Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup - Mi Ga

To say Shaun and I love Vietnamese food is an understatement.  We would happily eat Vietnamese food for almost ever meal.  We almost always have a supply of home made Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) broth on hand and have an entire drawer in the freezer devoted to the supplies for making it.  But man (and woman!) cannot live on Pho alone so when I saw The Ravenous Couple's recipe for Mi Ga (a Vietnamese chicken noodle soup) I knew I'd have to try it.  Mi Ga is different from Pho (and even Pho Ga) in that the broth is flavoured with dried squid rather than aromatic spices and it used egg noodles rather than rice noodles.  Steaming bowls are then topped with fresh bean sprouts, and crisp onion.  Try this soup as a break from the usual chicken noodle!

I found dried squid easily at a large Asian supermarket.  If you cannot find it, you can substitute a few tbsp fish sauce or leave it out.  The variety of egg noodles is up to you.  I found egg based chow mein noodles and simmered them briefly before adding to bowls.  If you visit The Ravenous Couple's blog you will see they've used a different variety.  Check your local Asian, or well-stocked supermarket for different types and find one you like!

Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa

This spicy Jamaican jerk marinaded chicken was my first attempt at any Jamaican cooking.  The marinade comes together easily in the blender and you can easily increase (or decrease!) the heat level as much as you want to suit your pallet.

Traditionally, jerk seasoning or marinade is made using the habanero or scotch bonnet peppers.  If you are concerned about the level of heat these peppers pack - swap them out for less fiery jalapeno or serrano peppers!

The recipe makes enough marinade for 4 chicken breasts and would work well on pork tenderloin or chicken drumsticks as well (adjust time accordingly).  I chose to cook the chicken in a frying pan but I think this recipe would truly shine on the BBQ.

We served our chicken with a side of mango salsa.  The sweet salsa contrasted well with the spice of the marinade.  The recipe I used can be found here (I scaled it back to serve 2 people *see note below).

Chicken Fingers

Ok, not exactly a very healthy recipe...so put aside your New Years Resolutions for a bit and make some chicken fingers! (If you need some more convincing, Shaun calls these the BEST chicken fingers he's ever had...but maybe he's just buttering me up...make them and decide!)

**Note -- If you really don't want to pan fry these you could likely spritz them with non stick spray and bake them, they won't taste quite the same but I bet they'd still be good!

Chicken with Wine and Mushrooms

A quick and easy week night dinner. Chicken breasts are sauteed in a tangy wine and butter sauce and tossed with sauteed mushrooms. Serve over mashed potatoes with the side veg of your choice!

This recipe will serve two but you can scale it to serve as many as you like!

Chicken with Orecchiette Pasta

Shaun and I saw a similar recipe on the Food Network show 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate" but made with rabbit. In ours we substituted rabbit meat for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This recipe would work well in a slow cooker after the chicken is browned. Otherwise, let it simmer on the stove for an hour to tenderize the meat.

Chicken Bacon Pizza

A different spin on pizza - quick and easy to make at home.  Start with fresh pizza dough, we buy ours pre-made locally, and a ball the size of a grapefruit covers a large cookie sheet.  heating your oven as high as it will go, in our case 500 degrees celsius, produces a crust with a crisp bottom and delicious chewy texture.  Chicken and basil are an interesting spin on a classic.

Catie's Citrus Chicken

 After much anticipation here it is. The recipe you've all been waiting for....CATIE'S Chicken! I'm calling this recipe Catie's Citrus Chicken because it can really adapt to whatever you have in your fridge. The original recipe calls for orange...and Catie used Mango Pineapple Veggie Juice and I used Mango Orange so feel free to experiment...any citrus based juice should work well.

Lemon Basil Chicken Carbonara

Last night I stuck two chicken breasts in the fridge to defrost and I figured if they will be sitting in the fridge anyway they might as well be sitting in something tasty. 

I am a huge fan of lemon...anyone who knows me also knows I will take lemon over chocolate any day...call me crazy. I like that lemon is a food chameleon, it moves easily from vinaigrette, to marinade, to dessert and back, it's all purpose. I'm also a huge fan of basil and though not as multi-faceted as lemon is a wonderful compliment in a marinade (it's also in abundance, languishing unwatered in a pot on my balcony - begging to be picked). So with basil and lemon in hand I marinade my chicken and cook some pasta!

Sticky Chili Chicken

I'm on a sweet and spicy kick this week and once again I know exactly what I WANT to eat....crispy, juicy 'nuggets' of chicken tossed in a sweet, spicy sticky sauce...so that the chicken is almost candied! Mmmm...

Orange Ginger Garlic Chicken Stir Fry

Shaun and I wanted something a little lighter for dinner today and after getting a PILE of chicken breasts from a friend that was moving (yay!) I thought a spicy chicken stir fry was in order. My chicken breasts were frozen and defrosted in the marinade which I have a feeling added a bit more liquid to the final product. If you are using fresh chicken you might need to add a bit of water or broth to the final marinade so you have more sauce for your rice.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is my favourite pie crust/pastry recipe. I use this pie crust recipe for sweet and savoury pies as well as individual chicken pocket pies!

Start this recipe by making the pastry as it needs to chill for a while. The pastry can even be made the night before and allowed to chill over night.

This pie crust is made easier by a food processor, if you don't have one it can be done by hand too with the aid of a fork or pastry cutter.

Filled with an easy chicken stew this makes a warm, comforting winter - or anytime - meal!

Light Parmesan Chicken

Parmesan chicken is a delicious dish that smothers fried chicken breasts with cheese and tomato before a slow bake in the oven.  This dish uses elements of the original - garlicky chicken, a savoury tomato sauce and parmesan cheese - while keeping things light and healthy.

I use canned tomatoes, garlic, chili and herbs to form the sauce in this dish.  I find a short saute at high heat, plus a stint under the broiler reduces the liquid enough in a short cooking time to form a tasty sauce for the spaghetti noodles but any home-made or pre-prepared sauce would work just as well in place.  Eliminating the fried batter on the chicken lightens things up considerably without sacrificing flavour.  Enjoy!