BBQ Chicken & Cornbread Casserole

During our recent trip to Chicago, Brandon and I found ourselves watching the Food Network - a LOT - during our down time at our hotel. This resulted in a great deal of inspiration and served as motivation to get my blog up and running again--FINALLY!

A lot has changed since last year:

• We had a baby(!!!), Quinlan Anastasia, born March 10, 2012
• We built a house (meet Brandon, husband and General Contractor -- it's a tough job!)
• We moved into our house one week after Quinnie was born
• I was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism a week later--I survived, but not without further health complications--I now enjoy weekly blood draws and blood thinners, hooray!
• I am now back to work full time, from home
• We are still working on the completion of the lower level of our home (a walk-out basement and garage)

What can I say? We're overachievers here at the Bogue house ;).

ANYhow, back to the Food Network. I don't often tune into Rachel Ray's show, but we ended up watching an episode where she used cornbread as a casserole topper. WHAT?! How could we never have thought of this??? Brandon and I both quickly googled the recipe, mouths watering--and then I worked on converting it for our tastes. 

What follows is a modified recipe. I cook large batches because, like many moms out there know, leftovers make weeknights SO much easier! I've also included shots of this awesome herb spread, courtesy of Ina Garten, as well as some Paula Deen Cajun Fried Okra & Green Beans. That recipe was good, but unfortunately, our okra was not (too woody)--but we did finally get the hang of frying in my dutch oven.

Note: Bake time will vary depending on what size casserole dish you use. I used my 5-quart Le Creuset braiser to both prep and bake the casserole in, and it took about 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken & Cornbread Casserole

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
2 rotisserie chickens, de-boned, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 stalks celery, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 bottle (18 oz) BBQ sauce (I used Bull's-Eye Texas)
2 boxes cornbread mix (I used Jiffy brand)
2 eggs
6 jalapenos, pith and seeds removed, minced
8 ounces frozen corn, thawed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped chicken chunks, season with salt and pepper and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet and reserve on a plate.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add another tablespoon of EVOO. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 5-6 minutes.

When the veggies are tender, push them to the edge of the pan. Add butter to the center of the skillet and sprinkle the flour over it. Cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and barbecue sauce to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a bubble, add the chicken back to the pan, season with salt and pepper and simmer the sauce until thickened, about 5 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, in a medium-size mixing bowl, prepare the cornbread according to package directions, using water as the liquid. Fold in jalapenos, corn and cheese. 

Transfer the chicken mixture to a casserole dish and drop the cornbread batter on top in spoonfuls. Pop into the oven and bake until cornbread is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 20-30 minutes. 

ALSO, CHECK OUT:

Paula Deen's Cajun-Fried Okra & Green Beans

Get the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cajun-fried-okra-recipe/index.html


Ina Garten's Herb Coeur a La Creme

Get the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/herb-coeur-a-la-creme-recipe/index.html

I've Just Gotta Chicken Piccata

Sometimes I even surprise myself in the kitchen. Earlier this week I had a craving for chicken piccata. So naturally, I wanted to know how to cook it. And man oh MAN was it good!

I've had a recipe for Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata torn out of Cooking Light and set aside for months. Lemon and chicken are one of my favorite combinations by far. Well, anything citrus-y, really.

But of course the recipe from Cooking Light wasn't exactly what I was looking for, so I worked my way through a couple of recipes online and came up with a combination that worked really, really well!

Two notes: 1) never having worked with capers before, I didn't know they were jarred. Took me a bit to find them in the grocery store and 2) we had ginormous chicken breasts from Sam's--I suggest working with regular-sized chicken breasts if you can. Much more realistic portions.

One funny note -- our meat mallet is still packed away, so I improvised with a rolling pin...and broke one of my mother in law's dishes with the handle in the midst of my vigorous pounding. Whoops! AND while I was cooking, a big storm hit, knocked out our power, and then messed up the sensor for our well, so I was without running water for a bit there. What a night! Amazingly enough, the chicken still turned out to be fantastic despite all of the obstacles :).

Bon appetit!

Chicken Piccata with Capers

Serves 4.

2 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied, then cut in half

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap or parchment paper; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter with3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook the other side for 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. Brown both sides of the other 2 pieces of chicken in the same manner. Add chicken to plate and remove pan from heat.

Into the pan, add lemon juice, stock, capers and garlic. Return to stove and bring to a boil, scraping up bits of chicken from the pan for extra flavor. Return all chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken; garnish with parsley.

This is right after I demolished the plate. Bang, bang, bang, CRASH...oops!

The damages. :(

And here it is! Soooo yummy! Plated it up with some whole grain pasta with oilve oil, minced garlic, roasted tomatoes, fresh basil and parmesan. A garlic lover's dream!

Feeling Saucy!

Yesterday was a loooong day. Didn't leave work until 7:00 pm, so I was home by 8:00, and I thought I'd just skip dinner and snack on some veggies instead.

How wrong I was.

Brandon: "Hey hun, we have a ton of vegetables in the fridge that we need to use up before vacation. Do you think you could make another pasta salad?"

Me: "Oh yeah! Sure!" Chop, chop, chop, chop.

Brandon: "Babe, I didn't necessarily mean tonight."

Me: "Oh, it's no problem!" Chop, chop, chop, chop.

And so the cooking obsession continues. But the beauty of it is, with the right combination of herbs, spices, etc., cooking can be kind of a spontaneous thing! Last night, I experimented with sauces and, with Brandon's help, grilled up some Heat 'n Honey Grilled Chicken, accompanied by what I'm now calling a "Dill-Dijon Pasta Salad." Made a great, fresh dinner and some yummy leftovers for Brand-o to take to work. I'm finding pasta salad (which really should be called veggies WITH pasta, since it's a two-to-one ratio in this recipe) is a great way to use up leftover raw veggies.

One more day before vacayyyyy. Hope everyone is doing well! Summer can't be too far off.........right? Ah, who cares -- enjoy the day!

Heat 'n Honey Grilled Chicken

Makes eight servings, 1/2 chicken breast per serving.

2/3 cup hoisin

1/2 cup Sriracha sauce (or other chili sauce)--this was enough to leave my tongue tingly. Use less if you aren't into heat, more if you want to challenge your taste buds!

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons orange zest

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag. Pour enough marinade in to coat chicken. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight for best results. Reserve remaining marinade. Brush over chicken while grilling.

Dill-Dijon Pasta Salad

Makes 12 servings (great for parties!).

Dressing

1 cup light canola oil mayo

1 cup light sour cream

1/2 cup dijon mustard

1/2 a red onion, diced (any kind of onion will do)

Juice of one lemon

2 cups feta cheese, crumbled (or any other cheese you like--I used reduced fat sharp cheddar because it was on hand)

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (I like a lot of dill)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salad

1/2 box whole grain pasta (rotini, penne or shells work best--avoid linguine and spaghetti)

Veggies, around one cup each (I typically use broccoli, cucumber, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and peas--but whatever you have fresh and on hand will work)

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Strain under cold water. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread pasta across it. Place in refrigerator to cool and dry.
2. Mix all dressing ingredients together. Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.
3. Chop veggies into bite-sized pieces.
4. Combine dressing, veggies and cooled pasta and refrigerate two hours before serving.

Low Carb Lovin'

Yesterday was yet another long day as days often seem to be when you’re coming up on a much-needed vacation. And for me, cooking is a great way to zone out and relax. No--seriously! Nothing calms me down more than chopping veggies :).

There’s a dish I used to eat all the time at Uno’s during the low carb craze – Baked Stuffed Chicken. I thought I’d revisit it since it contains so many ingredients I love: mozzarella, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, basil…what’s not to like? Best of all, it’s pretty dang healthy—a good thing given that since our wedding, Brandon’s lost a record amount of weight and for me, just the opposite! Those boys and their metabolisms.

Anyhow, I found a few attempts online to replicate Uno’s recipe and adapted them to my taste. So I made it last night for Brand-o and we both loved it!! Only one thing I changed in the recipe below--more cheese! We both agreed we wanted a bit more gooey mozzarella to pull the whole thing together.

So, here we go:

Goodness-Stuffed Chicken

Makes 8 generous servings.

1 head broccoli, chopped

4 roma tomatoes, diced

2 cups baby spinach, shredded

4 tablespoons basil, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese (we like a LOT of cheese)

8 chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in a large bowl, reserving one cup mozzarella.
3. Wash and dry chicken. Butterfly chicken breasts by cutting in from the side—do not cut all the way through.
4. Place chicken between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a mallet, pound meat until thin, working from the middle out.
5. Place first butterflied chicken breast in baking dish, spoon a generous amount of stuffing on top, and fold the chicken over. Secure with toothpicks if necessary. Some stuffing may spill out, and that’s fine. Repeat for the remaining breasts. Any leftover stuffing can just fill in around the breasts in the baking dish.
6. Sprinkle mozzarella over chicken breasts.
7. Bake for 45 minutes.

Roma tomatoes work well because they're not as juicy as beefsteak tomatoes. 

Clearly not enough cheese! But look at all that green -- YUM!

Et voila! You’ve got yourself a scrumptious meal packed with veggies and protein. I also whipped up some instant whole grain rice for a healthy side. You know--gotta fatten Brandon up somehow ;).