Ingredients

1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
4 tablespoons sour cream
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups (minus 4 tablespoons) sour cream
9 ounces baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp powdered caldo con sabor de pollo (chicken broth granules)

Adjusted method this time

1. Combine chopped chile peppers with 4 tablespoons sour cream. Mix together and spread mixture over chicken breasts. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
2. Place marinated chicken in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish and broil for about 8 minutes (rack should be about 6 inches from the top.) Pour remaining cup sour cream around edges of chicken and turn over chicken breasts. Broil for an additional 8 minutes.
3. Check meat. If not done, give another 15 minutes at 350°. Sour cream should be lightly brown on the edges. Move breasts into a separate dish and cover to keep warm. Set aside.
4. Pour leftover broiled sour cream into a medium saucepan over high heat. Add spinach, broth and salt to taste. Boil for about 1 minute until all melted and mixed together. Pour mixture over chicken breasts and serve.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chipotle-chicken/

Comments

As written, the recipe is tolerable. Broiling time seems unrealistic in the original, and also in my 8-minute version. One has to add more cooking time, which leaves the meat kind of tough.

I think this would be better as a crockpot recipe recipe with the chicken cooking all day long till it falls apart, then adding the sour cream and chipotle.

I liked how my previous curried cabbage came out, but I wanted to try a more savory version, prefereable with chicken broth. The problem is that chicken broth isn't sold here, so you have to make your own. Well, if I'm going to do that, I may as well use the meat as well. So I decided to just use ground chicken since the local farmer's market sells it. To my surprise, there were also some hot peppers at the market, so I grabbed those, too.

Ingredients

• 1/2 kilo of ground chicken
• 5 spicy green peppers, diced very coarsely
• 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 5 tsp curry powder (Russian sized teaspoons)
• 1 tsp salt (American sized, guesstimated)
• Water

---

2014-01-01: I made this again today, minus the chiles. Pretty good. This should become one of my standard recipes.

Method

Chicken and onions into the frying pan till the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft. Add the curry powder and garlic. Cook till fragrant, one or two minutes. Add everything else, including enough water to keep everything steaming and make some gravy. Cover. Stir occasionally.

Notes

This turned out good. I'll add it to the list of foods I make at home back in the States.

The ground chicken meat had essentially zero fat in it. Next time I'll add some oil and soften the onions first separately. The market said it was фарш из куриного филе, which may mean breast meat. Not real heavy on the chicken flavor. Maybe I should buy thighs instead.

Here's how the dish looked.

Today I'm trying a recipe from Vanilla Garlic. Serves 6

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
• 2 pounds chicken thighs, boneless
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup freshly grated ginger
• 1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced, rind and all
• 1 cup green olives (go high end on these)
• 1 cup chopped Medjool dates, chopped, pits discarded
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup chicken broth

Method

1. Place 3 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Working in batches sear the chicken thighs until golden brown and set aside.
2. Add the rest of the peanut oil, onions, and garlic. Cook until the onions begin to sear a bit and take some color. Reduce heat to medium. Add the cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, salt, black pepper, and ginger and cook for about thirty seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and be sure to scrape up the goodness at the bottom of the pot.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cover for about 45 to 60 minutes. Serve over rice.

The flavor of this stew is unique. The lemon rind particularly gives it a flavor I hadn't expected. Tasty. I'd serve it to company.

Today I'm trying a recipe I found at SimplyRecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 2 large yellow onions, chopped, (3 cups)
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 5 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 pound walnut halves (about 2 cups)
• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts, trimmed of excess fat, cut into medium size pieces, patted dry and salted
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon\ turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt

Method

1. First toast the walnuts by spreading them out in a single layer in baking rimmed baking sheet, and toast at 350°F in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Once toasted, remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, pulse in a food processor or blender until finely ground.
2. In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken pieces dry again and place the chicken pieces in the pan, working in batches if necessary to not crowd the pan, and cook until golden brown on all sides. Sprinkle the chicken with salt while they are cooking.
3. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the chicken from the pan, set aside. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add chopped onions to the pan and sauté until translucent, stirring on occasion to release the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
4. Return the chicken pieces to the pan with the onions. Pour 2 cups of chicken stock over the chicken and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
5. Stir in the ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, sugar, and spices. Cover and cook on very low heat for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so to prevent the walnuts from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
6. Remove from heat and adjust sugar/salt to taste. At this point the chicken should be fall apart tender.
7. Garnish with pomegranate seeds. Serve over saffron rice pilaf or other favorite rice.

This recipe turned out pretty good the first time I tried it.

Notes:

• I found the pomegranate molasses at Whole Foods for less than $5, but I bet you could get it cheaper at a Middle Eastern grocery store.
• If you use powdered bouillon or caldo powder for the chicken broth, don't add salt at the beginning.
• You don't want the oil to get too deep in the browning stage. Browning works better if the pan has just a trace of oil on it.

Feb 17: I ended up eating this stuff for a week solid. The taste never palled.

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, thawed
• Cheap Italian dressing

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°.
2. Pour some dressing on the bottom of the pan.
3. Put the chicken in the pan. Rub it around in the dressing. Turn it over put it in the oven.
4. After 15 minutes turn the chicken.
5. After 15 more minutes remove the chicken.

• 3 of those ½ chicken breasts that are so popular, cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 medium onions, chopped smallish
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 can of coconut milk

Brown the chicken in olive oil and remove from frying pan. Add more oil if necessary and saute the onions till soft and sweet over medium heat, stirring as necessary. Add curry powder. Cook a bit, maybe two or three minutes. Add garlic, cook briefly till fragrant. Add coconut milk and salt. When it bubbles, add chicken. Reduce heat bit by bit so it can simmer covered for 15-40 minutes, depending on how soft you want the chicken. Add salt to taste before serving.

This turned out great.

I like the curry powders from India, especially Flower Brand. I like both the mild and the hot. I buy it in an Indian store, but sometimes big Asian stores or local Muslim stores carry it as well.

Tonight I made chicken noodle soup from the recipe in the January-February 2009 issue of “Cook's Illustrated.” Turned out great. They suggested getting rid of the ground chicken used to enrich the stock. What a waste. It was perfectly tasty.

I'm visiting my sister and her family as they prepare for an international trip. My brother-in-law asked me to cook dinner. Deal! I decided to make mjadara and chicken tortilla soup using this recipe.

But here's the problem. I'm in Canada, and the stores don't stock hominy. I forgot to buy black beans. I hate cilantro. And the idea of garnishing the soup with avocados and green onions on top just seems silly. So I ended up using this variation:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• About a pound of chicken thighs, boiled, shredded, broth reserved
• crushed tortilla chips

Not too complicated. Saute the onions till translucent. Add garlic and saute till fragrant. Add chili powder, oregano, cook for a minute or two. Add tomatoes. Boil gently for five or ten minutes. Add chicken and corn. Add some salt and pepper to tasted. Add broth to make consistency you like and let it simmer for ten minutes to mix flavors. Check flavors. Adjust seasonings. Simmer longer if you like.

The amazing thing is that my niece and nephew ate it without complaint. My nephew even had seconds!

Ingredients

Divided into four portions, that's about 235 calories per serving, but bear in mind that the package of chicken breasts assumes that each breast is 7 oz.

Procedure

1. Put onions and then chicken in crockpot. Mix these spices

   • 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 2 tsp onion powder
   • 1 tsp ground cumin
   • ½ tsp red pepper

   with ½ cup of water. Pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours on the porch.

2. Add green chiles. Cook for another hour (maybe two) on low

This came out pretty tasty. Next time I think I'll add half a teaspoon or a teaspoon of salt.

Ingredients

Divided into four portions, that's about 500 calories per serving. Not something you can eat much of if you are trying to lose weight, but okay at normal weight if you are getting your other carbs from non-starchy fruits and vegetables.

Procedure

1. Put chicken in crockpot. Mix these spices

   • 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 2 tsp onion powder
   • 1 tsp ground cumin
   • ½ tsp red pepper

   with ½ cup of water. Pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours.

2. Mix cream cheese, mushrooms, green chiles, and chicken soup. Pour over chicken. Cook for an hour

Ohmigosh, but this stuff is good! I was wondering how to decrease the fat. Maybe use Neufchatel cheese instead?

Second attempt — Sept 2011. This time I used six chicken breasts. Came out way too watery. Next time I'll try it without the chicken soup. Or maybe I'll used a tablespoon of vegetarian chicken broth for add'l flavoring.

Third attempt — Sept 2011

Ingredients

• Frozen chicken breasts 6-7 (one of the frozen bags from Fry's
• Sour cream 8 oz.
• One large onion, chopped
• One can of chopped green chiles, 4 oz.
• 1 tbsp vegetarian “chicken broth” powder
• 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
• 2 tsp onion powder (didn't have this time)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ½ cup of water

Procedure

Put frozen chicken in crockpot. Pour onions on top. Mix spices and broth powder. Mix with water. Pour over chicken. Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Mix sour cream and green chiles. Mix with contents of crock pot. Cook on high for another hour.

It turned out okay. Sour cream left the juice much less creamy, so next time cream cheese. And next time I'll add a teaspon of salt.

Fourth attempt — Sept 2012

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, 3 lbs (one of the frozen bags from Fry's
• Cream cheese 8 oz.
• 3/4 large onion, chopped (didn't have a whole one
• One can of chopped green chiles, 4 oz.
• 1 tbsp Mexican “chicken broth” powder
• 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ½ cup of water

Procedure

Put frozen chicken in crockpot. Pour onions on top. Mix spices and broth powder. Mix with water. Pour over chicken. Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Mix cream cheese and green chiles. Mix with contents of crock pot. Cook on high for another hour.

Turned out good.

Fifth attempt: original recipe, although only three chicken breasts because they were quite large