Chicken Couscous bowl

So this is another example of a random ingredients thrown into a bowl and called dinner — Israeli couscous, jerk chicken thighs, scallions, avocado and toasted cashews. It was SO tasty! The jerk chicken was spiced (jamaican jerk seasoning), grilled and cut into bite-sized pieces which gave lots of flavor to the rest of the bowl. And the avocado was the perfect balance of creamy and cool to the spice of the chicken, while the cashews gave a nice crunch.

Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs

This delicious chicken thigh dish is juiced with bold flavors and a hint of spice. The spice rub serves as a crust for the chicken which is broiled in the oven until a deep golden brown....and it doesn't stop there! The chicken is then brushed with a honey glaze which adds a layer of sweetness. This was such a delicious and easy dinner. I served it with roasted brussel sprouts and homemade garlic bread. And don't worry if you don't have all the spices. Any combination of spices will work, so be creative!

Spicy-Honey Chicken Thighs

via cooking light

2 tsp garlic powder (I ran out so I added some ground ginger instead)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne red pepper

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs

6 tbs honey

2 tsp apple-cider vinegar

1 Preheat broiler (I used my toaster oven because the chicken pieces were pretty small)

2 Mix the spices in a shallow bowl and press the chicken pieces onto the spices until covered, both sides. Continue with rest of chicken.

3 Broil the chicken under the broiler for 5 minutes on each side.

4 While the chicken is cooking, prepare the honey glaze by combining the honey and cider-vinegar in a small bowl.

5 Brush the chicken with the honey glaze and broil for an additional 1 minute, repeat with other side.

Chicken Pot Pie-less

This is my second chicken pot pie I made in two weeks. Why? Two reasons – because it is sooo good and comforting in this cold weather and easy to just heat up for lunch and because I roasted 2 birds. I have no idea why I roasted two birds at once, but it ended up working out because I got two of these chicken pot pie's out of them. Thats how good they were. This is a perfect way to use up leftover roast chicken. It's hot, saucy and packed with carrots and peas as well. Instead of using actual pie crust, I was lazy and just whipped some yukon gold potatoes as a topping. The original recipe by Martha used phyllo dough instead of heavy pie crust which would have been wonderful but I didn't have any in the freezer, so the mashed potatoes were a perfect alternative. It's kind of like a shepherds pie but instead of ground meat there's chicken. You can either poach a whole bird or use any leftover chicken you have and hand-shred it. You don't need a whole bird for this recipe. There's lots of ways to use up leftover chicken — chicken quesadillas, chicken salad, bbq chicken sandwiches, and of course chicken pot pie-less! Chicken Pot Pie-less 1 tablespoon butter 2 medium shallots 1 garlic clove, minced salt and peppa 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons flour 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally leftover roast chicken, shredded 3 tablespoons parsley 1/2 cup slightly thawed frozen peas 3-4 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered 1 Preheat oven to 425. Cover your peeled quartered potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil. 2 Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan and soften the shallots, garlic, salt and pepper over medium heat. Cook until all the flavors are melded together and pour in 1 cup of the chicken stock. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock into the flour in a separate bowl. Whisk into shallot mixture and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, will thicken. 2 Add carrots into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in shredded chicken to coat and return to a boil. 3 Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley and peas. Transfer to a baking casserole dish. 4 While the chicken mixture is cooling, drain your potatoes and mash them up until smooth. Season again with salt and pepper. You can use a hand beater too for extra creaminess. 5 Spread the mashed potatoes over the chicken mixture in one even layer. Using a fork, make peaks in the potatoes by dragging the tines of the fork in large sweeping circles. Pop into the oven until the mashed potatoes are golden brown.

Maple Mustard Garlic Chicken Thighs

Last but not least, I'm posting the main dish to the dinner of a few nights ago. Its a chicken recipe I found through the food network site by Ellie Krieger. It sounded really good mainly because I'm a huge mustard fan and the sound of maple syrup doesn't hurt either! It's a very simple recipe with tons of great flavor, perfect for a weeknight meal.

Maple Mustard Garlic Chicken Thighs

8 pieces boneless chicken thighs, you can use breasts or bone-in thighs

4 tablespoons country style course ground mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon marjoram

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2 Pat dry chicken and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in 1 layer on a baking dish.

3 In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients together and brush on the chicken pieces. Slather the chicken with plenty of sauce to form a crust once baked.

4 Bake for 40-50 minutes until juices run clear or mustard sauce is golden brown.

Quick Honey-Lemon Chicken

The weeks are just flying by aren't they? I can't believe its already fall. Time to break out the scarves! I've still been very busy with the house hunt so dinner has been very last minute, not giving me a chance to write posts and photograph. This meal, however, was fast and easy which gave me a moment to share it with you.  It has a few ingredients and very easy to make, and of course, the oven does all the work for you. Enjoy!

Honey-lemon Chicken

1 lb chicken tenders, breasts, or thighs

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup lemon juice, plus a few lemon slices for garnish

1 tablespoon rosemary, minced

1 garlic, minced

salt 'n' peppa

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange chicken in one layer on oven-proof tray and season with salt and pepper.

2 Whisk lemon, honey, rosemary and minced garlic in a bowl and pour over chicken. Arrange lemon slices on tops of chicken and bake for 30 minutes. Done and done!

Lemon-Rosemary Roast Chicken with Braised Leeks

I was quite uninspired for dinner tonight. All I  knew was there was a defrosted package of chicken thighs and drumsticks in the fridge waiting for me when I got home, and had no idea what I was going to do with it. I stared inside the fridge. And stared. And stared. I realized that my fridge was full of odds and ends. Everything was either halfway done, or almost done. This bothers me. I hate buying and buying new stuff when I have a fridge full of scraps. Does this bother anyone else?

So, the moral of the story is that I ended up taking some of my odds and ends and put them in this chicken dish — an almost finished jar of dijon mustard, a spare leek that was left from the beef stew, rosemary that was about to go bad, and too many lemons that I bought from the market. The result was this delicious aromatic creamy herbal chicken with braised leeks. The meat was so soft and tender it fell off the bone. I cooked the leeks in the same roasting pan as the chicken so it had the juices and flavors from the chicken and just melted in your mouth. I have to say, this was quite the meal along with mom's roasted potatoes. It felt so good to air out the fridge a bit too!

Lemon Roast Chicken with Braised Leeks

1.5 lbs chicken thighs/legs

Salt 'n' peppa

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

1 tablespoon rosemary, minced

3/4 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1 garlic clove, minced

1 leek, sliced

1 Preheat oven to 375. Pat dry chicken parts and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken on tray.

2 Slice leek lengthwise and wash well to remove dirt in between the layers. Slice into 1 inch pieces and break up over the chicken pan.

3 In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, rosemary, dijon, honey and garlic together and pour over the chicken, turning the chicken and leeks with tongs to coat with the marinade.

4 Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Roast Chicken with Rice-Pistachio Stuffing

I just bought Mark Bittmans' How To Cook Everything, do any of you have it? I've heard all about it in the blogosphere and decided to give him a try. This book is like an encyclopedia of everything you would want to cook. Ever. It is amazing. I knew I had to make this recipe when I read it. Plus, I had a friend coming over for dinner that night so it was the perfect opportunity to try out something new and a little more festive. And even if it didn't come out good, being the good friend that she is, she wouldn't mind a bowl of cereal for dinner :)

 At first, stuffing a roast chicken may sound daunting (believe me, I was very nervous) but it was surprisingly simple! Like any roast chicken, the oven does all the work. Plus, normally when you buy a whole chicken the inner cavity is already cleaned out and ready to go!

I adapted this recipe slightly form Mark's original recipe. He used white basmati rice as is but I couldn't help but have some color in the rice. I sprinkled some Turmeric, a spice that gives gorgeous yellow color to rice. The results were fantastic! And honestly, who doesn't love pistachios? Especially when they are sauteed in butter. MMmm. On to the recipe!

Roast Chicken with Rice-Pistachio Stuffing

adapted from Mark Bittman

1/2 cup basmati

3 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1/4 cup pistachios, shelled

Turmeric, enough to give some color (I just kept adding little by little until it reached the color I wanted)

Salt 'n' peppa to taste

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 whole chicken, interior cavity cleaned (the butcher at the market already did this for me)

1 Bring a large pot of water to boil and season with salt. Add the basmati rice and simmer until tender, but not mush (this is very important). Wash and drain the cooked rice in a colander. Twice. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter or oil in a large skillet and toss in the pistachios. Stir for about 1 minute, add the cooked rice and stir. Season with salt, pepper, and turmeric until desired level of color.

3 Add lemon juice to the rice mixture. This mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

4 Stuff the chicken loosely with the rice/nut mixture. If there is some left over, leave it for the side dish.

5 Rub the chicken with the remaining butter or oil and season well with salt 'n' peppa. Place on a rack in a roasting pan (I use disposable ones) and cook for about 1.5 hours, depending on the size of your bird. Baste with oil or butter and pan juices about halfway through.

6 Remove chicken from the oven when done and let it rest for 5 minutes. Carve and serve with stuffing and pan juices.

Honey-Soy Glazed Drumsticks

I had a spur of the moment dinner party the other night and I instantly thought of drumsticks as the main dish. They are quick and super easy, unless you have to marinade them overnight, but these don't need it. I made it the night before and just heated them up in the microwave (no need to heat up the oven again) and everyone licked their plates! I served the drumsticks on a bed of polenta alongside green beans with toasted cashews. Delicious!

Last time I made drumsticks, I used a cranberry-orange glaze but I wanted to do something different this time. I still wanted it to be sweet but not as fruity, so I chose a honey/soy glaze with sesame seeds. It came out moist, tender and sweet. Exactly what I wanted.

What's your last minute entertaining meal?

Honey-Soy glazed Drumsticks

adapted by Martha Stewart

12 drumsticks

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 garlic cloves, minced

Sesame seeds

salt 'n' peppa

1 Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Season drumsticks with salt and pepper, both sides.

2 Mix honey, soy sauce, garlic cloves, and some sesame seeds in a bowl.

3 Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil and lay the drumsticks in alternating directions in a row. Pour honey mixture over all the chicken and bake about 30-40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.

4 Once chicken is done, transfer the remaining sauce in the pan to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes until thickened. Serve chicken with sauce.