Chicken Pot Pie

 Is there anything that ranks higher on the comfort food meter than a pot pie?  I didn't think so.  Pot pie is really one of my favorite dishes of all time.  Sure it's basically a chicken soup or beef stew in a crust, but man, something happens to that soup or stew when you add pastry.  It changes from ho hum, albeit delicious, to holy hell that's GOOD stuff!  Just ask anyone, I can pretty much guarantee you that pot pie is a comfort king amongst your friends and families.  Now imagine what a rock star you'll appear to be to those pot pie lovers when you present this fresh baked, home cooked, pure deliciousness of a pie.  And best of all, it's really not that hard to do!

Being a Kitchen Witch, I make my own pie dough.  The food processor makes quick work of it and it's always tasty and delicious.  If you aren't a pastry maker feel free to use refrigerated pie crust, it comes in a red box and you unfold the sheets of pastry and put it into your own pie pan.  If you don't have a pie pan (and that's OK!) get a frozen pie shell for the bottom and use the boxed pastry for the top crust.  Pie plate problem solved!   Look for refrigerated pie crust by the eggs & cheese, that's where it is in my store.

The Witch uses chicken thighs in her pot pie, it makes a richer more flavorful gravy and I like the flavor of dark meat better.  If you like white meat you can use breast meat, however the flavor won't be as rich.  Breast meat is also a lot harder to shred, so you may have to cut it into cubes.  No matter, it'll still be delicious, regardless of the type of chicken you choose to use.  I added a few green beans to this pot pie, they were on sale this week and their bright green pop of color was nice in an otherwise golden pie.  Frozen or fresh peas could be used instead.  As always, add or subtract the veggies based on what your family likes, but a mix of carrots, celery, onion, potato and either bean or peas can't be beat!

Chicken Pot Pie
makes 8 servings, 1 slice each
For Chicken stew filling
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (thighs will be a LOT more flavorful)
2 carrots, sliced into rounds
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 medium onion fine mince
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
1 russet potato, peeled and diced into 1/4 in chunks
about 10 green beans sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 T butter
kosher salt & pepper to taste (about 1.5t salt and 1/4 t pepper)
EITHER 1 t Better than Bullion chicken flavor OR 1 chicken bullion cube OR 1 can chicken broth
6 cups water * if using chicken broth then reduce to 4 cups water
2T corn starch
1 egg for eggwash

For Crust:
4T very cold butter cut into cubes
4T vegetable shortening
2.5 cups flour
1.5 t kosher salt
1/2 c (give or take 2T) ice water

Make crust first by combining flour, salt and fats into a food processor bowl.  Pulse 4 times to cut fat into flour.  Add 1/3 c water, pulse 2-3 times and test to see if it can form a ball by squeezing dough together.  If not add more water, 1T at a time, until dough will stay together when squeezed.

Divide dough into 2 sections, one slightly larger than the other.  Form dough into a disc about 3/4 inch thick and wrap both in plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour before rolling out.

Make chicken stew next.  Heat a medium size pan over medium high heat and melt butter.  Once it stops foaming add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  Sautee for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and other veggies are starting to soften slightly.  Add the chicken, herbs, salt & pepper and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the chicken and the bay leaf from the cooking liquid and allow to cool (discard bay leaf).  Add the potatoes to the cooking liquid and cook for 10 minutes.  Potatoes will not be fully cooked.  Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch dissolved into 2T water, making a slurry, add the slurry to the stew stirring well.  Increase heat to a rapid simmer and gravy will begin to thicken considerably.  You want this pretty thick, a lot thicker than normal gravy, so it doesn't just run out of your pot pie.   Once chicken is cool shred it and remove any fat and gristle.  Add chicken and cut green beans to the stew and stir to coat everything.  Turn heat off and set aside.

Roll dough out using the slightly larger disc for the bottom crust.  Place bottom crust into a pie pan and dock (poke with a fork) the bottom and sides slightly to release air while baking.  Fill the crust with the stew.  Roll out remaining disc of dough to make top crust.  Crimp the edges together well.  Brush top with eggwash and cut a few slits in the top dough to release steam.  Place pot pie on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45-60 minutes, or until pie is golden browned and gravy is bubbling through the vent slits.  Allow pie to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 349.9 Total Fat 16.0 g Saturated Fat 6.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 3.9 g Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g Cholesterol 67.5 mg Sodium 787.7 mg Potassium 449.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 37.2 g Dietary Fiber 2.9 g Sugars 1.3 g Protein 13.6 g

Chicken and dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is one of our favorite meals here in the Witches' household.  It gets made at least once a month and no one is ever sick of it.  Comforting, homey, savory and delicious, chicken and dumplings is comfort food in it's finest form.  One of the things I love most about it is that it's not heavy and fat laden like a lot of wintery soups and stews can be.  I also love it because it's chock full of veggies and I know that the Little Witch will eat veggies if it's in chicken and dumplings.

When frozen veggies are on sale I stock up my freezer with them.  Soups like this are a great place to use these veggies, when their fresh counterparts are out of season.  Change it up with different veggies and it's a new dish each time you make it.  I've found it to be a great vehicle for trying out new tastes with the little ones, too.  Anything enrobed in a delicious chicken broth is bound to be good.

The dumplings are soft and pillow like.  If you don't have a food processor to make the dumplings you can use a pastry blender or 2 forks to cut the butter into the flour.  If all else fails you can use a prepared baking mix (bisquik) instead of the flour, salt, baking powder and butter.  The dumplings are dropped into the simmering stew which does two things; it steams and fluffs the dumplings and  it thickens the stew.  I hope you treat yourself and your family to a pot of this delicious and hearty stew soon!

Chicken and dumplings
makes around 6 generous servings
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (can use breasts, see notes)
6 cups chicken stock
5-6 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
3 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 onion diced very fine
1 t dried thyme
2 T fresh minced parsley
kosher salt to taste (around 1.5-2t) and ground pepper
choose up to 2 (1/2 c. each) optional veggies:  frozen corn, peas, green beans, broccoli, diced potatoes, whatever your family likes
Dumplings
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1.5 t baking powder
1.5 t kosher salt
1 egg white
1/4 c water
1/4 c milk
1/4 c (1/2 stick) cold butter, diced

In a dutch oven or other large pot add everything except the optional veggies.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer.  Allow to simmer for 45 min.  Remove the chicken thighs to a plate to cool slightly before shredding.  If you are using chicken breasts only cook them for 25-30 minutes before removing.  


After removing the chicken taste the broth for season.  Adjust salt & pepper if needed.   Add optional veggies to the stew at this time.

Shred the chicken and discard any gristle and fat pieces.  Set aside.

Make the dumplings - in the work bowl of a food processor add your flour, baking powder and salt.  Pulse to incorporate.

Add the cold diced butter.  Pulse 5 times using 1 second bursts of power.  The mixture should resemble coarse meal or damp sand.  Pour flour mix into a bowl.

In a separate small bowl mix the egg white, milk and water.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and combine with a fork until all flour is dampened.  A few lumps are OK, just don't overwork the batter.  It will be like thick pancake batter.

Add the shredded chicken back to the stew and stir well.  Stew needs to be at a bare simmer, not too many bubbles breaking the surface, to cook the dumplings.  If the stew is simmering too rapidly it will break apart the dumplings.

Using a tablespoon size scooper or 2 spoons, scoop dough into balls on top of simmering stew.  Try not to let dumplings touch when being dropped into stew.  Once all the dough is added cover the stew and allow to steam cook for 10 minutes.  DO NOT OPEN THE LID until the 10 minutes is over or the dumplings will not cook properly.

Once the dumplings are cooked they'll float to the surface.  Sprinkle with minced parsley before serving.

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator chicken Amount Per Serving Calories 324.6 Total Fat 11.1 g Saturated Fat 5.7 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g Monounsaturated Fat 3.2 g Cholesterol 78.8 mg Sodium 1,351.0 mg Potassium 782.7 mg Total Carbohydrate 34.5 g Dietary Fiber 3.6 g Sugars 3.8 g Protein 23.8 g

Curried chicken salad

Chicken salad is another one of those classic foods that the Kitchen Witch wouldn't even try until last year. Why?? Mayo! Let me be the first to tell you when you decide you don't like something like mayo it really really really limits your food choices, especially in summer. Potato salad? Nope. Tuna salad? Oh heck no! Chicken salad?! Don't even waste my time. That's how it used to be around here until the Witch put on her big girl pants & got over her mayo aversion. Ok, sure, I still don't love mayo, but I'll enjoy some chicken salad and not be grossed out about it. How mature of me! When the weather is hot outside who wants to stand in an even hotter kitchen and cook? Not this Witch, that's for sure!! Enter the wonder that is chicken salad. There are so many versions of chicken salad, its as varied as your individual tastes. Recently my tastes were telling me curry, and rather than heat up the kitchen making a curry base I decided to just make a curried chicken salad.

Now, as you may or may not know, the Witch is a all about keeping on a budget. this chicken salad was the brain child of wanting curry, stuff on sale & what I had in my pantry. Here's how it came together and its approximate costs. Rotisserie chickens were on sale for $4 each, so I got one and picked it clean and used half of it ($2). About a month ago the store had a BOGO sale on dried fruit: I picked up some dried mangos with no real intent of how or where to use them. Seeing as how I enjoy a burst of sweetness in my chicken salad and mango is awesome with curry, I decided to dice some up and add it to the salad ($3 a bag, BOGO, $1.50 a bag, used less than 1/4 bag so about .25). Walnuts and pecans, what I had on handalong with a rib of celery added a nice crunch and nutty flavor (approx $.50 in nuts and celery). Curry powder and cardamom were in my pantry already, along with garlic and onion powders (cost less than .25 total for all spices). Lastly the mayo and sour cream were already in my fridge, I'll approximate their costs at .50 total. All in all my lunch for 2 people cost $3.50. And no heating up the kitchen, bonus!!

The flavors on this salad was so good. The cardamom and curry powder set the base flavors, spicy but not hot, rich and complex and just plain delicious. The creamy mayo and sour cream round out the flavors. Bursts of sweetness came from the mango which was a delightful contrast to the crunchy nuts and celery. And the rotisserie chicken provided its own savory delicious flavor. Next time I make this, and there WILL be a next time, I think I'll make some naan too. The curried salad on fresh soft naan would be out of this world good. If you don't have naan you can use regular bread, crackers or just eat it plain. Enjoy!

Curried Chicken Salad
makes 2 servings
1/2 rotisserie chicken, picked of its meat including wings, skin & bones discarded
1 t curry powder
2 cardamom pods ground and green pod discarded
1/8 t each garlic powder and onion powder
1/2 t kosher salt
pinch ground black pepper
1/3 to 1/2 c mayo
1/4 c sour cream
1 rib celery diced
1/4 nuts, walnuts and pecans
4 slices dried mango, diced

Mix the spices with the mayo and sour cream. Stir until very smooth and allow to rest for about 20-30 minutes.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: When ever I'm making a salad or dressing I like to use powdered or granulated garlic and onion. You get all the flavor with out the sharpness that fresh can give you. It is important to let your dressing rest for about 30 minutes before eating it as this gives time for the garlic and onion powders to rehydrate and achieve maximum flavor.~*~

Dice the mango and celery. Chop up the shredded chicken meat. Chop the nuts and add everything into a mixing bowl.

Pour the spiced mayo blend over the chicken and veggie/nut mix. Stir well to coat everything well. Best if allowed to rest for 30 minutes before serving as this will rehydrate the mango slices as well as the onion & garlic powders.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 604.8
Total Fat 54.6 g
Saturated Fat 11.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 7.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.6 g
Cholesterol 77.7 mg
Sodium 1,017.5 mg
Potassium 183.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 14.3 g
Dietary Fiber 2.0 g
Sugars 8.6 g
Protein 19.8 g

Polynesian kabobs

Kabobs are one of the Witches' favorite things to grill. Why? Well, first of all they're really pretty! I love all the colors of veggies lined up on skewers next to perfectly grilled and slightly charred meats. The smaller chunks of meat means that theres more surface area for the marinade to make contact with the meat, therefore more flavor in every bite. They also are quick cooking since the pieces are smaller, an added bonus when its hot outside and standing around a hot grill while a hungry family wonders if its done yet. Yes kabobs are one of summer's perfect foods!

Best part of kabobs is how versatile they are. Want garlic & herb? Go for it! How about BBQ sauce? Sounds good to me. But what about Polynesian? Hmm...the sweet, spicy flavors of Polynesia is perfect for the grill!! The inspiration for this recipe was from my friend Eric. He had us over for dinner and made Polynesian kabobs. I was in heaven!! Grilled chunks of chicken and beef in a deep dark marinade, oh boy it was good!! The grilled pineapple was the crowning glory on this kabob fest. Eric's marinade was so flavorful and delicious that I knew the Kitchen Witch would be recreating this in her own home. Soon!

The marinade has a lot of Polynesian flavors, ginger, garlic, molasses. Yes, molasses. It adds the deep dark color, sweetness and a depth of flavor that is amazing. When the hot fire kisses the molasses marinade it caramelizes and seals in the meats natural juices making one of the best kabobs I've ever had the pleasure of putting into my mouth. The Kitchen Witch took a few liberties with Eric's marinade, no real surprise there, and added a touch of cinnamon, coriander, chili powder and ginger with just a bit of vinegar to balance the sweetness of this flavorful sauce.

The result is a sweet and savory kabob, spiced just right and absolutely delicious. The veggies are a great compliment to the grilled meats; grilling them brings out the natural sweetness and enhances the flavors. Finally the fresh pineapple, caramelized from the grill, brings all the flavors of Polynesia together. These Polynesian kabobs will take your tastebuds on a trip to an exotic island vacation, all with out leaving the comfort of your home. Enjoy!

Polynesian kabobs
makes 6 to 8 servings
Inspired by Eric
2 lbs meat, chicken, pork or beef, your choice, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 zucchini, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 bell peppers, cut into 2 inch squares
1 onion cut into large wedges
1 pineapple, cored, skinned and cut into 2 inch chunks
1/3 c molasses
2 T brown sugar
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1 inch ginger minced
2-3 cloves garlic
3/4 t allspice, ground
1/4 t ground coriander
1/8 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t chili powder
1/4 t red pepper flakes (optional)
2 T oil

Mix the soy sauce, molasses, oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and spices in a bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Pour marinade over meat pieces in a resealable bag. Allow to marinade for 2 hours.

Chop veggies into 2 inch chunks and toss with 1T of oil, salt & pepper.

If using bamboo skewers soak in water for a minimum of 30 minutes before skewering and grilling.

Skewer meat onto soaked skewers
Skewer veggies and brush with oil
Skewer the pineapple chunks

On a preheated grill cook the meat and veg/fruit kabobs until cooked through and slightly charred on the edges. Pork should cook to an internal temperature of 145F, chicken to 160F and beef at 130F for medium. Remove and serve with rice.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving - based on 1 lb pork loin and 1 lb chicken thighs, values will vary based on cut of meat you use
Calories 325.6
Total Fat 12.4 g
Saturated Fat 3.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.6 g
Cholesterol 78.5 mg
Sodium 594.6 mg
Potassium 885.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 31.7 g
Dietary Fiber 2.1 g
Sugars 23.0 g
Protein 24.4 g

Kapama

This recipe came to me courtesy of my cooking buddy Eric. He said that kapoma, a Greek chicken stew, was a family favorite when he was growing up. I say we never had deliciousness like this when I was a kid, but I am very glad to know about it now!

This dish couldn't be more simple or delicious. Its got 7 ingredients in it, and that includes salt & pepper! I bet you have most everything in your pantry right now!

Chicken pieces are dredged in cinnamon and braised in tomato and lemon juice. It sounds odd I know, but believe the Witch, its delicious! The cinnamon is not at all dessert like, you won't think that someone somehow mixed up a cinnamon roll with your chicken dinner. The cinnamon mellows a lot while cooking, the acidity of the tomato and lemon also help take it in a new direction far away from the cinnamon in desserts that we all know and love. The sauce that results is amazing, so rich, flavorful and delicately scented with cinnamon.

I do hope you'll try this dish soon. Its become a family favorite here as well - the 4 yr old Little Witch loves it and requests it often. I'd call that a success any day!

Kapama
makes 4 servings
6 chicken thighs OR 4 chicken breasts, your choice (I used boneless skinless thighs but have done it with boneless skinless breasts too. I'm sure you could use bone in meat, it would probably have more flavor in the finished dish as most bone in meat tends to be more flavorful. If using bone in adjust cooking time to 1 hr)
3 T cinnamon
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
2 T butter
29 oz can tomato sauce
juice of 1 lemon
about 1/2 c water

Mix the salt, pepper and cinnamon together. Dredge chicken pieces until thoroughly coated in cinnamon mixture.



Heat butter in a large non reactive skillet with a lid. Once butter stops foaming add the chicken pieces and sautee until browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and brown 2nd side.



Pour the tomato sauce over chicken. Add the water to the can to rinse it out and pour into the skillet as well. Add lemon juice. Bring up to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 min to an hour.

Serve chicken with sauce over rice or orzo pasta.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 258.3
Total Fat 10.5 g
Saturated Fat 4.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.0 g
Cholesterol 101.5 mg
Sodium 1,611.8 mg
Potassium 946.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 21.1
Dietary Fiber 6.7 g
Sugars 8.9 g
Protein 23.3 g

Brined curried & roasted chicken legs and thighs

Brining chicken is the single most important thing you can do to ensure you'll get juicy flavorful chicken. I don't do it every time I'm ashamed to admit and when I do, I'm always blown away with just how juicy and how much flavor gets into the meat. The reasons not to brine are flimsy: not enough time, seems too hard, just an odd idea for the home cook, but really it couldn't be easier!

All a brine is is a super salty flavored solution. The salt in the solution draws moisture out of the protein but then through osmosis, the brine is drawn into the flesh, along with all the flavors you add to the brine. I like to add herbs, spices and aromatics to mine since those flavors actually penetrate the meat. This time I decided to add a bit of curry powder into my brine. I love the flavor of curry powder, its not over powering and really works well with chicken. 1 T worth of the yellow stuff in addition to some garlic & onion granules (they dissolve better in the brine which is why I use the granules, but fresh is fine too), a touch of brown sugar for flavor and a background sweetness along with the required salt yielded a very flavorful brine.

The chicken brined for 8 hours before I baked it. Baking was as simple as removing the pieces from the liquid, putting them into a roasting pan, pan into the oven. Set a timer for 1 hour and voila, dinner's done! The flavor of this was really delicious. The curry was mild and both the husband and I decided that our chicken tasted similar to rotisserie chickens from Sams, which is a pretty good thing if you've ever tried their rotisserie chicken. Savory is the best way I'd describe the flavor. It was not overly salty, rather just gently seasoned and juicy, bursting with flavor.

A few final notes on brining:

~~the skin (in my experience) doesn't get as crisp as non brined birds. That makes sense to me, the chicken is submerged in salty water for 8 hours so crisping up that skin is going to be hard! If crispy skin is very important to you take care to pat the chicken dry before baking it (I did not) and/or run it under the broiler before serving(this I did do).

~~You can brine boneless skinless cuts but they take a LOT less time, up to 2 hours maximum for a boneless skinless chicken breast, otherwise you run the risk of over brining which would produce a salty piece of meat. Ew.

~~Some choose to rinse their brined meat before baking, that choice is up to you. If you are sensitive to salt then please rinse. If you're like me and can't get enough of that rock then forgo it.

~~Experiment with the flavors in your brine! Fresh rosemary spears is delicious on poultry, as is sage. I've added fruit to the brine and then stuffed the bird with the fruits and let it roast, delicious!

Most importantly, give it a try!! All it takes is a little for-though to get the protein into a brine 8 hours before cooking time and a bit of imagination on what flavors you want to experience.

Brined curried chicken legs & thighs
makes 4 servings
Brine:
1/4 c kosher salt
1 T brown sugar
1 T curry powder
1/2 t garlic powder, can use fresh minced garlic, 2 cloves
1/2 t onion powder, can use 1/2 fresh onion cut into chunks
4 cups boiling water
about 8 cups ice

4 pieces of bone in skin on chicken thighs
4 pieces of bone in skin on chicken legs
(can use any chicken pieces you like, breasts respond well to brining, they stay juicy and flavorful)

Mix the spices, salt, sugar and boiling water together until salt & sugar dissolve. Pour into a large bowl that can hold the brine as well as the chicken pieces and add ice. Stir to cool brine down. Not all the ice will melt, this is OK.

Add the chicken pieces. Move chicken and brine to a cold location, like the fridge, and allow to brine for 8 hours.

Transfer brined chicken pieces to a baking pan (I had to use 2) and bake at 375F for 1 hour or until internal temperature reads 180F and skin has rendered fat and browned slightly. Finish browning under hot broiler if desired.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 142.4
Total Fat 4.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.4 g
Cholesterol 96.4 mg
Sodium 222.3 mg
Potassium 273.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 0.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.0 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 23.8 g

Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans

Chicken enchiladas are always a hit in the Witch household. However the last few times I've made them they just weren't quite right. I made special note of a few areas that I felt just weren't working, and vowed to make some changes next time I prepared enchiladas.

The chicken was one place that I knew needed work. In the past white meat chicken breasts were all I'd even consider eating. I'd season it, cook it, dice it and make enchiladas. And every single time I was underwhelmed: the chicken was too chunky, not the right flavor, not at all what I was thinking it should taste like! Now a days my palette has expanded and I understand the beauty of using thighs. The meat isn't as dark as you'd think, so haters, give it a try! They aren't greasy, fatty or gross. As a matter of fact, they're lots more flavorful than the breast, it shreds like you want chicken to shred and has the flavor that I wanted in an enchilada. I slow braised the chicken in some spices in the oven, you could use a slow cooker, then shredded it. The chicken stayed moist, shredded perfectly and most of all had the flavor that I was hoping for. WIN!!

The next area to attack was the tortilla. Rater than add extra calories by flash frying I've always softened my tortillas in heated up enchilada sauce. That's how my Dad taught me, that's how we do it on Christmas when we make our homemade enchiladas, and I was always pretty happy with that. Until last time I made chicken enchiladas. Oh the sauce softened the tortilla, sure enough, but softened it so much that it turned to mush under my fingers. Trying to roll a soggy sauce logged tortilla is disastrous. It rips, tears and splits. Despite its visual appearance, its still tasty, right? Well...no, not really! I recall that last time I made chicken enchiladas I was NOT happy with the overall flavor, the tortilla was flavorless mush, no strong corn tortilla flavor that I was hoping for. You NEED that corn flavor to meld with the chicken and sauce, its a whole enchilada experience. So this time I decided to do it the restaurant way, briefly fry each tortilla in hot oil to soften it, fill with chicken, roll and spoon enchilada sauce over the top. SUCCESS!

These chicken enchiladas were exactly like the ones we'd get in a good Mexican restaurant. They were delicious. The tortilla had flavor on its own and didn't turn to mush. The chicken was seasoned and tasty. And best of all, because the chicken is cooked ahead of time, this is an easy weeknight dinner. The assembly didn't take long and after a quick trip through the broiler to melt the cheese, dinner was done.

And because I'm a Kitchen Witch, I couldn't just discard the cooking juices from the chicken. All that chickeny flavor, spices and goodness, well to dump it down the drain was sacrilege! Instead I whipped up a quick and healthy side dish of quick refried beans. A can of pinto beans, about 1/2 cup of the chicken cooking liquid and a pinch of salt, mash them up together and voila! Refried beans that are healthy, tasty and not laden with fat and calories.

I hope you enjoy these enchiladas as much as we all did!

Chicken Enchiladas
makes 14 enchiladas
1 lb chicken thighs
1/2 t each onion and garlic granules/powder and oregano
1 t each chili powder and ground cumin
1 t cumin ground
1/2 c chicken broth or water
S&P
1 can green enchilada sauce or up to 2 cups homemade
6 oz Monterey Jack cheese
14 corn tortillas
oil for tortillas

Refried beans
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c reserved chicken cooking liquids
pinch kosher salt

Prepare chicken first
Preheat oven to 250F
Place chicken thighs in a small dutch oven or a slow cooker along with the spices, herbs and chicken broth. Add a bit of salt and pepper, cover and cook about 3 hours (on low if using a slow cooker) or until thighs are tender and easily shredded.

Remove chicken and allow to cool until easily handled. Shred chicken, discarding any gristle and fat.

Reserve the cooking liquids from the chicken for refried beans.

Assemble enchiladas
Preheat broiler in oven.
Heat a sautee pan over medium high heat. Heat oil, enough to fill pan 1/2 inch deep. Once oil is hot quickly flash fry each tortilla. Immediately place tortilla in a 13x9 pan and fill with about 2-3 T of the shredded chicken. Roll tortilla and place in pan seam side down. Repeat for all tortillas.

Spoon enchilada sauce over top of the enchiladas, top with shredded cheese.

Place on top rack of oven and heat until cheese is melted and slightly browned on top. Remove from oven, allow to cool before serving.

Top with additional enchilada sauce if desired.

Refried Beans
Put drained and rinsed beans in a small sauce pan. Add the 1/2 chicken cooking liquid and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Using a potato masher smash most of the beans. The beans will thicken as they cook. Taste for season and adjust salt as necessary.




Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Chicken enchiladas
Amount Per Serving
Calories 333.2
Total Fat 9.3 g
Saturated Fat 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Cholesterol 76.9 mg
Sodium 427.5 mg
Potassium 491.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 40.6 g
Dietary Fiber 6.6 g
Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 23.5 g


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Refried Beans
Amount Per Serving
Calories 104.4
Total Fat 4.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0.6 mg
Sodium 249.4 mg
Potassium 53.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 18.9 g
Dietary Fiber 6.6 g
Sugars 1.1 g
Protein 5.7 g

Greek grilled chicken thighs

Sometimes in the middle of winter you need a burst of fresh summery type flavors. Ya know, just to remind yourself that the cold will end someday and warmth will return. This chicken dish did just that, reminded me of summer with its bright lemon and herb flavors.

Its no secret that the Witch adores Mediterranean and middle eastern foods & flavors. There's just something about smooth creamy hummus and warm pitas that make my heart happy. When you add highly seasoned and grilled meats into the mix, it just becomes a symphony of flavors that make my heart sing. Cumin, lemon, garlic, oh my!

The marinade on the chicken is quite simple, lemon, garlic, herbs and spices. Something magical happens when you combine these common ingredients with chicken and grill it. The garlic is spicy, the herbs are subtle and the tang of lemon cuts through the spices creating a savory delight that just has to be tried. The hint of cinnamon tells you that this is something special and not your usual chicken dish. I highly recommend eating this chicken with pita bread, hummus and lemon garlic rice (post to come soon!)

Greek style grilled chicken thighs
makes 2-3 servings
juice of 1 lemon
1 t oregano
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
1/2 t coriander seed ground
1/2 t ground cumin seed
3/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t pepper
pinch cinnamon
1 T olive oil
1 lb chicken, thighs or breasts, boned & skinned

Mix everything but the chicken together in a bowl. Add the chicken and marinade for 1-2 hours.

Grill over high heat until internal temperature of 165F is reached. Remove chicken and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with feta cheese if desired.

If you don't have an indoor grill or access to an outdoor one you can also just cook these in a sautee pan, simply add a little oil to the hot pan & cook.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 162.8
Total Fat 8.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g
Cholesterol 76.4 mg
Sodium 561.6 mg
Potassium 268.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 3.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.6 g
Sugars 0.4 g
Protein 18.5 g

Chicken with scallion and ginger sauce

Today's recipe comes to you courtesy of Design, Wine & Dine. Design, Wine & Dine is an exceptional cook, I've made many recipes from her blog and have loved them all! If you haven't done so already, please check out her site, I promise you'll enjoy what you see, she has a real flair with the camera and makes some killer dishes! Thanks Design, Wine & Dine for this delicious recipe, I knew when I saw it on your blog that it'd be a hit here and I was not mistaken.

Based on Design, Wine & Dine's recommendation I used the velveting process on my chicken. As usual it didn't disappoint. In addition to making the chicken flavorful, soft and yummy, the cornstarch helps thicken the sauce. The ginger in this dish isn't overpowering, its fresh bright flavor is perfect on a cold December night. The gentle onion flavor of scallion pair wonderfully with the light, crisp flavor of the white wine. Add the salty umami laden soy sauce with the velveted chicken and you've got a dish that is, well, its just down right delicious!

Chicken with scallion and ginger sauce
Makes 4 servings
Adapted from Design, Wine & Dine
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 2 in chunks
1 bunch scallions, cut on the bias into 1 inch pieces
1/2 bell pepper
3 inches ginger root, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3/4 c plus 1 T white wine
2 T soy sauce
1/2 c water
1 t sugar
3 T olive oil
1 T corn starch
1 egg white
1 t kosher salt
1/4 c salted cashews, optional
drizzle sesame seed oil, optional

Prepare chicken by marinating in velveting marinade:
~Cut chicken up and place into a bowl
~Sprinkle the kosher salt over chicken, using hands mix to evenly distribute over all the chicken pieces
~Next add 1 T white wine, mix well
~Next add the corn starch and mix well
~Next add the egg white taking care not to froth the egg with your hands
~Lastly add 1T oil and mix well.
Allow chicken to marinate for 30 minutes.


While chicken is marinading, cut up all your veggies & have them ready to go.



When 30 min is up bring a sauce pan of water to boil. Add the marinated chicken to the water in 3 batches, cooking for about 30 seconds, or until the outside just turns white. The chicken will finish cooking in the stir fry. Reserve par cooked chicken pieces and discard the boiling water.

Stir Fry instructions:
In a large sautee pan or wok, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat. Once hot add the ginger and garlic, stirring to keep garlic from burning. Cook about 30 seconds.

Add the par cooked chicken next, stir to coat in oil. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning of the garlic.

Add the peppers, cook about 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Add scallions and white wine. Deglaze pan with the wine, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Allow wine to reduce by about half.

Add the soy sauce, water & sugar, cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. If your sauce isn't thick enough you can add about 1T corn starch mixed with 1-2T water, add as much of this slurry as needed to achieve the proper thickness of sauce.

Add cashews and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve with hot cooked rice and Srirracha sauce if desired.


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 351.7
Total Fat 16.0 g
Saturated Fat 2.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 10.3 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 1,084.6 mg
Potassium 561.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.5 g
Sugars 2.3 g
Protein 31.2 g

Filipino Adobo drumsticks

While blogsurfing the other day I discovered yet another delicious sounding recipe: this one was from Gina at Gina's Skinny Taste. She has a lot of delicious, low cal and Weight Watchers friendly recipes on her blog and everything I've tried from her site has been very yummy. When I ran across Filipino Adobo chicken I had to stop and look. Soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves, garlic and pepper. That's it! Well hell, that sounds delicious, different and just plain GOOD! So I decided then & there that I must make it.

When I went to my grocery store I found a family pack of chicken drumsticks, 14 of them, for $4.50. That price told me that I was on the right track with this dinner idea! Vinegar I have on hand at all times along with soy sauce. All in all, including pantry items, I'd have to estimate the total cost of this meal, including side dishes of green beans and brown rice, to be about $6. And that's enough for 7 meals!! You just can't beat that!

This recipe was beyond simple and easy. And it could easily be adapted for the slow cooker (just omit the water in the cooking process). The taste was pretty good, however I will make a few changes next time I make this; one of which will be to add some honey to the marinade. I think a little sweetness would help cut the acidity of the vinegar. I'll also cook up some peppers and onions, the sweetness from the veg would play nicely with the savory chicken. All in all, this is a very cost effective family friendly meal that we'll be making again I'm quite sure!


Filipino Adobo drumsticks
makes 4 servings, 2 drumsticks each
From Gina's Skinny Taste
8 chicken legs, skinned if desired
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c cider vinegar
6 bay leaves
6 pepper corns, crushed (or 1/4 t ground pepper)
6-8 cloves garlic, papers removed and clove crushed
1/2 c water

Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, garlic and bay together in a bowl. Pour over chicken legs and allow to marinate, 1 hour minimum up to overnight (the Witch let them go for over 24 hours, the flavors really penetrated the meat and it was delicious). Turn the chicken every 4 hours or so to ensure even marinating.

Heat a large skillet with a lid or a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the chicken and marinade to the pan, along with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium low heat and cover, cooking for about 45 minutes.

Remove lid and increase heat to medium high and allow sauce to reduce some. You will have a LOT of sauce, so don't worry about reducing it too much. Cook about 15 minutes over medium high heat.

Remove bay leaves and serve chicken legs with sauce and rice.



~*~Kitchen Witch NOTE: Personally, I think the sodium count in this inaccurate. The nutritional calculator doesn't understand that the soy sauce used in the marinade makes a LOT of sauce and chances are really good that all the sauce won't be consumed. Please don't let its high number scare you, honestly I'd say the real sodium count should be about 1/3 of that listed~*~
Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 169.6
Total Fat 4.3 g
Saturated Fat 1.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.3 g
Cholesterol 95.5 mg
Sodium 1,296.1 mg
Potassium 366.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 4.6 g
Dietary Fiber 0.4 g
Sugars 1.6 g
Protein 27.2 g

Italian spiced chicken with burst tomato fettuccini Alfredo

A few weeks ago my Sissy was telling me about some meatballs she made and used the dry Italian dressing packet as the seasoning. That sparked my memory about A. how delicious that is and B. how quick and easy it is too!! After doing a quick ingredient check I discovered that there was nothing unapproved (no HFCS or PHO's) in the dressing packet so I grabbed a few. I had no real idea on what I'd do with them, short of making some yummy Italian dressing for salad maybe.

Last night I had chicken breasts to work with. Pretty boring. The Witch has made a LOT of chicken dishes so it becomes harder and harder to find new and different things to do with them that I haven't already shared with you all. Enter the Italian dressing mix! Running late on time I sliced the chicken into 2 pieces, like butterflying but not leaving them attached. That gives me a few advantages; quicker marinate time as there's less meat to penetrate, quicker cooking time because the meat isn't as thick and more surface to seasoning contact so its more flavorful.

The sauce for the pasta is quick and delicious. Cooking cherry tomatoes causes them to burst, releasing their sweet liquids into the sauce. A combination of white wine, pasta cooking water and half and half yield a rich sauce that just begs for some fresh grated cheese, in this case Asiago. After melting the cheese into the sauce add the cooked pasta and give thanks for the packet of Italian dressing mix. One last thing - beside the great flavor of this dish, its QUICK too! Not including marinade time its done in 20 minutes or less - the chicken and sauce cook while the pasta boils AND if you were really pressed for time you could skip the marinade all together with out a lot of significant flavor loss. Gotta love that Witchcraft!

Italian spiced chicken with burst tomato fettuccine Alfredo
makes 4 servings
2 chicken breasts, sliced width wise so you have 2 thin cuts
1/2 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing (dry)
1 c cherry tomatoes
1/2 c grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
1/4 c white wine
1/2 pasta cooking water
1/3 c half and half
kosher salt
2 T olive oil
1/2 box fettuccine (Barilla brand is the Witches' choice)

Slice chicken breasts into cutlets, so you have 2 thin cuts. Sprinkle each side with kosher salt and most of the Italian dressing packet (reserve about 1/2 t of the seasoning for the sauce). Allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Once boiling heavily salt the water and cook the fettuccini according to package (about 12 minutes).

While pasta cook, heat a large sautee pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and cook chicken (160F internal temp), flipping half way thru cooking. Place in a warm oven to hold until service.

In the same sautee pan add the cherry tomatoes and toss to coat in oil. Add the white wine, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow to reduce until you have about 2 tablespoons of wine left. It will be dark, don't be alarmed. The tomatoes should start to burst, releasing their juices into the sauce.

Add the pasta water and remaining 1/2 t of Italian seasonings, stir well and allow to reduce again. When pasta water has reduced by half add the half and allow to reduce slightly. Squeeze any unbroken tomatoes with tongs to release their juices. Add in the shredded cheese and stir well to melt and incorporate cheese. Add drained fettuccine and coat pasta with sauce.

Serve chicken with the fettuccine and a drizzle of the burst tomato sauce over top.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 428.0
Total Fat 14.5 g
Saturated Fat 5.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.0 g
Cholesterol 85.8 mg
Sodium 484.5 mg
Potassium 421.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 34.2 g
Dietary Fiber 1.9 g
Sugars 0.8 g
Protein 37.4 g

Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions

If you're read this blog with any regularity you'll know that Asian flavors are a favorite of the Witch household. Which is why when I asked the Husband what he wanted for dinner, and he promptly replied "Asian" I was not surprised. Rather I was wondering what I could do that I haven't done recently.

The first thing I knew I had to do was get some green vegetable. Last weeks teriyaki lo mein, while delicious, was missing a green veg component and I was bound, set and determined NOT to make that mistake twice. So off to the grocery store we went. Broccoli was my original intent of vegetation, however when I saw asparagus on sale I quickly changed my mind. A comment of "Ooh, asparagus Mom, can we get that please?" from the little Witch sealed the deal. Something Asian with asparagus it was! I also grabbed a bunch of scallions, which were on sale too, and started planning my meal.

Velveting the chicken is my go to method for all Asian inspired dishes. Its really simple, takes 30 minutes of marinade time, and the results are hands down the best way to go. If you love the soft, melt in your mouth chicken you get from Chinese restaurants, you'll love velveting! For more details about velveting please read this post. Best of all, the ingredients you'll need to produce this silky smooth soft chicken are pantry staples, can't beat that! If you don't stock white wine in your house you can substitute 1 T chicken stock and 1 T rice vinegar.

The sauce was next on my list. There was about 2T of my homemade teriyaki sauce left over in the fridge, adding that seemed like a great idea. I augmented the sauce with a bit more white wine, a little water and a big heaping scoopful of white miso paste. Miso paste can be difficult to locate, its taken the Witch years, and I do mean YEARS to find it locally. Finally I found it in the refrigerated section of my health foods store. It was $6 and should last me for at least 4-6 recipes. Not too shabby! If you can't find miso paste locally there are a lot of merchants online that you can order it from. Miso is soybean paste. The texture it gives the sauce is reminiscent of peanut sauce, thick, creamy and delicious. Its flavor is delicate and savory, perfectly matched for velveted chicken and tender asparagus. The lighter the miso, the gentler the flavor: it ranges from the very mild white or yellow to red and brown, getting more intense in flavor as the color darkens.

The Kitchen Witch is beyond pleased with the results of this dish. The flavors were light, delicate and yet bold all at once. The bright green colors of asparagus and scallion paired beautifully with the white chicken and golden sauce. Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions is one of the best Asian inspired dishes to come out of the Witches' kitchen yet. I do hope you try and enjoy it as much as we did!

Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions
makes 4 servings
4 scallions, sliced, greens sliced and reserved for garnish
1 carrot sliced thin
1 stalk celery sliced thin
1/2 bunch (.5 lb) asparagus spears, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 t ginger freshly grated
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
2 chicken breasts sliced thin against the grain
1 egg white
3 T white wine, divided
3 T corn starch, divided
1 t kosher salt
3 T canola oil, divided
2 T teriyaki sauce (my recipe is here)
1/2 c water, divided
2 T soy sauce
2 T white miso paste

Begin by marinading the chicken in the velveting marinade:
slice chicken thin (1/8 in) across the grain, place into a medium size bowl
coat chicken with salt, toss with fingers to evenly distribute
next add 1 T white wine and mix again with fingers to evenly distribute
add egg white and mix with fingers, taking care not to froth the egg white
add 1 heaping T of the corn starch, coating each piece using fingers to distribute
finally add 1 T canola oil, using fingers to distribute evenly
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Prep your veggies while chicken is marinading.
Prepare the sauce by combining the teriyaki sauce, 2 T white wine, remaining corn starch, 2 T water and the miso paste. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients.

After chicken has marinated bring a pan of water to the boil. Once boiling add 1/4 of the chicken, stir well to break up any clumps. Once the outside turns white, about 30 seconds, remove from water and reserve. Repeat with remaining chicken until finished.

Heat a large sautee pan or a wok over high heat. Add 2 T canola oil. Add the ginger and garlic, stir fry for about 30 seconds, until very aromatic and it just starts to brown.

Add the prepped vegetables next. Stir well to evenly coat in oil/garlic/ginger mixture. Stir fry for about 1 minute. Add 1/4 c water and cover. Allow to steam for 2-3 minutes.

Add parcooked chicken. Stir fry about 2 minutes before adding the sauce mixture. Once chicken is cooked thru and veggies are crisp tender, add the sauce. Stir well as sauce thickens quickly. Cook about 1 minute longer. Serve with hot cooked rice.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 350.5
Total Fat 12.3 g
Saturated Fat 1.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.5 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 533.9 mg
Potassium 902.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.5 g
Dietary Fiber 4.6 g
Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 47.1 g

Teriyaki Chicken Lo Mein

For a few years now I've been making my own teriyaki sauce. Imagine my surprise when I saw Pam from For the Love of Cooking post a recipe for teriyaki chicken by Ellie Krieger - and the sauce was pretty much exactly the same as mine! Ellie is an awesome cook/nutritionist so when I saw that her recipe mimicked my own, well I was a pretty darn proud Witch. Seeing Pam's wonderful chicken thighs reminded me of just how delicious teriyaki can be and set the wheels of creativity in motion! Thanks Pam for the inspiration!!

The teriyaki sauce in question is not a thick, syrupy sauce like many of use have had in restaurants. While I do not discount the deliciousness of those sauces, I do have to discount the corn syrup that they use. Those thick sauces tend to be too sweet for me anymore, too. The store bought teriyaki sauces don't have enough flavor for this Witch, which is why I started making my own. I add flavorful things like garlic, ginger, honey and red pepper flakes to mine, taking the once syrupy sweet sauce to a new gently sweet, tangy, flavorful delight. Oh sure, the sauce is still sweet, it is teriyaki after all. I've sweetened my sauce with a modest 1/4 c of brown sugar and a touch of honey.

After much thought I decided to make a lo mein type of dish. The little Witch LOVES anything with soy sauce in it and she likes noodles a lot too, so lo mein was a natural choice. Originally I had planned on broccoli making it into this dish as well, however the broccoli had other plans for me, like going into the compost pile rather than into the skillet. I do think that the dish needs something green, pea pods would be awesome, or the afore mentioned broccoli would have been nice too. As always feel free to add or subtract anything that you and your family likes.

I used the velveting method of marinading the chicken, as the Witch is apt to do anymore when making Asian food. It really gives great flavors to the chicken and makes it unbelievably tender. I used a bit of the teriyaki sauce in the velveting marinade which helped build the layers of flavor. The sauce was simply more of the teriyaki sauce and a bit of the pasta cooking water. A handful of cashews at the end added a bit of crunch. I still wish I had something green to add to it, but that just means that I'll have to make it again. The family hopes that I decide to do that soon!

Teriyaki Chicken Lo Mein
makes 4 servings
Sauce: (Makes more than the recipe calls for, so you'll have some left over)
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T honey
1/4 c white wine (can use chicken stock)
1/4 c rice vinegar
1 t sesame oil
1 t fresh ground ginger
4 cloves garlic minced
few dashes crushed red pepper

Lo Mein
1/2 box Barilla angle hair pasta or your favorite long pasta
2 chicken breast
1 T white wine
1/2 t kosher salt
1T + 1/4 c teriyaki sauce
1 egg white
1 heaping T corn starch
3 T canola oil, divided
1 bell pepper sliced thin
1/2 onion sliced thin
1/4 c cashews

Prepare the teriyaki sauce by combining all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Stir well to dissolve. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Reserve and allow to cool.

Prepare chicken via the velveting method.
Slice chicken thin across the grain and place in a medium size work bowl.
Using fingers, toss chicken with salt to evenly coat.
Next add the teriyaki sauce and coat chicken.
Next coat chicken with egg white being gentle as not to froth the egg.
Next is the cornstarch, coat evenly.
Finally coat in oil and allow to marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes.

After chicken has marinated bring a pot of water to the boil. Once boiling add chicken (in 4 batches) and stir to separate. Once the outside turns white remove chicken and reserve to cook later.

Cook pasta until al dente, drain and reserve.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2T canola oil. Stir fry the peppers and onions about 2 minutes, until onions start to soften and brown. Add the reserved chicken and 2 T of the teriyaki sauce. Stir fry another 1.5 to 2 minutes longer. Add the cooked pasta along with another 2-3T of the teriyaki sauce and cook about 1 minute longer, so sauce thickens and everything is evenly coated.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Teriyaki sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 55.8
Total Fat 0.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 902.0 mg
Potassium 80.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.6 g
Dietary Fiber 0.2 g
Sugars 12.1 g
Protein 1.1 g

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Teriyaki chicken lo mein
Amount Per Serving
Calories 412.9
Total Fat 14.8 g
Saturated Fat 1.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 7.5 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 159.6 mg
Potassium 486.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 33.9 g
Dietary Fiber 3.0 g
Sugars 1.4 g
Protein 35.8 g

Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Oh look, another recipe from Jenn at Jenn's Food Journey!! Jenn and I have become pretty good blogging friends - and she make some awesome food! I love that her recipes are usually quick for busy weeknights, have ingredients that I keep stocked in my pantry and always deliver on taste. I've told Jenn that if she keeps up these delicious recipes I'll have to rename my blog to "Andrea the Kitchen Witch cooks everything on Jenn's food Journey". She's good, people! If you haven't done so already, please take a look at her awesome blog. You and your taste buds will be happy you did!

When I made this recipe I had to adjust it based on what we had and our personal tastes. (WHAT?? The Witch not follow a recipe? Shocker, right?) And while my almost 4 yr old little Witch might be an adventurous eater, she still does NOT like spicy, so that had to be adjusted as well. I left the spicy stuff out of the dipping sauce knowing that the additional heat would not be welcomed by the little Witch. I decided to leave the Sriracha in the marinade, its heat was gentle and not overpowering and provided the perfect 'oomph' of heat that you need in a peanut sauce. If I had a more heat tolerant preschooler I would have added the Sriracha to the dipping sauce as well. Feel free to adjust to your families taste/spice levels.

The chicken was moist, flavorful and succulent. The dipping sauce was rich, flavorful and addicting! I cooked the chicken indoors on my George Foreman grill. All in all the entire dish took less than 15 minutes to cook, not including the marinade time. Satay chicken with peanut sauce was a family pleasing, delicious meal that we'll be revisiting often! Thanks again Jenn for such a delicious recipe!!

Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce
makes 4 serving
recipe adapted from Jenn's Food Journey
For the marinade:
4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
2 T peanut butter
juice of 1/2 lime
1 t Sriracha or other hot sauce
3 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced (garlic press)

For the sauce:
1/4 c peanut butter (creamy)
3 T soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 t paprika
1/4 c water

Mix the marinade ingredients together and stir until well combined. The peanut butter will make the mixture look grainy, that is OK. Pour over chicken breast in a zip top bag and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes - The Kitchen Witch let hers marinate for 6 hours, it was delicious!

Cook chicken by which ever method you prefer, I used an indoor grill (George Foreman) however you can also use an outdoor grill. You can pan sautee this however you'll need to add oil to the pan to avoid sticking (the nutritional values do not include any additional cooking oil).

While chicken cooks make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Sauce will thicken after a short boil, stir well to avoid burning. Cook about 1 minute and serve with chicken.



~*~NOTE: Nutritional info assumes that all of the peanut sauce will be consumed. We ended up having a lot of it left over, almost half. So depending on how much sauce you have the numbers provided could be substantially lower~*~

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 368.8
Total Fat 10.9 g
Saturated Fat 1.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g
Cholesterol 136.9 mg
Sodium 1,356.0 mg
Potassium 656.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 5.6 g
Dietary Fiber 1.2 g
Sugars 1.8 g
Protein 59.8 g

Fried Rice - with chicken and veggies

Fried rice is something that the Witch craves like nothing else. For years she tried to make it at home and had little success. Ok, no success. Turns out there are a few tricks to making successful fried rice at home, and lucky for you the Kitchen Witch is here to share those secrets.

First secret: You DO need cold cooked rice. And this does NOT mean minute rice. I've tried many many times to use minute rice and the results are dismal. Having a rice cooker helps immensely as well, if you're rice cooking challenged like the Witch is. I got my rice cooker - its a small 3 cup one - for $10 at Walgreens. It works great, too!

Second secret: Have all your ingredients ready to go so you can just cook, not prep & then cook. Stir frying goes fast. From start to finish we're looking at 5 minutes of cooking time, max. Having all your veggies, eggs and meat ready to go will only assist you in the cooking process. Don't ignore this secret!

Third secret: Cook in batches. Don't try to cook the veggies, then cook the eggs and then add the rice. You will end up with a nasty, ugly mess of egg covered veggies and slimy rice. Been there, done that. Cook the veg first, remove it. Cook the eggs, remove them. Cook the rice then add everything else back to the pan, stir it all together and that's that!

Fried rice isn't that hard once you learn the techniques. Experiment with the veggies and flavors that you like the most. Its a great way to use up left overs and recreate them into a whole new, yummy and different dish. Enjoy!

Fried Rice
makes 4 generous servings
3 cups cold cooked white rice (basmati is nice)
3-4 T oil
4 green onions sliced thin, including 1/3 of the green part (reserve 1T for garnish)
1 carrot diced fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced fine
1 stalk celery sliced thin
4 eggs, whipped for scrambled eggs
3-4 T soy sauce
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 handful of frozen peas

*~*Kitchen Witch Tip: Prep all your ingredients and have them ready to go. This is very important when making fried rice or stir fries because they move quick and you won't have time to slice & dice while the 1st step is cooking. Take the time to gather your mies en place (a French term meaning everything in its place, as in set up before cooking) and you'll have a far greater success.~*~

Heat a wok or large cast iron skillet over high heat. Once its screamin' hot, literally smoking, add 1 T of the oil and the veggies. Stir rapidly to ensure even cooking and avoid burning. Cook the veggies for 1-2 minutes or until they start to brown and wilt. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add a touch more oil to the hot pan. Add the whipped eggs. Scramble eggs and remove from pan once they've just set up. You will be adding these back to the rice so a little underdone now is fine, they'll cook longer later in the process.

Add the remaining oil to the hot pan. Add the cold rice and press it down into the pan to maximize surface contact. Let it cook undisturbed for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a spatula stir fry the rice, scraping up any cooked on bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook rice until its nicely fried and has color on most of the grains. Add the soy sauce, chicken, veggies and 3/4 of the scrambled eggs. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until everything is warmed through.

Transfer cooked fried rice to a serving bowl and top with remaining eggs and reserved green onions. If desired drizzle with soy sauce before serving.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 413.6
Total Fat 16.4 g
Saturated Fat 2.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.3 g
Cholesterol 246.7 mg
Sodium 1,033.2 mg
Potassium 632.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 41.8 g
Dietary Fiber 1.7 g
Sugars 2.8 g
Protein 24.9 g