Chicken Recipes

Baking whole chickens makes such an easy, carefree meal. The flavor, however, tastes like you put a lot of work into the meal. You can put your whole meal in one roaster by adding vegetables to the chicken. The vegetables then absorb the flavor of the broth and any other ingredients. If you cut up your chicken, just put the desired chicken pieces in the roaster over the vegetables. Yum!!! Are you hungry yet? 🙂

Oriental Hot and Spicy Chicken

1-4 lb. chicken
4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 Tbsp. mustard
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp. five spice powder

In a small saucepan, mix every ingredient except the chicken. Cook over medium heat until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant. Brush the chicken with the sauce. Bake a whole chicken in a covered roaster at 350 degrees till the chicken is tender. Plan on two hours or till the leg is loose in the joint.

Butter Chicken and Potatoes
1 whole chicken
4-6 potatoes
4 Tbsp. butter (no substitutes), melted
Salt to taste

Brush the whole chicken with butter. Sprinkle with salt. Place chicken in roaster. Pour any extra butter over the top of the chicken. Place potatoes around the chicken or under it. Cover and bake at 350 degrees 2 to 3 hours till tender.

Did you forget to put your chicken out to thaw?
Bake the frozen chicken in a 400 degree oven for 4 hours.

Oriental Hot and Spicy Chicken

Our family really enjoys a recipe called Oriental Hot and Spicy Chicken. You can brush this sauce on chicken pieces or on a whole bird.

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. hot sauce
2 Tbsp. mustard

If you are baking chicken pieces, bake them uncovered for 1 1/2 hrs. at 350 degrees. If you are baking a whole chicken, cover your roaster and bake the chicken 2 to 3 hours at 350 degrees till the juices run clear and the leg joint is loose.

Recipes: Chinese Chicken Noodle Salad and Escabeche

Our family enjoys eating foods from other cultures.  I encourage you to try these delicious recipes. First, though, you must cook a four to five pound chicken until it is tender. Or if you’re like me (Cathy) you prefer the roasted chicken flavor. Put a chicken in your roaster. Add water to almost cover the chicken and roast it in a 350 degree oven until it is fall-off-the-bone tender. Remove the chicken from the broth, cool it, and debone it. Save the broth.

Chinese Chicken Noodle Salad

8 oz. rice noodles or thin spaghetti
Cook in water until tender. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

1/4 c. toasted sesame oil
1/2 c. soy sauce
6 T. rice or apple cider vinegar
1 t. ground ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
Combine in small bowl. Add to noodles.

1 whole chicken breast, cut into small chunks
Your choice of vegetables, chopped or shredded:
scallions, sweet red pepper, celery, carrot, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, bean sprouts, broccoli
Add to noodles and sauce and toss. Best chilled overnight to integrate the flavor. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

For breakfast the next morning, poach your eggs in some of the leftover broth. The broth gives the eggs a delicious flavor. We love eggs cooked this way! After serving the eggs, strain the broth. It is now ready for escabeche for lunch. Escabeche (chicken onion soup) is a special dish served by Maya Indian descendents in the country of Belize.

Escabeche

4 c. chicken broth
2 c. cooked chicken (or the rest of the chicken you cooked up)
2 c. sliced onions
2 T vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1
/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. crushed oregano
hot pepper sauce or jalapenos to taste

Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. This is important as it intensifies the flavors. Serve with warmed tortillas. Our family loves to spread the tortillas with peanut butter, roll them up and dip them in the soup.