Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Time in Florida is winding down.  We leave for North Carolina at the end of the week.  I have been looking for recipes to use up food items in the freezer and the pantry.  This Country Captain Chicken recipe fit the bill.  I have blogged about this chicken curry casserole before here.  And here.  You can tell I am fond of the ingredients.  The difference with this recipe is the hands-off use of the slow-cooker.

According to legend, curry powder and the recipe for Country Captain were brought to Charleston in the early 1800s by a British sea captain.  The dish includes chicken, curry, raisins, tomatoes and almonds.  It is perfect to serve to a crowd accompanied by rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy. Let’s welcome Spring.  Looking forward to seeing the blooms on the trees in the mountains.

SLOW-COOKER COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN (Taste of Home)

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup golden raisins or raisins
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• Hot cooked rice
• Chopped fresh parsley, optional

• Place onion, pepper and garlic in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Arrange chicken pieces over vegetables.
• Whisk the next 5 ingredients with the chicken broth. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Add raisins and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and cook until chicken reaches 165°, 2-1/2 hours. Serve over rice; if desired, sprinkle with parsley.

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Porch meals are important to us.  Summers at the lake are spent on the screened in porch for meals, reading, games and sleeping.  That is why I am so glad that the house we are renting in Florida for the Winter has a very comfortable porch.

We have had a few cool days, but for the most part eating on the porch has been a part of our days.  I have even been able to grow pots of sage, basil and rosemary.  Simple meals have been the rule.  The Almond Chicken Tenderloins came from Joanna Gaines new cookbook, Magnolia Table.  It is basically chicken fingers but with a flavorful difference.  We have been using a lot of almond flour because David is on a low carb diet.  Joanna uses a mixture of almond flour and regular flour in her recipe.  I tweeked it to include mostly almond flour.  The other difference is the sliced almond sauce drizzled over the top of the tenders.  It is buttery and lemony; a perfect combination.

I served the chicken with my Zoodle Mixed Salad.  Publix Supermarkets now sells Zucchini ribbons in the produce aisle.  We will return to Lake Lure the first of April.  It may be too early then for porch meals, but I could also enjoy this simple fare in front of the fireplace.

ALMOND CHICKEN TENDERLOINS

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pound chicken tenders
1 1/2 tsps. kosher salt
8 Tbls. butter
4 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbls. Chopped parsley or spring onions for garnish

On a plate, stir together both flours, the garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning and pepper.

Season the tenders with the salt, then coat evenly in the flour mixture, pressing to help adhere.  Set aside in a single layer.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat.  When sizzling, add half of the tenders in a single layer, taking car to not crowd them in the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, flip once with tongs, and cook the other side until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.  Watch them carefully because they can scorch easily.  Transfer to a serving platter and tent with foil to deep them warm.

Wipe out the skillet if any of the flour mixture has scorched.

Repeat with 2 tablespoons butter, the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and the remaining chicken.  Transfer to the platter.  Wipe out the skillet.

Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium heat.  When the butter is foaming, stir in the almonds and cook until golden, stirring often, about 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.  Pour over the chicken.

Sprinkle the parsley or spring onions over the top and serve warm.

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There are several recipes on the internet for this copycat recipe for Chicken Lettuce Wraps from P.F. Chang’s.  I used the recipe from Averie Cooks.  David is trying to reduce carbohydrates in his diet so anything wrapped in a lettuce leaf is a winner in my book.  Crispy butter (Boston) lettuce is the perfect vessel to hold this flavorful mixture.

The ground chicken is paired with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and chili garlic sauce.  Crunch is provided by water chestnuts.  I served it with roasted butternut squash.  It was a quick and easy meal.

P.F. CHANG’S CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

INGREDIENTS:

Even though we are not feeling the numbing cold of the North, this hearty slow cooker chicken dish hits all of the comfort notes associated with cold weather.  So for a short while I will indulge my fantasies of snow and enjoy this flavor-filled dish. We have been in Florida for two weeks.  So far the weather has been lovely.  I have enjoyed the local New Smyrna Beach farmers’ market and being able to walk to town for a quick bite at the local restaurants.
  When I saw this recipe on-line for this Tuscan chicken dish, it brought back memories of our trip to Italy.  Part of the beauty of Tuscan recipes is the simplicity of the ingredient.  Simple chicken thighs are paired with a creamy Parmesan sauce and enhanced with lots of garlic, Italian herbs, sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach.

The rolling hills of Tuscany produce wines, garden fresh vegetables, cheeses and pasture raised poultry.

We were fortunate to find a lovely villa in the Tuscan countryside.  I have fond memories of cooking in this kitchen.

The crock-pot in my Florida rental house is old and smaller than what I have at home.  But it was just big enough for four chicken thighs to bubble away in the creamy sauce.  On a January day, I was warmed by both this hearty chicken dish and by memories of the Tuscan countryside.  Recipe came from eatwell 101.

CROCK-POT TUSCAN GARLIC CHICKEN WITH SPINACH AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

6 -8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper flakes, optional
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup Sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
2 cups Spinach (chopped, packed)

Heat oil or butter in medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for about a minute, until fragrant.

Add the cream and chicken broth.  Bring to a gentle simmer, then set heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.  The sauce should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Meanwhile, place the chicken at the bottom of your slow cooker.  Season lightly with Italian seasoning, crushed red chili pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper.  Top with sun-dried tomatoes.

When the cream sauce is ready, lower the heat and whisk in the Parmesan cheese, little by little until smooth.  Adjust seasoning as needed.

Pour the cream sauce evenly over the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.  Try to get as much sauce as possible on top of the chicken and less on the bottom.

Cook for 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW.  When cooking time is over, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and set aside.

Turn the slow cooker on HIGH, if it sin’t already.  Add the chopped spinach and stir for a few minutes, until the spinach wilts.

Return the chicken to the slow cooker, and spoon the liquid, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes on top, or just pour them over the chicken when serving.

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In my previous post I mentioned the beautiful large sage leaves in my herb containers.  Some of the leaves were large enough to almost cover the tops of my chicken breasts.  They are hard to see in the above photo, but were a perfect layer to the prosciutto wrapped chicken breasts.  Saltimbocca is an Italian dish that is most often made with veal.  But it is easily adapted to thin chicken breasts.

The chicken saltimbocca makes an impressive company meal.  The lemony sauce adds moisture and a bright flavor to counterbalance the earthy sage and the salty prosciutto.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone.  Thinking of my Dad who was a Marine hero on Guadalcanal Island during World War II.

Never forgotten.

CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA

• 4 (4 oz.) chicken cutlets
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 4 to 8 fresh sage leaves, depending on size
• 4 very thinly slices of prosciutto.  I bought a 3 oz pkg. in the Deli
• 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ⅓ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (juice of approx.1 large lemon)
• ½ tsp cornstarch
• 4 lemon wedges (optional)

1. Sprinkle salt on each chicken cutlet evenly. Place sage leaves on top of each cutlet. Wrap each cutlet with prosciutto slices to keep sage leaves in place.
2. In a small bowl combine chicken broth, lemon juice and ½ tsp cornstarch. Whisk until smooth.
3. Over medium heat heat a large skillet. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Place chicken in skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Flip chicken and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and place on a platter (keep warm).
4. Re-whisk cornstarch mixture and add to remaining 1 Tsp. oil in a pan, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened (approx. 1 min.) stirring constantly. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges ,if desired.

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