Easy and delicious chicken thigh recipe.....

Quick post tonight. Things are busy around here this week!

Chicken Thighs Braised in White Wine

We tried a new chicken thigh recipe last week that we all really enjoyed. It was easy to throw together and the tastes surpassed expectations. Wine, lemon, garlic and parsley are fairly common combinations, but sometimes a recipe with these ingredients can fall flat. This one did not fall flat - it was very flavorful and lively. The only change I made to this recipe was to use boneless chicken thighs and cook them for less time.

That's it - short, sweet and simple - the recipe and the post!

Weekly Recap 2/3/08

Sunday
*From the freezer: White Turkey Chili
*grapes

Monday
*tuna melts
*soup

Tuesday
Chicken Thighs Braised in White Wine (new)
*white rice
*green beans

Wednesday
*Coconut curry with tilapia, peas, red bell pepper and spinach
*roasted cauliflower
*brown basmati rice

Thursday
*hot pastrami sandwiches with coleslaw, cheese and Thousand Island dressing
*grapes

Friday
*hamburgers
*corn
*fruit

Saturday
*Skillet Lasagna (new)
*salad

Excellent Lentil Recipe

This is one of the better recipes we've tried in quite a while. And no one even claimed that it would be better with sausage!

There are three main components that all come together to make a really fantastic dish. No one component is particularly difficult, it just takes a little planning and a little coordinating on the stove top. One thing that made things more simple, and freed up some space on the stove, was to use the rice cooker for the pilaf. In addition to the pilaf, there is a curried dal-like lentil mixture and caramelized onions. I wasn't sure that caramelized onions belonged in a dish with Indian-inspired flavors, but I was absolutely won over in the end.

Curried Lentils with Caramelized Onions

The pilaf is infused with cardamom pods. I had black cardamom pods on hand and really have no idea how they compare with the more commonly used green, but I can say that they lent a slightly smoky, subtle something extra to the rice that complemented the curried lentils without competing or overwhelming. The only thing that seemed particularly lacking in the curried lentils was perhaps a little heat. The recipe itself actually mentions "spicy red lentils", so I have to wonder if Jack Bishop uses a hot curry powder - mine is of the sweet variety. Nothing that a little chili garlic paste can't fix though.

We oohed and aahed our way through this dish. Something about it just worked really well. I'm also happy to report that it tasted fantastic and actually better the next day, and even the day after that, as I happily brought the leftovers to work for lunch. This dish will most definitely be repeated in our house, especially since we tend to keep all of the ingredients on hand on a regular basis.

Two from Simple Suppers

So it's been a while since I had a real post. I got off track last week because of a house project - I've been painting our bedroom. More on that later.....

On to the recipes. Both of these recipes earned my "it has potential" rating; meaning that while they were not out-of-this-world-fantastic, they were good solid recipes that I think could elevated to a higher status with a little tweaking.

Mexican Polenta-Stuffed Peppers

The first was a polenta-stuffed pepper dish in which bell peppers are lightly roasted and then stuffed with polenta, topped with cheese and placed under the broiler. The peppers are served over a super easy but very tasty warm black bean and salsa mixture. I really liked all the different elements of this dish, but the polenta was underwhelming. I think that part of the problem is that the polenta did not cook fully enough and still had an off/raw taste. The 3 males in the family commented that sausage would make this dish really good. Although I'm trying to eat more vegetarian meals lately, I have to admit that a little sausage would really be good here. :) To elevate the taste without resorting to meat however, I would look to maybe a bit of chipotle and perhaps some black olives. Polenta is certainly versatile enough to tweak as you wish - this dish could be turned into something with a more Italian flare with a bit of Parmesan and served over a white bean mixture. Or with a little feta and black olives, it could turn Greek. The possibilities really are endless.

Southwestern Cheese Soup
(I'm afraid that no amount of photo editing could save this photo!)

I've had a couple of inquiries about the Southwestern Cheese Soup that we had earlier this week. It's a very easy soup to throw together and everyone enjoyed it, but again I think it could use a bit of tweaking. Of course I tweaked it just a tad the first time, but just a little - I made a substitution for the canned green chiles. First of all I didn't have any on hand and second of all, I really don't care for them - they seem to have this off/tinny taste that I can't get past. Looking for something to add a bit of heat and flavor, I stumbled on a jar of pickled jalapenos in my refrigerator - these were perfect - they added heat, color and no tinny taste. The soup got very positive reviews from the males at the table. I thought it was very good considering how quick and easy it is to make, but I thought it could be kicked up a notch - maybe some black beans, replacing some of the cheddar with a bit of light cream cheese. And yes devoted carnivores - a little sausage would ramp things up a bit too.

So, two solid recipes that could be really good with a little tweaking. Again, I tend to value recipes as much for the overall ideas they give me for future meals as I do for the overall end result.