Thursday, April 3, 2008

Three Favorite chicken recipes

I like to think of myself as a fairly decent cook after only a few years of marriage. I helped my mom alot in the kitchen growing up, and I think I have a fairly good handle on things. However, I still have not, and never will, be able to bake chicken in the oven without it turning to dry chewy stuff. I have tried a million different methods and recipes; it turns out tasteless and dry every time. I've tried covering it, uncovering it, using marinades, breading it, using injected chicken, whatever, it just doesn't work. Sooooooooo---I have decided to completely give up on baked chicken. If my husband gets hungry for it, he'll have to enjoy it at his mom's or something. (She makes really yummy chicken, by the way.)
Anyway, I have decided that, when I do cook chicken, I will use one of the three recipes below, which have always turned out really well for me. You can use cheap chicken legs, expensive organic chicken, whatever you want, and they always seem to turn out right. My kind of recipe! (Notice that none of these recipes bake the chicken in the oven--yay!!!)

Bar-B-Que Chicken in the crock pot
Place however much chicken you want in your crock pot, fill half way with water, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 2-3 hours, until the chicken just starts to cook. Then, drain most of the water, add a bunch of Bar-B-Que sauce, and continue cooking on low for a few more hours, till chicken is done. Should turn out juicy and tender every time!


Russian chicken in the crock pot
(My mom makes this, and I love it)
Use the same method described above, except use very little water, and smother the chicken in Russian salad dressing right from the start. After several hours, you may have to add a little more dressing while it cooks.


Tasty chicken in the skillet
Chop up chicken breasts into bite size pieces or strips. Heat some olive oil and garlic in a skillet. Pour some creamy Italian salad dressing over the chicken, and saute over medium ( no higher) until chicken is done all the way through. Continue adding dressing during cooking so the chicken doesn't get dry. This is a great recipe for putting over rice or whole grain pasta.

1 comment:

Beverly said...

mmmmmm ... yummy!