Meal Assembly Recipes

Archive for the ‘Chicken’ Category

Basil pesto mayo is approximately 1 cup of lf mayo to 1/2-3/4 cup of basil pesto.  We make our own nut free basil pesto (basil, parm chz, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper) and freeze it til we’re ready to use. 

The sundried mayo is new- it was a sundried/ tomato/balsamic blend that had way too many ingredients.  The mayo is the mayo from above to which we add some minced sundried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.

Station Instructions:

You will be making 6 chicken cakes.
  Place a gallon size Ziploc bag in a crock, folding edges over side of crock.

Add the following to the bag:
   3 cups of cooked chicken
   1/2 cup basil pesto mayo   
   1/4 cup liquid egg
   4 Tbsp roasted red peppers
   4 Tbsp diced onions
   1/2 panko bread crumbs
   1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
   1 tsp salt
   1/2 tsp pepper
      
3. Seal bag.  Massage to mix.

4. Lay out three pieces of patty paper on the counter.  Put on gloves.

5. Take approximately 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture with your gloved hands and form a rounded patty on top of patty paper.  Repeat.  Place three cakes in a small round foil pan (with patty paper underneath). Note: the foil pan is only to provide support for the cakes while freezing.

6. Repeat for three additional cakes. Lay on top of cakes in round pan, keeping patty paper in place to prevent sticking

Place 2 red scoops of tomato basil mayo into a portion cup.  Seal with a lid and place in the pan with the chicken. Place a lid on the pan and a label from the drawer on the lid.

8. Take a bag of pasta.  If splitting, you still only take one bag of pasta.

9. Place all items into your spot in the cooler, wash your hands, and proceed to your next station.

Cooking Instructions:
Note to store owners- this dish might do well being baked- we never tested it that way but I hear tell of some customers that choose to bake instead of sautee– if you give it a shot and it comes out okay, let me know.  If you did choose to bake, I’m thinking it might benefit from perhaps having more panko sprinkled and pressed into the outisde of the patties once prepared.

Thaw. Start boiling water for pasta before heating pan for chicken cakes.  Heat 1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil in large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.  Add chicken cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towel.  Top with mozzarella or provolone and sundried tomato basil mayo (provided).  Suggested side: serve cakes on a salad or on toasted English muffins.

Pasta: cook according to package directions, season with butter, salt, pepper and favorite herbs.

Ingredients:  
6    boneless chicken breast halves   
2-3 tsp    Creole OR Cajun seasoning   
1 Tbs    olive oil   
2 cups    Béchamel Sauce-make your sauce using substituting 1/2 cup white wine for dairy 
1/2 cup    chicken broth   
1 teaspoon    chicken base or 1 bouillon cube   
½ cup    chopped green chilies-canned   
1 tsp    lime juice or lemon juice   
1/2 cup    diced red peppers-drained   
1/2 cup    diced onions   
1/4 cup    plain yogurt   
1 cup    rice with directions   
 
Directions:
 
1 Grab 6 chicken breasts.
2 On your work space in a large bowl place the chicken breasts & sprinkle 2-3 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning over the chicken and rub to coat evenly. 
3 Place the chicken into a large zip loc bag & drizzle it with 1 Tablespoon olive oil.
4 Seal bag. Label
5 In a small ziploc bag add
6 2 cups béchamel
7 1/2 cup chicken broth
8 1 teaspoon chicken base
9 ½ cup chopped green chilies peppers
10 1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice
11 ½ cup drained red peppers
12 ½ diced onions
13 ¼ cup plain yogurt 

16 Cooking Directions:Thaw chicken & sauce bag 
17 HEAT a nonstick large skillet over medium high heat. Add thawed chicken to the skillet and cook until browned.
18 ADD sauce to chicken in the skillet. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook chicken & sauce covered over low heat for approximately 5 min. or until chicken reaches 165-170° internal temperature. Cook Rice according to directions- This will take about 15-20 minutes so plan accordingly
19 Serve over rice.
 
 
Servings: 6

Instead of leaving the kids at home and heading out for a $100 evening, we decided to stay home and put together that same dinner for less than $30 and everyone got to enjoy it. For Valentine’s Day we decided to bring out the fondue pot and create our own little feast. It actually turned out exceptionally well with all of us sitting around the table talking and eating for nearly two hours. That alone was worth every penny.

I have a fondue pot which uses Sterno cans to keep it hot. This actually works quite well overall, but I wanted to get the main broth as hot as possible and give it time to simmer. With that in mind I put the broth on the stove while we enjoyed the choose dip.

Beef Broth:

To make the main fondue broth, combine the following in a saucepan:

1 ½ cups red wine (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Burgundy, etc). Brand and vintage aren’t important.
1 cup of water
1 packet French Onion soup mix
1 beef bouillon cube

Bring to a boil and then let simmer until you’re ready for it.

The cheese mixture is just as simple but very tasty. I did this in the fondue pot itself since it probably wouldn’t pour very well and the cheese only takes a few minutes to melt. The actual quantities will vary slightly depending on how many people you have. But here is the base.

Cheese Dip:

In the fondue pot combine the following:

4-8oz of beer (I used Corona)
1 – 1 ½ cups of shredded of cheese – 4 cheese Mexican blend
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

Pour in some of the beer and stir in the cheese. Keep adding cheese and beer to the desired amount and consistency. It should be smooth and creamy. It should be thin enough to coat the bread when dipped.

For the bread I actually made a loaf of French bread in my bread machine. This works out well because the bread is dense so it holds up well on the skewer and the crust is excellent for dipping on its own. You have to plan ahead though as French bread takes 4 hours from start to finish.

Once the bread it ready simply cut off the crust and cut the inner portion into 1 inch cubes. Don’t toss the crust, it’s great for dipping on its own.

To have a good time with fondue you really only need a couple of things, the broth, a cheese dip, a thick bread and of course your main course ingredients. The main course can be anything you want. I chose chicken breasts, steak strips, salmon filet, russet potato wedges, large whole mushrooms, and broccoli florets. Cut everything into cubes and place them on a platter. Everyone can then take what they like as needed. For the dipping sauces you can use whatever comes to mind. Ranch, honey mustard, bbq sauce, lemon pepper, Louisiana Red Pepper sauce, etc all work very well, are readily available and don’t cost much.

For the main course I cut up the following:

2 8oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 4-6oz salmon filets
2 4-6oz steak strips (pretty much any cut will do)
1 head of fresh broccoli florets
Several large mushrooms
2-3 medium russet potatoes cut into cubes

French Bread Loaf:

2 pound loaf:

1 and 1/3 cups water
2 teaspoons margarine or butter
4 cups bread flour
5 teaspoons sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 and 1/2 teaspoons yeast

And there you have, a very inexpensive way for the whole family to enjoy Valentine’s Day and spend some real quality time with each other. This is a very simple recipe but it’s a great place to get started and it tastes very good. I’m looking forward to the next time we try this one out.

If you have a fondue recipe you would like to share please leave a comment, I would love to hear about it.