Roast Chicken for 4... or 2... or 1!

A few weeks back (oh boy, it's actually been 2 months!!!) I was home alone for a whole week and let me tell you it was heavenly! I became a bit of a Suzie Homemaker and spent my time baking, cooking, sewing, knitting and all in all just having a pretty amazing time doing whatever my little heart desired. On one of those lovely nights, I made the most delicious roast chicken dinner for me, myself and I. This meal could definitely feed multiple people or a smaller number of people for multiple meals.

A roast chicken is truly one of the easiest yet most satisfying things to make. It's so versatile because you can customize it to exactly how you like your chicken to taste. Like things more spicy, DONE! Want some herb flavoured chicken, DONE! Not sure what to do with the spices in your cupboard, slap them on a chicken and roast it! It is one of those things where you can't really go wrong with the seasoning. I know that most times it's very very easy to simply pick up a pre-made roast chicken for dinner but in just over an hour's time (depending on the size of your chicken), you can have a gorgeous little roasted bird waiting for you without all of the other 'funny bits' that are sometimes included in store-bought roast chickens. Also, if buying a bulk package of roast chickens (Costco sells 3 packs), you are definitely saving in the long run. Throw the extras in the freezer and you've got a whole bunch of meals ahead of you. You could even pre-season your chickens before freezing which would make them THAT much easier.

Years ago, my Mum attended a Pampered Chef party and came home with a bundt pan with a covered centre (aka no hole in the middle). On the particular night that I was roasting my little chicken, I decided that I would use whatever spices we had in the cupboard but I also wanted to try a new veggie with it. So I picked up a lovely little acorn squash and added it to my sweet potatoes for some variety. Acorn squash is quite lovely, I will admit and will definitely make more frequent appearances in my kitchen in the coming months.

This is the point where I had cut up all my veggies and put them in the bundt pan before I realized that I forgot to spice them up... UGH! Into the bowl they go for a little spice bath!

This was the cute little chicken that I found at the grocery store.

Pop your little wonder chicken on the center tube of the bundt pan so she stands up all proud and such

My spice blend of choice for that night... But I truly say do what feels good!

All dressed up and ready to party!!!

Add the veggies around your chicken before baking. Everything will cook and mix and be amazing!

HEAVEN!!!

Let it rest for a few minutes after baking (I covered it with some foil)

Once all veggies are removed from the bundt pan, take the liquid in the bottom and heat it quickly in a sauce pan. It will make a glorious sauce that just makes life make sense again.

Serve with broccoli and whatever else rocks your boat! Enjoy the sauce too!!!!

I promise as much as this seems both like a labour intensive dish but it isn't and it is worth every second of it. Try this! Try this! Try this!

I'm sorry for my distance lately.... As always the insanity of every day life has caught up with me but I'm trying to get a bunch of posts ready for the next few weeks!!! Plus, Christmas baking is already being planned and I can't wait to share it with you all!

Hope you're having wonderful Saturday nights!

xoxo

T

Crispy Honey Chicken

This post is so overdue it's ridiculous! Not only have I been M.I.A. from the blog for AGES now but I have had a draft of this post ready since February! I do apologize for my absence and I promise that I will try my best to never let it happen again. I have been working on a ton of orders lately (YAY!), then I was away for a week of holidays at the cottage and it seems that I simply haven't had the chance to sit down yet alone write about my adventures in the kitchen. BUT the cooking hasn't stopped, I promise :)

There is a popular food restaurant found across North America that has a very delicious crispy honey sesame chicken dish and I've only discovered it in the last few months. I am addicted to this dish and seem to be using it as my 'go-to' dish whenever I visit this restaurant. So naturally, my first thought was "oh sweet lord, I must make this soon!" After some searching, I found a recipe at BlogChef and I felt that it looked pretty similar to what I was used to. 

Now, while the recipe does have quite a few ingredients in it, I promise you that not only is it worth it but I actually had most of the ingredients in my kitchen. 

Chinese Honey Chicken

Adapted from the recipe found on BlogChef (link here)

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)
Oil (for deep frying)
 

Batter-
4 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white
 

Sauce-
1 ½ tablespoons oil
2 teaspoon ginger (minced)
3 tablespoons garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 teaspoon water)
Sesame seeds (for garnish)

Step 1: In a large bowl mix all batter ingredients together until smooth. Cover and allow the batter to site for at least 30 minutes. Add the chicken to the batter tossing to coat.
Step 2: Heat a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Fry chicken bits in patches for 2 minutes or until batter becomes firm. Drain on paper towels.

Step 3: To make the sauce. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in your wok. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds.  Add salt, honey, vinegar, and water. Mix well. Combine 1 teaspoon of water with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Add to the sauce and Simmer for 2 minutes.
Step 4: Coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with white rice.

 

Here's what the dish will look like once you add the chicken to the sauce (oh the joys of close-up photos from a Blackberry!):

After having made this recipe, I feel that I have a few notes to add. 

• Add your chicken at the very last moment possible - you don't want it to go soggy
• Serve this with some veggies along with your rice. I did a quick stir-fry of some snow peas and bean sprouts with some garlic chili sauce as well as some roasted sweet potatoes

And here, loves, is the final dish! I actually think my mouth is watering RIGHT NOW because I could eat this for DAYS! 

I hope you all have been keeping well and I will try my best not to leave the blog alone for too long in the future. 

Happy Cooking!

t

Chicken Piccata - Lemony Chickeny goodness at its best!

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but every Friday night we have a regularly scheduled dinner date with family friends of ours. G&C (as they are so well-known at our house) have truly become an extension of our family and weeks where we don't see each other just don't feel right! Beyond the great conversation and laughing till it hurts, G&C's visits allow me to play with some new creations and test out some new recipes that I've found. 

In this particular case, I decided to try another Ina Garten recipe. You all know my love of the Barefoot Contessa and this recipe was so easy and straightforward that I couldn't pass it up. So, I decided to try Ina's Chicken Piccata and it was delish! 

The recipe is pretty straight forward but I must say, I toned down the lemon juice additions by about half. I found that even with the amount I used, it was still very tart and as such I threw in about 1/8 cup of maple syrup (because I put it in EVERYTHING!). I would really recommend letting the sauce reduce significantly but I swear to you this dish is amazing!!! We used panko breadcrumbs and seasoned them mysefl. We served it with a huge amount of roasted broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes & beets and I swear just looking at this photo is making me want to rush out and make it right now.

I hope you guys have the chance to make this sometime. It's a quick and easy meal to prepare any night of the week and it always guarantees to be delish! 

Happy beginning of your long weekend!!!!!!! 

t

A Cashew Chicken Craving that Just Wouldn't Go Away

Happy Sunday, Guys!!! 

I'm pretty sure that cashew chicken came up in my tweets a while back because I had the biggest craving for it. Now, most people have a craving for something after they've had it once and they remember how delicious and scrumptious it is and they feel that they must have it again. 

Well that is all fine and dandy, I must state that up until a few weeks ago, I have never had cashew chicken. EVER. Not even once. I have had cashews. I have had chicken. Just never together. Until now... Ladies & gents, allow me to introduce you to the 20 Minute Supper Club's recipe for Cashew Chicken with Coconut Basmati Rice. I love the 20 Minute Supper Club because their meals are usually quick and easy and delish! If you haven't visited their site, do it now!!!! You will love it.  I also find that their website is a great starting point for that wonderful question that usually shows its ugly face sometime around 2:30 in the afternoon: 'What's for dinner?!?!?'. I have a tendency to use them as a guideline for a recipe and then add my own touches to the recipe. In this case, I was very faithful to their recipe, except that I added more cashews and more chicken because I was cooking for 6 of us, rather than 4. 

No, but really, how delicious is this chicken???

And the only thing that made it better was adding the coconut basmati rice and serving it up with a delightful salad! 

All I can say is this: go and make this dish... pronto... Like, right now! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week :) 

Happy Cooking! 

Tamara