Basil and Panko Crusted Chicken with Angry Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs...why on earth would I choose to use what is considered to be such a lesser cut of meat to a chicken breast? Well it could be that the thigh, being dark meat from a flightless bird that spends its life wandering the ground looking for food, has more flavor. Maybe it is for the low cost that you can get a boneless chicken thigh compared to a boneless chicken breast. It very well could be that due to the size of a chicken thigh, it would be easier to control the portions and therefore our food intake.

While all three could be very good reasons to use the thigh, none of them are the reason I chose to use it here. The absolute honest truth is that, as stated before, I hate to waste food. When I buy chicken, I prefer to buy a whole chicken and break it down myself. It really only takes a few minutes, and there is a significant cost savings. For example, if I were to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts at my local store, I would pay around $3.00 per pound. When I buy a whole chicken, I spend around $1.00 - $1.25 a pound. So I save a little money, and I have enough chicken for a few meals.

This also has to be good for the environment as well in some way. What!?!   
I care about that kind of stuff. No, I really do. Stop looking at me like that.

Mango Pico de Gallo with Mexican Chicken

After the Blueberry Pancake recipe, I had a request from Shannon for more chicken recipes, which, from my perspective, is humorous as I am teased by several people about eating too much chicken. I admit I go through phases, but I always return to the pork. Anyway, in response to Shannon's request, I have worked on a couple of recipes. I thought I'd share the first one today.

While working on this, I tried to keep in mind that you might actually want to spend some time with your family rather than the stove and oven. I've noted a time saving option for this recipe that will not impact the overall flavor too much.

I was originally planning on making this a pineapple pico, but the mangos looked really great at the store. They are usually in season in May and before that are usually hard and not nearly as sweet. I will pass them, pick up one or two to test, then put them back and just move along. Today though, when I picked them up, they did not feel like a baseball, but more like....well a mango. If the mangos do not look good, or are too expensive, you could go with pineapple or another tropical fruit. I have even considered trying to do a pomegranate pico, just have not seen any pomegranates that jump out at me screaming "PICK ME, PICK ME".

Sriracha Honey Wings with Cilantro Blue Cheese

Some of the best advice I was given about creating menus and recipes was "Stay true to who you are, your food will taste false." Keeping this in mine, I was really in the mood for some wings this week. So well I made wings. I decided to combine my standard recipe that I use, which peope love, with Sriracha which brings it own flavor profile to the table. I am very happy with the results, and it goes great with the Cilantro-Blue Cheese Dressing (that recipe is just previous to this one).

Chicken in Vindaloo Sauce

This is not a traditional Chicken Vindaloo in any sense of the word.But after working on it I really liked it. Let me say this though, I like all cuisines. I like Indian cuisine, but it can be a bit daunting. The cuisine is so huge you could take a lifetime to scratch the surface. I decided that I would try and make a different version of Chicken Vindaloo. I read a lot of different recipes and put them together to come up with this one. What I was going for was exactly what I got. I wanted to make a sauce out of the Vindaloo that I could pour over chicken and rice. Since the chicken usually cooks in sauce, I added some chicken granules to the sauce to impart that flavor. It turned out very nice. Keep in mind that most curry powders are different, and I make my own.

Recipe:

Chicken with Vindaloo Sauce

Servings: 2

I prefer to use skin on Chicken, for the crunch it adds, and to cook it in cast iron. Serve with homemade or store bought Naan. Use a homemade curry powder if you can, store bought works fine as well, just be ready to adjust the seasonings. The sauce makes enough for eight chicken breasts.

5 tbsp Olive oil
3 tbsp Garlic, Minced
5 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
5 tsp paprika
2 ea Chicken breasts- Boneless, skin on
1 ea Medium onion chopped
2 tbsp Curry Powder
1.5 lbs roma Tomato dices
2 tbsp Ginger-root grated
2 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
½ cup water
¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 each Lime slices, for garnish

Oven Temperature: 350°F

1 Mix together 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Garlic, 3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar and 2 tsp of the Paprika in a non-reactive bowl. Add Chicken to this, cover and place into refrigerator for 30 min to 2 hours.

2 Heat a saucepan to med-high. Add oil.

3 When oil begins to shimmer add Onions and remaining garlic. Cook till translucent and just beginning to brown.

4 Stir in Curry Powder and remaining Paprika.

5 When mixture is evenly mixed add Roma Tomato. Reduce heat to medium and cover.

6 After tomato has begun to release their juice (about 5 minutes), Stir in Ginger and Chicken Bullion.

7 Add water and puree until smooth in blender or submersion blender, then return to pot on a low simmer and cover.

8 Stir in Cilantro, remaining Red Wine Vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

9 Sauce can be held for up to three days in the refrigerator at this point and reheated when needed.

10 Cook Basmati Rice according to package directions.

11 Heat oven safe pan (I like cast iron) over medium high heat.

12 Add chicken skin side down and cook till skin is crisp (3-4 minutes)

13 Turn chicken and place in oven until cooked through.

14 To Serve place a bed of rice on a plate, place Chicken skin side up, and cover liberally with sauce. Serve with lime wedge.


Enjoy.