Everything-Bagel Chicken

I love bagels.  I love everything about bagels.  I love Everything Bagels.  I could eat a bagel every day probably.  Chanel and I have even taken our love for bagels so far that we have made bagels ourselves (because good bagels are hard to find).  When we threw Townes' his first birthday party, it was NY themed and everyone got a party favor that was a Bagel-in-a-Jar (mason jars filled with the ingredients for homemade bagels with a recipe - with everything bagel toppings included).  We love bagels.

Unfortunately, bagels are not exactly nutritious or very good for you, so even though I would love to slice a fresh bagel, toast it in butter on the flat top, and spread it with cream cheese every day, it's probably not the best everyday dietary choice.

So it was out of this love that these chicken cutlets were born.  I was really wanting to make myself a sinful bagel sandwich with fried eggs, bacon, cheese, salt and pepper and a hash brown in the middle, but that seemed like a poor choice for dinner so I set out to figure out how to up the value factor and still be as satisfied.

I decided to lose the bread, but not the flavor by seasoning a thin, chicken cutlet with and everything-bagel crust and then getting the same feeling by topping it with cheese, bacon, spinach, avocado and serving it with a sweet potato hash.  It was a hit! I'm not giving up my bagels any time soon, but man, the taste of this chicken was outstanding.

Everything-Bagel Chicken

Makes 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs. white sesame seeds
• 2 tbs. black sesame seeds
• 2 tbs. caraway seeds
• 2 tbs. poppy seeds
• 2 tbs. dried, minced onion
• 1 tbs. Kosher salt or Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 cup panko
• 3 tbs. butter
• 3 tbs. vegetable oil
• 6 eggs
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked
• Avocado, sliced
• Spinach, chopped
• 4-8 slices of American or Cheddar cheese
• Sweet Potato Hash (see recipe below)

Start by preparing your chicken: using a sharp knife, carefully cut your chicken breasts in half width-wise (so you have made four chicken breasts the same size, but thinner). One at a time, place each half in a large Ziploc bag, and pound to 1/4 inch thin using a meat mallet. Set aside and wash your prep area well.

Next make the breading: add the black and white sesame seeds, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, minced onion, salt, garlic powder, and panko to the bowl of a food processor and pulse.  You want to mix the flavors a bit and make the mixture a bit finer so you have better coverage on your chicken.

Using two shallow dishes, fill one with your chicken breading, and into the other, crack two eggs and scramble them with a fork. Set up an assembly line to batter your chicken.  From left to right, have your chicken cutlets, egg wash, breading, then a clean plate for the prepared chicken.*  I always try to only use one hand for wet, and one hand for dry to keep my fingers from becoming a globby mess.  So with your left hand dredge one chicken cutlet into the egg wash and turn it over to completely coat the whole piece. Then place it into the dish with the breading.  Using your right hand, cover the top of the chicken with breading, then turn it over to make sure all sides have been completely covered in breading. Place on clean dish, repeat with all four pieces of chicken.

*Note About Battering: My mom, and every other Italian mother/grandmother I know, would swear that the only proper way to bread chicken is to dredge it in seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper in it), then an egg wash, then breading.  The flour adds an extra layer of binding that with a very fine topping (like Italian-style breadcrumbs) creates a thicker and more uniform coating.  However, I think in this case the flour is unnecessary, but they would disagree - use your judgement.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the vegetable oil.  When the oil is hot enough, fry the chicken.  Because the chicken is thin, you won't need to cook these terribly long, but watch the temperature of the oil: if it is too hot, the outside will cook to fast and burn but the inside won't be cooked through, but if it isn't hot enough the chicken will cook through, but your breading will be soggy.  The chicken should need about 3-5 minutes on each side to be golden brown and cooked through.  If you find yourself with chicken that is done on the outside but not on the inside, you can troubleshoot by placing the chicken on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven until its done and it shouldn't burn your breading.

As each piece of cooked chicken is done, set on a plate and top with one or two slices of desire cheese and a slice or two of bacon. Once your chicken is done, remove any loose oil from your pan (I just pour it into a bowl until it's cool enough to dispose of) but don't wipe it clean.  It should have enough oil left to fry your eggs.  Fry your four eggs to your preference and slide one egg on top of each piece of chicken - I did ours sunny-side up.

Top with spinach and avocado, serve with sweet potato hash.

Sweet Potato Hash

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 1 white onion, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. butter

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and salt and pepper.  In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Pour the hash into the skillet and cook until potatoes are soft, with crispy edges.  This can take a while, to achieve those crispy edges with soft insides, you will need to let it just sit and cook without stirring or disturbing it for five minutes or more at a time, before just flipping it all over enough to not burn.  If you are constantly stirring or flipping it around (like sauteeing onions, or scrambling eggs) they will get mushy and the edges won't brown.

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

My first job in Austin was at a little church pre-school in Brentwood.  I loved that place, I loved those kids, I loved my Tiny Turtles, it was really the best.  One of added bonuses to my job there was The Little Deli.  It's this little neighborhood pizzeria and deli.  Not a New York Deli by any stretch, but a wonderful sandwich menu, great pizza and five soups that they rotate daily.  

Their Broccoli Cheese and Rice soup immediately topped my list.  They serve it with crisp garlic bread slices, almost like crackers, that crumble perfectly on top.  A bowl of that and half a sandwich was the perfect lunch. 

Since I stay at home with my boys now and we don't live in that neighborhood, weekly lunches there are a thing of the past.  We have taken the boys a handful of times in the last two years, but I crave that soup way more often. So when Aaron had a bunch of dental work done last week and was on strict orders to eat soft, but filling foods, this came to mind.  I also was super tired from taking care of him and the boys so I needed something quick and easy.  Check.  I needed something both boys and I could and would eat too. Check.  Dinner was planned.

I've never made it before and The Little Deli shockingly, wasn't handing out the recipe.  So this was my version and I think it was pretty darn close!

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, uncooked, white rice
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• A dash of ground sage
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz block of sharp orange cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 3 cups frozen broccoli florets (about 1 bag)

Cook your rice according to the directions in a saucepan or rice cooker.  Fluff and set aside.

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, melt 1 tb. of the butter.  Saute the onion until translucent. 

Add the garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper then melt the remaining butter and saute together for a moment.  Sprinkle the flour and stir until it is a golden paste.  You do not want it to burn so keep it moving, this should just take a minute.

A half cup at a time, whisk in 3 cups of chicken broth, whisking the mixture smooth at each addition.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the 1 cup of heavy cream. Lower the heat to a simmer.

Add the shredded cheese and slowly stir until its melted and combined smooth. 

Note About Cheese: I recommend when making a soup like this that you purchase a block of cheese and shred it freshly for two reasons:  1) You can shred it on the finest side of a box grater and it will melt and blend more smoothly without clumping and 2) bags of shredded cheese are often coated in a powder that dries the cheese a little to prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag, however, this moisture is important because it seems to prevent the oil in cheese from separating when it melts into the soup.

Stir in the rice and frozen broccoli and cook until the broccoli is warmed through.  While the broccoli cooks, taste your soup and re-season as needed. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Storage Note: This soup is enjoyed best fresh.  When it is refrigerated and stored the rice will absorb the broth over time and will become more of a casserole and less of a soup.  It is still very tasty, and actually serves better to kids this way - less loose broth = less spills.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

A typical conversation this summer for me and Chanel has been about what to eat for lunch.  Seriously.  We go through this conversation nearly every day we are together.  After walking early in the morning with the kiddos to beat the heat, we are generally pretty hungry, but also really hot.  The combination of those two things makes us irritable (hangry, perhaps) and indecisive.  Being hot does not make anything that could be very filling sound particularly appetizing.  

During one of these endless conversations, Chanel finally said she wanted buffalo chicken.  I immediately said no.  It's not really a secret, but I'll share it again for those who don't know: I hate messy foods.  I absolutely can not eat things that make me messy while I am eating them, it ruins the whole experience to me, not enhances it.  This mean that things like wings, ribs, drippy ice cream cones, and the like are immediately off the list. 

The second she said Buffalo chicken, I thought of all the sticky wing sauce and nixed that right away.  But she persisted.  So we finally worked out a way to appease us both - shredded buffalo chicken wraps!  They came out with immense flavor, moist-fall-apart chicken, and wrapped up with veggies for a super filling, but light lunch.  The final bonus? They all came together really fast and with not a whole lot of ingredients.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Makes about 4 Large Burritos

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 2-3 cups of chicken broth
• 1-2 cups of buffalo sauce (we used Frank's)
• 4 large burrito-sized tortillas
• Spinach, for garnish
• Red onion, sliced, for garnish
• Avocado, sliced, for garnish
• Blue cheese crumbles, for garnish (optional)
• Blue cheese dressing (we used Brianna's, my absolute favorite)
• 2 tbs. butter

In a stock pot, over high heat, combine 2 cups of chicken broth with 1 cup of buffalo sauce.  Add your chicken breasts*, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat slightly, so it is gently boiling, cover and boil until the chicken is cooked through.** 

*If this amount of liquid isn't enough to cover the tops of your chicken, add more chicken broth and/or buffalo sauce depending on your spice preference.  I do not recommend attempting to boil chicken in just the sauce alone, it will stick and burn to the bottom of your pot and your chicken will not absorb enough moisture.

**Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, cooking time will vary.  You will want to stir the pot every five minutes or so to ensure your chicken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Crock Pot Variation: I'm sure you could achieve the same results with a crock pot.  I would set the crock pot on low and let it cook for six hours, tear the chicken in to smaller pieces, then cook on high for 30 minutes to an hour, if need be. 

While your chicken is cooking, prepare and slice your wraps.  We used chopped spinach, sliced red onion and avocado.

Once you chicken is cooked, you will want to use two forks to pull it apart into smaller chunks, while it is still simmering in the pot.  You are not shredding it all the way, just pulling it into the smaller pieces it will break into with little effort.  Allowing the smaller pieces to simmer in the sauce for longer will make the chicken pieces more moist and flavorful.  Continue this process every five minutes or so until the chicken is very tender.

Remove the pot from the heat, and using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken from the pot to a mixing bowl.  Using two forks, shred the chicken to your desired size.  Give it a taste and drizzle some buffalo sauce over it and toss together.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or flat top) over medium-high heat.  

Assemble your wraps.  We layered chicken, topped with spinach, onion and then avocado.  We drizzled a little buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing over top.  Then we wrapped up our burritos.

Melt your butter in the skillet, it should be bubbling.  Place your wraps seam side down onto the skillet and using a flat spatula, apply pressure to the top to keep it from rolling over or popping open.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown, then carefully roll it over, and using your spatula to keep the bottom closed, repeat this process for the top side of the burrito.  Transfer to a plate, drizzle with blue cheese dressing, buffalo sauce, and garnish with some avocado and enjoy!

New England Clam Chower

We just got back from the most magical, wonderful, fulfilling (I could go on and on) trip to Cape Cod that I could have imagined.  Having grown up spending every summer there with my family, and my grandmother being born and raised there, it is a place with such a deep meaning and permanent place in my heart.  Chanel grew up just a few hours from there and frequented the beaches on the bay in the summer.  Aaron even spent his summers on the Cape, sent up all the way from Houston to spend time with his grandparents.  We could not have been more excited to share this place with the boys for the first time.

So we embarked on a two-day long road trip in the Suburban to drive up to my mom's in New York, then on to the Cape.  All five of us piled into the car, drove to Nashville as our halfway point, and then pushed on to NY.  It went surprisingly well, perhaps another post another time on surviving road trips with babies and toddlers.

We could not have been happier to make it to the Cape on day 4 of the journey.  Everything was perfect.  I felt completely at peace, my heart was happy and full, and so was my stomach.  The food was incredible.  I will often talk about missing food from NY, but missing the fresh seafood from Massachusetts is a whole different ball-game.

Pretty much my first meal once we got there was some amazing Clam Chowder.  And then it turns out, it was pretty much part of my lunch every day we were there.  So naturally, as soon as we got back to Texas I was doing two things: 1) Searching for real estate on the Cape so we can move back immediately and 2) craving chowder with a passion.

As with any craving I have, I gave in immediately and started cooking. This was my first foray into making my own Clam Chowder and it was totally worth it.  I added a bit of a Texas flair to the classic soup by flavoring it heavily with smoked bacon fat.  If you want a flavor that is more true to a classic New England Chowder - leave out the bacon entirely, skip the first step, and start your soup with butter instead.  Either way, don't forget to get some oyster crackers to crumble on top, its just not the same without it.  I also suggest setting the mood by staring at these photos while you are eating.

New England Clam Chowder

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 tbs. butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 tsp. ground sage
• 1 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 2-3 cups half and half*
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 (6.5 oz) cans of chopped clams, juices separated and reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• Chopped fresh parsley or dried, for garnish
• Oyster crackers, for garnish

Dice your entire 1-lb package of bacon.  Heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add bacon to the pot and cook until the bacon is crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pot, onto a plate lined with paper towels.  Pour the bacon fat from the pot into a bowl and set aside (you don't need it for this recipe, but it can be useful for pie crust making or other recipes, so hang on to it in a covered container in your fridge if you might use it).  DO NOT SCRAPE THE REMAINING FAT FROM THE POT.  Leave all those drippings and bacon crumbs in the pot.

Add 1 tbs. of butter to your pot, melt, add garlic and onion and cook until onions are translucent.  Stir in seasonings (sage, thyme, celery salt, and some salt and pepper). 

With you half and half, vegetable broth, and clam juice ready and on hand, whisk in the flour until lightly brown. Immediately whisk in 1 cup of broth, 1 cup of half and half, and the clam juice.

Using and immersion blender, blend the mixture carefully so that the onions and garlic cloves are blended smoothly into the broth.

Bring to a boil, and stir in the potatoes and add the bay leaf.  Reduce the heat and let it simmer as it begins to thicken and the potatoes are tender and cooked.

Once the potatoes are cooked, stir in the clams and another 1 cup of half and half (or however much you prefer to achieve a consistency you like - you can even add heavy cream instead for a very thick soup, or vegetable broth for a thinner soup).

Simmer until your desired consistency is reached, remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.  Garnish with bacon, parsley and oyster crackers.

Coco's Chimichangas with Roasted Poblano Cream Sauce

Sunday nights are really fun in this house in the Spring: Game of Thrones is on and our favorite couple comes over to hang out with us, eat dinner, and watch the show.  Clay has known Aaron since they were just kiddos and his wife Katie and I hit it off without missing a beat four years ago. Its become a weekly occurrence this spring that they come over every Sunday afternoon and hang through dinner and Game of Thrones.

Well this week I made the mistake of asking them what they felt like eating for dinner: I got "Chicken Fajitas" and "that Shrimp Garlic Cream Pasta stuff" - couldn't be farther apart on the spectrum of food.

Well I spent some time thinking on those foods and what I came up with was these chicken and veggie burritos, pan-fried to crispy and then covered in a creamy Poblano sauce and Monterrey Jack Cheese.  I served them with sliced avocado and a Mexican rice-quinoa pilaf.  Based on the feedback - the diners were pleased.  Since then, these have become an absolute favorite for Chanel at lunch time (our boy's lovingly call her Coco).

Townes even liked it so much that I used my leftover chicken the next morning to make breakfast tacos for him (more on that later).

The chicken mix was inspired by an enchilada plate that I love to get at our local Tex-Mex place.  Maudie's has the Kimberly's favorite enchiladas which are vegetarian, filled with mushrooms, carrots and spinach in a queso blanco sauce.  I decided to use those same veggies (ran through the food processor to disguise them from the boys) sauteed into the ground chicken for the filling.

I assembled each burrito with filling, topped it with cheese, rolled them up and popped them into the oven to bake while I whipped up the sauce.  The sauce was an attempted copycat of Torchy's Poblano Ranch.  It didn't quite hit that mark, it ended up more like Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Sauce - but really you can't go wrong either way.

Coco's Chimichangas

Makes 6 Burritos

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground chicken
• 4 oz. baby portabella mushrooms
• 3 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups spinach
• 1/2 medium white onion
• 4 - 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. dried chipotle powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 small can of black beans (14 - 16 oz), drained
• 6 large flour tortillas
• 4 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
• Avocado, sliced (optional)
• Tapatio or other hot sauce (optional)
• Fresh Cilantro (optional)

Give your vegetables (mushrooms, spinach and onion) a rough chop into about 1-inch chunks.  Toss these into the bowl of a food processor with the garlic cloves, basil, oregano, chipotle and salt and pepper.  Pulse until they are a fine mince,* put into a bowl and set aside.

*I mince my veggies like this when I can because I am feeding a toddler and a man who hates vegetables.  When I can "hide" them this way, they can't get missed or picked around.  If you are a veggie lover like I am, you can definitely chop them into whatever size you desire and follow the directions all the same - which is pictured above from another time Chanel and I made them for lunch and weren't planning on sharing with any of the veggie-averse in our lives.

Melt the butter in a large sauce-pan over medium-high heat and add the veggie mix. Saute until fragrant and bubbly, just a couple minutes.  Add the ground chicken directly to the pot and saute until chicken is cooked through - you will want to break up the chicken with your spoon or spatula as it cooks and mix it into the veggies. I even go so far as to use a potato masher to really get it mixed well and broken into small even bits.  Once the chicken mix is cooked through and mixed, stir in the black beans and cook over medium heat until warmed.  Remove the pan from the heat, put chicken mix into a paper-towel lined bowl and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan or griddle to medium-high heat, and melt 1 tbs. of butter.

Making an assembly line on your table or counter, line up your bowl of chicken, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, and burrito tortillas.  Lay out one tortilla and spoon four large spoonfuls (about 3/4 cup) of filling in a line down the middle of the tortilla.  Sprinkle some cheese on top of the filling (however much you like).  Using both hands, fold up the side of the tortilla over the ends of the line of filling.  While holding those sides down, roll the tortilla up into a burrito.  Fold side down, place the sealed burrito onto the hot pan.  Repeat with the remaining burritos.

Let the burritos fry until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, using a spatula, gently turn them over to fry the top.  While the burritos are cooking, make the Poblano Sauce (below).  Remove the burritos from the pan and top with Poblano sauce, a bit more cheese, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce.  Serve with Mexican rice.

Poblano Cream Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 large poblano pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp. dill
• 2 tsp. celery salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup of buttermilk (recommended) or half and half

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, set aside.

Seed and slice the poblano pepper into four slices.  Place the four pieces, skin side up, onto the prepared baking sheet, and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, long enough for the skin to blister a bit, but not burn.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool before using them.

Chop the roasted peppers into 1-inch chunks.  Combine with the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until minced.  Add the sour cream and spices to the food processor and blend until smooth.

A little at a time, add the buttermilk and blend until desired consistency. Serve immediately.