citrus roast chicken

1 4 lb whole chicken
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T chopped fresh cilantro or rosemary
1 t kosher salt
1 t ground cumin
2 T butter, softened
3/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t paprika
5 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
1 small orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 small onion, quartered
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken; trim excess fat. Starting at heck cavity, loosen skin from breasts and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat.

Combine oregano and next 7 ingredients (through paprike) in a small bowl. Rub oregano mixture under loosened skin and over breasts and drumsticks. Place garlic in body cavity, arrange orange, lemon, and onion quarters in cavity.

Tie ends of legs together with twine. Lift wing tips up and over back, tuck under chicken. Place chicken, breast side up, on a roasting pan coated to cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until thermometer registers 165 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin. Remove orange quarters, squeeze juice over chicken. Discard oranges, garlic cloves, lemons, and onions.

spicy hot chicken soup

This soup is excellent for eating when you have a cold. From the Penzey's catalog.

about 8 servings

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)

2 T vegetable oil

2 medium onion, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 t cayenne pepper

1 t powdered ginger

8 c water

2 T chicken soup base

3/4 lb extra wide egg noodles

2 scallions

Cut the chicken meat into 3/4" cubes. In a large, heavy pot or soup kettle, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken, and then cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the onions and garlic until everything is starting to brown up, add the cayenne pepper and ginger.

Stir constantly for about a minute, and then add the water and chicken soup base. Let everything come to a slow boil and then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least 20 minutes. Bring a separate pot of water for the noodles to a boil, add noodles and cook for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time on the bag. Drain the noodles and add to the pot of soup, turn off the soup, let stand 5 minutes and serve. Top each bowl with a sprinkling of chopped scallions.

Noodles don't reheat very well, so if the soup won't be eaten all at once, add some cooked noodles to each bowl, top with soup, let stand a few minutes for the noodles to absorb the chicken flavor, and keep the rest of the noodles in a covered container in the fridge to add to the reheated soup the next day, or just cook new ones.

chicken and white bean soup with greens

from health.com

1 T olive oil

2-3 thinly sliced leeks, white parts only

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 c carrot, cut into 1/4" thick slices

6 c low sodium low fat chicken broth

1 1/2 c shredded rotisserie chicken

1 fresh rosemary sprig

1 19oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 c packed roughly chopped fresh kale

1 c packed baby spinach

1 T chopped fresh parsley

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes or until tender but not browned. Add carrots and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add broth, chicken and rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans and kale, and simmer for about 5 minutes more. Add spinach and cook 2-3 minutes more or until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove rosemary sprig (and garlic cloves, if desired). Ladle soup into 6 warm bowls; sprinkle each with fresh parsley.

6 servings, 209 cals, 6 g fat, 20 g protein, 21 g carbs, 5 g fiber

oriental chicken salad

this is our attempt to recreate the chinese chicken salad from california pizza kitchen

chicken:

1/4 c teriyaki sauce

2 t olive oil

1 t minced garlic

1 t minced fresh ginger

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

salad:

greenleaf or iceberg lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 1/8"-wide strips

romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 1/8"-wide strips

1 c shredded carrots

1/3 c sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 c minced fresh cilantro

1 red or yellow bell pepper, julienned

1 cucumber, seeds scooped out and julienned

12 large fresh basil leaves, cut crosswise into thin strips

1 large bunch scallions, thinly sliced, both green and white parts

dressing:

1 c bottle hoisin sauce

3 oz red wine vinegar

2 T minced fresh ginger

2 T Dijon mustard

1 1/2 t Vietnamese chili sauce

1/2 c olive oil

2 T toasted sesame oil

Put all the dressing ingredients except the 2 oils in a mixing bowl. Blend thoroughly with a handheld electric mixer or a whisk. Then, mixing or whisking continuously, slowly pour in the olive an sesame oils, stirring until thoroughly blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat a stovetop grill or the broiler. In a mixing bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Coat the chicken with the marinade and leave them to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Grill or broil the chicken until cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then cut crosswise into 1/4" strips. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine lettuces, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and basil. Add most of scallions and some dressing. Toss to combine. Transfer to serving plates. Arrange chicken strips on top of each salad. Drizzle a little salad dressing on top and garnish with remaining scallions.

chicken broccoli ziti skillet dinner

from America's Test Kitchen

cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite sized pieces on the diagonal, season with salt and pepper.

heat a tablespoon of veg oil in a large nonstick skillet, when pan is hot add chicken, leave for a few minutes to brown on one side, then stir to cook other sides.

mince half a large onion and three cloves of garlic. when chicken is mostly cooked, remove it, add another tablespoon of oil, the onion, and 1/2 t salt. cook for 3-5 minutes until onion begins to soften, then add 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 t oregano, 1/8 t red pepper flakes, 8 oz ziti, 1 can low sodium chicken broth (1 3/4 c), 2 c water. turn up heat to high and simmer uncovered.

meanwhile cut broccoli into evenly sized bite sized florets. rinse 3-4 oil packed sun dried tomatoes, then chop them finely.

once liquid is almost completely absorbed, add 3/4 c water, the broccoli florets, and the sun dried tomatoes. cover and steam for 2-3 minutes.

meanwhile, shred 1/2-3/4 c asiago cheese. uncover skillet, add the chicken, 1/2 c heavy cream and the shredded cheese, and simmer for a minute or two until the sauce starts to thicken. serve with a little shredded asiago on top.