In-House Cook: Lemon Marinated Chicken with Pesto Farfalle

In-House Cook: Lemon Marinated Chicken with Pesto Farfalle:   Lemon Marinated Chicken with Pesto Farfalle This is not a unique dish. I'd love to say it is, but nope.  It IS, however, a favorite of...

Lemon Marinated Chicken with Pesto Farfalle

 

Lemon Marinated Chicken with Pesto Farfalle

This is not a unique dish. I'd love to say it is, but nope.  It IS, however, a favorite of my friends and family, is super easy to make and can be prepped and cooked within 45 minutes, tops.  It feeds four easily. It will feed six if you add one more chicken breast and one more cup of bowtie, or, farfalle pasta.  Because of this, during these difficult financial and stressful quaran-mess times, I wanted to share this recipe with you all.  We all want things to be easier, meals to be prepared quicker and less expensive but no less flavorful. Let's get to this, then, shall we?

Ingredients

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, scored

several fresh rosemary leaves, greens of 4 scallions, 6 basil leaves, 4 sage leaves, all finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, grated

several sprigs, fresh thyme

the zest of half a lemon and all of its juice

3 tablespoons evoo + 4 tablespoons

6 ounces basil pesto

salt and pepper

Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese, about 1/4 cup

 Score the chicken breasts on the top and bottom. 

In a bowl, add the juice and zest of the lemon, add coarse sea salt, about 1 teaspoon, the grated garlic, the fresh finely chopped herbs and the four tablespoons evoo. Make sure the scored chicken breasts are fully coated with the marinade. Allow it to marinate about thirty minutes.  Longer, up to an hour, if possible. 

In a large skillet, add the remaining evoo.  When the oil ripples, add the chicken and all of the marinate.  Turn after four minutes each side. There should be a beautiful golden color to both sides. 

This is the color you want on both sides.  Now, remove the chicken from the skillet and allow it to rest. 

Meanwhile, add one entire box (about one pound) of Farfalle (also known as Bowtie) Pasta to a pot of four quarts of liberally salted boiling water. Stir occasionally over the twelve minute cook time to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. 

Slice the chicken now along the score lines. 

Now, once the pasta is done, save a 1/4 cup of the starchy pasta water and strain the pasta and water through a colander. In the same pot, add the pasta 1/4 cup pasta water, half of the pesto and stir, and a good pinch of the cheese.  Add the pasta back into the pot and stir vigorously.  Add more cheese. More pesto and cheese and incorporate thoroughly.  

I love that almost creamy cheesy Pesto Farfalle!

Plate the pasta and top it with the aromatic lemon herb chicken. Tipo di famiglia servo!

Serve family style and Gustati il tuo cibo!

Enjoy your food!

As always Thank You for your time and consideration.  I very much appreciate your visit!  

Now, Go Cook For Someone You Love!  

~Martin

In-House Cook

In-House Cook: Pantry Meal Home Style Jambalaya

In-House Cook: Pantry Meal Home Style Jambalaya:   Pantry Meal Home Style Jambalaya Jambalaya is a down home style staple dish to the South just as Pot-au-feu  is a French staple dish that ...

Pantry Meal Home Style Jambalaya

 

Pantry Meal Home Style Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a down home style staple dish to the South just as Pot-au-feu is a French staple dish that never ends. And like both of these treasures, the ingredients can be as varied as the wind.  Traditionally, Jambalaya can incorporate very similar ingredients to Spanish Paella, such as rice, chicken, fish, crawfish or shrimp. Keeping in mind that I am allergic to shellfish and mushrooms, and, that it was real near the end of the month when I had prepared this (teachers are now nodding their heads, knowing how tight the end of the month is, financially) I used the ingredients remaining in my pantry and frig.  With that knowledge, shall we get to my Pantry Meal Home Style Jambalaya? Oui!

Ingredients

To feed four - six people....

2 cups washed rice 

1 large red onion, coarsely chopped

6 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and grated

1 red, 1 green and 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, slivered

1 rounded tablespoon smoked Paprika

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

1/2 tablespoon crushed red chile flakes

2 rounded tablespoons Old Bay

2 rounded tablespoons Cajun spice

1 bay leaf

2-3 tablespoons your favorite hot hot sauce

2 sticks celery with the greens attached, chopped

3 scallions, greens attached, sliced at an angle

2-3 Andouille sausage links, sliced at an angle

3/4 your favorite beer

1 1/4 cups water

1 28-oz can tomato puree

4-6 sprigs Flat Leaf Italian Parsley, coarsely chopped

Either 2 tablespoons crushed coriander seed or...

1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh Cilantro

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

+ Anything else you want to add!!!😄

Meal Prep: Coarsely chop all of the veg except the peppers. Or, cube them, too.  

After slicing the sausage at an angle, add three drizzles of evoo to a large pot over medium-high heat and then add and sautee the sausage slices for up to seven minutes until the edges begin char or brown. 

Get color on the sausages like this!

Once the sausage gets that partly char going on, add all of the veg, onion and garlic and rice!  Add the tomato product, beer and water and bring to a boil.   

Combine all the spices in a bowl and mix well with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour the spices into the pot. Add the hot sauce. Stir for about two solid minutes to incorporate all of the flavors.  The aroma should be insanely good right now!

This is the time to add any other ingredients YOU want, such as shrimp, crawfish, fish, or chicken.  I would have added corn if I'd had any on hand.  

 

This dreamy vision is what Jambalaya should look like.  Again, yours might have one ore more other traditional ingredients.  As I said, my ingredients stemmed from what I had on hand, and thank goodness, I had all the spices!

After you have brought the "stew" to a boil, reduce the heat to low or warm-low, and simmer for 45+ minutes, stirring the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon every fifteen minutes to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.   

Stir every fifteen minutes to prevent rice from sticking.  When done, remove the bay leaf and serve in a bowl or on serving platter, family style or individually, whatever your preference.  The most important thing is to enjoy!

Thank You for taking the time to view my humble pantry meal Jambalaya.  I realize, once more, that mine is more of a stew, but, I used what I had on hand, and I did have all of the required spices to rank it up there with a Jambalaya, just not a true, traditional one.  

Now, Thanks for your viewership, your time and you Know how much I appreciate you.  So, Go Cook Something For Someone You Love!

Maybe Jambalaya!!!

~Martin

In-House Cook

In-House Cook: Facil Pollo Chilaquiles Easy Chicken Fajitas

In-House Cook: Facil Pollo Chilaquiles Easy Chicken Fajitas:   Facil Pollo Chilaquiles  Easy Chicken Fajitas Hello friends! You know, I love to cook from scratch as much as possible, but sometimes you ...

Facil Pollo Chilaquiles Easy Chicken Fajitas

 

Facil Pollo Chilaquiles 

Easy Chicken Fajitas

Hello friends! You know, I love to cook from scratch as much as possible, but sometimes you just do not have the energy or the time. These are tough times, I know.  We are quaran-teaching (both parents, grandparents and teachers), we are stressed over loss of income, and our energy levels are drained at every turn.  I have been creating and writing recipes, such as this one and the pork roast I wrote about in the previous recipe blog post, to help alleviate some of that quaran-stress as possible. This one takes a trip to the grocery store but the meal prep is easy (facil, easy, in Spanish) and won't quaran-drain you or your bank account. I will also talk about how to make two meals out of the same ingredients. Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts

2 packages pre-sliced bell peppers of three colors

1 yellow onion, sliced into crescents

3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped

1/2 cup coarsely torn or chopped cilantro

salt and pepper

1 rounded tablespoon smoke paprika

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon oregano

1/2 tablepsoon Chile Pasilla or Molido powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1 bag blue corn tortilla chips and, for meal two, small flour taco tortillas

shredded Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese

1 small can El Pato sauce (4 tablespoons)

vegetable oil, three tablespoons + 3 more

2 limes, zest and juice of both

non-stick spray

Slice the onions into crescents.

These pre-sliced, packaged items, even onions, can be found in the chilled greens and lettuce section. 

I like using blue corn chips when making intensely flavorful and colorful dishes like this. 

Using a sharp chef's knife, make shallow angular slices on the top and bottom of the chicken.  In a large bowl, add the spices, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the juice and zest of two limes, salt and pepper and whisk thoroughly.  Add the shallow sliced chicken and make sure the marinade gets into every nook and cranny.  This could also be completed in a gallon-sized zip-lock baggie.  Let sit and marinate for at least thirty minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.  

Ten minutes before the chicken has marinated for thirty minutes......

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add three tablespoons of vegetable oil.  When the oil ripples, add the onions with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Sautee for about two minutes only.  Add the washed pre-sliced bell peppers and add them to the skillet.  Again, add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir to incorporate and sautee about four minutes. 

Sautee in vegetable oil for a few minutes after marinating.  

Sautee the veg, seasoning with salt and pepper, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Don't forget the cilantro at this point!

Once the chicken has finished cooking, slice the breasts into the angular pieces you see above based on the shallow slices you make earlier to marinate. Now add the chicken to the rest of the sautee! Drizzle in three more tablespoons of El Pato sauce.  (El Pato sauce is a tomato and chile based product, which is truly deliciious). 

Now, plan one: Spray the bottom and sides of a baking pan. Add a layer of blue corn chips, a layer of shredded cheese, a generous layer of the sautee, more cheese, more chips more sautee, more chips and more cheese. 

Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove, let cool a few minutes, then serve. 

Plan two:  Follow Every procedure until the baking pan.  Instead of a baking dish, to a cast iron skillet, add the sautee and bake at 450-degrees for ten minutes once the oven is fully heated.  Warm up flour taco-sized tortillas, and eat as tacos with cilantro and finely chopped onion, whatever your preferred condiments are.  

Either way, you cannot go wrong with this.  

As always, Thank You for your visit, and thank you for staying with me, whether you are an old friend or a new friend.  I am grateful for your visit, regardless. 

Now, Please go Cook Something For Someone You Love!!!!

~Martin

In-House Cook

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