And Enjoy Your Meal

Prepare Yourself And Enjoy Chicken And Chorizo Jambalaya

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to 30 minutes

Serves: 4 Pax, plates or people

What you need: Chicken, Chorizo, Rice, Jambalaya, Capsicum

Ingredients

3 cups long-grain rice

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

400g chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

2 chorizo sausages, sliced

1 onion, diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1 red capsicum, seeds removed, diced

1 green capsicum, seeds removed, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp sweet or traditional paprika

2 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

400g can diced tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

sea salt

handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Method

1. Par-cook rice by boiling for 8 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold water to remove excess starch.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauce¬pan or wok over high heat. Cook chicken and chorizo for 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside in bowl.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add onion, celery and capsicum to saucepan or wok. Cook for 5 minutes until just beginning to colour. Add garlic, paprika, thyme, oregano and cayenne pepper. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant.

4. Stir rice through vegetables with stock, tomatoes and sugar. Return chicken and chorizo to pan, bring to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender. Season with sea salt and pepper and stir through chopped parsley.

Chicken In Orange Sauce

This is one of those dishes that makes you feel quite pleased with yourself. Fast, easy, healthy, and more delicious than Chinese takeout – a series of winning propositions. You can prep pretty much all the ingredients ahead of time, making this a fantastic last-minute weeknight dinner.

The sweetness in the sauce makes this a dish that normally picky eaters will lean into. There’s plenty of sauce, too, which you’ll be happy about as you spoon it over hot rice or quinoa.

When you are feeding a group with one or more vegetarians in the mix, this kind of recipe makes life so much easier. Essentially you sauté up some chicken in one pan, some tofu in another, then divide up the simple sauce between the two.

Serve this meal with:

Clean & Spicy Asian Greens
Rice or quinoa

Chicken in Orange Sauce

Serves 6

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice, preferably fresh
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, or 1/4 cup regular soy sauce plus 2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon finely minced peeled fresh ginger
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (see Recipe Notes below for a tofu alternative)
Kosher or coarse salt
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
4 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced
Hot cooked rice (brown or white) or quinoa, for serving

Toasted sesame seeds, for serving (optional)

Whisk together the garlic, honey, orange zest and juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, ginger, and pepper in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.

Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a very large skillet or a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until it starts to turn white, 3 minutes. Add the sauce and scallions and cook until 
the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes more.
Serve over hot rice or quinoa, with the sesame seeds sprinkled over if desired.
Recipe Notes

Tofu in orange sauce: Replace the chicken with 2 pounds extra-firm tofu, blotted dry and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. To get the tofu nicely browned, in Step 2, heat the oil in the skillet over high heat, and when very hot, add the cubes, which should sizzle and sear (watch for splattering). Cook the tofu, not moving it for at least 3 minutes, so it has a chance to brown on the bottom. Flip the cubes using a thin metal spatula (knowing some cubes will break) and continue to cook to brown the bottoms, 3 minutes more. Add the sauce and scallions and continue with the recipe.
If you want to make the dish half chicken and half tofu, use a pound of each, sauté them separately in two large skillets with a tablespoon of oil in each, and divide the sauce and scallions evenly between the pans. The cooking times are the same.
What the kids can do: Zest the orange and juice it (if you are using fresh juice). Kids of the right age can cut up the chicken (younger ones can tackle the tofu) with an age-appropriate knife.
Make ahead: The chicken or tofu can be cut up a couple of days ahead of time, and the sauce can be combined a couple of days ahead, and refrigerated, too.

Stewed Chicken "Dominican Style"

Sharing my dominican stewed chicken makes me so happy because this recipe is part of our tradition and culture. The pollo guisado dominicano, in spanish, is one of the main ingredients of "The Dominican Flag" of our cuisine, together with white rice and red beans. Why we call it so? Because we love this meal and is part of every dominican home. Who in our country haven't enjoyed this delicious food?

My mother cooks our dominican stewed chicken the traditional way by browning some sugar in oil, but I decided to make a sofrito instead. It's easier and I love the result. Try this recipe with my dominican stewed red beans and my white rice recipe. You'll be tasting our delicious dominican flag.

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs cut into medium pieces (you can mix with drumsticks and chicken breasts)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground complete seasoning (Badia is the one I use, but if you have another,
go ahead and use it, just make sure it doesn't have any salt)
Ground pepper to taste (just a bit)
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 big garlic cloves or 4 small ones, crushed or minced
1 cup minced white onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
5 stuffed olives cut into slices (optional)
3 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (I use Ragu flavored with meat 'cause it has veggies and tastes
really good)
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil (remember that extra virgin olive oil is healthier)
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Directions:

Let's start cooking this dominican stewed chicken recipe by washing the chicken in a bowl with water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Cut it into medium pieces and season with salt, oregano, complete seasoning and ground pepper. Mix everything well.

From the cup of green bell pepper take 1/4 cup and add it to the chicken. Then measure 1/3 cup and set it aside in a small bowl. Repeat these steps with the cups of red bell pepper and minced onions. Take the bowl with the 1/3 portions of vegetables to the refrigerator, we'll use them later. Now we use the remaining vegetables for the sofrito.

Let's keep marinating the chicken with half of the garlic, half of the stuffed olives and 1/4 cup cilantro. Add 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons tomato sauce. Mix well and marinate for 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat a large nonstick saucepan on medium high heat. Pour 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil. Saute the vegetables for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a nonstick cooking spoon to avoid scratching the saucepan. You can see my vegetables while cooking in the first picture to the right.

Add the 1/2 cup tomato sauce and mix (as I did in the second picture to the right). Cook for a minute, then add the chicken pieces one by one and set the liquid aside. Mix everything well and if it's dry, stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of the marinade liquid you set aside.

Cook half covered, stirring frequently. Add the remaining 2 cups water to the marinade liquid and whenever the water in the saucepan consumes, pour in 1 or 2 large spoons of this liquid to the chicken and stir it carefully. I always check it often to avoid my chicken to dry too much and burn.

After aproximately 45 minutes and when the chicken is dry again, add the vegetables you kept in the refrigerator and the remaining marinade liquid. Stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. I usually let my stewed chicken with some liquid, that way it isn't very thick at serving time.

You can accompany with my dominican stewed red beans and white rice. You'll see what a tasty combination is the "dominican flag" of our cuisine.

Thai Stir Fried Chicken Mushroom And Fresh Basil

The fabulous flavours and cuisine of China, Vietnam, Thailand and Southeast Asia have long been a favourite of mine going back to my early childhood in US during the 60s.

I suggest that you pick up these handy measuring kits that can be bought in supermarkets.
While you are at liberty to make your own chicken stock, I find it more practical to buy the Knorr chicken cubes.

Ingredients
Serves 4-6
2 tbsp vegetable oil or more 250 g sliced mushrooms
1 kg boneless & skinless
Chicken breasts thinly sliced 2-3 finely chopped spring onions
2 tbsp fresh ginger 1 tbsp Scotch Bonnet chilies
2 large minced garlic cloves 2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce 2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil 2 finely chopped onions
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro Salt & freshly ground pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

METHOD

1. Lightly brown the chicken breast in a non-stick frying pan and when done set aside.
2. If need be add a bit more vegetable oil then sauté the onions and garlic until they become translucent at which point add the ginger, mushrooms and chilies and continue cooking over low heat, stirring to make certain that they don’t burn.
3. After about five minutes add the chicken stock, fish sauce and the sugar (that is if you are using it) and bring to a gentle simmer.
4. At this point add the chicken, freshly ground pepper along with the fresh basil and cilantro and cook simmering for about five minutes.
5. Taste and correct seasoning and if need be add salt but ALWAYS bear in mind that chicken stock cubes are salted as well as the Thai fish sauce. You may also wish to add a bit of crushed red pepper flakes. Serve with rice.