Antipasti Stuffed Chicken

Antipasti plates always seem so...messy...  Or something. Finger food is great, but when it's a little oil and vinegar-y, it's drippy. Messy.

So, while I love every single thing on the plate, I have never ordered one. So when I saw this recipe, with all of the things that make an antipasti plate delicious chopped up and stuffed into baked chicken, I had to try it. The pepperoncini give it a nice bite and cheese gets nice and melty. The dressing is an Italian dressing-like compliment and I basted the chicken with it while it was baking. Juicy and delicious.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 slices Genoa salami (2 ounces), chopped
• 4 thin slices prosciutto, chopped
• 4 slices provolone cheese (4 ounces), chopped
• 4 large pepperoncini, stemmed, chopped
• 1 whole roasted red peppers, chopped
• Four 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kitchen twine

Method:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a heavy baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.
2. For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar, oregano, fennel seed, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Gradually whisk in the oil.
3. For the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the salami, pepperoncini, prosciutto, provolone and peppers with 1/4 cup of the dressing; toss to blend evenly.
4. Butterfly chicken and pound to about 1/4" thick. (There are explicit instructions in the original recipe.) Lay over 3 pieces of kitchen twine.
5. Mound a fourth of the stuffing onto the chicken then roll firmly. Tie with twine.
6. Place the chicken breasts on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the dressing.Roast until the chicken is cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook the chicken. Don't ask how I know that.) Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a sheet of foil. Let rest 5 minutes.

Bad day at work?  Nothing like cooking and a glass of wine.

Pound chicken to 1/4" thickness and lay over three pieces of kitchen twine.
(This exercise helps with the really bad day, too.)

Mound each piece of chicken with a quarter of the stuffing.

Roll and tie, then trim the excess twine.

Don't forget the wine!

Source: Food Network

Baked Garlic Chicken

This is a quick, delicious take on baked chicken. You probably have all of the ingredients on hand, and it's totally adjustable depending on how many people you're feeding,  how much garlic you like, etc. The bread and cheese topping gets nicely browned, and the chicken stays really juicy.

When I first found this recipe, we had it for dinner twice in less than two weeks, including a spur-of-the-moment easy supper with a good friend. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 T olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed (or to taste)
• 1 package boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (3 or 4 to the package)
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 C panko breadcrumbs

Method:

1. Warm the garlic and olive oil over low heat to blend the flavors.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3.  In a separate dish, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
4. Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Adapted from: AllRecipes

Sweet Baby Ray's Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

This recipe popped up on Facebook last week and it was shared by no fewer than four of my friends. And, since we have an Armageddon-ready stock of Sweet Baby Ray's and (obviously) love BBQ, it was our post-yard work Sunday Funday dinner. It was nearly as easy as my three-ingredient pulled pork, and is definitely a keeper.

The chicken wasn't just fork tender, it literally fell apart. I'm thinking I cooked it too long, since the photos that were posted with it previously all showed perfectly intact pieces of chicken. Regardless, it was really tasty. Between the red pepper flakes in the chicken and the chipotle in the Southwest Quinoa Salad we had with it, there was definitely some heat going on...perfect for the start of yet another heat wave, right?!

Ingredients:

• 4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used 4, which were a little less than 2 pounds)
• 1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients except chicken in crock pot.
2. Add chicken, coating with sauce on all sides.
3. Cook on low 4 - 6 hours. (I cooked ours for 5 hours - they probably could have come out after 4)

Game Hen Pot Pie (Thanksgiving leftovers remake, take 1)

Without exaggeration, I think this pot pie was better than our actual Thanksgiving meal. It's by far the best meal I've ever made with leftovers and one of my favorite things I've put together from scratch.

It was definitely easier to put together - and even more delicious - because we had left over hen breast meat (it's hard to pick dark meat off those little wings and drumsticks!), mashed potatoes, and gravy. It tasted just like the best of Thanksgiving - only a little bit better!

I didn't have enough gravy left over for the pie, so I made a pan gravy when I sauteed the vegetables. I also took a tip from some recipe reviews I read for apple pies and galettes, about brushing the bottom crust with an egg wash and baking it for a few minutes before filling the pie plate - and the bottom crust came out perfectly crisp and not the last big soggy...success!

As beautiful on the outside...



...as it was delicious on the inside!


Ingredients:

• 3 stalks celery, finely diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
• 1 T butter
• 1 T garlic olive oil (Regular olive oil would work fine, too - but I used this great garlic infused olive oil we just got from the Newburyport Olive Oil Co. and you could really taste the garlic. If you use plain olive oil, I'd add a clove or two of garlic to the veggie saute.)
• 1/2 C cooked green beans
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T flour
• 1 C low sodium chicken stock
• 1 C left over gravy
• 1 lb. cooked game hen (or chicken), large diced*
• 1 C left over mashed potatoes
• 2 prepared pie crusts
• 1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Place 1 pie crust in pie pan, fitting closely to the pan. Brush with some of the egg wash.
3. Bake for 10 minutes or until starting to brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Press mashed potatoes onto bottom of pie crust. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, warm butter and oil over medium  heat until melted.
5. Saute celery, carrots, and onion until crisp-tender. Fold in green beans.
6. Sprinkle flour over pan and cook to remove raw-flour flavor, about 3 minutes.
7. Slowly stir in chicken stock and cook until starting to thicken, about 5 minutes.
8. Stir in gravy and chicken and combine well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Pour chicken and vegetable mixture into prepared pie pan. Cover with second crust, sealing edges well and creating a few slits for steam to escape. Brush will remaining egg wash.
10. Place pie pan onto a rimmed cookie sheet and place in preheated over. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until very golden brown.
11. Allow to rest 10 minutes or so before serving.

*We had a lot of meat left over because all of the recipes I read for Cornish game hens called for one hen per person. Both times we made them, each person only ate half.  At Arnold's, you can buy them individually; at Big Y, they come two to a package (and were buy one, get one free right before Thanksgiving).  The ones from Big Y were bigger and I think a little tastier.

Cornish Game Hens with Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary

Brian and I were so excited to host our very first Thanksgiving this year!  It was far from our first Thanksgiving "together," but it was our first together in our house. My very good friend, Jean, accepted our invitation for dinner and we were on our way to a party!

Because there were only three of us, and because Brian doesn't love turkey, we weren't sure what to make for dinner. I'd been wanting to try Cornish game hens, found what sounded like an easy, tasty recipe, and had a successful "dry run" of them with Brian's mom and aunt - game hens it was.

I wasn't even sure what a Cornish game hen was, so Jean looked it up after dinner. They are actually domestic to America; are chickens who's "growing spans" (otherwise known as "life spans") are about 28 days vs.the traditional 42 days for a regular chicken; and can be either female or male. In other words, they are neither Cornish, game, or necessarily hens...but they are delicious!

In addition to reading others' comments on a recipe, I also check to see how many times a recipe has been reviewed and its average rating. This recipe had nearly 600 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 - and they were right on. The first time, we served the sauce as instructed in the original recipe. We prefer a more traditional gravy, though, so that's what I did on Thanksgiving - I've included that here, too.

Cornish Game Hens with Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary

Ingredients:

• 4 Cornish game hens
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 24 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 T butter, room temperature
• 2/3 C white wine
• 2/3 C low sodium chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Remove giblets from hens, wash and pat dry. Season the inside of cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff each hen with 1/4 lemon, a sprig of rosemary, and a clove of garlic.
3. Arrange hens in heavy roasting pan. Smear each with a 1/4 of the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter remaining garlic cloves around hens in pan.
4. Roast for 25 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to 350. Add wine and chicken stock to roasting pan. Roast for an additional 25 minutes or  until juices run clear and hens register 165 degrees in thickest part of meat. Baste every 10 minutes with pan juices.
6. Remove hens from pan and let rest 10 minutes.
7. When ready to serve, split hens evenly along backbone and arrange on platter. Garnish with additonal lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary Gravy

Ingredients:

• Strained liquid from roasting pan
• 4 T butter, room temperature
• 4 T flour
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Strain liquid from roasting pan into large measure cup - you should have about 2 C of liquid.  Discard solids.
2. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, a tablespoon at a time, until a golden rue forms.
3. Slowly whisk in reserved liquid, whisking constantly, until gravy thickens.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add additional liquid to desired consistency. I started with about a cup and added an additional 3/4 C, for a total of 1 3/4 C.
5. Serve hot with roasted hens.

Chicken Noodle Soup

We eat a lot of chicken, and it's fun (and sometimes a little frustrating) to find new ways to prepare it. Who knew that Nov. 12 was Chicken Soup for the Soul Day?! Not me...but I had a package of chicken and everything I needed to make soup.

I love chicken noodle soup but haven't had much success with it in the past - no matter what I did, it just didn't seem to have much flavor. In an effort to make a soup that didn't just taste like chicken broth, I made two additions this time that made all the difference - lemon zest and a jalapeno. Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 tsp. dried dill
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• zest of one lemon
• 1 lb. chicken, cooked, cooled, and diced
• 2 quarts low sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 bag egg noodles

Method:

1. Heat oil in stock pot over medium heat.
2. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and jalapeno until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in dill, zest, and pepper. Add chicken.
4. Add stock and bring to boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions, about 7 - 9 minutes.

Tuscan Chicken with Lemon Couscous

In celebration of Sue's birthday, Brian and I made dinner tonight on the Plum. This is a new recipe from the American Heart Association. If you didn't know it is heart healthy ("HH," as Brian refers to it), you'd never know. Big flavors in a nice, easy, delicious meal!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Zest of one lemon, divided
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp  chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 16 cubes
• 16 whole crimini mushrooms, stemmed and cleaned
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 16 pieces
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 1 small onion, quartered, then chopped in eigths
• cooking spray
• 1 box parmesan couscous
• 1 1/4 C chicken stock
• 2 scallions, diced

Method:

1. In a large freezer bag, stir together 1/2 the lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, oil. garlic, oregan and red pepper flake.
2. Add the chicken and stir to coat.
3. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 8 hours. (Turn several times if marinating longer than 30 minutes.)
4. When ready to cook, preheat grill on medium high.
5. Drain the chicken and discard the marinade.
6. Alternately thread chicken and vegetables onto 4 metal skeweres.
7. Lightly spray all sides with cooking spray.
8. Grill the kebobs 2 - 3 minutes on each side (8 - 12 minutes total), or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the vegetables are tender.
9. Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to the package directions, using the chicken stock instead of water. When done, fluff with fork, adding in the remaining zest and half of the scallions.
10. Serve kebobs over the couscous, and garnish with remaining scallions.

Thyme Flies

Hard to believe it's been over a year since my very first blog post. I had had a food blog in mind for a long time, and had known for months that when I finally did it, it would be called Thyme Well Spent.


When I finally decided to give it a go, I sat down one Sunday morning and was surprised to find how easy it was to create a blog. Certainly, I was at no loss for material, given how much we like to go out, eat out, and cook in.

What I grossly underestimated was how hard it would be to come home after eight to 10 hours of sitting in front of a computer at work and finding the motivation to blog in the evening. I also had no idea how much fun it would be to read my friends' and family's comments, nor did I have any inclination that my most frequent commenter would be our friend Jim.

I'm way, way behind on posting. It's been over a month since my last message, and there are a number of recipes, restaurants, plays, and weather disasters worthy of writing about. I'll start with a terrific Crock Pot Jambalaya and promise to get caught up before too much more time goes by.

Thank you for reading - and for commenting!!

Crock Pot Jambalaya

• 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 lb. andouille sausage, diced
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, reserved 
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups cooked rice

Method:

1. In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and celery. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.
3. Add in reserved chicken stock as necessary, to reach the consistency you desire.
4. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

I started with this recipe, but because we had no shrimp on hand, upped the amount of chicken and sausage. I also drained the tomatoes a little, fearing it would be too thin. Next time, I would drain even more liquid, as it was a little more soup-y than we'd like. The flavor was perfect, though!

White Chicken Enchiladas - Day Two Recipe

I'm way behind on posting some really great recipes, and what better day to get caught up but on a windy, rainy Sunday.  And wait until you see what we have planned for our Sunday Funday meal this afternoon....!

I told you last month about these delicious White Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce. They were super easy and so tasty that I was determined not to let the extra chicken filling go to waste.

So, the next night, I made these Chicken Enchilada Panini for dinner. Using those 100 calorie sandwich thins and my woefully under appreciated George Foreman Grill, a half a cup of the filling and a little extra shredded cheese as the "glue,"  I had a quick, satisfying dinner. I might even make extra filling next time so I can make these panini again!