A WHOLE CHICKEN!

Yes, I bought a small, whole, chicken. I didn't know how to cook it, but I was going to try. I bought some of those wonderful oven bags, bought the chicken and went home.

I took some of my favorite spices and rubbed the outside of the chicken and then put some in the middle where it was carved out. My favorite spices: parsley flakes, basil, pepper, Uncle Tony's cajun seasoning, and minced garlic. I rubbed those spices evenly all over the outside of the chicken, put some spices in the middle, stuck it in the oven bag (following directions on the oven bag box, of course) and then stuck it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. It turned out AMAZING! I have made it again since it was soooooo good. Here are a couple pictures of how it turned out.

Chicken with Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers

The other night I made chicken with asparagus, it was great!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound boned and skinned chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 fresh red pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (hot)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, or to taste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Heat the broth in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and place in the skillet. Cook 15 minutes, until chicken is almost done.
   
2. Place asparagus, red peppers and garlic in skillet. Continue cooking 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear and asparagus is tender. Place tomatoes in skillet during last 2 minutes of cook time. Sprinkle with vinegar. Top with mozzarella cheese to serve.

Here are a couple photos:

Chicken Pot Pie

My friend Zac and I decided to get together and cook like we used to do before he got married to a wonderful woman and had a beautiful baby girl.  (Wife and baby were with her family early for Christmas... hi Erin and Addy!!)  Zac and I researched a few things and finally decided to make Chicken Pot Pie.  Looked fairly easy and very good!  Here is the recipe they had on allrecipes.com and then I will tell you the modifications we made.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery.  Add water to cover and boil for 15 mins.  Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
   
2. In another saucepan, over med heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed.  Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk.  Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.  Remove from heat and set aside.
   
3. Place chicken mixture in bottom pie crust.  Pour hot liquid mixture over.  Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough.  Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
   
4. Bake in the preheated oven (425 deg F) for 30-35 mins, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool for 10 mins before serving.
   

OK, as for our changes.  We didn't add onion or celery.  We added more peas and carrots and chicken instead.  We added more flour, chicken broth and milk so there would be more liquid.  We also used 2 regular 9 inch crusts and 2 deep dish.  We used the deep dish ones to actually hold the pie and used the regular ones for the top crust.  We also used chicken bouillon instead of chicken broth.  The last change was the temperature, we set it on 375 deg and baked it for about 40-45 mins instead.  (After reading some of the reviews, we didn't want it to burn.)

The pies turned out absolutely fabulous.  As Zac said, "That chicken pot pie was AWESOME!"  I will definitely make this one again, it wasn't difficult either.  I told Zac I would add broccoli next time though, but I like broccoli.

Here are some pictures from our cooking evening.

Zac shows me that the pies are ready to bake!

Here is one of the pies, ready to go in the oven:

YUM!!!  All ready to eat!  Doesn't that look delicious!

Old fashioned evening

Tonight I was in the mood for some old fashioned cooking that my mom would make....well, sort of.

Tonight I made chicken with cream of mushroom soup on the top, baked in the oven.  Along with green bean casserole (green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and chow mien noodles on the top).  Plus a whole wheat dinner roll on the side (which I didn't make, Pillsbury did).

The chicken was seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley, then cooked in a skillet for about 3 minutes on each side.  Then put into a baking dish with cream of mushroom soup on the top.

Very simple dish.... I know, nothing too exciting for this week, but I'm hoping next time I will break out something really fantastic!

Also, I made some acorn squash (not pictured).  Simply cut the squash in half, scrap out the seeds, put a tablespoon of butter in the middle of each side and some brown sugar, then place into a 8 x 11 pan with some water in the bottom and place in the oven for about 30-40 minutes.  When the squash is soft, it's done.  GOOD STUFF!