Sesame chicken

After months of forgettable cooking and two straight weeks of living on frozen food from Trader Joe’s, I am finally back in the kitchen (and done with my first year of law school!). We started receiving a new CSA that delivers to my husband’s work on Wednesdays, and it allows us to order eggs and meat along with the vegetables and fruit. This week the box contained lettuce, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, a cucumber, radishes and an assortment of root vegetables (sweet potato, carrots and what I think are turnips). At this time last year we were buried with beets and swiss chard, so I’m excited about the different selection.

I found this recipe somewhere on the Internet a few years back, and we have always enjoyed it. Tonight I rounded it out with the sugar snap peas and an onion, but other vegetables could be used in addition or instead. To save money, you’re best buying the sesame seeds at an Asian grocery or anywhere that sells spices in bulk rather than in the spice aisle (unless you shop at Publix, which sells them cheap alongside other ethnic spices).

Sesame Chicken

1 cup flour
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper
3 chicken breasts (1 package)-thinly sliced (freeze first to make this easier)
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
8 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
6 tablespoons honey
oil for pan
hot cooked rice

In large ziplock bag, combine flour, half of the sesame seeds, peppers and Chinese spice. Place chicken in bag and shake to coat.
Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Place chicken in skillet and brown on both sides, about 8 minutes total. Remove and shake out any excess flour.
Add more oil and add onion, cooking until starting to soften. Add peas and cook about five minutes more. Return chicken to pan. Combine teriyaki sauce, honey and remaining sesame seeds and add to pan. Let thicken slightly and stir to coat. Serve over rice.

Southwestern chicken burritos

Last week, I bought something not on the list for lunch emergencies, an Amy’s burrito. Love those things. So when we had some leftover chicken at the end of the week, I realized we had everything on hand to create our own burritos cheaply and with mostly all organic ingredients. Now, when we’re out of leftovers, we can still have a healthy, easy meal to take to work.

Southwestern Chicken Burritos

3/4 cup brown rice, dry
1 large tomato or 2 medium
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tsp McCormick’s Spicy Seasoning
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 medium potatoes, peeled if not organic, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 ear corn, kernels cut off
1 can black beans or mixed blend, rinsed and drained
1 1/4 cup diced chicken
3/4 cup shredded cheese (we used Mexican blend)
8-9 flour tortillas, burrito size

Cook rice according to directions. Bring separate pot of water to boil. Score tomato and cut out stem and drop into boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove and run under cool water. Peel skin, squeeze tomato over garbage to expel most of the seeds. Finely chop and put in medium skillet. Add chicken broth and seasonings and cook until liquid has reduced slightly and thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in remaining boiling water, cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes.
Add corn to tomato sauce as it cooks. When potatoes and sauce are done, mix chicken, rice, potatoes, corn, beans and sauce in large bowl. Taste for seasoning. Let cool slightly.
Mound about 1 1/2 cups filling in each tortilla, then sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up and place in glass dish. Cook at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until tortillas brown slightly. Let cool and then roll up in foil.

Chicken, 3 ways

A little while ago I learned of a Georgia company that sells chicken that’s not only local, but fed a vegetarian diet and treated humanely. That definitely fits in with how we’re trying to eat, but most of the cuts are not as budget friendly as I’m used to. But with the help of a coupon and sale at Kroger, I managed to pick up two whole chickens recently for $6.50 each, a great deal considering all the food we’d get out of them. Not quite as easy to work with as boneless, skinless breasts, maybe, but both my wallet and conscious could be happy.

For the first night, my brave husband cut the chicken into pieces, putting the back aside for later. Then we rubbed it all over with a little oil and spices (we love Penzey’s blends) and set it under the broiler. One smoke-filled apartment later, we had dinner! (Our tiny apartment oven has issues.)

After dinner, I cut up the extra meat, putting aside the dark pieces for my husband (and dog) and dicing the white into a bowl for the next day. And later, I put the extra bones and the reserved chicken back into a soup pot with a halved onion, three carrots and 8 cups of water. A few hours later …. broth!

Tonight, I made Cooking Light’s Spicy Southwestern Chicken Salad, which was delicious. And as a bonus, it left us with three-fourths of an avocado and half a red pepper. So I mashed the avocado, diced in some pepper, added a splash of lemon juice and dash of salt, and we had some makeshift guacamole to start. It was pretty yummy, if I do say so myself. We didn’t have any chips on hand, so we just sliced up some tortillas and baked them for about 8-10 min. at 300 in the toaster oven.

This is getting long, so click below for the chicken salad