Yes It's Chicken Again

One of my favorite spreads is a basic cream cheese with olives.  It's easy to make and very yummy as a dip or spread on toast or bagels.  I made it this morning and spread it on toast for a quick breakfast.  Just take some black and green olives, about six of each, and a little of the black olive liquid.  Finely chop the olives and then add about 8 ounces of cream cheese and mix.  You could also add some herbs if you like, but it's delicious as is.

We also whipped up another batch of hummus.  This time we left out the roasted red pepper to make it a garlic hummus.  Let it sit over night so the flavors blend together.  If you don't have pita bread to cut into triangles just use tortilla chips.  The saltiness of the chips add to the flavor of the hummus.  For the hummus recipe see the archive article "Hummus AmongUs".

The next recipe is another chicken one.  Seems like we eat a lot of chicken.  It's a good thing we have lots of different ways to prepare them.  I'll be posting them as I eat them.  This particular way of making chicken allows you to bake the bird and create a delicious gravy as well. 

First you have to split the bird down the center of the breast, splayed the bird and then crack the back.  You then, using a sharp boning knife or strong scissors, remove the back bone.  This will give you two separate halves.  Season the bird and coat with oil.  Place it skin side up in a baking dish and bake at 400F until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

Take the back bone, neck, giblets and any fat you had trimmed of the chicken and place in a pot.  Chop 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks and an onion.  Place all ingredients into pot and set stove on medium.  Let the fat render and everything cook till meat is browned and veggies are tender.  Add 1 cup low sodium vegetable stock and 2 cups of water.  Bring to boil and let simmer.

When chicken is done remove from oven and let rest.  Remove chicken parts from pot. Place gravy mixture in blender and blend till smooth then return to pot and back on stove.  You can chop the giblets up and return them to the pot if you want a giblet gravy.  If the gravy is not thick enough mix a tablespoon of corn starch with a half cup of water.  Slowly add some of the mixture to the gravy while stirring over medium-high heat.  Stop when the desired thickness is achieved.

This chicken goes well with one of my favorite side dishes, black beans and rice:

2Tbsp olive oil
1 cup brown rice
1 onion, diced small
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 Tsp cumin (ground--fresh from seed is best)
1 cup vegetable broth (home made or low-salt store-bought)

1 cup water
1 can (16 oz.) black beans, rinsed

Add olive oil and brown rice to a 2qt. saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, and cumin and saute for a few minutes until onions are translucent and cumin becomes aromatic. Add the water and broth and bring to boil. Turn down the heat, add the beans, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (about 45 minutes). If the rice is still not tender, add a bit more liquid (about 1/2 cup) and cook until the extra liquid is absorbed.
Repeat as necessary. --K Hunter

Baked chicken and gravy without the dry bird.  If you have left over meat and gravy you can make a chicken soup with it.  Remove the meat from the bone and break it up or chop with a knife.  Place in pot and add the gravy, 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 chopped carrots and a chopped onion.  Add more vegetable stock to thin the gravy.  Cook until veggies are tender and serve.  A wonderful lunch.

Eat chicken and stay warm.

Bill