Category: Skillet Dinner

Cheeky Peri Peri Chicken

3/5/2022

Peri Peri Chicken with Grits

There is a chain of chicken restaurants that we discovered in the UK (and have since learned there are some in the US while on a visit to Washington, DC) called Nando's. They are famous for their Peri-Peri chicken, which comes in a variety of levels of spiciness. Peri Peri means "strong pepper" in Swahili, so the heat is to be expected. And we learned from friends that after a night out at the bars, Londoners will often go out for some "cheeky Nando's" to soak it all up. Since we all love PeriPeri and Nando's in our house, I was excited when this was a big hit with my family. We added it into our regular rotation, minus the grits and adding a little bit more spice. Instead of the grits, I often serve it with roasted fingerling potatoes.

Peri Peri Chicken,
with creamy grits, chili peppers & wilted collard greens (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken breasts
Peri Peri Spice: 2 T sumac, 2 T smoked paprika
6 T thyme, 4 Thai chilies, 2 garlic clove
6 T red wine vinegar
1 1/2 c grits
2 c milk
4 c collard greens
2/3 cup of Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Cook Grits:

Melt 3 Tbsp butter (6 Tbsp for meals serving 4) in a pot over med-high
Add grits and stir to toast for about 1 min
Add 1 ½ cups water (3 cups), milk & ½ tsp salt (1 tsp), bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low and cook 18–22 min, until thickened, stirring often

3. Make the Peri Peri Sauce

Pick thyme leaves from stem
Remove stem & seeds from chili peppers—HOT! - and add to taste
In a small food processor, pulse to combine garlic clove(s), most of thyme leaves—reserve about 2 tsp for garnish—chilies, Peri Peri Spice, red wine vinegar & 2/3 cup olive oil

4. Cook the Chicken

Pat chicken dry and then arrange on a sheet pan and season with salt, pepper & HALF of the peri peri sauce, turning to coat
Transfer to the oven and roast for 15–20 min, until chicken is cooked through

5. Prepare the Collards, and Finish the Grits

Remove stems and finely chop collard greens
Chop remaining thyme
When grits are done, stir in collard greens and season with salt and pepper to taste

6. Divide the grits evenly amongst the plates, top with chicken, and then drizzle with the remaining peri peri sauce. Garnish with chopped thyme leaves.

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas

10/2/2021

This is a recipe that my son has told me is the closest thing to authentic Mexican food he's tasted that I have ever made. I also made this over the summer when we had 7 17y-olds to feed, and they ate.it.all. Then the moms started asking me for the recipe. So this is for them :-).

This recipe is easy to double for when the whole family is home or friends are over. For those of you feeding teenage boys - just go ahead and double it.

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz pulled chicken (cooked) (I get some at our local BBQ place and freeze it for this, or you can use a rotisserie chicken)

Filling:
3 T cream cheese
6oz tomato paste (small can)
2 tsp garlic / 4 tsp if
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

3 T cilantro
4 ea 10” flour tortillas
1 ½ c shredded mozzarella
¼ c red onion
⅓ c sour cream

1. Prepare the Chicken: Defrost the chicken if necessary, and then roughly chop the pulled chicken.

Here you have two choices – you can get a rotisserie chicken and pull off the meat, get some pulled chicken from your favorite BBQ place, or I keep packages of it in the freezer to defrost as needed.

2. Start the Filling: Mix together all of the Filling ingredients into a medium sized bowl.
Chop the cilantro and add half to the mixture.
Then add in the roughly chopped chicken, and mix well.

3. Cook the quesadillas: Heat one Tbsp of oil over medium heat.
Place one tortilla in the pan, cover with filling and mozzarella cheese to taste.
Then top with another tortilla.

You’ll want to cook them for 3-4 minutes per side, until the tortilla is golden & the cheese is melted.

Repeat the process to make additional quesadillas, adding more oil to the pan as necessary.
Place the quesadilla on a plate and cut into 4-6 wedges, using a pizza cutter.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream an a sprinkle of some of the remaining cilantro, and some salsa.
Our favorite salsa is from Zocalo here in Atlanta

Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken with Orzo, Dill and Feta

5/4/2021

The Delaney Test Kitchen was excited to try this recipe from @NYTCooking that included Feta, since a) I am always looking for something interesting to cook in our cast iron pan (it feels more Southern than a regular saute pan), and b) after the success of TikTok Feta, I was eager to try another Feta recipe.

This one was more of a hit with the adults than the kids, but I really loved it since it included two of my favorite things – dill and olives. I think with one minor change it will work with everyone. The recipe calls for cooking the orzo in chicken broth or water. I found it to be so much more flavorful with the broth, but not as appetizing to my little picky eater. So if you have one of those, you may want to just use water.

My favorite flavor in this dish was from the dill. It was a nice change from what we normally expect from chicken and pasta, and it always pairs well with feta.

If you try this one, please let me know how it goes!

Skillet Chicken with Orzo, Dill and Feta

INGREDIENTS:

2 lemons
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds chicken drumsticks or bone-in thighs
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups orzo
3 cups chicken broth or water
2 small or 1 large thin-skinned (English) cucumbers, chopped
5 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Castelvetrano or other green olives, for serving

PREPARATION:

Cut one of the lemons into wedges and set aside. Juice the remaining lemon and combine with 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, in a large resealable plastic bag or in a bowl, along with the chicken pieces. Seal and shake the bag (or stir in the bowl) to coat. Set aside for 30 minutes, or refrigerate up to overnight.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and cook until lightly golden all over, turning when the chicken releases easily from the pan, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
Add the onion to the pan and stir to coat with the remaining fat. Decrease heat to medium and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the orzo and the broth or water. Cook until the liquid is partly absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Top with the chicken legs and cover with a lid or foil. Continue cooking until the orzo is tender, most of the liquid is absorbed, and the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more, depending on the size of your drumsticks or thighs. Remove from the heat and scatter the cucumber, feta and dill over the top. Serve from the skillet with lemon wedges and olives.

Tip:

Some cast-iron skillets come with a matching lid, which is useful for making the skillet operate a bit like a mini stove-top oven, cooking evenly and basting the food with flavor and steam. If you don’t have one, use a lid from another pan, or two layers of thick foil, folded at the center and large enough to cover your pan.

Chicken, Orzo and Onion in the pan before adding cucumber, feta, dill or olives.

Busy MOM DINNERS

Cheeky Peri Peri Chicken

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas

Skillet Chicken with Orzo, Dill and Feta

Author

Archives

Categories