Dinner for One: Sauteed Chicken Breast with Bacon and Tomatoes

Sauteed Chicken Breast with Bacon and Tomatoes

As a single ( and now working) woman, I’ve forgotton how hard it is to get a meal on the table.

This dish has some steps to it, and the level of difficulty from a scale of one to ten is a five, but if you have a bit of time, you can get this on the table in 30 minutes ( please don’t say “Yum-O or any of her sayings!).

This came from looking around in the fridge for something to eat, and this is what I came up with.

It was pretty damn good, too!

Serves One ( two if you add an extra breast)

1 ea. skinless, boneless chicken breast

2 strips bacon, diced

1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato

1/3 cup sliced onion

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1/2  cup chicken stock or white wine

1 tbl. fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbl. fresh basil, chopped

4 tbl.  flour

2 tbl.  butter, cold and cut in cubes

1/4 tsp. lemon zest

salt and pepper to taste

Take the chicken breast and place it between two generous sheets of plastic wrap and flatten with either a iron skillet or rolling pin.  Season breast with salt and pepper, then lightly dust with two of the four tablespoons of flour. Set aside. In a skillet or saute pan, cook chopped bacon over meduim heat until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside. Pour all but one tablespoon of bacon fat off and brown off the chicken breast. Set aside.

Place olive oil in pan and saute off the onions, tomatoes and garlic. Return the chicken breast to the pan and add the wine or stock. Bring to a boil and cover pan. Turn heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and remove breast from pan. Turn heat up and bring juices to a boil, and reduce until half of the juice remains. Roll butter lightly  in the remaining two tablespoons of flour and add the coated butter to juices in pan. Remove pan from heat and stir butter into sauce until butter is completely melted.  Add bacon, herbs and zest.  Cover chicken with the sauce and serve with pasta, or rice.

Today is National Devil’s Food cake day!

MMMmmm,

Today is National Devil’s Food Cake Day! And what could be wrong with eating a little cake now and again.

Yummy!

Moist and chocolaty, this is the stuff dreams are made of. Check out the Five-Minute Chocolate Cake link on the sidebar, and enjoy.

I sure will

Have you ever tried Poutine?

A relative informed me of her intent to vacation in Montreal in July.  She asked me if I wanted her to bring me a souvenir and before I could answer, she told me she couldn’t bring me any poutine.

“What is that?” I asked her, She replied that poutine is a version of french fries and gravy. But way better. Way.

photo courtesy of exurbanpedestrian.wordpress.com

Poutine is a dish made with french fries. The french fries are fresh not frozen, and are topped with fresh cheese curds ( ya hear that, Wisconsin?) and topped with a rich brown sauce ( maybe a demi-glace?).   You have to be legally dead not to be intrigued by the prospect of trying this.

I’m not dead. I’m dying to try this out, but I am on a restricted diet so it is up to you guys to try to make this at home.

Substitutions

Normally I wouldn’t advocate using any substitutions in a recipe, but you may have to in this case. I haven’t the foggiest idea where you could buy cheese curds; I used to work a bit with fresh mozzarella curd in restaurants, and apparently it is a regional ingredient. I would generally say if you cannot find fresh cheese curds, use fresh mozzarella cheese.

**If you are a poutine-eater, don’t get mad at my suggestion, suggest a better alternative**

Cut and fry your own fries, and  make a brown gravy to top the dish. If you have a picture of your finished product, send it on in and tell me how it tasted!

Culinary Chick is one-year old!

Thanks Microsoft ClipArt!

In all of the fal-der-al of working, trying to figure out my financial situation, and the plight of the world; I forgot that Culinary Chick passed her one-year blogging anniversary!

WOOO-HOOO  and HUZZAH!

I sincerely want to thank everyone who supported me in the past year ( R.G., especially!) and sticking with me through this past year. I’ve accomplished some goals and didn’t realize others, but in all it has been an exiting year!  This site (as 0f two days ago) had over 7000 hits! That makes an old girl feel good.  I hope to post more exiting recipes that are easy to prepare as well as adding a gourmet touch with today’s tight budget in  mind.

Thank You from the bottom of my heart!

C. Diane Thompson, The Culinary Chick

Vegan Black Bean Soup

Hey Kids!

Here is a great recipe for a Black Bean Soup. This is a soup for a rainy day or it  can be used in making nachos. Add some ground beef or chicken, and you  have a great black bean chili. Use what you want as a garnish. here, I’ve added diced red onion, tomatoes, hummus ( a great non-dairy alternative to sour cream), and fresh basil. You of course, can tart up your black bean soup anyway you choose ( cheese, sour cream, meat, and/ or  Doritos © ).

No animals were used in making this soup, but I did murder a mess of vegetables if that makes the meat lover in you  happy!

Ingredients

2 c. onions, diced

1 c. carrots, diced

1/2  c. celery, diced

1/2  c.  bell peppers, diced

2 T.  chopped fresh garlic ( Less or more if you like)

1/2  c. jalapeno peppers, diced (optional)

1/2  t.  coarse grind black pepper

1/4  c.  olive oil

1 lb. dried black beans*

1 ea. 14-15 oz. can  flavored diced tomatoes ( Rotel brand w/ chilies, or any kind flavored with basil and/or garlic

2 T. tomato paste

3/4  t.  chili powder

3/4  t.  ground cumin

1 t. dried basil

1/2   t.  dried oregano

1/2  t. smoked paprika

2 ea. bay leaves

10 c. vegetable broth

1 cup prepared salsa

salt to taste

Garnish of your choice

Prepare all vegetables,  measure out all spices and liquids; set aside. In a large pot ( 2  1/2 gallon capacity), heat up olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots, celery, peppers and garlic and saute until onions are clear and aromatic, about 6-10 minutes. Add black beans and stir for an additional 3-4 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, bay leaves and broth. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer. Skim off any foam that accumulates on top with a slotted spoon. Cook beans on simmer, stirring ocasionally for 2-3 hours or until beans are very tender.

Take 4 cups of the bean soup and puree in a food processor or hand blender until smooth and stir back into the  soup. Add salsa to soup, and serve.

* It is not necessary to soak any beans before using them, but do it if it makes you feel better. Reduce the cooking time if you do so.

A note to carnivores- Start this recipe with your meat of choice. Brown meat in the olive oil, then remove from pot and drain off all but 1/4 cup of fat. Then proceed with the recipe.

Hey, $25 gift card contest extended!!!!

Hey, win a gift card!

Due to the ABSOLUTELY OVERWHELMING RESPONSE ( zero), I’m extending the contest dates to Midnight, May 24th. You have until then to tell me how you make your meals a gourmet experience in thee hard economic times. There will be two winners, each receiving a $25 Shop-Rite gift card.

Contest Rules:

1) No substitutions will be given in lieu of gift cards.

2) Shop-Rite gift cards can only be used at Shop-Rite stores.

3) Contest entries must be in by midnight, May 24.   The winners  will be announced on May 27, 2009.

4) All posts must be limited to 50 words or less.

5) All entries must have a valid e-mail address

6) Only one entry per valid e-mail address

7) Please refrain from using racist, sexist or pornographic comments. Entries which contain theses elements will be disqualified.

Have Fun!