Spicy Chicken (possibly with cheese)

I discovered this recipe on Lisa Tries to Cook and Get Healthy. Of course, I changed it somewhat because that's what I do. This recipe appealed to me for a variety of reasons. First of all, it uses chicken breasts, and lately I've been finding that my local green grocer sells that particular cut for 19 yen per 100 grams (21 cents for 3.5 oz. or 96 cents per pound) on occasion. That's as cheap as chicken gets in Japan. When I find these sales, I load up on breast meat and freeze it.

The second reason is that this is a fairly simple recipe, though I made it fussier and more complex because, again, that's what I do. Third, it's fast. With an original cooking time of 20 minutes, it takes a lot less time in the oven than I'm used to and this is something I appreciate as we gear up for four and a half months of misery in Tokyo (humid and hot, then hotter until around mid October). And finally, it uses spices I tend to only use for Indian-style dishes. Using cumin for something which isn't Indian gave this dish a different flavor and I'm all for dressing up my breasts (chicken breasts, you dirty-minded people) in an unusual way.

Chili Chicken

For this recipe, you need:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

I decided I wanted to marinate the chicken and add an acidic component in order to enhance the flavor and increase the chances of tender, juicy white meat. First, set up the marinade:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• the juice of half a small lemon (only use fresh juice)
• 2 tsp. ground cumin (I think it could use more, I misread the original recipe and thought it was "teaspoons", but it was "tablespoons")
• 1 tsp.  salt
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 1/3 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk all of the above together in a medium bowl that you have a lid for. Dredge the chicken in it (rub them together if necessary to coat evenly as it's a small amount of liquid). Put all of the breasts in the bowl, seal with the lid and leave in your refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Longer is fine. I think mine marinated for about 5.5 hours, but I'm thinking overnight would be just as good.

• 2 small green peppers (piman, in Japan), cut into rings
• 1 small diced yellow onion
• 1 large tomato (coarsely chopped)
• Colby Jack cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 205 degrees C. or 400 degrees F. Place the marinated chicken into a lightly greased baking pan (or sheet). Layer the vegetables on top of the chicken and cook in the preheated oven until the juices in the chicken run clear. Top with cheese if desired and serve with a green salad.

Mine took about 38 minutes, but the breasts I used were large and crowded in my pan. I also layered more vegetables than Lisa did in her original recipe. The one thing I learned this time and will do differently next time is not to slice the thin-skinned Japanese peppers so thinly. Next time, I'm making thicker rings so they don't burn in spots.

My husband liked this a lot, and the chicken came out nice and moist (as you can see by the picture, the interior is juicy). The vegetables compliment the spices well and take on a roasted flavor. I had mine "as is" and my husband had his with cheese. I think it is certainly good either way, but I took a picture of mine because he cut his up pretty fast.

by Shari (Orchid64)

All Wrapped Up

Fajitas: Not the most photogenic of meals.

Given my recent lethargy in regards to new spur-of-the-moment creations, I have lately taken to prepping a single large dish at the beginning of the week and then eating it for the following five days until the weekend strikes and I have time to repeat the process. This one-week-meal concept can be seen in my recent lasagna post as well as an unposted (but upcoming, someday) tuna casserole one. Several friends of mine (well, one, generally ;) often remark upon this process wondering how I could possibly eat the same dish all week long (in some cases for two meals a day) and not get bored of it, and my usual response is to grunt noncommittally and continue daydreaming about corn pie. However, I figure this post presents me with a decent opportunity to expand upon my usual eloquence.

Truth be told, I certainly do get bored with the same meal all the time. Ideally, I would love to prep several large dishes over the course of a weekend, freeze some of the results, and then coast through a month off of a single weekend's worth of work. I do think it's safe to say that I would not get tired of this process so long as I had a relatively large pool of big (and freezeable) dishes to draw from due to the simple fact that leftovers are, to me, one of the greatest creations for lazy people all over the world. The idea that I can go the store and pick up ~$10 worth of ingredients and have the resulting meal last me seven sittings is something I draw a great deal of happiness from, as it appeals to both my lazy and frugal sides. I suppose one thing that helps keep these meals fresh over the course of a week is the memory of the number appearing on the cash register and winding up lower than the average cost of a single meal at a restaurant.

Of course, the catch-22 in this brilliant plan is the very fact that it stems from laziness, which tends to prevent one from spending an entire weekend prepping several dishes to be enjoyed over the course of a month. Indeed, it is often more than I can muster to put together a single dish, let alone several. As such, it is somewhat rare that I manage to freeze anything, and instead I wind up eating the same thing day in and day out. Boring, yes. Expensive? No, and that's probably worth its weight in boredom at this point.

Chicken Fajitas
(Method for preparing chicken stolen from Shari)

Ingredients
4 Chicken breasts*
1 tbsp Flour
1 tbsp Corn starch
2 tbsp Seasoning**
2 Medium onions
2 Bell peppers (whatever type you prefer)
1 Bunch green onions
3 Cloves of garlic
4 tbsp Butter
1/4c Soy Sauce
1/4c Hoisin Sauce
A crapton of cheese
Sour cream as desired

*Any cut of chicken will do, of course. I just happened to have breasts on hand.
**I didn't have taco seasoning on hand, so I mixed up some of my own: 1tsp onion powder, 1tsp garlic powder, 1tsp cayenne pepper, 1tsp chili powder, 1tsp ground cumin, and 1tsp some random steak seasoning that I wanted to get rid of. The steak seasoning had salt, so I omitted it from the mix; otherwise, add salt in there too.

Procedure
1) Slice the chicken into thin strips.

Note my bag of seasoning waiting at the top.

2) Toss the seasoning into a bag and mix with the chicken until all the pieces appear to be coated. Set the bag aside to absorb the seasoning for an hour or so (longer wouldn't hurt!).

Sexy? No. Delicious? We'll see!

Note: I don't recommend refrigerating the chicken, as I feel it gets a quicker sear and a better consistency from sitting at room temperature. Don't worry; it's sealed up, and even if some bacteria work their way in there, our seasonings contain natural antibacterial agents that will take care of things. Try to relax; you're so uptight!

3) While waiting for the chicken to finish soaking, chop your veggies to their desired consistency. I minced the garlic, chopped the onions into half-circles, and sliced the peppers into strips.

4) Heat the butter in the wok on high heat until it starts smoking (actual smoking, no wispy nonsense). Throw the chicken in there and allow the heat to come back up.

5) When the chicken starts to fry (you can tell from the bubbles boiling up in the butter on the edges), stir gradually to ensure that all the meat gets evenly cooked. More or less. At this point, add the garlic as well.

Notice the lovely browning we get on the portions of the chicken covering the pan. We want that everywhere!

6) When the chicken is cooked, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and set it in a bowl to relax for a bit.

7) Add the bell peppers and regular onions to the remaining sauce in the wok and stir fry in the same manner. If necessary, add a little more oil or butter.

Cooking the veggies in the residual chicken juice brings the flavors in the dish together nicely.

8) When the onions become translucent, add the soy and hoisin sauces and stir to coat.

9) Remove from heat and pour the entire mix into the bowl with the chicken. Add the green onions and stir to combine.

Ok, so hoisin and soy sauces aren't exactly Mexican flavors... but they taste good!

10) Wrap in a tortilla laced with sour cream and the aforementioned crapton of cheese and you're all set!

Lessons Learned
This is a fairly simple recipe; even I managed to not screw it up. However, this did teach me that I actually like yellow bell peppers, which leaves only green ones on my hate list. They brought a great sweetness to the spice from the seasoning mix, which turned out just about perfect (although somewhat heavy on the cumin--next time, cardamom or coriander perhaps?).

Stacking Up the Week

You know there's enough cheese when there's a nice coat of oil on the top.

As of late, I actually haven't felt like experimenting with any new recipes; my drive for the unknown seems to have stalled due to a lack of energy and money. Unfortunately, my appetite doesn't always follow these lulls in my creative endeavors, and thus I am forced to create vast quantities of old standbys to last me through weeks of meals at a time, at least until my spare time catches up with my ever-expanding list of stuff to make (such as a frozen yogurt recipe that I've been informed I'm attempting). Enter: lasagna.

Pasta is an unquestionably uber dish if for no other reason that for about $1, one can buy enough of it to last an entire week, utilizing whatever appears to be lying around the house to supplement it. While lasagna doesn't represent the pinnacle of pasta's flexibility, it does represent the blessed union of two culinary greats: meat and cheese. And my version of it uses lots of both. Of course, the best part of this recipe was simply that aside from the noodles, I had all the other ingredients on hand and waiting to be united in harmony just in time to be chilled or frozen to take the dish to that next culinary level that is leftovers, which pasta lends itself to even better than most things.

But my ramblings aside, I present the recipe itself. As always, it didn't turn out exactly as I would've hoped, but I still ate every last bit of it (and it only took a week!).

Lasagna
(as adapted from my mom's recipe, designed for a 9x13 pan)

Ingredients
1 Package of Lasagna noodles
1lb Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1lb Cheddar cheese, shredded
2lb Ground meat*
2 Medium yellow onions
6 Cloves garlic
1 32oz Jar of tomato sauce
1 12oz Can of tomato paste
Parmesean as desired

*Any type of ground meat can be used, of course; my mom always used ground turkey. In this instance, I used 1lb ground beef and 1lb pork sausage, as they were both cheap.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Procedure
1) Gather all your ingredients into one compact location, preferably with a large cutting board and knife at hand.

Ok, you may have to move the ingredients aside to actually do any cutting...

2) Start a large pot of salted water to boil.

3) Mince the garlic and dice the onions. Their respective consistencies can vary according to your individual taste or how lazy you're feeling when chopping.

4) Heat a medium-large saucepan over medium heat and add the ground meat. After it has started to brown, add the onion and garlic.

Use a spatula to try and spread the meat around for even done-ness.

5) At this point, your water should be boiling, so add the noodles and stir to ensure they get completely submerged.

6) Cook the meat until the onion is translucent and the meat has become entirely brown.

7) After the desired color has been reached, remove the saucepan from the heat and drain off the excess fat. Stir in the tomato sauce and paste and set the aside for now.

8) When the noodles have reached the desired consistency (they don't have to be completely done yet, as we're baking them in a sauce anyway), drain them into a collander and allow to air out for a bit.

9) In the 9x13 pan, spoon a light coating of the sauce onto the bottom of the pan. This step prevents sticking.

10) Layer some of the noodles over the sauce; note that you don't want them too thick, so just use a single layer. Then cover the layer with more sauce.

You can see from my sauce that I was particularly lazy when dicing the garlic!

11) Add a layer of mozzarella and cheddar on top of the sauce. Don't skimp now! If desired, add parmesean to the mix as well.

12) Repeat steps 10 and 11 until the pan is full. Be sure to save the thickest coat of cheese for the top.

I only managed two layers of noodles, it appears. Next time I'll have to use a roasting pan.

13) Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until heated all the way through and the cheese has melted.

Lessons Learned
I've made this fairly frequently in the past, so there wasn't a lot of experimentation here. However, completely forgot to add any herbs to the sauce; normally I'd add basil and oregano after it has finished cooking. I also added salt to the meat out of habit, since just about every recipe calls for salt at some point or another. Resist this urge! The cheese adds plenty of saltiness, especially if ample parmesean has been used. Plus, more cheese can always be added afterwards.