Southwestern Chicken and Lentils

When I found chicken thighs on sale for less than 60 cents a pound, it was an easy decision to buy a "family pack" of 12 thighs. Braising them all meant that there would be lots of meat in the refrigerator to try out some new chicken options.

Along with plenty of prepared chicken, the pantry also held far more bags of lentils than necessary (story too long to tell here),  so I decided to find a way to use both chicken and lentils in a single main dish. 

My first thought was a curry (lentils always seem to make that an easy decision), but I couldn't quite get excited about that. A little searching for ideas on the internet brought up some Mexican-themed dishes, and I started looking in that direction. Chiles, tomatoes, corn; I had all of those, so why not try to make a dish that used lentils instead of the more typical beans? 

A little of this, a little of that, and I ended up with something that was not really a stew but not your typical Minnesota hot dish either. I served this with the homemade bread I had already baked, but this would probably be even better with warmed or crisped tortillas. Either way, it is a great main dish with lots of flavor and nutrition without a lot of effort.

Southwestern Chicken and Lentils

¾ c brown lentils (the kind most commonly found in grocery stores)

1 ½ c chicken broth

salt to taste (only if the broth is not salted)

chicken fat OR canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

½ red bell pepper, diced

2 carrots, sliced

3 to 4 cloves garlic, to taste, chopped or minced

1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes

4 oz can green chiles

1 to 2 t cumin, to taste

1 t oregano

salt to taste

1 T cider vinegar

3 cooked chicken thighs, cut in large cubes (see method below for precooking, or use a rotisserie chicken if desired)

1 c  cilantro, chopped (see NOTE)

2 c  corn--if using frozen corn, no need to thaw first

2 to 3 c grated cheese--while cheddar or Colby can be used, there are many blends of "Mexican" or "taco" cheese that are especially good here

1.  Combine lentils and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow lentils to simmer until very soft, about 20 to 25 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, sauté the onions, bell peppers,  garlic, and carrots using some of the fat reserved from the chicken or canola oil. Cook on medium to medium high heat until the carrots are just beginning to soften. 

3.  Stir in the tomatoes, green chiles, cumin, oregano, and vinegar and return to a slow simmer. Continue cooking for about 10 to 15 minutes.

4.  Stir in the cubed chicken, lentils, cilantro, and corn. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes.

5.   Just before serving, stir in the cheese or, if you prefer, pour the mixture into the serving bowl and sprinkle the cheese over the top. 

Serves 5 to 6.

NOTE:  

With no fresh cilantro in the house, I used frozen cilantro here, so the color is not as bright as it would otherwise have been. Frozen cilantro does not seem to be as flavorful as fresh, so I actually used a little more than a cup.

Preparing Chicken Thighs for Later Use

canola oil

chicken thighs with bones and skin

poultry seasoning

seasoning salt

1.  Remove most of the skins from the chicken thighs and place in a large skillet, along with a small amount of canola oil. Cook the skins over medium-high heat until they are crisp and brown. Lift the pieces of skin out of the oils, allowing to drain a bit over the pan. Discard.

2.  Place the thighs into the hot oil and sprinkle each piece with poultry seasoning and seasoning salt, to taste. Cook until well browned (about 5 to 7 minutes) and turn. Brown the second side and then add a few teaspoons of water, lower the heat to medium,  and cover the pan. Continue to simmer the chicken until it is tender, to the point of falling off the bone if desired. Remove from heat.

3.  Set the chicken pieces aside to cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut the meat off the bones and cut into pieces for later use.

4.  Pour off any juices left in the pan and set aside to cool. The fat that rises to the top may be used for sauteeing onions, and other vegetables as in the recipe above. The liquid will be a very concentrated chicken broth that is also a great resource for all kinds of dishes.

This method can be used for as many pounds of chicken as you wish, so consider cooking up a large amount and freeze the boned chicken in recipe-sized portions for later use. The chicken needs to be tightly wrapped (preferably double-wrapped) and used within only a month or two for best quality.

I prefer bone-in chicken thighs to other parts, as the meat is not as dry as chicken breasts, and the thigh bones are much easier to remove than those of drumsticks. Bone-in pieces are usually much lower in cost, and the bones add extra flavor as well.

"Soft" Fried Chicken

One of the dishes my mother made that was always popular with my family when we would go back home to visit was her "fried" chicken. This was not the Colonel's heavily breaded, crunchy and oily stuff, as good as that may be. No, Mom's was much more like a braised meat, moist, flavorful, falling off the bones good.

Over the years, I worked at duplicating her chicken and then began refining it, adding a few more seasonings and trying out different cooking methods.

When I was in grade school, she and Dad had succumbed to a door to door salesman's pitch and bought an entire set of West Bend "Lifetime" cookware, very expensive for our tight budget. However, the pans were wonderful, and the electric skillet was like nothing I have ever seen since, with double stainless steel walls and a way of cooking things like this chicken that was very difficult to duplicate. Thus, as I tried to duplicate Mom's fried chicken over the years, I had to try many different ways of cooking it, on top of the stove, in the oven, in a slow cooker.

Along the way, I started making a few other adjustments in the coating. Hers was usually just flour, salt and pepper, fine and certainly tasty enough. However, I like a little bit of crunch from corn meal and usually include some dried herbs and/or something peppery. These adjustments have, I guess, made the recipe my own, and it is now known in the family as Grandma's Fried Chicken. I think calling it "soft" fried chicken may be a little more descriptive, so that is what I am calling it here.

As usual, this is as much a guide as an ironclad recipe. The nice thing is that this can be made using only a couple of pieces of chicken for a serving or two or in quantities large enough for a dozen hungry people. You can use bone-in pieces or boneless, full chicken quarters or pieces cut to nugget size. (About the latter--I make this as chicken nuggets only about once a year. The smaller the piece of chicken, the greater the ratio of coating to meat, and also the greater the fat content as well.)

Soft Fried Chicken

Quantities are given for 6 to 8 pieces of bone-in chicken (my preference is thighs or drumsticks). The recipe is easily doubled or halved as needed. Because any leftover breading will have had raw meat in it, you should either discard it or freeze (NOT just refrigerate) immediately and use for another batch of chicken within the next month or so.

Coating:
1 c flour--you can use whole wheat, but plain unbleached flour will work as well
1 c yellow cornmeal
1 to 3 T chili powder, to taste (may substitute a smaller amount of cayenne or black pepper)
1 t Italian seasoning
1 to 2 t garlic powder
1 t seasoning salt
(other dried herbs you may want to try include basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram or any combination of these)

1.  Combine all the coating ingredients in a flat bowl and stir well.

2.  Heat enough canola oil in a heavy (preferably cast iron) skillet to cover the bottom to an eighth to a quarter of an inch. The oil should be shimmering slightly before adding the first piece of chicken. Keep the burner at medium high to high, enough so that the chicken "sizzles" well throughout the browning time, but not so high that it begins to burn.

3.  If desired, remove the skin from the chicken.

4.  Using tongs or a cooking fork, place each piece of chicken in the coating mix, turning and pressing down to be sure the piece is coated evenly.  Place each piece in the pan, making sure not to crowd. When the pan is full, cover lightly--I use an old pizza pan for my cast iron skillet, so that there is some covering but not enough to build up steam and cause the chicken to poach instead of brown.

5. When all the pieces have browned well (about 5 to 10 minutes), turn with a spatula to be sure that all the coating is turned with the chicken. Again cover lightly and continue to brown the second side.

6. If you are cooking a larger quantity in batches, remove the first group of pieces and place on a platter (or directly in the roaster or slow cooker--see below for cooking method). Scrape any breading from the pan onto the chicken pieces. Add a small amount of oil if needed, heat to shimmering, and continue cooking the remaining pieces.

To finish:
In the frying pan: You should not have much oil in the pan at this point. However, if there is more than you like, pour it off but leave the "drippings" and crusty pieces in the pan. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, add a small (a tablespoon or two) amount of water, cover and continue to cook on low to medium heat--just barely simmering--until the chicken is very tender. Depending on the size of the pieces, this may take 15 to 40 minutes. Check occasionally and add just a small amount of water if needed to avoid burning but not so much that it begins to poach.

In the oven:  Place the well-browned chicken parts and all drippings from the pan into a heavy roaster. Add a quarter cup or so of water to the frying pan, scrape out every last bit of flavor, and pour this over the chicken as well. Cover and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes to an hour--the latter amount of time may be needed for a large quantity. The more pieces of chicken you are cooking, the more it will be important to turn the pieces every 20 minutes or so, so that all are exposed to the sides of the pan at some point. This will provide for a more even browning and tenderness.

In a slow cooker:  Place the browned chicken parts and all drippings from the pan into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for up to two or three hours OR cook on High for about an hour or so. As with the oven method, you may find it worthwhile to move the pieces around once or twice to be sure they cook evenly.

Microwave:  If you are only cooking a couple of pieces, you could also put them, along with the drippings, into a microwave safe dish after browning, cover and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per piece of chicken. In general, I don't find this to be much faster than just finishing a few pieces in the skillet, but it is an option.


Marinated Variation:

If desired, you can marinate the chicken with your favorite mixture. After the chicken has been in the marinade for a few hours, drain and roll in the crumbs as in the recipe above. (Unless your marinade is very salty, reserve the drained liquid and add to the chicken along with the pan drippings, at the beginning of the finishing phase, to heighten the impact of the marinade flavors.)

Two marinade ideas:

Any favorite salad dressing (generally not the creamy, ranch types however)--this is a good way to use up the last dregs of dressings--mix a couple of kinds together with some dried herbs, garlic powder, etc.

2 T orange juice (even better orange pineapple juice) concentrate, 1 t grated ginger, 1 to 2 t chopped garlic, 1 to 2 T soy sauce (preferably reduced sodium)--mix and place in a plastic bag or bowl just large enough for the chicken you are using. This should be enough for 4 to 6 bone-in pieces, 5 to 8 boneless pieces.

Serving suggestion:

This teams well with rice or mashed potatoes. Cole slaw or another tart salad is also a good accompaniment.

Quick Chicken Curry

Looking for a really quick meal that's not quite your usual mac and cheese standby? This one is mild enough (without the pepper flakes) that even kids are likely to enjoy it.

Quick Curried Chicken and Vegetables

Canola oil

8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 1 to 2 inch cubes

1/2 c chopped onion

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced, about 1 cup

1 1/2 c finely shredded cabbage

1 c frozen peas—no need to defrost

1 to 2 t curry powder, to taste

Salt to taste

1/3 to 1/2 c cider or apple juice (see NOTE)

Pepper flakes, cayenne, or hot sauce (optional)

Put just enough oil in a large skillet to cover the bottom, probably about a tablespoon. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and the onion and sauté over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with the curry powder and salt. After about 5 minutes, add the sweet potato cubes, stirring all to evenly brown. After another 5 minutes, add the cabbage and half of the cider stir, and cover tightly. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the cabbage has begun to cook down. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding pepper flakes or hot sauce if desired. Stir in the peas and more cider if needed. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit until the peas are thoroughly heated. Serve over rice or noodles.

NOTE: If you don't happen to have either fresh cider or apple juice, you can use a tablespoon or so of frozen apple juice concentrate and about a third of a cup of water.

Now, a little narrative to go with the recipe:

It was 11:50 am and I needed to put together a really quick meal to serve 4 or 5 people in half an hour. There was half a chicken breast (not de-boned, about 13 oz including the bone and skin) in the refrigerator along with some sweet potatoes that needed to be used up. While I could have settled for a nice midwestern “casserole” with the sweet potatoes served up on the side, I was looking for something a little more adventurous.

The resulting “experiment” was so good that I tried it a second time just to be sure it worked—and it did! The dish seems meant to go with rice, but it even came across well with egg noodles, the “starch of choice” on my first try. (Don’t ask me why, because I don’t have an answer, but I somehow became fixated on using those noodles no matter how the chicken would be prepared!)

So how I was able to get this meal to the table in half an hour, rice included? (The noodles method took about the same time, but I really do think you'll like it better with rice.)

Method:

I was able to shave perhaps five to ten minutes off the total time by NOT preparing the ingredients mise en place. Maybe you’ve never seen this term, but you may well have been influenced by the method of preparation it represents.

Mise en place simply means that everything has been “put in place” before you begin to cook. So when Rachel Ray or the Barefoot Contessa or whoever begins to prepare a dish on one of your favorite food shows, there will be a line of little dishes and measuring cups with all the vegetables diced, the cheeses shredded, even the oil measured out.

It is all well and good to have gone through the entire recipe to make sure you have all the ingredients (or appropriate substitutions if necessary), and there are times when it is most efficient to have something prepared ahead of time. However, there are also times when you can begin cooking even as you are still cutting or shredding or whatever. This dish is one of those situations, as the following timetable shows.

Timetable

11:50 Pour oil into skillet; start the rice (for this timetable, I am using white rather than brown rice).

11:55 Take chicken from refrigerator. Preheat skillet with oil in it. Put on disposable gloves (optional) and cut up chicken, setting bones aside for making broth at another time. Put chicken in the skillet and take off gloves. (Because I would be using the bones for broth, I could cut the chicken quickly, not worrying if I left a lot on the bones; it would not be going to waste!)

12:00 Peel and chop onion and add to chicken. Stir.

12:05 Peel and dice sweet potato and add to chicken. Stir. Add seasonings and cover pan.

12:10 Shred cabbage and get cider out of refrigerator. When the sweet potatoes are just starting to become tender, add the cabbage and cider, cover, and let simmer. Stir rice and turn heat lower if now boiling.

12:15 to 12:20 At some point, taste the chicken and vegetables and adjust seasoning if necessary, adding a little more cider if desired as well. Take the rice off the heat when done, fluff with a fork, and keep in a warm place.

Between 12:15 and 12:25, you can set the table, perhaps set out a tray of fruit (Grapes? Apple, orange, or pear wedges? Whatever is in season is good), and be ready to serve the food within half an hour of starting out.

12:20 Add the peas, stir well, and allow to sit for about 5 minutes to be sure peas are heated through. That’s it; it’s ready to serve.

Broth

About those bones: you could turn them into broth while you are preparing this meal (method follows), but it may be more efficient to put these bones into a container in the freezer and then make broth when you have a little larger supply. If you do have enough to make broth right now, you could start that pan at the same time that you start the rice and chicken curry, probably simmering a little longer while you eat dinner. (If you do this, I would advise you to set a timer so it isn’t completely forgotten—voice of experience talking here!) Then, as you are cleaning up the dinner dishes, you can lift the bones out of the broth, with the meat pieces falling off the bones, back into that wonderfully rich liquid. Dump the bones, pull the meat out and set aside for a chicken sandwich or casserole base, and either freeze the broth or refrigerate it for making some really good soup later in the week.

See how easy that is?!?

What follows is more a method than a recipe, since it is widely variable, dependent upon the amount of "bony stuff" you might have.

Rich Chicken Broth

Chicken bones left after deboning chicken parts (See NOTE)

Water

Poultry seasoning and/or sage

Salt

Place bones and any meat clinging to them in a large saucepan. If you have skinned the chicken and have some of that, it can also be added for more flavor.

Add enough water to cover the bones. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning or sage and salt, using about a teaspoon of each for each two to three cups of water. Cover and place over high heat.

Bring water to a boil and turn to a very slow simmer. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the amount being cooked. When the meat is falling completely off the bones, remove from heat and pour into a colander. Separate the meat from the bones for use in sandwiches, casseroles, etc., and discard the bones.

Chill the strained broth. When the fat has hardened, this can be lifted off and discarded, leaving fully de-fatted broth. This is usually very rich so you can usually dilute it half and half with water or milk in recipes calling for canned broth.

NOTE: This same method can be used for “cooked” bones left from a roast turkey or chicken, including that rotisserie chicken you picked up on an especially hectic day. Put the bones in a pan with any leftover drippings or juices and then add enough water to cover.

Hospitality on a Budget

So our small group from church was going to be meeting for our biweekly shared meal, and I was in the middle of an experiment: I was trying a series of menus to see how many meals I could get from one four pound ($3.21 on sale) chicken. I had used some of the stock to make broccoli soup for eight the night before and now would be serving nine children and six adults.

The following dish was enough for everyone to enjoy with seconds and at least two servings left over for the next day's lunch. And still in the freezer: 12 ounces of boneless breast meat and almost 3 cups of stock.

Budget Chicken Cacciatore

1 to 1 1/2 c chopped onion—one medium
1 c celery, sliced
1/2 large green pepper, diced
Canola oil and/or chicken fat (see NOTE)
2 26 to 28 oz cans or jars spaghetti sauce
1 lb whole-wheat spaghetti
Mixed herb seasoning
Approximately 1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 c coarsely cut cooked, boned chicken
1 to 2 15 oz cans garbanzo beans, including liquid
Seasoning salt, to taste

Sauté the onion, celery, and pepper very slowly, over medium low heat, in a little bit of canola oil or chicken fat.
Meanwhile, break the spaghetti into 3 to 4 inch pieces and cook until just barely tender. Drain, reserving liquid.
Combine the pasta with all remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Add some of the reserved pasta water if the mixture is too dry. Taste for seasonings and adjust as necessary. Serve with grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese and freshly ground black pepper.
NOTE: If you have cooked the chicken ahead of time and chilled or frozen it, there may well be some fat that has hardened on it. Use this instead of oil for browning the vegetables for a little more chicken flavor.


You may have seen some attempts to stretch the meat in main dishes that end up saving very little money because of the cost of other ingredients. However, for only $6.50, I had enough food to serve 15 people with leftovers. Even if we divided the "little people" into half servings, this would have been enough for 12 or so adults for barely 50 cents a serving.

Obviously, prices change continuously and will not be the same in different parts of the country, but the ingredients in this dish all can be budget friendly with only a little effort. For example:

• Watch for grocery store specials on onions and stock up. That hearty country kitchen look in decorator magazines, with a crock or basket of onions piled next to one with oranges or other fruits? That's not just for looks; it's the best way to store these; they will usually last far longer on the counter than in the refrigerator and should never be kept in plastic, where they will quickly get soft and moldy.
• Spaghetti sauce—again, watch for sales and stock up. And don't feel you have to buy the pricey name brands for dishes like this one. Adding a few fresh ingredients like the onions, celery, and pepper here will make the final outcome as tasty with the 79 cent can of sauce as with the $2.98 gourmet brand jar.
• Garbanzos—another stock up item; I used canned beans, but you can save even a little more money by cooking up some dry beans.
• Whole-wheat spaghetti—if your budget is really tight, you can use plain spaghetti, but I have been finding the whole grain varieties on sale almost as often as the other. For this dish, I probably spent 30 cents more for the whole-wheat option, and that seemed worth the price.

For more details, here are my costs to prepare the dish in Minnesota in May 2009:

Onion $.18
Celery $.20
Pepper $.35
Spaghetti sauce $1.58
Spaghetti $.99
Garbanzo beans $1.00
Chicken $2.00 (I am going to assume about 2/3 of the $3.21 chicken went into this dish)
Seasonings $.20 (this is probably far more than the actual cost, but I buy the dried herbs and Worcestershire sauce in large quantities so am going to guess on the high side)
Total: $6.50

But of course, the main dish needs some sides. For this shared meal, I prepared fresh string beans in a light cheese sauce. The sauce was especially for the kids, since I have discovered that almost any vegetable has a better chance of being eaten if it comes sitting in a cheesy base that reminds them of macaroni and cheese. Then one of our group made a light salad of lettuce and some of the strawberries that have been on sale for a few weeks. A loaf of good whole wheat bread topped off the main course. The budgetary theme continued here too, as the lettuce, green beans, strawberries, and bread were all featured sale items for the week, and cheese continues to drop in price in our area.

For dessert, another group member brought her own experiment: a chocolate two-layer cake with butter cream frosting and fondant decorations. She wanted to "practice" before using the fondant for a graduation cake she will be making for her niece in two weeks. Her own particular budget secret is that she uses cake mixes for her cakes, buying them when on sale, and then adds her artistic expression to the decorations themselves.

Perhaps you shudder when you think of inviting others for a meal when your budget is already tight, especially if you feel you must spend a lot of money on these company dinners. But our group of friends ended the meal feeling as if we had feasted luxuriously—as we had, compared to so many in the world.

And so we sat for an hour or more, watching the kids playing on the lawn made bright with an afternoon rain, enjoying coffee and conversation—and after all, isn't that what you really want your shared meals to accomplish?