Fire-Roasted Tomato Chicken w/ Capers & Onions

As you may have noticed, I'm a big fan of fire-roasted tomatoes (see previous recipe). They provide this chicken dish with a wonderful depth of flavor, and the capers a nice vinegary bite. At the last minute I also threw in some mustard seed because I really like the texture it adds.

One thing to remember whenever using canned tomatoes (and other canned vegetables) is to check the sodium content--you made need to adjust the salt in a recipe if an ingredient has already been seasoned.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Chicken w/ Capers & Onions

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, quartered and sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 boneless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seed (optional)
1 14 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in dutch oven or large skillet and saute onion until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 3-4 minutes more. Add chicken and brown on both sides.
2. Add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

The cost:
onion: .45
garlic: .10
chicken: 8.99
capers: 1.99
tomatoes: 1.00

Grand total: $12.53; serves 4 over rice or quinoa with a side of roasted veggies

Garlicky Lemon Caper Chicken w/ Rosemary & Thyme

This chicken recipe is high up on my favorites list along with my onion smothered chicken and mustard seed & smoked paprika chicken. The rosemary and thyme add a nice earthiness, and the capers add just the right amount of mouth-puckering kick.

Garlicky Lemon Caper Chicken w/ Rosemary & Thyme

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, cracked & peeled
2 Tbsp capers
2 lemons
1 sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients but chicken in a large ziploc bag. Add chicken and allow to marinate for at least one hour (overnight is even better).
2. Place chicken in a baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through.

The cost:
capers: 2.99
lemons: .49
herbs: 1.99
chicken: 6.49

Grand total: $11.96; serves 2 over rice + lunch tomorrow

Onion Smothered Chicken w/ White Wine Braised Baby Bok Choy

Earlier today, one of my Twitter buds tweeted a photo of his caramelized onion steak. It really put me in the mood for something smothered in sweet, slow cooked onions.

I decided on chicken since I didn't have any steak; originally, I planned to use broccolini (baby broccoli) for this recipe but they were out, so I got baby bok choy instead and it came out great! It takes a long time to cook the onions down low and slow so they release they sugars and caramelize, but it's so worth it. If you don't have time, you can just saute the onion regularly over medium high-heat.

Onion Smothered Chicken w/ White Wine Braised Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients:

4 tsp vegetable oil
3 small onions, quartered and sliced thinkly
3 boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp aleppo pepper (or red chili flakes)
1/4 cup white wine
4 baby bok choy, sliced in half length-wise

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or large skillet. Over medium-low heat, saute onions until soft and caramelized, 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add chicken and cover with onion. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side to brown, sprinkle in salt and pepper and stir to coat, then add wine to deglaze pan. Raise heat until liquid is bubbling (you want to cook out some of the alcohol), turn down to a simmer, cover and cook 3-4 minutes more until chicken is no longer pink.

 

3. Remove chicken from pan and add baby bok choy, cut side down. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes, then turn over (cut-side up) and cook 1 minute more until core is soft and leaves are wilted but still very green.

 

The cost:
onion: 1.19
chicken: 6.72
baby bok choy: 2.49

Grand total: $10.40; serves 2 + leftovers (serve over rice or mashed potatoes)

One Pot Wonder: Dutch Oven Chicken & Rice

One-pot dishes are the best. You throw in a whole bunch of ingredients for a complete meal, and you only have to wash one pot (fine, maybe a spoon, knife and cutting board too)!

Pretty much any combination of vegetables, grain/legumes and protein can work so feel free to be adventurous! If you don't have a dutch oven, either than highly recommending you get one, you can also do this is a large saucepan and baking dish, but you will have more to wash :)

Note: Some readers have asked for more pictures of my preparation/cooking in addition to the finished product. Please let me know what you think!

Dutch Oven Chicken & Rice

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, quartered and sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
8 oz cremini mushrooms
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
3 carrots, sliced into rounds
12 brussel sprouts, quartered
1 cup white basmati rice
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 chicken quarters

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in dutch oven and cook onions over low heat until soft and browned, 10-12 minutes (add garlic and mustard seed after 5 minutes). Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft and have released their juices, 4-5 minutes.

2. Add brussel sprouts, carrots and 1/2 cup of stock. Bring to a boil and cook covered 2-3 minutes. Add rice, remaining stock, salt, pepper & bay leaves, stirring to combine.

3. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to pot, slightly submerging in liquid. Raise heat and bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to oven. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes until rice has absorbed all liquid and chicken is cooked through. Remove bay leaves before serving.

The cost:
onions: .69
garlic: .10
mushrooms: 1.99
carrots: .99
brussel sprouts: 1.89
rice: .99
stock: .99
chicken: 3.89

Grand total: $11.53 (5.77/person)

Recipe Remix: Smoked Paprika & Mustard Seed Chicken (Dutch Oven Braised)

I have become a huge fan of mustard seeds. Not only do they add great flavor to a dish, but they also lend a nice crunchy texture, but they soften with cooking so they aren't too hard. For now I'm just using yellow mustard seeds which are pretty mild, but when those are done I am totally going to try brown ones which are much spicier.

This chicken is similar to a previous recipe, although I think the addition of white wine really makes all of the flavors pop. This dish also inaugurated my new dutch oven (thanks Mom :)). If you have any other recipes for dutch ovens please feel free to share!

Smoked Paprika & Mustard Seed Chicken (Dutch Oven Braised)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 scallions, chopped
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup white wine

Directions:

1. Heat oil in dutch oven and saute scallions until soft, 4-5 minutes.
2. Combine paprika, mustard seeds, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pat chicken breasts dry, then dip into spice mixture, rubbing and massaging into chicken.
3. Add chicken to pan and brown chicken, 1-2 minutes on each side. Add white wine to deglaze pan, moving the chicken around to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Cover and cook over low heat 6-8 minutes chicken is no longer pink.

The cost:
scallions: 1.19
chicken: 5.99

Grand total: $7.18; serves 2 (add brown rice & steamed broccoli for a complete meal)

20 Below: Basil, Ginger & Garlic Stuffed Chicken

Upon request (and somewhat of a challenge) from one of my lovely readers, I'm going to start a series of "20 Below" posts where I will highlight an entire meal for 4 people that costs less than $20 ($5.00 per person). I hope all of you penny pinchers enjoy these posts--and if anyone else has a particular blog topic request, please let me know!

Boneless chicken breasts are simple and quick to cook up, but there are merits to making chicken on the bone (in addition to it being quite a bit cheaper), like all of the tasty bits you can stuff under the skin (although you can also pound boneless chicken breasts thin, fill them with goodies, roll them up and then bake them).

You can stuff chicken with pretty much anything; here I use basil, ginger & garlic, but you could do:

• Rice cooked with onions, mushrooms & grated carrots
• Rosemary & whole garlic cloves
• Lemon slices & black peppercorns
• Mustard seed, garam masala and onion slices

Just to name a few :)

Basil, Ginger & Garlic Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

16 large basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
4 chicken quarters, skin on
salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Stuff 1/4 of basil, garlic and ginger under the skin of each chicken quarter.
2. Place chicken in baking pan and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
3. Bake covered at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

The cost:
basil: 1.99
ginger: 1.39
chicken: 7.42

Grand total: $10.80; serves 4

Add roasted brussel sprouts ($2.49) & rice (1.99)

Meal grand total: $15.28

Price per person: $3.82

Dinner Party Main Dish: Crock Pot Spice-Rubbed Chicken w/ Garlic, Onions & Blood Oranges

I don't use my crock pot nearly enough, so I decided to make a crock pot chicken for my main dish. I layered the bottom of the crock pot with sliced onions and baby potatoes (red bliss, purple & yukon), stuffed the chicken (under the skin and inside the cavity) with sliced blood oranges, onions &amp, and whole garlic cloves, then rubbed the whole thing with a spice mixture of garlic powder, salt, pepper, curry and garam masala. After 8 hours on low, it was succulently delicious, the meat literally falling off the bone, and the potatoes underneath had absorbed all of the wonderful chicken and spice juices.

Crock Pot Spice-Rubbed Chicken w/ Garlic, Onions & Blood Oranges

Ingredients:

3 medium onions, sliced into thick rings
1 lb baby potatoes, sliced into thick rounds
1 cup vegetable stock or orange juice
2 blood oranges, sliced into rounds
8 garlic cloves
1 whole fryer (4-5 lbs), rinsed & giblets removed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Layer bottom of crock pot with 2 of the sliced onions and all of the sliced baby potatoes. Add soup stock/orange juice.
2. Stuff remaining onion slices, blood orange slices and garlic under chicken skin and inside cavity. Combine spices. Place chicken in crock pot and rub all over with spice mixture.
3. Cover and cook 8-10 hours on low.

The cost:
onions: 1.15
potatoes: 1.99
stock: 1.99
oranges: .99
garlic: .15
chicken: 15.63

Grand total: $21.90; serves 8

One-Pot Wonder: Chicken, Tomato & Red Lentil Curry

I'm a big fan of one-pot dishes--something that I can make in a single pot that serves as a meal complete with all of the important food groups: starch, veggies, good fats and protein.

I've made only a million variations of this dish. My base is sauted onions and garlic, chicken, and canned tomatoes, but you can put any other veggies or starches in that you like (I've added broccoli, zucchini, squash, cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.). This time I went with a combination of carrots, celery, brussel sprouts, and added red lentils for texture and curry and garam masala for flavor.

[Doesn't look so pretty but I promise it tastes great!]

Chicken, Tomato & Red Lentil Curry

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
5 carrots, peeled and sliced into chunks
2 celery stalks, sliced into chunks
10 brussel sprouts, quartered
1 lb(ish) boneless chicken, cubed
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup red lentils
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock

Directions:

1. Heat oil and saute onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more.
2. Add carrots, celery, and brussel sprouts and cook 8-10 minutes over medium-low flame, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chicken and spices, stirring to coat. Add lentils, tomatoes & stock and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then simmer 30-40 minutes until veggies are soft and chicken is cooked through.

The cost:
onion: .45
carrots: .99
celery: 1.99
brussel sprouts: 2.49
chicken: 6.53
lentils: 1.00
tomatoes: 1.00
stock: 1.99

Grand total: $16.44; serves 4 (or 2 + leftovers for 2 tomorrow!)

Recipe 2-fer: Washington's Green Grocer Produce Box Adventure

I recently signed up to have a vegetable and fruit box delivered to me from local farms through Washington's Green Grocer. It doesn't cost too much more than I usually spend on produce in a given week, and it's local and organic!

I got my first box yesterday, and it had so many beautiful fruits and veggies including huckleberry potatoes (never even heard of them before--they are pink inside!), purple potatoes, purple top turnips (yikes don't usually cook with those), and kale.

Having never used turnips before in anything but chicken soup I was skeptical, but they were really flavorful, and in a good way! I peeled them after reading they have a tough and sometimes bitter skin, then roasted the turnips and potatoes simply with olive oil, salt, garlic powder and Aleppo pepper (you could substitute red pepper flakes).

For protein I decided on a stovetop chicken rubbed with a spice mix of smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and mustard seed (gave a great crunchy texture!), and then did a quick braise on the kale in the leftover juices.

All in all delicious, and I'm so glad I decided to do this local farm produce delivery!

Roasted Purple-Top Turnips with Huckleberry & Purple Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 large turnips, peeled and cubed
6 huckleberry potatoes, cubed
6 purple potatoes, cubed
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Aleppo pepper

Directions:

1. Place veggies in a roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with spices, mixing to coat.
2. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes covered, 20-25 minutes uncovered or until veggies are tender.

Smoked Paprika & Mustard Seed Crusted Chicken w/ Braised Kale

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
6 scallions, chopped (or 1 onion, I just didn't have any)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
3 boneless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp vegetable stock
1 bunch of kale, cleaned

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saute pan and saute scallions and garlic 4-5 minutes.
2. Combine paprika, mustard seeds, garlic powder & salt in a bowl. Pat chicken breasts dry, then dip into spice mixture, rubbing and massaging into chicken.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from pan.
4. Remove kale leaves from stalk and tear leaves into bite-sized pieces (discard stalk or save for making soup stock another time). Deglaze pan with soup stock and add kale, turning to coat in juices. Cook 1-2 minutes until tender but still very green.

The cost:
veggies: $9.00 (1/4 of box)
chicken: 6.17

Grand total: $15.17; serves 2 + lunch leftovers :)

Chicken w/ Exotic Mushrooms & Green Swiss Chard

The wonderful thing about swiss chard is that it has a great flavor on it's own, and doesn't need too much accompaniment. I've done a mushroom & kale dish before (I'm sure the recipe will make it up at some point :)), and I've done chicken and exotic mushroom dish (yeah, that one will make it too), so I decided to put everything together and make chicken with exotic mushrooms & swiss chard. I use simple flavors--salt, pepper, rice vinegar--but you can add soy, sriracha, sesame oil, or any other flavors if you like.

Note: I call them "exotic mushrooms" because that's what the package at TJ's with cremini, oyster and baby shitake mushrooms is called. You can really use whatever mushroom variety you like, but I like how an assortment livens up the dish.

Chicken w/ Exotic Mushrooms & Green Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, cut into quarters and sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 large bunch green swiss chard, cleaned
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
12 oz assorted mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
sea salt & pepper
1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saute pan and saute onions until soft, 4-5 minutes.
2. Remove stems from swiss chard and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add stem pieces and garlic to onions and cook 6-8 minutes more until onions are caramelized and stem pieces are soft.
3. Deglaze pan with rice vinegar and add mushrooms, stirring to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom. Cook 8-10 minutes until mushrooms are very soft and have released their juices.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to pan and cook covered 5-6 minutes until it is no longer pink in the center, stirring occasionally.
5. Add swiss chard leaves, turning to coat in pan juices. Cover for 1 minute until leaves are slightly wilted. Remove from heat immediately.

The cost:
onion: .45
garlic: .10
chard: 2.29
mushrooms: 2.99
chicken: 5.99

Grand total: $11.82; serves 3-4 over rice or quinoa with a side of roasted veggies

Dinner Party (Part 4 of 5): Coconut Curry Chicken

I'd had a can of coconut milk sitting in my pantry for months; I'll admit, I was a bit trepidatious about using it (not sure why). Seriously, I shouldn't have waited so long--it made this chicken dish so rich and delicious. And there weren't any leftovers :)

Coconut Curry Chicken

Ingredients:

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 Tbsp curry powder (more if you like it hotter)
1 tsp sea salt
shot of sriracha
1 can coconut milk (I used light, lower in fat)
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and carrots and cook 7-8 minutes until onions are caramelized.
2. Add chicken, spices and sriracha, stirring to coat. Add coconut milk, mix and bring to a boil. Simmer 2-3 minutes then add cauliflower. Cook an additional 5-6 minutes covered until chicken is cooked through and cauliflower is tender.

The cost:
onion: .45
garlic: .15
carrots: .99
chicken: 8.99
coconut milk: 1.99
cauliflower: 1.99

Grand total: $14.56; serves 8

Dinner Party (Part 1 of 5): Cucumber, Fennel & Radish Salad

I hadn't hosted a meal in a while, so I decided to host a dinner party last night--thanks to both JG's, JK, LM, and RK for letting me cook for them, and especially to AK for washing the mountain dishes :).

The menu was:

Cucumber, Fennel & Radish Salad (Recipe Remix from this)
Twice Baked Parsnip & Sweet Potato Mash w/ Pecan Streusel Topping
Balsamic Glazed Chickpeas w/ Red Swiss Chard
Coconut Curry Chicken
Banana Nut Cake w/ Candied Walnuts (Recipe Remix from this Recipe Remix)

Sorry, you won't get all of the recipes today--but check back, because you'll get one recipe a day for the rest of the week!

P.S. If you haven't yet filled out my reader poll, please do by clicking here!

Recipe Remix: Cucumber, Fennel & Radish Salad

Ingredients:

1 large fennel bulb + 1 Tbsp fennel fronds
8 radishes
1 English cucumber
1 orange bell pepper
zest of one lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp honey or agave
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Cut fennel bulb in half and peel off outer layer. Slice thinly into half-rounds (I used my mandolin). Slice radishes and cucumber into thin rounds, and julienne the orange pepper.
2. Blend together lemon zest & juice, oil, honey/agave, salt & pepper and pour over salad veggies. Serve immediately.

The cost:
fennel: 2.29
radishes: .89
cucumber: 2.00
pepper: 1.00 (on sale $1 each)
lemons: .78

Grand total: $6.96; serves 8

Balsamic Glazed Chicken & Peppers

I took a trip to Penzey's spice store this past weekend and came away with a great haul of fresh spices including spicy-lemony Aleppo pepper. Its inaugural dish was last night's dinner, balsamic glazed chicken breasts with pepper in 4 ways--red, yellow, orange, and Aleppo :)

Balsamic Glazed Chicken & Peppers

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, cut into quarters and sliced thinly
1 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 each red, orange and yellow bell peppers, cut into strips
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 chopped green onion (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and peppers and cook 8-10 minutes more.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of chicken breasts. Add to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes on each side to brown. Add vinegar to deglaze pan, turning contents to coat. Cover and cook 3-4 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with chopped green onion.

Serve over rice or quinoa with this citrus-y fennel salad or this zesty cucumber salad.

The cost:
onion: .45
garlic: .5
bell peppers: 3.49
chicken: 5.99

Grand total: $9.98; serves 2 + lunch for tomorrow (well, for AK anyway :))

Ginger Chicken w/ Braised Baby Bok Choy

As you may have already figured out, I'm a big fan of Asian food. This recipe was my attempt at recreating a dish from one of my favorite Asian restaurants. I figure, for what I pay for one serving, I can make myself with enough to serve 4.

I think I did a pretty good job :)

Ginger Chicken w/ Braised Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
10 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and sliced into very thin strips
3 baby bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 5-6 minutes more. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft and have released their juices, 8-10 minutes.
2. Add soy sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, & ginger, stirring to combine.
3. Add baby bok choy, cut side down. Cook 2 minutes, then flip over and cook 2 minutes on the other side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
4. Add chicken to skillet, stirring to coat in sauce. Cover and cook 5-6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over brown basmati rice for a healthy and flavorful dinner!

The cost:
onion: .45
mushrooms: 1.99
baby bok choy: 2.49
chicken: 5.99

Grand total: $10.92; serves 4

Crock Pot Curry Chicken

Crock pots are amazing (I neglected to mention them in my post about kitchen gadgets, they are definitely well worth the investment, plus they are on sale this time of year). My friends SK & JT recently bought one, and JT has been wanting to experiment with cooking chicken in it. JT, this recipe is for you!

Crock Pot Curry Chicken

6 baby yukon or small white potatoes
2 onions
1/2 lb peeled baby carrots
1/2 cup white wine
chicken or vegetable soup stock
1 whole chicken (2-3 lbs)
2 Tbsp light olive or vegetable oil
2 Tbsp curry powder (less if you don't like it too spicy)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and slice potatoes into thick rounds; peel and slice onions into thick rings.
2. Layer potatoes, onions and carrots to cover the bottom of the crockpot. Add white wine and soup stock until veggies are just covered.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil and spices.
4. Rinse out cavity of chicken to ensure there are no leftover innards. Remove skin if you like (although the skin helps keep it moist while it roasts).
5. Rub spice mixture all over chicken, both over and under skin.
6. Place chicken on top of veggies in crockpot. Cook on high 4-6 hours or on low 8-10.

Fun variations:

• Use a bag of peeled cippolini onions in place of regular onions.
• Make it spicy & sweet: Add 1 Tbsp apricot preserves or honey to the spice rub mixture.

The cost:
potatoes: .35
onions: .25
carrots: .99
chicken: 8.99
stock: 1.99

Grand total: $12.57; serves 4-8, depending on size of chicken; serve with my potluck rice pilaf!