El Pollo Chicken (The Crazy Chicken)

One of my husbands friends makes this delicious chicken and was kind enough to share the recipe with us so we could try it.  It is quite tasty and will be a fantastic addition to our diner rotation.

We let the chicken marinade for 24 hours and cooked it low and slow on the BBQ.  We used Chicken Thighs as suggested and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces pineapple juice 

• 2 tablespoons lime juice 

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar 

• 2 garlic cloves, minced 

• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled 

• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper 

• 1/4 teaspoon mild chili pepper, remove stem and seeds from chiles, finely minced (Anaheim or California) 

• 8 drops yellow food coloring (but accurate) (optional) 

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

• 4 lbs frying chicken, cut up (we used thighs)

• Optional:  1/8 teaspoon cumin 

• Note: Some recipes call for juice from 1 orange & 1/2 lemon

After Marinade

Sprinkle with sea salt, Mexican Chile powder or paprika  before grilling – adds color & some flavor

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken in zip-lock bag over-night.

2. Reserve 1/4 cup marinade to baste while cooking, making sure the chicken cooks on both sides minutes AFTER basting the final time to avoid food poisoning.  

3. Grill over indirect heat, turning 4 times, 12 minutes each time.  Must reach 165 degree internal temperature.  Slow and indirect is best, but avoid over cooking and drying out meat.  

Serve with your favorite tortillas, rice, borracho beans and salsa.

Spanakopita Pie

Hubby bought his lunch at work (rarely happens) and they happened to have Greek Food that day, he brought home a square of the Chef's Spanakopita, which was done in a layered pie style instead of the triangles Hubby normally makes.

It was quite good and he asked the Chef for the recipe.  He happily complied and we tweaked it to our tastes and it is quite delicious!  The two pounds of Spinach sounds like a lot and it is a huge amount of Spinach.  It cooks down eventually but you cannot get it all in one pan.  Hubby microwaved it for 2 minutes and it cooked down enough to fit in our largest sautee pan.

1 large yellow or white onion

4-6 cloves of fresh garlic finely minced
2T fresh dill chopped finely
2T fresh basil chopped finely
2T fresh oregano chopped finely
2lb of fresh baby spinach (I know it sounds like a lot, but it will cook down)
½lb of Greek feta cheese
3 eggs beaten
fresh lemon juice to taste
2T olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Kalamata Olives, pitted
Salt and pepper to taste, *be careful when adding salt, the feta can be quite salty on its own.

Pre heat oven to 375 *

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan, and sauté the onions at medium high heat till translucent about 4 minutes.

Next add garlic, and the Dill, Basil, Oregano and Olives, stir frequently for a minute, and add spinach. Allow spinach to wilt and cook stirring occasionally till the liquid has evaporated about 8-10 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.

Once the spinach is cool enough to handle, place on a cutting board and run a knife through it a few times (or use kitchen shears which is what I did)

Put in into a bowl and add the Eggs and crumbled Feta Cheese, mix well, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.

Take a 12” baking dish, coat it generously with melted butter using a pastry brush, and begin layering the phyllo into the pan one sheet at a time, making sure to butter each sheet. Use about half of the phyllo to form the bottom layer.

Spread the spinach mixture evenly throughout the bottom of the pan.

Use the rest of the phyllo sheets to finish the top layer and bake in the middle rack for about 45 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Allow spanakopita to cool slightly before cutting it, it can also be enjoyed room temperature.

Soba and Sesame Noodles with Veggies Cheater Style

I love Soba Noodles and Sesame Chicken, but I was feeling kind of lazy so I decided to do it the cheater way and buy the Sesame Noodles from New Seasons, marinate my own chicken and saute some Zuchinni to give a bonus of veggies.

1 package pre-made Sesame Noodles (New Seasons normally has them or you can make your own). Here is a nice recipe
2 Zuchinni sliced in half then sliced into coins
1 bunch of green onions, sliced thinly
2 chicken breasts

Combine the following ingredients;
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced (reserve remaining for topping the meal)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Add your chicken breasts and marinate for 4 hours to overnight, the longer you marinate the more flavorful the meat will be.

Remove meat from marinade, pat dry and grill on your BBQ or a grill pan till done, let rest and cut into bite sized chunks.

While your breasts are resting, quickly saute the Zucchini in a non stick pan with a little oil, don't overcook you want them to still have some bite.

Mix the pre-made noodles, chicken chunks and zucchini together, top with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.

If the mixture is a bit dry, mix some peanut butter with water and/or hoisin sauce until hot and very liquid and pour into your mixture.