One-Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta

I ate my plate too quickly for pictures. So you get the left overs.

The other day I had one of those awesome "the wifey has a new recipe she wants to try" moments. These are exciting moments in my life.

Sad I know. What can I say, in my mid-thirties I am easily excited.

Well I got my "bitch ass back in the kitchen"! Heck these moments are an excuse for me to blog, drink beer, and play with knives. What is not to love?

Please validate my mid-life-i-ness!

Drinking "Dad" sounds like some crazy viking funeral ritual.

So one of the recipes she sends me is One-Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta. Now this seemed like a trap. The recipe looked potentially spicy and it had red and yellow peppers in it. These are not things she loves. She did try to talk me into switching over to green pepper. I stood strong though. I have made it twice now and both times I have stuck to the the yellow and red peppers.

Resources:
2 tsp olive oil, divied
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin, divided
1 tsp paprika, divided
1/2 tsp chili powder, divided
1/2 tsp garlic powder, divided
1 large white onion, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 (10-oz) can Mild Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles
7 oz pasta
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 scallion, diced (or not if you are forgetful)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 diced small avocado

One might call this resource intensive. But what do I care, I do not do the grocery shopping!

Method:
Season chicken with 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. In a large deep nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken and cook until browned, stirring about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium, add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet. When the oil is hot, add the onions, bell peppers, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp garlic powder,. Cook, stirring occasionally, until desired softness, about 10-15 minutes. Add minced garlic, and stir until fragrant and well combined, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl with the chicken.

In the same skillet, add the broth, diced tomatoes and uncooked pasta. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes until pasta is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed. Add the chicken and veggies back into the skillet and stir to combine until heated through, about 2 minutes. Mix in the sour cream and top with scallions, cilantro, and avocado.

Commentary:
The chicken as is it quite enjoyable. That recipe is worth keeping itself.

"Transfer to a large bowl" is a change from the original. They had suggested a plate. I had chicken and peppers ready to fall off my plate in a tasty avalanche of wasted food. Use something better than a plate.

This picture does not capture the mountainous nature.

Round one, I screwed up and added the garlic at the reheat phase. The other time I added it appropriately. I noticed no difference.

Speaking of screw ups, diced scallions are noticeably absent from my pictures. Those missed round one as well. I guess they were a nice addition when fresh for round two. The left overs however you could not even tell they were there. The avocado and scallions really just seem like garnish.

Now the Ro-Tel does add a bit of heat. So that did not go over well. Round two I replaced with a can of diced tomatoes.

Conclusion:
CURSE YOU RO-TEL! CURSE YOU AND YOUR BLACK HEART! This was a total winner until I added that. That made the recipe too spicy for the wifey. The iteration without was good too I suppose.

Chili-Dusted Pork Chops

Served with carrots because I am lazy.

I love pork. There is something special about eating Babe for me. And while I do love bacon, the internet gets it wrong. It is not bacon that is magic, but the pig in general. Consider this nugget of wisdom from the Simpsons:

Homer: Lisa, honey, are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad! Those all come from the same animal!
Homer: [chuckling] Yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

So let us have a pork chop!

Aside: before you dismiss this dish as too spicy: there is very little heat in this recipe. I was a little surprised. It is all citrus. So if crazy, ultra-super, über sensitive to heat like my almost ninety year old grandmother, do not eat this. Otherwise feel free to proceed.

Resources:

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Four 1/2-pound boneless pork loin chops, cut 1 1/4 inches thick

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime (about a 1/2 teaspoon of zest)

3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (or less)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small bowl, mix the chili powder with the cumin, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the spice mixture all over both sides of the pork chops.
 

In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the pork chops and cook over high heat until browned, about 1 minute per side. Add the garlic, lime zest, lime juice, and cilantro to the skillet and roast the chops in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, or until rosy throughout. Transfer to plates and serve.

Commentary:

Also I am going to be honest, I never use FRESH ground pepper. I always use the canned stuff.

As for the lime, I get a small one. Then zest most of the skin and then measure out a half teaspoon. I do not go crazy trying to squeeze out all the juice either.

This rub is kind of sticky. Do NOT drag you chops though it: sprinkle. The first time I made this I drug them through and had all kinds of clumpy pockets of seasoning. So sprinkle: do not rub, drag, shake, cha-cha, or otherwise not sprinkle.

Seriously, if you are half paying attention you can do a better job than this.

Above you might notice six pork chops as opposed to four. You will also not they are paper thin. Well long story short: my grocery sucks. That is a grand total of 0.8 lbs of meat. Sigh. They had some better cuts that were bone in, but as previously noted: lazy. I had to adjust the cooking time and as a result the garlic was a little firm.

I always use my Dutch oven for this recipe. Dutch oven: giggle, giggle. It is just easier having a pot I can take straight from the stove top to the oven. Plus it is less cleaning than transferring to a baking dish.

Dutch oven on the left: no plastic.
Typical pot on the right: lots of plastic.
One goes in the oven just fine, the other not so much: poison gas.

I hear that little voice out there in internet landing saying "Excuse me you say 'or less' on the cilantro, why?" (Little voice. Get it? I amuse myself greatly!) Well that is because as much as I love cilantro it can overwhelm this dish when in combination with the lime. I generally shoot for enough on each chop that I think each bite will have a little.

Let us talk chicken for a moment. In a desire to share this wonderful recipe with the wifey, who does not eat pork, I made it with chicken one day. It did not go well. The citrus completely overwhelmed EVERYTHING. It was like sucking on a lime that had been sprinkled with cilantro. If I ever go chicken again I will cut back heavily on the lime juice, zest, and cilantro.

Conclusion:

If you eat pork, you should make this now. If you do not eat pork that means more left overs for breakfast the next day for the pork eaters in your house,,so you should also selflessly make this now. Everyone wins!

Spicy Peanut Noodles and Soy Almonds

Who is ready for a quickie? My nuts are worth it trust me!

Seriously though, I am feeling lazy today. You are getting a half hearted post. Deal with it.

The pasta is a go to quick meal. The nuts are just an excuse to get rid of the extra almonds I bought for yesterday's post.



This is one of my favorite.



Mmm. Salty nuts.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Resources:

1 pound spaghetti or any pasta

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, DIVIDED

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (I used 1 tablespoon fresh ginger)

1 large garlic clove

3 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

Method:

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain well.

In a blender, puree the peanut butter with 6 tablespoons of the vinegar, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, ginger and garlic. Transfer 1/2 cup of the peanut dressing to a bowl and toss with the noodles.

In another bowl, toss the celery with the cilantro and the remaining 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Transfer the noodles to bowls and drizzle with the remaining peanut dressing. Top with the celery.

Make Ahead:

The peanut dressing can be refrigerated for 2 days.

Soy Almonds

Resources:

6 ounce can of unflavored almonds

1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut oil

1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce

cayenne pepper

salt

Method:

In a small slow cooker mix all the ingredients except salt.

Cook on high for 15 minutes, remove cover, cook for another 2 1/2 hours on low. Stir occasionally.

Salt the nuts to taste. Spread the nuts out and allow to cool.

Commentary:

Make sure to divide the vinegar. I always forget. As mentioned yesterday, do not be me.

This will make the sauce thin (as shown). I always dump all the vinegar in like an idiot. Hence the bold underlined "divided" above.

If you peanut sauce is a little thin: more peanut butter.

  

Not a power shake.

I usually skip the celery. This is a recipe I make frequently as a quick lunch. It is fairly scalable to a quarter for a single serving. That and I skip the celery / cilantro to cut down on effort

Pictured: effort.

A little diced chicken is a nice addition to the pasta. Also it is against the rules for me to have a completely vegetarian post.

Both recipes are easily adjusted heat wise. Depending on my mood there is more or less (or no) red pepper for the pasta. I have only made the nuts once but I just used the tiniest sprinkle twice and there was no heat to speak of.

As far as the nuts go, the original recipe calls for Tamari soy sauce. Did not have it. Used La Choy reduced sodium.

Also I like my nuts salty, so the reduced sodium soy did not cut it. I added salt to taste. If you are not using reduced sodium or do not like salt, be careful!

Conclusions:

I make the pasta all the time.

Also the wifey love my nuts. Enough said about that.

Brazilian Beer-Marinated Chicken with "Chipotle" Rice

So this recipe sounds perfect for one's macho man side right? It requires sixteen ounces of beer. Gosh darn it, the beer only comes in twelve ounces bottles. I guess I will have to drink that extra eight ounces. Plus it is on the grill! 



Mmm. Manly dinner.

 
Too bad I hate this beer.

One for the recipe... one for the drain.

Truth is this is the wifey's favorite recipe. And ever since discovering the magic that is spice bags, it is pretty high on my list as well. So crack a beer, light the grill, and get ready to earn bonus points with the wifey (at least with mine if you invite her over).


Unrelated to anything, I find this oddly pretty.


Brazilian Beer-Marinated Chicken
Resources:
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon prepared ginger
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds in a spice bag (see commentary)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 cups Xingu Black Beer (see commentary)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into long strips (2.5 - 3 lbs)
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Method:
1. In a large shallow dish, mix the garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, black pepper, caraway seeds, mustard, beer and oil. Mix well. Add the chicken, then add the onion & peppers, cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours) turning once or twice.

2. Line the upper rack of the grill with foil. Light the grill.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill over high heat. Put the onions & peppers on top of the chicken. Baste occasionally. After about 25 minutes (less for thinner chicken), move the onions & peppers to the grill, flip the chicken. Baste the chicken and onions & peppers occasionally. After about 10 minutes move the onions & peppers to the foil lined upper rack. Grill another 15 minutes or until the chicken is booked through.

4. Remove the onions & peppers to a plate. Put the chicken on top. Microwave the butter until melted. Mix in the cilantro. Pour over the chicken. Cover for 3-5 minutes. Then serve with rice.

"Chipotle" Rice (this is 1/3 of what I usually make)
Resources:
1/2 cup white rice (uncooked)
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon and 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon oil
Water (amount as instructed by the rice being used)

Method:
Mix water, lime juice, salt, and oil. Cook per the rice's instructions, stirring occasionally. When the majority of the water is absorbed by the rice add the cilantro. Cook until no water remains. 

Green team go, go, go! Add that cilantro!

Commentary:

I use a 13"x9" baking dish to marinate the chicken in. That dish is pretty darn full. Make sure you use a large enough dish.

 

Yup. Pretty full.

 

Garlic seems to be a big hang up in the cooking world. Peeling is a pain, so some people use pre-minced garlic and blah, blah, blah. That is fine, but I just do not see the difficulty. I lightly crush with the flat of a blade and trim the ends. I find this makes peeling really easy eighty plus percent of the time. Then I use a garlic press in this particular recipe (or mince or whatever the recipe calls for).

Careful. Someone told me knives are sharp.

Me smash!

Woo! Another one use kitchen tool!

Ginger on the other hand I use the prepared stuff. Ginger does not cycle nearly as fast as garlic in my house.

 

I strongly recommend using spice bags. Hell I will not make it them without anymore. Biting into a caraway seed is awful! They are less than a buck a piece. They are also in theory reusable, but that did not go well the time we tried.



Worth their weight in brownie points with the wifey.

I try to cut the onions & peppers into long strips. You will lose some of them down the grill. The longer they are, the easier they are to keep. Speaking of which, the original recipe only used a half a pepper. More onions & peppers are better if you ask me. Hell, if my onions are small I will use one and half.

Xingu Black Beer is an anise black lager from Brazil. It is pretty common at larger beer shops but I rarely see it at small ones. I used an Imperial Russian Stout as a sub once when I could not find it, but it was not the same. Use Xingu unless you have exhausted all other options.

The lighting the grill AFTER putting the foil on the upper rack is kind of an important order thing. I like my hands with minimal burns.

Touch the metal THEN apply fire. Got it.

 

My grill is old and the grill surface is not great. I heavily oil the grill to prevent sticking. I usually use olive oil, but I have been told peanut is better to reduce flare-ups. Cannot say I have ever tried it though.

Getting the onions & peppers just right is really hard. Keep an eye on them. They go from undercooked to blacked quickly. Plus there is the whole between the grates problem.

That one on the left is making a break for it.

 

You are supposed to slash with a lime before serving, but I do not usually bother.

Leftovers are great. Dice the chicken, mix with some rice, and douse with a bit of the accumulated juices. Refrigerate. Microwave the leftovers, stirring occasionally. Almost as good as the original.

The rice is a Chipotle rice imitation recipe I think goes great with the chicken or by itself. I TRIPLE it typically for Brazilian Beer Chicken because I like lots of rice.

This is a recipe I have made countless times and is somewhat involved. I have tried my best here to cover all the details of how I actually make it. So if it looks like I missed a step, made assumptions, or something just is not clear feel free to comment below and I will do my best to fill you in.

Conclusion:

Yup, that was manly.

 

I will make this again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Rather I like it or not (luckily I do).