Tasty Tuesdays with Cory - Chicken and Spice Makes Everything Nice

Hello there online friends! I was going through my freezer and found that we have A LOT of chicken, in some form or another. I guess I buy chicken whenever I'm shopping and I think my husband bought some when he was shopping as well!

So, CHICKEN - it's what's for dinner! 

 

How do I keep chicken exciting? Well, I turned to PINTEREST for some ideas and then I turned to my spices to keep things easy and interesting!

Chicken NEVER goes to waste here; I use bone-in, skin on for stocks, soups and of course, PAPRIKASH! I also use boneless skinless for easy week night meals stir-fry, fajitas and salads.

A good quick tip is to MARINADE your chicken before you get it ready for the freezer. That way when it thaws it's already seasoned. I like to use Italian dressing, either homemade or store bought, and marinating keeps the chicken from getting freezer burned too. This also works well for pork.

I made a couple different kinds of chicken recently thanks to my spice rack. One is a balsamic glazed chicken thighs and the other is a spicy Italian.

For the balsamic thighs I had a bottle of BJ’S brand balsamic salad dressing and doctored it up with some brown sugar, chopped minced garlic, poured it over the chicken and put it in the fridge to marinate.

Once the chicken marinated for about four hours it is ready to go into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes on 350 degrees. Finish the chicken in the broiler for about 5 minutes to get the skin nice and brown.

Tastes great with brown rice and mixed veggies!

The balsamic dressing can also do double duty as a SAUCE later if you reduce it down, add minced garlic, brown sugar and serve it over roasted carrots, onions, potatoes and pork chops! Just be sure if you use it for a marinade and sauce that you boil it for at least 5 minutes.

For the second chicken dish I used McCormick Perfect Pinch Sicilian blend seasoning and some Italian dressing to make a spicy rub for the chicken. Best part – it is not too spicy so the kids will eat it! Let that marinate for 4 (or more) hours than bake and broil as in the other recipe. Served with buttered noodles this makes a great meal for the family and not too spicy for the kids.

The trick is to USE those spices, marinades and dressings to the fullest! EXPERIMENT! Ground spices only last typically about a year in the pantry before they lose flavor! Spices also have some good health benefits so use them and have FUN!


Tasty Tuesday with Cory