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Chicken Enchiladas Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:00:53 -0800

Chicken enchiladas aren't always a fast and easy dinner option, but with a few adjustments, you can surprise your family by serving them as an indulgent midweek meal. Cut extra time by using cubed pieces of already-cooked chicken and pre-grated cheese, and you'll have the steaming casserole in literally 30 minutes. Having friends over for the weekend? Impress a crowd with enchiladas made from slow-cooked layers of poached chicken, homemade enchilada sauce, and roasted pepper salsa. A recipe for either occasion, when you read more.

Monday's Leftovers: Roasted Greek Chicken and Vegetables

YumSugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:00:57 -0800

Workweek off to a harried start? The best remedy is a rustic supper that'll remind you to slow down. Tonight, keep it simple with a Greek chicken dish that makes use of leftover chicken and calls for a short list of easy-to-obtain ingredients.

Roast chicken and vegetables with seasonings, aromatics, and oil, and you've got a meal to savor only 45 minutes later. For an added touch, serve with a bowl of avgolemono. See the recipe, after the jump.

Sunday Slow Cooker: Provencal Chicken Stew

YumSugar — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:00:17 -0800

A lazy Sunday is the perfect time to experiment with slow cooker techniques. Even if your idea of crockpot cuisine doesn't extend beyond throwing stuff into a pot, consider taking a few extra minutes to dredge your meat in flour, then brown it in a skillet before braising. A Provençal stew doesn't require many extra steps yet has more complexity and body than basic crockpot chicken.

Black Nyons olives, crushed tomatoes, and basil add layers of flavor. To try out the recipe, keep on reading.

Greek Avgolemono Soup Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

YumSugar — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:50:19 -0800

Seeing PartySugar's menu for a Greek dinner made me realize how long it's been since I've made my favorite Greek dish, avgolemono. If you've never heard of this homey soup (av-what?), avgolemono is a Mediterranean specialty made up of four basic elements: chicken stock, eggs, lemon, and rice. When preparing it, remember to add the hot broth gradually to the lemon-egg mixture, otherwise you will cook pieces of the egg. Prefer not to work with raw poultry? Throw already-cooked chicken breast into the simmer. Or, make it a complete, from-scratch meal by poaching chicken breasts with rice, vegetables, and herbs. See which recipe fits your cooking style when you read on.

Game Day Eats: Buffalo Wings

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:00:15 -0800

When it comes to game day eats, dips are convenient, chili is comforting, and pizza is solid, but none of them hold a candle to the reigning champion of Super Bowl snacks: fiery, vinegar-laden chicken wings.

While it's a Sunday requirement, buffalo chicken isn't the most ideal to make; even with special cooking equipment, its deep-fried preparation can be dangerous, messy, and odorous. Leave it to the king of food science, Alton Brown, to come up with an alternative cooking method for buffalo chicken.

His recipe calls for steaming, chilling, and then baking the chicken wings. It's healthier, less messy, and even my sports fanatic boyfriend can't tell the difference! For a baked version that achieves the same crispy, crackly results, keep reading.

How to Prep Chicken Wings For Appetizers

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:50:46 -0800

I'm getting excited for the big game and I decided to schedule a buffalo wing practice run. It's my first time making wings from scratch, so I skipped the grocery aisle in favor of some quality time with my local butcher. Rather than waiting for him to break down the wings, I asked the butcher to show me how to cut up the chicken wings myself. Breaking down chicken wings isn't the easiest, but it's not that challenging, either. Learn how to prep them now.

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Monday's Leftovers: Braised Chicken With Vegetables

YumSugar — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:00:47 -0800

Following a weekend bacchanal full of Champagne kisses and caviar dreams, usher in the brand-new work week with a down-to-earth meal that's affordable, wholesome, and easy to prepare.

Use leftover chicken thighs, leftover white wine from your New Year's celebration, and frozen vegetables to create an aromatic chicken braise.

Serve the one-pot meal atop a heaping mound of brown rice, and you've got a healthful dinner. See the recipe when you keep reading.

Know Your Ingredients: Air-Chilled Chicken

YumSugar — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:50:07 -0800

Those of you who are on the lifelong quest to make the perfect roast chicken, should turn your attention to something called air-chilled chicken. To Americans, this term might be a relatively new or even foreign one, but in other parts of the globe, such as Europe and Asia, this three-hour, specialized chicken-raising process has been popular for decades.

Conventionally raised chickens are typically dunked in iced, chlorinated water to bring down the chicken's temperature after it's been slaughtered. Compare this to air-chilled chicken, which have been eviscerated, sprayed with chlorinated water inside and out, and then rapidly cooled in cold air chambers in an effort to keep bacteria to a minimum.

In the US today, only a handful of smaller plants use the air-chilling process, a production method that is just beginning to catch on in the mainstream. Although air-chilled chickens cost significantly more, producers claim the result is a better-tasting bird that's retained its natural flavors and boasts a crisper skin after roasting. What's your take on it?

Source: Flickr User Joe Shlabotnik

Sunday Slow Cooker: Chicken Minestrone With Pesto

YumSugar — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:30:11 -0800

With the biggest holidays over and done with, I'm beginning the year with a focus on comfortable, no-frills cooking.

My secret weapon? An inexpensive, ever-resourceful crockpot, which works its magic by cooking vegetables and protein low and slow until they've become tender, and the flavors have married together.

As usual, I've had another overindulgent holiday, so I'm starting off this week with a light, brothy Italian minestrone, studded with chicken and perfumed by pesto. Interested in the healthy recipe? Then read more.

Sunday Dinner: Perfect Roast Chicken Recipe

YumSugar — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:00:28 -0800

During the days leading up to Christmas, it's best to keep your everyday meals as straightforward as possible. That doesn't mean you have to subsist on boxed macaroni and cheese or TV dinner.

Instead, roast a whole chicken tonight, so you have something to fall back on for the beginning of the week when you're occupied with other tasks.

The recipe is straightforward: season the chicken, tie its legs together, and roast it alongside potatoes until everything is tender and browned. Get your week off to the right start when you read more.