Chicken, Apricot and Lentil Stew

I love Middle Eastern food. You can spice this one up to taste.

2 chicken breasts, diced
1/2 c dried apricots, quartered
1 can lentils
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
ginger
3 c chicken broth
oregano
allspice
paprika
cardamon
couscous
olive oil

Saute onion in oil, then add garlic and ginger. Add chicken and brown. Mix in spices. Toss in lentilsm, apricots, and chicken broth. Cook until chicken is tender - about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring water and oil to boil, then add couscous. Cook for 2 minutes then remove from heat and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Serve chicken stew over couscous.

Tahini Chicken

Hubs says this one is a keeper

2 chicken breasts
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 c water
olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
chili flakes
ground pepper

Chop chicken into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil and saute onions until transparent, then add chicken and brown. In the meantime, mix tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil and water. Add tahini mix to pan with chicken, as well as a sprinkle of chili flakes, and some ground pepper to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve on top of rice. Savory and spicy!

Smothered Chicken

This didn't taste of sinful as the last time I had it, but it was still tasty!

4 chicken breasts
1/2 c flour
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 c canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 c sour cream
1/2 c chicken stock

Mix flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt & pepper, then coat each chicken breast in this mixture. Heat oil in pan and brown chicken breasts, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and add onion & garlic to saute, about 3-5 minutes. Place chicken back in pan, mix sour cream & broth together, and add to pan. Bring to simmer and cover. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

I can't claim the credit for this one; it came from a fantastic book called Hoax Cooking.

1 pre-cooked whole chicken from the supermarket
1 jar kalamata olives
1/2 jar sun-dried tomatoes
1 jar basil pesto
penne pasta, cooked (duh right)

Basically, take apart the chicken - get rid of the skin and bones. Mix together chicken and all other ingredients. Serve! Very easy and impressive:)

Chicken stew with buckwheat polenta

This is a Slovene recipe from my friend Brina (she's a kickin cook!)

600 g of chicken thighs (or different parts of chicken)
40 g of onions
200 g of chopped vegetables (leek, celery, carrot, yellow kohlrabi)
oil
garlic
parsley
marjoram
bay leaf
thyme
white flour
white wine or vinegar
100 g of potatoes
150 g of buckwheat flour
100 g of white flour
80 g with cracklings in fat
salt
ground white pepper

Fry cleaned chicken thighs on fat, add chopped onions, brown, baste with wine, wait for the wine to evaporate, add spices, salt, baste with water or chicken soup and cook for 15 minutes, add noodles made from vegetables, cook for another 10 minutes, add light browned mixture made of fat, flour, chopped onions; boil, enhance the taste, pour in a tablespoonful of good vinegar and serve with buckwheat polenta.Buckwheat polenta:Cook peeled and sliced potatoes in salted water, let the potato boil for 10 minutes, pour a mixture of buckwheat and white flour into the water, cover it; when the water boils over the flour (the flour sticks together, forming a coherent mass) thrust the flour with the ladle and slowly cook for 20 minutes. Pour out the water from the cooked polenta, but keep it. On top, pour the oil with the cracklings and stir the polenta with kitchen forks. Adjust the thickness or the moistness of the polenta by pouring in the water (in which the polenta had been cooked) you have put aside.

Black bean & chicken chili

There are so many substitutions you can make with this one. Chicken, smoked chicken, ground beef and ground turkey all work. Sometimes I substitute spicy chili beans for 1 or 2 cans of the other beans (I just like 'em better). Tortillas are nice on the side as well.

2 tsp olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½ in pieces
chili powder, cumin & cayenne pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes (with chopped chilis---if you can find)
2 cans (15 oz) black beans
1 small can pinto beans
1 can corn
1 red & 1 green bell pepper, chopped (or any colour peppers you can get your hands on)
cilantro to taste (fresh if possible)
shredded cheddar, sour cream & raw onion as toppings (optional)

Heat oil in large pot over med heat. Add onion and cook until tender; about 4 mins. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and garlic; cook, stirring, until chicken is slightly browned, about 2 mins. Stir in beans and tomatoes. Heat to simmer; cover and cook 20 mins. Add corn, bell pepper and cilantro; cook until heated through and vegetables are tender-crisp, about 7 minutes.

Chicken & mushroom salad w/spicy sesame dressing

125 g/4 oz pack ready-washed salad leaves
one cucumber, sliced diagonal
small handful of chopped fresh mint
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
12 shitake mushrooms

Dressing
125 ml/4 fl oz (1/2 cup) rice vinegar
1 tsbp/15 ml Dijon dressing
4 tbsp/60 ml rapeseed oil (may substitute canola oil)
2 tbsp/30 ml sesame oil
2 tsp/10 ml soy sauce
4 spring onions, chopped

To make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Gradually whisk in both oils, then the soy sauce. Mix in the spring onions. Place the chicken and mushrooms in a large glass baking dish. Pour half the dressing over and turn to coat. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the grill. Remove chicken and mushrooms from marinade and grill until cooked through about two minutes per side for the mushrooms, about four minutes per side for the chicken. Slice the cooked chicken and halve the mushrooms. Combine the salad leaves, cucumbers and mint in large bowl. Pour remainder of dressing over salad to coat and toss gently. Transfer to individual plates and spoon chicken slices and mushrooms on top.